betterthanaplan | Haven, Maine, Sunday FT (Reply)

"Double red-eyes . . . Straight, no chasers," Duke announced, holding up the coffees he'd picked up for Audrey and Nathan when he and his partners had hit up the shop on their way over. "And we wrote down everything we did yesterday, like you asked."

Audrey accepted the coffee Duke offered her, and the piece of notebook paper along with it. "Thank you." She gave him a smile that went wan when she looked at Octavia and Lucifer. "All of you."

Lucifer	"The sooner this is over, the better for all of us, I'd say," Lucifer said. He had his own mad sugary coffee concoction in one hand-- and poured some whiskey into it with the other. He needed it, all right?
Octavia	Octavia hung back, looking grim, with her own monstrously big thing of coffee, sipping it in lieu of doing anything like looking at Audrey. (Beyond a glance to see if whatever damage she'd inflicted still showed, anyway.)
Audrey & Duke & Nathan	It didn’t. Audrey was ~~not allowed to be ‘ugly’~~ an absurdly fast healer. “I made sure yours was lukewarm,” Duke said, handing Nathan his coffee. Nathan blinked, faintly surprised. “Thanks.” “You two and Nathan are our only survivors so far,” Audrey explained as she looked over the list of events. “I’m hoping we can find the trigger by comparing what you all did.” She bobbed her head a little as she read. “Got into town, talked to Jennifer, then Wade, checked your horoscope in the Herald?” “I'm a gemini,” Duke said. “Aquarius rising.” “That's fascinating,” Nathan said dryly. Duke refused to be cowed. “It's actually a really interesting transit.”
Lucifer	"I knew an astrologer once. She had a 95 percent accuracy on predicting other people's romantic entanglements based on their ascendant alone," Lucifer mused, and took a sip of his coffee. "Really knew how to yab yum."
Octavia	... And now Octavia was side-eying both her partners, because both of them were talking absolute gibberish. She was doing it mildly, but still.
Duke & Nathan & Audrey	Duke nodded. "Nice." "Anyway," Nathan started. Audrey interrupted. "Wait a second. When we picked up Freddie, wasn't he passed out on a stack of Haven heralds?"
Lucifer	"You think the newspaper did it?" Lucifer asked, frowning.
Octavia	"I don't think that's it," Octavia rasped. A beat. "... Right?" Look, it was Haven, and she hadn't slept enough.
Duke & Audrey & Nathan	Duke frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah, I don't think Tavi even touched the thing." "The bee sting guy did have a Herald on his end table, though," Audrey mused. "I read the Herald at the station yesterday," Nathan said. "Are you sure you didn't do anything with a Herald yesterday, Octavia?"
Octavia	"I..." Octavia started, some of the gruff mildness of her expression giving way to a frown. "I think I was looking at it when I was on the phone?" Who with was none of their business. And anyway: "But -- isn't that thing all around town? Shouldn't it have hit way more people?"
Lucifer	"I'm honestly disturbed people even read newspapers anymore," Lucifer said, frowning.
Duke & Audrey & Nathan	"I'm mostly in it for the kitsch," Duke said. "That's a good point, Octavia," Audrey said, ignoring both him and Lucifer. "Maybe the rest of the readership didn't have any nightmares?" "That seems remarkably healthy for a town like Haven," Duke said. "D'you have nightmares every night?" Nathan asked. ". . . No comment," said Duke. "Or maybe there's something about these specific copies of the paper," Audrey mused, ignoring the banter again. She frowned when Nathan hissed and pulled out his phone. "What?" "I got the paper off Dwight's desk," Nathan said. "So, if I was affected... It means Dwight could be too."
Lucifer	Lucifer frowned. "... Well, if he dreams about the sort of things soldiers tend to have nightmares about..." The frown turned to wide-eyed alarm. "... Where does the lumberjack live?" Look, he cared about exactly one other person in this murderous hovel beyond his partners.
Octavia	Octavia cared about two, neither of which was Dwight, sorry to say. So, she had her own, suddenly concerned priorities: "I'm calling Jennifer."
Duke & Nathan & Audrey	"Shit, she was going to an interview at the Herald yesterday," Duke said. Nathan had stepped aside slightly, and hung up from a very short, terse conversation on his phone. "Dwight's been hit. Getting an ambulance to him now." "He fell asleep?" Audrey asked. Nathan nodded. "I hate this town," Duke muttered, pulling out his own phone. "I'm calling Wade. And Gloria. And . . . I don't know, maybe we should run an air raid siren all night or something. Jesus."
Lucifer	"Red Bull in the water supply?" Lucifer proposed, but he was-- well, that frown wasn't going anywhere. "He's still alive?"
Octavia	Octavia was half-listening to them, but mostly just trying not to get increasingly agitated with every second more her call went without getting picked up. But it took until the hesitant "... Octavia?" from the other end of the line before she actually turned away from them.
Nathan & Audrey & Duke	"So far," Nathan said with a nod. "We'll go talk to him at the hospital," Audrey said. "Yeah." Duke nodded, not yet making his phone calls. ". . . Uh, by the way. Are you, uh. 'Out'? Around town?" ". . . Out?" Nathan asked. "I'm Lexie." Audrey gave him a little smile. "To everyone else, I'm still Lexie."
Octavia	Probably for the best that Octavia was too preoccupied with her phone to hear that. Or see it. (She wouldn't have taken well to the smiling.) Bit busy catching Jennifer up to speed - after interrupting whatever that had been about the job interview. Something about a background check? "We can talk about that later, just don't touch any more of the Heralds, okay?"

Duke	Octavia was off making sure that Jennifer and Gloria were both safe from the latest trouble. In the meantime, Lucifer and Duke had checked in on Dwight -- and Duke had checked Dwight's files to see if he'd made any progress in Jordan's disappearance. Turned out she was only one of a handful of troubled people, mostly girls, who were missing or dead -- and not of a dream. They'd found a knife tip in one of them. And one of Duke's knives, he'd discovered, was missing its tip. Supposedly because Wade had broken it gutting a fish. So he and Lucifer had come to the marina to do a bit of investigating. See just how far gone Duke's brother was. "Uh, hey," Duke called as he approached the man running the boat rental dock. "I think my brother might be renting a boat out here. Name's Wade Crocker?"
Lucifer	"Looks a bit like this one, but then much less attractive," Lucifer offered. If he sounded impatient, well, it was because he was terrified, and impatient was a much better emotion to cling to.
Duke & and a marina guy	The marina guy frowned, flicking his gaze from the fancy man to the scruffy looking guy. "Yeah," he said at length. "He's been around a lot lately, always brings tons of gear." Duke offered an awkward smile. "Yeah, uh, he's been pulling in a bunch of big striped bass." He put his hands in his pockets and rocked a little on his heels. "Any chance that the boat he's been renting has a GPS? Sure would love to find his fishing spot. . . ."
Lucifer	"Duke's quite big on fishing himself, obviously," Lucifer offered. "And he's been hoping to get reacquainted with his brother."
That marina guy & Duke	"How nice for you," the marina guy said, clearly not at all interested. "He usually takes out that one over there. Check out the history on the chart plotter. You'll be set." "Thanks," Duke's grin widened, but remained mostly empty as he pulled a bill from his pocket. "Hey, uh, you think we could keep this off the books?" The guy brightened a little as he accepted the bribe. "No problem." "Thanks."
Lucifer	"Excellent, let's move on," Lucifer said, immediately turning towards the boat. "Duke, shall we?"
Duke	Duke headed after him, ignoring the faint smirk the marina guy now wore, watching them go. Whatever. It wasn't like he was probably ever going to see the guy again once they got Wade out of here. "Do you even know how to use a chart plotter?" he asked Lucifer as he climbed into the small boat.
Lucifer	"Not at all," Lucifer said, as the boat moved beneath them. "Does it need to be on for that?"
Duke	"I got it," Duke said with a little chuckle. "You want to unmoor us from the dock? It's probably easiest to just head over there in the boat now."
Lucifer	"I'm just asking," Lucifer sighed, and his hand passed briefly over the boat's controls. It purred to life.
Duke	Duke took a look at the chart plotter. "Looks like he headed out a ways, towards the bluffs. You want to steer while I navigate?"
Lucifer	"Oooh," Lucifer said, brightening a bit. "Do I." Lucifer. No.
Duke	". . . Don't make me regret offering," Duke said, shaking his head. "Alright, Helmsman, take us out."
Lucifer	"Oh, please, you will enjoy the ride, as always," Lucifer said, smirking. The only thing that stopped him from hitting the gas right away was having to maneuver the boat away from the docks, but then-- well, who knew a boat could speed up that fast?
Duke	That managed to get an honest-to-Lucifer laugh out of Duke, which was a nice trick when he was in this town. He hung on, pushing his hair out of his face with his free hand, and called out directions until they got close to Wade's apparent "fishing" grounds.
Lucifer	"Are we nearly there?" Lucifer asked. "How much further?"
Duke	"Almost," Duke said, chuckling softly at how Lucifer sounded. "Slow us down. It looks like he usually headed for that cove over there."
Lucifer	"Well, that's a bit foreboding," Lucifer said, as he dutifully (if somewhat dejectedly) slowed down the boat.
Duke	Maybe they could take the Samsara out and tool around with Octavia when they got home. "It's just a cove," Duke said. Even as he frowned and peered at the water. ". . . With something floating just under the surface." That was definitely foreboding.
Lucifer	"Can you tell what it is? Because I am absolutely assuming the worst at the moment."
Duke	"Yeah, me too." He leaned against the gunwhale and shook his head. "We need to get a little closer."
Lucifer	"I'm trying my best," Lucifer muttered, giving the engine just the tiniest little extra bust of speed.
Duke	Duke would assure him that his best was plenty, but he was busy trying not to freak out as they pulled closer. That was definitely looking more and more like a human arm. Wearing a glove. Sticking out of one of three plastic wrapped forms floating just under the water. And that was definitely a tattoo on the forearm of that human arm. "Well," he said, swallowing thickly. "I think we just found Jordan."
Lucifer	"What?" Lucifer said, and stretched up to look, and-- "Oh." Well. At this point he knew this was likely the time to shut off the engine and go touch Duke's shoulder, at the very least. So he did.
Duke	Said shoulder was stiff as concrete. Duke didn't look back at him or relax, but he didn't pull away either. "Two other bodies," he observed flatly. What the fuck was he going to do?
Lucifer	"He's been busy," Lucifer agreed, but he was looking at Duke, and his hand slid to the man's waist. "What are you going to do?"
Duke	Wade was Duke's brother, so it was on him to handle this. He couldn't expect Lucifer to just hand him answers. "We need to stop him," he said flatly. "There's a closet on the Sanguine Moon that should hold him. We can figure out next steps once we know he's not killing anyone else." He did move away, then, pulling out his phone to start working on tracking Wade down. He didn't have time for sympathy or breaking down. Not while Wade was out there hurting more people.
Lucifer	Lucifer watched him move, and surpressed a noise of concern. He'd been there, himself. He thought of Uriel. He tried not to think of Uriel again. He retreated back to the boat's controls instead, watching Duke quietly.

Duke	Duke might not have been around Haven much since he was a teenager, but he'd managed to keep up with most of his contacts, and it only took a couple hours before he got word that Wade was haunting the Rusty Scupper, chatting up a known troubled person. Duke headed right over, determined to stop his brother in his tracks. He'd try reasoning with him first. And if Wade wouldn't listen (Wade wouldn't listen, Duke knew what it felt like when their trouble was triggered, how good it could feel in the moment to kill, and Wade had never been big on self-control), then . . . he'd stop him. No matter what.
Lucifer	"Are you ready for this?" Lucifer had remained mostly quiet over the past few hours. The situation was-- kicking up some terrible memories. It wasn't. Going to end like that this time. Not for Duke. He wouldn't let it.
Octavia	Since they'd told her, Octavia had been doing her best not to fuss at Duke. Or whatever the Octavia-appropriate version of that would have been, anyway. Right now, though, she was hanging back behind them by a few steps. And she allowed herself a moment of just... watching him. And feeling the concern she'd been keeping at bay.
Duke & Wade & an innocent bystander	"No," Duke told Lucifer without looking back at him. How could anyone ever actually be ready to confront their brother about murdering people? Anyway, it didn't matter. Wade was coming out of the bar with the troubled man, the two of them smiling all friendly like. "Thanks for the ride, man," the troubled man said. Duke stepped out in front of them. "I think you should find another ride home."
Lucifer	For once, Lucifer didn't muscle his way into it by speaking up. He just... stepped forward, in silent back-up to Duke. You know. In case they needed to know there was someone else with the strength to intervene here.
Octavia	Octavia, in turn, gave the stranger a little nod, away. "Come on, you don't wanna be here."
Wade & Duke	The stranger looked at the three of them, then at Wade, and decided that Octavia was right. He quickly headed back into the bar. "What the hell is this?" Wade asked. "I know, Wade," Duke said. "I know everything."
Lucifer	"He means about all the murders," Lucifer supplied. There was, after all, only so long he could ever keep his mouth shut.
Octavia	They could take turns: Octavia's mouth was a thin line again. Her eyes on Wade were not kind, or concerned.
Wade & Duke	Wade scoffed. "What are you talking about?" "We found your dumping grounds, Wade," Duke hissed. "We saw the bodies. Jordan's body." Wade shook his head. "They were troubled. I was helping them. Saving them and their families. That's why we have this gift, this power!"
Lucifer	"Ah, no," Lucifer said flatly. "You've got 'that power' through some fluke of horrific malice or stupidity and murder is, in fact, still murder. I mean, I haven't checked the relevant Maine laws, but I doubt it has an exception for incredibly terrible superpowers."
Octavia	"It's not a gift, Wade," Octavia added, flatly.
Duke & Wade	"It's a curse," Duke agreed. "This is our trouble." Wade shook his head. "We're not like the others." "This thing turned you into a killer!" Duke wanted to grab Wade by the shoulders and shake him, but he only clenched his hands at his sides instead. He wasn't sure he could trust them to just shake Wade right now. "If that's not a curse, I don't know what is!"
Lucifer	"Duke hasn't struggled to keep this bloody thing in check all this time, only for you to go around and act like it's murder happy hour," Lucifer added, practically snarling. And this man had tried to accuse him of nefarious intentions.
Octavia	Octavia said nothing. Something was... occurring to her. Something that was pulling her expression even tighter.
Wade & Duke	"You're not gonna turn me in, are you?" Wade asked, looking between Duke and Lucifer. "I mean, I know you're friends with the cops and all, but . . . we're brothers." Duke bit his lip. "I don't know what I'm going to do. You killed all those people, Wade. That's on me, now, too."
Lucifer	"You don't honestly think we're going to let you keep doing this?" Lucifer asked.
Octavia	"You like it," Octavia said, voice gone lower, raspier. Colder. "The power." How else was she supposed to take all that about it being a gift, about helping people? With no indication of remorse? (She wasn't just projecting. Right? She wasn't.) "It stops now."
Wade & Duke	Wade looked at her. "You say that like it's wrong." "Jesus, Wade!" Duke shook his head. "You say shit like that and you expect me not to do something about it?" Wade's expression went sharp. "I expect you to keep my secret," he said. "That's what brothers do, right? Like I'm keeping your secret. About Audrey."
Lucifer	"Oh, excellent, now we're adding blackmail to the tally," Lucifer said, rolling his eyes. "Shut up. Or by all means, keep incriminating yourself further."
Octavia	"Murders aren't a secret worth keeping," Octavia agreed, tightly.
Wade & Duke	"But a woman who could end all the troubles is?" Wade asked. "This isn't about Audrey," Duke growled. "This is about you."
Lucifer	"Right, this is pointless, and I'm tired of this." Tired, and absolutely not interested in seeing what happened if this went on much longer. If Wade managed to execute some kind of plan, or tried to attack one of them, or otherwise forced their hand-- no. Not again. The great joy of celestial strength was that all that was really required was a love tap; Lucifer leaned forward and smacked the side of Wade's head with the palm of his hand, and watched the man go down like a sack of potatoes. "Honestly!"
Octavia	Octavia was somehow even less surprised by that than she'd been that Wade knew Audrey was Audrey. (The hell kind of a secret was it, anyway? Was beginning to feel like half the people in Haven already knew.) "Now what do we do with him?"
Duke	"Lock him up," Duke said, heaving a sigh and shoving his hand through his hair. (At least Lucifer had saved him from having to knock his own brother out.) "Then . . . figure it out from there, I guess." He was in way over his head, but doing his best not to show it.

Wade	Wade woke in the dark with a pounding headache. And a whole lot of anger, which he turned immediately on the door. He was just mad -- and a little bit crazy -- enough to keep beating on it until he broke his hand or the door. It'd been too long since his last kill. He needed another. Needed it. And if he had to take out Duke's little friends to get what he needed . . . he was okay with that. He hated himself for it, but he was okay with it.
Octavia	And by 'little friends', he was referring to Lucifer, who'd just tapped him unconscious, and Octavia, who just a week ago Haven time had had no problem with going completely berserk on Audrey? Guess he must have been crazy enough to like those odds. Duke and Lucifer were out on the dock, out of earshot of inside of the Sanguine Moon, trying to arrange portals and figure out where they were going to stick Wade since he clearly couldn't be left to roam freely around Haven. Meanwhile, Octavia was posted inside the Moon, closer to the hatch that led outside than she was to the door, which -- yeah, apparently Wade had woken up. She could tell by the pounding. "That won't do much," she called, dryly.
Wade	Dammit. "Octavia?" Wade tried. "That's you, right? Look, I'm sorry. You're right, the trouble's got me crazy. I'll -- I'll stop." He was still a Crocker. Duke's instinct to try to talk his way out of things didn't come from nowhere.
Octavia	"Convenient." Yes, Octavia could drawl through a door, too. "Why should I believe you?"
Wade	Wade sighed. "I don't know. I guess you shouldn't." If he capitulated, she was more likely to believe he'd changed his mind. "Have you seen Duke when he's, uh, triggered? We lose all reason." She trusted Duke. So she could trust him too!
Octavia	Octavia trusted Duke. She would not trust another Crocker any further than she could throw them, however. "But you weren't triggered back there." Not so much with the believing, no. "You were looking to get triggered. Right? On purpose."
Wade	Well shit. That wasn't going to work. He roared and started throwing himself against the door again. It rattled and creaked, clearly not up to the Rouge's standards of security.
Octavia	That... was not a good sign. "I wouldn't bother doing that," Octavia called anyway, her voice just as flat and dry as before - but she was getting to her feet, now.
Wade	Slam Slam SMASH! Wade was through the door. He paused just a moment, panting, then spotted Octavia and charged.
Octavia	Shit. Octavia made a snap decision, and darted for the exit. Hoping it was enough of a lead not to get trapped in here with him. (She really shouldn't have taken off her jacket, earlier. Shouldn't have made herself comfortable, but it was too late to worry about that now.)
Wade	Wade got there first, powered by sheer desperation. He looked around the small galley space, and snatched up one of Duke’s many knives. “I’m sorry,” he panted. “I need it!”
Octavia	Goddammit, Duke. "You're not gonna find it here," Octavia growled, shrinking back. Tapping into something from... her past, but trying her hardest to keep a distance. "I'm not troubled." Sort of true. Sort of not.
Wade	"I don't believe you," Wade said, and lunged for her.
Octavia	And out of options, Octavia tried to block his knife arm while taking a desperate swing at his face with her other fist. She also screamed, as loud and as hard as she could.
Duke & Wade	Outside, Duke snapped his head up from where he was looking through portal availability on his phone and bolted back towards the boat. Inside, Wade took the punch to his face and slashed at her again, uncaring of where he might hit her so long as it drew blood.
Lucifer	"Octavia!" Lucifer managed to push out, panic blitzing through his system, and took off after Duke at great speed.
Octavia	The knife slashed the back of Octavia's raised forearm, ripping one of the bandages as it went for good measure. She tried to scramble back, but there was nowhere to go.
Wade & Duke	Blood! A drop of it, the tiniest, most precious drop, hit the back of Wade's hand, and he sucked in a relieved breath, his eyes going bright silver as he threw the knife aside onto the counter. "I knew you were lying. Why else would he keep you around?" The 'he' in question burst through the door, took in Wade's eyes, and flung himself between them. "Wade, stop!"
Lucifer	"Now," Lucifer snarled. He was only a step behind Duke.
Octavia	And Octavia was trying to flatten herself against the wall. (She hated needing to be rescued, but she was glad they were here.) "Duke, be careful."
Duke & Wade	"You okay?" Duke asked, not looking back at her. He flicked a look to Lucifer, asking him to check in on her. "Out of my way, Duke," Wade said, voice low. Duke shook his head. "I'm not gonna let you hurt her. You have to control this." If Duke could, then Wade had to be able to too, right?
Lucifer	Lucifer slid past Duke, his gaze dropping to Octavia's arm. "Where are you hurt?" he hissed. "Do you need more bandages?"
Octavia	"We can worry about that later," Octavia said, not taking her eyes off Duke and Wade. But she had enough of a presence of mind to sort of turn her arm a little, so he could see the fresh gash along the back, blood seeping out and running along her skin.
Wade & Duke	"I need it, Duke," Wade was saying, eyes staring past Duke towards the blood on Octavia's arm. "Please." The silver had faded now, and he started for Octavia, only to be shoved back by Duke. "Wade, stop!" "I need it." He kept trying to get around Duke, so Duke grabbed up the knife, careful of the blood still on the blade. "I said stop!" Duke's voice broke faintly. "Don't make me do this, Wade, I'll kill you if I have to!" Wade finally tore his eyes off Octavia and looked at Duke. "I know." And he charged.
Lucifer	Oh. Shit-- "No," Lucifer roared, twisting away from Octavia. He was ready to go, ready to move, lurching forward to try and knock Wade out again.
Wade & Duke	No need. Wade jerked to a stop as the knife slid between his ribs. Duke let the knife go, too late to do more than grab his brother and keep him from just crumpling to the floor. He set him down carefully instead, dropping to his knees as he went. He barely noticed the rush as his trouble absorbed Wade’s blood. Until, abruptly, it stopped.
Octavia	Too fast. Everything just -- too fast. Octavia had jerked forward right along with Lucifer, and then frozen in place because she was bleeding and needed to keep a distance, and now, well. Now, staring down at Wade and Duke, all she could think was I should've done it when I had the chance.
Lucifer	No. No no no no no. Not again. Not to Duke. No. "Duke!" Lucifer yelled, grabbing hold of the man, dropping down to his knees. "Duke--"
Duke	Duke swayed with that grab, but didn't otherwise react. He was busy staring down at his brother. He reached out, hand shaking, and pressed his finger into the blood on Wade's chest. Stared at it sitting on his fingertip, glistening wet and red. Not absorbing. Not disappearing. Of course. The only thing that could kill the Crocker curse was the Crocker curse.
Octavia	Octavia watched his hand, but only saw the way it shook, nothing else registered. "Duke?"
Lucifer	"Duke," Lucifer whispered. His voice was much softer this time. His arms slid around Duke's chest. Pulling him back. "Duke." Eventually, someone would remember to say anything esle.
Duke	Duke let himself be maneuvered without saying anything. His whole body was tense, his hand still shaking. He closed it into a fist, tucking the bloody tip of his finger away. "He's dead," he said. Blankly. Pointlessly.
Octavia	"Yeah," Octavia breathed. Also pointlessly. She was still frozen in place.
Lucifer	"I didn't want this," Lucifer said helplessly. Like it had somehow been up to him at any point. He didn't loosen his grip on Duke.
Duke	He did, Duke thought, staring down at his brother's face. He opened his hand again. The blood was still there. Smeared a bit. Drying. It was over.
Octavia	Octavia felt like she was seeing it for the first time. She blinked. "Is that --" It was. "Oh."
Lucifer	"Oh?" Lucifer said, sounding a little panicked. Why were they oh-ing? Why was Duke staring at his hand like that? Had he gotten cut or was that-- "Oh."
Duke	Duke expected a laugh. That was what he did, after all, smiled and laughed even when things were bad. It should have been bubbling up in his throat. His throat was empty though. He was empty. “It’s over,” he said. Voice empty too. “It’s all over.”
Octavia	"Your trouble's gone," Octavia muttered, at a loss for anything she really, truly wanted to say.
Lucifer	Duke's trouble was gone. And yet. The circumstances. "Your brother..." Lucifer whispered, as if his heart had broken a little bit.
Duke	Duke looked at Wade’s impossibly still face again. “We should cover him. Bury him. Then — I guess we go home.” He was done. Haven had no more use for him.
Octavia	"If that's what you want," Octavia said, but it was hardly louder than a whisper. She would be furious with Haven again, later. Right now, she was... a little numb.
Lucifer	"Of course," Lucifer said, with a small nod. "I-- of course."
Duke	Duke slowly pulled away from Lucifer so he could get a tarp. He stopped when he saw Octavia. “Your arm.” He reached for her, wanting to check her wound. (He never should have left her alone with Wade. Then she wouldn’t be hurt and Wade wouldn’t be —)
Octavia	Octavia flinched away from his reaching hand. Pure reflex.
Lucifer	Lucifer rose to his feet just in time to watch that exchange. He had no idea what to do with it.
Duke	Duke’s hand froze in the air, then he slowly pulled it back. Well. At least he didn’t feel empty anymore. He moved carefully around her instead to get the tarp.
Octavia	Octavia didn't even manage to put two and two together, there, at least not just yet. Her attention was pulled back down to her arm, blood still slowly seeping from the wound. "I -- I need to bandage this up."
Lucifer	Lucifer's eyes flicked from one to the other and back again. "I'll... get the bandages," he said. But as he moved, he took a deliberate moment to reach out for Duke's shoulder as he tried to pass by.
Duke	Duke would appreciate that gesture later. For now . . . Lucifer wasn’t the one Duke regularly worried about pulling away. He shoved all of that back and down, though. There was a problem (a body, Wade’s body, he’d just killed his own brother) to deal with right now. He pulled a tarp from a cabinet and carefully dodged around Octavia and Lucifer again as he went to wrap Wade up in it.
Octavia	Octavia... Octavia wanted so badly to help because he shouldn't have been doing that by himself, but couldn't. "I'll find some myself," she told Lucifer, instead. "Help him." Those last two words were barely more than a whisper.
Lucifer	In some ways Lucifer felt like he was always trying to make up for the way Octavia pulled back from Duke. There was something about the way it never worked that made him feel, well-- Never mind. "I," he managed, looking up at Octavia's eyes. "I'm going to need you for that, too."
Duke	Duke knew, distantly, that they were saying something about him. He couldn’t really worry about that right now. There was Wade. He needed to buried. Somewhere Dwight wouldn’t find him. Wade had fucked up because Duke fucked up; he didn’t deserve Dwight’s . . . revenge? Justice? Or Nathan’s or Audrey’s. “We can’t let anyone know about this,” he said aloud. At least half to himself.
Octavia	Octavia had just enough time to give Lucifer a dumbfounded look - what was he on about, how did he need her help for helping Duke with the tarp? - before Duke spoke again and her attention snapped back to him. "Okay," she said, nodding. Guess Wade had been bound to go missing sooner or later, anyway. One way or another. (But she didn't want to say that.)
Lucifer	Because Duke always needed her. Especially whenever she pulled away. "Right," Lucifer said, and scurried after Duke, trying to compartmentalize the sense that he was the spare away so he could actually be useful. He sank to his knees and reached out to help with the tarp.
Duke	“Careful,” Duke said, inanely. Like anything they did would hurt Wade now. “I got it. He deserves —“ What? He’d killed people. Hurt Octavia. He wouldn’t have stopped. Duke started to miss the numb feeling. “I got it,” he said again, softly. He could at least treat his brother right, now. Even if it was too little, too late.
Octavia	Octavia stepped away, slipping into the bathroom to quickly rummage through things in the hopes that Jennifer hadn't moved the bandages too much. She left the door open, so she could still hear them. Not that it seemed like there would be much talking. And she didn't plan to be gone for long at all, anyway.
Lucifer	"He's still your brother," Lucifer said quietly. He got it. He was-- careful, rolling the tarp. "I know."
Duke	Duke would eventually remember that Lucifer had killed his brother, too. That Octavia’s brother was lost to time. Right now it was all he could do not to yank the tarp away from Lucifer’s hands. He took a slow, shaking breath. “We’ll get him to the car. I think I know where to take him.” Where the ghost of their father had brought him. Wade wanted to be closer to Simon. That seemed like the best Duke could do to make it happen.
Octavia	Octavia found some stuff, thankfully. All proper patching up would have to wait until a situation that was less... fraught, so she was just wrapping her arm up with gauze when she stepped back out of the bathroom again. She looked for her jacket. (Never should have taken the damn thing off in the first place.)
Lucifer	"Should I carry him?" Lucifer asked, looking up at Duke. He was the strongest, the one actually capable of doing it without incident. But. Well. It wasn't his brother, was it?
Duke	Duke shook his head, barely more than a twitch. “I got it.” He took a breath, realizing he probably sounded like he was losing it. (That he was losing it was not the point.) “I think I have to do it.”
Octavia	Octavia pulled her jacket back on, covering up all her cuts. It made her feel... not better, but more solid. Secure. "Well, we're here," she said, a little soft, mostly just quiet. "If you need it."
Lucifer	"I'll be right behind you," Lucifer added, rising to his feet.
Duke	Duke slid his arms carefully under his wrapped brother, getting slowly, carefully to his feet. “It’s okay,” he said, almost as much to the body as to them. “I screwed this up. I should be the one to fix it.”
Octavia	"You didn't screw anything up," Octavia said, but she was already turning for the door, to make sure it would stay open for him.
Lucifer	"You did the best you could, love," Lucifer said. If he sounded subdued, well. He knew how hard it was to believe that.
Duke	“I should have done better,” Duke said, a simple statement of fact. “Then Wade wouldn’t be dead.” He looked at Octavia. “And you wouldn’t have to flinch when I touch you.” Wade wasn’t light, so he didn’t pause to see her response. Just started for their rental car at the end of the dock.
Octavia	So he didn't see the look of concerned surprise on her face. "That's not --" Oh, she shouldn't be airing any of this out here. He was already carrying a body. (And yes, even with her minor shock, she was keeping an eye out for any unfortunate passers-by.) "We're going to talk about that later."
Lucifer	Lucifer threw her a worried look, but he didn't linger. Couldn't. He had to get moving, starting after Duke with a few big steps that brought him up by Duke's side. "I don't think she," he started, but Octavia had said-- ugh, he didn't know what to do.
Duke	“It’s not her fault.” Duke resettled Wade’s weight in his arms, trying to open the trunk. “I’ll apologize later. I just — I need to —“ Catch his breath for a start, maybe. Who knew dead people were so heavy?
Octavia	Octavia darted past them to get the trunk open. It was the least she could do. At least while she waited for a good moment to actually talk about that -- what had happened.
Lucifer	"I don't think fault is the issue here," Lucifer said, watching them both.
Duke	Duke sighed, and loaded the body into the now-open trunk. “We’ll talk about it later.” He closed the trunk, closed his eyes, swallowed. Braced himself. “I need to do this alone. It’s a family thing and — I’m the only family he has left.” He stood up and looked at both of them. “Can you guys get us ready to go home when I’m done?”
Octavia	Octavia's brow knit together a little, above concerned eyes. "Are you sure?" Are you sure that's a good idea?, she didn't say.
Lucifer	Lucifer looked at her. And then at Duke. "Just hurry back when you're done," he said quietly.
Duke	Duke nodded. Swallowed again. (Swallowed down painguiltfeargrieflove.) Then got into the car to drive away.
Octavia	Oh. So much for Octavia's faintly raised arms, then: the invitation she didn't have time to fully put on offer. They fell again as she watched the car.
Lucifer	"He'll be back," Lucifer said, his eyes also locked onto that car. "We'll have our part to play when he finally breaks." It was strange. The way he-- missed his mother right now.
Octavia	Octavia just missed Duke. And the time thirty minutes ago when none of this had happened yet. She turned around abruptly, her head down. "I'll go clean up the blood from the boat."
Lucifer	Yes. Well. Lucifer's feelings about Duke right now-- ... "Octavia," he said, turning to look at her at last. "Not alone."
Octavia	"You can come, too." But she was already marching back towards the Sanguine Moon. Her hands felt useless, and needed to be doing something.
Lucifer	"Thank you," Lucifer said. Even he wasn't sure whether there was any hint of sarcasm in there. But he hurried after her, shoving his own confused mess of feelings to the back of his mind.
Octavia	Sarcasm wasn't really here or there right now, anyway. Octavia just stomped her way onto the boat, grabbed some stuff and got to work. The least they could do was give the boat back to Jennifer looking like nothing had ever happened there.
Lucifer	Lucifer joined her, scrubbing the boat for all he was worth. But every now and again, he'd glance up. Hesitate. Say nothing. Until-- "Octavia, please."
Octavia	"What?" Octavia asked. It wasn't sharp. It wasn't much of anything.
Lucifer	"You're upset." What? Sometimes the obvious was so glaring even Lucifer could point it out. "Talk to me."
Octavia	"I don't have anything to say." She was kneeling, and now straightened up a little. The floor was starting to look clean. "Wade's just another horrible, unfair thing that happened to Duke."
Lucifer	"And we'll make time to help him process when he gets back," Lucifer said. (Clinging to that thought, to stop himself from sliding into self-pity about... ... clinging to that thought.) "But you're clearly also going through something, and he's not here yet, so..."
Octavia	"I don't have anything I want to talk about." Of course not. When did she ever?
Lucifer	"No, but there's clearly something you need to talk about or you wouldn't be visibly attempting to give the entire universe the cold shoulder right now," Lucifer said, felt the urge to reach for his flask, and gave into it. Might as well.
Octavia	Octavia inhaled a very sharp and loud breath through her nose. And then, with something of a forced calm, she said, "Everything needs to be said to him."
Lucifer	Lucifer was glad he had the flask. It meant he could take a swig, instead of pondering that particular dent into the thing he was trying not to give in to self-pity about, whatever it was. "Are you sure?"
Octavia	"He's the one who's upset with me," Octavia replied, her tone suggesting a shrug (more of a helpless one than she would have liked it to be), rather than her shoulders. "You're just caught in the crossfire."
Lucifer	"I think strictly speaking he thinks you're upset with him," Lucifer pointed out. Hadn't he left a bottle of scotch somewhere on this boat, last time they were here? He hoped Jennifer wasn't much of a drinker.
Octavia	"Doesn't feel like there's much of a difference," Octavia muttered.
Lucifer	"Now that's just insane," Lucifer said, taking another swig. "If you're both going into this thinking the other person is upset with you, you're just going to wind up taking emotional swings at each other until one of you snaps out of it."
Octavia	Octavia finally looked up at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said, a little sharper. (Not a lot. But a little.) "But I was actually just planning to explain to him why I flinched."
Lucifer	"...Good start," Lucifer allowed. Hadn't it been in the little hidey-hole storage area underneath the bed?
Octavia	"Glad you approve," Octavia drawled. She finally got up off the floor. "Right, I'll rinse these out," she added, not intending to dwell on that subject any longer, "though we probably need to take everything with us anyway." No evidence left behind.
Lucifer	"I'll just go and check if we've missed anything important before we start packing up," Lucifer offered as he rose, too. Well, it wasn't technically a lie.
Octavia	"Fine," Octavia replied, simply, and disappeared into the bathroom.
Lucifer	Lucifer would just add how distressingly easy that was to the big self-pity pile he wasn't going to waste their time on. He retreated to the bedroom, where he did - to his relief - find the scotch under the bed.
Octavia	Octavia did exactly what she'd said, rinsing out the rags she'd been using, then tossing them in the bucket that would just have to come with them, too. She had it hanging off her arm when she stepped out again, already trying to look up portals on her phone.
Lucifer	Lucifer took a quick peek out the door to see if that was her and if so, in what state she was in. Then he returned to making short work of the contents of the bottle. Everything would ease up in a bit. Surely. Once Duke was back, and his and Octavia's issues had been ironed out, and they left this bloody place behind.