Time Warp: One Plus One... Plus One

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

July, 2021

The nearest Starbucks was a place Lucy was supposed to avoid. Years ago she'd come to this conclusion, given the negative attitude Penny gave her for the myriad of times one of the girls behind the counter gave Lucy the slightest bit of attention. Attention, then little drawings on her cups. Then a phone number. Boycotted, it was, from that day on. Anything to appease the jealous nature of the psychometrist.

But enough time had passed for that to be over. Surely. On certain days when Penny worked, Lucy took their first born - Lincoln Michael - with them. More often than not, they were joined by another party. With Carleigh with her, trouble would be divided and less painful. A regular occurrence by now, people had grown to recognise them together. The slowly darkening blue eyes of the boy hardly resembled the blackened orbs of the ink manipulator, but when Carleigh held him at the counter, the similarities were caught.

Imagine the surprise, then, when Penny chose to go with them on one particular weekend.

It was fine, really. Every individual who worked at that particular Starbucks got well and truly charmed by the psychometrist's son for the fact that he wore the world's best baby smile when anyone gave him attention. Bundled in the arms of the blonde instead, Lucy managed to lead the party to the counter. Wide eyes from the woman behind the register immediately connected with the little blue ones, and on cue, he smiled at her.

"You're back! Again! For the third time this week!" She pointed out, and Lucy straightened her back almost instantly, "Just the usual?"

Briefly, Lucy turned to glance at her wife over her shoulder. There was a usual, and that might have been bad, but there was also another person with them. "Yeah, okay. Sure."

"You guys are like, the perfect family." She continued on, bright eyes locked to the child in Carleigh's arms.

[Carleigh Davidson]

It was not unusual to see Carleigh at Starbucks. Her affinity for coffee was well known and a habit that failed to ease up over the years. If anyone else understood her love for caffeine, it was Lucy. It became a new habit; the pair going to the coffeeshop together, joined with Lucy and Penny's son. The trio were often seen together and likely reached the status of regular customers.

Today, the group of three became a group of four.

What was even more peculiar was the fact that Carleigh was holding Lincoln today. Not that it was something new for the blonde, but she felt a little self conscious given that the more serious of his mothers were there. She held on, a little more tightly, just for good measure. Following Lucy's lead, Carleigh looked down, her blue eyes completely enamoured with the baby boy in her arms. She hardly paid attention to what was going on around her, until the barista's voice cut through.

Grinning, she kissed the top of his head before looking up to the menu. She wasn't paying attention, so Carleigh was unsure if the question was directed towards Lucy or herself. Both frequented the place three times this week. "Yes please." She answered with a nod. Grande skinny vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso; her go to.

Carleigh stepped slightly off to the side, out of the way. She watched the interaction between the barista and Lincoln with a grin. It was easy to fall for the little boy, as she was completely wrapped around his finger. "I agree." The blonde said, without second thoughts. They were a perfect family; one Carleigh was grateful to be a part of.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Starbucks had been - and still was - something of a sensitive subject for Penny. Having gone through an exhausting ordeal due to a former employee's inappropriate behavior, the Brit had refused to offer the place service for several years, and the jealousy fueled part of her was quite glad to know that Lucy decided to do the same.

Because that was the point of it in the first place.

So it was a surprise to learn that Lucy returned to the place, but she had time on her side. The former barista no longer worked there, and with that, Penny's distaste for the coffee house subsided. She had no personal qualms with them. No, this was entirely different.

Penny walked silently with her wife and Carleigh, dark eyes kept on her son the blonde held. Her own hands remained at her sides, and as they came to a halt she immediately busied them, pressing down into the fabric of her dress. Letting anyone other than herself and the ink manipulator hold Lincoln Michael was still something of a struggle for the Brit - one that she was trying to ease up on, thus why she let Carleigh hold him at all. She still felt uncomfortable with empty hands, however.

Her attention was immediately grabbed by the overly excited greeting given to them, eyebrows furrowing at the barista briefly. Three times? Within a week? Her lips pressed together tightly. After the recent news the pair had been given, Lucy should have known better than to put so much caffeine in her body.

And she very well knew it from brief moment of eye contact granted by a backwards glance. Dark eyes met those equally so, but Penny's own hardened much like her expression as she looked back at the ink manipulator.

An expression the quickly faltered within the next statement. The psychometrist's eyes quickly widened, shooting to the blonde and her son, and then to the barista. Despite the tension that built up in her jaw, she still managed to drop it in order to speak. "Decaf." Short, direct, and breathing fire all the same. "Her usual, but decaf."