Wide Awake

[Penelope Blaise]

She lost Lucy's eyes, and there was relief in that. Though she knew she was still looked at, it was entirely different. Like it was normal - whatever normal was between them. Small, slow movements pulled the string holding together her top. When it was loose, she eased the fabric from her squared shoulders, watching the way she watched her.

"I lost." Penny admitted finally, but her tone refused to carry the pain she felt over such a defeat. "A bill I had proposed was turned down." The fabric fell to the floor, fingertips trailing over her own skin down the length of her form until they caught the band at her waist.

"It was so close to passing." She explained, though she wondered with the people she worked with, how it had ever gotten so far in the first place. Likely a sort of false hope in an attempt to crush the newest member of the senate. She pulled the material down over her legs, letting it drop next to abandoned silverware and coin.

[Lucy Serrano]

Of course something bad happened today. Of course there was more than just the usual strain. Lucy could only assume there was a vague sense of hope wrapped up in whatever bill she was trying to pass. It was strange to get another glimpse into her work life, but she had asked for it. Now, she had to prove she could handle it.

But her fingertips dragged down her own form, and it had her attention completely. At least until they caught the material of her clothes. Pulled it away so easily.

"You realise a vast majority of those people won't agree to something that hinders them?" Lucy asked, but it was barely a question. They both had some idea of how deep corruption ran; "They must wonder why you keep trying."

[Penelope Blaise]

Without anything left to cover herself, the senator remained standing before Lucy like she was still giving her the time to look before she would inevitably move. She was speaking of the same work she was just criticized over. Because she was right; the corruption was ridiculous within the system, taken advantage of by a raging war that began before she was even born.

With as bad as it was now, Penny wondered if it ever had been anything else.

Slowly, she stepped closer to the thief. "I believed I was forcing their hand." Penny continued, hands remaining on herself rather than the person in front of her. "They risk looking publicly bad if they don't comply." Her lips pursed, finally showing her distress over it all. "Except they've found a way to silence my proposals. The public doesn't seem to hear what I am trying to do. And I have reason to believe announcing it myself would be suicidal."

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy was freely allowed to stare, and she looked at the body near her like it was the first time she'd been granted such a courtesy. There stood the senator who kept her a secret, beneath her own eyes like it didn't really matter that there was reason to have such a secret. She felt her hands twitch with the obvious desire to reach out; every moment where she didn't was paining.

But she wanted to keep the conversation going. She wanted to prove she understood why she bothered given how she had chalked her line of work up to nothing only moments ago.

Lucy forced her eyes up in a slow kind of drag. she was missed, but those were words she shouldn't say.

"So it's all about finding the perfect set of words; the one line that can't be denied for fear of public retribution." Lucy denoted, her hands shifting upwards to drag her hair to one point. To tie it all together high above her head so it wouldn't reach the inevitable water below, "When you do, they'll come for you. They might have worse things hiding in their closets than me, but I'd be enough of a secret to ruin you."

[Penelope Blaise]

As she neared the thief, she felt the growing urge to reach for her. How she could have so easily pressed her hands to her form; to dig in nails and offer a new set of marks to brand the thief with. And slowly, she did finally extend her arms, fingers tracing lightly along the newly exposed line of her neck once her hair was out of the way.

Ruin seemed like an understatement. Were anyone to learn of the relationship the senator carried out with a thief - a female thief - her career would be in shambles. She herself would be a black mark to the Blaise name. Ruined? She would be destroyed.

"They won't find out about you." She stated confidently instead, perhaps a little too confident for her own good. There was always the chance, but it was a calculated risk. One worth taking.

Her hands fell to Lucy's shoulders, and with gentle pressure she started to guide her back towards the bathtub. "But I'd be starting a political war." She mused. "Sometimes, I believe it's necessary."

[Lucy Serrano]

A connection was something with equal weight to proper eye contact. Where there was nothing hidden behind the dark eyes she recognised so intently. There was a light brush of fingertips against her neck, which carried a very stark cry from the attitude displayed to her minutes ago. From the way those hands could hold her as they did the night before. Lucy literally wore the proof of the senator's overbearing nature on her skin, but she still didn't seem to mind.

"It's hard to find out about someone who doesn't exist." She replied, tilting her head to the side a fraction as a gloriously egotistical smile caught her features. There were few people in this world who knew who Lucy was.

As she was eased back, she took the indication as it was given. A twist of her own footing and she faced the nearby water for a brief moments before she eased herself in. There was more than enough space for two, but she hardly wanted distance to be a factor. Just like always, every aspect was directly under her control; the thief could only stare forward, wait, and ponder a decent response.

"There's only so much you can get away with with clever wording on a piece of paper." Bills could exist that unknowingly shirked a person in power, but they couldn't hope to change the world, "It is necessary, but..." A pause in her thoughtful intent. She waited instead; "Nevermind."

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny watched the way the still water rippled with as Lucy eased herself into it. Dark eyes followed her movements into the warm water, and once the thief settled it wasn't long before Penny was joining her. She pressed a hand to the side of the bathtub, stepping behind Lucy before she emerged herself in, a leg on either side of her as her arms wrapped around her waist.

Again, she was staring at her back, but this time she allowed herself the chance to truly look. To see the exact damage she'd done to her pale skin. She had almost felt bad for some of it, but with a tilt of her chin she refused to wear shame over the way she had held on, instead pressing her lips to her shoulder lightly.

"No, tell me." Penny asked, genuinely curious as to what the thief had to say. She wanted - and perhaps needed - that third perspective. "But what?"

[Lucy Serrano]

With hands around her form again, Lucy drew a slow breath inward. It had only been seconds and she had found dherself longing for the contact. Tension eased off her shoulders in mere moments, because there was some kind of resolution met.

The warm water did sear her back, if only in the places where skin had truly been broken. But the associated pain was gone within moments. It didn't seem to matter anymore.

She closed her eyes slowly when she felt lips brush against her shoulder. She should have held some kind of ground for the fact that she really shouldn't have approached the subject.

"Thieves are like... A network. It's such an extended network that they've got a hand in everything. It's all connected." And as such, it had to be known that there was interconnectivity in the Senate, too. Her own hands filtered out of the water as she tried to search the air before her for a decent explanation; "If there's better equality, the need for that network might die. But can you see people like me finding any other kind of work? Really?"

[Penelope Blaise]

It was interesting to hear the point of view of a thief on the opinion of government corruption and new policy building, but she couldn't deny the clear distraction that came with having someone so close. Her hands dropped below the water, drawing down along Lucy's legs and back up again, the movement creating small waves in the water.

She was glad that she couldn't be seen, as the corner of her mouth twitched before she pressed it against one of the many marks she had left of the thief's skin.

"What would you even do?" Penny questioned, though she didn't give the chance for an answer as she dragged her hands away from Lucy only long enough to reach for a bar of soap and a cloth. She dipped them into the water, creating a few suds before she gently pressed the cloth against the thief's back. "Someone like you will always be needed." She admitted. "There will always be those that find their ways around the system for their own benefit."

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy took a moment to consider just what kind of work she would do if or when she stopped being a useful thief. She pondered the prospects before she lost the chance to do so. Warmth brushed the still-exposed skin of her back, and she felt the way it managed a threat of pain on its own. Bruises lingered beneath the body held so fast, but they didn't matter.

"I haven't got a great list of skills aside from this." Lucy admitted. And it never seemed to matter before, but she had to wonder if in her lifetime she would see such a change; "I'd say it's one of the few professions where being a woman doesn't hinder your progress. I like that."

Of course the senator knew of such scrutiny. Not only was she young, but a woman too. It conveyed arrogance because she actively didn't belong, and she was openly smart.

"You understand that, obviously."

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny was careful not to apply too much pressure against the thief's back as she cleaned the broken skin that formed bright lines across it. She might have been known to be overbearing and even harsh, but she wasn't one to actively conflict pain when she had better control of a situation.

There was no doubt that Lucy was a skilled individual, whether people knew those skills under a different name or not, yet applying those in a more civilized society? It was a hard transition. Unless she chose to be a military spy, but she hardly could imagine the thief wanting to be a dog of the government she criticized so openly.

And, of course, it was always harder being a woman. Penny sighed, like the exhaustion of knowing her disadvantages could no longer be contained in a normal breath. "There are times I am jealous of what you do." She admitted lightly. "There is no doubt you make a difference to those on the streets."

[Lucy Serrano]

There was a kind of care taken for Lucy as she sat in such company. Practically doting hands were gentle and generous to the plight she didn't seem bothered by; she had learned how to handle this woman a while ago now, and the damage was a small price to pay for the company given.

"It's a quick fix to the damage you're trying to repair." Lucy replied quietly. Thoughtfully, where it would be the only time she might ever admit to the potential her counterpart had.

Despite the intent the senator had, Lucy slowly leaned back to press herself against the form behind her. Such closeness was always overbearing in any given situation, but she couldn't help the way she longed for it. "One day you might make it all obsolete." She reiterated with a small sigh. It sounded like something of a dream, really.

[Penelope Blaise]

The little remaining distance between them was quick to close with the way she leaned back. Penny's hand slipped from between them, cloth dropping into the water as her arms completely wrapped around the thief. She hadn't realized how much she had missed the contact until it was literally pressed up against her.

Penny ducked her head down, pressing her chin to Lucy's shoulder as she listened to the way she spoke. Her words suggested real change, and coming from her, it felt like a little spark of hope. "I doubt it'll be anything we see in our lifetime." She replied, fingertips drawing slowly up and down the length of her sides.

"There will always be plenty to keep you busy in your line of work."

[Lucy Serrano]

Now that she had settled against her counterpart, comfort was completely enveloping. It was like they hadn't fought at all, or that it had helped find a better place to talk.

Lucy felt secure in the arms around her, captivated by the hands that moved across her skin intently. She leaned back a fraction, tilting her head to the side to briefly brush her lips against her jaw.

"But our lifetime is the space where change is first implemented." Lucy replied, knowing all too well that she would argue otherwise. So she didn't leave a break; "The foundation happens now. Everything you do is privy to that foundation; every failure is still a marked attempt. It's still making everything known."

[Penelope Blaise]

Penny closed her eyes as she felt the light pressure of Lucy's lips against her jaw, light as it was. Instinctively, she leaned into the contact, arms tightening a little more around the form she held so intently.

People questioned why the senator stayed in her position despite the clear disadvantages. How she would likely never be able to see the change she wished to implement. Those she worked with - or rather, against - questioned it almost regularly, all of them educated people. It seemed ironic that a thief that had never attended school would understand better than her coworkers.

"That's why I can't stop." She replied slowly, the lifting her head just enough to try and catch those lips.