A Room Facing the Harbor, The Inn at Henderson's Wharf, Tuesday Morning

[my_own_advocate]

When Lucifer had thought to himself that he'd probably spend the week in bed, this past Sunday, waking up pollen-free in a quaint harborside hotel in Baltimore with Duke while Octavia did Father knows what in the woods was not really what he'd had in mind. But, well. Frankly he was a bit proud of himself for not going with his gut instincts and doing the right thing.

At least, it felt like the right thing. There was a bit of that right-thing rush.

Or perhaps it was just the smell of the ocean again. Salt and fish. Sigh.

He sat up gingerly in the bed, briefly disoriented. Partly because of the room. Partly because he was actually wearing underwear in bed. He rubbed his forehead. "Mrfh."

[[ for that guy, and phone calls/messages ]]

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[betterthanaplan]

"No," Duke said. "Mostly just since I woke up." He stretched self-consciously. "Was hoping to settle it for myself before you woke up, but, uh. Clearly that did not work."

[my_own_advocate]

"And honestly, it's too early to argue with yourself about--" Lucifer waved his hand, "All of this emotional omnishambles."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke snorted. "'Omnishambles'?"

He rolled onto his side, letting himself look Lucifer over with fresh, non-pollen infested eyes.

[my_own_advocate]

"A big old mess," Lucifer said, watching him move with his head tilted.

[betterthanaplan]

"You just can't help but make it fancy, can you," Duke said, giving Lucifer a fond smile. He looked him over a moment longer, then rolled all the way onto his stomach, resting his head on his arms so he could keep looking at the Devil. "It's a good sign, you know. If I'm thinking about that big old mess, I'm not obsessing over all the memories the pollen dragged up. Or wondering if how hot you look all sleep-rumpled is just a side effect of that stupid island."

[my_own_advocate]

"Mhm, though, if it helps," Lucifer said, a smile curving around his mouth, "You seem much better at keeping your hands off me right now."

[betterthanaplan]

"Enjoying just looking, right now," Duke said. "You know, all that grumpy concern just makes you even hotter."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer shot him a faintly annoyed look. "I'm not-- grumpily concerned."

Yes, he was.

[betterthanaplan]

"Oh yeah?" Duke asked. "What'd you call it, then?"

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm just... doing what I can to make you feel better," Lucifer said. Beat. "Wait, that's worse. Fine. Perhaps I am concerned, but I'm not grumpy."

[betterthanaplan]

"If you say so," Duke said easily. Teasing was much easier than trying to talk through the crap in his head. "So, what should we do, today? I'm sure you've found all sorts of fun spots around town by now."

[my_own_advocate]

"To start, I found a great place for breakfast," Lucifer mused. He finally reached out, idly pushing some loose strands of Duke's hair behind his ear.

[betterthanaplan]

"Breakfast sounds good. I'm a little sad it's not quite 'lounging by the pool' weather around here yet."

[my_own_advocate]

"I mean, we could have also gone to San Diego," Lucifer mused, "I do miss SoCal."

He cupped Duke's cheek and watched him for a moment. "You think you'll be all right for the day?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke gave that the thought it deserved, even as he leaned into Lucifer's touch. "Can't guarantee I won't end up moping again at some point," he admitted. "But . . . I probably won't meltdown on you."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed, and shifted until he found himself face-to-face with Duke. "Well, tell me if you need to go back at any point," he said. "...Tell me anything you need to at any point, actually."

He pressed a kiss against Duke's mouth. It was gentle.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke kissed back, just as gentle. Reveling in the self-control he had to keep it that way. "I'll do my best," he promised. "Though I'm starting to understand why Octavia gets so frustrated with me when I ask her to do stuff like that."

How was he supposed to know what he needed all the time?

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, I'm not telling you to tell me anything right this minute," Lucifer said, rolling his eyes a bit. "Just no unnecessary attempts to be Fun Duke."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yep, and that just made me sound like someone's middle-aged uncle who tries too hard," Duke said. "'Fun Duke' is officially retired."

Well. It was a nice thought, anyway.

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm glad you said it before I had to," Lucifer said, only half-teasing. Kissed Duke again, just as gentle, then pressed his forehead against Duke's.

[betterthanaplan]

"Will you still like me when I'm a middle aged cliche?" Duke asked. Mostly joking.

Look, thinking about Helena didn't just bring up a lot of issues around consent for him.

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, you can still do yoga when you're middle aged, can't you?" Lucifer joked back.

He preferred not to think about the whole mortal-immortal thing if he could at all help it.

[betterthanaplan]

"Assuming my joints don't flake out on me," Duke said.

Some of the stiffness he'd felt after Helena had to have been just because it was happening so fast, right?

[my_own_advocate]

"Might need more massages to prevent that," Lucifer mused.

[betterthanaplan]

"That's true," Duke agreed. "Are you offering?"