betterthanaplan | The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Monday

Bolstered with caffeine thanks to the Perk, Duke had returned to his boat to see just how much damage his younger self had managed to wreak over the weekend. The place was a wreck, especially the galley, with weapons (that had been toys, which was reassuring and terrifying in equal measure) strewn about wherever wee!Duke had happened to drop them, and a sticky film of grape jelly coating pretty much everything. He'd thankfully been quick enough even as a ten year old to keep the small fire he'd started trying to use the waffle iron contained to a very small space, so that wouldn't take much more than replacing the outlet and maybe resanding part of a cabinet.

And, as predicted, there were five pizzas, two giant cookies, and a rather unholy amount of Pepsi leftover in his fridge. Also, most of a frittata, at least half a serving of beef stew, and several stale and/or smashed cookies. He fed those last items to the porgs, who were all terribly pleased to see him, and set about making the Rouge a proper home again.

He had the door to the deck propped open to air out the smell of small semi-feral boy and to be able to hear if Octavia -- or anyone else -- came around. And, well, if he ended up humming some Violent Femmes under his breath while he did, well. Not everything he remembered from being a kid was a bad memory.

[expecting one, but also open]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

From:

okteiviakom

"En," Octavia replied, so if he'd said his 'and' a little lazily, he'd already been close. She also raised her glass a little. "Good toast," she added, quietly amused. "A lot less wordy than what Shunsui usually goes for."

That was where most of her experience with toasts came from, yes.

From:

betterthanaplan

"That doesn't surprise me at all," Duke said. "I guess I usually beat him to it by just saying kanpai."

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia raised her eyebrows just a little. "What's that mean?"

From:

betterthanaplan

"It's the standard Japanese toast. I think it literally translates to something like 'empty cup'. You ever hear anyone say 'bottom's up' in English before drinking?"

From:

okteiviakom

"That, and 'cheers'," Octavia replied, with a tiny nod. "Good to know. Though mostly I think I'll still just let him make the toasts."

From:

betterthanaplan

"I may have to wait and see what he comes up with, next time," Duke said. "I was just throwing out kanpai to be polite." He'd worked enough with Japanese business men to have a sense for their local alcohol culture, after all.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia snorted. "Yeah, that is not my thing. Being polite."

Which really made her 'thank you' at the Perk this morning all the more impressive.

From:

betterthanaplan

"Not so much, no," Duke agreed. Which would be part of why he'd tossed such a large tip in the jar for her at the Perk this morning. "You're much more -- to the point."

From:

okteiviakom

"I'm blunt. It's part of my charm."

Yeah, she didn't actually think that. She followed it up with a big bite of pizza and some thoughtful chewing, all the same.

"And it gets things done." That, she actually did believe.

From:

betterthanaplan

"It does," Duke said. "Sometimes. Sometimes it stops things getting done." Ah, the joys of diplomacy. "The trick is knowing which to use when."

From:

okteiviakom

There was another lopsided shrug. "That's for other people to handle."

She worked best if someone else did the diplomatic talking.

From:

betterthanaplan

Duke wondered idly what that was like, being so sure someone else would handle -- basically anything that he needed done.

"Teamwork," he said, picking up a strawberry and taking a bite. "Makes the world go 'round."

From:

okteiviakom

"I guess," Octavia replied, with another shrug.

... And apparently two of those in a row were enough to finally annoy her into putting down what she was eating so that she could unzip her hoodie and peel it off. Even though it was oversized and baggy on her, the tank top underneath still meant less fabric over the tattoo.

She tried not to be obvious about her little sigh of relief as she settled back down. "Can't wait to have a functional arm again."

From:

betterthanaplan

Duke let out a little laugh. "I know that feeling." He tilted his head to get a look at the tattoo, clock how it seemed to be healing. "It's a little easier in the summer, when you don't have to wear as many layers. Looks like it's healing up okay, but I've got some coconut oil if you want to give it some TLC?"

From:

okteiviakom

"Sure," Octavia replied, looking down her arm as if anything would've drastically changed since the last time she'd looked at it, a few hours back. Then she looked at him again. "I'd like that. Thanks."

Maybe she couldn't do polite, but she could do quietly sincere.

From:

betterthanaplan

That was frequently more effective, anyway.

Duke gave her a salute and went to grab the coconut oil from his pantry. "What have you been using on it so far?"

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia watched him move, taking a second to compare him to the kid she'd seen here just yesterday. And to think of a few other things - small wants.

She stopped chewing on the inside of her bottom lip as soon as she realized she was doing it.

"Some kind of ointment I was recommended."

From:

betterthanaplan

"Ointment's alright," Duke said. "I swear by this stuff, though. Cheap, simple, easy to find, at least pre-apocalypse. And so long as you're not allergic to coconuts, it's nice and gentle on healing skin." He unscrewed the top to show her the solid white oil, then scooped some out with the tip of his knife and gestured to her arm. "May I?"

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia nodded. The movement was tiny.

But then so was the word that followed, too. And soft. "Sha."

From:

betterthanaplan

Duke put some oil onto his hands and rubbed them together to melt it, then moved to very gently start smoothing it into the tattoo. There was a certain art to it at this stage, getting even coverage without rubbing the skin too hard and breaking off any scabs or healing skin, but he was an old pro, not just from taking care of his own tattoos, but helping Evi out with hers.

"Has it started to itch yet?" he asked after a moment. "Or is it still just sore?"

From:

okteiviakom

His hands were warm.

That was Octavia's main takeaway from this.

She drew her hair over her other shoulder, and tilted her head away, for the part that traveled up to the side of her neck. "Still mostly just sore," she said. "But getting there."

From:

betterthanaplan

"This is the toughest part of the tattoo process, especially the big ones," Duke said. He could feel the strength in her arm even without pressing down hard enough to really reach muscle. He wondered how she'd feel during an actual massage some day. "Everyone thinks about the part in the tattoo shop. No one ever remembers the part where you have to heal afterwards."

From:

okteiviakom

"Thinking about healing was never one of my priorities," Octavia murmured.

Because she stubborned her way through things, and dealt with the consequences as they came.

From:

betterthanaplan

"Yeah, I figured," Duke said. "I'm guessing the ground doesn't give you a lot of time to rest up and heal from things."

From:

okteiviakom

"Not really." There were a fair few scars on display right now, as if for proof. Just faint, small ones, though - and they'd made sure to not have the tattoo overlap with the existing scar tissue. The bigger and uglier ones were all hidden under her clothes.

"Think this is the most care I've ever actually put towards healing."

That was true on a few levels. More than she realized, too.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

Profile

Duke Crocker

June 2025

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

Page Summary

okteiviakom - (no subject)

Active Entries

Style Credit

Style: Black Hill for Bannering by branchandroot
Resources: pinepig

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Jun. 13th, 2025 01:21 pm