betterthanaplan | Still Haven, Maine, Friday Fandom time

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.

From:

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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So Lucifer moved her. Gently, making sure not to lift her off her feet, the way she could get-- complicated feelings about sometime.

"Duke?" he asked, as he stepped outside.

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Duke thunked his head back against the wall and looked up.

"They need me," he said softly. He was too tired to fight harder than that.

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okteiviakom

"We need you, too."

Had Octavia spoken? She was pretty sure she hadn't meant to, would have claimed she hadn't even heard him, but there it was, hoarse and small and sad.

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"Don't," Duke said, voice cracking on the word. "Please don't make me choose."

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They were all tired.

The only difference with Lucifer was that tired and sad could make him stony and determined, instead of drained and quiet.

"We all have to choose sometime," he said. "And currently you have the luxury that your choices don't have to be permanent yet."

He stopped walking when he found himself in front of Duke.

"They can sort themselves out for now," he said. "You got them to the point where they could. Now get up, we're going home."

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Duke stayed where he was for a long moment, eyes closed, trying to breathe around. . . . Something. The remains of Tyler, maybe, slowly dissolving down his throat.

If he left now, he’d be abandoning them. His brother. His first love. His . . . his best friend.

But maybe Lucifer was right. Maybe Duke didn’t have anything left to give.

He stood up slowly, favoring his leg. Lifted his chin towards Octavia.

“How much did she fuck up her stitches?”

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Some best friend she was.

But Lucifer had no illusions about the future. Duke would see them coming back here eventually. They just needed to not-- be here right now.

"Some, but not too badly to travel, I don't think," he said, glancing at Octavia.

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Lucifer hadn’t seen her at her best. Had only heard about her at her worst.

“Right.” Duke sighed. “Maybe the drive will do her good.”

He didn’t much sound like he believed it. And he wasn’t making eye contact with anyone.

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okteiviakom

Octavia had already mostly zoned out again, so she wasn't even even trying for eye contact.

She was also definitely bleeding into the bandages around her arm again, yes, but not dramatically.

She just wanted to get home. (As impossible as that felt right now.)

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Lucifer's father had had His good moments, too.

"Right," he said, reaching for his phone. "I'm calling for a portal. Can the two of you make it to the car?"

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