Your Hands and My Spare Time

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy had an assignment to do. She'd been trying to focus on it for the last week, but it was proving to be a difficult thing to manage. During the time where Penny was away, she spent her time with Carleigh instead. There were a lot of instances where the blonde was a decent distraction, but at least they managed to get some kind of headway. As it stood, the ink manipulator was almost certain to graduate, and she could hardly falter so close to the finish line.

Again.

It got a little difficult when she had Penny in the room with her. She kept her distance for the most obvious reason, but there was a constant thing in the back of Lucy's mind that reminded her that she was on her bed engrossed in a book. On the main screen, she kept the word document up, her elbow against the inked surface of the desk and her jaw in her hand.

Without turning to look at her in the slightest, she finally breached the silence; "Hey, I got a question."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Were there anyone who was supportive of Lucy working on her academics, it was Penny. Although she couldn't be incredibly helpful herself; the most she could do was offer some sort of space for her counterpart to continue her work. She was smart - more than the Brit was willingly ready to give her credit for, she didn't need help. She just needed to do it.

Which was why Penny sat quietly on Lucy's bed. Upright with a pillow against the backboard for support. A book in her lap - although not the first she had originally reached for. Had the Australian caught her reading that particular, shaken title, she doubted any work would have come from it. Instead of dragons, she went for a the Victorian era. As expected by the Brit.

Although focusing was never easy when Lucy was in the room. When she was studying. Dark eyes couldn't help but to flick from the pages of her book to her counterpart in random intervals. To make sure she was still working. To see the word document still up on her computer screen.

Yet her gaze had been down turned to the book again when Lucy's accent broke the silence between them, nose crinkling on instinct. "You have a question?" Penny asked in turn.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Reaching forward with her free hand, Lucy tilted the secondary screen a little more, as if somehow it'd moved since she sat down in the first place. Just a generous twitch to bring it into a better light.

She expected a simple answer from her counterpart. An easy run despite how her counterpart had already told her she didn't need to ask or announce that she wanted to ask a question.

Instead, Lucy felt the urge to snap at Penny for what she'd said. She thought of the myriad of things she could have said back; most of which involved swearing or turning the phrase back at her with the worst grammar she could think of. Reeling back from her slightly hunched over position, the ink manipulator straightened her back on instinct. Her hands dragged up to her hair, and she dragged it all together in the palm of one hand before she filtered it through a single tie.

"Yeah, onea those." She shot back, furrowing her brow anyway despite the fact that Penny couldn't see it.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

A correction in grammar came to Penny far too naturally for her to really take notice as to how much it might have bothered her counterpart. Were it not for the straightening of Lucy's back, she might have missed it all together. Although, if anything, Penny was thankful to see that Lucy made some sort of attempt - conscious or not - to fix her posture.

The Australian accent was hardly effective English as it was; slurring together words and a variety of slang that made little sense. So with the second round of awkward language, the Brit didn't try to correct her again. If she were to go over every single case, they'd never manage a conversation at all.

"Alright." Penny dragged a small string to her book, closing it as her palms pressed to the top of it. Eyebrows rose as she looked expectantly to her counterpart. "What is it?"

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Hands ran expertly through the extensive nature of her own hair; Lucy drew it from one side to the next in order to tie it up high. Hands ran across the top of her head to keep it all smooth, but there was little she could do to the still dishevelled nature of her tailed hair.

She felt the urge to turn and look at her when she continued. But she heard no movement behind her, so she was sure Penny hadn't moved to come closer. It was a good thing, really.

To her advantage, she was exposing the line of her neck. Silent payback to the psychometrist who was forced to keep her distance; the ran her fingers across the length of it a few times as if catching a relevant itch. She remained silent for a few spare moments, like she was really considering what she wanted to ask before the words would dare leave her mouth. With good reason, too, but she did her best to keep her tone nonchalant.

"What kinda place do you want to live in?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

First, she tried to ignore the new nature of Lucy's hair. She so rarely tied it up, usually only to keep it out of the way when absolutely needed - why she was doing it then was beyond the Brit, but her gaze involuntarily followed the path of her counterpart's hands. From the top of her neatened hair to the now exposed line of her neck, and even as they moved again, her eyes remained fixed there.

It wasn't fair.

Penny stayed in place because she had to. School work was no doubt important. Graduation was coming around the corner. Every assignment mattered. And here Lucy was, bringing up such a topic when there was still work to be finished.

Penny sucked in a quick, useless breath. She hardly expected this subject to be brought up now of all times. Fortunately Lucy's back was still turned to her; for otherwise she would have caught the evident surprise in her features as she faltered. "Pardon?"

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy was acutely aware of how important the assignment before her was. She'd been putting ample hours into the piece of text she absolutely didn't care about in order to pass; to take one more step towards finally graduating and moving on with her life. As irritated as she was with having to stay behind, she couldn't deny how it'd worked out well for her. Especially because she had stayed, too.

The thought alone had her missing contact, which was exactly why she hadn't shot a glance back towards her love. Sparing a look now would only end her concentration, wavering as it was.

"Come on." Lucy shot out, arching her shoulders back to a defined stretch. Her hand finally dropped from her neck to her computer mouse, her attention dragging to the secondary monitor contents she'd directed towards herself. "It's way far off, but like, give me a little something to run with."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Now holding her breath, Penny felt the sudden weight of herself on Lucy's bed. It always felt empty without the Australian in it, but the space quickly felt much larger than ever before, adding to the distance that was already between them. Her fingers tightened around the book, despite how a memory wished to force its way into her mentality, her focus was caught up on the conversation they were apparently having. Now, of all times.

And, of course, to the shoulders that rolled without a blanket of hair to cover them.

"Lucy," Penny started, warning in her tone as she placed the book to her side, bringing her hands together instead. The urge to stand and bring herself closer to the ink manipulator was almost unfair at this point. "You need to finish your assignment." Desperation leaked into her tone, and Penny cursed herself for it. This wasn't easy, and it certainly sounded that way. "How much more do you have left?"

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Still no defined movements from her counterpart. Lucy wondered just how much she needed to do before she could at least edge her towards the end of the bed. The way Penny eased into the conversation by using her name was, honestly, enthralling. Every time she said her name, things got a little more difficult.

Penny likely couldn't help but point out the importance of the assignment at hand. More to the point, she desperately needed to know how far Lucy had progressed with it, either because she wanted her to get back on track, or she needed to know how soon it was before she could move close again. "I'm taking a break." Lucy waved her hand as absently as her explanation sounded.

Pressing her lips together, she offered a descending whistle.

"You want a whole room to study in, or what?" Lucy started, scrolling the contents of her second monitor. "We could probably make that work; I could chuck my computer in there, or I could set it up in the lounge room if you didn't mind looking at it."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

She was taking a break. Penny had to sigh at the idea. At this rate, she'd be waiting the whole night for Lucy to finish this assignment; something the Brit was not prepared to do in the least. Each lasting minute felt like sixty, it was so painful. Yet, the statement worked wonders to hold Penny's attention just that little bit more. The wave of her hand starting the first of a small series of movements; she swung her legs to the end of the bed.

Penny's eyes widened at the idea of a study room; something she'd always wanted. A separate space from her bedroom to work. To dedicate to working. And now it was an option? She barely knew what to say. Instead, her palms pressed into the sheets to draw herself up, taking quiet steps to bring herself behind Lucy.

"It would be fine in a study - if it's feasible to have one." Penny offered lightly, quick to notice that Lucy hadn't verbally considered placing it in their bedroom. Their own bedroom. "Unless you'd prefer it there instead." Her hands moved to the Australian's shoulders, fingers squeezing them lightly without dark locks to fall in the way. Finally, she spared a glance towards the computer.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Subtle sounds from behind worked to draw Lucy's attention back; as focused as her eyes were on the screen of choice, it was impossible not to remain attuned to her psychometric counterpart all the same. Any moment where they were in a room together provided the same inevitable logic. But as it stood, she was still on her own, and nothing felt right about that.

Until footsteps paved the way through the silence between them. Lucy sunk her teeth into her lower lip, sure she hardly had to remain patient if things progressed as she figured they would.

Having Penny engage in the conversation was a relief; it made the trialled search for rental apartments a little more productive. She listened to the best of her ability, but her attention was subsequently stolen by the set of hands that landed so perfectly on her shoulders. How she squeezed her as if to offer some kind of reassurance; that it was okay to take a break when it was for something like this.

"I reckon it's feasible." Lucy reasoned, though in her mind she didn't need to explain why she felt it was so. At least, not right away. "I mean, you're not gonna have your own space any more otherwise. And we'd only need two rooms, since it's just us." So logically, she might as well turn it into something useful.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Rentals. It wasn't hard to catch what Lucy was focused on as her eyes moved to the screen. Despite how Penny could have accurately guessed that by then, seeing it was entirely different. To know she was already going through the effort of searching. They had a few months, but now was as good a time as any to start. Even if it meant taking a break from schoolwork, this was too overwhelming to pass up immediately.

Her hands were fixed on Lucy's shoulders, thumbs lightly rubbing out any soreness her muscles might have worn. Although Lucy couldn't see her from the angle she sat at, Penny still nodded at the idea of a second room being feasible.

She wouldn't have her own space anymore; Penny raised her eyebrows at the thought. With as much time she had spent with the ink manipulator, it was true. They both had their own dormitories. Their own technical space, and taking this step meant everything would be shared. It could have easily put an anxious tone to the beat of her pulse, but it shifted with entirely different meaning. It was exciting.

"Two rooms it is." Penny agreed, leaning down to press her lips to the top of Lucy's head. "Have you seen anything that's caught your eye?"

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

They'd made an agreement, and honestly, something about the concept made the thought of rekindling the distance lost ridiculous. Lucy struggled to imagine letting her counterpart take steps away and back to her bed without her, but she couldn't get so lost so quickly. She scrolled down a page, pursed lips losing their concentration when a familiar set pressed to her head.

"Not really. Just getting a scope of what it's gonna cost." Lucy explained. Being clever about certain things wasn't usually her forte. Nor was looking into the future. But she was doing her best to grow and evolve as she needed to; this instance forced her to be particular.

Finally, Lucy dragged her eyes away from the screen and looked up. Her attention completely landed on her counterpart; searching for a decent look into her eyes for the importance of such a concept. "You have to share a whole bedroom with me." The steady curve of her lips only grew to a grin as she offered the obvious statement.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Even if nothing had caught the ink manipulator's eye yet in terms of apartments, Lucy was still looking. Planning. It was more than Penny had honestly expected of her counterpart - the person who so rarely looked to the future. There hadn't been a doubt in her mind that she'd be the one to bring the topic up.

When Lucy finally looked to the Brit, she immediately caught dark eyes staring back down at her. There was no way Penny could have dragged her gaze away for long enough as to even glance at the screen again, not now that Lucy finally looked herself. Her hands trailed up the length of her shoulders, to her neck. Skin to skin. Metal to skin - even if it was just the smallest amount of contact, the cooler connotations of the ring Penny wore still existed.

The idea of sharing a whole bedroom with Lucy was enough to lose the little breath she had left as her lips parted. Fingertips traveled back down to the ink manipulator's shoulders, across her collarbone. "I get to share an entire apartment with you." Penny added with a twitch of her eyebrows. "All of it will be ours."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Penny was perfectly suited to one-up Lucy. Not only would they share a bedroom - which would likely and easily be contrived for her counterpart's neutral tastes - but they would share an entire place. There would be no where to walk to if they ever had a fight; no stepping through the door from her room, down a series of steps and into her own.

For people who were prone to run, it provided no escape.

"Except that one room. You can have it." Lucy replied, twitching her eyebrows sharply at the belief. Lucy opted for what she could give; the most perfect teasing notion in the form of a grin-turned smirk. It hid any deeply locked away threats to her ego, because part of her had to wonder if Penny could actually take living with her completely.

They practically lived together anyway, but this was different. "I'll only come in when I'm desperate." Which, if her track record was any indication, would inevitably defeat the purpose of disallowing herself in their in the first place.