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.

[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 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?"

[betterthanaplan]

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

"Hayun, gona."

[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?"

[okteiviakom]

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

[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."

[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."

[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.

[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!

[betterthanaplan]

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

[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."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia gave a little hum.

And finally moved close enough to slide one arm around him, and press a kiss against his shoulder.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke slid his arm around her in return and gave her a little squeeze.

"How'd you sleep?"

[okteiviakom]

"Better, I think," Octavia replied, a little softer. "Something about the boat on the water, maybe."

[betterthanaplan]

"The rocking of the waves always helps me sleep, too," Duke said, tipping his head against hers. "Even when I feel like crap."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia sighed, but only because it went with settling further into the sideways embrace. "Then heading out was a really good choice."

[betterthanaplan]

"I've been tempted to do this for ages," Duke admitted. "Wasn't sure if Luce would be into it, though."