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

[my_own_advocate]

"And I've spent much longer with much worse," Lucifer murmured.

[betterthanaplan]

“You deserve better.”

[okteiviakom]

"We keep saying that sort of thing." All of them, taking turns. "I don't think it matters much."

[my_own_advocate]

"I think we are 'better'," Lucifer said quietly. "The three of us. Together."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke blinked at him. “That . . . might actually be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia gave a small huff. It sounded just faintly wet.

"He gets it."

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm not sure about that," Lucifer said, a little wry and a little-- something. "But it's truth. In a mad-- multiversal throuple sort of way."

[betterthanaplan]

“I think — can we just go back to bed now?” Duke asked. “I’m wiped.”

This mini emotional roller coaster wasn’t quite how he’d expected to shake off the dream, but, well. It’s done the trick anyway.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia nuzzled at his chest a little. "Yes, please."

Not that she was very convinced they would be seeing much quality in their sleep for the rest of the night. But at least they could try and nest instead of being out here on the street.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer was already plotting to acquire an extra set of sheets, just to make the nest more... nesty.

"Yes," he agreed, "We've been a hugging mess in front of--" He looked up, "--Outback Steakhouse for quite long enough."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke choked on a laugh and buried his face into Lucifer’s shoulder.

“At least it’s too early for them to be open yet.”

[okteiviakom]

"We would've found out already if they were," Octavia said, managing a little lighter tone, finally. "This can't be good for business."

[my_own_advocate]

"All that bloody throuple drama, how are they supposed to make a living?" Lucifer teased. He patted Duke's shoulder. "Let's go."

[betterthanaplan]

“Yeah, I think I have to object to the phrase ‘throuple drama’ on principle. Our drama is unique, dammit.”

It was still weak, but Duke did his best to banter back anyway as he let them guide him back to the boat.

[okteiviakom]

"I object to just 'throuple'," Octavia put in.

As they turned to head that way, yes.

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, if you find a good Trig word for it, I'll be happy to use it."

[betterthanaplan]

“What’s the word for ‘three’?” Duke asked. “We could be the ‘three’-kru.”

[okteiviakom]

"It's just 'thri'."

Which had absolutely no phonetic distinction from 'three', which explained Octavia's wry tone.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer laughed. "Of course it is," he said.

[betterthanaplan]

“So . . . thrikru<\i> it is?”

[okteiviakom]

"No," said the former member of Trikru who was not ready to get even that close to it yet. Gently. "But we'll figure something out. It'll come to us. What kind of kru we should be."

[my_own_advocate]

"You do have a flair for words, darling," Lucifer said, smiling at her. "You'll think of something."

[betterthanaplan]

“Agreed,” Duke said. “Something purely . . . us.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia would have reached up to kiss his cheek, if she'd been at all wiling to slow down their trek back home. Which she wasn't.

So instead she smiled up at him.

"Exactly."

[my_own_advocate]

"Perhaps some kind of Trig word for extremely attractive brunettes with an occasional tendency for drama," Lucifer mused out loud.