"Luce, have you seen my blue tie?''
Puffing heavily, Lucy Carlyle peeled a strand of hair off her sweaty forehead and rolled her eyes.
"You leant it to Kipps for the interview, remember?'' She yelled back.
There was a loud curse, and then the door at the top of the basement stairs creaked open.
Sensing her workout was over, Lucy put down her rapier and sat down on the old couch they'd moved into the basement.
It had been damaged during the attack on Portland Row a year earlier and stuffing now leaked from several stab wounds in the cushions, but they couldn't bear to get rid of it.
Instead, it provided respite for weary bodies in between training sessions and making the trek back upstairs.
It also currently housed a stack of George's dirty laundry, waiting for the washing machine to be free. Lucy pushed it onto the floor, trying to avoid contact with any exposed skin.
Anthony Lockwood grumbled as he made his way over and flopped down beside her, his white shirt rolled up at the sleeves.
"Remind me never lend anything to Kipps again,'' he said, scowling. "He still hasn't returned that book on Cold Maidens he borrowed either.''
Stifling a smile, Lucy nudged him with her knee.
"Have you heard how he got on?''
Lockwood shook his head. "I'm sure he'll be a shoe-in though, as long as he hasn't pissed off Barnes in the past 24 hours.
Lucy's mouth pressed into a line. True, Barnes had recommended Kipps for a Sergeant's job with DEPRAC, and the inspector was one of the most respected officers at the department.
On the other hand, he and Kipps were almost equally as irritable, so there was every chance he had rescinded that recommendation after meeting with Kipps that morning.
Ah well, she thought as she rolled her shoulders, stretching out her tight neck muscles. Kipps had been a top agent, and had gone on to be one of the heroes of the Marissa Fittes scandal. A career at DEPRAC was perfect for him. Besides, he'd reassured them that he would still help out Lockwood Co where he could, which was fine by them.
"Good session?'' Lockwood asked, eyeing her rumpled and dusty crop top and leggings.
Somehow, no matter how hard he trained, Lockwood only ever managed to look dashingly dishevelled. It annoyed and charmed Lucy in almost equal measure.
"Not bad. My knee's still a bit sore, but it's healing nicely.''
A week earlier Lucy had twisted her knee after tripping over a gravedigger's shovel that had been left lying around while they cleared a spectre from a cemetery. George swore it was Lucy's cursing rather than any silver net that had done away with the ghost in the end.
Lockwood reached out and put his hand on the offending joint, gently rubbing small circles on it with his smiled, the gesture sending a rush of warmth into her chest.
"That feels nice,'' she made a contented noise as she leaned over, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.
She closed her eyes, thinking back to a time when an action as simple as that would have seemed like a pipe dream.
It had been almost a year since the explosion at Fittes that had rocked the foundations not only of the prestigious agency, but of the country. The scandal that followed only grew as the truth about Marissa, which DEPRAC had initially sought to hush up, leaked out.
There had been protests at first, furious rallies and street marches. But as reports of Visitors started to slowly decrease, the anger began to subside. As far as Lucy could tell, people just wanted to move on.
While hauntings had started to drop, Lockwood Co was still plenty busy. With the decimation of Rotwell and Fittes, plus their high profile role in bringing down Marissa, their tiny agency was more in demand than ever.
Between that, Kipps likely stepping back, and George immersed in the book he was writing about the Problem's origins, that was unlikely to change any time soon.
But, as much as they enjoyed working together, Lucy and Lockwood still managed to carve out a little time for themselves where they could.
Because it had also been a year since Lockwood had given Lucy the beautiful gold necklace that had once belonged to his mother, a sign of his devotion to her.
A year since they had gone on their fateful walk, when they had held hands as they strolled around their neighbourhood and crossed into a new phase of their relationship.
There had been some awkwardness at first, without a doubt. While their friends were not exactly surprised by this turn of events, it did change the dynamics of the house slightly. For example, as much as they tried not to pack on the PDA in front of the others, occasionally it couldn't be avoided.
Lucy still flushed when she recalled the first time George had walked in on them kissing in the library. Their poor friend had dropped his cereal bowl onto his foot.
In the first few months they had also taken to sneaking in and out of each others' rooms, although they had given that up after Holly, arriving early one morning to get a head start on some baking, had almost jumped out of her skin when she bumped into Lucy tip-toeing out of Lockwood's room in the dark.
Lockwood must have felt Lucy's smile against his shoulder as she remembered that very awkward interaction.
"What are you thinking about?''
"How much I enjoy not having to creep out of your room like some secret mistress any more,'' she replied. She felt his body shake as he laughed.
"I don't care if you creep out, sneak out, do cartwheels on your way out, as long as you keep arriving in the first place.
She sat up and met his gaze, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I'm not doing anything right now….''
Just as Lockwood's hand started to slide up to her thigh, the basement door crashed open again.
"Oi! Kipps and Barnes are here!''
Lucy groaned and slumped back down as George shut the door again. Lockwood chuckled and helped her to her feet.
"Raincheck?''