Covenant (A Lapidot Fanfiction)

Chapter 21: Together

I carefully helped Lapis step out of the car. She leaned against me when her feet hit the ground to regain her balance. I let myself snicker quietly.

"Lapis, be careful," I said. "You're gonna hurt yourself."

"Sorry," Lapis replied. "I just have some extra weight on the front of me."

"That's fine," I said. "Just walk one step at a time. You've gotta take care of two people instead of just yourself now."

"Three people," Lapis responded. "You too. We take care of each other."

I kissed her nose, and she smiled sweetly. Good. She was content.

I brought her inside and barely noticed my mom following behind us. I grinned.

"What took you so long to get out of the car?" I asked. "Did you get stuck in the seatbelt?"

"No, I was looking for my phone!" Mom answered.

"Alright," I said. "Let's just go. Larimar thinks we're crazy enough already."

We walked into the house. It was quiet, as usual, but it seemed slightly less quiet than it normally was when I walked in. That could easily be explained by Lapis's absence. After all, she lived temporarily with Mom and I, and soon, hopefully, she'd live permanently with me.

"Dad!" Lapis shouted. "Dad!"

His scent became stronger. He was approaching. He smelled like Lapis did, but not as floral and more of what most humans would consider "manly." I wondered if he had any abilities against vampires.

"There's my girl!" He exclaimed. "Not so little now. I guess you're my big girl now."

He wrapped his arms around his much shorter daughter. I stifled a laugh. Their height gap was bigger than Lapis's and mine.

"How is life with Peridot?" He asked.

"It's actually pretty great," Lapis answered. "It's not much of a change from our old life. At the moment, we're staying with Yellow. I'm not sure if there are any plans for that."

"I've been thinking about it," I responded.

"Oh, that reminds me," Larimar said. "Your mother brought your old baby clothes with her when she came to your wedding. She asked me to give them to you."

"Oh no," Lapis replied. "She didn't bring the ones with the ducks, did she?"

Larimar chuckled. "You bet she did," he said. "And she also requested that I 'show Lapis and her wife some wonderful baby pictures.'"

"Oh boy," Lapis responded, looking away.

"Hey, it's a parent-to-child thing," Larimar said. "Plus, you'll be embarrassing your kid with her baby pictures when she's older, too."

"While we're on the topic of the baby," I replied. "You didn't happen to explain why she's possible to Azure, right?"

"Right," Larimar said. "Trust me. Your secret is safe with me."

"Old Larry isn't much of a talker." Mom elbowed me in the side. "I've known him since high school. He's very quiet and rather concealed. He's definitely someone you can trust."

I nodded. "I decided a long time ago that I trust him," I replied.

I saw Larimar smile out of the corner of my eye. "You guys are stalling," he said. "We need to look at these baby pictures."

"No!" Lapis exclaimed, her cute face turning tomato red.

"I think we should," I said, grinning.