The Cape Rouge, Sunday Morning

[my_own_advocate]

Right, so Lucifer was getting up bright and early so he could prepare himself for the trip to Baltimore - possibly with Duke - to escape this caffeine-free, zero-alcohol hell-hole. Bright and early enough that both of his partners were still asleep.

Or Octavia was faking it. Or just not bothering to get up. Who even knew?

"Oh my me," he whispered to himself in the kitchen. The bourbon looked... normal? He took a swig. It was normal.

He swept away immediately to get the coffee going, and twenty minutes later--

"Who wants an Irish coffee?!"

--burst back into the bedroom.

[[ for duke, and for octavia if she wants to jump in too ]]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer huffed softly. "Keeping an off-ramp, are we?"

[betterthanaplan]

"You are making this sound way worse than it is," Duke said.

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm not saying it's bad," Lucifer said, idly pouring another shot of Bailey's into his mug. "But you are doing it."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke sighed and flopped down onto one of the benches.

"I like having an exit strategy," he said, shrugging. Trying not to think too hard about Linda telling him that was his immaturity showing. "In my experience, things tend to go tits-up pretty fast if you don't."

[my_own_advocate]

"I can't say I don't understand," Lucifer said. He considered the situation for a moment, then... followed Duke's example. "But it has been over a year. More, if we count back to the start of you and Octavia."

[betterthanaplan]

"And she and I have both gone missing at least once and how many times has the island tried to kill us?" Duke pointed out. "Shit -- ends."

He'd spent his whole life reminding himself of that. Bracing for it. Telling himself it was better that way, to make it hurt less. Three years wasn't a lot compared to more than 30.

[my_own_advocate]

"Some shit does," Lucifer said, wrapping his hands around his mug. "Some shit doesn't."

[betterthanaplan]

"You don't," Duke agreed softly. He was in no mood to send Lucifer into another spiral of existential dread -- or himself, for that matter. He leaned his head on Lucifer's shoulder instead. "Still getting used to that."

[my_own_advocate]

“And I mean it when I say I understand,” Lucifer said, smiling faintly at Duke’s weight on him. “I long believed my eternal life would be misery, interspersed with fleeting pleasurable interludes.”

[betterthanaplan]

"That's. . . ." Duke sighed. "Almost what I mean. But -- you get the important part. I'm not trying to run away from you."

[my_own_advocate]

"No, you're just afraid you'll have to," Lucifer said quietly. "And I'm trying to tell you you don't have to be."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shook his head slightly. "You can't actually promise that."

Duke had been married. He'd tried the whole 'promising forever' thing. He was pretty sure not even Lucifer could say it with absolute certainty.

[my_own_advocate]

"I can promise you I'll always be there for you when you need me," Lucifer said, voice still quiet.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was pretty sure he couldn't even promise that. Especially not if he ever fully accepted becoming the new God.

But he didn't say it. In part because his throat seemed to have locked down on letting out anything that wasn't sob related, and he refused to sully their morning with one of those.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer couldn't read minds.

But he did murmur, "And I always keep my promises," either way.

He kissed the top of Duke's head.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke curled in a little tighter against Lucifer's side. And marveled at the fact that he didn't even have to think about doing so, about letting himself look small or vulnerable in the other man's presence.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer smiled and shut his eyes, leaning into Duke as much as Duke was leaning into him.

He'd removed at least one hand from his mug and wrapped that arm around the man. It was. Still. A strange and wonderful thing to be able to feel this way about someone. Now that it had stopped being terrifying.