The Deck of the Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Saturday Afternoon

[okteiviakom]

After the handwavy fussy-complainy phone call from Lucifer about how Duke was a kid right now, and apparently wandering around town after leaving the mansion, the first thing Octavia had done had been to come over to the Cape Rouge to check if he was there.

The second thing she'd done, after finding no sign of him, had been to check some of Duke's weapon stashes around the ship. All the ones she looked at were toys, now. Good.

The third thing had been to place a couple of takeout orders. Things she could throw in the fridge, things that would be fine microwaved. Just in case.

And now she was... just sitting on the deck of the Rouge, with a book she wasn't actually reading, but was trying to convince herself she was. Some of the porgs were crowding around her, probably hoping for snacks.

She wasn't too worried.

(She was a little worried.)

[ooc: Open!]

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[betterthanaplan]

Duke let out a heavy breath, expression going much too serious for a kid his age. "Okay," he said.

He sighed again, frowning harder as he tried not to let his eyes prickle.

"Troubles suck."

[okteiviakom]

"I know," Octavia said, considerably softer now. (Yeah, definitely heartbreaking.) "This one isn't so bad, though. It's weird, but it's not dangerous."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke poked at the food in the take out container, his tiny brow furrowed.

"Do I have a boyfriend? As a grownup? I woke up in this angry British guy's house."

[okteiviakom]

There was a pause, and then Octavia said, "You do."

It was a simplification, for his benefit. Not the preferred term, but it would do.

"His name's Luce --" She would also not be getting into explaining anything to do with the Devil of if all. "-- and he's not usually angry."

She hesitated, almost saying something else, then biting it back.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke nodded. "Luce," he repeated. He was still frowning. "I had a friend once named Lucy. But, uh. She went away."

[okteiviakom]

"I've heard," Octavia said softly.

Watching him.

[betterthanaplan]

"We're friends? When I'm . . . normal?"

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah." And she should probably leave it at that, huh? She didn't want to make this weirder for him than it already was. "So I'm not actually planning to steal this thing."

[betterthanaplan]

"I didn't really think you were," Duke said. "Most people don't steal things unless they have to, and you have a boat already. So you don't need this one."

[okteiviakom]

"Pretty sure some people steal for fun, too," Octavia replied with a tiny shrug. "But you're right. I'm not one of those people, and I don't even know how to sail this thing."

She knew the basics, but...

[betterthanaplan]

"I bet I could figure it out," Duke decided. "It's not that hard."

He would drive it right into the coast.

[okteiviakom]

"It is that hard."

Octavia would not be negotiating about that, no.

[betterthanaplan]

"I've been on boats forever."

He was ten.

[okteiviakom]

"Mmhm."

[betterthanaplan]

"I have," Duke insisted. "My dad -- my dad, he --"

He was ten. Which meant he was only two years out from watching his father drown. All the breath got knotted up in the back of his throat when he tried to talk about the man now, and all he could do was just kind of gape for a moment.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia hadn't thought of that. She could've kicked herself for how she hadn't thought of that.

(She could've done a lot worse than just kick herself, honestly.)

And then there was just Duke. Left alone in the cold, wet dark.

"Hey," she said, finally getting off her seat. "Hey. It's okay."

[betterthanaplan]

If she thought grown up Duke didn't handle vulnerability well, he had nothing on kid Duke. Duke's expression crumpled furiously, pissed off at his own flood of emotions. He kicked the cabinets hard, and when that didn't help, he picked up the take out container and threw it across the galley.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia let him.

But she did come closer, kind of careful not to spook him any further.

"Hey," she tried again, gently. "Look at me?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had no idea what to do with gentle. He beat on the cabinets some more, hands and fists flying, paying no attention to what damage he might be doing to himself while he was at it.

"I know boats!" he finally managed between gasps for breath. "Okay? I do!"

[okteiviakom]

"I believe you," Octavia said. "I'm sorry it sounded like I didn't."

She reached for his shoulders, with the intention of at least drawing him away from the cabinets.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke jerked away from her. "I'm fine!" He shoved his arm past his nose almost angrily. Neither it nor his eyes were dry.

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah, well," Octavia said, choosing a different strategy, "I'm not."

She sat down on the floor, crossing her legs.

"But you can be if you want to, sure."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke stood, panting, his hands opening and closing into fists at his side.

He had absolutely no idea what to do with that. Usually he'd be getting yelled at and told to 'man up' right about now. Or at least restrained.

"W-why aren't you fine?"

[okteiviakom]

"Well, for one, you tried to punch holes in the cabinet doors, just now," Octavia said, with a gentle kind of drawl, "and I happen to be kinda fond of those cabinets."

Her head tilted slightly. Her lips twisted.

"But mostly I'm not fine because I don't know how to make all this less shitty for you. And I wish I did."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke plopped down next to her, hands shoved between his knees.

"Sorry," he muttered. Because he could apologize for the cabinets thing, but he didn't really know what to do with someone trying to make things less shitty for him.