Oh We Go Where Nobody Knows

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

There was only so far procrastination could take a person. Months of waiting without ever really waiting was such a chore, really. After a while, Lucy felt the way it burned. She watched the way Penny ran her interest across the ink on her finger in idle moments, like the brand was enough to sustain her completely. Against her own, she felt the way the series of symbols wanted to find a new meaning. The way the series of words on her other hand wanted to find a new placement. For months now, FOUND IN LOVE took on more than one meaning.

On that particular day, Lucy had to force the issue. Or rather, she had to force a change of pace. Out of either of the rooms they shared to somewhere different. Fortunately, it wasn't much of a fight once she actually managed to leave the bed shared.

Rings. They'd been talking about them for months. Try as she might, Lucy couldn't shake the recollection of how important Penny stressed they were. Of how important she herself felt as if they were. They both wanted it. It was as important as it was fitting. It had to be done. It was going to get done.

Even in such weather, where the temperature was still to the Australian's disliking. Before she'd take a single step in the direction of anything ring-related, she requested coffee. To sit down and hash out some kind of game plan over something so necessary. Somewhere warm where she could thaw the freezing nature of her fingers. And she did; they curled around the mug in front of her, the signature smell of a decent hit of caffeine hitting her before she had time to process what she was supposed to be doing today.

But silence was deafening as she sat across from her counterpart. Tables between them was a notoriously bad idea when the pressure was on, but Lucy was determined. No distractions. She parted her lips and took a breath.

"You gotta tell me something," Lucy started, finally. If she had to take the jump she'd bloody well do it directly, "Anything about what you want it to look like."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Months had passed since Penny initially asked Lucy to marry her. Since she said yes. There was hardly anything wrong with that. Everything about it was wonderful. She didn't require a metal band around her finger to know exactly how she felt. But it was important. It signified so much more than an engagement, something both Penny and her counterpart found understanding in. Still, waiting was necessary as it was dragged out. She didn't push the subject, but that also didn't mean it hadn't crossed her mind, either.

So when she took the first of steps to go out and actually do this, Penny felt herself completely overwhelmed with the notion. She was more than willing to go along - and she did after a prolonged time of keeping the Australian within the warmth of the sheets of the bed they shared.

But first, coffee. Or tea, for the psychometrist who carefully poured the small teapot given to her into an equally small mug. Chai. Proper chai. Enough to give herself a small boost of energy for the day.

She sat across the table from Lucy. Distance was required as she glanced to the familiar hands that wrapped around the mug. They'd barely been out, and she was already struggling from the cold. It was expected, but the line of Penny's mouth took a small trajectory upward at the notion.

Penny brought the tea to her lips, hiding the small smile she wore. No distractions, and as Lucy spoke, she raised her eyebrows in the ink manipulator's direction. The sip she took was prolonged, buying time as she tried to consider just what it was about something like this she wanted. When she finally did draw her teacup away, she cradled it within her palms. "Something small." She said with a definite nod. As if that were really anything to go off of.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

The silence between them seemed to drag as Lucy's question strung itself up in the air between them. Seconds passed, but each felt like sixty within itself, and that was difficult for someone who liked to keep moving constantly. Beneath the table, her foot took on a definite bounce. Slow to the left as it began, but its timing increased with easy moments in time. Moments of silence that she'd endure to the best of her ability.

Still, she didn't lift the cup her hands were circled around. Not yet. Lucy was as determined to make it last as she was to maintain some strength against the weather outside. It wasn't like she needed to be in it for long.

"I figured that." Lucy replied, her eyebrows furrowing lightly before she managed to smooth the lines of her features. Thankfully, her brow was hidden by a swing of hair and the folded band of a beanie. For her, it was still that cold. "You're not gonna rock half a kilo on your hand just cause you can. Or just cause I can-" She dropped the end of her sentence abruptly. It probably wasn't a good time to talk about money, right? Definitely not.

She knew at least on her end, she didn't need to stress about that. "That's all your gonna give me? You can't narrow it down at all?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

There were, really, a variety of answers Penny could have offered, but her mathematical mind went blank at the idea of choosing some sort of design. How did someone go about this, as it was? She had little experience with the concept of marriage, other than that of which were her parents, who married before she was even thought of. But it couldn't have been as easy as asking a question and just knowing the answer, could it?

Admittedly, the normally studious Brit hadn't done any prior research. She didn't even know what to search for.

She was relieved to know that Lucy had practically determined her answer already. It shouldn't have been much of a surprise, considering her lifestyle. Yet, that put them back to square one.

Eyebrows immediately shot upward at the notion of a half kilogram ring. That sounded absurd to the pyschometrist who sometimes struggled not to take things literally. Although it registered in her mind as mild sarcasm, the fact that Lucy said she could have afforded such flagged her interest. Not because of the fact that she - apparently - had a decent chunk of money to spend, but because she was saving. It required organization. An amount of precision.

"Does it need to have a stone?" She asked, suddenly curious. Her own eyebrows dropped again, lips pressing to the side as she considered it. "I don't think I want something very... traditional." She took a breath, shrugging within the process. "And what about you?" She turned the question around. "This isn't going one way."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

When Penny asked her about what it needed, Lucy pressed her lips together. Already, the taste of coffee was filtering through her senses. She thought to take a break for herself - to pause the situation entirely in order to take a quick drink - but she stalled the idea. She needed to be clear first. And she needed to stop staring at her from across the table.

But Penny was trying to push the issue back to her. She raised a hand then, waving it idly as if to brush it off. They could talk about herself later.

"No, the question isn't; Should it have this? It's; Do I want this? Y'know?" Lucy asked, though she knew she didn't readily need an answer to her own questions. Or rather, her amendments to a prior belief. She stopped, then. Long enough to lean in a fraction. To rest the back of her hand against the surface between them. "Do you want it to have one? It's totally up to you."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

A wave of Lucy's hand was all it took to drop the turn around topic, and Penny felt her nose crinkle at the fact. Although it made more sense to keep these topics separate - to keep everything clear - it was a bit unfair at the same time. If it weren't for the sake of organization, Penny wouldn't have let it fallen so easily.

She gave an idle nod, eyes never leaving Lucy's gaze as she reached for Lucy's extended hand. It rested lightly on top of hers, fingers brushing across her palm before curling around it with a gentle squeeze.

"I don't know." She admitted with a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I honestly have no idea what I want in one." Tension eased into her features at the admittance. Penny was rarely one to admit that she didn't know something, let alone what she wanted in any given situation. Doing so was no easy feat.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

As expected, Lucy caught her hand with relative ease. So easy that it didn't even take a look from her to know what was requested. Truly, it was the smallest of moments that reminded Lucy how fitting this entire situation was inevitably going to be. How she'd made the right choice, here. How incredibly grateful she had to be for such a series of events that dragged a commitaphobe to a situation like this with relative ease.

Tension was clear in Penny's expression, and Lucy raised her eyebrows with a small strain of confusion over the fact. Failing in any capacity just didn't suit the Brit, and that much was obvious now. She squeezed her hand once.

"Hey," Lucy started, determined to wear absolutely no resistance. No worry and no stress in turn, "So what? Just means if you find something you gotta tell me." Which was a potential difficulty, she knew. It was the exact reason why she pointed it out. A smile dragged to her lips, unforced by the situation and the evident stress Penny might have been wearing.

She felt the urge to lean back. Her leg wouldn't stop bouncing. She couldn't move now; "You can ask me instead, okay?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Despite the tension Penny wore, there was nothing that made her want to reconsider what they were doing. She was excited. Nervous? Of course, but that felt like an appropriate way to feel in something as big as this. Still, the squeeze of Lucy's hand worked to ease the tension away. She couldn't help the natural way she reciprocated the light pressure. It was a lifeline. The heavy rope that kept her falling off the godforsaken precipice.

It was easy to get worked up, but it was entirely worth it.

Admittedly, it made everything harder to just look and try to determine what she wanted. But at least it was a start. After being given the opportunity to actually look, it'd help narrow everything down.

Penny thought to reach for her tea again, but the next statement Lucy offered completely stopped her in her tracks. She hadn't expected the Australian to just follow along with such ease. To offer to answer questions herself instead, but she certainly wasn't going to question it, either.

"Do you have anything specific you want?" She asked with the given opportunity. "Like a certain cut or metal?" Leaning forward herself, one of her crossed legs extended forward, the tip of her toe brushing lightly along the back of Lucy's calf. Of the leg that couldn't stop its movement she knew existed.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

For whatever reason, Lucy hadn't predicted that Penny might actually take her up on her offer. If she were being completely honest, she'd have given the same kind of response; that she had no idea what she wanted, because she'd never looked into it. She'd never thought about it. Not to say she doubted it'd ever happen, but she highly doubted it'd happen this soon in her life.

She felt the urge to literally back away from how she leaned into the table. Like that difference would greatly improve the situation between them.

She didn't. Because that seemed stupid the moment she thought of it. Familiar contact beneath the table to the leg of hers that couldn't stop bouncing reminded her where she was. And likely, how irritating that behaviour could be. "Sorry." Lucy offered, quickly. To the best of her ability, she quelled the instinct in due time. Answering the questions. She could do it with a little more information, surely.

"Silver." The Australian answered finally. "I think you're either into one or the other, and that's my choice." And it was just that little bit more informative than nothing.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Never working with the intention to force the bounce of Lucy's leg to stop, Penny rose her eyebrows at the apology, surprise glinting in her eyes as she stared at the ink manipulator who rarely apologized. Let alone for something on the lines of an involuntary muscle movement. More surprising was that it did stop. Although there was little privacy under a table, it was still a means of some sort of contact. Anything to make the distance bearable.

"Don't stop." Penny said finally with a tilt of her head. "If it helps you."

She eased the cup back up to her lips, holding it there a few spare seconds to take in the smell of spices filled the air. How anyone would choose coffee over tea was beyond the Brit, but that was an entirely different conversation to bring up for another time. Instead, she took a prolonged sip before setting her teacup down again.

Giving a thoughtful nod, Penny stored it away in her file cabinet mind. It was certainly more than she had offered, and for which the Brit was grateful. "Like in space." Penny acknowledged. "Your science fiction games have a lot of silver over gold."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

For whatever reason, Lucy was sure Penny was offering a silent request for her to stop moving. Not that she ever had before, but the sudden contact surprised her. Reassurance clearly lined Penny's tone as she seemed to amend the Australian's misunderstanding. With a small nod, she felt the quick movement pick itself up again. And really, it did make it easier.

Lucy wore a quick grin at what Penny said. How her devotion had picked a reasoning for the ink manipulator where she couldn't.

"And I don't reckon it needs to be anything big, y'know? I'm not looking to break the bank, but I'm not expecting perfection either." Lucy explained. Again, she hardly wanted to suggest there was some definite budget on her counterpart's side of things, but it didn't quite feel like her place to ask for specifics either. It felt less awkward if she didn't.

A pause; defined in its approach. Within the break that she created, Lucy ran her tongue across her lower lip and offered an Involuntary shallow breath. "Can it-" She started, but she quickly realised how hypocritical it would be to ask if she could have anything. "What if it was like, red." She mused. Surely it wasn't something that needed an explanation.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Within itself, there was comfort to be found in the way Lucy's leg started to bounce again. As if the therapeutic movement worked for Penny as well, but after a few spare moments, she dragged her foot away in order to let Lucy continue, as the point of contact was that which stopped her in the first place.

The corner of her mouth pulled upward as the ink manipulator spoke further. Something about hearing her talk about it was incredibly grounding. Penny sucked in a short breath, her gaze involuntarily flicking downward to the tongue that crossed the line of her counterpart's lips.

Another breath as her free hand tightened around the cup.

Lucy was quick to correct herself, which was fortunate considering Penny had already parted her lips with the intention of pointing out that it can have anything. Red, included. "Then it would be red." The Brit replied calmly, raising her eyebrows. She paused briefly, forcing her eyes back up to Lucy's. "And again, just because I can afford it, doesn't mean it's necessary." She took the Australian's own statement, turning it back on her. For someone who was so specific about money and organization, it wasn't something needed to worry about for this particular occasion.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

The verbal musing was something Lucy shut off with a draw of the cup in her hand to her mouth. Nursing it as she had been didn't really suit her; rather, she felt a sudden need to distract herself. With one leg bouncing and a loss of contact, now more than ever it felt important to keep herself busy with the smallest of things. That included working up to braving the cold again.

She glanced between them as the reiteration, catching it the moment she started it. It forced an edge of silence, because Lucy was thinking.

Because now was likely not the moment to point out that the psychometrist didn't work. That she hadn't since they met, and that Lucy had no intention of forcing her to do as such the moment they left the confinements of a high school setting. Money was a thing filed away for a discussion for a later date. A closer date. It was just one of those things that would be talked about in time, when things became that much more real. When they were together completely.

"Fine." Lucy replied, denoting her choices as they were. She was proud, and the emotional discourse carried to her expression entirely. How she smiled for the fact, "That's two more things than you gave me. Not so hard, aye?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny's gaze traveled down the length of Lucy's face as she brought the cup to her lips, although hidden by the warm beverage, the Brit still tried to look. Stare, even, until the mug was drawn away and she did finally catch a glimpse of the particular curve they took. It was hardly enough to satisfy the desire to lean through the distance a table put in place and kiss her, but it'd have to do for the moment.

Her eyebrows twitched upward at the idea of this being remotely easy. Or even, not so hard, as her counterpart had put it.

It was still worth the effort to try, and Penny's lips pursed together thoughtfully as she brushed her thumb across the plane of Lucy's hand. A small, therapeutic moment - just as calming as a bounce of a leg could have been.

"I think I'd prefer gold for myself." She finally denoted after an extended break. It wasn't much of a start, but at least it was something to offer in the long run.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Raising it again, Lucy momentarily rested the rim of the cup against her lower lip. Lips parted, she raised her eyebrows with a definite look as she waited within silence to receive something - anything - from the psychometrist. A contemplative expression seemed to cross her features, but the ink manipulator couldn't be entirely sure. Instead, she forced her attention to the idle patterns against her skin.

She thought to look at their hands. She wondered if she'd ever understand the difference between wearing a ring and not. How long she might fiddle with it before it felt homely.

Lucy felt her own eyes widen a touch when Penny spoke. Because it was something to start her off; a little notion against nothing else that eliminated half the battle already. The way her smile broadened against the cup still lightly pressed against it must have been completely magnetic, then.

"Then I will keep that in mind." Lucy replied, trying her best not to look so excited for the assist. With little else to immediately say beyond that, the Australian defaulted to what she did best. She simply stared.