Lucifer's Mansion, Wednesday Evening

[my_own_advocate]

Octavia was back at work. Just like that. Like this was a normal week, and they'd had a normal time, and he entire world hadn't suddenly gone upside down.

Lucifer was having a harder time of it. Perhaps, though, she was right, and what he needed was some... semblance of a routine again.

So on a whim, he'd texted Duke about date night. Then he'd run off to the store to pick up supplies, and... now he was here. In the kitchen. Readying his lasagna for the oven while he waited for Duke to arrive, a bottle of wine sitting on the table.

Everything. Was fine.

[[ for him ]]

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[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer poured him a new glass. "Sit down, then," he said. "And I'll come bring you your food."

[betterthanaplan]

"You spoil me," Duke teased, and sat.

[my_own_advocate]

"Someone has to," Lucifer said, slipping back into the kitchen to free the lasagna from the oven.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke let out a soft laugh, leaning back in his chair and sipping his wine as he watched Lucifer move.

He was gorgeous. Everything about him. Sure, there was the whole celestiality to him, but Duke was sure even if he weren't literally an angel, Lucifer would be phenomenally beautiful.

[my_own_advocate]

Even wearing oven mitts? Because those were quite sizable black-and-red oven mitts Lucifer returned with, holding on to the large casserole dish. Above said casserole, though, he was grinning.

It was good to get to look at Duke and not worry about him falling apart in some way or another.

"Here we are," he said, setting the hot dish down in front of him. "Made the passata myself some days ago."

[betterthanaplan]

Especially in oven mitts. Something about the domesticity just added to the whole aura.

"Of course you did,' he said. "It smells amazing."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer took off the mitts and set them aside, sitting down himself. He leaned over to start cutting squares. "I hope you'll enjoy it," he said. "I also have tiramisu sitting in the fridge."

Was someone planning to deal with his feelings by pampering Duke again? Absolutely.

[betterthanaplan]

"I love it when you go domestic," Duke mused, still watching Lucifer over the lip of his wine glass. "It looks good on you."

[my_own_advocate]

"Thank you."

Lucifer scooped some lasagna onto Duke's plate.

"Alive and untroubled looks excellent on you."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah?" Duke shook his head with a wry laugh. "It feels fucking weird. But good, yeah. Like . . . after I exploded only more. I feel . . . light."

[my_own_advocate]

"I suppose that makes sense," Lucifer said. "You had a lot of troubles swimming around in you for all that time without any of us realizing it."

[betterthanaplan]

“I did. Even before any of them were active, I think maybe they’ve always been affecting me. Like . . . that was the real Crocker curse. The weight of all that goop, hiding in our blood.”

[my_own_advocate]

"It was... a bit disturbing," Lucifer said slowly, "Realizing that they were actually physically in there."

[betterthanaplan]

“No shit, right?”
Duke asked. “Like, how was that not showing up on people’s bloodwork?”

[my_own_advocate]

"Modern medicine hasn't caught up?" Lucifer suggested, putting some lasagna on his own plate.

[betterthanaplan]

"Clearly not," Duke agreed, picking up his fork, ready to start eating once Lucifer was. "But since the goop was apparently, like, entropy made manifest, I suppose I can't really be that surprised."

[my_own_advocate]

"Absolute bloody madness," Lucifer said, settling down to cut into his lasagna. "Who even let that into the universe?"

[betterthanaplan]

"You met him," Duke pointed out. "I killed him."

[my_own_advocate]

"Was that what that little man was?" Lucifer said. "I didn't pay attention."

He was generally not interested in the motivations of murderous arseholes.

[betterthanaplan]

The humor bled entirely out of Duke's face.

"Yeah," he said, staring down at the lasagna. "That's what he was."

[my_own_advocate]

"Sorry," Lucifer said, frowning at him. "I... well. I wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying at all, the absolute, horrifying cretin."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke nodded. "Yeah. Well." He looked up again with an entirely humorless smile. "He hijacked my brain, so I kind of had to."

That was the most he'd acknowledged even to himself just what Croatoan had done to him.

[my_own_advocate]

"At least you killed him," Lucifer said, lifting his glass. "Cheers to that."

[betterthanaplan]

"I did," Duke agreed.

He'd killed a bunch of other people first, though. People who'd known and trusted him. Who didn't know to be afraid.

He broke off a piece of lasagna and popped it in his mouth. "Good food," he said, though he wasn't really tasting it just now.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed.

He took a few bites of his food. "I realize I'm not famously the best listener in our little crew," he said, "But if you want to talk about it, I am still here."