The Deck of the Cape Rouge, Sunday Noon-ish

[my_own_advocate]

If there was such a thing as 'critical limit of things to process', Lucifer had hit it sometime yesterday. He had a child, apparently, and his partners doing their best to accomodate her while struggling not to fall apart, and he was still trying to figure out how on Earth it could even happen to him.

So he'd decided to do better today. To try and entertain her, and make sure she knew he wasn't-- that he wouldn't just drop her on someone else and ignore her.

"How about we play some music?" he'd asked. And Aurora had gotten a look on her face.

They'd wound up on the deck, him with a guitar, her with Duke's ukelele that she had insisted on getting and he couldn't stop her from getting because she knew exactly where it was.

It had been nice. Oddly enough.

But now he had retreated to the back portion of the deck with his coffee. Rory was perched on the railing of the ship, looking out over the coast of Fandom, and... still playing that damned ukulele.

[[ open for boat dwellers and passers-by alike! ]]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

Duke chuckled at the trolling, then fell silent, leaning his head against the door to watch her play. After the first verse, he started to softly sing along.

It felt better than the screaming did. He'd have to remember that later.

[swisflapa]

The smile on Rory's face grew as she heard him join in, and she let herself get caught up in their joined voices, in the music.

That was good.

Maybe she was helping, just a little.

"And I'm feeling... good!" she belted.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke watched her, his voice trailing off, and tried to imagine her world. A world where they were all . . . steady. Where they were past all the shit Haven and Heaven and the future piled on them and we’re doing okay.

It was hard. It made his chest ache. And he wanted it so badly.

[swisflapa]

Rory lowered the uke, grinning wide, and looked at Duke for approval.

And-- right.

That look.

She knew that look.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke dredged up another smile for her.

“That was meizen, kiddo. Thank you.”

[swisflapa]

Rory shook her head. She put the ukelele down in front of him again. "It's cool, dad," she said. "You need anything else? Some food, maybe?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke wanted to protest — it was beautiful! — but he bit it back, not wanting another round of “it’s okay that you’re not okay because you will be”, which was somehow even more exhausting in its own way.

“Nah, kid. I’m good. But thanks.”

[swisflapa]

Rory nodded.

As she got up, she leaned over just so and dropped a kiss on top of Duke's head.

[betterthanaplan]

How did that ache even more?

Duke swayed towards her a little when she pulled away, but he didn’t stop her. Didn’t say anything. Just sat and felt it.

The quiet, unassuming love.

[swisflapa]

'I'll talk to you later," Rory said softly.

As she left the room, she closed the door behind her just as gently.