betterthanaplan | Haven, Maine, Break week

They'd taken their dear, sweet time sailing up the coast, Duke in no real rush to get back to his hometown, and Octavia in no rush to get anywhere with anyone else.

Duke did his best to hide the ball of dread gathering in his stomach as they approached Portland, even knowing that Octavia could probably see right through him. He could easily have insisted on making this drop there, or literally anywhere else along Maine's substantial coastline, but ever since his trip up here to visit Nathan last fall, Haven had lurked in the back of his head like an unpaid debt. He had a responsibility to his hometown somehow, though he had no idea what it was. His father had made that clear before he died. And while part of him just wanted to say "fuck it" and let a 26 year old promise go unfulfilled, he knew how much it would haunt him if he did.

The troubles were back. And while Duke wasn't about to ditch Fandom and move back home in any sort of permanent sense, he could at least check in every now and then, make sure the town hadn't burned down.

[for the snogon with whatever pace of play happens to work this week. Minor OCD on the way.]

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From:

okteiviakom

Octavia --

Octavia went ahead and tried to hug Gloria. "He says you talked to the Chief," she muttered.

From:

seaoftroubles

Duke blinked. Somehow, Octavia hugging people always caught him by surprise.

"Oh sweetheart," Gloria said, giving Octavia a firm hug in return. "Of course I did. Haven could use more folks like you. Even if Nathan hasn't gotten his head out of his ass yet."

From:

okteiviakom

This had been Octavia's most typical context for hugging people for many years: immediately post-trauma, going with an impulse she had no energy to second guess.

"Mochof," she mumbled, before pulling back. And once she had, she nodded, and said, a little more clearly if still almost as quietly, "Thank you."

There hadn't been anyone to speak for her the last time she'd been thrown in a cell.

From:

seaoftroubles

Gloria rested her hand on Octavia's cheek for a moment, giving her a look like she could see right through her. "You're welcome, wildcat. You two are gonna have to tell me what language you're speaking, though."

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia's face tilted briefly, reflexively, into the touch.

She had to blink something away.

Sounded like she ought to have cleared her throat, too. "It's Trigedasleng."

From:

betterthanaplan

"It's her people's language," Duke said. "She's been teaching me."

"Well, it's lovely," Gloria said. "Maybe next time you're in town, you can tell me some of those names you called Wuornos."

"We'll do that," Duke said, and even kind of meant it. "Thanks again, Gloria. I kind of wish my other clients were half as cool as you."

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia just nodded, though that didn't make her agreement any less genuine.

Then she stepped closer to Duke. "We really need to go." Before she started feeling like she wanted to crawl out of her skin.

... More than she already did.

From:

betterthanaplan

Gloria waved her hands. "Shoo."

Duke leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, then pulled Octavia to the door and out onto the street.

"So. I know it turned out really not great, but that punch was beautiful."

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia was walking pretty close to him, again. She'd been doing better at treating Haven like it was Fandom, especially the day before, but, yeah. Her pace was just a little quicker than necessary, too. Not even in a hurry to get anywhere in particular, just away.

She managed a quietly amused huff, after her first few breaths of outside air. "Yeah," she said. "You said."

From:

betterthanaplan

“Did you really kick him in the nuts, too?” Duke asked, leading the way to the car. “I know that wouldn’t do much to him, but it’d still be something to see.”

From:

okteiviakom

"Tried to."

Her voice was very mild.

"It was more like his thigh. Too bad."

From:

betterthanaplan

“On him that’s basically the same thing,” Duke said, voice going lower and more vicious. (Look, Duke had a lot of conflicting feelings about Nathan and his trouble.) He stopped by the passenger’s side door of the car and reached out to pull her into a firm hug. “I’m so sorry that happened. Should’ve gotten him to lock me up instead. I’m used to it.”

He would have been nearly as miserable as Octavia was, just . . . more obnoxious about it.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia went from rigid to fully clinging to him in exactly no time at all. With another shuddery breath, to boot.

"Please," she muttered. "You think Gloria could've stopped me from pummeling him into pulp if he'd tried?"

From:

betterthanaplan

"Might've been worth it just to see that," Duke said with a wry laugh. "Should've decked him myself."

He couldn't have. Not yet. Not knowing that he was the reason why Nathan wouldn't feel it. Gloria just made a nice excuse.

"You ready to get out of here? I can think of a deserted island that's just calling our names."

From:

okteiviakom

"Yeah."

She squeezed him tighter for a moment after saying that, though.

But then she let go, and stepped back.

From:

betterthanaplan

"Hey," Duke said, letting her step back, but not taking his hands completely off her, yet. "Ai hod yu in."

Huh. Turned out, after all that drama, all that dancing around the subject and convincing himself he he wasn't feeling it, it was perfectly simple.

He loved her.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia's eyes were wide with surprise when they snapped up to his face. She'd been perfectly fine just inferring his affection from the things he did without a need to hear any specific words. But as it turned out, hearing those specific words still felt like a wave of warmth passed through her.

A split-second urge to say you don't have to say that just because I'm miserable reared its head, but no. He had enough of a problem with those words not to say them if he didn't mean it.

And so, he loved her.

And she reached up to kiss him. Or, pulled him down to kiss her, or both.

From:

betterthanaplan

They could meet in the middle.

They were still standing in front of the police station, but Duke didn't even think about that. Or about whether Nathan was watching through the window. Or anything but Octavia being there, in his arms, against his lips.

From:

okteiviakom

It would've been too much to ask of Octavia's rattled brain to expect her to think about any of those things, either. She melted against him, holding him tightly.

(Her eyes were stinging. It may have contributed to her urge to linger for just a moment longer.)

From:

betterthanaplan

Duke pulled away only far enough to lean his forehead against hers. He wanted to apologize again -- for not saying it sooner, for coming from a town full of assholes, for bringing her to said town full of assholes -- but fought down the urge. And the urge to make a joke out of it. Or say anything at all.

He'd said everything he needed to, now.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia didn't need him to say anything else, either. What he'd already said was still bouncing around her brain like an echo that refused to die down.

She stayed quiet for a long moment, just listening to both of them breathing.

And once she spoke, it was not loud. "Come on, jaka," she said, voice a soft whisper. "Let's go somewhere nice."

From:

betterthanaplan

"Yeah," Duke said, shifting to open her door for her. "That sounds like a plan."

From:

okteiviakom

Oh, right, that meant Octavia had to actually let him go. Ugh.

She still stole a quick kiss before she did just that. You know, as if they weren't about to meet again in the car.

... He should probably expect her to act a little needy for the next little while, yes.

From:

betterthanaplan

Oh no, such a hardship, the woman he loved wanted to stay in physical contact with him during an emotional time for both of them.

Duke was quick around the car, and even quicker to get in and settled and aim them for the harbor.

"There a word you know in Trig for 'wildcat'?" he asked. Because that definitely needed to be added to the nickname rotation.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia managed a soft snort. "No," she admitted, after thinking it over. "Think you'll have to stick with English for that one."

Which she would be fine with. She thought she might like a reminder of the good parts of this trip.

She slouched a little further in her seat, trying to get herself to relax. Even a little. "I mean, there's a word that's... I think tiger? But it's pretty aggressive."