AU: Circumvent

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

1890s England

For weeks now, Lucy Serrano had been settling into life as Lucy Blaise. For Lucy, being married felt like it changed to little about every day life, but everyone looked at her in a new way. No longer a guest in the house - or a forced stranger at that - the difference a day made was completely jarring when a union and a loss of a last name was involved. She fit in, now.

Weeks at the side of Michael Blaise in tandem with a mutual understanding provoked a steadily blossoming friendship. There was a sense of distance between them that had faded with time. Early morning conversations drew them closer together; perhaps it was the obvious growth of their relationship that allowed her to fit in so fluidly. She could do no better than remaining married to someone she wasn't physically disinterested in who in turn wasn't physically interested in her.

Well, she could, but she never really could.

Straying from the arm of her so-called beloved promoted an opportunity for Lucy to breathe. Unattainable. Uninterrupted. Despite falling into steps with him so perfectly, there was always a need for a break. And so she politely excused herself from the company of a husband and a still-overbearing mother-in-law. Comfortable, slow steps carried her through the afternoon-basked halls of the growingly familiar estate. A pull of a heavy door from a hallway to, of all places, the library.

For a room so extensive, it was only ever actively used by one.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

It felt as if she were living two separate lives - and really, she was. Contrasting in the biggest of ways, Penelope's days felt lifeless compared to how she spent her time when the sun set. Putting up fake impressions were as hard as she imagined they'd be, if not more so. It was hardest when she was close. Too far to touch, and to close not to look. To stare. It was easier to distance herself on a physical level, or else risk losing it all.

And thus Penelope did her best to continue her mundane, ordinary life throughout the day. It was never hard to track the youngest Blaise child; she was only ever in a few select places. Most in areas where others rarely frequented. She preferred it that way, most certainly.

Except on the occasions when a certain Australian would visit her alone. Without the presence of her brother or mother, it made moments with Lucy both harder to manage and more intoxicating. Regardless, at the sound of a door pushing open, Penelope glanced up from the text she held, immediately feeling a smile pull at the corner of her mouth at the sight she was granted with.

"Interested in a bit of light reading?" She asked, eyebrows raising as she moved to stand and meet her love. There was no real knowing if anyone else was in the immediate area - keeping a formal greeting was required to maintain the proverbial charade they kept up.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Admittedly, the first thing Lucy did in her solitude was breathe. A slow, steady breath now that she felt she had the chance to do so. Eyes closed in the smallest of seconds before a familiar voice pierced that solitude and reminded her why she stood there in the first place. Taking a chance. A chance well paid, it seemed, and even before her eyes opened she was wearing a smile. Soft and sentimental now, because it wouldn't be in the next moment.

As dark eyes opened, they were immediate to take her in. There were no souls in their immediate area - nothing to quell the idea that she should look - and so her gaze was quick to drop from those familiar eyes to the all-too familiar curve of her mouth instead. The simple smile she wore.

She exhaled slowly. Sometimes it was unfair, but she was so breathtakingly stunning.

"Of course. Why else would I visit?" Lucy asked, dragging her attention up to her eyes, but she could hardly help the slightly amused notions her expression took on.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Taking a risk was always exactly that - there were certain consequences that came with getting caught. Those that would separate them more than the hours of the day did. The thought alone was heartbreaking, but the moments she found herself alone with Lucy Blaise were too enthralling to pass up, either.

Under Lucy's gaze, Penelope took in a quick breath. Getting caught up in the way she looked was dangerous within itself, as was the steps she took forward once she realized the Australian came to the library without company. "Of course." Penelope agreed with hints of her own amusement, fingertips brushing against the spine of a book as she passed a bookcase. Within the next moment, her finger hooked onto it, dragging it out from its home and bringing it forth to her brother's wife.

"Might I suggest this?" Keeping up some sort of facade was almost second nature, but the Brit stopped only when she was just a little too close to Lucy. Proximity might have made it harder to breathe, but it was well worth the exchange. She flipped the book open to the title page; "An exceptional piece of work, in my opinion."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Eyes were attuned to hers for the shortest amount of time possible, because she was taking steps towards Lucy within mere moments of her arrival. Her gaze was slowly directed towards her hands; the way her fingers breezed the spine of a book to ease it back into place. How she evidently found something far more pertinent to read seconds later and took it within her grasp. Delicate enough; she knew the feeling well.

And now she was closer, like playing with fire was suddenly safe within the walls of such a place. Like weeks and weeks of practically endless attention had filled her with the confidence to provide such banter.

"You may," Lucy reasoned, dragging the word out for a spare moment or two, "But there's no telling how interested I'll be. I've never been one to spend much time in a library."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Weeks of adjusting to a new life proved itself to be effective. Attuning to a new sleeping schedule, one with less hours of rest once the sun set hardly made Penelope as tired as she rightly should have been. It was well worth the sleep deprivation she was quickly adapting to live with. Along with a new schedule, Penelope found herself to be more daring than she had been previously. Small moments of privacy were cherished. Taken advantage of while they existed.

So she stepped too close for normal comfort, her arm brushing against Lucy's as she held the book up. The text within her hands was important to the Brit who never really stopped reading, the woman next to her had clear priority. Even as Lucy admitted to not spending much of her spare time reading, Penelope felt the corner of her mouth tug upward regardless.

"I am confident I will be able to hold your interest." Penelope replied, doing just what the people of her country did best. Her hand tracked along the cover page before turning it. Although she wasn't looking to the text itself, but rather to the Australian in such close proximity.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

The smallest points of contact were always the most pressing; the most damning in a situation where they were so aptly disallowed. Lucy felt the breach in personal space and didn't even flinch for the matter, likely damning within itself to be so comforted by someone she barely seemed to get along with before she married her brother.

For someone who claimed they didn't spend much time in the library, she'd certainly seen the appeal as of late.

Eyes hauled themselves to a slow close as she heard the shifting of paper before her. But it was those eyes that forced the reaction. She knew when she was being looked at, akin to that feeling without ever really needing to catch a set of eyes. Her eyebrows twitched up briefly, contemplating just how daring she could be when she knew she was close to fire. She took a breath, her eyes opening to catch sight of the familiar set that were well and truly on her. A simple, small lean; that was likely all it took. Just a little indication in her direction to get and be closer.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Usually smooth within her movements, Penelope felt herself falter over the simple flip of a page. She held it mid turn, paper pressed between her thumb and forefinger as she stared at the Australian who closed her eyes. Now she was free to look. Free to stare without being caught. Although, admittedly she had been doing so already.

Finally, with a slow twist of her wrist, she pressed the page to the opposite side as she took a slow breath, already feeling fire fill her lungs, burning them to ash as she caught sight of equally dark eyes gazing back at her.

It was amazing how such a little movement could say such a message. Lucy had barely moved, yet the statement was clear. Who was she to deny her love of such a request? Even if she thought to for the risk of being caught, Penelope felt herself moving on instinct, leaning through that little remaining distance to brush her lips against Lucy's.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

It was small kiss. Sweet in its favour and far too encompassing to be so minor. Just a gentle, generous brush of her lips against hers; perfect pressure. There'd only been a second between the surprise of it and Lucy's reciprocation, because little as it was, it was everything to melt for. To melt into.

And she did, in a sense, but she refused to add to the moment as opposed to match it. Raising the level could only prove difficult. She hadn't moved away in the slightest after a few seconds. Rather, the only thing lost was the pressure behind her lips. But she could still feel those against her. And she could feel how she refused to open her eyes. How she refused to ruin it by even taking a breath. The air felt completely trapped in her lungs, and she was far too willing to keep it there.

She reached up with a hand, then, taking the weight of the book in her palm before her fingers pressed at either side to shut it. Just a single act to ensure that her hands were completely free before she defined another kiss with a little pressure.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

A little pressure went miles in a world ruled by the British. Although her attention was hardly to undertone real meaning as it so often was on an exterior level; rather, Penelope fell into the lightness provided. Of course she wished for something more defined, but getting lost in the smaller moments was entirely worth it.

Feeling the weight of a hand pressing lightly to the book she held, the corner of her mouth pulled upward at the shift of it within her palm. The sound of it shutting dragged a small smile to her lips as they pressed against the Australian's. Her breath was stolen within the next moment, lost with the increase of pressure that boiled the blood in her veins.

With a move of her own, Penelope placed the book down on the nearest available surface. With free hands, they moved to the ink manipulator. Gentle placement to either side of her form. To the hidden lettering only she had the chance to see. So caught up the thought of someone walking through the door refused to enter her mind as she reciprocated.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

So slowly yet still so suddenly, the book Lucy had tried to draw away left her hand empty. She thought to try to steal it again, this time with a little more defined intention to get rid of its presence completely, but a distant sound of a book settling on a shelf caught her attention first. It was enough to pull at the corner of her mouth, allowing pressed lips to dare the threat of a smile.

It wasn't hard to know just where a hand had landed and why it found itself pressed there. A small, subtle set of letters existed on Lucy's skin that only one person in this home had seen. The very indication of the contact was enough within itself to keep her heartbeat high. The potent danger and potential worry of interruption between the stacks had filtered out of her mind in tandem with her thoughts; palms pressed light to either side of her face, and just as delicately she was slow to draw her lips away. Despite the sever in connection, there was no way she could stray far.