betterthanaplan | Lucifer's mansion, Wednesday night

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Lucifer's mansion, Wednesday night

Duke did not have a pineapple this time. Or flowers, for that matter, though he did bring a very nice bottle of wine for Lucifer, which he left in the kitchen for him to find.

Before wandering off through the rest of the mansion, getting more of a feel for the lay of the land, so to speak, and thinking about how to get his brain to accept the place as partially his as well as Lucifer's.

His boyfriend would be happy to hear it didn't involve netting. It . . . might involve an overabundance of plants that were inappropriate to the outside climate. And possibly multiple water features.

Duke didn't tend to do things by halves any more than Lucifer did, okay? He just . . . went about it slightly differently.

When it was time for Date Night to actually begin, though, he made sure to find his way back towards the kitchen. It wouldn't do to be late, after all.

[for him!]

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Lucifer had no idea about Duke's wandering, but he would've approved if he'd known. (Well, about the wandering. Who even knew about the plants and the water features.)

His keys audibly hit the lock roughly around their scheduled time. He let himself in, shutting the door behind him, and walked into the--

"Duke," he said warmly. "Came here early, I see."

"I did," Duke confirmed, coming over to greet Lucifer with a kiss. "I've been thinking about how to make this place a bit more my own. You know, without ruining the essential Luciferness of it all."

"I appreciate the consideration," Lucifer said, and cupped his cheek so he could return that kiss properly. "Pick up any interesting ideas?"

"What would you say to adding an indoor pool?" Duke asked.

. . . Look, that was just a very large water feature, okay? The slides coming down from the upper floors were optional.

There was a long pause.

"Well," Lucifer said, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Octavia and Duke loved swimming!

Right? And if it was private, there was no need for pesky swim suits or anything!

“Right? I’m almost surprised. That basement is practically begging for one.”

Lucifer shrugged. "I did have this mansion decorated while I was in my 'depression chique' phase," he pointed out.

It had been perfect for lounging around feeling sorry for himself in.

"That explains all the lounging spaces," Duke said with a nod. "Which, by the way, I kind of wish I had remembered in my depression phase."

Which he was still taking baby steps away from, yes, but shhhhhhhh.

"To be fair, I do feel the boat has several natural lounging spaces, whereas the remaining rooms aren't quite conducive to it," Lucifer mused. "But yes, I could have helped you with your depression floor plan."

“I’ll remember for next time.”

He was desperately hoping there wouldn’t be a next time.

"If it turns out to be necessary," Lucifer added. "I would prefer it doesn't."

"Yeeeah. Me too." And yet he was terrified that it would come back at any moment. Since he wasn't entirely sure how it had suddenly gone -- other than just. Not being full of troubles anymore.

And how much could he count on that staying true?

". . . Anyway. We need a nicer topic."

"Or a drink," Lucifer teased, "Or dinner, or a spot in one of my nice lounging areas..."

"Or all of the above," Duke suggested. "Drinks and dinner in a nice lounging spot, where we talk about something that isn't depression."

Lucifer chuckled. "Fair enough," he said. "So... what's for dinner?"

"Orange and maple glazed salmon with wild rice and a roasted root-vegetable salad," Duke said. "And some very nice wine I picked up to go with it."

He was even going to drink some of that wine himself! Not a lot -- he was trying not to dive back to the bottom of a bottle now that he had energy again -- but a glass, certainly.

"Oh my," Lucifer said, his eyes lighting up. He slid an arm around Duke's waist, and tugged the man into the living room. "That sounds excellent."

"I thought you'd approve," Duke said. "Everything needs a few more minutes in the oven, and then we can eat."

"And we'll eat on the couch, just to be decadent," Lucifer agreed, smiling. "And you can talk to me about... whatever you like. Wine? Food? Diner?"

". . . Turning the backyard into a sunken grotto so the basement pool gets natural light?" Duke suggested.

You meant "do major reconstruction on part of my house" when you said Duke should treat this place like his own, right, Luce?

There was only one partner in this relationship who had any sense of proportion and it wasn't either of them, so...

"The backyard is mostly useless lawn now," Lucifer allowed. "Though we should probably take care to ensure no one climbing the peaks gets a peek at Octavia's peaks."

Duke nodded thoughtfully.

"Really big plants," he suggested. "Nice and green and not at all bunker-like!"

"Ooooh," Lucifer said, brightening. "We can hire a landscaper!"

(Not the one from Pick Your Poison, please.)

"We are going to hire so many people for this," Duke agreed. "I might even actually have to use your credit card."

This was well outside of Duke's usual budget, yeah.

"It's yours, of course," Lucifer said, tugging Duke towards the couch. "Please use it. And order us some drinks with it if you're doing so anyway."

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