Lucifer's Mansion, Wednesday Afternoon

[my_own_advocate]

That whole awkward mess yesterday had ended in Lucifer inviting Octavia over because, well. Because he felt horrifically guilty, and having long emotional chats wasn't really something he was good at when he wasn't in the middle of his own (Eric's) bloody club.

Also, generally, spending time with people went down more smoothly when there were hot tubs involved.

Either way, he was awake and upright. Hadn't bothered to pull on a suit jacket or anything else over his crisp black shirt because, well, this wasn't exactly a formal occasion.

... which hadn't stopped him from getting snacks delivered and breaking out the brandy, mind you. Either way. He was home.

[[ for her ]]

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[my_own_advocate]

"Don't people only ever use that word when they don't mean it?" Lucifer asked.

Genuine question!

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's voice had gone very mild again.

"Think I told Duke not to say it, at one point."

[my_own_advocate]

"Bit hypocritical to toss it to me, then, isn't it?" Lucifer said.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shrugged.

"Think I get now why he kept using it."

[my_own_advocate]

"And why's that?"

[okteiviakom]

"Because it's easier."

[my_own_advocate]

"It's also a lie," Lucifer said.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia glanced over. "A lot of lies are."

That was what made them so appealing.

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm aware," Lucifer said, "But you know about my opinion on the matter."

You had to at least do the work of burying yourself so deeply in denial you didn't actually know which parts were the lies anymore. Or that they were there in the first place.

[okteiviakom]

Heavy sigh.

"I don't like being skittish."

Or having someone unexpectedly booping her nose sending her into fight mode.

[my_own_advocate]

"You've been on high alert for quite some time," Lucifer said, his mouth curving a little bit. "I should have known better."

[okteiviakom]

"Probably," Octavia rasped.

But he was one of a very select few arond whom Octavia could even close her eyes for any significant length of time, in the first place.

Figured it'd be easy to forget she still couldn't relax much.

She sipped her brandy, and shook her head. Just a tiny bit, and mostly at herself.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer reached out a hand above the water, eyebrows raised.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia glanced over.

And sighed, softly.

And then reached out to take his hand.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer gave her hand a squeeze as soon as he had it. "I meant it, Octavia," he said softly, catching her gaze. "Give yourself a break. You're human. That's a good thing."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia gave him a wry look. "You're the last person who gets to remind me of that."

Or maybe he was exactly the right person to do so.

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm the best person to remind you of that, because I'm not human," Lucifer said, amused.

[okteiviakom]

The best Octavia could do was give his hand a small tug. It was the Octavia-appropriate alternative sticking out her tongue at him, or anything similar that she wouldn't do.

"Sure."

[my_own_advocate]

"Yes, yes, I'm fond of you too," Lucifer said, smirking a little bit. Not in a mean-spirited way. Just... amused.

[okteiviakom]

"I know."

Fuck your smirking, Lucifer, that was how you got her to hit you with sincerity.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer gave her hand one more squeeze before he let it go.

"And I'm proud of you," he said, smirk fading away, "Even if you aren't."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's fingers brushed against his as she drew her hand back. And, yeah, see, she would start feeling proud of her progress once her eyes would stop stinging all the time.

Like right now.

"Mochof."

She didn't know what to do with that. But she could acknowledge that some part of her thought it felt good.

[my_own_advocate]

"Look at Octavia, all overcome," Lucifer teased gently. "How about we leave that behind us and you tell me a good story about... something I wasn't around for."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia pulled a face. Which on most people would have barely counted as a twitch.

"You're going to have to narrow it down further," she drawled. "I'm not as good as some people at pulling out good stories."

[my_own_advocate]

"All right, let's make this a quiz," Lucifer mused. "What do you have happier stories about? The past seven years, Fandom, or the years before then?"