See the Farthest Stars

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy had been in this situation with her before. Sitting across a small table from her psychometric counterpart had been something they'd tried once before and admittedly, they'd failed miserably. Would Lucy take the blame for that instance? No. Absolutely not. That instance had been completely on Penny; her idea at that particular time in their particular lives within their particularly rocky, unstable relationship.

This was different, Lucy reasoned. And it was about more than just trying to ditch out of the rest f the afternoon's classes. A particular thing had been nagging at the back of her mind for a while now, and the only way she figured she was going to manage to talk about it was if she forced distance.

Put a table between them.

And... A little bit because she didn't want to be in class.

Her fingers ran the length of the glass in front of her; reasonably bitter inside the glass, but ridiculously better than anything she could throw together in the small space of her dormitory's common room.

She glanced up, dark eyes colliding with hers as she thought of something reasonable to ask. The dragon slowly curled around her wrist on instinct, and even she couldn't help but look a little curious.

"Would you ever get a tattoo?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Sitting across a table with Lucy Serrano on the other side felt familiar. It was familiar. Instead of a meal, coffee was opted for, or in Penny’s case, herbal tea. Still, she couldn’t help but to recall the instant months ago as her thumb traced along the rim of her teacup.

Just as before, she was keeping her hands busy.

And so was she. Last time, it had been Lucy’s fault for their failure. She breached the distance between them; made the move to touch Penny and take away the one item that was grounding her. In no way did the Brit admit fault for her decision to try to go out.

When Penny met Lucy’s gaze, the thumb at her teacup stopped its trajectory, if only for a moment. Caught within it, the Brit had yet to notice the dragon she was growingly fond of shift. She was too distracted by her expression. It made Penny raise her eyebrows.

Had Lucy not spoken first, the Brit would have asked if there was something on her mind.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, eyebrows threatening to furrow together at what could have easily seemed as a random question. But Penny knew better when it came to her counterpart, who had received her first tattoo when she was fifteen and drunk.

“Why?”

It wasn’t a no, but it certainly wasn’t a yes, either.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Keeping her hands busy felt like an involuntary thought. By now, Lucy was so used to not keeping them to herself that she wasn't entirely sure what to do with the forced distance. But she reasoned it was a good thing. Still, she new she was going to reach out to her eventually. It was just a matter of when.

There was definite precision to all this; the question posed and the answer she gave. It wasn't a no, which was something Lucy honestly expected. To receive something of an in between response forced her eyebrows to raise in genuine surprise.

"Cause you understand it more than you think you do. Or more than anyone would think someone like you would." Lucy replied, careful with her tone of voice. The response could have easily been taken the wrong way, but stereotypes were high in this area. In this field. "Even I thought you'd say no."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Strangely, Penny hadn’t taken offense to the statement Lucy offered her. As easily as she could have argued and taken offense to it, she didn’t feel the need to in that particular moment. Because she was just as thrown off by her shifting opinion on them as her counterpart was.

“There isn’t anything I want tattooed on me.” She stated firmly, trying to hide her own surprise over her answer. Not all that long ago the Brit would have said no without a second thought; the idea still shook her, but she found it improbable that under no circumstances she would get one now. Because it was true; Penelope Blaise realized her initial understanding of tattoos were wrong.

“I highly doubt it.” She added honestly, bringing her cup to her lips and taking a sip of the warm beverage.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy nodded her head to the side once, dropping her gaze to the glass her fingertips brushed against. She supposed it was a fair point, really, to express that there was nothing she wanted. It greatly influenced the future thought. Still, as she glanced away she couldn't help the little smirk that played to the corner of her mouth. Penny hid her surprise well, but there was something enthralling about the simple fact that she couldn't offer a rejective response.

"Fair enough." She replied, and as she brought the glass to her lips she had every intention of leaving it as it was.

Silence felt fitting as she wrestled with the desire to leave it be or press on. The hit of caffeine did nothing to settle it. She probably didn't need that double shot. "If you figured something out you did want at some point, would you let me?" Lucy asked anyway, a steely expression as she glanced back towards her again, "I don't totally suck, y'know."

Settling the glass back down, she rested the back of her hand against the surface. Palm up towards her.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny nodded in return, her own gaze dropping as she lost Lucy’s, dark eyes focusing on her hands. Traveling to the dragon at her wrist. Something about its recent activity always captured Penny’s attention. She never recalled it moving in such a way, and now the shifting of ink almost seemed normal for the creature.

Penny wasn’t sure if the topic was finished, and as she set her cup down again, she stayed silent, wondering if Lucy would question it more. She was sure the ink manipulator was curious as to why Lucy changed her mind, but then again Penny hoped that Lucy already knew that she was a great influence over it.

Her eyes shot back up to look to her counterpart’s expression. “I thought that went unsaid.” She stated, almost lightly, despite how weighted it felt. “You’re the only person I trust enough if I were to ever get one.” Although she had never seen Lucy tattoo another individual before, she knew for a fact that the Australian had talent, and ink manipulator to boost.

“Why would I want anyone else?”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Twisting her hand, Lucy tapped her fingernails against the surface idly. She wasn't sure if she was being denied or simply misread. Maybe she was being more reckless than she should have been by searching for contact.

But as she offered her answer, Lucy quickly realised how much she needed that.

It was so true, though. Why would she want anyone else?

Shifting her hand in the next moment, Lucy actively reached across the table. She brushed her fingertips across the back of her hand lightly, because she couldn't just say things like that and not warrant a reaction for Lucy. She really should have waited to ask such a question. Or asked before they left. Not only did Penny love her, but she trusted her. And regardless of the context, those things were facts.

True things remain so.

"I think it's what I want to do. Maybe. If I can." Lucy admitted to her, exhaling slowly amidst the break, "Ages ago you asked me where I was going next, or what I wanted to do, or something. And I never answered." And as quickly as she made contact, she moved to fall back and find comfort in her seat again, her hand dragging across the surface back to her own side. "It's a possibility, anyway."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny had been surprised that Lucy thought, even for a moment, that if she were to get a tattoo, she would consider getting one from anyone but the Australian. The thought sounded absurd. So much that she had missed the shift of her counterpart’s hand in favor of making it clear that she was Penny’s first choice. Her only choice.

But as Lucy shifted, Penny let out a slow breath as she felt fingertips brush the back of her hand. She glanced down to it; only a second but it was enough to make her smile.

But just as quickly, it faltered. A shot of panic ran through Penny as Lucy pulled away, not because she thought the ink manipulator was purposefully putting distance between them, but because regardless of intention, there was still any distance between them. The Brit instinctively reached forward, extending her own hand and taking the one she just lost.

She curled her fingers tighter; she didn’t want that distance.

“I think it’s a great use of your talent.” She replied honestly. “If it’s what you want to do.” Her eyebrows twitched together, hoping her tone conveyed more meaning than how the words sounded on their own. It seemed important that Lucy did what she wanted, not something that simply gave her something to do.

“Can I watch?” She asked after another moment. “Sometime?”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Someone as straight laced as Penny continuously managed to draw surprise from Lucy. Each new piece of information was vital, almost as vital as the hand that reached to take hold of her own. The Australian released the breath she didn't even know she was holding onto at the mere contact. At how much she wanted it.

Her gaze carefully shifted to her dark eyes for a moment, pondering the potential equality of her intention before doing her best to focus her attention on actually listening. But the dragon at her wrist was slowly shifting around her wrist again, precise movements to the back of her hand.

She thought to apologise for the way her jaw dropped a touch at the idea that Penny would actually be okay with the proposed continuation of her job. Once she realised she'd done it, she closed her mouth again and literally swallowed to replace whatever response she could have given. A brief shift of her gaze to her lips before she was back to her eyes by force.

Definitely the wrong time to ask. The wrong place to ask.

"If I find someone who's okay with it, yeah." Lucy replied finally, and given the calibre of people she dealt with, she wondered how difficult such a thing might be. Her smile broadened on instinct for a moment. Barely a second in time, and it was gone again with a literal brush of her free hand over her mouth.

Along the length of her own jaw, her fingernails tracked. "First year's nearly over, so it could get a bit more busy, if I wanted it to be." Sure enough, Lucy looked away again, this time to the contents of her glass.

"I uhh-" Away from her jaw, her hand moved to breeze through her hair before trailing to the back of her neck, "Have a couple of people questioning whether or not I should even bother... Graduating." Once the admission passed her lips, she flicked her gaze towards the psychometrist's face, intent on capturing her first initial reaction before she had any thoughts to hide it.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Although Penny kept her focus on the ink manipulator’s eyes, she couldn’t help but to notice the way Lucy’s jaw dropped. How genuinely surprised she looked to hear the Brit’s answer. Penny instinctively pressed her lips into a hard line; although she knew it was surprising to give such an answer considering her previous thoughts on tattoos, it didn’t seem that surprising now.

Was it?

However, Penny forced her attention away from the matter as Lucy replied. It made sense; to get permission before simply saying yes. The Brit could settle with that; she lived on rules, and really it was quite enthralling to see Lucy follow them. She took in a short breath, eyes threatening to glance down at the particular smile she wore; the way her hand tracked over her mouth as if to wipe it away.

Penny raised her eyebrows; her immediate thought tracked to school. Despite the fact that she was encouraging Lucy to skip class in that exact moment, she was sure that Lucy would struggle if she added more work to her schedule. Anyone would. She parted her lips, about to ask, but quickly pressed them together again when Lucy continued.

As Lucy’s gaze averted, Penny’s tracked down to the ink manipulator’s hand. How it struggled to settle. To her lips, as she struggled, briefly, it seemed. Lucy Serrano wasn’t one for such filler words. Penny’s eyebrows shot up when Lucy finally managed the admission. She tilted her head to the side, briefly licking her lip as if to consider what the ink manipulator was getting at.

She looked back to Lucy. “Why?”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Slowly amidst the silence, Lucy shifted her hand slightly and chose to brush her thumb across her counterpart's hand on instinct. Such a move was so clearly unplanned, given the way she didn't look at it. The way it didn't seem to phase her.

But as Penny offered a singular word - and such a weighted question at that - Lucy couldn't stop the way she cringed and how her nose crinkled on instinct. As much as she might have looked disinterested in what Penny had to say, or even a little annoyed by it, she dropped her gaze to the hand that held hers. The slow burning movements of the dragon were quite literally burning across her skin as it's head tried the trajectory of her thumb. Anything to get a little closer, surely.

"Cause I don't know, it's a little constricting?" Lucy replied, an answer that wasn't her own, so she phrased it as a question. Regardless of where the idea came from, it was probably a terrible start to the conversation. "Or maybe because I would have graduated around the time I turned seventeen if I'd never come here in the first place, regardless of a failing grade or two."

So technically - really - that was three shots of failure for the wonderful price of two.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy’s expression put a twist in Penny’s stomach. The way she cringed at her question, like possibly she shouldn’t have asked it. But there wasn’t a way Penny could just settle with the information given to her. She had to know. When she lost Lucy’s gaze, her own dropped to their hands, dark eyes quickly catching sight of the dragon that shifted to Lucy’s thumb. The Brit twisted her hand, allowing her palm to press against the ink manipulator’s, thumb brushing against hers. Along the dragon’s back.

For someone as academically dedicated as Penny was, hearing that school was constricting was, if anything, confusing. And it showed in her expression. Schooling opened up more opportunities, if anything. Yes, you had to be in a classroom five days a week, minus one coffee outing, but once that was over with, there were more possibilities.

The way Lucy worded herself; specifically how she phrased her own answer into a question made Penny raise her eyebrows. It hardly felt like her answer. The Brit lifted her cup again, pressing it to her lips. There, it lingered for a half second – just barely out of synch with her movement – before taking a sip.

With a short breath, she placed the cup down again and brought her gaze back to Lucy. “And what’s your opinion on their argument?” Really, that was the important question to ask, and she wasn’t sure why it wasn’t the one she started with. Knowing why was important, but knowing what she thought was even more so.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Loosening her hold lightly, Lucy made no effort to stop Penny's hand as it shifted. Already she knew she wasn't going to back away, but likely choose to give the eager tattoo a fraction of her attention. The almost pained expression the ink manipulator wore faltered to something a little more meaningful, even if the feeling of the curved nature of its spine underneath her thumb was causing a definite ache.

She was far too enthralled in how the psychometrist interacted with her ink to even care.

Lucy caught the expression Penny wore. The raise of her eyebrows; the way she hid her mouth behind the cup with such expert timing. All the while the Australian stared at her, looking for a definite shift - an answer within the silence as if she couldn't actually speak it.

But this was Penelope Blaise. Even when she had the worst things to say, she still said them to Lucy. Keeping her opinion to herself now was hardly going to be like her.

"It all makes sense, doesn't it?" She asked, raising her head a touch, "Real, logical sense."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny looked down again to their hands again, the way the dragon moved against the touch she offered it. It was enthralling, just as enthralling as the ink manipulator who wore it.

It did not make sense, nor did it seem logical to the Brit. Penny could usually always offer something of a neutral expression in these moments, but she couldn’t help the way her lips pressed together, and this time without a tea cup to hide it. Her usual tactics usually failed when it came to the Australian. She always gave something to Lucy.

And her expression faltered even more so as she realized that, again, Lucy phrased her answer as a question, if it were to be considered an answer at all. It felt like more of another comment tacked on in a belayed fashion to her original statement.

“That hardly answers my question.” Penny tried again. Although she looked back up at the ink manipulator, her thumb continued its movement along the line of the dragon’s back.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Unfortunately for Lucy, Penny's expression was still a little unreadable. The way she pressed her lips together was clouded; she did that a lot for many reasons. To show she was unimpressed. To try to avoid smiling, grinning or even smirking when she felt a little smug. Too broad to make an accurate depiction.

Her eyebrows quirked downwards at Penny's response. Still nothing. Nothing, really.

"I could work." Lucy started, feeling a little cautious about the statement. Because it was hardly an answer, either; "Ivy said she'd let me work full time if I ever wanted to bail. I don't need to graduate to keep my job. Apparently it's not necessary."