Lucifer's mansion, Wednesday night

[betterthanaplan]

Duke did not have a pineapple this time. Or flowers, for that matter, though he did bring a very nice bottle of wine for Lucifer, which he left in the kitchen for him to find.

Before wandering off through the rest of the mansion, getting more of a feel for the lay of the land, so to speak, and thinking about how to get his brain to accept the place as partially his as well as Lucifer's.

His boyfriend would be happy to hear it didn't involve netting. It . . . might involve an overabundance of plants that were inappropriate to the outside climate. And possibly multiple water features.

Duke didn't tend to do things by halves any more than Lucifer did, okay? He just . . . went about it slightly differently.

When it was time for Date Night to actually begin, though, he made sure to find his way back towards the kitchen. It wouldn't do to be late, after all.

[for him!]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

"Were they?" Lucifer mused. "I've forgotten."

Kiss.

[betterthanaplan]

“Maybe that was another time.” Duke draped his arms over Lucifer’s shoulders. “My waffles are unforgettable.”

[my_own_advocate]

"Perhaps you should make me some again," Lucifer teased. "Next time."

And a playful nip at Duke's jaw.

[betterthanaplan]

“Next time,” Duke agreed with a laugh. “Right now we have better things to do.”

[my_own_advocate]

"Oh, really?" Lucifer inquired. Innocently.

While he traced Duke's throat with his mouth.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke tipped his head back to give him more room.

“Do we want to do them here, or do you want to carry me upstairs?”

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, upstairs is where the ropes are," Lucifer teased.

And then he nipped at the skin, just to make a point.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke let out something between a squawk and a groan. “Then I guess you’d better get carrying,” he teased. “Might be nice for it to happen before I’m a total wreck.”

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer chuckled. He leaned in. "So very easy, Crocker," he murmured in Duke's ear.

And then he got up, hoisting Duke into his arms with little effort at all.

[betterthanaplan]

"Would you have me any other way?" Duke asked, giving a delighted laugh as he was lifted up.

Oh, he could get used to feeling this . . . cozily small.

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, I suppose less clothes would be preferable," Lucifer teased.

It remained fun, the way his partners reacted to being carried. He took extraordinary care bringing Duke to the stairs.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke wrapped easily around Lucifer, resting his head on his shoulder.

He'd never even really had this as a kid. What with the whole being basically an orphan by age eight thing and all.

"We'll get to the less clothes bit in a minute."

[my_own_advocate]

"Oh, do take your time," Lucifer teased. His smile had slid into something small, intimate and fond, as he took care with Duke up the stairs. "No one is in any rush."

There was the difference between Duke and Octavia in this, after all; how Duke wanted to feel kept and held, while Octavia so often searched out punishment and domination.

[betterthanaplan]

They were seeking what they'd been denied as kids. Octavia had never been anything but kept and held before the Ground. And Duke had never been anything but punished, back in Haven.

"We have all the time in the world," he said softly. And kissed Lucifer's neck.

[my_own_advocate]

"We do," Lucifer said softly. He carried Duke through the open door of the bedroom. "Now that you have the energy again, I also don't intend to waste it."

[betterthanaplan]

"Here-fucking-here," Duke agreed. "We've got a lot of lost time to make up for."

[my_own_advocate]

"And I am going to spend quite some of it taking you apart tonight," Lucifer said, smiling.

He took great care lowering Duke down onto the mattress - more than he would have with Octavia, cradling his head as he settled Duke onto the pillows like a precious thing.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke felt a little ridiculous about how nice that care felt. But he shoved it ruthlessly aside.

Lucifer liked doing it, and he liked having it done. All his macho self-reliance crap was getting deliberately and firmly shoved into a back corner of his mind.

Right now, he wanted to be entirely Lucifer's. He caught Lucifer's hand as he finished laying his head on the pillow and pressed a kiss to his palm.

[my_own_advocate]

Duke had no judgment to fear here. Another small smile touched on Lucifer's face as Duke's lips touched his skin.

"Just lay comfortably, darling," he said softly. "I'm going to take care of your clothes."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yes, please," Duke said. He let go of Lucifer's hand and stretched his arms out, ready to shift as needed to assist in the clothing removal process. His eyes on Lucifer's face the whole time.

Learning to let himself feel loved without pushing it away or questioning.

[my_own_advocate]

And Lucifer, for his part, made an effort: to let his hands be firm but loving as he undid the buttons of Duke's shirt, to touch his chest and let those touches linger, to take care with the fabric as he pushed the shirt over Duke's shoulders.

"There we are," he murmured, brushing a kiss to the center of Duke's chest.

[betterthanaplan]

"Here I am," Duke agreed, arching into the touch. "Do you want me to return the favor?"

His instinct was to do so. But his instincts on this front were notoriously terrible, so.

[my_own_advocate]

"No," Lucifer said, his hands stroking down Duke's chest. Slow. With great care. "Let me worry about everything."

He found the fly of Duke's trousers.

[betterthanaplan]

"Okay," Duke said, still watching Lucifer work.

Letting himself just lie back and breathe.

(Lucifer would have no trouble telling how much, physically, Duke was enjoying this.)

[my_own_advocate]

Certainly not after Lucifer slid the trousers down his legs. He was careful about that, too: both to remove them intact, and to... avoid touching Duke anywhere he might have been interested.

He folded the trousers and set them aside.

Then he sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked Duke over from head to toe. "Beautiful."