Sentient

[Penelope Blaise]

A set of familiar lips pressed against her pulse so perfectly, and Penny wondered if she could register the way that connection forced it to beat even faster. Stuck between her classroom door and the individual she adored was enough to make her head spin, let alone in those moments Lucy was so attentive.

Nails were threatening to break the already marked skin on her back and shoulders as her hands began to tremble. Her breathing hitched, threatening sounds that never managed to actually pass her lips.Yet it wasn't enough, it seemed, because those words burned her skin. Her mentality. For once, she made noise.

Penny was tilting her head forward again the moment she could, turning to face the Australian but not in an attempt to look at her - that would be far too much - but she did seek to catch her mouth.

[Lucy Serrano]

The first thing Lucy thought was to say it again. She got seconds to exhale the air that was left on her lungs, and once she did, she as taking in a breath again. Now that she had said such imperative words in the heat of a moment, it seemed so right to give them again.

Until she made that sound. It was rare; rare enough that it practically changed the nature of her own desperation entirely. At least Lucy knew she had been heard, and perhaps that was enough recognition. So she let herself be kissed, and she gave into the intense nature she hadn't planned to catch from her. At least, not yet.

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny had no idea that those words wanted to be repeated, because she had been waiting to hear them for so long. She had knew of the existence of such a strong emotion in the Australian before she could even recognize it, but to hear them said aloud? Overwhelming didn't do the feeling justice.

So she kissed her, and the moment she needed air, she took the most minimal amount just so she could kiss her again. Her hands slipped out from under Lucy's shirt, only to press to either side of her face. To keep her close. To keep them pressed against that door because now she didn't know how she was supposed to stop in the least.

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy couldn't possibly feel anxious about the words she had given. She knew they would be accepted, but she had no idea they were being waited on. Still, she only felt negative when hands left her body, but it was short lived. Hands against her face instead. She pressed herself as close as she could.

This was the worst place to start this. It was the worst timing. But it had seemed so perfectly right.

"I love you." She breathed finally, and then she kissed her again. Slow for the useless breath she still couldn't control, so it was short. But it was defined; "I love you."

Again. Quietly. Like despite how empty the room was, those were only for her.

[Penelope Blaise]

There those words were again, this time literally brushing against her lips. She exhaled harshly in response, losing the very breath she could have responded with. When she tried to catch it again, she was kissed, and she hadn't the drive to pull away. She didn't want to pull away. And there it was again, waiting for her before Penny could even manage to keep up.

She sucked in a small, useless breath, pressing her lips to Lucy's with an intention packed kiss. When she finally pulled away, her lungs ached, but she still tried. "I love you." She repeated back just as quietly, because despite the privacy they gained by being in an empty classroom, those words were only meant to be heard by the Australian.

[Lucy Serrano]

There was an obvious intention that lined the way Lucy was kissed. It was like she couldn't breathe. Because those words sounded so perfect from her lips. It was a stark cry from the first time Lucy had heard them; from the way she felt in her disbelief to the way she responded so badly. Now they were everything.

"I love you." She said again, and she left a generously slow kiss against her lips for the fact. And from that, Lucy couldn't help the way her hand was prone to wander again. At least the other curled around her waist instinctively, this time to keep her closer.

[Penelope Blaise]

Once she started, it seemed hard to stop, and repetition didn't make those words lose their weight in the least. Rather, it felt heavier and heavier each and every time, and Penny felt as if her heart were going to burst from her chest at the rate it was beating.

She encouraged everything Lucy was doing; from how she spoke to the way those familiar hands were starting to move again. Little did she care about the class she was supposed to have within a few short minutes; it was the last thing on her mind now.

Because those words were so overwhelming, enough to make her eye sting, but she refused to let it be a known fact as she squeezed an arm between them, fingers curling around that artist's wrist to add a little more haste to the way she moved.

[Lucy Serrano]

Love was a messy, undefined prospect. It was the kind of daunting feeling that she didn't know she could handle. When it caught her, she didn't know how to respond. She stood in a studio space and felt clouded by the work that stood before her.

So she was where she was for the reason she was. Now that she had given those words, she couldn't stop the way they filtered past her lips. Even now - pressed against her as she was - she had to give them again.

And she refused to let them be cut, even by the sound of a soaring bell for a new class.

[Penelope Blaise]

She loud ring of the bell had practically shook the English teacher, but there was no force that could get her to stop. Even when she felt the pressure of a door press against her as it tried to be open, she only forced herself - and by proxy her counterpart - harder against it. A hand reached back to lock it, barely managing to do so with the way it was trembling.

And that hand reached back for her again. Fingers curled desperately into the line of her hair, pulling at the way it was tied up. "I love you." She repeated back finally when she could manage the air to do so. Her forehead pressed against Lucy's, each breath a new sort of strain as she kept her eyes shut.

"We need to leave."

[Lucy Serrano]

When Lucy realised time had dwindled, she knew she was destined to have to leave. Time was no longer on her side; it never really had been for an instance like this. She knew stopping was improbable. She knew it was practically required.

"You've got a job to do, love." She replied promptly, exhaling the rest of the air in her lungs on something of a laugh. Because she could use that word now, and every time she did, this woman would know the meaning behind it.

Another short kiss for her lips, chaste in its reasoning. Because there was literal pressure on the other side, and she had to ease herself back. Or at least, try to.

"I'll be there when you get home."

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny let out an exasperated sigh. Usually, she was the one to bring work responsibilities into play, and now the role was easily reversed. She felt frustrated with the entire class that she was now supposed to teach, and when Lucy made an attempt to back up, her hands only tightened around the ink manipulator.

Because that nickname sounded so right suddenly. She recalled the first time it passed her lips, and how Penny scolded her for it. Now, it was making her blush.

"How do you expect me to do that?" Penny asked honestly, eyebrows raising as she searched for some sort of answer. Because even when there was a knock at the door, she didn't move.

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy wasn't allowed to move. She felt the pressure from hands on her body, and she didn't fight the way they wanted her to stay. She stopped in her movements, brought back to Earth as she pressed against her again. Like she had never moved at all.

It was a genuine question from this woman, and Lucy wished she had an answer. But the answer was at the other side of the door; the heavy handed knocking that rocked the surface they were settled on.

"I don't think you've got much choice." Lucy replied, and a small part of her scolded herself for her own lateness. Had she made it sooner; there likely would have been time.

Leaning in a fraction more, she fought the urge to kiss her as her mouth bypassed to her ear instead. There, she dropped her tone to a whisper; "I'm sorry."

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny sucked in a short, frustrated breath at her own failure. Only Lucy Serrano could make her want to leave her job, and she did so well. But an apology had her breathless, because she knew how rare they were to come from someone like the artist. Her fingers curled tightly into her shirt, but briefly, before she lost that pressure.

"It's okay." Penny responded, losing any negativity to her tone. Because it wasn't something to be negative about. Her hands dropped slowly, but she leaned forward to kiss her again. "I love you."

She wanted to reach out already, but the teacher forced her palms to press against her own dress as she exhaled. "I'll be home shortly."

[Lucy Serrano]

There was desperation in those hands. Lucy could feel the way her own shirt was clung to, like the action alone could fix the situation between them. At the very least, it meant she would be able to walk out of that room with someone with her as opposed to completely on her own. Lucy felt the obvious difficulty shared. She would have liked nothing more than to take her home, too. But that simply wasn't an option.

So she apologised. After all, she had rushed this moment in the short amount of time she knew she had. She was let go, but she still felt pained as those hands reached for her own closed as opposed to Lucy herself. It wasn't fair. She wasn't used to not getting what she wanted.

She pressed her lips against her cheek; it was as safe as she could get. "I know." She replied finally. She knew Penny would be home to the best of her ability. And she would absolutely find the artist waiting for her.

And then she had the pressing task of opening the door. More, of making her way through students who were waiting for their class on the other side. And just like Lucy, she wore the entire moment with borderline childish pride.

[Penelope Blaise]

Getting through the final block of the day was sure to be painful; likely as painful as it was for the students who were anxious to get out. But she stepped aside as she reached for the door, finding about a dozen sets of eye staring at the two of them. Penny's jaw clenched exhaled heavily, eyes unable to help the way they briefly dropped down her form as she walked through the wall of students that were trying to file in.

When she reached for the door again, the blush in her cheeks faded almost instantly. Fingers curled tightly around the handle as she swung it. Now, it seemed, it was more than her own emotions swirling in her head. Something as strong as love was impossible to ignore as it imprinted itself on the surface she touched.

So Penny turned to the class, eyebrows shooting upward. Her students looked confused. As they should have been, because Penelope Blaise was grinning.

"Everyone, open your books."