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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Comments

[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."

[okteiviakom]

Well, that at least seemed to throw Octavia a little bit.

"... That's why you were bombarding me with questions?"

No, she hadn't (entirely, anyway) parsed that part correctly for its intended meaning, either.

[my_own_advocate]

"Yes," Lucifer said, dropping his hands expressively. "I was hoping he'd either catch on that he should show more of an interest instead of hitting you with solutions and therapy talk, or you'd say something that would give him some insight that might actually penetrate his skull."

[okteiviakom]

"I was just starting to feel like I was on trial," Octavia said, raising her eyebrows, "but I was hoping trying to answer would still -- help something."

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like you were on trial," Lucifer said. "But you were addressing both of us, so it didn't feel like I was supposed to be the 'ah yes, you've told me, Duke, this is what she said' person in the conversation. I thought you had a plan I was included in."

[okteiviakom]

"I didn't have a plan --" Something she thought was painfully obvious by now, and also something she'd berated herself more than once for. "-- I just hoped you being there would be a safety net."

Her shoulders sank a little.

"And I didn't realize I was going to end up feeling like I'd set one up for Duke only."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed. "I was trying to be there for you, too," he said. "I'm sorry."

[okteiviakom]

"It didn't feel like it to me."

None of the parts where he'd tried to give her support, apparently.

"So I guess I'm sorry, too."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer reached for her hand. Carefully.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia didn't move hers to meet him.

But she let him take it.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer gave it a squeeze.

"I really am just trying to help," he said quietly. "I assumed we were on the same page. I shouldn't have."

[okteiviakom]

"To quote Duke," Octavia muttered, "I'm not a mindreader."

[my_own_advocate]

"I know," Lucifer said. He heaved a breath. "We're just usually better at this."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shrugged a shoulder.

"Everything's shifting."

And they were not immune.

[my_own_advocate]

"I didn't expect us to," Lucifer said. He shook his head, looking up at the screen and the movie - which had already been going for some time. "I just want to be able to be there for him, too."

[okteiviakom]

"There's three of us," Octavia replied, quietly. "This is just making it obvious. How we're all connected."

[my_own_advocate]

"Yes," Lucifer said, heaving a sigh. "Unfortunate."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia wasn't going to comment on how she'd seen the fault lines before.

Instead, she just said, "The flipside of everything that makes it worth it."