betterthanaplan | Still Haven, Maine, Friday Fandom time

Octavia was quite a bit ahead towards the Gull now. Lucifer extended an arm, meant to block his way. "She has every right," he snapped.

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"Dammit, Lucifer," Duke said, jerking up short at the arm coming out. Trying to shove Lucifer out of the way would be like trying to shove a whale, so he ducked under his arm, wincing a little as the motion pulled on angry, injured muscles. "This isn't Lexie's fault!"

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The scuffling was hard to miss, as was the tiny war machine marching in. Lexie watched her with a raised eyebrow and her customary smirk.

"Lover's spat?"

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okteiviakom

The tiny war machine in question marched right at her. Octavia yanked her arm out of the sling, and reached out and grabbed Audrey's shirt with her right hand.

And swung with her left fist, for her jaw.

Put all her anger into it.

(The pain of having had to watch Duke the way he'd come back from Haven last time. The pain sure to come of having to watch him recuperate from this time.)

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"Isn't it?" Lucifer snapped, twisting around. Doing what Duke had told him not to back when 'Lexie' had still been watching: lifting him right up.

By the back of his shirt this time, to be fair.

"Or did a man die today for no good reason but that she wanted to be clever?"

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Lexie flopped back against the bar. Wade let out a startled shout.

Jennifer, coming in from upstairs, where she'd been making sure the apartment was ready for its new-old resident, let out a shriek and hurried forward.

"Octavia, oh my god!" She hurried over, eyeing the sling and the blood now on Lexie's face, and Duke and Lucifer outside the door, Duke held off the ground and writhing like a naughty kitten. "What's going on?! Let her go!"

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"A man died because he stole me and shot you!" Duke yelled back.

Even as, yes, he writhed like a kitten.

(Garland Wuornos doing something not dissimilar was possibly where Gloria had gotten her nickname for Duke from.)

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okteiviakom

There was shouting happening around Octavia. It didn't really register.

She was already going for another punch, because someone had to pay. For everything.

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"Woah woah woah!" Wade darted around the bar to pull her off, but Jennifer waved him away, noting the blood on Octavia's shirt.

Was Octavia troubled? Jennifer had no idea. She also didn't know if dried blood counted or how much it would take to set Wade off like Duke got sometimes, but she did know Duke did not want that happening to Wade.

So she was the one who wrapped her arms around Octavia's waist and yanked, trying to drag her off Lexie.

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Outside, Lucifer was still holding on to a flailing kitten.

"We are going home, Duke," he snapped-- no, snarled, his upper lip curling up, his entire being so tired of attempting to fight the bloody justifications for her behavior that he was just going to stop bothering. "There's no role left for you to play here but someone's pawn. Everything else is you tilting at windmills until one topples over and kills you, you absolute bloody tit."

Edited Date: 2022-04-01 11:44 pm (UTC)

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Duke stiffened, even as he gave up on struggling.

"I'm not anyone's pawn," he ground out, low and dark.

He'd told Tyler to off himself. He'd been counting on his trouble kicking in. (And he'd, maybe a little, been too upset and tired to care anymore if it didn't.)

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okteiviakom

At least the arms registered. Somewhat. As someone trying to wrench her away from what she was doing.

It didn't entirely work, but it did force Octavia to let go of Audrey. But, sorry about the flaily elbows you were now getting, Jennifer. And sorry to everyone else about the banshee screech she let out when she was doing that.

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"Jesus, what the hell?" Lexie asked, wiping blood from her lip with her finger. (She didn't look unused to having to do that.) "I told your boyfriend I was sorry already. He had an ax, okay? I didn't want to get hacked, sue me."

"Maybe just . . . go somewhere else," Wade suggested, staring at Octavia with wide eyes, even as he handed Lexie a napkin. Lexie took it and nodded, hurrying for the door.

Jennifer, on the other hand, just hung on to Octavia, burying her face in Octavia's shoulder. "It's okay it's okay it's okay it's okay," she said, barely even able to hear herself under Octavia's screech. "It's okay, they're okay, it's okay, it's okay. . . ."

She was pretty sure Octavia had finally just -- snapped. Which, having been crazy -- or thought she was -- she felt like she understood.

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"Try having a conversation with me that isn't full of excuses," Lucifer had started.

And then Octavia had started screaming.

And then he was just walking, barely remembering to set Duke down before he rushed through the doors.

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Duke's leg folded out from under him when Lucifer set him down and he just -- flopped down onto the decking.

Sat there, his hands on the back of his neck, his eyes on the water, and breathed.

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okteiviakom

Octavia was similarly starting to fold in on herself, now that the target of her fury was gone, and there was nothing left except a void.

(And Jennifer's voice.)

She stared into the middle distance in front of herself, seeing nothing.

At least the screaming had stopped.

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"It's okay," Jennifer was still saying, softer now. "It's okay. You're all okay."

Wade decided his own absence was going to be likewise the better part of valor, and beat feet.

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Lucifer cleared his throat as he came upon... that scene. He didn't even bother to look for Audrey. "We're going home," he told... mainly Jennifer, and he was aware of it. "You're welcome to come along, if you wish."

But someone would have to kidnap Octavia or Duke's bodies and shoot him again if they thought to stop him from flinging both his traumatized partners in his car and just going.

Edited Date: 2022-04-02 12:15 am (UTC)

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"I think that's a good idea," Jennifer said, uncurling from around Octavia slowly. "I'm -- I want to stay. I was going to leave earlier, but -- I think I want to stay. I haven't done anything that felt useful in kind of a while, you know? And this has all been scary and -- and fucked up, but also . . . like I've been kinda useful."

She offered Lucifer a smile, then lowered her voice.

"Also Duke kissed me but he wasn't Duke and that was super weird. Please don't hold that against him?"

She didn't know why Octavia was hitting people, but she felt like it was a good idea to keep all the air clear between them all.

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okteiviakom

And then Octavia was alone again.

(No, she wasn't. But it felt like that, with Jennifer pulling away. Warmth only registering once it was gone.)

It felt like it took effort to stay on her feet. She did, though, even if there was a little sway to it. Her head hurt, her arm hurt, her bloodied hand hurt, and she felt it and didn't feel it at the same time.

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"You're one of all of two people I've met on this trip who seems to have no designs for him at all," Lucifer said, his eyes darting to Jennifer one last time. "I'm just glad it wasn't anyone else."

But that was all the time he had for Jennifer. He stepped forward and tried to wrap his arm around Octavia's waist, to pull her into him, with him, towards the door. "We're going home."

He'd keep saying it until they were there.

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Jennifer stepped back, smiling a little, and let them go.

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okteiviakom

Octavia allowed herself to be moved.

She didn't have anything else left.

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