The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, early Monday morning

[betterthanaplan]

Most days, Duke was fine. Better than fine, even; he'd been essentially rebooted, after all. Turned off and back on again and all his caches had cleared and -- yeah, he honestly didn't know anywhere near enough about computers to make this metaphor work. He'd been in a dry dock of sorts. All patched up and back in shipshape.

Most days.

He couldn't remember most of the dream when he woke, his heart triphammering in his chest. Just the sense of utter helplessness that had accompanied it, and the sense that the gremlin man -- Croatoan -- was lurking at the edges, smirking in delight. He sat up in bed, trying to force his breathing back under control, and hoped he hadn't woken Lucifer or Octavia.

He really liked being fine. He wanted that feeling back, dammit.

HE slid out of bed, trying not to disturb anyone, and went to go hunt down a coffee.

[for the partners]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

“I needed a minute,” Duke snapped. “Sue me.”

Ah, still raw, yes.

He set his coffee aside, barely drunk, and shoved a hand through his hair with a muttered “sorry”.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's hand finally stilled at the snap.

"All I meant was," she said, still quiet but much milder now, "that I know not remembering doesn't mean it doesn't still fuck you up to wake up from it or that the feeling isn't still there, but at least whatever horrible stuff you dreamed isn't looping around in your head."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer took a deep breath, and did the only sane thing he could think of - exhale again, then sip his whiskey.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke offered them both a thin smile.

"Yeah," he said. "I know. Just . . . still on edge, I guess."

[okteiviakom]

"It's okay," Octavia muttered, halfways into her coffee cup.

[my_own_advocate]

"You had been overly cheerful lately," Lucifer said. "It was inevitable."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke snorted. "Post-resurrection crash syndrome?" he guessed.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia sipped her coffee some more.

And resumed rubbing Duke's ankle, although the the touch was a little more faint now.

[my_own_advocate]

"Possibly?" Lucifer offered, frowning like that was a serious question. "I wouldn't know. I've never resurrected anyone before."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke wiggled his toes at Octavia again. She hadn’t even been the one he’d snapped at.

“Fair enough.” He let out a long sigh. “Sorry I woke you two up.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia lifted ome shoulder, vaguely.

"You didn't do it on purpose."

[my_own_advocate]

"And you brought me booze after," Lucifer said, lifting his glass. "All is forgiven."

[betterthanaplan]

“I’d say you were a cheap date if anything about your tastes were cheap,” Duke teased. Trying to lighten the mood back up.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia knew what he was doing, and knew she should try and... help that along? Offer something of her own?

But they all knew she was generally the slowest to shift course like that. It would take a while. In the meantime, she was finishing her coffee. And trying to will some energy back into her body.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer chuckled. "For you, I'm a cheap date," he said. "Anyone outside of this room would have to work considerably harder, I promise you."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke smiled. "Oh? Have you been dating around on us?"

[okteiviakom]

"I think we're plenty," Octavia said.

Not upbeat the way she would have liked, but hey. It was words, and words were progress.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer managed something of a chuckle. "Mm, the bar for people outside of this room is very high," he said. "No one's reached it yet."

[betterthanaplan]

"Darn tootin'," Duke said. "We've basically hit the ceiling on sexiness."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia made a strangled noise at 'darn tootin'' that was probably an unexpected snort.

She finally finished her coffee, and reached out to set the cup aside.

[my_own_advocate]

"Freeing up a touch of space under that ceiling with the 'darn tootin', darling," Lucifer said gravely.

[betterthanaplan]

"What?" Duke grinned. "It goes with all my plaid."

[okteiviakom]

"I've never heard it before," Octavia put in.

Whether that was in support or against...

[my_own_advocate]

"I try very hard most days not to think about your plaid," Lucifer sighed, and downed the rest of his whiskey, because one kind of had to.

[betterthanaplan]

Hackneyed exclamations hadn’t survived the apocalypse. Duke was a little sad about that.

“You know, it’s the flaws that really make perfection work. Like Cindy Crawford’s mole.”

Which definitely was a reference that hadn’t survived the apocalypse. Or the turn of the century.