The Cape Rouge, Saturday Afternoon

[my_own_advocate]

It had been a glorious week free of drama (bar what Eric predictably brought to the table), and they were capping it off with an even more glorious weekend of nudity, scarves, a light pirate 'abduction', and, well. .

A nap here and there, at least if you were Lucifer; he hadn't exactly been keeping track of where anyone else had been while he was out. Had to keep his strength up.

Which was why he was in the kitchen late into the afternoon, still naked. "First batch of grilled cheese is almost ready!" he called, flipping one sandwich with a practiced motion. Hey, if you were impervious to boiling butter, you made the most of it, no?

[[ for those on the boat. ]]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

"You know, a solution to that would be to stay here," Duke said lightly, twining his fingers into the belt. "It's working great for me and Luce. But I know how you get restless, sometimes."

[okteiviakom]

"Just had to take a walk, jaka," Octavia told him, watching his hand. She could have taken a seat next to him, but then she would probably have missed out on this, so... On her feet she stayed, for now.

"We were cooped up in the penthouse so long," she added. "I can't keep doing that."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged, looking up at her, his fingers still toying with the belt. "Like I said, gona. Restless."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia met his gaze. "That's not the same thing," she objected in a murmur.

But just because you didn't want to call it that didn't always make it not the same thing, Tavi.

[betterthanaplan]

"Okay," Duke said, though, yeah, he was pretty sure it was exactly the same thing. "I'm not objecting, either way. Especially not when you come back looking so nice."

[okteiviakom]

Most of Octavia's insistence on particular terms ultimately came down to her trying to protect herself somehow.

She was grateful that he let it be. She also gave in to the urge to sit down by him. "Well, I could say not leaving suits you, too."

[betterthanaplan]

"What can I say? I'm a nudist homebody at heart," Duke said happily.

[okteiviakom]

"I can tell," Octavia replied, with some faint warmth, as the backs of her fingers idly ran down his bare arm.

[betterthanaplan]

"You know me so well," Duke said. "How'd I get so lucky?"

[okteiviakom]

Oh, Octavia done this one with Lucifer not too long ago!

"Well," she said, with a little tilt of her head, "there was this club called the Devil's Nest..."

Ha ha.

[betterthanaplan]

"And this woman at the bar, just watching the world go by."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's lips quirked again. Wry, but soft.

"Probably considering leaving," she said, "until this handsome stranger came by."

[betterthanaplan]

"She even tried to leave once I had. But somehow I convinced her to stay."

[okteiviakom]

The quirk got a little more pronounced. And softer.

And turned into a smile.

"Well, somehow... You made her want to be around you."

[betterthanaplan]

“And that was the luckiest thing of all.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's fingers were still stroking his arm. Like she couldn't even have this conversation without touching him.

"You know, I didn't come into this wanting -- this." The relationship, the snogon of it all. "I just knew that... you were someone special. And I would have been happy just being your friend."

[betterthanaplan]

"I would have, too," Duke said. He laughed softly. "As I recall I was convinced if we dated I'd get a reputation as a dirty old man, actually. But what we had . . . couldn't be denied."

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah," Octavia sighed, leaning against his side a little more. "I'm glad we didn't stay just friends."

Even with all the hard times they'd had to endure because of it.

[betterthanaplan]

“I’ve got plenty of friends,” Duke said. “Only have one snogon.”

[okteiviakom]

"Damn right," Octavia murmured. "And don't you forget it, flapkrasha."

She didn't call him that enough, these days.

[betterthanaplan]

“Never,” Duke promised, in all seriousness.

He might fall in love at the drop of a hat, but Octavia would always hold a special place of honor among the ranks.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shifted, and both her hands came up slowly: one to cradle the back of his head, the other to cup at his cheek.

That just seemed like the kind of thing that called for very close touching. Several points of contact. "I love you." And that, too. Like a reminder that Lucifer wasn't the only one who could say it.