The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Sunday Evening

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was still planning to try sailing to Haven. She was just doing it concurrently with trying to figure out how all the places she'd been on the Ground fit on what the east coast looked in this time. The table she was sitting at in the galley was a mess of charts and notes, and in the middle of it all, there was a hand-drawn map. Octavia had sketched out the coastline, and had spent most of the day marking down both the present-day names she could find on her map app as well as the approximate locations of places from the Ground.

It was getting late, but she was still working on it. Right now, she was hard at work trying to figure out whether it could really be as simple as this time's Annapolis turning into Polis by her time.

... Okay, right now, she was kind of slumped over the table, her head cushioned on one arm.

Just resting her eyes, just for a little bit.

[ooc: For that guy that's returning. The tall one.]

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[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged out of her grip and eased himself down to lie on his side, his back to her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's hand flopped down onto her lap and stayed there, and everything was quiet for a moment.

"I did the math, in the bunker," she said, her tone going just a shade icier than she'd perhaps meant it to. (Or perhaps not. He'd pulled away from her touch and she was tired.) "I took the time difference of how long I'd been here and how much time had passed on the Ground, and I counted, and I thought you were going to be an old man if I ever made it back to you."

And she'd still wanted that for the longest time, until the needs of her people finally ran over all her personal wants.

"You can feel what you want to feel. But you don't get to tell me what I do or don't know about what I'm talking about."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was still shaking, subtle tremors running up and down through his chest. "I don't want to argue with you."

[okteiviakom]

"I'm not trying to argue with you."

No, she had a tendency to sound a little more definite than that. Not that she did, anymore: her voice had gone milder again. Softer, if you knew how to listen for it.

Octavia watched him, unsure of what to do.

[betterthanaplan]

"You're just pissed," Duke said. He couldn't deal with reassuring her right now. "I know the feeling."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia didn't want him to reassure her, anyway.

"I'm sorry," she said, quietly. After a moment. Wondering how other people did this.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke took a few deep, slow breaths, trying to get the shaking under control again. Then rolled over to press his face into her side. "Don't be sorry," he murmured. "Just . . . lie down, okay?"

[okteiviakom]

The hand on her lap shifted, slowly, to where she could run her fingers through his hair.

"I just don't want to hurt you more," she murmured in return.

[betterthanaplan]

"You won't," Duke said, relaxing by degrees. "I'll tell you if you do. Swega klin."

[okteiviakom]

"Okay," Octavia muttered. She stayed exactly where she was for a moment longer, though, just slowly stroking her fingers through his hair.

Then, she finally slid down until she was laying down, face to face with him. Her hand twitched as she reminded herself not to go and stroke her fingers down his cheek, the way she wanted to.

[betterthanaplan]

"Stop it," Duke said, without heat. "Stop . . . stopping yourself. Do what feels right, okay?"

[okteiviakom]

"What feels right to me can't just -- stomp all over what's comfortable for you," Octavia objected in a mutter. They had layers of trauma to contend with, after all.

But, she brought her hand up slowly. Tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, then ran her fingertips over the silver at his temple, and slowly, lightly down over his cheek.

Her hands had not touched his face in a long time. The way she did it now seemed to border on reverent.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke closed his eyes with a soft sigh, relaxing a little more. "Remember what you told me? Can't decide for me what's going to be uncomfortable."

[okteiviakom]

"I should learn how to ask," Octavia murmured, her wry tone very faint.

Her hand traveled back up to his forehead, briefly switching the pads of her fingertips for the backs of her fingers instead. Then she ran a single fingertip slowly down the middle of his forehead, and down his nose. Down to his lips.

Her touch stayed feather light.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke's eyes drifted open again, so he could see her face. "You really think I wouldn't tell you?"

Because, you know, he was so good at communicating when he was hurt.

[okteiviakom]

"I'd rather not make wrong moves and wait for you to tell me that's what they were," Octavia pointed out, and tapped her fingertip against his bottom lip. "It's not that I don't think you'd tell me."

But she also wasn't sure he'd tell her, yes.

[betterthanaplan]

"Everyone makes wrong moves. You know the big ones." He closed his eyes again and shifted his head forward, pressing his face into her hand. "The little ones, we can figure out together."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia pressed her hand against his cheek, her thumb brushing against the skin below his eye. Her voice got softer and quieter, although her tone had shades of a shrug. "I just worry."

About hurting him. About driving him away.

About losing him.

[betterthanaplan]

"I know how that feels," Duke said, smiling faintly. "Remember when this used to be easy?"

They'd found an easy place there for a little while, this spring. Maybe they needed the island to give them pillow forts again.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shifted forward, to press her forehead against his.

"Not really," she admitted, the wry tone a lot more pronounced this time.

[betterthanaplan]

"Was a long time ago," Duke said. His voice was going soft and vague as he drifted towards sleep. "But we did it."

[okteiviakom]

"We can do it again," Octavia murmured softly. She doubted she'd be getting any sleep anytime soon, but she would definitely not get in the way of him drifting off. "Yumi, ogeda."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yumi," Duke echoed sleepily. "Hod yu in, natshana."

[okteiviakom]

"Ai hod yu in, deimeika," Octavia replied, so quietly it was barely more than a whisper. "Reshop."

She'd tuck him in a little better later. For now, she would just watch him sleep.

Maybe try not to wake him up by crying.