The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Monday morning

[betterthanaplan]

Duke and Octavia had entertained a guest last night. Which was the perfect excuse for Duke to go all out in the kitchen this morning, whipping up omelettes and waffles and bacon and sausage and plenty of fresh fruit. He always kept his galley well stocked when he was in port for just such an occasion, though he'd had less of a reason to really show off in the last few months that he used to.

Lucifer was a snob, though. So Duke really wanted to bring his A-game.

"So. We thinking mimosas? Bloody mary's? I make a mean irish coffee. . . ."

[for thems who stayed the night]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

Octavia rolled her eyes. "It's his restaurant, he decides what's... tasteful," said a woman who had no idea how that would apply to netting.

But it was better than letting this conversation slide toward any more talk of jail in Haven.

[betterthanaplan]

"Bar," Duke said. "It's my bar. That people sometimes eat at." He shrugged. "You know, assuming it hasn't gone under while I've been down here."

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm sure you can always smuggle some liquor back in and get it started again if it is," Lucifer told him, amused. "How many bars does a place like Haven even have?"

[okteiviakom]

... This was still a little too much talk of Haven.

But Octavia was stuffing her face with waffles and fruit, now, so at least it wasn't obvious she thought that.

[betterthanaplan]

Okay, but that just meant the Haven talk would keep going. Ask for what you need, Octavia.

"Let's see." Duke counted on his fingers. "Rusty Bucket, which is the quaintest little dive bar you've ever seen. Shiny Scupper's for people who like to pretend if it's classy that means they're not alcoholics. And the Grey Gull, that one's mine. It's the party bar. There's probably a couple others, but those are the big ones."

[my_own_advocate]

"Then going out of business is hardly something you should worry about," Lucifer said, "Since the rest somehow manages to sound even more dreadful."

Booze? Booze. He took some booze.

"Now in LA, we'd blink and your bar was suddenly a gourmet Mexican-Korean fusion place."

[okteiviakom]

Look, making it known she didn't enjoy Haven talk right now would have brought everyone's mood down! It was clearly better to just wait it out.

And, look! It was already working!

Enough that she actually looked up, reaching for her coffee. "Now that just sounds like a Fandom thing."

[betterthanaplan]

"Fandom's restaurants aren't nearly that creative," Duke said, shaking his head. "But also, that mostly just sounds like a reason LA is terrible. New doesn't have to mean better."

[my_own_advocate]

"No one said new was better," Lucifer said, "But more interesting's more interesting." He took another bite of waffle. "My Lux is old, but it's classy. It certainly doesn't have netting."

[okteiviakom]

"And I just meant a restaurant magically turning into a different restaurants would be like Fandom," Octavia clarified.

But let's face it, she also didn't know fusion cuisine was a thing.

[betterthanaplan]

"Okay, fine, I'm just wrong." Duke rolled his eyes. "But yes, the Gull is probably fine. In all its bohemian chic glory."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer shook his head with a sigh. "Now I wonder if your Diner's ever been anything but a diner," he mused.

[okteiviakom]

"On this island?" Octavia replied, after a sip of coffee. "At least temporarily for sure."

[betterthanaplan]

"If I can spend a weekend as an actual duke, I'm sure that diner's been, like, a seedy nightclub or something at least."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer blinked. "You were an actual duke?" he asked, with barely restrained amusement. "Did I miss this?"

[okteiviakom]

"It was before we met," Octavia supplied, looking up at Duke. "Right before, actually, I think? Maybe I'm a tiny bit bummed I missed that."

But she'd been busy planning to seduce and murder Anakin, so...

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm not," Duke said. "I was Duke Duke. Of Windsorhamceistershire or something equally absurd. It was my first experience with the real weirdness around here."

[my_own_advocate]

"So how was your duking around the place?" Lucifer said, grinning.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's head tilted, just by a fraction. "It involved suits, right?"

[betterthanaplan]

"It involved suits. And planning to sail off to an imaginary landlocked town in order to claim my supposed inheritance."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer snickered, and glanced at Octavia with some mirth. "Gremlin bite?" he said. "Or were you off doing something entertaining at the time, as well?"

[okteiviakom]

"I think I was trying to seduce someone into marrying me," Octavia drawled, rolling her eyes "so I could kill them and get their money."

Kind of sad how the only part of that that actually came naturally to her was the cold-blooded murder.

[betterthanaplan]

"It was a whole thing. Rey thought she was a barista who wanted to be a wedding planner."

[my_own_advocate]

"Did you all just collectively decide to act out a soap opera?"

Lucifer did not need to try to poke Octavia - visibly, above the table - in the side, but the whole ridiculous close proximity issue - and, frankly, just feeling a bit better in general - made him slightly more fourteen years old than usual.

[okteiviakom]

Followed by Octavia's highly dignified swatting away of his hand. Almost spilling coffee in the process.

"It was one of those -- weird weekend things. I'm pretty sure."

It'd been a long, long time ago.