Deck of the Cape Rouge, Friday Morning

[my_own_advocate]

Life appeared to have settled some on the Rouge - and in the mansion, where a great deal of conversations had taken place over the last few weeks. Lucifer, for his part, rather enjoyed the calm-- the heavy burden of foreboding and tension had lifted entirely from his shoulders.

It had been, he had to admit, quite a while since the last time he felt that way.

And so he found himself out on the deck surprisingly early, wrapped in an incredibly thick and clearly expensive blanket, sipping from a mug of hot chocolate, feeling all right with the world.

In fact, he might have even been humming one of the classics under his breath.

[[ expecting one, but open! ]]

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[okteiviakom]

Octavia, for her part, was feeling kind of jittery. But maybe it was in a good way, for once? She had therapy coming up in a couple of hours - resheduled, she'd told them, which was true if you considered the past several weeks' worth of no sessions at all just delayed - and then after...

After, she was finally going to settle on a place to test the salve.

So that was a lot, those two things. At the forefront of her mind even as she made it out onto the deck, and saw Lucifer. "Look who's cozy."

[my_own_advocate]

"It felt like a cozy morning," Lucifer offered, looking up at her with a smile. "There's more cocoa, if you'd like some."

[okteiviakom]

"Here or in the galley?" Octavia checked.

Because she'd learned. And he really did look cozy as he was.

[my_own_advocate]

"... Galley," Lucifer allowed.

And in deference to their earlier confrontations, he wasn't immediately getting up to go get it.

[okteiviakom]

"Maybe later," Octavia said with a wry little tilt to her lips. She nodded at where he was sitting. "Is there room on there?"

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer patted the bench beside him. "For you? Of course."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia nodded.

And claimed the spot beside him, not hesitating before pressing up against his blanket-covered side.

[my_own_advocate]

And Lucifer, naturally, wrapped an arm around her waist without a thought. "Good morning, love," he murmured. "How are you?"

[okteiviakom]

"Feel busy today," Octavia replied, shrugging one shoulder but only barely, because of the lean and the arm now around her.

And sure, he only knew about two of the things she had planned - the therapy and the date night - but that was plenty.

[my_own_advocate]

"You do have quite a Friday schedule," Lucifer teased gently. "Time for a lazy morning, at least?"

[okteiviakom]

"I have a couple of hours to kill," Octavia confirmed, leaning her head against his shoulder. "No rush yet."

[my_own_advocate]

"Good," Lucifer said.

He turned his head. Pressed a kiss against her temple.

[okteiviakom]

"So claim as much as you want, I guess," Octavia added, in a murmur.

Mostly because of the kiss.

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, then I claim at least an hour with you," Lucifer returned, voice hushed. "Your therapist and Duke can wait."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia quirked a faint smirk, mostly just on one side. "I'm sure they'll be okay."

One of those people had already been waiting for quite some time, after all.

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm glad to hear it."

Lucifer pressed a firm kiss against her cheek. "I was thinking about having a talk with Duke's contractors today, about the pool."

[okteiviakom]

"What about? Just plans in general?"

[my_own_advocate]

"How everything should look."

[okteiviakom]

"And how should everything look?" was the next obvious question, so Octavia asked it, as she turned her head to look at him.

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, it needs to be in line with the rest of the house, but since it's a pool, and specifically a pool where you will hopefully spend a lot of time, I also want it to feel more... natural," Lucifer mused. "Now, plants near a pool may end poorly, but we can at least use natural materials..."

[okteiviakom]

"As long as they're sustainable," Octavia replied, shrugging.

[my_own_advocate]

"Naturally," Lucifer said. "Sustainable. And pretty."

[okteiviakom]

"So what's 'being in line with the house' mean?" Octavia asked.

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, I do have a specific aesthetic in the house," Lucifer pointed out. "Art deco meets modernism meets traditional design. The pool area should compliment it."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia naturally did not know half those words in this context.

"If you say so," she offered. "Feels like a separate thing to me."