Aboard the OceaNyx, out at sea, Thursday

[betterthanaplan]

Octavia had come home from the club last night reporting on Tiny's weirdly animate toothpick village. That, plus the radio reports, had been more than enough to convince everyone that it was time to nope out of town for a bit.

Mindful of the difficulties that portals had posed recently and Octavia's admission that their vacation spots had felt like Fandom replacements, it was decided that this particular noping out would happen aboard Duke's lovingly restored mid-century Dutch sail boat.

Something had unknotted in Duke when they hit the open ocean. He was still pale and sounding like he'd been swallowing sand, and his body felt like one big cramp. But at least now, the potential casualties of the troubles bouncing around inside him were nice and limited. And, well. . . .

Of all the really terrible things that had happened to him in his life, very few had happened at sea.

He was up with the dawn that morning, checking the rigging and manning the rudder and just generally enjoying for once knowing just what needed doing and how to do it.

It felt good. And it had been ages since anything had felt that way.

[for the partners! NFB due to distance.]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer, of course, had managed to load the OceaNyx's limited storage space full of high-end food. He rose from the inside of the ship with a plate of canapes, and... paused.

He hadn't seen Duke like that in days. Possibly even longer than that.

He needed a moment. It was-- a good reminder why he could never get himself to just... end this.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke would be glad to hear that, after freaking out about Lucifer having considered ending things.

He happened to look over and spot Lucifer watching. "Hey, babe. You sleep okay?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, it's a smaller boat than I'm used to, but... yes," Lucifer admitted.

Feeling some of the tension go out of his partners had helped with it.

He lifted the plate. "Canape?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke took a bit longer than usual considering (as happy as he was to be at sea, he did still feel like crap).

"Sure," he decided and reached for one. It was nice and small, and he really did need to eat something.

[my_own_advocate]

And packed with nutrients! Or at least a protein, a vegetable, and a carb. So... essentially a meal.

"It is nice out here," Lucifer murmured. "This was a good idea."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah," Duke said, turning his face into the sun. "I hate to give Fandom credit, but this was . . . good timing for me."

[my_own_advocate]

"Feeling a touch more like yourself?" Lucifer said, mouth curving.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke huffed a laugh. “A bit, yeah. I get my stomach to settle and I’ll be golden.”

[my_own_advocate]

"Do I need to get you some pepto bismol?" Lucifer asked, concerned.

[okteiviakom]

Eventually, Octavia wandered over to raid whatever was still left on the plate. Her sleeping schedule was a mess, and the eating... could've been better, too.

But she was getting there.

Apparently one canape at a time, right now.

[my_own_advocate]

"Hello, darling," Lucifer said, smiling at her. "How are you doing this... morning?"

He was already losing his sense of time.

[okteiviakom]

Welcome to the club, Luce.

"Fine," Octavia said, around half a canape. "The breeze is nice."

[my_own_advocate]

"It is," Lucifer agreed, looking at the ocean. "And there's something oddly calming about the complete and utter lack of civilization."

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah, you're just with boat people now."

Her voice didn't quite hit a joking tone, but it was wry if you squinted.

[my_own_advocate]

"Absolute savages that you are," Lucifer agreed, smiling.

[okteiviakom]

And that just felt like an invitation for this savage to sway into a lean against his side.

Just because.

(And maybe she was still making up for the scare she'd given him.)

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer appreciated the reassurance. (Perhaps, needed it.)

He slid an arm around her. "My favorite savages."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's internal clock was still pretty fucked up, so she was not up with the dawn, by a long shot.

But once she made it up onto the deck, and first caught sight of the open water... Well, it wasn't as good as it was for Duke, because how could it be, but it was still something so...

Calming.

A fraction of tension eased from her shoulders, on a sigh.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke spotted her and watched for a moment. Glad to see her enjoying his element so much.

"Hayun, gona."

[okteiviakom]

"Hayun, jaka," Octavia replied, wrapping her sweater (his sweater, really) a little tighter around herself. "Everything good with the boat so far?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Ship-shape and a-okay," Duke confirmed. "Weather report looks good for the weekend, too. Seas should be pretty low, but we're not likely to get becalmed."

Have some boat-speak, Tavi!

[okteiviakom]

Octavia even more or less knew what that meant!

"Good," she said, moving closer to him. "I could use some easy time on the water."

[betterthanaplan]

"We all could," Duke agreed.

The pressure in his gut crested and he grimaced faintly, shifting to try and find a more comfortable position.

"Hell, I'll take any kind of easy I can get right now."

[okteiviakom]

You know what sucked about how Octavia had managed to shake off the fugue she'd been in for the first couple of days after they'd got back from Haven? Actually remembering in vivid detail what had happened to him.

And what was still happening to him.

Which was to say, there was a trace of worry to her expression again. "Bad?" she asked, a little more quietly.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke swallowed. "It's not great." That wasn't a denial, was it? "I can ignore it most times, though. Especially out here."