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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[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?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, I doubt I'd say no if you asked nicely," Lucifer said, smirking.

Wasn't like it was a secret that he liked getting his hands all over Duke, as Octavia had already observed.

[betterthanaplan]

"Maybe after breakfast, then," Duke said. "I'll give myself a good work out, and you can give me a good rubdown?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Seems like a plan," Lucifer said, flopping back onto the bed and stretching a bit more.

Look, he didn't need sex pollen to be struck by the urge to shove Duke into the mattress, but he was doing his utmost best to let Duke take the lead this week.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke didn't typically need sex pollen either. It was part of what made the whole thing feel vaguely insulting, on top of everything else.

"Awesome," he said, and picked his head up to steal another kiss. This one much more thorough than it was gentle.

[my_own_advocate]

Oh, hello.

Lucifer hummed something pleased into the kiss, hooking an arm over Duke's shoulders as he returned it.

He didn't deepen it, but he did pull the man further into his arms. Just because.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had no complaints about that. He pressed in tighter, himself, rolling a little so he could drape an arm and a leg over Lucifer as well.

"Good to know you're not going to spend all week handling me like glass," he teased, once he came up for air.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer snorted softly, brushing Duke's hair aside so he could get a good look at the man's (pretty brown eyes) face. "I'm hardly doing that," he said. "Merely ceding the floor to your particular desires."

[betterthanaplan]

"You saying I'm in charge this week?" Duke asked, eyes drifting over Lucifer's gorgeous face in return. "I don't know, that kind of power might go to my head."

[my_own_advocate]

"Don't threaten me with a good time," Lucifer teased, running his hand up and down Duke's arm.