betterthanaplan | The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Monday afternoon

As tempting as it was to just stay in their little vacation bubble at sea, Duke and Octavia did have things to do back in Fandom now that the school break was over, so the Cape Rouge chugged back into port in the late afternoon to dock at her usual slip.

It was immediately beset by porgs.

"Alright, alright," Duke said, a laugh underlining the exaggerated annoyed tone of his voice. "I know, I know, how dare I exile you from your homes. I'm a cruel, cruel man."

[open! With slowplay warnings in effect for

okteiviakom]

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From:

okteiviakom

"Well, it already happened," Octavia said, with a little scowl that was still on the mild side. "And I already paid for it. We both did."

She'd seen how much it had freaked Duke out when Nathan had dragged her away.

From:

notgetkilled

He scowled and then sighed. There was nothing to be done about it now, was there?

"Are you okay? Is he?"

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia's expression smoothed back into something mild, but still soft. "We're both fine, Bel," she said. "We had a few days to just... calm down."

She was going to have so many jail cell themed nightmares, though. She already knew it.

From:

notgetkilled

"How long were you actually in jail?" Bellamy asked. "How long did it take him to get you out?"

So Bellamy could judge him.

From:

okteiviakom

"About an hour, I guess."

It had felt longer.

From:

notgetkilled

"What did Duke do to get you out? Pay bail?" Bellamy wondered.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia sighed. "We met this woman, Gloria, the day before," she said. "She was with us when I got -- when it happened, and she knows the Chief. So she talked to him for us."

For her.

From:

notgetkilled

"Another ex?" Hey, just wondering.

From:

okteiviakom

He got a dry look in return.

"She's like what I assume grandmothers are like."

(And don't you dare say anything about her age difference with Duke, Bellamy Blake. It was only eleven years! ... Okay, twelve.)

Edited Date: 2020-03-17 03:33 pm (UTC)

From:

notgetkilled

"Oh." He didn't say anything about the age difference but definitely noticed. "Still could be another ex. Never know these days."

From:

okteiviakom

"Well, she's not," Octavia rasped. "They barely knew each other."

From Duke having sold her pot, but Octavia wasn't going to mention that.

Instead, her tone went softer again. "She's nice." Understatement, considering she'd stuck up for Octavia - and for both of them, earlier in the week.

From:

notgetkilled

"Whatever," Bellamy said, sighing and shaking his head. "Just try and not let it happen again. Next time you might not be so lucky."

From:

okteiviakom

The scowl as back.

"I didn't do it on purpose this time, either."

From:

notgetkilled

"But I wouldn't put it past you to do on purpose either," Bellamy said, shrugging. "Don't get mad."

From:

okteiviakom

"I can get mad if I want."

... She could also regress back to a teenager, sometimes, and not realize it.

"Bell, I get it, I did it and it was horrible and I never want to be back in a cell again. Is that enough for you?"

From:

notgetkilled

"Don't get mad, you'd be reacting the same way if our positions were reversed," he said with a sigh. "Just be careful. That's all, okay?"

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia made a tiny noise that didn't sound like she agreed or approved, or at least that she was unhappy in some way. But she chose to drop it before they got stuck saying the same things over and over, worse than they already had.

She sighed.

And then, after a brief silence, she asked, "You talked to him, right?" Her voice was soft again. "What'd you think?"

(She didn't care what he thought - except for how she did. At least a little.)

From:

notgetkilled

"Talked to who?" Yep, he was gonna play dumb.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia did not look like she appreciated it. "Duke," she said. "My snogon."

Because calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend in English was for chumps.

"Come on."

From:

notgetkilled

"Snogon?" Bellamy repeated. "It sounds like you have a bad cold."

From:

okteiviakom

"It's the Trig word for someone you're really close to," Octavia replied, immediately.

So did she look a little annoyed at his assessment? Hell yes.

(And was the annoyance covering up some hurt? Also yes.)

From:

notgetkilled

"Yeah, I get what it is," Bellamy told her. "It just sounds like a weird word."

From:

okteiviakom

"Whatever, forget it," Octavia huffed, though not in the good way. She shifted her bag higher up on her shoulder. "Let's just -- let's just go, okay?"

From:

notgetkilled

Bellamy sighed but he didn't really want to get into it.

"Fine, come on."

From:

okteiviakom

Without a word, and with her eyes cast down, Octavia pushed past him, towards the gangplank, with every intention of getting off the Rouge and back into town --

She didn't get more than a few steps away before she whipped back around. Maybe it was the repressed anxiety of the jail trip bubbling back up. Or maybe she just wanted to get into it.

"Why do you have to be like that?"