The Cape Rouge, very early Wednesday morning

[betterthanaplan]

Duke Crocker lay on the bed of the Cape Rouge, bandaged and bruised. He had just returned from a trip to Haven, where he had gone to help Audrey and Nathan with a new trouble. He had been attacked by a man who could control electricity, and had barely escaped with his life.

He felt a hand on his forehead and opened his eyes. He saw Octavia Blake sitting next to him, looking worried.

“Hey,” he said weakly. “How long have I been out?”

Octavia smiled and stroked his hair. “Not too long. Just a few hours. How do you feel?”

Duke groaned and tried to sit up. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and winced.

“Like I’ve been electrocuted,” he said.

Octavia gently pushed him back down. “Don’t move. You need to rest. You lost a lot of blood.”

Duke sighed and closed his eyes. He felt guilty and ashamed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry I put you through this. I’m sorry I went to Haven without telling you.”

Octavia shook her head and kissed his cheek. “Don’t be sorry. I understand why you did it. You wanted to help your friends. You wanted to do the right thing.”

She paused and looked at him seriously.

“But you have to understand something too, Duke. You’re not alone anymore. You have us. Me and Lucifer. We’re your family now. And we care about you more than anything.”

She took his hand and squeezed it.

“We don’t want to lose you, Duke. We don’t want you to risk your life for troubles that are not yours to deal with.”

She leaned down and whispered in his ear.

“We love you, Duke. And we need you.”

Duke felt tears in his eyes and hugged her tightly.

“I love you too, Octavia,” he said softly. “I love you too.”

They heard the door open and looked up to see Lucifer standing there. He was holding a tray with soup and bread.

“Hello, my darlings,” he said cheerfully. “I brought you some food. How are we feeling?”

He walked over to the bed and set the tray on the nightstand. He looked at Duke with concern and compassion.

“You look terrible, Duke,” he said bluntly. “But I’m glad you’re alive.”

He kissed Duke on the forehead, then Octavia on the lips.

He sat on the other side of the bed and took Duke’s other hand.

“I agree with everything Octavia said,” he said earnestly. “You’re very brave and noble, Duke, but also very foolish and reckless.”

He smiled slightly and added.

“And that’s part of why we love you.”

He looked at Duke sincerely and said.

“But you have to promise us something, Duke. Promise us that you won’t go back to Haven without us. Promise us that you won’t put yourself in danger without our consent.”

He paused and said softly.

“Promise us that you’ll stay with us.”

Duke looked at Lucifer and Octavia, who were both staring at him with love and hope in their eyes.

He felt a surge of emotion in his heart and nodded.

“I promise,” he said hoarsely.

He pulled them both closer to him and kissed them one by one.

“I promise,” he repeated.

They hugged him back and cuddled with him on the bed.

They felt relieved and happy, knowing that they had each other’s support and trust. They had each other, and that was all that mattered.

Something . . . juddered. Shifted. Duke blinked.

"Why aren't you mad?" he asked.

Lucifer and Octavia looked at him. "We love you," they said simultaneously.

Duke shook his head and tried to push himself upright. Lucifer held him down idly with one hand. "No. No, this isn't -- who are you?"

Octavia tilted her head curiously. "It's me, Duke," she said. "Octavia Blake." She smiled. "Your girlfriend."

Duke jerked awake with a choked gasp, fighting to sit up against the weight of his partners' entangled limbs, dream-Octavia's words still echoing in his ears.

Who knew the word 'girlfriend' could be so terrifying?

[Len asked an AI to write a h/c fic of our OT3 and naturally I needed to turn the result into a nightmare for my boy. Thanks Bing! For the partners please, :D]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

Octavia found her clothes. Most of them. Enough of them.

She wasn't slow to put them on.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke, on the other hand, was taking his time. He found his pants quickly enough, but wasn’t exactly rushing to pull them on, and didn’t make any effort to grab a shirt once he had.

He just drifted in the general direction of the hatch to the deck, shoulders hunched low.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer clambered onto the deck and rolled his shoulders. He cast another concerned glance over his shoulder. "Right," he said. "Towards the lighthouse, then."

It was quieter.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia grabbed an extra shirt. For Duke. She could carry it over her arm, and if he ended up looking cold he could have it, and if not, it didn't matter.

She followed them out, trying not to look as wary as she felt.

[betterthanaplan]

“Lighthouse works,” Duke agreed with a shrug.

He paused a moment before heading that way though, to just watch the water a moment and breathe.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer brushed a hand against his back as he did so. "No rush."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia hung back, just a little. Cradling Duke's shirt to her body.

Watching.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke hated feeling like this. Like there was this invisible wall between himself and his partners.

It felt like this a lot these days, and he didn't know how to fix it. So he just clung to the moments when the wall came down, and he had the energy to show them that he could still reach out to them.

(He wondered how long they'd be patient with how few and far between those moments were.)

He flicked Lucifer a wan smile. "Thanks, babe."

[my_own_advocate]

"Mhm," Lucifer hummed.

But his hand settled a bit more firmly on Duke's back after that.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia could have sworn she'd been better at this, at some point. Now she felt adrift.

(Maybe it was the time of day. Lack of sleep. Something.)

She inched closer.

[betterthanaplan]

Maybe things were sometimes easier and sometimes harder. Duke understood that.

He glanced back at her after walking for a bit, just to make sure she was still there. (To make sure he hadn’t scared her off this time.)

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer's hand strayed from Duke's back as he did.

He reached for Duke's hand, instead.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had not been scared off, no. She wasn't scared at all, just concerned in a way she couldn't seem to make herself shake.

She offered him the tiniest attempt at a smile. Something meant to reassure.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke frowned, tilting his head.

"Hey." He stopped, turning to face her a little more. "What is it?"

(It wasn't hard to notice that that wall was a little thinner, a little easier to cross, when it was one of them that needed something, instead of him.)

[okteiviakom]

(And wasn't that just how this cycle always went.)

Octavia's next step faltered, but she took it anyway. "Nothing," she said, "I'm just..." Something. She was just something, and there should have been a word there instead of her just trailing off. She frowned, but it just made her look helpless. "I guess I'm worried."

[my_own_advocate]

"We are both, a bit," Lucifer said, firming his grip on Duke's hand.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke scoffed. “I had a nightmare, guys. I just need a bit to shake it off.”

[okteiviakom]

"I know," Octavia murmured. Softer than she wanted to, considering she suddenly felt a little bit... chastised, maybe. "I know, jaka."

[my_own_advocate]

"It's not really just the nightmare, is it?" Lucifer said. Both because it felt a bit like Duke was lying, and because Octavia's vulnerability made him a touch protective.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke bristled, pulling his hand away from Lucifer.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

(Yeah, now he was definitely lying.)

[okteiviakom]

It was Haven. It was always Haven, worming its way back in to fuck things up for them.

Octavia swallowed, and fought the urge to look away.

[my_own_advocate]

The lying certainly gave a slight edge to Lucifer's, "When is the last time you saw Linda?"

[betterthanaplan]

Which only made Duke shit down more. He knew he shouldn’t, that Lucifer had a point, but the wall felt like the battlements of a fortress, suddenly, and he was barricaded inside.

(Though, hey. At least they weren’t being too nice?)

“It’s been a while,” he said honestly. “But, you know, it’s also been a hot minute since a teenager wore me around like a cheap suit, so.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking again, planning to brush past Lucifer if he had to.

[okteiviakom]

"It's been three years since everything that happened to me," Octavia said, rooted in place, that deep worry just gnawing harder on her insides now, "and I still go."

Every week, like clockwork, even if they'd finally managed to drop it down to just the one session per week.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer thought about stopping him.

"And mine was so long ago, it's frankly ludicrous to put a number to it," he said. Didn't grab Duke. Not yet, at least.