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Lucy sat on her bed staring at the bodysuit in its red paper box. Had Lockwood asked her on a date? That couldn’t be right. They were colleagues, friends, roommates. This had to be for a case she reasoned. There was a case that required disguises. Lockwood wanted to ensure her disguise was perfect and had bought her lingerie for the occasion.
Wait. That wasn’t right.
No one would buy lingerie for work. That was insane.
Leaving the garment in its gift box, Lucy headed down to the first floor in search of Lockwood. He wasn’t in the library, or the kitchen. She quietly opened the door to the basement listening for the tell-tale sounds of the smoke jets, or Floating Joe creaking on its chain. Creeping down the stairs, she found Lockwood sitting at his desk bent over a pile of paperwork. The fancy fountain pen he insisted on using scribbled across the pages. A nearly empty cup of tea was just within reach.
“Hey,” she said quietly not wanting to startle him.
Lockwood turned to look over at her. Her mind flashed back to her first night at Portland Row. He’d looked at her the same way. The yellow light of the desk lamp lit his face in nearly the same way.
“Oh, hi,” he said softly. “What’s up?”
“I got your present,” she said shyly. Her eyes trained on the floor.
“Ah,” he breathed. “So about dinner?”
Keeping her eyes on the floor, “Yeah about that.”
“Would tomorrow work? I was thinking we could check out The Silver Seal?” Lockwood was talking a bit faster than normal. It was like he was trying to get the words out before he thought too hard about them.
“That’s just it Lockwood.” Lucy refused to meet his eye. “I can’t accept the gift.”
The room was quiet save for the same of a fountain pen being capped and set aside. Lucy kept her eyes on the floor as Lockwood’s chair scraped the concrete floor.
Black shoes entered her vision as a hand reached for her chin. A tingling filled Lucy’s heart as those long delicate fingers made to tilt her face up to meet a darkened gaze. The thumb held her steady so she couldn’t turn away.
“Luce.” Her name fell from his lips like a prayer. “Keep it, please. Even if you’re not interested in dinner. You looked so beautiful in it.”
“Lock….”Her mouth closed before she could finish. His eyes seemed to shimmer in the low light of the office. His hand fell away from her though her head stayed where he’d moved it.
“You don’t have to say anything, Lucy,” he said quietly, “but please keep it. It was made for you.” He turned back towards his desk.
“I should get back to work anyway. George will have my head if I don’t finish this paperwork.” The joking tone of his voice seemed off. The wide smile on his face was obviously fake.
Lucy turned away and headed up the stairs. She missed the quiet sniffle that issued from the room’s other occupant as she headed back to the attic and bed.
**
Lucy…. Skull called from his spot on the windowsill. Lucy…. She ignored him. The moldy skull had been pestering her for weeks.
Lucy…. That was the third time in under a minute.
“What,” Lucy seethed. She had been enjoying a spot of silence before she was forced to head down to the basement and oil the chains she needed for the stone knocker case tonight. Lockwood and George were down there now doing paperwork and preparing for their own jobs.
Ever since that night, when Lockwood had insisted she keep the garment, he’d been avoiding her. Being in the same room made Lucy feel claustrophobic. So she avoided him in return.
When are we going to talk about my freedom?
Lucy took a deep breath and rubbed her tired eyes. She’d barely been sleeping. Every time she closed her eyes there were Norrie and Lockwood bloody and ghost locked.
“We’ll talk about it when I’m ready to talk about it?” Lucy flung a sweater from the floor at the jar. It caught on the valve but didn’t close the opening.
And you’ll be ready when exactly? The Skull sounded especially grumpy today. That didn’t bode well for its usefulness on the case.
Oh wait, let me guess. When Lockwood professes his undying love for you? The Skull made a sound that Lucy assumed was meant to be a snigger.
“Lockwood is my friend,” Lucy insisted.
Friends buy people such scandalous clothing? I could have sworn that sensibilities have not changed so dramatically in the last 100 years. I remember seeing this one girl’s, Peggy's, knees once. Nearly fainted.
Lucy’s head was starting to hurt. “He was trying to be nice. He knows I don’t have a lot of fancy clothes.”
Right…… The Skull was silent after that.
Pulling herself from bed, Lucy headed for the basement. George was in the kitchen working on dinner. A pot bubbled on the Aga stove.
“Lucy,” George called just as she reached for the basement door.
“George?” She turned to face him; arms crossed over her chest.
“Whatever is going on between you and Lockwood,” he paused so she could acknowledge what he was saying. “Fix it.”
Lucy frowned “Fix what?”
George rolled his eyes as he turned to check the pot. “I’m not blind you know. Something happened and now you two can hardly stand to be in the same room. We have some team cases coming up and I will not have you two putting us at risk.”
“I….” Lucy stopped short as the basement door opened to reveal slightly disheveled Lockwood.
Lucy wondered if he’d just finished his daily rapier practice considering he was in a white t-shirt instead of his button-up. His hair was wild. The dark circles under his eyes looked darker and deeper than usual. He glanced at her as he walked past to pick up a chocolate biscuit from the table and make a note on the thinking cloth. Lockwood glanced at George before leaving the room.
“See,” George said gesturing towards Lockwood’s retreating form. “For all our sakes fix it.”
Lucy sighed heavily. Her headache was getting worse. Maybe she should cancel the stone knocker and take a rest day. She continued to the basement to check her kit bag and oil the chains within.
**
As it turned out the stone knocker wasn’t a stone knocker. Lucy had instead found herself faced with a weak poltergeist. It had taken some time to find the tiny lead soldier that was the poltergeist’s source, but it was enough that something didn’t feel right as she hailed a cab on the way home.
Neither Lockwood nor George were in when she returned. While she waited for the kettle to boil, Lucy assessed herself. She had some bruises, but what job didn’t result in bruises? Nothing felt pulled or broken. She patted her clothes and looked for any obvious tears. Nothing. Lucy bit her lip as she pulled off her shirt to inspect her bra. She hissed as her fingers ran over the wire of the nude plunge. It wasn’t broken, but the wire was somehow twisted creating a point that hit the bottom of a rib and pulled away from her side in a way that caused the side of the wire to poke out into her arm.
“Bloody hell,” she cursed.
“Everything alright…” the voice died.
Lucy dropped her shirt just as the kettle boiled. She whipped around to see Lockwood, a bit worse for wear, standing in the doorway.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she hurried to pick up the kettle. “Tea?”
Lockwood nodded, suddenly mute.
Lucy made the tea as Lockwood danced around her handling the toast. They always made toast if they were home before George because sometimes biscuits just didn’t quite cut it.
They sat in awkward silence as they ate and drank. Lucy could hear and feel the jiggling of Lockwood’s leg under the table. Her hand itched to reach out and stop it, but she couldn’t.
“Lucy,” Lockwood started quietly drawing her gaze back to his face. “Are you going to need to take another trip of April’s?”
Lucy nodded.
“I’ll give you the company card, so you can buy what you need,” he said taking another bite of toast.
“I can pay for myself,” she offered weekly. Why was it so hard to tell Lockwood no? Was it the kicked-puppy look? Was it the glimmer of hope in his eyes?
“It’s a business expense,” he said pulling the worn leather bifold from his pocket. Even as he placed the black plastic in her hand it felt wrong. Regardless her fingers still wrapped around it.
“Ok. You need anything while I’m there,” she asked out of habit.
“I could use some more Soak wash, and if you see something that you think I might like April has all my sizes,” Lockwood said offhandedly.
“Ok, I’ll look when I go tomorrow.” Lucy smiled awkwardly over her mug. A hint of something sparked in his eyes. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth even though he was clearly exhausted.
“Goodnight Lockwood,” Lucy said standing from the table.
“Sleep well Luce,” he mumbled half into his mug. But she heard it.
**
The next morning she found herself at April’s for the second time. Someone she didn’t recognize was standing behind the counter bent over a large book. The woman looked oddly professional in her blue dress. She was still as sassy as Lucy remembered April and Laura being. The A-line cut and unusual lace accentuated the woman’s plump curves, the deep v-neckline exposing straps of the bright coral bra beneath. A pair of silver snips hung on a silver chain around her neck.
“Hello,” she called smiling brightly. “Welcome to April’s.”
“Hi,” Lucy said uncertainly. She let her gaze wander looking for a familiar face.
“Are April or Laura here?”
The woman’s smile quirked into a wry grin. “They’re in a meeting with a brand rep. I’m so jealous because the next season’s colours are to die for. I seriously fear for my pocketbook.”
Lucy laughed.
“Would you be ok with my helping? Or would you like to wait for one of them?” The woman pulled something that looked strangely like a rolodex from under the counter.
“I’m ok with you,” Lucy said “I don’t have a lot of time today.”
The woman nodded, “Name?”
“Lucy Carlyle. And um… Anthony Lockwood asked I look at your menswear as well.” Lucy shifted nervously from foot to foot as the woman rang a finger through the cards pulling two out. Both cards had purple stars in the corners. Though one also had what appeared to be a red ink and a smiley face sticker as well.
“Alrighty Miss Lucy. Let's head on back and take a peak. Any specific needs today?” The woman was walked backward in an effort to keep the conversation going.
“Nothing specific.” Lucy found herself enjoying the pink burlesque wallpaper just as much as she’d enjoyed the gold version on her last visit.
“I’ll be right back,” the woman said, before stopping herself. “My name’s Fiona by the way.”
“It's nice to meet you, Fiona,” Lucy said almost reflexively.
The woman returned shortly with a few bras, a long blue gown, a pair of boxers with little visitors on them, and a silk housecoat in a black and white pattern.
Fiona moved quickly with little chitchat which Lucy appreciated. On went the blue version of her black mesh with the straps. It was automatic yes, as were its matching practical panties. The black lace from her wish list was tried again. She still loved it, but couldn’t justify the price today. Maybe she’d set herself a goal of some kind to trick herself into purchasing it.
Next was a light blue version of her trusty beige mesh. It felt looser though.
“Is it supposed to be loose? I have the beige one and it's tight as all get out,” Lucy asked.
Fiona let out a noise that was half chuckle and half sigh. “So, and stop me if Laura told you this last time because bras are handmade the fits vary wildly. You can purchase the same bra from two different batches and they will fit differently depending on how the fabric was cut, how the seamstress was feeling, the phase of the moon, etc. Add to that complex equation that the different dyes impact the fabric differently and every bra is a unique fit. Hence why you come to us.”
Lucy just smiled and nodded. This was why she hated clothes shopping and was happy to be thing perky woman’s doll to dress up.
“I can try the next band size down if you’d like,” Fiona offered.
“Please? I really like the beige version,” Lucy said. Fiona nodded, adding the bra to a hook on the wall behind her.
“Could I ask a bit of an odd question,” Lucy asked as Fiona pulled a berry purple bra of a hanger.
“Shoot. Bra ladies are like priests and bartenders. There’s confidentiality inside these fitting rooms.” Fiona smiled.
The bell on the door rang.
“Hello,” Fiona shouted as the click of heels speedwalking reached Lucy’s ears.
The soft tones of another voice Lucy didn’t recognize with an unusual accent reached her.
“Ok, we’re good. You were saying,” Fiona said as she fasted the purple bra. It was fine, but something about the bra felt off to Lucy. She shook her head without even checking in the mirror.
“If your boss bought you a sexy piece of clothing and asked you to dinner….” She started.
Fiona leaned against the dark wall, “Lockwood gave you the bodysuit?”
“How did you?” Lucy’s eyes were wide. Her mouth opened and closed unable to find the correct words.
“I’ll be honest Lucy. If Lockwood gave me a piece of lingerie that from what Laura and April said looked amazing, I’d be doing a bit more than going to dinner,” Fiona explained pulling a black and tan plunging bra from her selection.
“but, he’s my….” Lucy stumbled over the word colleague, “friend. We live together. He couldn’t possibly…”
“Lucy, I’m not sure how attraction works up North. Laura’s not been forthcoming in that department. But you’re gorgeous and Lockwood gets to see you being a kickass agent night after night. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t interested in you.”
Fiona fastened the bra and shook her head. “Not the best shape.”
She stepped back, as Lucy stood there tits out. “I’m going to take another spin in Narina, see what else I have for you. Try the gown while I’m gone. I think you’ll like it. And the other two are for Lockwood if you think he’d like them.”
Fiona slipped out of the room leaving Lucy alone with her thoughts.
The blue gown was stunning. The silky material was cool against her fingers. Carefully she slid it over her head. The sides were sheer lace panels in the same blackened sapphire shade as the main garment.
Looking in the mirror Lucy almost didn’t recognize herself. She looked like a starlet. The fabric accentuated her curves but hid her belly. Turning around she examined the back. Did her arse always look that good? She could have sworn it was flat this morning.
Keeping it on, Lucy examined the items pulled for Lockwood. The boxers looked really cute with their little visitors on them. They felt like a sports mesh of some kind, perfect for a night's work. The housecoat would probably be perfect for Lockwood in the summer. It was silky too. As she looked closely at the pattern she could mark out lavender bundles and rapiers. She’d get both for him, as a thank you.
“Holy shit,” Fiona said as she stepped back through the curtain with another three bras. “I had a feeling that gown was going to look amazing, but sometimes I surprise myself.”
Lucy blushed.
“Alright let's get these bras done, and we can see about everything else,” Fiona said as she turned to hang up the bras.
The pair passed quickly. The light blue in the tighter band was better, but she had some bubbling.
“Fucking party girl,” Fiona said under her breath.
“Party girl?” Lucy asked confused.
“Oh… So everyone is asymmetrical. Even the surgically enhanced. So we always fit to the larger breast. To make it easy to identify which is which, we call the bigger one the party girl. Since she’s always ready to pop out and party. The other one, well, we help it catch up if we need to.”
Lucy looked at herself in the mirror again, “So my right…”
Fiona nodded, “Just a hair bigger than lefty. If you like this one, it might work during a different part of your cycle. Since breasts change size with your hormones. Or if you’re wearing it to fight visitors, what are they going to say? Boo?”
Lucy belly laughed at that last comment.
The last bra an interesting baby pink t-shirt bra was fine, but not her favorite.
Once Lucy was again clothed and standing at the front desk with Fiona she surveyed the items. Two things for Lockwood and three for her. Not a bad haul. However she asked Fiona to note that she’d like colours other than blue next time.
“Can do babe. The next round of colours are lighter pinks, purples, and mid-tone greens,” Fiona said as she rang the purchases up.
“Lucy,” Laura said as she walked out of the back room. “So happy to see you again. You got some lovely things this time. And Lockwood is going to love the underwear. They’re like yours. Silver-infused and super breathable. Perfect for all that fencing practice or work.”
Lucy had Fiona box up the robe and underwear in one of those red boxes and swiped Lockwood’s card without thinking about the total. If she thought too hard she wouldn’t make it back to Portland Row.
“Enjoy your goodies,” Fiona and Laura called as she walked out the door and headed back home.
**
She found Lockwood in the library that night when she had returned from her job in White Chapel.
“Hey,” she said softly. He still heard her. His eyes peered at her from over the top of True Hauntings.
“Hi.” He was nervous, his finger tapping the glossy cover in what Lucy thought might be morse code.
“I ummmm,” she started before pulling the red box from behind her back.
Lockwood carefully placed his magazine over the arm of the chair before reaching for the box. Lucy tried not to fixate on his fingers as he carefully removed the tape. Once he started on the tissue paper, she could feel her face and other parts heating up. Such a delicate touch as he revealed the items she’d bought for him. Would he use a delicate touch on other things?
A breathy chuckle pulled her from her fantasy. “They’re perfect Luce.”
He set the pants aside and pulled out the robe. “I think I could meet a client in this one.”
With a flourish, he slung the housecoat around his shoulders. The black and white complimented his button up and trousers.
“Thank you.” The soft smile on his face warmed her heart.
“Also, I was wondering if you’d like to grab dinner sometime. Maybe this Friday at the Silver Seal?” The words spilled from her in a rush. But she saw how his face and eyes seemed to brighten.
“This Friday,” he confirmed, “I hear it’s a happening place for agents.”
“Good. Cause I already had Holly clear our schedules,” Lucy smiled.
“Dare I ask what brought around this change?” Lockwood stepped closer to her, filling her senses with his cologne.
“Nothing really,” Lucy said tilting her face up to meet his warm gaze.
“You sure? April can be pretty blunt when it comes to matters of the heart,” Lockwood joked. Lucy’s stomach flipped as she watched Lockwood’s eyes flick back and forth between her lips and her eyes.
“Anthony,” she whispered.
“Luce,” he returned.
“Kiss me?”
With a soft snort, Lockwood tilted his head and bent to capture her lips in a sweet kiss.
**
Friday night, Lockwood anxiously paced around the front hall of Portland Row. His hand ran through his hair musing the carefully gelled style into a wild mop.
“Breathe Lockwood. If she was going to pull a runner she’d have to get past you,” George sighed from his favorite chair in the living room. His nose was buried in a comic book.
“She was supposed to be down already,” Lockwood groaned.
Holly appeared at the top of the stairs. Lockwood’s face screwed up with obvious anxiety. She rolled her eyes as she passed.
“When were you going to tell me about this lingerie shop Lockwood,” she teased.
“When you needed new bras,” Lockwood sighed.
“Well, I’ll be going to see them tomorrow. I need a refresh and have my severance from Rotwell to burn.” Holly was grinning widely.
“Say hi to April for me,” Lockwood offered. “She may give you the friends and family discount.”
“Is that how you afford all those posh pajamas,” Holly ribbed.
The witty retort Lockwood planned died on his lips as Lucy appeared at the top of the stairs. He was so fucked. He’d seen her in the bodysuit before. But this was entirely different.
Instead of acres of bare creamy skin, her curves were encased in what looked like leather trousers. The bodysuit contrasted with her skin and the pants giving her an ethereal glow.
Holly had done some magic with makeup and a hairbrush as well. Lucy still looked like herself, just enhanced. There was a hint of natural blush below the foundation. Something fluttered in his stomach.
“It's too much isn’t it,” Lucy said as she descended to the first floor. “The Skull wouldn’t shut up about how makeup was for whores.”
“You look beautiful Luce. If anyone or anything tells them differently, I would be happy to introduce them to the Fittes Furnaces,” Lockwood offered leaning down to peck her lips.
“Argh,” George groaned. “If you two make a habit of this lovely dovey stuff, we’re going have some new rules around here. Starting with no PDA in front of me.”
Lucy flipped George off as she returned the peck with one of her own.
“Leather trousers Luce?” Lockwood grinned
“I asked Laura for styling advice,” Lucy grinned back conspiratorially. “Figured they fit with the rest of my punk wardrobe.”
“That they do,” Lockwood concurred, “remind me to buy Laura a thank-you gift.”
The pair laughed as George began fake retching noises beside them.
“So dinner?” Lockwood asked as he pulled Lucy to the door.
“Dinner,” Lucy confirmed as they headed out to the waiting cab.