Haven, Maine, over the weekend
Jul. 25th, 2020 10:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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]
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]
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 08:10 pm (UTC)"This is bizarre," Duke said. "He's going to hurt himself."
"Will not," Nathan muttered. "Can't feel it."
"Well aren't you just special, Nate."
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 08:21 pm (UTC)In case anything happened.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 08:37 pm (UTC)"Nothing hurts you, does it, Nathan. Even when you try."
"At least I'm not a parasite," Nathan shot back, wild grin on his face. "Like you." He started laughing, loud and full-throated, like he couldn't stop.
Duke laughed along, humoring him. "That's a good one."
Nathan flung himself against the chains again, panting. "Just using people. . . ." He laughed, bouncing in place. "Like you always do. Plan on using Audrey, too?"
Duke took a deep breath through his nose, reminding himself not to rise to Nathan's level.
Nathan kept laughing. "Of course you are. Of course you are, that's what you do! You and your little whore --"
He cut off when Duke's fist collided with his face.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 09:01 pm (UTC)Otherwise, her heart would have been aching for Duke.
Nathan's little jab at her, however, would probably not have gotten to her even if she hadn't been keeping a tight rein on her emotions. She'd been called much worse, by people who mattered much more.
But that didn't mean seeing the punch happen wasn't satisfying.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 09:10 pm (UTC)The trouble being, Nathan didn't even feel it. That and that punching a guy in the face was a great way to get their blood on you.
Nathan spit and laughed. "Can't hurt me, remember?"
Duke lurched to his feet, eyes glued to his hand and the specks of blood absorbing into his skin. He spun, not wanting Nathan to see. Not wanting to see Nathan, tied down and helpless and so goddamn infuriating, just asking to be ended.
Nathan didn't have any family. Other than the Chief, who'd never shown any signs of his trouble. Killing him wouldn't do anything but put blood on Duke's hands, metaphorically and literally. Duke grit his teeth and wrapped his arms around himself as he staggered down the dock.
Maybe throwing himself into the water would help keep this damn trouble under control.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 09:16 pm (UTC)And seeing Duke react like that, well, it was something she recognized.
She was on her feet instantly, but didn't move. Just -- watched, but now with a heavy weight inside her, a squirming thing of worry.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 09:23 pm (UTC)Duke ignored him. He made it to the end of the docks and sat abruptly, feet dangling over the edge as he curled in on himself and tried to breathe through the rush. The boards of the dock cracked under his fingers. If he had to get up right now, he'd take chunks of them with him.
Slowly, the rush subsided. And Duke was left with just his bruised throat and aching head, and Nathan screaming and taunting him from the other end of the dock.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 09:32 pm (UTC)More or less, anyway.
"Shut up," she told Nathan, cold and assertive - and one hundred percent sure it wouldn't do anything.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 09:42 pm (UTC)Duke shivered faintly -- he was still shirtless -- and tilted his head into the sun, his eyes closed. He wondered if he'd ever be able to come back here without running headfirst into his trouble and his and Nathan's past.
He wished he could pretend that meant he wouldn't keep coming back here.
He slowly stood and made his way back over, head still down, hand wrapped around the back of his neck. "So. Naturally, Nathan goes nuts and his first instinct is to come try to kill me."
"'Cause you're a prick," Nathan spat.
"Yes, thank you." Duke waved him off and looked at Octavia. "What do you suppose everyone else in Haven would do if they lost their minds? Maybe we should be on the look out for more attackers."
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 09:52 pm (UTC)But she knew he wasn't, even without asking. So instead, she cast a glance around. "Maybe," she said. "Though I feel like if we were about to get swarmed, it would've started happening already."
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 09:59 pm (UTC)"Audrey likes the strange stuff," Nathan said. "Must be why she seems to like you."
"Jealous, Nathan?" Duke asked.
Nathan hissed wetly through his teeth.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 10:02 pm (UTC)"I shouldn't hit him until he shuts up."
Not a question. She was just telling herself that.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 10:11 pm (UTC)Nathan stared at her with a strange grin on his face, still rocking against the chains.
"What did he promise you?" he asked. "Did he say he loves you? He doesn't know what that word even means."
"I'm not opposed to gagging him, though."
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 10:14 pm (UTC)Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 10:20 pm (UTC)He didn't like leaving Octavia with Nathan alone. But he also needed to be away from Nathan's goading words and -- more importantly -- the blood still slowly dripping down his chin.
Thrown into a wall. Choked. Blood running down a chin. His trouble going off.
This was all just -- a lot to deal with.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 10:24 pm (UTC)(This time.)
She watched Duke walk away, and then locked everything down again, crossing her arms.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 10:36 pm (UTC)[I'M NOT SORRY]
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 10:44 pm (UTC)"And don't you forget it."
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 10:57 pm (UTC)"I see you two are bonding." He held the rag out to Octavia. "Do the honors?"
"You're going to eat him alive," Nathan said, panting through his teeth again. "Good."
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 11:11 pm (UTC)But now she grabbed the rag, and yanked Nathan's head back, and stuffed the rag in his mouth with very little care for anything except shutting him up and not actually suffocating him in the process.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 11:15 pm (UTC)"Audrey owes us so much for this one," said Duke.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 11:17 pm (UTC)"As soon as this is done, can we just... go?"
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 11:36 pm (UTC)He'd be back in a couple weeks for Bill and Geoff's opening, but he wasn't going to drag Octavia along with him if she didn't want to deal with all of this again.
The flush drained out of Nathan's face and he stopped rocking, blinking and shaking his head like a dog shaking off some water. He looked up at Duke, then around, frown deepening with every moment.
"Well. At least that didn't take a whole hour."
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 11:45 pm (UTC)"Are you back?" she asked. She didn't want the gag to be removed only for him to start spewing more goading.
Re: BUT THEN!
Date: 2020-07-26 11:49 pm (UTC)"You got hit by a trouble," Duke told him. "We're your babysitters."
Nathan's response to that was still muffled, but pretty easy to translate anyway.
"Yeah. Same to you, buddy."
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