If I may play the me's advocate for a moment...

Lucifer and Duke had decided that, all things considered, they would likely get better at avoiding massive emotional blowouts if they-- just spent some more time together. Talked. Connected.

You know. Had dates.

And so Lucifer had packed up shortly before Octavia left for the club, bringing with him all the ingredients necessary for an excellent penne arrabbiata with fresh parmesan. He was in the kitchen now, cooking.

Almost done.

Just waiting for Duke.

[[ for that guy ]]

It had been a... stressful few weeks. And while there had been date nights in said weeks, they had not been date nights, more dinners and time spent on the sofa.

Now Lucifer had relaxed somewhat. And that meant that the dinner he had put on for tonight was quite extravagant indeed, as some attempt at an apology for putting Octavia through so much. At the center of the table sat an elaborate dish, sea bream with fruit and corn. Surrounding it, a variety of small dishes: cheeses, pickled vegetables, homemade bread.

Lucifer set the last glass in place, and waited for the sound of the door.

[[ for her ]]

It had certainly been a complicated week, hadn't it? Luckily, it had ended before the weekend, and Lucifer, Duke and Octavia had had all Saturday to recover.

That didn't mean Lucifer hadn't been slightly surprised that Octavia was still game for date night. But he had grasped it with every bit of enthusiasm he could foster. And yes, that did mean dinner had featured a genuinely ridiculous amount of tropical fruit.

"Suppose I should've put a protein in there," he mused, settling back and eyeing his empty dessert bowl with satisfaction.

[[ for her and sp. eta: nsfw-bound... ish? ]]

Date Night required a separate location, a little nest for Octavia and Lucifer to retreat to. The past two weeks had been spent huddled up with the three of them on the boat, trying to rediscover their equilibrium. But now that some balance had returned, so had the desire for a night together.

They'd also moved more than a few items to the nicest of the cabins. Lucifer had spent the past week making the place nicer, getting some mirrors in, a swing, buying a few duplicates of toys they already had, and purchasing and scattering about a frankly ridiculous amount of pillows and blankets.

And yes, he had absolutely picked up supplies to make Octavia one hell of a vegetarian Thai meal, thank you very much.

"I'll have to get the kitchen upgraded," he said, chewing on some rice, "But you can go quite a long way with a rice cooker and some knives."

[[ for her ]]

Another Sunday night, another date night. And not one where half the participants were raccoons, either.

"Finished?" Lucifer asked, settling back with his glass of wine.

Eyeing the not-a-raccoon across the table with a small smile.

[[ for her ]]

It had been an incredible weekend so far - the club opening, the morning after, the sex in between, and then the happy wallowing afterward.

Lucifer was intent on keeping that energy going. He took another bite of his quickly-dwindling seafood pasta with a grin. "How was yours?"

[[ for her ]]

There were plans to open the club - finally - and plans to go to Austria for a few days to see an opera - exciting - and Octavia had been doing better recently, so... Lucifer was in a good mood, actually, when Sunday came around.

So yes, the candles were out again tonight. And a rather imposing spread of seafood, picked up from the mainland. With mango rice, of course.

It was Octavia. Couldn't do without the mango rice.

"How do you feel about the snapper?"

[[ for her ]]

Date night.

Octavia had asked for another date night.

Which had surprised Lucifer, as he was still operating on the assumption she was hopping mad at him for not stopping her from attacking Audrey Parker. But, well. If Octavia wanted a date night, she'd get a date night. She'd get... all of her favorite Thai food (this time picked up from the restaurant), and fruit bowls, and fruit juice, and a house that had been cleaned absolutely to the millimeter on every level.

Because it was date night.

And Lucifer had been here since noon.

"I did not have enough time," he whimpered, running his hand through his hair as he stared helplessly at the door, waiting for it to open.

[[ for her! ]]

Lucifer and Octavia had their Sunday rituals down to a T. And that-- well, that made Lucifer a bit contrarian, at times. There was nothing wrong with their tradition, healing as it was, but doing the same thing over and over again wasn't always that exciting.

And, all right. Perhaps he was still processing his own healing breakdown a week after the fact.

So he'd promised Octavia a surprise. Shown up with some take out bags and a smile.

She'd probably figured out where they were going well before the first trees came into view. It was a bit chilly, that couldn't be helped, but still: Lucifer thought the ambiance would help. "Almost there."

[[ for her ]]

Not sleeping with Octavia for two days had seemed like a tolerable proposition after the initial suggestion of five entire days (oh lord). In practice, though, it was its own form of Hell.

So there had definitely been a bit of fumbling with the keys (and the take-out). And a bit of... rushing through the food part.

"We certainly ordered too much rice," he said, only halfway through his pad thai (sigh). "Who knew such a thing was possible."

[[ for her, and doomed to go nsfw ]]