The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Monday

[betterthanaplan]

Right. So. This morning was a thing that had happened. On the one hand, Octavia seemed ready to talk, finally. On the other, it felt like Duke had just played "swap the important person in your life who's pissed at you".

"I'll make some coffee," Duke said, leading Octavia into the galley. "And . . . breakfast? Maybe?"

[for the girl]

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[okteiviakom]

Okay, now Octavia's eyebrows went way up. Maybe it was a surprise when he put it like that.

But she seemed baffled, more than anything.

"What?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged. “We’re two very flirty people. I’m not saying we were going to do anything. Just — maybe that contributed a little. To this morning.”

Samael had gotten them both free and clear. But when they were all their grownup, present day selves, it all got so much more complicated.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia blinked a couple times.

Then she shook her head. A little. "I... don't think that's it."

[betterthanaplan]

"Really? 'Cause that's kinda . . . all I got."

He was a little worried Lucifer would never come back.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes. As if either of those things could make any of this easier, or less complex.

"Did he tell you I can hurt him?" she asked. "I mean, I can make him bleed. I shouldn't be able to, but I am."

[betterthanaplan]

"What?!"

Wow. That was loud. Also clearly a "no, he didn't tell me that."

"Since when?!"

[okteiviakom]

It was loud enough to startle Octavia, no less. Her eyes were open again.

"Apparently I scratched him when I was a raccoon," she said. "And we -- tested it, with a knife. When I was in Baltimore."

[betterthanaplan]

"That's --" Duke let go of her hair to run both hands through his own. (Guess he was using that 3-in-1 on his own hair today.) "Holy shit. I thought only Chloe could do that."

[okteiviakom]

"And it's not even the same as it is with her," Octavia said with a little shake of her head. "When it's Chloe, anyone can hurt him. When it's me, as far as we can tell..."

Because they'd been so scientific with testing it.

"It's just me."

[betterthanaplan]

“Holy shit,” Duke said again. “That’s — that’s still kinda huge, isn’t it?”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's nod was slow.

"Yeah."

It made it very specific to her.

[betterthanaplan]

"And . . . that's why you think he ran?"

[okteiviakom]

"I don't know why he ran," Octavia said, sighing. "I'm just... telling you."

She leaned her shoulder against the wall, and ran her hand down her face in an unconscious imitation of him. "I don't know, Duke."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke sighed, wincing a little when soap dripped into his eye.

"I know. I just -- he'll come back, right?"

[okteiviakom]

"He'll come back," Octavia promised, quiet but somehow a little more steady. At least, while she said that. "Might pretend nothing happened when he does. But he'll come back."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah," Duke said with a soft laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like Luce."

They'd have to talk more later about Lucifer and how he might or might not fit into . . . wherever the two of them ended up in their own relationship. But right now. . . .

"Don't suppose I could ask you to return the hair favor?"

He at the very least needed to load up on conditioner here, after getting the 3-in-1 in his hair.

[okteiviakom]

They'd have to wait and see what kind of Lucifer they were getting back in the first place, anyway.

"Sure," Octavia said, soft and quiet again.

But if he wanted conditioner, he was going to have to ask for it, because one of the three was conditioner, come on now.

[betterthanaplan]

That was a lie made up by the soap company.

Duke reached for the conditioner bottle and held it out to her. "Do you think we'll be okay?"

[okteiviakom]

"I think," Octavia said, as she took the bottle, and her fingers bumped against his, "it's going to take time."

Because they were a trainwreck, right now. In so many ways.

"But I do." She had to believe it, because otherwise she wasn't sure what she'd do. She bit on her lip for a second, studying the bottle but not really seeing it. Then she looked up again. "Do you?"

[betterthanaplan]

"I want to," Duke said. "I really do. But yeah. We definitely need time."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia looked down at her hands. Squeezing conditioner out of the bottle made for a convenient excuse.

Her voice was softer once more, when she spoke again. She was hesitant to say this, worried about how he'd take it. "I think I'm gonna stay on my own boat for a while."

As an actual choice, this time, instead of the direct result of another fight.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke sucked a small breath in through his teeth and nodded. "I understand."

[okteiviakom]

"Do you?" Octavia asked softly, as she looked up. "I'm not leaving."

It felt like something that should be said out loud.

[betterthanaplan]

"It's fine," Duke said quickly, not really grasping what she just said. "I'm fine, you just do what you gotta do."

He was pretty mortified by how he'd reacted this morning, and doing his best to cover for it now.

[okteiviakom]

"Hey," Octavia said, as she finally reached up for his hair. "Jaka. I'll just be on the next boat over."

She wasn't buying his 'fine'. She never did.