The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Monday Evening

[okteiviakom]

It was date night on the Cape Rouge tonight. Even though no, Octavia wasn't actually calling it that. Duke may have? Point was, last week had been mostly about recuperating from the previous week-for-her/month-for-him. No frills, just settling back into things. But Octavia had received a delivery over the weekend that she hadn't told Duke about, and they had that bottle of champagne Lucifer had brought, and she'd technically moved in officially while Duke had been gone and that was apparently something to celebrate, so...

Date night.

The dress was still hiding out where Octavia had stashed it, and the champagne was waiting in its cooler for dessert, but they'd cooked dinner together - which was to say, Duke had cooked and Octavia had chopped a few things and then hovered around him trying to learn from what he was doing - and now they were sitting and eating, the lights dimmed and a lone candle burning on the table between them.

"Gotta say," Octavia rasped, in perfect deadpan, "the onions in this? They're pretty well-chopped."

She was hilarious.

[ooc: For that lovingly modded guy, and the calm before the storm of the BDE.]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

"Well, you know. My sous chef is an expert with a knife."

[okteiviakom]

"Sous chef, huh?" Octavia repeated, faintly amused. "That's a new one."

[betterthanaplan]

"Well. Maybe it's my turn to start giving you names," Duke said. "It's what you call the second in command in a kitchen."

[okteiviakom]

"Like a chef's second?" Octavia asked, considering her fork as she did. She gave a soft huff. "Haven't been one of those in a long time."

[betterthanaplan]

"Exactly. You get a good chef with a good sous, and you can make absolute food magic." Duke tilted his head and shrugged. "Or that's what Geoff always said anyway."

[okteiviakom]

"I think he knew what he was talking about," Octavia replied, a little softer than before. They hadn't really talked about what had happened to Geoff, in the middle of all the fresher pain after Duke's return, and this didn't really feel like the time she wanted to ask, either.

She gave a faint shrug.

"Doubt I can do magic, but I can chop things."

[betterthanaplan]

"You chop things extremely well," Duke agreed. He wasn't much in the mood to talk about Geoff, anyway. There were multiple levels of guilt and grief building up there that would probably topple if he decided to do more than mention his friend in passing. "I'm thinking we should get you your very own, multipurpose knife set."

[okteiviakom]

"Every knife is a multipurpose knife if you know how to use it."

Kidding, sort of?

[betterthanaplan]

"Then you will have a dozen knives to use in any way you please," Duke said easily. "Plus, people give you some interesting looks when you whip out a whole leather roll full of knives."

He knew this from experience, yes.

[okteiviakom]

"They give you enough of one if you just whip out one, too," Octavia retorted. Not very seriously.

[betterthanaplan]

"Alright, alright, you're a minimalist, I know," Duke said, teasing. "Even with something as fun as knives."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia snorted, softly. "I'm not saying no to more knives," she clarified. Perish the thought. "I'm just saying."

[betterthanaplan]

"It's very important to you to point out the unnecessary excesses of modern life." Duke grinned. "Even as you enjoy them."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia rolled her eyes at him. It was quite the feat, considering she had to take her gaze away from the beauty that was his grin to do it.

"Just enjoy your onions, jaka."

[betterthanaplan]

Some sacrifices were worth it. For instance, that one got a broad laugh out of him. "Sha, gona."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia didn't think she'd ever get tired of hearing that sound. Her own lips curved a little, for a moment.

"Anyway," she said, idly, after another forkful. "I can pay for my own knives, soon."

She'd kept Lucifer's text to herself for the past couple of days. Just to mull it over in her head by herself for a while.

[betterthanaplan]

"Oh? Found a stream of income, have you? Should I be jealous?"

[okteiviakom]

"I start at the Devil's Nest on Wednesday."

Did that answer all his questions?

[betterthanaplan]

“That’s awesome! Gonna take up piano, or axe throwing?”

[okteiviakom]

"Think I'm just supposed to sell drinks," Octavia replied, a little dryly.

(She would absolutely be throwing some axes.)

[betterthanaplan]

“And you definitely only ever do what you’re supposed to.”

[okteiviakom]

"It's what I'm known for."

Oh, the sarcasm was heavy, right there. Octavia shrugged a little as her gaze dropped to her plate. She was gathering the very last of her food onto her fork.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm just waiting to see how it goes."

[betterthanaplan]

"That's a good way to approach it," Duke said nodding. "Very zen."

[okteiviakom]

Snort. "Might be the first time that word's applied to me."

[betterthanaplan]

"Nah," Duke tilted his head, looking her over. "You're more zen than you think you are. Or, you know, at least you have some zen moments."