Into Your Gravity

[Lucy Serrano]

Hands guided themselves within the line of the shirt Lucy had failed to put on correctly, pressed against her skin to coax her inward further. She found herself practically flush against the form that seemed to need her, but she couldn't catch her lips in a way she was supposed to. There was a brief connection with her shoulder before she was drawn more towards a kind of embrace she wasn't totally familiar with. She took it anyway.

A vote of thanks so genuine was incredibly rare for the ink manipulator. There was something almost serene about being held in such a way, like an altered kind of desperation.

"You're here. You're not leaving." Lucy offered, a pin point kind of reassurance that felt imperative. She pressed a hand to the back of her neck, intent on keeping up contact and encouraging it for as long as she could; "You have to learn to tell me when it's effecting you."

[Penelope Blaise]

A hand at the back of her neck kept her where she was, and Penny was thankful she wasn't forced to move just yet. Her palms pressed flush against the small of Lucy's back as she nodded. She was here. She wasn't leaving. All seemingly simple facts, but those that she heavily needed to be reminded of.

It was never easy to talk about psychometry. There had been dozens of people that would try to coax the psychometrist to talk about it, or how it effected her. All those years, and she remained stubborn. Stubborn enough to be held back in school because of it, and stubborn enough to try to stupidly work through it.

Nobody had been worth talking about it to; yet here was a woman who accepted it in a new light. Like, despite the clear negativity behind such an ability, hadn't seen it as a problem. Or, at least, didn't see her as a problem because of it. So she nodded, taking in a breath against her shoulder. "Some days are worse than others." She explained.

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy was slowly learning the difficulty associated with living with such a prominent concern. When it came to the necessary comfort and connection, she knew it wasn't an easy thing to ask for. It wasn't something she clearly ever spoke of until the ink manipulator left such a daring impression. Now, they were where they were; together and under one roof. There was no where to go and no way to hide from dealing with the issue.

Some days were worse than others, clearly. How the time had doubled was proof of that. But she was invested enough to want to be someone helpful, not hurtful.

"And then I keep leaving." She denoted, growing aware that that was the cause for some prominent difficulty. When she wasn't around, memories against every surface remained. And they had to be worse. "First weekend of March. I'll be gone for that." She offered, knowing it was the next trip on her list, but at least it was short.

[Penelope Blaise]

Lucy was incredibly understanding; the more they spoke the more Penny realized she felt regret for keeping something so detrimental from the ink manipulator. It wasn't fair to the person who now worked incredibly hard to take psychometry into account with what she did and how she moved. More, it was unfair to assume she wouldn't accept it as she had.

She pursed her lips; it was only a matter of time before Lucy's next trip would come up. The date in mention was one that wasn't far off, but it was something the psychometrist knew she would have to accept when involving herself in someone who travelled as much as she did.

"I will be okay." Penny assured. "But I will miss you."

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy knew the information didn't go over well. She hadn't expected it to, but she wanted honesty. After such an up and down, untranslatable beginning to this relationship, the last thing she wanted was any kind of shade. They were to be black and white now, she decided, and so from her own side of things she gave everything she could. One of them had to.

She rocked back on a step. If nothing else, she wanted to be able to look at her properly, not just get so caught in the way her eyes told an entire story.

"It's not gonna be easy to get me." She continued on, half trying to press for a better resolution than just dealing with it. Questions boiled to the forefront of her mind, but she would never force this woman to set foot in the environment she was destined to go to. "I doubt I'll be doing much more than tattooing for hours straight over the weekend. It's for Musink." And a lack of her own presence for whatever reason could only be detrimental to the reputation she already had.

[Penelope Blaise]

It hadn't surprised Penny to hear that Lucy would be hard to reach, but that didn't make the information any easier to handle. She offered the Australian a small smile, one genuine for the way she cared so much as to bring it forward in conversation. Penny would never ask for someone to put so much effort into her, but with it being offered as it was, she found herself grateful for it.

"You can call me any time it is convenient for yourself." Penny reassured, because there was no doubt in her mind that she would pick up the phone at any hour of the day to talk to her. Working around the artist's busy schedule was to be expected. It was a known fact she had going into any of this, despite the difficulty. Days could feel like weeks, but at least now there was someone who would be on the other side of the line that would understand.

She tilted her chin up, eyebrows raising slowly. "Don't worry about me. Please."

[Lucy Serrano]

For Lucy, now didn't seem like the time to go into the extraordinary plans she had for her days away. It didn't seem fitting to explain why she was going to be so difficult to catch; she would sound too overjoyed by her work to not have it read the wrong way, she was sure.

And then there was the thought of worry. How she felt it. How she shouldn't. She almost thought to laugh at the fact. "As if I'll ever have a choice." Lucy reasoned, but she smiled her way thought he words. She wasn't bitter about the fact in the slightest. It was all new territory, but she was trying, and she knew on some level that this woman was trying too.

"You could always come with me." She offered then, shrugging her shoulders like it could actually be so easy. "Not with me with me - I think you'd die in the crowd and the business - but a few days in a hotel in Costa Mesa isn't going to do any harm." On the contrary, it would give her something to come back to.

[Penelope Blaise]

It was flattering to feel concerned over, though part of Penny wished there wasn't a need for it at all. Yet Lucy provided the constant reminder that they were in this together, even after Penny had been fighting the losing battle of psychometry for years.

But she couldn't dwell on the fact. Because with a shrug of her shoulders, what was supposed to be a weekend alone was now extended to a trip for two. The thought had Penny's breath stalling, eyebrows raising slowly, as if waiting for a sign that her girlfriend was joking.

And Lucy wouldn't have offered if on some level she wanted the English teacher there, too. "That sounds pleasant." She admitted honestly. If there wasn't reason to be lingering in the crowd of a tattoo convention, she wouldn't. But at the very least she could have Lucy for the nights. "I will budget for it."

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy only looked to this woman with a lighter edge of seriousness. She used to revel in the time she spent in even remotely foreign places on her own; they had been perfect to ignore real life and become wrapped in work.

But now it was different. Now every night was a kind of chore she spent alone, because the only person she wanted to spend it with was out of reach.

She laughed then at the idea of a budget, but she couldn't help the elevated rhythm of her heart at the fact that she agreed to go at all. The wings at her waist reacted of their own accord. Accordingly. "Shut up," She reasoned, exhaling a shorter laugh at the end of her words, "It'll all get taken care of."

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny should have expected to be denied the chance to pay for anything. She had an abundance of money, and her spending habits proved that to be true. She raised her eyebrows, because did the artist really expect to get away with paying for everything? Penny might not have made even a quarter the amount Lucy pulled in, but she still wanted to try. And try she did.

"I can do it." She reassured firmly. Because at the very least, Penny expected herself to better manage money than the person who practically handed it out. But she brought herself closer still; there was a new beat to her heart to know she was wanted.

Her arms wrapped completely around the artist, wishing to close off as much of that distance as she could manage. "It will all be taken care of."

[Lucy Serrano]

As Lucy found herself in an argument like this, she nearly bypassed the fact that they were agreeing to this at all. That within itself was everything to take on board, but it seemed a little shallow to delve into the fact or give into it completely when another issue was on the table. Lucy wanted to laugh about it, but she knew she shouldn't. Not then. Not after the conversation they had just fought through.

"I didn't know you wanted to pay." Lucy offered lightly. In part, she was indulging her. But there was no way she could do so completely.

A slight twist so her face could be seen, but she was still as close as she felt she needed to be. There was barely any distance. Any distance was bad distance. "I definitely wasn't aware you wanted to fly for hours on your own in coach." She added, pursed lips threatened a kind of pout she had every ounce of control over.

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny nodded once, but it was quick to stop as Lucy continued. The English teacher was clever, but she couldn't deny those times when her counterpart managed to best her, as much as she hated to admit it. Because her expression shifted almost immediately; the smallest crinkle of her nose must have given it away. Because the last thing she wanted to do was fly alone. In coach. The amount of memories packed into a seat while crammed next to dozens of other people was daunting.

She'd done it for Lucy before, but Penny was uncomfortable with flying at all under any circumstance. "I can at least help pay." She corrected, then. She couldn't get away with trying to pay for first class on a flight, even with a lighter bill load after moving in with the artist.

"Don't make that face." Penny continued regardless, leaning forward to brush her own lips against Lucy's in an attempt to rid her of that expression.

[Lucy Serrano]

It might have been minor, but the glimmer of disdain caught Penny's expression and Lucy caught it in turn. It was a perfect way to respond, because she didn't need words to know she was right in her assumption. Not simply because of who she was, but surely it took a toll on the ability she struggled with.

Still, Lucy hummed something of an unamused tone at the thought that she should even ask her to help pay. It was a moronic thought to the ink manipulator, but she didn't want to leave her counterpart devoid of all choices here. She had always assumed this would be the general course they were taking. It was cute, then, to watch the way she tried.

"So just come with me." She offered, brushing her lips against hers with each word. A second later and she chose to kiss her to seal away the thought that she would ever force her to fly so cheaply ever again. Last time had been a total fluke.

[Penelope Blaise]

Though Penny knew that her counterpart would never assume she would be using her, she still felt guilt for letting all her expenses be paid for, even when there were so few. Her rent had been laughable in comparison to the building they lived in how. A first class flight wasn't something the Australian even could blink over.

And before she could agree - or try to argue - she felt precise pressure against her lips, and Penny couldn't help the way she fell into it with a slow exhale.

She didn't agree, but perhaps her silence was agreement enough for the artist. So when she kissed her again instead.