AU: Respite

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

1890s England
Set after: Penitent

The rest of the day had been exhausting. There was little real, genuine interest to be found in an outing with Michael were it not for his company alone; how he seemed to fix and fuel interest was still beyond the Australian who'd married him ten days ago. Every instance worked to remind her that he was the most perfect individual she could have hoped for in the scheme of things. And he in turn would remind her of the same.

Remote viewing was a tricky ability to try and keep under control. He was fortunate - or perhaps unfortunate - to be able to witness a great deal of the interlocked conversation Lucy had with his sister that morning. In a lighter moment he'd leaned in and practically praised her ability to be so underhandedly British about the situation. Though he did inform her that she stared too much; if she wanted to keep cards close to her chest, she really had to figure out how to stop doing that.

Fortune showed itself as he further articulated his perfection by way of the ability. After all, no one had a clearer shot of the hallways at night than someone who could see them without looking.

Quiet halls. Cool steps in the dead of night brought her to the right door with a sense of determination. Hands pressed to the door she hadn't reached for over twenty-four hours, and with a fast hand she knocked against it lightly.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Unlike her counterpart, Penelope had the fortune to have been left alone for the entirety of the day. Although her mother had always wished she would go and socialize more, there were worse places for Penelope to lock herself in other than the library. It was, at the least, an educational hobby. Even as the Blaise mother was quick to remind her daughter that she'd never find a man to call her husband if she were smarter than him.

Little did she know, saying so had always pushed her further into the stacks.

At least test could not judge her as the individual she was. They simply existed to read. To take in and make with them what she wished to. They did not speak, but they held a voice all the same. Penelope found herself easily lost within a new title, but this day was an exception. Although she still read, her focus slipped. She was slower.

Stopping, however, was not an option. The psychometrist only returned to her room when she felt she had to. There, she still had to wait alone until her love would show up. Or rather, not alone, but with the company of memories that felt far too realistic for any person to have to take in. She didn't sit at her bed, instead taking comfort in a chair until the soft sound of knocking echoed through her bedroom. Quickly, she stood, although likely too quickly. "Come in." She offered, only loud enough for the knocker to hear.

Even as she invited Lucy in, she still took steps towards the door to try and meet her there.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Waiting felt practically dreadful. The first time Lucy found herself at this particular door, she had pushed past it through sheer desperation, unaware of anything but the state of the individual who resided there. Now, taking that point felt unachievable, like she'd lost the trust allocated to her that allowed her to make herself known in such a way. So she had waited in her place, eyes staring at the dull door before her. There was an entire life on the other side that so greatly differed from this.

Her hand only curled over the handle when she heard the reassuring request. Still, she was slow to place pressure. That edge of uncertainty wasn't so easily shaken now.

Met halfway then, and she finally drew the door open to catch sight of her. A mere look from her own eyes and she lost all the air in her lungs, her shoulders falling with the act. Dinner had only been hours ago and somehow everything had been so paining, like she'd waited two days to see her in the slightest. Her smile grew in the most obvious fashion, relief dragging her eyebrows up. She left the visibility of the hallway then, intent to find herself so completely engulfed in how things were supposed to be.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

The door had been unlocked, just as it had been the night Lucy and her brother had gotten married. Just how it had every night since then until the Australian made an appearance. Even the night when she hadn't, the psychometrist never made her way towards the door in order to turn the lock. Between her own exhaustion and the chance that Lucy might have made it at any time that night, or into the morning, Penelope couldn't bring herself to do so.

Tonight, however, her eagerness had gotten the better half of her. Desperate to set eyes on the Australian once again - this time in true privacy - she rushed towards the door. Fingers curled around the handle, pulling it in the same motion her counterpart had pushed. Still stopping the door with just enough room for Lucy to enter, dark eyes softened at the immediate sight of her love. The smile she wore was contagious; it spread across Penelope's lips in the same motion as she sucked in a breath, opposite of her exhale.

Closing the door as Lucy entered, she immediately brought her hands to the Australian's face. It had only been morning since she had last been able to see Lucy, yet that was far too long, and much far too long since Penelope could properly reach out to her. "I've missed you." She confessed on a breath, thumb running across her cheekbone as she leaned forward, forehead pressing against her counterpart's.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

It was everything to allow herself to become so wrapped in the smile she wore. It was the kind of expression that felt as rare as it truly was; the kind Lucy only ever saw in the solitude this room provided. Few space outside of these walls felt safe enough to give a look like that. That look could tear down mountains and forge new fires, she was sure.

The door closed, and while Penny had reached for her, Lucy had secured the locked nature of it with a simple hand behind her. There was comfort in the way the latch sounded, like she could finally take a breath. Like she could breathe her in for the first time in far too many nights.

Lucy still wore that smile, elation tracking her features as she otherwise closed her eyes. For a moment - or a successful series of them - she wanted to be engulfed by the hands at either side of her face. She pressed her palms to them, fingers interlocking within the grooves of one to shift it. Just barely. Just enough with a small tilt of her head to press her lips against her fingers. First, second, and on that third connection she allowed herself to linger. Because she could.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

The sound of the latch was more comfort than Penelope thought possible. The security of knowing Lucy was here, and the lock proved they had the privacy she desired. To peel away the mask of a formal individual to a truer version of herself. One that only Lucy would be able to see.

A slow breath slipped past her lips as she felt Lucy's press against her palm. The air already felt thinner, stripping away the ease of breathing within one simple movement as she allowed her hand to linger where she had pulled it.

The other shifted, making a slow trail to the Australian's hair, pushing back the strands as her fingers quickly became tangled in the dark mess that, although never settled, remained a beautiful mess within itself. Taking a half step, Penny closed the remaining distance between them as she tilted her chin with a small, silent request.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

In a quiet moment, everything was worth taking in. Lucy could now take a breath and feel pressure leave her shoulders; she could drink in the presence of her counterpart without sparing so many thoughts to the world behind the door she'd only just locked. So her lips lingered against the palm of her hand, intent to be felt and leave the reminder that she could cross mountains with them now without a second thought. After over a day and little to no contact, absolutely everything was there to be taken again.

Bright eyes made themselves available with the small tilt of her head back up, losing that connection but holding her hand all the same. She caught the subtle request offered by way of such a small indicator, and immediately the ink manipulator took a breath. How it hadn't been her first thought was completely beyond her, and the idea of it made exhaling heavy enough to drop her shoulders.

Finally, she let her hand go. Severing contact was never easy, but her own hands pressed to either side of her face instead, and she breached the remaining distance to bring herself as close as she possibly could; a body against hers she'd already grown to miss with the break of the earlier day. And she leaned in through the minimal to finally press her lips against hers, though keeping it light was hardly easy. Nor was it remotely necessary.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

A fraction of a movement was all it took to bring Lucy closer, and Penny found herself incredibly grateful for the fact. The form she missed pressed against her own, and even through the layers they both wore, she was sure that she could feel the rapid beat of her heart as it rattled her chest.

Slow movements eased her into the way Lucy kissed her; gentle yet weighted as the Brit exhaled against her lips, as it was impossible to keep her lungs working when this volcano of a woman stepped into the room.

Fingertips tracked lightly up Lucy's arms as her hand was freed, playing gentle notes up the fabric of her dress before settling palms against her collarbones. Gently, she tightened her hold and fingers curled up around her shoulders, easing her in even closer, were it possible, as she took a step backwards.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Fewer layers were the most obvious blessing available in such a moment; to slink down the halls like she might find a new place to sleep adopted a much more transparent attire, and everything was a stark cry from how she was this morning. How she had been all day in waiting, smothered both physically and mentally by a life she wasn't quite sure how to lead yet.

How easy it was, then, to get so lost in the way everything felt. There was a strange type of freedom associated with the presence of a locked door and nothing else, like the world outside didn't exist. Like they hadn't had to duel it out with quick thoughts and quicker mouths earlier that morning. To be clever saved lives, but did nothing for the ego. She allowed herself to be drawn in, following the pressure to be just as close as she could. Following the step taken and the inevitable path it would set them on.

And then she stopped. Those hands curled around the wrists that rested against her covered form. She held her in place, too.

"What do you think of me?" Despite everything sweet she could and should have said, those were the first words she could think to give.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

The lock of a door granted them privacy, and having not been granted that insurance for much too long now, Penelope easily found herself overwhelmed by the Australian already. Backwards steps would surely lead them to her bed - their bed, really, despite how Lucy would have to leave before the sun rose. Regardless, there wasn't anyone she'd rather share the space with. For someone who had been so independent, even claiming the space alone no longer felt like an option after the previous night. One she wished she could forget despite how impossible that was.

With a stop, Penelope's eyes opened. Usually hardened, dark eyes still were warm upon catching sight of her counterpart. She was enough to make even the coldest person melt. Yet confusion took over the psychometrist's features as a question filled the air.

Eyebrows furrowed as Penelope parted her lips. Although unsure why those were the first words to leave her love's mouth, she did not question them. "I think you are wonderful." She answered honestly as her forehead pressed to the Australian's.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy knew it would have been so easy to give in to the temptation before her. How simple it would have been to steal her lips again; to rid her lungs of the air they carried with a single point of contact. Those hands held her wrists where they could have held her form so closely instead. Without a doubt, it was the very progression she longed for. But she couldn't quite settle her mind just yet, and that was such an imperative break to mend.

Evidently, she was wonderful. Her eyes squeezed shut immediately, almost as if they'd grazed her in the best and worst possible way. All the while those hands threatened to shake, but she held her breath for a second longer before she dared to let herself continue.

It could be so easy, so why make it so difficult?

"Always?" She asked, and she could practically feel the lack of confidence in her tone now, like she had true reason to be remotely unsure of the quality of her answer.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Hands to her wrists prevented the psychometrist from reaching closer, yet in the same move it kept her from stepping away. Stuck between the two, Penelope made no move to force herself in any which direction, despite her desire to step forward, and the potential need to step back and look for clarification. Possibly, it was exactly why the Australian held her as she did. Upholding the balance between them.

Because she was still confused. No doubt did the psychometrist forget the previous night, or even the events over morning tea, however a connection was lost between then and now.

"Yes." She replied, tilting her chin up, and then down again to further stress her point. "I do not believe there is someone more so than you, in any given moment."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Again, she spoke. And again it filled the air with something far sweeter than the things Lucy had heard that morning. Those thoughts were far too slow to leave her mind, and so the second series of beliefs forced a similar emotional reaction onto the ink manipulator. She believed that she believed them now, but where had that assurance been? Lucy supposed it made sense, but after everything that had been said, it couldn't possibly.

Still, she absolutely wanted to be wonderful. Tarnishing that image because she couldn't stop was the last thing she wanted to do. She knew first hand what it felt like to be accused.

Lucy kissed her for that answer once. It was short given the difficulty to breathe and the inability to lose herself like she knew she could have if she lingered. "You had been so quick to believe otherwise." She offered, her eyes refusing to open for fear of what might be waiting to grace them. "Doubt isn't so wonderful to me."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

From an outside perspective, if there ever was one, a kiss for her answer might have been the most encouraging response, and Penelope was quick to reciprocate with pressure to her lips, despite how little time had been placed into the notion. Short, yet it still made her breath stall, failing to shift into the next step before circling around again.

More so to the verbal reply Penelope had received. Although her eyes were closed, Penny's opened. Proximity blurred her vision, yet the Brit still stared as well as she could have.

"I -" The first falter, and as Penny squeezed her eyes shut again. Her hands shifted, trying to work around the fingers that wrapped her wrist. Rather than trying to create distance, the Brit was making an attempt to hold her hands. To provide some sort of comfort between laced fingers.

"I was wrong with my assumption." She admitted - as if it would explain that it was okay now.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy found herself caught so clearly between the desire to press forward and lose herself and the need to express what had plagued her all day. Each step she took by her husband's side had her mind racing to how to settle his previously heartbroken sister. When she found herself behind that closed door she so wished for the ability to let it all go; to rid herself of the lingering doubt and stop living with such disharmony. But surely she deserved something more than the loss. Life and love were never so simple, despite how much sense it made in theory.

They both knew her assumption had been wrong, and of course that was such a good thing. There was no denying the fact that things could have been easy for the both of them. Lucy took a slow breath, like she might release the thought with the newest shot of air.

"I love you." She offered on that exhale, but the declaration found itself lined with a new emotion entirely; now, she was pleading the fact. After all, earlier that day it hadn't seemed so factual to her.

And even so, she kissed her again without a thought to completely stall the progression.