The Fin & Tonic, Sunday Night

[my_own_advocate]

Out here, the days were spent in the sun, enjoying the beach, drinks, a good swim or five; and then there were the evening hours, after they'd had dinner at the diner on the porch, where Lucifer searched valiantly for other ways to relax.

No, not just that. Perverts.

Tonight, he'd found himself on the Fin & Tonic's quite luxurious sofa, with a large bucket of popcorn. He paged through Netflix, searching for just. The right. Terrible action movie. Having found it, he leaned forward to grab a refill from his massive pitcher of margarita.

Should he call over Octavia or Duke? Ah, they'd find him if they wanted to join him, surely.

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[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer paused. Thought about his next words.

Then.

"It's not going to be any less anyone's guess if you properly train Duke to use the right words."

[okteiviakom]

The pause and the thinking still didn't save him from this:

"What?" Octavia asked.

Though not in a 'how dare you say that?' kind of way, but rather an 'I don't understand what you're saying' one.

[my_own_advocate]

"Whether Duke says 'feel your feelings' or 'express your feelings' doesn't actually change what he's saying, Octavia," Lucifer said. "Whether I say 'apology' or 'acknowledgement' doesn't change that what I'm asking for is something that recognizes specific things that you just said. You've known us for years. You either know what we mean, or you don't."

[okteiviakom]

Suppose it was Octavia's turn to feel like maybe she was crazy for seeing things differently.

She finally straightened up from her until now persistent lean against his shoulder. "Then I guess I don't," she said, looking... weirded out, for lack of a better term.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed, fairly certain he had once again not managed to find the correct words to support his point about... incorrect words.

But that left him with very little to say.

[okteiviakom]

"You seriously can't tell the difference between an 'I'm sorry' and an 'I heard what you said and I understand what you meant'?" Octavia asked. "Because I can."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer rubbed his forehead. "Of course I know the difference," he said, a little bit of irritation sneaking into his voice. "The point is that in context, both of you understood what I meant."

[okteiviakom]

"Clearly not, because I remember saying 'acknowledgment' after you said 'apology."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer-- reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Why is it sometimes so hard for you," he said, "to take things in the spirit they were intended and not the letter? I love you. I do. I have learned to roll with it. But right now, considering what Duke is going through, you could at least try to err on the side of grace."

[okteiviakom]

"We're not talking about Duke right now," Octavia replied, "we're talking about you."

Well, Octavia was, anyway. Whether that would come as a surprise to him was a separate matter.

[my_own_advocate]

"Yes, we're talking about my grave error of asking Duke to acknowledge what you'd just said about how he hurt your feelings and made you feel terrible by using the word 'sorry', which implies him also perhaps having to add a minute drop of taking responsibility to the mix, rather than 'acknowledge', which you would have preferred," Lucifer replied. "Thank you. I see the error of my ways. Next time I'll just leave you to fend for yourself, shall I?"

[okteiviakom]

"You already did."

... Oh, hey. Maybe that was the actual issue that was making itself known here.

[my_own_advocate]

"Oh, did I?" Lucifer asked flatly. "Pray tell, how did I do that?"

[okteiviakom]

"Holding him like I was something he needed to be protected from and berating me was not a winning combination, Lucifer," Octavia told him, just as flat.

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm not going to ream him out when he's being irrational or unkind and then keep my mouth shut and play your supportive backup dancer when you do the same, Octavia," Lucifer retorted.

[okteiviakom]

"I didn't need you to take my side," Octavia snapped, "I just needed you to not make me feel alone!"

[my_own_advocate]

"And how would I have done that in that moment?" Lucifer asked. "Not comforted him when he clearly needed it? Not pointed out that you were being unkind? Does my having your back moments earlier really mean nothing to you in the next beat of our lives?"

[okteiviakom]

"I'm not talking about any specific moment, I'm talking about the whole thing," Octavia said, looking perturbed and battling a rising urge to bolt again. "Not that you should still be thinking the apology thing was something that felt to me like you having my back, since I think we just established I didn't understand it how you meant it. If that's even what you're talking about."

She really didn't know anymore.

Including how she'd landed here when she'd planned not to rehash the original fight again, even with some things still not sitting right with her.

[my_own_advocate]

"You literally called him out on needing it pointed out to him that he should apologize and/or acknowledge what you said, moments later," Lucifer said, exasperated. "He keeps thinking I'm singling him out."

He threw up a free hand.

"I came after you," he said.

[okteiviakom]

"And why do you think I ran in the first place?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Because you were upset that I called you pedantic," Lucifer said.

[okteiviakom]

"Because looking weak in front of your united front stopped feeling like an option," Octavia replied, in a clipped tone.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer leaned back further to look at her properly.

"We were not at war."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia looked kind of unimpressed, in return.

"I guess I'm the only one not allowed to get hung up on words."

[my_own_advocate]

"It's not about your words, darling, it's the you versus--" Lucifer ran a hand through his hair. "I spent half that conversation asking you questions I already knew the answer to in hopes he'd get a clue, Octavia."