Power Swap: Captivated by a Craze

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Weekends were typically for sleeping in. Relaxing. And although the Brit was always up early, relaxing was a priority on Saturdays. Her shoulder rolled as she stretched under the sheets, toes brushing her counterpart’s as she did. Mornings in Vermont were getting increasingly cooler, and on instinct the Brit shifted closer to her already close companion.

Penny’s nose crinkled against Lucy’s shoulder as she lightly pressed her lips to it before letting out short yawn. Despite keeping to a normal sleep schedule, the Penny couldn’t help but to feel that she hadn’t slept; or at least not slept well. She wasn’t as alert as she usually was, even if it was only 6:15 in the morning. And she couldn’t deny the desire to have a cup of coffee.

Coffee?

Her eyebrows twitched together as she kept herself pressed against Lucy, dark eyes taking in her sleeping form. Never had she craved the beverage before, but she tried to brush the thought off, instead choosing to press her lips to the Australian’s nose

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Saturdays. Lucy notoriously slept in on a Saturday. It was incredibly rare that she ever had a reason to get up early on such a day; even her work schedule was kind enough to permit sleep, primarily because she knew her boss wasn't exactly a morning person either after a Friday night.

Few felt the cold quite like the Australian did. Living somewhere where below zero was a fabled temperature meant any shift towards cooler months caught her attention more promptly than most.

It was rare for Lucy to stir so early. As Penny pressed herself against the sleeping ink manipulator, she was all too willing to reciprocate further. In the depths of her slumber, she was always the type to practically cling onto whoever was near, and Penny was hardly an exception to that. Legs tangled and intertwined with hers with a definite shift in the way Lucy slept.

But the second Penny grazed her lips across Lucy's nose, she crinkled it. And the inevitable muttering groan that followed was completely second nature. Soon enough she shifted away and rolled onto her back, stretching her arms out and curling her toes into the sheets on instincts. It was early. Way too early for someone like Lucy.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

As Lucy crinkled her nose, Penny felt it beneath her lips, and the Brit couldn’t help but to smile widely at the fact. Seeing the ink manipulator sleep was completely captivating. Had she not shifted, Penny would have kissed her nose again.

But she had, and Penny watched the way she stretched, already missing the warmth her form had provided. Within momvents she followed the movement, draping an arm across her stomach with relative ease. Her shift was a clear sign that she’d be waking up soon, but that hardly meant Penny had to keep her distance.

She gave another yawn before settling her chin against the Australian’s shoulder. “Morning.” She offered quietly but cheerfully, even if Lucy had yet to be fully awake yet.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy was still unaware of her pattern as she woke, despite how many people felt the need to tell her about it. She was relatively unaware of how intently she clung to people in her sleep, and how she shifted away right before she woke up.

Yet she felt strangely aware the moment Penny's fingers brushed across her bare skin. The way she pressed herself right against the somewhat dazed Australian. Mornings. Drawing her knees up, she ran her feet along the sheets before dropping them back down again. Getting used to moving was difficult pretty much every time she woke up.

"Yeah, I know." She replied, draping her forearm over her eyes as if it would somehow shield her from the fact. As it stood, she was relatively oblivious to the brighter tones of her voice.

Six-whatever in the morning, if she remembered correctly. Which she totally did, by now.

"You gonna be back soon?" Lucy asked, raising her free hand to brush the back of it across her arm lightly. It was the usual thing, even on a weekend, for Penny to leave and go about her morning routine until she inevitably came back to her.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

“Hmm?” Penny asked, her tone trailing upward at the questioning sound. “I’m gonna stay here.” She said, and it wasn’t until after did it register in her mind that that was not her normal Saturday routine. The thought of having a morning routine at all felt off, though.

Either way, the thought of getting up and walking away from Lucy sounded dreadful.

The tip of her nose ran along Lucy’s shoulder, “I might grab a cup of coffee though.” She asked lightly before pressing her lips to Lucy’s skin. Again, it wasn’t until after she spoke that she registered anything was wrong at all, and even as she continued she couldn’t deny it. “Want some?”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Slackened words didn't suit Penny. It caused Lucy's eyebrows to furrow. Was she making fun of the Australian's lazy tone of voice in the mornings? It didn't matter. She had the intention of staying near, and that was more than enough for Lucy.

She almost missed the next statement, catching on the way her lips felt against her skin. Each small point of contact was hardly that. It forced her to hold a breath, exhaling when it threatened to burn.

If there was one thing Lucy was aware of, it was her counterpart's dislike for coffee. More to the point, she notoriously preferred tea. Partly because she was so British anything less was probably sacrilegious to her mentality, but primarily because she just... Did. Lucy couldn't ever recall the psychometrist taking on caffeine in such a way.

So she assumed. "That's not even funny." Lucy replied, but she exhaled on a laugh regardless. Something about Penny even trying to joke was funny enough to her.

"I'll do it." Lucy dragged her arm across her eyes, shifting to press her hand into the bed as she moved to haul herself up.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny was unaware of the casual way she spoke, but as she better woke up, she began to feel a shooting headache form at her temples. She assumed it was from the lack of caffeine, even if she didn’t have excessive amounts of it on a regular basis, that particular morning it felt needed.

“Funny?” She questioned, raising her eyebrows with genuine curiosity. She wasn’t trying to be funny, and the fact that Lucy called her out as such only confused the Brit. Her nose crinkled at the thought.

As Penny felt Lucy’s hand shift from her arm, she her smile faltered visibly, a borderline pout threatening her features. Still, she moved with the ink manipulator to sit up. “Make extra.” She said with a short nod, pushing herself off the bed and smiling over the to the Australian. “I’m definitely gonna to need it today.”

Even as Lucy offered to make it, and Penny would certainly let her, the Brit had every intention of following, grabbing the ink manipulator’s shirt off the floor and casually pulling it over her head.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"Not funny." Lucy corrected, as if it felt important to do so.

Hauling herself up, Lucy dragged her free hand through her hair, drawing it out of her face and away from her eyes. With little resistance - which in itself of a morning was a bit of a shock - she started shifting over her counterpart's form in order to make it out of the bed. But she stalled halfway, glancing through her hair down towards her.

"Umm..." Lucy dragged out, pressing her lips into a line with the sound. "No. You're fucking with me."

Not only because it was coffee. But because it was Saturday. And what exactly did she have to do on a Saturday that required extra energy?

It was a short search for something to wear, in which she dragged the flannel from the hanger in the closet and hauled it over her shoulders. With quick hands and absolutely no precision, Lucy threaded a few buttons to the incorrect holes before dragging both hands across her collar slowly, flicking the dark locks trapped behind it out.

She threw a hand out behind her, intent on allowing the psychometrist to catch it before she hauled the door open.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Saturday mornings. While Carleigh woke up relatively early, (provided she even slept the night before) it was a little earlier than she expected. Squinting her eyes, she rolled over and glared at the time on her phone before flopping her face back into her pillow. 6:15? Who chose to wake up this early?

Well, clearly, she did. She raised her head a few seconds later, the familiar dull ache in her temples. Time for the morning coffee. Stirring, Carleigh rose from bed, rubbing the side of her head as she made her way to the kitchenette, her morning routine all but mechanical at this point. She got the pot of coffee brewing, drumming her fingers against the counter as the blonde's attention focused on dirty dishes left in the sink.

She rolled her eyes. God, what did it take for people to keep clean here? Carleigh felt the overwhelming urge to wash the dishes herself. And organize the common room, which had a bit of clutter everywhere. She couldn't explain it, as she she zeroed in on all of this, her drumming became more rapid against the countertop.

The blonde looked towards the door, her gaze flickering between that and the coffee machine. She exhaled, rubbing her arm as the oddest sensation came over. Carleigh couldn't explain it... whatever it was. A lack of physical affection? Shivers? She didn't know. Whatever the sensation was, she found herself drawn outside her dorm door.

Her hand reached outward, to turn off the half brewed coffee pot. Without much thought, Carleigh began following her gut feeling outside her dorm, still clad in her pink lounge pants. Before she knew it or could come up with an explanation, the blonde was in front of Lucy's dorm room and now opening the door.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny lacked the usual response to such a word, her expression only offering hints of confusion. Naturally, she wanted to argue that she wasn’t kidding – especially if her counterpart did only make enough for one cup. That’d defeat the point of crawling out of bed so early all together.

As she pulled the Australian’s shirt over her head, the Brit turned to Lucy, dark eyes grazing down the line of her back before she hauled the flannel shirt over her form. Penny looked, she always looked, and she quickly learned to get used to various set of inked eyes looking back. Yet as her dark eyes met the King’s, her lips pressed into a hard line. Something felt unsettling about the exchange in glance.

So she looked up, catching sight of Lucy’s hand and quickly reaching for it. Her fingers instinctively intertwined around the ink manipulator’s, but as she made a move for the door, her hold tightened, giving Lucy a light tug backwards as a means to stop her.

Because the door opened.

Within seconds of spotting the blonde, Penny gave a friendly smile to her. She should have been confused as to why Carleigh was at their door, but Penny found herself thankful for her presence. The pulsing at her temples lightened, but only barely. “Morning.” She offered tiredly, her free hand tracking up Lucy’s arm lightly.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

It wasn't exactly strange to feel Penny pull back on her hand. Usually a move like that meant she had every intention of keeping Lucy in her room for just a little longer. Enough to at least kiss her once more.

Or once, really. It dawned on her in that moment that she hadn't actually kissed her yet.

But she didn't get a chance to follow through with the natural action, because the door was opening within the same motion as her hand was being dragged in the opposite direction. Lucy honestly expected one of her roommates to be on the other side. Or one of their friends, or something. If they had friends. Did they have friends?

She definitely didn't expect one of her friends.

Caught briefly in the moment, Lucy felt her gaze drop to take in the sight of the hot blonde she categorised in her short series of friends. Not long out of bed, too, she suspected. But she was a pretty avid insomniac. Whatever hauled her out of bed and down to this floor must have been important.

And behind her, the somewhat friendly cut of a greeting perked Lucy's attention back to Carleigh's face before she could feel the burning threat of Penny's intuitive jealousy over having a bit of a stare at a hottie in a doorway.

"You okay?"

[Carleigh Davidson]

It didn't occur to Carleigh to knock; rarely did she announce her presence. Her lips pulled up into a friendly smile, feeling more at ease now that she was here. Even though she had yet to have a cup of coffee, she found that her headache was subsiding. "Morning." Carleigh greeted, but it didn't occur to her that had spoken at the exact same time as Penny. The casual greeting also flew over her head due to the relief that she now felt in their presence.

Her eyes landed on Lucy's form. There was no denying that the dark haired girl was hot; Carleigh had given up trying not to think that way. Her gaze lingered, taking in every aspect of her. Including the messily done up flannel. Shaking her head, she took the necessary steps to close the distance between them and reached out to adjust the buttons. "You never do this correctly." Carleigh pointed out, her lips pressed into a hard line.

Was she okay? "I am now." She answered honestly, though couldn't explain it.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

As she greeted the blonde, it barely occurred to Penny that they spoke at the same time. At least, not enough to pull her attention. Instead, the Brit simply kept a bubbly smile playing about her lips, watching the evident exchange in glances. The way Carleigh’s bright blue eyes lingered on Lucy’s form normally would have sparked a shot of jealousy in the psychometrist, but really, Lucy was hot. How could someone not look?

Penny felt the evident shift in her pulse, as it always did when Lucy held her attention. It was only then that it occurred to her that she hadn’t kissed the ink manipulator yet – something that was rare for her to get out of bed before doing.

But she did feel an overwhelming urge to fix Lucy’s buttons suddenly, the buttons Penny was unaware she actually didn’t see yet, as the Australian hadn’t faced her properly. She shook her head as Carleigh stepped through the distance, thankful someone was fixing the disorder. Her lips pressed into a hard line. It was true, Lucy never did them correctly.

“I am now.” Strangely enough, it felt natural to answer the question that clearly wasn’t for her – and at the same time as Carleigh had, the same tone of honesty lingering in her voice.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Admittedly, the simultaneous greeting went right over the tired Australian's head. It was weird sounding, yeah, but it was also a relatively normal thing for people to say as a greeting.

Staring in the same moment as Carleigh meant that Lucy almost completely missed the nature of her bright blue eyes lingering across her own form. Personally, the ink manipulator liked to stare. She loved a good stare. But without a word, this girl was walking towards the two of them. Why else would someone be at her doorstep this early in the morning unless they needed something? She'd fielded late night and early morning friend-related issues before; just never for this one in particular.

Her eyes went wide when she felt unfamiliar hands on her clothes, expertly unbuttoning and rebuttoning her own failures. No, she never did them correctly. Because it didn't matter. And in this moment, buttons definitely didn't matter.

She sunk her teeth into her lower lip on instinct, because that was a weird stint of simultaneous speaking.

And each time Carleigh's fingertips accidentally brushed across the bare skin of the Australian's stomach caused her to get a little tense, so much so that she straightened her back.

"What're you doing here and-" She paused, taking her hand from the psychometrist's hold and curling both around the blonde's wrists, gently easing her away, "Why're you doing that?"

Was she joking? Did she want to subject the Australian to some kind of meticulous British passive aggressive induced torture, or was she just generally trying to be funny? She was beginning to think somehow, both entities were in on whatever this was at equal parts. "Are you both fucking with me?"

[Carleigh Davidson]

She shouldn't have been able to rebutton Lucy's shirt expertly. Carleigh never wore flannel, or button up shirts for that matter. Her fingers weaved through the holes with ease, and it took her a second to realize what she was doing. She was touching her, yet there Penny was, with the same expression on her face, saying nothing. Not a word about how the blonde was adjusting her girlfriend's shirt.

And then they spoke at the same time, again.

Carleigh's head snapped up to meet Penny's, this time noticing the unison of their words. Her expression was confused, but curious, at the same time. How... what... why? "I... don't know." The blonde said, her voice faltering at the end. "But it needed to be fixed." Since when did she care about the state of Lucy's shirt? Every time her fingertips brushed the bare skin of her stomach, it sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes flickered between Lucy and Penny's expressions, letting the dark haired girl take her wrists.

Her lips fell back into the hard line that Penny wore all too well. "Pardon?" Carleigh asked, still frowning. "No. Why would we do that?" She posed the question, her gaze landing on the British girl. The same sense of relief washed over her again.