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 ]]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

"Some in the pot," Octavia said.

She didn't sound much better, and was already escaping back into her slow task of using her non-dominant hand.

[swisflapa]

"I can get it," Rory said, getting up off the couch. "Dad."

Just... taking a wild stab at whatever that look meant.

She walked into the kitchen without waiting for anyone else to respond. "This is so freaking weird."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah," Duke said, watching her move. "It really is."

He'd technically done this a couple times before, but this one was older. And . . . ill-timed.

[swisflapa]

"I mean it's like hearing World War 2 stories from your parents all your life and then you get like, zapped to the morning after the Battle of the Bulge," Rory commented, as she grabbed a mug from the cabinet (they never really changed anything in here, did they?) and poured it full of coffee.

It was kinda fucked up, seeing them like this. The parents she knew were a decade and a half past this point, and much more stable.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had just opened her mouth right before Rory spoke, and just ended up closing it again as she shifted out of the kid's way.

Just about done with her fruit.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke chuckled. "I, uh. Actually did that once. Not World War 2, but the 50s. Day my granddad died."

[swisflapa]

Rory had heard the story. "Damn, that's fucked up," she said, still pouring, muttering an idle apology to Octavia when she brushed too close. "How'd you handle it?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia...

Stared at her fruit and tried not to think about how she and Lucifer had handled it.

[betterthanaplan]

"Uhhhh . . . not well," Duke admitted. He leaned back against the counter, taking his weight off his bad leg, and watched her pour. Watched Octavia out of the corner of his eye. "Mostly by repressing, which I've heard is not a super great way to do it."

But was for sure how he really wanted to handle being possessed, too.

[my_own_advocate]

"Repressing is emotionally unhealthy and leads to later outbursts as the feelings try to work their way to the surface," Lucifer, who was the only one here succesfully repressing his feelings to the point of having some level of executive functioning and was ergo due for an outburst sometime later, said.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I like punching things better. And music."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's chest felt all tight, at that.

She went to put her discarded pieces of the inedible bits of fruit in the trash, because there was nothing there she should comment on.

[betterthanaplan]

"Punching and music." Duke smiled faintly. (Mmm, repression.) "You are definitely Tavi's kid."

[swisflapa]

"Or am I?" Rory said, trying at levity as she walked towards the table with the coffee. "Be pretty fucked up if I lied about that."

(No one had ever made her use a swear jar in her life, no.)

[okteiviakom]

For neither language, even, probably. Not that Octavia was thinking about that. She was thinking about... punches.

Yeah.

[betterthanaplan]

"Yes," Duke decided. "Yes it would. And that sense of humor . . ."

That was all him.

[swisflapa]

"Is my own badass creation," Rory said, spreading her arms and making a faux-bow to her audience. "Thank you so much."

[betterthanaplan]

“Ah, of course. Silly me.”

He really needed that coffee.

[swisflapa]

"Just making sure you know," Rory said, with a totally unnecessary flourish.

That flourish also ended in presenting him with the coffee.

[betterthanaplan]

Oh look. Duke’s own sense of performative drama.

His head hurt.

“Thanks,” he said, and took a long sip. “So.”

He was, for once, at a loss for words. He’d barely felt prepared to deal with Octavia and Lucifer this morning, much less a strange teenager who was so clearly theirs.

[okteiviakom]

Yeah. She was, wasn't she?

Octavia watched them, but out of the corner of her eye. As if in secret.

[swisflapa]

"So you guys look like you need a reaaaally long nap and maybe a personal masseuse for the rest of the day?" Rory suggested.

"Yes," Lucifer said, reaching for the last bit of scotch in his glass. "Yes, I'd say that's accurate."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke hummed and sipped his coffee.

He was thinking about maybe hiding in the sauna or pillow room or something.

Or maybe sailing his new boat to China.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia hadn't escaped onto the Samsara, so he wasn't allowed to sail to China. Those were the rules.

Even if Octavia was just as quiet as he was. Just, eating her fruit instead of drinking coffee.

[swisflapa]

Rory slid back into the booth, pressing herself up against Lucifer's still-uneasy side. "I can do something else for the rest of the day, if you want," she said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Lucifer sighed. "I'll just-- show you around the island if Octavia and Duke need a rest."

Because unlike them, he was fine.

[betterthanaplan]

Oh sure. Fleeing Haven in a fury was totally fine. As was being the first one out of bed. Totally normal Lucifer behavior.

“Not gonna kick you out,” Duke said, a bit more seriously than he intended. “You, uh.” Have any idea what she walked into? “Grow up in Fandom?”