If I may play the me&#39;s advocate for a moment...

Linda had spent a lot of time with her baby, yes. And yes, she was enjoying not being near the baby. But she was here to help Lucifer, honest.

Or at least help herself to a mimosa or three.

She was sipping on her second one when they arrived, and looked up with a smile. "Speak of the Devil," she said.

She had been very, very sober lately.

Next to her, Amenadiel beamed with that air of doesn't-quite-fit-in that he carried everywhere. "Lucy! You made it!"

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Duke tossed them both a cheerful wave. “With a plus one. How’s it going?”

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"You both remember Duke, the pirate who doesn't know how to dress himself," Lucifer said, unnecessarily, and pulled up a chair. "Who has graciously agreed to come along for free lunch."

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"That sounds like something a pirate would do...?" Linda ventured, which was as much as she was willing to humor Lucifer. She looked at Duke. "Hi," she said, smiling, "Nice to meet you in slightly less of an emergency."

"Charlie's with a babysitter," Amenadiel said, "Because Linda needed a break. We, uh, vetted this one this time."

"We thought Charlie might like some time with his auntie Maze," Linda clarified.

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“‘Auntie,’ huh?” Duke nodded. “That tracks. They are supposed to be notoriously terrifying.”

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"Maze moved in with them for a while," Lucifer said, "I think she became a bit obsessed with the child..."

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"Maze just needed some space to figure herself out," Linda said, "... and figure herself out of my house."

She waved her empty mimosa at the waiter.

"But I have talked about babies so much over the past few months and I don't want to now," she said. "So Duke, what do you do, besides... pirate?"

Amenadiel was looking at Lucifer. A lot. He just wasn't saying anything.

Edited Date: 26 Oct 2020 05:37 (UTC)

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“I’m not actually a pirate,” Duke said. “I’m an importer with a boat. I don’t rob people at gun point or anything. I also run a diner and a bar, and every now and then I get roped into teaching at the local high school.”

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"Don't let the diner thing put you off, he's actually a good cook," Lucifer said, who had noticed Amenadiel's staring and was now largely distracted by glaring back at him.

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Linda wasn't going to be the one to wind up separating them. Linda was taking her fresh mimosa and sipping it while she ignored whatever what was gone over there and focused on Duke.

"A teacher," she echoed. "So what do you teach?"

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“It, uh, varies,” Duke said, watching the two of them out of the corner of his eye. He was feeling a bit protective of Lucifer, and wondered if he was going to have to yell at Amenadiel by the time brunch was over. “Fandom has a, uh. Non traditional high school.”

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"Lucifer has mentioned people from your island are... used to a lot less tradition than we are," Linda started delicately.

"Look, Lucy, it's not my fault that Dad talked to me in Hell, okay?" Amenadiel interrupted. "Can you please stop giving me the silent treatment?"

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"Oh, yes," Lucifer said snidely. "Because I love giving you the opportunity to crow about how Father loves you enough to waive the need for the infernal throne because you were forced to park your precious arse on it for all of a single bloody day."

"Lucy--"

"And why else all the staring?"

"Because the last time we spoke, you threatened to 'punch me in my mysterious ways'!"

Edited Date: 26 Oct 2020 14:09 (UTC)

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Duke’s eyes flicked between all three other people at the table before landing back on Lucifer. “Wait. Your dad just, like. Waved his hand and made the demon power vacuum go away?”

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"Yes," Lucifer said irritably, "Because I had His favorite son vacuum-sit for a minute."

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"Can we agree that you sending Amenadiel to Hell was not the best possible choice you could have made?" Linda said, with a quiet sigh.

"No, it's fine," Amenadiel said. "I didn't stay long." He leaned forward a little. "Look, Lucy, maybe we should do this in private...?"

You know, not in front of the easily-upset mortals.

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"It does kind of sound like it worked out really well in the end," Duke said with a little shrug. "I mean, my chances of running into judgmental reanimated corpses is back down to practically nil."

That was not why he was so in favor of this outcome, mind you. It was just a very nice bonus.

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"Are you going to be sour about that forever?" Lucifer sighed.

He looked back at Amenadiel.

"And fine, if we must."

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"Thank you, Lucy," Amenadiel said, with that downright supernatural earnestness he had, and slid out of his seat.

Lucifer followed him outside, rolling his eyes all the time.

"I did tell Amenadiel he should give him more time to process," Linda sighed, "But hey, who am I, a licensed therapist, to give anyone advice?"

She took a big sip of that mimosa, yes.

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"Well, if they listened to you all the time you might be out of a job," Duke said with a faint laugh. "Least they keep things interesting?"

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"That they do."

And she really liked it, hush.

Linda shot him a wry look. "And if we're lucky, things will actually say nice and quiet with Lucifer out of LA."

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"In LA, at least," Duke said. "Dude's kind of a big danger magnet, isn't he."

Said the pot about the kettle.

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