Dr. Linda Martin's House, Thursday Morning

[my_own_advocate]

Was Dr. Linda's floor really where Lucifer wanted to wake up this morning? Absolutely not.

But Duke had been in no state to go to the penthouse last night, and Octavia had been in some kind of shock, and it had just seemed easier to stay here. Linda only had one couch, and that seemed better-suited for the drunk, so Lucifer had found himself on a mattress on the floor for the first time in... quite some time.

It was not ideal.

Which was likely why he woke up as early as he did, the floor poking against his shoulder as the air mattress had apparently sprung a leak during the night.

"Ugggh."

[[ for octavia and duke ]]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

"The pain."

Had she said that out loud? Oh well.

It was very dry, and she still wasn't actually looking at them again.

[betterthanaplan]

"Yes, that!" Duke pointed at her. "Because you shot yourself!"

[my_own_advocate]

"I needed to be sure it wasn't some kind of fluke!" Lucifer retorted. "Anyway, it's not like I aimed it at my head."

There was definitely some level of Celestial-Human Values Clash happening here.

[okteiviakom]

Had Octavia meant to stand up? Like as anything approaching a conscious decision?

(Were any of her decisions that right now?)

She was standing up now, either way. And then walking towards the front door.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke broke off his retort to Lucifer before it even got started. He twisted in place to watch her go, his already sunken heart plunging even further.

"Tavi?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Octavia!"

Lucifer was already up. And so it wasn't much effort to hurry after her. "Where are you going?!"

[okteiviakom]

"Need air," Octavia said roughly, with no intention of stopping. She wasn't planning to go much further than right outside the door, anyway, so what did it matter?

She hadn't yet realized why that might be a bad idea. Considering where the events of last night actually happened.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke got up to follow, even as the change in position sent more stabs of pain through his head and set his stomach roiling.

Or maybe that was his abandonment issues piling onto the fear and anger he already going at Lucifer for the scare last night.

[my_own_advocate]

"Octavia," Lucifer sighed, pottering after her as well. "What's wrong?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia ignored both of them. Opened the door and continued on outside with that same grimly determined air to the way she moved, until --

She stopped, with a tiny gasp and a shudder.

Right, here was where they'd been. But it wasn't just that: now there was another memory mixed in, twisting her stomach into knots.

(Lucifer really shouldn't have talked about a shot to the head.)

[betterthanaplan]

Duke nearly ran her over. He reached for both her shoulders to steady himself and her.

“Hey,” he said softly. “What is it?”

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sort of... loitered behind them, unsure.

He was still trying to figure out how him getting shot equated to everyone being angry at him.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia said nothing, still staring at Linda's front yard.

She was trying to put her stoic facade back together, but it wasn't going well.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke went from holding her shoulders to wrapping his arms around them.

“Okay,” he said softly. “Do what you need to.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia leaned back into him. A little. Maybe she just happened to sway that way? It was hard to tell with the lack of speaking. And the lack of doing anything else.

This didn't feel right.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke rested his head against hers and closed his eyes.

Having a hangover made it a little easier to be patient with that silence.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed.

Right, they were having a moment, and he was-- in a weird spot in all of it.

So he retreated to go find some of Linda's wine.

[okteiviakom]

It was one of those moments where Octavia was silent for a long time - and then was quiet even when she spoke again.

"I don't know if I can be here."

It sounded faintly lost.

[betterthanaplan]

"Do you want to go home?" Duke asked, just as quiet.

[okteiviakom]

"I don't know."

Helpful, Octavia.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke let out a soft sigh. That was a frustrating answer, probably for both of them. He reached one hand up to card through her hair.

"It hit you even harder than it hit me, huh."

[okteiviakom]

"No," Octavia muttered.

She'd heard him, earlier. Aa if through a haze, but she'd heard him.

He'd been upset.

[betterthanaplan]

He still was. But he tended to wear his upset outwards, whether in visible anger or in hard-edged snark. Hers, along with all her other emotions, tended to turn in and reinforce her walls.

"As hard, then," he said, not having the ability to express that out loud. "You've had a lot of nasty experience with guns."

[okteiviakom]

"It's not that."

That was the walls talking. Quiet, mild.

(She thought about gun shots, and felt sick again.)

[betterthanaplan]

"You sure?" Duke asked. "Because if it's not, I have no idea what's going on with you."