Cape Rouge, Fandom, to Los Angeles (eventually), Monday Afternoon

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer had been having a nice day. A bottle of red. The galley. Something enjoyable to watch on his phone.

"Brother."

Lucifer had been having a nice day. And now he was up on the deck of the Rouge, barking into the phone. "Amenadiel," he said, "Don't you have a child to rear or something?"

"Charlie is fine," Amenadiel said, on the other side of the phone. "He's also in Los Angeles. As am I."

"Ah, so you've moved? How nice, LA weather is excellent this time of year," Lucifer said, already halfway to turning off the phone. "But this could have been an email. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have an excellent Orion Swift waiting for me--"

"No, I mean he is in Los Angeles," Amenadiel repeated slowly. "Our Los Angeles. Time has resumed flowing." His voice brightened considerably. "I'm so glad you've finally embraced your Godhood, Lucifer!"

Oh, no.

"Oh, no," Lucifer said.

[[ for them who live here, please ]]

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[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer's tone veered back into the vaguely hysterical. "Right, well, I'm going to move us back," he said, waving his arm.

He waved it again.

He waved it a third time.

That was still absolutely the Los Angeles skyline.

[betterthanaplan]

Of course it didn't work. Of course.

Duke shut his eyes and breathed very deliberately, in through his nose, out through his mouth.

"Okay," he said. "Okay, so. . . ."

He didn't have anything else to say.

[okteiviakom]

Great.

Octavia straightened up, squaring her shoulders. Tried to be subtle about her shuddery inhale, even though no one was actually looking at her.

"We're here," she said, forcing something firm into her tone. "We'll deal with that."

(There wasn't any room for a third person threatening to fall apart.)

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer waved his arm another impressive five times, but it wasn't working. "I can't--"

He dropped his hand. "...We're going to need a permit," he managed.

[betterthanaplan]

"Gotta rent a slip," Duke agreed, latching on hard to something he knew how to do. "I'll get on that."

And, uh. Make sure they knew what year it was while he was at it. He was having some flashbacks here to when he got bounced back to the 1950s in Haven.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia nodded. It looked much more decisive than she even remotely felt.

"And the penthouse above Lux, it's still there, right?"

[my_own_advocate]

"... It should be," Lucifer said. "I... I haven't sold it..."

But he was looking around now, just to make sure it was-- the Los Angeles he remembered.

[betterthanaplan]

"I have bars," Duke noted, looking at his phone. "So . . . cell service isn't just for angels. Which is good."

He had very firmly not had service in the 50s.

[okteiviakom]

"So you'll sort out the slip," Octavia said, nodding again. (The motion was clipped, brief. Like everything about her right now.) "And we'll make sure the Rouge will be safe. Lucifer, do you want to check in with Maze?"

That seemed like a thing that might have a grounding effect.

[my_own_advocate]

"... I should see if she wants to stab me for being gone too long," Lucifer agreed, reaching for his phone immediately.

He was in no mood to do anything but follow suggestions right now. There was still a helplessness to his expression.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was still typing away on his phone. "Okay, looks like I found the harbor master. I'll be right back."

He flicked them a tiny, tight smile, then hopped over the gunwale to the dock.

He could deal with this. There were definitely worse places to be bounced to.

(He really wished they didn't have to deal with this.)

[okteiviakom]

They were always dealing with something.

And Octavia was just trying to keep them afloat. If that meant either supporting or flat-out suggesting tasks that seemed like they would keep everyone from spinning out, so be it.

She watched Duke go, silencing the part of herself that really did not want to risk him getting out of her sight.

[my_own_advocate]

"Sorry," Lucifer muttered, as he fiddled clumsily with his phone. "I-- sorry."

[okteiviakom]

"We're fine," Octavia replied, with a kind of a... flat conviction. "One step at a time."

[my_own_advocate]

"But this is my fault," Lucifer said. Staring at the screen.

He sent the message to Maze.

[okteiviakom]

"Does blame help anything?" Octavia retorted, finally looking at him again.

Just in time to answer her own question: "No."

[my_own_advocate]

But it was always his fault. He made things worse.

"Of course," Lucifer said. He lowered his phone.

He met her eyes.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia met his.

And spoke, her voice level, her gaze unflinching. "You didn't choose this." Not in any way that he could have controlled, at least. "Now we're here, and we'll figure everything out. One step at a time. Together."

[my_own_advocate]

"Together," Lucifer echoed. He looked past her again, at the skyline. "I just... need to figure this out and get us all home again."

[okteiviakom]

"We," Octavia replied --

Sternly. 'Stern' was a good word for it.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer looked at her again. "I'm not sure you can strong-arm yourself through whatever my psyche has done to us, darling."

[okteiviakom]

"You want to do this alone?" Octavia replied, dry and unflinching.

[my_own_advocate]

"No," Lucifer said. "I'm just-- worried-- that no one else can fix this."

[okteiviakom]

"And I'm just saying that you're not alone," Octavia replied. "There's probably gonna be a lot that Duke and I can't do, sure, but I don't want you trying to take more onto just your shoulders than you have to."

[my_own_advocate]

"But we don't even know how much that is," Lucifer said. He shook his head, as if to shake it all off, and-- "I need some wine."