From the Beach to Lucifer's Mansion, Monday Morning

[okteiviakom]

This wasn't the first time Octavia had ever woken up on a rocky shore, coughing up water and feeling battered and cold all over. But the familiarity didn't really do anything to make her more comfortable. The opposite, if anything.

Just like she supposed she should've been glad the island had at least seen fit to turn her back in the clothes she'd gone to bed in on Friday night, but it was hard to find any comfort in a soaked tank top and pajama pants clinging to your skin on a chilly morning in January.

Octavia clambered up on her feet - great, no shoes either - and looked around. Didn't take long for her to figure she was -- well, not right by where Lucifer's house was, but still much closer to it than she was to the port.

And several far too long moments later, she was outside the mansion. She banged on the front door, and muttered to herself, "You better not be at the Rouge."

She hadn't noticed the seaweed stuck in her hair, yet.

Or the way she was beginning to shake from the cold.

[ooc: Primarily for the two, unless you really want to cross paths with her on the trek from the beach!]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer was not at the Rouge. Lucifer wasn't even upstairs, because in a fit of utter unfairness, the universe had decided to bless Duke with sleep where it had cruelly taken it away from Lucifer, and so now he was up and about, poking around his kitchen to start getting some bacon and eggs going because he might as well make breakfast.

He was not going domestic. It just felt like a fair way to return the favor.

So he was, in fact, in earshot when someone started banging on his door. He lowered the heat on the stove and pulled away with a frustrated noise. "Now what?" he muttered, stalking to the front door.

He yanked it open.

[okteiviakom]

And Octavia immediately tried to push past him into the house.

She was cold, okay, she had no time for chit-chat in the doorway.

[my_own_advocate]

"Have you traded your vocal chords for your legs back?!" Lucifer asked, practically jumping out of the way.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia gave him a withering look. The impact was slightly lessened by how she was just dripping water all over.

Also her lips looked kind of... blue.

"No."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer had been gifted the unique power of being able to withstand withering looks from angry women, for good or for ill, so he just rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm getting you a towel," he said, stalking past and then ahead of her towards the stairs. "Do try to be quiet, Duke's still asleep."

[okteiviakom]

Well, at least that was a weight off Octavia's shoulders.

And a quiet exhale out of her.

She followed, quietly and also kind of slowly. Her bare feet were still protesting about the walk over from the beach. Maybe even from the lack of use over the weekend? Whatever it was, between it and the shivering, she wasn't doing so great right now.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer headed up the stairs quickly, and into the bathroom, where he quickly grabbed a towel. "It may be best if you warm up in the shower first," he said, though he was draping the towel over her shoulders as he spoke. "I'll put some clothes out for you and get back to breakfast."

[okteiviakom]

"Okay," Octavia said. It was quiet, and mild.

She felt small, right now, for reasons she couldn't really comprehend. Wasn't even really trying to.

"Thanks."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed. Dropped a kiss on top of her sodden head, before reaching into the shower to get the hot water going.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia squeezed her eyes shut. Gentle affection was a risky thing right now.

But the one good thing about being wet all over was that even if something escaped, it wasn't as if it would show.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer touched her back gently. "I'll be back," he said.

And then left her to the bathroom alone.

[okteiviakom]

Probably for the best?

Probably.

Octavia set the towel aside with trembling hands. Then just -- stepped into the shower still wearing everything else. Peeling off her clothes under the spray.

Didn't fully crumble, to her credit, until there was nothing left between her skin and the warm water flowing all over it.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer returned not long after, with a warm and only moderately fashionable black sweater and matching trousers in hand, glancing briefly at the shower before he set them down on a small stool.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was facing away from him, towards the wall.

Hopefully that, along with everything else, made it less obvious she had her hand clamped over her mouth.

[my_own_advocate]

It would have worked, too, were it not for one detail.

"Where did you leave your clothes?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia pulled her hand away from her face. Made an unsteady gesture towards the shower floor.

The top, the pants, the underwear were all sodden heaps by her feet.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed.

He pulled open the shower door and grabbed the pajama bottoms and the tank top with quick efficiency. "I suppose they were wet already."

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah."

She'd hoped she'd be able to get through one word and not have it sound heavy and off.

She'd been wrong.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer looked up at her.

He hadn't actually gotten dressed yet, bar the robe he was wearing. So the bit of water that was already spilling on him didn't matter quite that much. "Octavia?" he asked softly, reaching for her back.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shuddered when his hand made contact. Her shoulders tensed, trying to hold back a sob.

She was... halfway successful?

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer let out a quiet sigh.

He let go of her just long enough to slide out of his robe.

Then his arms slid gingerly around her waist, taking care not to move too fast.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia held very still.

But she wasn't protesting.

[my_own_advocate]

"Had a bad wake-up?" Lucifer asked quietly.

And hugged her closer, until the delicate caution left him entirely.

[okteiviakom]

At which point Octavia finally pressed back into him, too. And just nodded. Even that seemed a little shaky.

It would have been a sharp drop from being a happy mermaid to being her even without the wakeup itself dragging up memories of --

Well.

Other sharp drops.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke woke up to the sound of the shower. He stayed in bed for several long moments, enjoying the rarity of waking up at Lucifer’s without any immediate, island-driven drama.

Then remembered the island’s last eat weekend nonsense and rolled out of bed, grabbing for his pants, and heading for the bathroom to remind Lucifer that they needed to go find Octavia before she froze to death or drowned —

And saw them both there. Clinging to each other in the steaming shower. He slumped against the doorway in relief.

“Glad to see you completed that royal quest, gona.”