Time Warp: International Smile

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

June, 2019
Burlington, Vermont

There were certain things Lucy knew she shouldn't do. Little things that irked the living hell out of her beloved, who often requested in - her own way - that she maybe shouldn't do them. They were really, honestly, insignificant things. Things that really shouldn't have mattered all that much. At least, they shouldn't have in the eyes on the ink manipulator.

Starbucks. The local one. Penny knew the one, and she knew why she'd told the Australian she probably shouldn't go there any more.

Because there was this girl. And she was nice. And Lucy was nice to her. By nice, it goes without saying that Lucy was simply Lucy, and it warranted a little special treatment from time to time. Little things. Insignificant things. Smiles and the occasional heart in sharpie on her coffee cup. It was enough, evidently, to irk the psychometrist. Enough to have her make the Australian coffee before she left the house that day. And Lucy knew why.

But she went anyway.

And because Lucy was Lucy, and couldn't really help herself, she'd raised the camera of her phone to herself as she received the all important cup. This time with a set of digits written to the side.

Then she sent the image to her counterpart.

Like it was the most sound decision she'd ever made in her life.

As Lucy went on with the rest of the things she needed to do that day, she didn't really know what she should expect when she made it home. Probably some level of irritation at the most. Penny might be irritated for a second or so and then get over it at the sight of her beloved tatted up wife.

She stepped through the door with her hands free; no cup or remnants of a phone number on her person at all.

And evidently, no Penelope Blaise. At least, not in her direct line of sight.

"Love?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope Blaise was boycotting Starbucks. Specifically, she was making her counterpart stay away from the coffee chain. Really, it was only one, but with that one, the Brit decided none of them were safe. It wasn’t always the case, but a particular barista seemed keen on the Australian, and frankly, it was Lucy’s fault. She had that undeniable, irritating charm. If anyone knew it, Penny did, and she watched as the Starbucks employee smiled at her counterpart.

And then the offensive doodles started. A smiling face. Then a heart. It crossed the line.

So now she refused to do business with them. It was a simple solution to a simple problem, really. It was working quite well. And when Lucy needed to go out that day, the Brit provided her with a travel mug of fresh coffee. No hearts. None were needed.

So when Lucy left, Penny continued with her own list of things to do for the day. All was well.

Until her phone went off.

Penelope considered ignoring it as she folded a pair of skinny jeans and placed them neatly away. However, the thought it was Lucy caused the psychometrist to check it. Her lips pressed into a hardened line, eyebrows furrowing together at the photo sent to her. Lucy held the cup, digits written in black sharpie like it was some sort of trophy.

And that grin.

Penny let out a short, frustrated breath and put down her phone. She had no desire to reply to such a message as she continued to go about her things. However, this matter was far from over.

When Lucy came home, Penny stayed in the kitchen. Quiet. Cooking. Normally, she’d at least go to see her counterpart, but it wasn’t the case this time as she continued to chop up vegetables. When the familiar nickname reached her ears, however, the Brit let out a light sigh, unable to resist such a call.

Even so, she kept her tone flat as she replied; “Kitchen.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Really, it hadn't surprised Lucy not to receive a message back. Not because she knew the Brit was irritated with her, but because Penelope Blaise had never been technologically savvy. Waiting for an answer was at times as boring as watching grass grow.

She waited in the doorway to hear an answer, kneeling down to actively unlace her boots and leave them at the door. She only straightened again when she heard her voice.

Short. Sharp. Flat.

Lucy crinkled her nose at the obvious connotations, but decided to press on and step into the kitchen.

And it only took moments for the ink manipulator to reach out to her, brushing her hands across her waist as she pressed herself against her counterpart's back. She leaned in to leave a kiss against her ear before she rested her chin against her shoulder.

Trouble? Hardly.

"How're you?" Lucy asked, deftly skilled at playing with fire.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny should had known that Lucy would come to her. Even if Penny didn’t meet her, the ink manipulator would breach the distance, and Penny, as much as she hated it, loved it all the same. Because Lucy’s familiar hands were always welcome, even at the worst of times.

She faltered in her cooking preparation, pausing for a few seconds with the knife in mid cut before she forced herself to follow through with the motion.

“I’m fine.” She said, feeling the tension rise in her jaw and neck as she tried to star down at the portabella mushroom under her knife. Still, she couldn’t hide the slight strain in her voice. “Did you finish everything you needed to get done?”

She set the knife down, letting out a slow breath as she reached up and ran her fingers through the ink manipulator’s hair. It was an involuntary reaction; Penny desperately wanted to stay irritated with her. And she would, but to withstand touching the ink manipulator was impossible.

Sometimes the best course of action wasn’t the direct one, either. So Penny tilted her head, pressing her lips lightly to her counterpart’s forehead.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

A half-second of faltering was all Lucy really needed to know she was doing something right. At the very least, if she was upset, she couldn't really physically deny the ink manipulator. If she could have, that was a whole different issue entirely. Thankfully, that didn't matter.

Lucy was almost certain Penny was acting tense, and that hardly surprised her. When she posed the question at hand, Lucy rolled her shoulders back in the form of a shrug. "Almost." She replied, her fingers idly playing with the fabric underneath them.

She couldn't stop the way her mouth dragged into a grin when she felt her hand brush through her hair. She knew it; there were always certain tactics that stopped her British counterpart from being irritated with her. Her grin boiled down to something a little more genuine when she felt a small kiss placed to her forehead. Tilting her head a fraction, she made the move to press her lips against her neck on instinct.

Arms completely circled her counterpart's waist, but before she could get carried away, her attention had been flagged by something else.

"You sure?" Lucy asked, a rhetorical touch to her tone because she didn't really want an answer. She couldn't help but rest the tip of her nose against her face lightly as she leaned in. "You seem tense."

Correctly decoded to the all important question of; how mad are you at me?

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Proximity was always dangerous. It was hard to focus when Lucy was so close. When she could feel her breath on her skin. She was a distraction, and Penny knew that. She was also aware that Lucy knew it, too. The Australian almost seemed to be banking on the fact.

On instinct, Penny tilted her head to the side as she felt familiar lips press to her skin. She let out a low hum, barely audible as her hand sifted through the dark locks, tightening slightly as she leaned into the ink manipulator’s form.

“I’m sure.” Penny replied, pressing another kiss to her counterpart’s hair before pushing her hands to the counter; she let go of Lucy only long enough to turn herself around. To face her. “How’re you?” She turned the question around on her, eyebrows twitching up once as she brought her hand back to circle Lucy’s shoulders.

She leaned forward, lightly kissing her counterpart as her fingertips ducked under the fabric of her shirt. “I missed you.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

In Lucy's mind, Penny's reply seemed genuine. It was the metaphorical way of getting the proverbial all clear from her earlier exploits. Lucy Serrano could avidly be an irritating mess of a person at times, and it seemed as if Penny was still as forgiving about it as she always had been.

No wait, possibly more so. It was a welcomed change of pace, but Lucy couldn't help but feel as if something was missing.

When graced by a look from her eyes, Lucy couldn't help but smile. The kind she wore just for her psychometric counterpart. She made no effort to retract her hands from around her waist. She instead chose to keep herself close. To keep her close when she asked how the Australian was. "Better than fine." Lucy replied, because she still couldn't quite get the word out of her head.

But there was no way she could maintain decent composure when she felt the Brit's hand track underneath her shirt. Lucy took a quick breath, but it did little to keep her focused.

"I missed you." She replied on instinct, unable to keep the repitition at bay.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny’s gaze dipped down to Lucy’s lips, grazing along the particular curve it took. The one Penny absolutely loved. When she met her gaze, the psychometrist’s own smile started to form. “Good.” She replied, seemingly oblivious to how the word she had responded with irked her counterpart.

The breath Lucy took hadn’t gone unnoticed, and Penny breached the minimal distance between them and kissed her. Light but significant all the same. Repetition hardly seemed to phase her when she offered it in such a way. It never lost the significance the phrase carried on its own.

Her nails tracked between Lucy’s shoulder blades as she pressed herself back against the counter as a means of some form of stability, but she still kept the ink manipulator close, pulling her the tiny distance with her.

And again, she kissed her, this time more purposely. But still, it was short as she forced a fraction of distance between herself and Lucy. “Dinner will be done soon.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

It didn't matter how light Penny kissed her. It was always significant. It was always completely worth getting caught up in. She briefly considered how much easier the day would have been if she boycotted the things she had to do and simply stayed with her instead. But then, nothing would get done.

That could have irked the psychometrist more than a disposable phone number.

Lucy knew what it meant when her counterpart pushed herself against the counter. With a small step, she breached the distance in the same moment where Penny had pulled her in. Not that she needed the encouragement, but it was always welcome.

Again, the ink manipulator reciprocated the way she kissed her. She felt absolutely drawn in by the connotations behind her lips, and she leaned in to catch her again until she was quite literally forced back. It was a fraction. Barely noticeable. But Lucy noticed it as if it were a huge physical step backwards. She looked down, then back to her again.

"So?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Distancing herself from Lucy was, if anything, painful. It always was. But there was always a reason behind such a move, and this was no exception. The Brit took in a short breath, unable to ignore the way she leaned in as Penny pulled away.

Briefly, she considered giving in. For a moment.

“So,” Penny stressed the word purposefully, “You need to wash up.” She raised her eyebrows, giving Lucy a look of expectancy. “Ten minutes.”

There was a barely noticeable twitch in her lip as she looked at her wife.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

The short breath Penny took was everything to Lucy in that moment. She knew how her counterpart liked to be particular, but she also knew it wouldn't have been the first time the Australian managed to derail her amidst making a meal. Nor would it be the first time Penny had actively drawn Lucy in in such a distracting way.

But ten minutes. It was a total, painful stonewall. And it was like she'd smacked right into it.

"I can do a lot in ten minutes." Lucy replied quickly, not so easily deterred from the Brit.

Her hands shifted from the small of her back, shifting slowly across to her sides and down the length of her form. Her fingertips grazed the hemline of her dress, brushing across her thighs on instinct. Harsh as Penny could be, she was still Penny. "So can you."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny knew Lucy wouldn’t give up so easily; in fact, she was counting on it. However, it was almost impossible to ignore the way her counterpart’s hand traversed Penny’s form. She sucked in a short breath, trying to regain control over the situation.

But it wavered, and she knew that gave away everything Lucy needed.

Her hand moved to Lucy’s shoulder, tightening around it as she closed her eyes. Anything to keep her rapidly slipping focus. Penny found herself instinctively leaning in, both into her counterpart’s hand and her in general.

Enough to brush her lips against Lucy’s as she exhaled. “Please.” Her free hand moved to Lucy's wrist, applying just enough pressure to encourage her, even if she doubted she needed it.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Note: FtB

Please was a word Lucy rarely ever adhered to. Even as she'd grown older, there were so few she'd do anything for at the drop of a word. But when it was Penny who asked - or demanded in her own way - there was absolutely no way Lucy could say no. There was no way Lucy could deny Penny in any capacity, especially when she'd asked like that.

She pressed her other hand to the counter, short of breath as she was as she loosened her hold around her waist.

The remnants of the idea that Penny could be mad at her were completely wiped from her mentality as she leaned in to leave a small kiss against her neck. There was so little she could think of to say or even do after that, and so she lingered in her presence for as long as the psychometrist would have her there.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

As her grip loosened, nails easing off the shoulder she held, Penny took in what she was sure was the first decent breath she could take, but it did little to stop the sting in her lungs from the lack of oxygen. The Brit kept her eyes shut, feeling her own pulse race under Lucy’s lips as she kissed her neck.

Even then, she couldn’t help but to tilt her head against the contact. Anything to encourage more.

The thought of easing Lucy away seemed almost impossible as she pressed her lips to the ink manipulator’s dark hair. She took in another breath, and again it failed to completely even out. She was simply overwhelming – although there wasn’t anything simple about Lucy Serrano.

So she kept Lucy close; even with her hold loosening she made no move to push her away.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

And as the psychometrist made no move to push the ink manipulator away, she didn't move. There was no way Lucy could manage any ounce of effort to force a strain of distance. Not after Penny had tried and rightly failed to enforce it of her own merit.

Because the skip of the Brit's pulse in tandem with the hands on her form did nothing to articulate that she wanted her to go anywhere.

She couldn't even manage any form of sentence. Nothing acutely articulate came to mind, nor did anything witty or potentially irritating as she was usually known for. Carrying a moment was Lucy's forte, but there, she was completely lost. She was encouraged to be lost.

So she placed another kiss against her wife's neck, parting her lips to sink her teeth into the familiar curve she found. But she couldn't help the way she exhaled in turn, her breath still-hot against her skin.