Deck of the Cape Rouge to Elsewhere, Thursday Morning

[my_own_advocate]

Yesterday had not been good.

And now, a day later, they were still holed up within the bowels of the Cape Rouge. But Lucifer-- well, Lucifer needed some air.

He unlocked the door carefully, and stuck his head outside. No strange women so far...

[[ for two plus one ]]

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[okteiviakom]

Octavia had been at home, yesterday, and she'd felt trapped, too. So... Nowhere was safe.

She watched him, from afar, for a moment. Then she climbed on board.

And she made it over to where she could sit down next to him.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke looked up at her. "I'm sorry I scared you guys."

[okteiviakom]

"We'll live," Octavia muttered, looking over at him. Like (she felt that) Lucifer had said, it wasn't like she had room to complain. "You couldn't help it."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged, looking back down at his feet in the water.

"Guess we're all a little crazy right now."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia turned her gaze on the water, too. Or in the direction of it, anyway. And didn't realize her shrug mirrored his. "We were in Fandom like... twenty minutes ago."

They'd been something getting closer to stable twenty-four hours ago.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke barked out a laugh.

"Last time I got teleported to a beach in was also in the 1950s."

[okteiviakom]

Oh.

Octavia had never asked much about the particulars of that mess. She suspected Lucifer hadn't, either.

Her voice got softer, by a fraction, as she glanced down and tugged at the sarong again. "I hope this turns out better."

[betterthanaplan]

"I'd, uh. Say it'd be hard for it to turn out worse, but I don't really want to give the universe any ideas."

[okteiviakom]

"That why you were so --"

Hysterical.

"Like that?"

[betterthanaplan]

“Yeah, I guess. That and —“ Duke waved his hand in a broad gesture. “— You know, everything.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia didn't quite manage to produce the soft snort that she would have liked to give here.

Her fingers were still fiddling with the thin fabric.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

[betterthanaplan]

"Thanks," Duke said. He glanced over at her, watched her fiddle. "You know it's not your fault, right?"

[okteiviakom]

"I didn't bring us here," Octavia murmured.

But that was not an answer.

[betterthanaplan]

"And you're not the reason I needed . . . that."

She hadn't helped, but it wasn't really on her.

[okteiviakom]

Most things felt like they were on her, lately.

She smoothed the fabric over her thigh and forced her hand to still. Looked over at him. "Will you get back to it?"

[betterthanaplan]

"The swimming?" Duke looked back out at the water and shrugged. "Yeah. Can't keep me away from that for long."

It wouldn't be the same for awhile, but he'd try.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's nod was maybe firmer than might have been expected. "Good."

The comfort had gotten spooked right out of one or two of her comfort things, very recently. She didn't want that for him, too.

[betterthanaplan]

“I could have warned you guys,” Duke said. “It was, uh. Spur of the moment. I know you guys worry.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia did not have it in her to cycle through that again, what he should or should not have done. Instead, she let her hand rest on her thigh, the one closest to him. Palm up.

He was likely to recognize the gesture.

[betterthanaplan]

It took him a moment to spot it, his eyes still mostly on the water, but when he did, his mouth curled up just a little.

He rested his hand in hers.

[okteiviakom]

It said something about how Octavia's last few days had gone that she found herself almost completely numb to the idea that he might not take the offer.

But then he did.

And her fingers curled gently around his.