Doesn't Mean We're Bound for Life (Evony)

[Evony Vasiliev]

Lucy was shrouded in shadows, the scant glow of moonlight that did touch her only illuminating the outline of her figure. Evony's gaze lingered on the girl, the cerulean eyes studying every familiar curve and contour that was visible in the dull light. The thief knew this body, she remembered its warmth and its smoothness, the memory of it was so strong she felt a tingle skitter across her skin, as if she were laying in the girl's arms right then and there.

But the blissful nostalgia ended before she sunk too deep into it, her attention was focused on what the Australian had to say.

The laugh was a strange sound, especially considering the question that was asked. It didn't sound mocking, it sounded lighthearted...although the Blue Bird was certain some part of her senses pain. It would've made sense if it were the case, since she was an agent of change apparently.

What was spoken strummed the girl's curiosity, satisfaction and subdued pain. Although her face was neutral, the pat tense of it all stung like a dull blade. It reinforced hidden fears and the more that was said the more horrible Evony felt.

The tortured laugh only seemed to seal the deal.

A wash of shame flickered past the acrobat's features, her gaze dropping to her hands at the overly painful admission. How deep had her wound cut the girl? The Blue Bird swallowed her torment and dragged a shaky hand across her fringe, attempting to mask the brewing stress. She didn't know how to save the situation, let alone her own pride.

"I..." Empty air quickly followed and the girl fumbled with her fingers, rubbing the little tattoo on her wrist till her skin burnt. Evony wracked her brains for the right words, anything that could communicate the storm that raged heavy in her heart.

"You deserve happiness Lucy." She breathed, feeling a queer smile cross over her lips. Her heart fluttered and her stomach ached and English still failed her, always staying one step ahead of her tongue. "...and I just...I can't get you out." She whispered, clenching her fists into little ivory balls. "I can't get you out of my head Lucy. No matter how hard I try, you...you're always there." Evony sighed, bringing her hands up to her face to shield herself from any weird looks.

There was so much more to say.

"I jusr can't let you go..."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy's eyes dropped almost instantly, trailing the movement of Evony's fingers with her muddled gaze. Though darkened with the lack of light, she could - plain as anything - feel the imprinted ink on the other girl's skin shift with each periodic stroke of her fingertips. It felt more brutal than it likely felt.

She knew what she said was a lot. No, it was everything. Everything the Australian had harboured from her former counterpart. The reasoning, pure and defined. It wasn't the kiss; that fact was a catalyst.

Once bitten, twice shy.

There. The immediate focus fell to the words she chose. The conviction she spoke with. It was so much like the first time; the compelling nature that had the Australian dropping her guard and sharing her bed. She missed being told so persuasively that she was thought of. That she was worthy.

Reaching out, Lucy curled her fingers around Evony's hand and brought it back towards herself. With her other hand, she pressed her fingertips to the tattoo on her wrist. The contact - simple as it was - forced the fluidity of better memories. When she felt her skin within her hands, her fingertips tracing across the ink with gentle interest, she knew every second was like holding an open flame to ice. She could acknowledge a weakening of her own defences; too long, and she'd be burnt.

Bitten. "I wouldn't be here if I let go." Lucy admitted, turning her gaze towards her hands, "You know that."

[Evony Vasiliev]

Although this was the closest Evony had been to Lucy in months, there still seemed to be something holding her back from simply reaching out and renewing what she so furiously adored. It wasn't fear that barred her, it was a peculiar sensation that churned deep in the pit of her heart. It all came back to the Australian, the girl whose very existence plagued Evony's thoughts. The thief wanted to be closer, to feel the gentle rise and fall of Lucy's chest and listen to the girl's heartbeat. But something was demanding she consider the consequences of any action.

Her mind had never seen such wretched days and for someone who relied on pure instinct she found herself wracking her conscious for an explanation. It should be simple, touch the girl and be touched back. It worked for all the faceless companions that once warmed the thief's body during moment's of need. Why wasn't this the same?

Lucy was different. Evony knew that deep in her heart but she did not know how to articulate it.

The warm touch of Lucy's skin against her own colder variant sent shivers across the acrobat's body. It was just a hand! It shouldn't mean so much!

But it did.

The thief was mesmerised with the gentle caress against her wrist and for a moment her mind fell back into memories not stained in regret.

The quiet admission that soon followed only served to ignite the furnace that was beginning to howl in the pits of her chest. Because some part of her did know Lucy still felt something, why else would've she come?

"Can we ever go back to the way things were?" It felt like a futile and silly question but Evony instincts had taken the better of her. Just one touch, that's all it took. "I...I miss seeing you, talking with you, sleeping with you and kissing you and..." The girl closed her eyes, sucking in air before clasping Lucy's hand.

"I miss knowing you're there."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy adored the moment; the subtly it provided on her features despite the way her mind reeled. The point of contact was simple, but she remembered the way it felt to fall asleep with her fingers interlocked with these. She remembered vividly wondering how difficult it would be to move this tattoo - to clean the lines up, at least. Given the importance of her own, it always felt too intimate to ask. But Evony made her wonder about so many things.

She didn't stop the slow, simple movement. Even when she thought she should have. Even when the conversation took that turn.

The intention behind everything she said was clear. Lucy wanted to believe her. Things would be so much easier if she could commit to the joyous response that came from being missed. Being legitimately wanted as a person. She intertwined their fingers without protest when prompted to.

"Do you want me to stay?" She asked boldly, her gaze unwavering.

[Evony Vasiliev]

What was birthed from a frantic and highly risky text message during a storm was now something a little more than the thief initially thought. Gone was her irrational fear, the nightmarish memories having faded ino the bleak fog of her mind. Though it would never dissapear the acrobat had chosen to focus on the one thing that ignited something even more potent than fear.

What it was she couldn't give a name to, even if some part of her already knew.

The truth that spilt forth from her lips was now out in the open and yet, Evony did not feel the slightest bit awkward, she felt relieved. Although the admission possessed a tinge of nostalgic pain, the Blue Bird knew that it was for the better. Bottling that up would only give her more grief.

Lucy was here now, in her room and holding her hand. The entire scenario felt awfully familiar yet refreshingly new at the same time. So when the Australian asked her simple question Evony found herself briskly nod almost instantly.

"I do." She smiled, feeling the cold in her bony fingers slowly dissipate from the tattooed beauty's warmth. "I really do." She smiled, brushing a strand of violet from her brow and behind her porcelain ear.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy was hyper aware of her own faults. Her weaknesses. Though she struggled to understand the why behind it all, she knew how to diagnose her afflictions all the same. This girl was important. Even if she never understood why Lucy had been as cold and brash as she had been, she was always going to be someone. She felt tied to her, even when she didn't want to be.

And she was trying - really trying - to mend whatever was broken.

"So, I'll stay." Lucy denoted with the hint of a smile. It was an undefined step, but a step nonetheless. If she found herself burned, she'd wear the blame with ease. Bringing herself to her feet, Lucy unravelled the ties to her jacket and slid the thing off her shoulders, allowing it to fall with a simple throw towards the corner. She extended her hand out towards the other girl.

"C'mon," She said simply, intending on helping her to her feet. Sitting the way she had for as long as she did must have been difficult.

[Evony Vasiliev]

Pins and needles skittered underneath Evony's arms and legs, forcing her to shuffle under the weight of the blanket and gradually inch even further away from what was her safe haven. The storm had passed, all that was left was the soft pitter-patter of rain and the sound of her own breathing.

Evony could not deny the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth, even if she didn't want to make it that obvious of how relieved she was.

She watched on as the Australian tossed away the jacket, letting her eyes trace the barely visible movements of the girl in front of her. The whoosh of the clothing item sent with it a brief gust and the all too familiar scent. Lemon and paint. It was a comforting trigger, one that only served to force the girl to stumble upwards onto prickly feet, lightly hopping just to rid her toes of the pins and needles.

"Is this the first time...in my room?" Evony whispered, flickering her eyes around the mounds of 'borrowed' trinkets and tokens. She was biding her time, what for? She wasn't entirely sure, but her body seemed to know what to do.

Both hands found Lucy's, blue eyes found brown eyes and a pair of pink lips met the flesh of another. It felt warm, soft, firm and slow. Evony didn't want to rush, she couldn't rush. Savouring the moment was all that mattered and it was just Lucy. It was always Lucy.

Pulling away gently Evony breathed a content sigh, brushing a strand of hair off the girl's face.

"I've missed that."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy tried to suppress the hint of laughter that threatened to fall from her lips when she watched what she could of Evony shifting about, likely to try and get some feeling back in her legs.

The quiet question made the Australian think; fall back into her memories and search for another instance. But she came up empty. "Must be." She replied after a time. The fact forced her to look around at what she could see. She'd been here before. She'd walked the girl back here; she'd visited when she was sick. And if she remembered correctly, this was where Lucy had made her cry and kissed her for the first time, all in the space of a few minutes.

It was almost annoying how well she'd remembered all that.

Evony surprised Lucy; a feat that was often difficult to achieve. For all she knew about Evony, she couldn't have predicted that now - of all times - would be the moment where she seemed to genuinely loose whatever fear she felt for the Australian. She didn't stop her. Once she initial sliver of surprise left her, she was quick to reciprocate.

When she pulled away, Lucy seemed to follow her slightly, as if searching for her lips again. But they were gone. The Novocaine-like effects remained all the same; her senses felt numb. It meant she didn't know what to say, which in itself was a complete rarity for Lucy.

"I missed you." She replied definitively. At least that much was true.

[Evony Vasiliev]

A quick glance at a nearby clock told Evony what she had wanted to know for a while. 1:46 AM. She had been cowering under her desk since 10 and having time pass by so quickly during her hellish terror seemed rather jarring. Was she really that cowardly? The thought alone tugged at the corner of her mind like her fingers tugged Lucy's shirt.

The Australian's voice broke the temporary daze and Evy felt warmth rise in her cheeks, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Knowing that she had been missed, this girl in particular, brought an invigorating energy through her bones.

Shaking off the pins and needles, and the goosebumps crawling over her skin, the thief cleared her throat and leaned in ever so slightly till the tip of her nose brushed against Lucy's.

"Thank you for coming tonight." She whispered, slinging her arms around Lucy's waist before stifling a nervous laugh. "You surprise me." The girl smiled, blowing some purple out of her face in an attempt to distract herself from the pins and needles.

With a tug of her arms Evony guided the tattooed beauty to her bed, slapping several stolen stuffed animals off in the process and making space for the both of them.

"Anymore surprises?" The girl simpered, a brow raised as the blanket slowly slipped off her porcelain skin.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

It was a weighted admission within itself, really. Lucy hadn't even been sure of what she was saying until it was there. In the air. In the aether. Once out, it was as if something shifted in her mind. She felt less cautious, though she knew that was dangerous.

So much so that she didn't seem to mind the contact.

Her attention seemed snagged while Evony was talking; the purple locks of hair were secured in her sight lines. That's right, she'd just seen it when she walked in. Now it was more clearly visible; her dark eyes traced the lines of her hair when she tucked it away. A pressing question rested on the end of her tongue. Why purple?

Her jaw dropped open as she followed, the seemingly insignificant question lingering in the back of her mind as she remained silent.

But she said something else instead;

"I'm not over-" Lucy started, pressing her lips into a line to stop herself. She didn't want to bring it up, but this didn't fix things. She had to make that clear. "You know that. I just can't let shit like that go." It felt like a bitter statement; definitive in its meaning. So the Australian reached out and curled her fingers around the other girl's chin, forcing a look; "But I'm trying."

[Evony Vasiliev]

Curled up on top of the blanket with her back against the wall, Evony gazed at Lucy, wondering what on earth was going through the Australian's mind. Lucy had always been an enigma, someone who revealed just as much as she concealed and the skinny swindler's fervent curiosity as to who this girl was kept the little fire in her heart burning.

Although her passing statement had been open ended she wasn't expecting the reply that she got.

The renewal of that particular failure birthed the well acquainted feelings of guilt and regret, something which Evony miserably accepted as she listened to the Australian explain herself. What was said was justified and the thief found herself dully nodding along with it, wondering just how long she was going to live with that scar.

Even if Lucy wasn't intending on causing any issues Evony found her moment of bliss slowly recede back into reality. She was still the liar in Lucy's eyes and it hurt knowing that. The guilty thief kept her gaze steady when the Australian brought her chin up, offering what she hoped to be a look of understanding.

Lucy was trying, that's what was supposed to matter. It did matter, it really did.

"Okay.." She whispered, inhaling deeply before giving the girl a nod of confirmation. "I guess you have the right to feeling like that anyway." Evony sighed, staring down at the hand she was clutching.

"Just...please don't give up on me." She paused, gently running her fingers across Lucy's palms. "Not yet anyways."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Were she asked, Lucy might have readily admitted that she didn't know what she was thinking. Her usual thought process had always failed her in times of emotional precedence. She shut down. If she didn't, she'd question everything. Why she was here. Why they were here. Why her hair was purple, of all colours.

Truthfully, the first thing she noticed was how unfamiliar the bed was. How she probably wouldn't sleep as well as she did in her own space. It was the usual thought process, but Lucy was sure she could manage.

She knew it was wrong to bring up, but old habits - and mentalities - died hard.

Nevertheless, Lucy took that look of understanding on board. Forgiveness was a rarity for her. The fact that she was actively trying was a strange occurrence. She knew she had a right to feel how she did, but the statement itself felt strange. Like she didn't want to acknowledge her own feelings. She hated doing so at the best of times - good emotions or no.

Attempting to find some comfort in where she was, Lucy hooked an arm underneath the pillow provided. "I can't give up on you," Lucy replied, "You're always there."

[Evony Vasiliev]

Fiddling with the frayed edges of the overly large t-shirt, Evony whittled away her gnawing guilt with the readily made distractions that her clothing and Lucy's hands could provide. It was too late to plead for forgiveness, for now it seemed that only time would heal the wounds on both sides of whatever this coupling was.

Tossing a stray stuffed animal away from her pillow Evony finally took the initiative to lie down, facing the Australian with all the attention she could offer. Although the purple hair was messily tied up into a bun there was still the annoying strands that persisted, constantly getting in her face. It took a lot of self control not to get too caught up in the newly, albeit messily, acquired hairstyle.

What did catch the girl's attention was Lucy's reply, something which did provide a moment's surprise. Evony could not help but feel a small grin tug at the corners of her lips, her mind concentrating on what had been spoken. "Yeah...I can't help it. People are just so easy to stalk." She giggled lightly, attempting to raise her mood from before. It was true though, Evony could easily always be here, there or anymore for that matter.

She can't give up on me. The thought brought a blush to her cheeks.

Bringing her knees up to her chest, Evony allowed the momentary lightheartedness to pass before returning her moon kissed gazed up towards the Australian.

Reaching upwards, she found a knotted strand of black hair peaking out from underneath Lucy's pillow, playing with it for a good second or two before sighing. "Can I ask you something?" Evony quietly spoke, the rhetorical question flicking off her mouth.

"Do you prefer my hair blue?" She smiled, leaning in a little closer just for emphasis...and warmth.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy offered a small, slightly amused smile at the joke Evony made. Of course she took the literal stance. Lucy was being anything but literal. However, she welcomed the change of pace for however long it lasted. The statement was weighted.

Lying down, she stared across the minimal distance towards Evony. She couldn't have described how she felt if asked. It wasn't uncomfortable, or awkward. She didn't feel nervous.

She responded with a small nod. She couldn't very well stop her from asking anything.

The question was not what she expected, but she could take it nonetheless. "I dunno," Lucy admitted. She offered a small, incomplete smile with her answer. Like it was a joke. Evony knew by now that Lucy didn't care as much as she wondered; "Why purple?"

[Evony Vasiliev]

Evony's memory spared a moment to relive fragments of the times shared with Lucy before everything shattered on that fateful camp outing. Her mind juggled the sensations, location and words spoken during her the weekly visits to the Australian's bed. After a period of time both were unhindered with the fact and began to acknowledge the quirks (and sleeping patterns) of one another, although the Blue Bird did remember a certain 'rule' about things only happening in Lucy's dorm. It all seemed trivial now, but the nostalgia was enough to make her wish they could return to the much simpler time.

The Australian's answer forced a muffled laugh to dance behind closed lips, the simple statement reminding the thief of a very similar one when her hair was blue.

"I needed a change." Evony mumbled, shrugging her shoulders as she continued to play with Lucy's hands. "I guess the blue just bought me bad luck or something..." The thief uttered in genuine seriousness, knowing full well she might've sounded like an idiot with the silly gypsy superstition. "And I think my natural blonde colour was too much for some too handle." She smirked, thinking back to the dull ashy blonde she put up with for two months.

Closing her hands around Lucy's the violet haired swindler granted herself a few seconds of silence before glancing back at the girl lying next to her.

"If I wake up in the morning will you be gone?" She asked quietly, clutching Lucy's hands as if the very thought of losing the Australian again was too much to bare. "I mean, this was the only forecasted storm of the week." Evony sighed, bringing the blanket up over herself and the tattooed girl next to her. "And...I don't know, the fact that you came is good enough for me and you can leave all you want once I fall asleep or -" Evony stopped herself before any chance of embarrassment, it was too late for a verbal overload.

She really just wanted to lay in Lucy's arms forever. Her heart fluttered at the thought.

"It's just...been a while."