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Time alone was precious when there was a child in the mix - with any passing moment, the baby monitor could crackle and force her away from her love. It meant time for formalities such as removing clothes would have to be reconsidered when her heart beat so fast. But gentle hands knew how to calm senses that she hadn't even been apparent of. Her eyes opened wide to see Lucy so close. She felt the sweet breath against her trembling lips, and with sturdy hands she dragged the tight fabric at her hips downward.
Because the second kiss felt so much sweeter, or perhaps it was Penny who implemented slower connotations as she returned it. And although she never got those skin tight jeans off, they were low enough where she hadn't needed to.
Though she made a move to kiss her, Penny was waiting. Though patience in matters with her wife were always thin, she felt she could hold on just enough to see what she would do with the sliver of power she grasped at. Yet her hands were freed, and Penny's eyebrows quirked upward at the move. Though there were no complaints at how the ink manipulator's hands shifted along her form. She didn't need a drop of the mezcal on the bookcase for her head to spin.
Cool air came in quick contact with her back, forcing her shoulder blades to tense for a moment as the material loosened around her form. With the right shift, it could have fallen all together, and it had even started to, were it not for the fact that it stopped at the crook of her elbows as her hands refused to give the space needed for it to drop to the floor, instead drawing down the zip of Lucy's jeans.
Although they remained in close proximity, Penny could feel the way her counterpart's features shifted towards something more negative. That, within itself put a little humor in the usually uptight psychometrist. She had just complimented - and even thanked - Lucy for her patience. Of course now, she exhibited none such quality. She thought to point it out, but distraction caught her in the form of hands around her wrists. It was like she still wished to lead.
Though Lucy's words sounded harsh, they carried a sweetness with them. It sounded almost desperate on the Brit's ears. And now her hands couldn't move at all in the hold they were in. So instead she kissed her again, lips pressing forcibly against the Australian's.
Swearing again, and breaking the connection between them to do so, even. It forced a short huff of air out of the Brit as she pressed herself flush against Lucy, pressing her into the bookcase in the same motion that she leaned back against it. For her language, Penny's hands were slow to move, settling on the ink manipulator's hips rather than anywhere lower.
Nails dug into her shirt, daring to scrape the skin underneath as she clutched the fabric.
Penny should have known that the moment she presented the bottle to Lucy that their dance would dwindle away, but as she kissed the Australian, she didn't mind. With her hand freed, she pressed it between Lucy's shoulder blades, encouraging the way she pulled her closer.
Short on breath, Penny had to force an inch of distance just to take in a hit of air. Her eyes remained shut, forehead pressed against the ink manipulator's before she kissed her much more. "I love you." And again, though this time she didn't pull away.
Penny had a stronger stance on alcohol than ever once she became pregnant, staying firm after the birth of their son. Lucy could be stubborn, but Penny was determined, at least until then. The bottle slipped from her fingertips as Lucy took a hold of it. Part of her expected her to take a swig of it then and there. She hadn't, however, and before Penny could make a quip about it, she felt familiar, longing lips against her own.
It felt sweet, and Penny's hand returned to her counterpart the moment it was free. She took Lucy's cheek in the palm of her hand, because although she doubted the ink manipulator would break away so quickly, Penny didn't want to risk it.
Penny was grateful for the way Lucy followed without argument, and possibly more so over the fact that they were still dancing despite the first song ending. The Australian didn't seem entirely uncomfortable, but part of Penny wondered how long she would keep her feet in motion for.
With a few clever steps, she was within reaching distance of the bookcase. Only then did Penny's own footing come to a halt, but she still held on to Lucy's hand. Still kept close. Her other reached forward, shifting aside a few books and wrapping her fingers around the neck of a short, flat rectangular bottle. A black and white owl rested atop the name, staring at Lucy as she presented it to her.
"You've been very patient lately." With their son, but also -- "With me." Penny knew that although the Serrano clan was crazy, she missed them. It was fitting that Lucy took the credit for warding off them from just showing up.
A small, humored laugh escaped Penny's lips when the ink manipulator spoke. This went from being never-to-be-spoken to a new Christmas tradition, and now from a gift to not really. It was a bit all over the place, but then again, the psychometrist wasn't really surprised. Her laugh transformed into a light hum as the song dwindled down. Only then did she dare shift - enough to properly look at her love.
She didn't move away, and she didn't shift where her hand had landed. "I hadn't even wrapped it," Penny replied. Although her hands suggested that of someone following in a dance, she gave Lucy a light pull, gently leading them towards a bookcase in step with the next song that started to play on the record.
It was always Penny's particular brand of humor to poke fun of the ink manipulator, and Lucy played into it perfectly. Curse and all, the true way she knew how. She knew where the Brit was going before Penny had the chance to voice her thoughts, after all her wife wasn't the most graceful person on her feet. Here, however, she fell in line with the beat with almost delicate steps.
A light breath escaped her lips, dusting the crook of Lucy's neck as she squeezed her hand at the pressure on her back. "I wouldn't take that away from you," she mused.
"This makes what I got you seem a little like a joke."
Penny hummed when she heard the title, committing it to memory now that it had a name. She opened her eyes again, and though the close proximity made it hard to properly look at her love, she stared nonetheless. It was evident Lucy from the way she spoke earlier that she was a little embarrassed, but she wanted to make it something of a tradition nonetheless. That was, if Penny wanted to. It put the ball in her court, and the Brit smiled.
It was too much, and for it she pressed her lips lightly against the ink manipulator's pulse, just once. "I'd like that," she murmured against her skin lightly.
"Did you practice this?" Penny asked next. "Or watch little videos on YouTube?"
With her eyes closed, Penny was acutely attuned to her counterpart. To the way she moved and the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, and now the way she explained herself. It forced a short breath out of the Brit as her fingers caught a bit of Lucy's hair, twirling it.
"What is it?" She asked, not recognizing the tune. Admittedly it wasn't what her father would play but that was hardly the point. It seemed so fitting that the ink manipulator would bring some of her own family's side into it.
Silence took to them easily, and all that was left was the music and the soft sound of their breath. For such a gentle song, it had Penny's heart pounding. She should have said something - she deserved it. Yet if anyone understood that when Penny was quiet, it wasn't necessarily bad, it was the one who was so patient with her. So she lead in both footing and the start of a quiet conversation.
Penny hadn't recalled if she brought it up more than once in the entirety that they'd known each other. Regardless, she knew she hadn't brought special attention to it, yet the ink manipulator knew just how much she missed this.
Her cheek rested against Lucy's shoulder, eyes drawing shut. "Thank you."
Though the moments it took to catch her eyes felt like ages, when she finally did Penny sucked in a short breath. There was the confidence her wife was known for, and it was overwhelming. A loving hand pressed to the small of her back as it had hundreds of times before, but this was different. Her hand lifted instinctively to meet Lucy's other, fingers curling around the base. Her other hand moved to Lucy's shoulder.
And she took the first step. It was all too familiar, a sense of nostalgia filling the psychometrist's senses. It'd been almost a decade as she took steps like this, but she followed with ease.
She could have said something, but words failed her.
A crinkle in Lucy's usually confident features forced a small smile to pull at Penny's lips. A present within itself was the rare chance to see Lucy like this. It humored her, and more was that Lucy took full responsibility for keeping the families away. Admittedly, the Australian deserved credit. She deflected pressure from both sides while Penny tended to their newborn. Had the psychometrist used their son as an excuse to avoid dealing with both parts of her jointed last name? Absolutely. So she gave a small nod in acknowledgement.
Before much else could be done or said, Lucy was moving again. Had she not gone far, Penny would have found it hard to keep up with her sporadic movements. A melody filled the air with something that wasn't Janelle Monae, and surprise colored Penny's features. "Lucy," she breathed, but did as she was asked. Slow steps brought her closer to the ink manipulator, eyes searching to make contact with those familiar ones.
Penny wasn't often one for gifts - or really many celebrations in general. Christmas time held something of more significance for her, however. Close to making her way onto a flight bound for New York, she turned around. She slapped her, and then she told Lucy Serrano she wanted to marry her. Penny knew that all that mattered was that she wouldn't spend the holidays away from her ever again. Presents were a side thought - if even a thought at all.
But Lucy jumped up so quickly that Penny's eyes grew wide, staying so as the Australian ranted on. Because suddenly she was being pointed at as if accused for an action she hadn't committed yet. Her eyebrows twitched upwards at the sign of a threat from her wife, humor reflecting lightly in her eyes. Lucy certainly knew how to grab Penny's curiosity. "And who would I talk to?" The Brit asked genuinely.
She leaned backwards, legs crossing on the couch, quickly followed by her arms. Waiting.
