Wide Awake

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny released the small strength behind her grip once Lucy moved, though she made no attempt to let go of the thief, especially now that she had her close again. Instead she turned to the body so near to her own, the tip of her nose brushing her cheek lightly.

That nickname caught her attention, but the senator did her best to not look affected by it. Instead she pressed a light kiss to her cheek, because at the very least, she could be distracted by the physicality of it all over the name she was referred by.

"It's not right to eat with just one." Penny countered, practically appalled by the suggestion all together. "You might as well eat with your hands otherwise."

[Lucy Serrano]

It stopped surprising Lucy how proximity could have such an effect over her. Everything she offered was a stark contrast to the way she had behaved yesterday, but Lucy knew not to question motive and handle the onslaught that coincided with that questioning. It was easier to let it be. It was better, too. It felt so much better. And it was so good to give into; the short of breath nature she couldn't help reminded her of the residual effect she couldn't control.

"No, it isn't." Lucy retorted quickly, but she couldn't remain serious about it even if she wanted to. It was too funny. There was too much humour wrapped in her own words no matter how hard she tried to strip it bare. "Would you really choose the latter if it was you?"

Because it was about to be. And truth be told, she would have loved the ability to gloat when things tapered to such a point.

[Penelope Blaise]

Lucy's humored nature was drawing out Penny's own, despite the way she tried to fight it. As seemingly mundane as the subject of silverware was, Penny stuck to her guns, as she so often did with any argument thrown her way. However, that didn't prevent her from staying close. How a kiss to her cheek trailed downward to her jaw.

"You would know, wouldn't you?" She asked, voice humming against the thief's jaw as she implemented her own brand of humor. It was too easy to tease the girl who grew up to be a thief, cruel as it sounded to.

"No, but I refuse to see myself with only the two options." Even if her pockets were full, she would see to have another set before her next meal. At least she was sure of it. "And who is to say I would not have you for dinner? I can always secure a second set." She paused, briefly. "A whole set."

[Lucy Serrano]

As much as Lucy wanted to argue that technically, only one thing that could do the job of so many was needed, but she highly doubted she would ever get anywhere with it. Practicality was a thief's best friend, and nobility never quite seemed to understand the way it stretched to any given goal. She looked so amused by it. She felt amused by it because she had deemed it to be so ridiculous a notion.

And then she couldn't help the way she laughed when she spoke again. There was a certain edge to the wording chosen, and she doubted the senator had even picked up on her own implications.

"I know you have," She replied instead, nonchalant as the grinning thief could manage as eyes closed and she finally craned her neck to the longing contact, "But we're not the people who sit down and share a meal. What would we talk about? How long would we last before I - probably me, anyway - had my back to the table instead?"

[Penelope Blaise]

With the newly exposed line of Lucy's neck, Penny took no time in pressing her lips against it. The gentle pressure was almost teasing as she could feel the thief's pulse. "Honestly, I do not know." She admitted, trying to imagine sitting across the table with Lucy there. Trying to eat. Trying to hold conversation.

She was right, but the thought still put heat to her cheeks, despite the compromising position they found themselves in currently. At least her face was hidden, and at last she had the obvious on her side. Though her hand was still entangled with the thief's, she still tried to drag it back down below the water.

"When was the last you've eaten a full, decent meal?" She asked, curiosity lining her tone as she applied a little more pressure behind the way she kissed Lucy's neck.

[Lucy Serrano]

Little to her own knowledge, Lucy had given in to the way the conversation structure changed. No longer was she questioning her counterpart of her motives in the line of work she strived for. Now, they were talking about something completely different. As if it were truly so important for the thief to answer such a question.

Lucy had strength on the senator. She knew that. And she had displayed that time and time again, but when she felt the draw of her own hand to the water, she didn't fight it. Rather, she seemed to encourage the notion. That was until fingers brushed against her thigh and she shifted the hold she held. A hand to the back of hers now instead, so that she could keep it from wandering.

"I don't know what that means." She replied finally. Because evidently, what they were discussing carried importance in a matter of opinion.

[Penelope Blaise]

All it took was a little shift of her hand; she was so close - and really it was tempting to try when she had the thief as she did - but it didn't take much strength to make her stop. That hand came to a half with the simple shift of hers. But without physicality, Penny knew she was bound to fail. She had never been good at talking.

"Where you are actually full at the end of eating." Penny explained, tilting her head upward. "And it includes all the necessities of a meal; not necessarily different courses." Even didn't go into absurd lengths for her meals, she cooked them all herself, even. Having a kitchen staff wasn't necessary, at least in her own eyes.

[Lucy Serrano]

It felt like talking on borrowed time. Like the moments they shared from this point and beyond were those that shouldn't have been taken. They didn't often talk. This was the most they'd ever really talked, and for whatever reason the thief felt so hell bent on continuing that conversation. There was a type of interest here; she wanted to see where they were going before they got so lost.

"Oh," She dropped the little sound, "I don't know what the necessities are."

For Lucy, it was ridiculous that there had to be formalities at all. She was even generous enough to allow the hand beneath her own to slip just a fraction closer. Enough to force a shift to her own breathing.

"You're not asking me to dinner, senator." She pointed out then, raising her eyebrows instinctively.

[Penelope Blaise]

It shouldn't be a surprise to learn that the thief didn't know what the necessities of a meal were; insuring that there were different types of food to meet nutritional requirements. Eating just one food alone wasn't right. It made her curious about the life she lived outside of thieving. When she wasn't here, what did she do with her time? How did she go about eating a meal?

But she allowed for her hand to slip a little lower, and it effected her own breathing as much as it did Lucy's.

"Of course not." Penny reassured, "Though I assume someday you'll be here early enough to catch me eating a meal."

[Lucy Serrano]

Of course she wasn't being invited to do anything remotely personal like sit down to a legitimate conversation over a legitimate meal that would take far longer than any meal ever needed to. That couldn't be the case. They both knew that. Lucy drew her eyes to a close a she ignored the desire to laugh.

"That's why you should always eat before the sun goes down." She pointed out then, well aware of the proverbial power she seemed to have in this hold, "And you shouldn't chain me to your home unless you're here with me."

The point went wayward quickly. It was such a hypocritical statement to throw out. In the heat of any moment, she had to be better. She had to harbour better control. It was getting more and more taxing; she shouldn't have been captive in a person's home at all, regardless of company. So she made a point to do more than just let up on the pressure of the hand she held. She tracked it low instead to find an immediate end to this conversation now that it didn't suit her.

[Penelope Blaise]

Having a full meal with the thief was a concept neither of them seemed ready to accept. Penny wouldn't ask her to join her for a meal, just as she wouldn't request to. It was normal practice not to acknowledge these things. Just was the way falling on physicality outweighed conversation, even if it managed to stall for a few minutes.

An arm secured its way around the thief, pulling her in as close as she could manage in the small space they were sharing. Lips brushed against the line of her neck, but only lightly, like she wondered just how little of a connection was needed to feel the pounding of her pulse against her lips.

It was so much easier than talking. Here, Penny was sure she knew the rules.

"I never used chains." Penny pointed out finally, though her hold on Lucy had yet to loosen.

[Lucy Serrano]

There had been a small part of Lucy that worried she wouldn't be obliged in the way that she moved. There could be a sense of the senator vindictive enough to provide distance in favour of catching the thief in the way she spoke, but a mutual agreement seemed to find them instead. It wasn't as if the senator actually wanted to question the way she spoke. How she just might rather spend the day alone with her over working.

She was grateful to be wrong. Even more grateful to have enough of a hold that she was deemed so irresistible. At least in that moment. So she let herself be pulled closer, defaulting to how good it was to find a way to shift further into her proximity. It was perfect. So was she.

And then, they were still fighting. Things could never be let go of, especially when they carried a remote sense of offense.

"Might as well have." She retorted when she finally felt she had the composure to, through such heavy breaths and the overwhelming desire to give some kind of doting affection. Though, even she had to admit that free reign of a person of interest's home had its defined, obvious perks.

[Penelope Blaise]

Though Penny would never be one to openly admit it, the thief had a hold over her that was more than physical strength. It was like an addiction - she couldn't say no to the way she had moved her own hand. It was what they both wanted; an end to such a serious conversation.

Even if Penny did continue it in part, she was quick to keep it light. She kissed up the length of her neck to her jaw, humor pulling at the corner of her mouth. It wasn't like the senator to voice bold thoughts, and so she let them settle at the base of her throat instead.

"What were you expecting to find in here?" She asked instead, but her intentions still had yet to land back on the conversation entirely as she pressed her lips to her ear.

[Lucy Serrano]

When so close, it was difficult to find a way to breathe. Every single one was shallow, or grand from the sheer attempt to get a decent breath in her lungs. The threat of losing senses was always so real. Lucy knew it was enough to have most running; integrating anything real into the life of someone so shaded was a danger. When she caught the question posed to her - and how her own thoughts were left to the wayside - she used it as a kind of momentum.

A hand to the edge of the bath had Lucy trying to peel herself forwards. She could stay side by side to the senator all day if she had the choice, but it might have been too much. Too intricate and too connected.

"It's what you should expect that's a bit more interesting." She replied, shrugging her shoulders to the fact. She rolled her shoulders a second later, eager to lose the tension that built from the way she had twisted her own form. At least now, her eyes were her own, and they couldn't get lost in an equally dark set.

"It's not easy to learn about someone when there isn't much around, honestly." Lucy continued on, but she didn't leave it there; "Is that on purpose?"

[Penelope Blaise]

Even still, it was a struggle not to get caught up in the thief. Penny had a genuine curiosity for what she might have found of interest in her home. She was sure any other member of the senate would have something to hide. As for herself, the only secret she carried was the person she kept her arms wrapped around.

"I only own what I need." Penny explained simply. It seemed logical. Any luxury items were a waste. Though, as just proven with silverware, what was considered a necessity had differed between them. "I live in this big place, alone." Or, now, partially alone. "I personally do not need much to keep living."

It must have been strange to hear a noble speak as she did, but she shrugged her shoulders. "I would live in a smaller home, were it not to have an effect on my career." As pathetic as it was, she couldn't be taken seriously if she did not have the appearance of a high life.