Luke's, Friday after hours

[betterthanaplan]

In an attempt to feel less like their new "space" arrangement was actually a break-up in disguise, Duke and Octavia were having a date tonight.

At Duke's closed down diner. Look, restaurants that were open to the public were not for everyone, okay?

He'd busted his ass to make the place look a little less diner-y and a little more romantic. Most of the tables had been cleared aside and the whole place was lit by candle light, scattered across every surface. He'd made a meal heavy on the fruit, with salmon and pineapple kabobs and Caribbean confetti rice and pan-fried banana for dessert. The champagne cocktails were maybe a bit overboard for a "first date", but Duke didn't care.

Look, he only gave his romantic side free reign on rare occasions. When it happened, he went all out, okay?

[for the one!]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

“You are extremely welcome.” Duke sat down across from her and just watched her, lit by candlelight. “So. What do you think of dating so far?”

[okteiviakom]

It was the most naturall thing for Octavia to be lit by.

(And she was finding it suited him, too.)

"So far?" she said with a soft snort. "It looks a lot like dinner."

[betterthanaplan]

“Yes,” Duke said, nodding firmly. “As suits a dinner date.”

[okteiviakom]

Another soft snort. "Are you making fun of me?"

It was a light and easy question to make, nothing more.

[betterthanaplan]

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Duke started slipping salmon off his skewers.

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah you would," Octavia retorted, reaching for her glass.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke pressed his free hand to his chest, even as he grinned. "You wound me. I only tease because I care."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shook her head, right before taking a sip.

She kept her eyes on him, though. "And Lucifer calls me incorrigible."

[betterthanaplan]

"It's entirely possible both of us are incorrigible."

[okteiviakom]

"Maybe that's why we work so well together."

Okay, so that came out a little more wry than she'd meant it to.

[betterthanaplan]

"Oh, totally," Duke said. "And why he likes us so much."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia snorted quietly again. Tilted her head a little to the side as she picked up one of her kabobs.

"We have an invitation to have dinner with him, too," she said. Idle, sort of. "At the house."

[betterthanaplan]

"Oh yeah? A particular time, or just . . . an open invitation?"

[okteiviakom]

"Just an open invitation," Octavia said, shrugging a little. "And really, it was for me. He just said to bring you along."

[betterthanaplan]

That shouldn't have felt like a gut punch.

"Well. I guess we should do that sometime."

[okteiviakom]

It'd been meant at least halfway jokingly.

But Octavia could already tell she'd been... careless. "Yeah," she said. "I guess so."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke managed to be careless with her all the time. He supposed it was her turn.

"What, uh. What do you think about him?" he asked. This wasn't really what he'd been thinking they'd talk about on this date, but he did think it was something they'd been dancing around too much. "About . . . dating him?"

[okteiviakom]

Well that was a hard left right into it, wasn't it?

Octavia blinked at him.

"... What?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Like . . . us," Duke said. "Dating him. Both of us."

He was making a total mess of this, wasn't he.

[okteiviakom]

Kind of, yeah.

At least judging by Octavia's staring. There was a skewer in her hand she was yet to touch, and it was as if she'd forgotten there was anything in front of her at all.

[betterthanaplan]

Was there a good way to propose inviting your best friend to be the third person in your relationship?

". . . Okay, bad idea. Forget I said anything."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was keenly aware that she should say something.

"What the fuck just happened?"

... Well, that was definitely something. Just, not a very good try, Tavi. But it seemed to jolt her back into her body, so to speak, enough that she at least lowered the skewer back onto the plate.

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm pretty sure I just blew our date," Duke said with a sigh. "Sorry. I just -- we spent so much time hanging out when you were a racoon and I know you two like hanging out together, too, and it just kind of -- made sense."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's mouth opened again, but more words failed to materialize.

He remembered all her fears about not being enough, right? Because those sirens were blaring in her head again, and they were deafening.

Too loud for her to get an immediate hold on them, to tell herself this feeling of dread was irrational.

[betterthanaplan]

He was remembering that right now, yeah. He reached for her hand.

"It's okay if the answer's no. Tavi, it's okay. It was a bad idea."