SUE: Time to Grow

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

When it came to the ink manipulator, contact was impossible to avoid. It was inevitable. Penny couldn’t find the means to draw her hand away; instead her thumb brushed against Lucy’s cheek. She was very aware in how Lucy moved, and she encouraged the action by gently guiding her hand over Lucy’s jaw line, easing her forward.

“How long do you think?” She asked, trying to hide the distraction lining her tone and features. Her lips briefly pressed into a hard line, before she took another forced breath. The contact she offered did little to quell her desire to kiss Lucy.

She pressed back against the headboard, as a means of stability. Her hand traced slowly to the back of Lucy’s neck, fingers curling around it as she attempted to draw Lucy in. She couldn’t stop. Her jaw clenched at the thought of having to. Being unable to kiss Lucy Serrano was simply not fair.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"Not sure." Lucy replied after a small moment. If she had the capacity to think properly, she might have been able to settle on a definite date; a moment in time where things were real enough to consider the concept of a relationship between them. Again, she looked at her counterpart's mouth. The way she pressed her lips into a line. The way she breathed.

And when she pulled her in - a hand at the back of the Australian's neck - she used the indication to move even closer. Another sizeable stint of distance was removed with another shift in her position. She dropped a hand from Penny's arm, instead choosing to rest it on her thigh. Despite the fact that it was covered by a blanket, she still needed to stop. To think. To breathe.

"Maybe," She tried anyway, "No, it was way before Cambridge."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny nodded in response. She wasn’t sure, either. At least not now. Now when the Australian proved to be such a distraction. Between being sick and being so close to her, the Brit struggled to think of an answer herself. She watched – felt – the way Lucy shifted again. The shift in proximity between them. It wouldn’t have been hard to breach the minimal distance left between them; it was hard not to.

When Lucy provided, or at least attempted to provide, an answer, Penny raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t a doubt in her mind that they were like this before; she might not have stayed otherwise. The thought made her hold on the ink manipulator tighten.

Still, she couldn’t find herself to offer a response. To find a definite point where their relationship shifted. Not when she was so close.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

The moment Penny's hold tightened on the back of her neck, Lucy exhaled a quiet breath. She tried her best to maintain a decent pattern, but this was overwhelmingly huge. Being asked to go back and consider how long she'd felt this way was a seemingly insurmountable challenge within itself. And she couldn't - or rather, really shouldn't - have moved as close as she had. But she couldn't stop.

This time, when her gaze flicked to the psychometrist's mouth, Lucy briefly closed her eyes.

The corner of her mouth pulled upwards slightly, and this time when she exhaled, it was in the form of a low, involuntary laugh. "I mean, I never even thought I'd want to hook up with a girl," She began, opening her eyes with every intention of catching the Brit's gaze again, "Let alone actually do it."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny’s eyebrows twitched together in a moment of confusion, and within the next moment her dark eyes widened with the realization of what she had said. “Wait.” She held Lucy’s gaze, trying to read her expression. How she let out a laugh at the information she just handed the psychometrist. “You hadn’t been with a girl before?”

She pulled back slightly, blinking as she raised her eyebrows. Processing. “I was your--?” Penelope always struggled with such conversations. It was an uncomfortable topic for the Brit. But this was different. She had to ask.

“No.” That was impossible. She didn’t believe it.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy caught the way Penny's eyes widened. On instinct, she recalled the moment where Penny had given her a similar admission. As soon as she said wait, Lucy felt herself freeze up. When the question was handed to her, she took a moment to pause. To blink. To raise her eyebrows in her own mild confusion. And she shook her head, because the answer was true. No, she hadn't.

It was almost derailing how Penny pulled back as best she could, but given the fact that she was already against the headboard it wasn't like she could go far. When she tried another question, Lucy wondered how that would have finished.

"Sorta." She guessed the end and offered what she could. There was always Rowan, but she doubted the psychometrist wanted details of that instance. So the single word would have to do. "First girl, yeah- Why would I lie about this?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

“I don’t think you’re lying.” Penny stated quickly, realizing how her response had sounded. She pressed her lips into a hard line, holding Lucy’s gaze. “I didn’t think—“ she let out a breath, the conrner of her lip involuntarily twitching upward. “I’m just surprised.”

Penny had never even considered that Lucy had never been with a girl before, and it showed in her expression.

She sat up straight, her fingers curling into the mess of Lucy’s dark hair. “I thought—“ Evony. Sawyer. Penny was sure the list could go on.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy tried her best to dissipate the automatically defensive stance she'd taken. It was hardly the time to go accusing Penny that she'd been lying. Not now. Not in this moment after everything else that was said.

"I can see that." She replied, pressing her lips together in an attempt to stop herself from smiling widely. Surprising Penny, even in a moment of seriousness, was incredibly amusing and distracting for the ink manipulator. Something else to get caught up in, at least for the moment.

She felt the pressure Penny provided to the back of her neck, and instinctively she leaned in a little closer. With an easy break in conversation, Lucy opted to finish the sentence for her;

"Just you."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Really, Penny should have known that Lucy would find amusement out of her response, but she couldn’t help it. Her dark eyes glanced to the hardened line Lucy’s lips formed. She knew by now that it meant the ink manipulator was trying not to grin.

And Penny had no idea how to respond. She fumbled through her sentences, none of which were complete, before Lucy had stepped in.

Just her.

Penny couldn’t keep her expression in check, even as the realization started to settle in her mind. She sucked in a quick breath as the Australian leaned in. They were so close. Closer than they should have been. Despite not feeling well, the Brit couldn’t help but to close the distance between them and kiss Lucy.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

The more she was forced to think about it, the more Lucy recalled just how difficult Penelope Blaise was to resist. Yes, she understood that she was sick. She was acutely aware of how that made things difficult. But she well and truly didn't think she could control herself. Not when she breathed that way. Not when she was this close.

And when she did lean in, Lucy was sure that if she hadn't, she would have faltered just as easily.

After a moment she settled into the way her counterpart kissed her. She trailed her hand from her thigh to her hip slowly, her fingers curling into the fabric of the clothes she wore as she tried her best to pull her in closer. Or pull herself closer. Either way, there was still distance and she found it incredibly irritating. The intention in the way she kissed the psychometrist was clear; more so when she made the choice to run her tongue along her lower lip. Because now that this was happening, she had no idea how she was supposed to stop.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

There was no way Penny could had resisted Lucy for another moment. Proximity always had such an effect on the Brit; she always had an effect on her. Still, she felt the clear cut intention in the way Lucy reciprocated the kiss. The way her hand trailed up her thigh.

Penny pressed her free hand to the bed, using it as a means to bring herself closer to the ink manipulator. It was impossible to deny her request as she shifted her hand to her hip, nor could she deny her own annoyance with the distance between them.

But before she could make a move to bring Lucy physically closer, Penny took in a sharp breath as she felt Lucy’s tongue against her lip. Just as quickly, Penny pressed forward again, kissing the Australian. Her free hand trailed down Lucy’s back, nails dragging lightly along the fabric of her shirt.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Each movement Penny made caught Lucy's attention entirely. The way she moved closer at Lucy's silent request was more enthralling than anything else. The way she breathed caused the ink manipulator to pause for a breath of her own. Even with evident clothing between them, the Australian could feel the intention behind the way her nails dragged along her form.

She didn't and honestly couldn't hesitate when Penny was acting this way. After she'd said the things she'd said, Lucy had no way of offering any kind of deterrent. They were together. She was everything.

When she pulled back out of necessity, she didn't go far. She barely broke the contact between them. "We should-" Lucy breathed. But she couldn't finish. Because she knew Penny knew what she was trying to say, and she knew exactly why she couldn't finish the sentence at hand. Her free hand curled around the back of the psychometrist's neck and she drew her in again for another kiss.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

As Lucy drew back, Penny took in a much needed breath. Already, her breath was staggered, her pulse erratic. Every move she made was completely captivating. Penny knew well that they shouldn’t. She knew where Lucy’s sentence was heading, even if she couldn’t finish it, and the Brit opened her mouth with clear intention on arguing the fact, but she hadn’t the time before she felt Lucy’s lips against her own again.

Penny didn’t hesitate as she reciprocated, pouring every amount of intention in to the kiss as she could. Her hand ducked under the fabric of Lucy’s shirt, pressing her palm to the small of her back as she pulled Lucy closer with more force. She wouldn’t – couldn’t – stop.

“Please.” She breathed against her lips. She wanted to give this girl everything, and take everything in return. Because she loved her. Because they were together. “I need you.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

The way Penny didn't hesitate was the all important thing that held Lucy's attention. It was the all imperative factor that made it impossible to stop kissing the psychometrist. She didn't care what the eventual repercussions were; to was ridiculous to even try to express how she felt about Penelope Blaise without the aid of physical contact. Because when it came down to it, it spoke volumes over anything Lucy could ever really say, let alone hear.

Until she said that. Asking as if she needed to; as if she felt the need to try and dispel any and all acts of hesitation. Any doubt. They shouldn't, and that was evident for both of them. But she was trying to push past it.

"I'm not stopping you." Lucy offered, her lips brushing against her counterpart's with each word she gave.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny’s breathing faltered as she felt Lucy’s words against her lips. The way she spoke caught the Brit’s attention more than anything else. It was factual. In no way was Lucy stopping Penny. Even with her counterpart’s earlier attempt to say they shouldn’t, she hadn’t been able to finish the sentence.

Her hand slowly trailed along the ink manipulator’s belt, and as her fingers curled around the buckle, she gave it a quick tug, pulling the Australian onto her. In no way could Penny stop herself from unbuckling it; she had to give in. To physically show Lucy how she felt. Words would never suffice. They weren’t nearly as effective as actions.

“I love you.” She spoke against Lucy’s lips before pressing her own against them.