It's in the eyes. Always the eyes.

Chapter Two| These Peaceful Moments

Penny hummed to herself while she cleaned the dishes, she didn't mind doing such a menial task but what she did mind was her long maroon hair that was constantly getting in the way. Tying her hair would've been the first thing she could've done but she was so caught up in her thoughts that she forgot to do so. In a feeble attempt to move the hair from her face she flicks her bangs to the side with a quick movement. It only lasted for a couple of seconds before falling back to her face, she sighs in defeat.

As she was about to resume cleaning when she felt a light tap on her shoulder which made her look over her shoulder to meet a pair of kind emerald eyes: it was Crash. He raised his brow quizzically at her where he gestured to her hair. It took Penny a moment to understand until it finally clicked.

"Oh, you mean my hair?" He nods in response as Penny sends him a sheepish smile. "Ah, well, I forgot to tie it up before cleaning the dishes and now it's kinda getting in the way."

The next thing she knew Crash moved to stand behind her and began to comb her hair with his fingers. She froze realizing how awfully close he was as his fingers continued to work on her hair.

Crash tied off the ends of her hair with a small hair tie where he excitedly gestured at his finished creation. "Buu-baa-raa-daa!"

Penny wiped her hand dry to move her hair to see which was beautifully made into a long single braid. She stared at Crash through wide eyes and struggled to form a proper sentence.

"Wait–how did you do? This is–" Penny's eyes went back and forth between her braided hair and Crash. "Since when did you learn how to do this?"

Crash simply shrugged, but she was still in disbelief. "You have to teach me how you do it!"

Penny watches as he approaches to stand beside her and begins to wash the many plates that were piled up in the sink.

She was taken aback and placed her dried hand on his arm. "Wait, Crash, I'm in charge of cleaning this, you don't have to do it."

He looks over to meet her lovely ashen eyes, a reassuring smile gracing his lips. With the way he looked at her as if to say, It's fine, let me help.

Her mouth hung open slightly, but no words came out. Her wide eyes, filled with disbelief, staring at him for what seemed like forever. It was as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs, leaving her in stunned silence, unable to speak or react. Then she felt her cheeks burn as she averted her gaze towards the sink.

"Alright, you can help, but just this once!" She said with a teasing smile. His chuckle filled the room as she grabbed a sponge and started washing the dishes, her playful mood making the task feel a little lighter.

In no time, Penny was able to finish her tasks much quicker with Crash's help. After drying the last dish, she began putting the plates away in their cabinets. The ones she could easily reach were no problem, but the floating cabinet above her? That was a different story. The last time she attempted to store plates up there, she'd almost taken a nasty fall. Thankfully, Crash had caught her just in time before she hit the ground. If it weren't for him, she could have seriously hurt herself.

"There, all done!" Penny clapped her hands together, a satisfied smile spreading across her face as she admired their handiwork. She turned to Crash, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Thank you, Crash, for helping me."

Crash waved his hand and muttered his usual gibberish words, indicating that he was happy to help. Penny's heart fluttered, and she couldn't help but smile a little wider.