Haven, Maine, over the weekend

[betterthanaplan]

The last time Octavia had been to Haven, she'd gotten arrested and Gloria had had to go yell at the Chief of police.

The last time Duke had been to Haven, he'd gotten arrested and Gloria had had to go yell at the Chief of police.

They could both be forgiven for being a little nervous pulling into the harbor now, even without the "let's go meet our mutual therapist in person" part of the deal.

[for one! NFB due to distance]

Comments

Arrival

[betterthanaplan]

Where there may be someone waiting on the docks for them

Re: Arrival

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had thought about Haven a few times, over the years. Mostly when she hadn't been able to stop herself from wondering about where he was, what he was doing. If he'd gone back to Haven.

Sometimes even if he'd gone back to Nathan.

It was odd to see the town come into view, now. There was a sense of recognition, but it was so faint if felt almost as if it was something she'd seen in a dream, like a deja-vu, like her brain misfiring.

It had been too long for her to realize that she was doing the same thing she'd done the first time they'd been sailing into this harbor together. Hovering by his shoulder, by his side, with her arm winding around his back, because no matter what awaited them... This was still their space.

Re: Arrival

[betterthanaplan]

Duke tugged her in close. "You ready for this?" he asked.

Because he wasn't sure he was.

Re: Arrival

[okteiviakom]

"No," Octavia replied as she leaned more against him. "Doesn't mean I won't do it like I am, though."

Because she was Like That.

Re: Arrival

[betterthanaplan]

"I have no doubt," Duke said, then let out a deep, aggravated sigh.

Nathan was standing on the dock, his arms folded over his chest.

"I gotta start paying Beattie off or something."

Re: Arrival

[okteiviakom]

Octavia followed his gaze.

Her voice dropped into a deep, unimpressed drawl. "Chit yu vout in disha nomonjoka gaf, hmh?"

Re: Arrival

[betterthanaplan]

"He likes to search the boat. Looking for something to lock me up over." Duke rocked his head back with a little huff as a blonde woman walked up the dock and joined Nathan. "Don't know what she's doing here, though."

Agent Parker, FBI, should've been long gone. Unless they had an interest in the troubles.

Re: Arrival

[okteiviakom]

"And who's she?"

Octavia. Octavia, sounding like you were ready to deck her too if it came to that was unnecessary.

Meeting Claire

[betterthanaplan]

Assuming, you know, they survived that arrival thread

Re: Meeting Claire

[seaoftroubles]

Claire had a heads up they were coming, and made sure her office was nice and welcoming.

And that none of her other troubled clients were anywhere around to see her welcoming Duke Crocker.

Re: Meeting Claire

[okteiviakom]

There was no amount of 'welcoming' that would actually make Octavia comfortable.

But she wasn't glued to Duke's side the way she probably would have been if they'd done this seven years ago. Her coping methods were slightly different now, and they involved projecting a sense of unflappable confidence with every step she took.

How well that would work on a woman who'd heard her lock down more and more over the course of an hour (well, probably less) on the phone earlier this week, though...

Re: Meeting Claire

[seaoftroubles]

Duke hung back. This meeting was so much more for Octavia than it was for him.

Claire didn't smile. From what she knew of Octavia so far, a smile wouldn't be calming or reassuring. Instead she nodded to her, giving her a firm, assessing look.

"You must be Octavia."

Re: Meeting Claire

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was giving her one back. It was odd, putting the voice to a face. She'd never actually had to do that before.

"Yeah, and you're Claire," she rasped. Since they were pointing out the obvious. "Hi."

Re: Meeting Claire

[seaoftroubles]

"Hi." Claire gestured to one of the chairs. "Do you want to take a seat?"

Re: Meeting Claire

[okteiviakom]

Octavia glanced at the chair, then back to Claire, looking like she had no intention of sitting down.

But then she paused.

And took a second to remind herself why she was here in the first place. Because she wanted to get better, because she needed to get better, and for once it didn't matter that she couldn't tell the difference between those two things. And for any of that to happen, she would have to strip at least one protective layer off herself.

Still couldn't help the vaguely dismissive shrug as she went to take a seat.

Re: Meeting Claire

[seaoftroubles]

Claire knew how to recognize small milestones when they happened. And that dismissive shrug couldn't hide the milestone of Octavia actually accepting a step in the process.

"Thank you," she said, and glanced up at Duke. "Do you two want to chat together, or. . . ?"

Duke shrugged, looking at Octavia. "Up to her. I can wait out here, no problem."

BUT THEN!

[betterthanaplan]

It just isn't a trip to Haven without someone getting into some trouble. . . .

Re: BUT THEN!

[betterthanaplan]

Octavia was taking a moment below-decks after her conversation with Claire, and Duke was giving her plenty of space. He was up on the deck, shuffling a few crates around. He told himself he was trying make the space more inviting, but really he was just giving himself work. It was remarkably warm up here for spring in Maine -- he'd checked not long after they'd arrived, and Haven hadn't done another weird time jump or anything while he'd been gone -- and he stripped down. Letting the sun soak in and unknot his shoulders a little.

If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend he'd really gone back in time. Not just ten years to Haven in 2010, but a year in his own timeline, back to a time before Fandom, when he was still just a two-bit smuggler, moving art and booze and unmarked crates around for cash.

He didn't miss it, not really. The life of a roving vagabond had been good to him, but so had Fandom, all told. He had real friends again, not just people who'd hear him out before they tried to shoot him. He had work that he enjoyed, instead of just something he'd fallen into because being a criminal put fuel in his tanks and food on the table. He had Octavia.

He didn't want to go back. But it was nice to pretend, for just a minute.

Re: BUT THEN!

[seaoftroubles]

Nathan had come right over after leaving Audrey and Ray at the Shiny Scupper. He was pissed, full of adrenaline and jittery rage, and all he could think about was how he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel a damn thing, hadn't been able to in long enough that he couldn't remember what the world was supposed to feel like.

And it was all Duke's fault.

Everything was Duke's fault. Every terrible thing that had happened in Nathan's life. The last body Nathan had felt against his own had been Duke's and then he'd taken it all away, for some stupid smuggling scheme.

And here Duke was, on his stupid rust-bucket of a boat, flaunting his stupid perfect body and his ability to feel things like he'd never done anything wrong.

Nathan couldn't stand it.

Re: BUT THEN!

[betterthanaplan]

Duke heard him climb aboard and turned with a faint groan. "Look, Nathan --" He stopped with a frown when he saw him. Nathan's eyes were swollen and red, and there was a kind of manic look in them that Duke had never seen before.

Well. Not on Nathan, anyway. It reminded Duke painfully of the look on Octavia's face, just before she plastered her blood all over Duke's cheeks.

". . . You might want to consider switching to decaf, buddy."

Re: BUT THEN!

[seaoftroubles]

"What's it feel like?" Nathan asked, staring intently at Duke. "The sun?"

Re: BUT THEN!

[betterthanaplan]

Duke stayed braced. Nathan didn't look like he was bleeding anywhere, but it wasn't as though Nathan would even know it himself if he was.

That was almost . . . reasonable. Maybe the trouble hunt had gone badly, and Nathan needed a friend?

"Feels good," he said cautiously. He wanted to grab Nathan by the arms and force him to sit. He wanted to fix him, so he stayed rooted where he was. Waiting to see what happened next.

Re: BUT THEN!

[seaoftroubles]

Nathan looked in one of the crates lining the deck, pulling out a plaster statue. It looked heavy, but he could lift it easily.

The statue was a liar. Just like Duke. He hated it, just like Duke.

He smashed it into the deck and listened to it shatter.

Anything else?

[betterthanaplan]

We'll see

OOC

[betterthanaplan]