The Cape Rouge, Saturday Morning

[my_own_advocate]

Haven was even worse than all the stories. And so, after the absolute disaster that had been yesterday and its ensuing revelations and fights, Lucifer had - over Duke's initial protests and then quiet acceptance - thrown everyone into the Rolls Royce and driven them home through a bloody portal.

He'd been keeping it together quite well, all in all, he felt. Compared to both of his partners. He was good at that, occasionally, being the one who didn't fall apart at the sight of personal trauma.

So why couldn't he sleep?

He'd given up the fight at some un-Himly hour. Found himself pottering around, lurking on deck, lurking in other places, drinking. Now he was back in the galley, contemplating the last of their scotch, and the inevitability of their eventual return to Haven.

He almost missed the noise outside.

[[ for the cape rouge dwellers plus one ]]

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[swisflapa]

The Cape Rouge held no secrets for Aurora. Neither did the people on it. They'd still be asleep, she knew that. She could make a quiet entrance and screw with them a little.

Just for fun.

At least, that had been the plan. Right up until she saw her father's face on her descent into the galley.

"...Hi."

[my_own_advocate]

"...Hello," Lucifer said slowly, looking up. "And why, pray tell, did you think it was a good idea to break onto a stranger's boat?"

[swisflapa]

"I didn't," Rory said, stepping into the galley. "This is my dad's boat."

[my_own_advocate]

"How is it your dad's--"

Sorry, Aurora. Lucifer might have convinced himself he was more or less operating fine, his mind was actually taking some time to boot up.

"--This is that weekend again, isn't it," he segued smoothly. "Well, Duke's asleep, and I'm not going to let you wake him, spawn of his or none."

[swisflapa]

Rory tilted her head and gave him a look that read are you shitting me?

In a single fwoomph, her big red wings filled the galley, knocking over some pots and other knick knacks.

"Your spawn," she said flatly, and yanked them back in. "Hi, dad."

[my_own_advocate]

...

...

...

...

"I'm sorry, what?"

[swisflapa]

Rory waved her hand at her face. "I'm your kid, obviously," she said. "I grew up here with you, dad, and mom. I think that's all the details you need. Okay? Okay."

[my_own_advocate]

"Fkdsljakldjieojflakdjf," Lucifer said.

He rose from his seat, holding up one hand.

"Lklkjlk," he continued. "No. No no no no no no. Ha! That's not possible. Physically. So no!"

[swisflapa]

"Dad's going to get pissed off if I get the wings out again and scratch the wallpaper," Rory said, eyeing him. "Hi. I'm Aurora. I'm your daughter from the future. And I know I'm not the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had slept very carefully curled up on the very edge of her side of the bed. Between her bandaged arm and a split knuckle, she did not want to risk her blood getting on anyone, troubled or not. Also she could only sleep on her left side, so, that was great.

Regardless, she had fallen into an exhausted, dreamless sleep, and had stayed that way for... quite a while. Well into the morning.

She would have preferred it yo be even longer when she woke up to nausea, and all of yesterday coming back to her in waves. Duke, Audrey --

She felt hungover, for lack of a better word, as she carefully made her way out of the bedroom. Barefoot, but in pajamas - which said a lot about last night, and yesterday.

(No skin-to-skin anything.)

[my_own_advocate]

Both Lucifer and the dark-haired teenager on the sofa looked like they'd been outside already, hair slightly tousled and the sleeplessness gone from Lucifer's eyes. Though as he looked up, concern and surprise bled back into them - as if he'd almost forgotten there was a risk of her getting up at all.

"Octavia," he said. "We've--"

The girl beside him smiled, a small thing. "Hi, mom."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had stopped in her tracks as soon as she'd seen there was someone else here.

She wished she'd had the energy to feel surprised by what she heard.

"Ha yun," she said, hoarse and quiet, "nomfri."

Suppose this might as well happen.

[my_own_advocate]

"Ha yun," Rory returned, quiet. "Dad was telling me some shit went down just now."

Lucifer patted the sofa, shooting Octavia a hopeful look. "Sit?"

[okteiviakom]

"I have to --"

She gestured vaguely in the direction of the bathroom.

Then turned to go.

[my_own_advocate]

"Come back after?" Lucifer called after her.

His brain was thorough broken right now.

[okteiviakom]

That was something of a club, right now.

Octavia vanished into the bathroom. Did her thing, splashed cold water onto her face. Then stared at it in the mirror for a long, long moment.

Wondering, numbly, whether anything was about to come of the still-present nausea in her gut.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed. "Sorry," he said. "Your timing is... not optimal."

"Yeah, you said," Rory said. She let out a groan and collapsed backwards into her seat. "You guys were not kidding when you talked about how fucked up shit used to be."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had let Lucifer sitter him wherever he liked last night, too tired mentally to argue or resist. Otherwise, he might have slipped off when they got home to find somewhere to lick his wounds alone.

Instead, he’d slept fitfully in the bed, waking over and over from stressed, helpless dreams, only to shift or roll over and fall immediately back to sleep for more. He noticed each of them getting up, but they blended into the dreams until he lost track of where he was, what was real.

And of course, what morning after being possessed would be complete without a bout of sleep paralysis?

Duke finally came properly awake with a gasp, rolling immediately out of bed and stumbling blindly to the bathroom to — something. Splash water on his face maybe. Or scream and throw up.

[swisflapa]

It startled Aurora, who had only just relaxed a few fractions from everything with mom. She looked up at Lucifer, a question in her eyes.

Lucifer just gave her a helpless shrug. He didn't know, either. (Whatever energy he had to put into figuring out what to do about Duke was still pouring into repressing everything that had happened.)

[betterthanaplan]

He splashed water on his face. (There were people here. No screaming around people.) after several rounds of that and drinking some of the water straight from the tap, Duke slowly came into the galley, damp and shirtless, looking for coffee.

He stopped, squinting at Rory. Several things occurred to him to say, but they were mostly curses, so he kept silent for now.

[swisflapa]

By now, Rory had perfected her awkward, subdued, and yet somehow almost sarcastic little wave. "Morning, dad. Shit went down, I know, I'm just visiting, I think that's everything?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke transferred his state from her to Lucifer, eyebrows waaaaay up.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia, stubbornly cutting up some fruit for herself by the counter, had found herself not daring to look at him until now.

But, well. Rory had just said 'dad' and not meant Lucifer and this was the moment she realized she had just been assuming Rory was just hers and Lucifer's, and it -- it kind of scared her, somehow, that she'd thought that without questioning.

She darted a quick look towards Duke, now.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer shrugged. Helplessly, he felt. It looked more panicked from the outside. "Apparently she's biologically half-angel, half-irradiated future dweller," he said. "And just about everything else I ask her is--"

"--Either spoilers or totally unnecessary info," Rory said.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke looked between Lucifer and Octavia and slowly nodded.

She was theirs. He was just . . . extraneous Dad.

At least she wouldn't have a trouble.

"Right," he said after a long moment. His voice was hoarse and tight. ". . . So. Coffee?"