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

[okteiviakom]

Octavia knew there was a Parents Weekend thing happening in town right now. She was still undecided on whether she wanted to put in an appearance, because on one hand, last year's had led to some bad times for her. On the other... There was some small part of her that hoped, no matter how foolishly, that maybe Gloria would somehow show up.

(There was just so much she wanted to tell her. And so much fear that she would never get to.)

So far, for her trek through town after her usual Friday routine of therapy and swimming out in New York, she had steered clear of the park. She had a big bag from a shoe store to get home, anyway. See, there'd been some talk of those early days on the Ground in her session today, and then she'd taken a slightly different route from her usual in getting to the portal place, and she'd seen the boots in a store window, and, well. She'd never been able to resist a good symbol. Especially one as personal as this, appearing at just the right time for it to feel a little like something else than just pure coincidence.

(Even with how mired in complications that thought was for her, these days. For reasons she had still not discussed with Dr. Baker at all.)

And even as she stepped aboard the Rouge, she was still wondering whether she should've just taken her purchase on the Samsara instead, and buried them in her closet. The urge to share and the urge to keep it to herself felt equal.

Maybe she'd shove them in a closet here, instead.

[ooc: Open, though slow.]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

Duke decided the best response to that was to kiss her. So he did.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia kissed him back, her hand finding its way into the hair at the back of his neck. There always had to be an anchor.

She had more to say, but...

This said a few things, too. Had a sense of relief about it.

[betterthanaplan]

It was . . . recentering. Not a sidetrack.

Duke pulled back after a moment, but only far enough to breathe, his forehead pressed to hers.

“Ai hod you in, natshana.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia exhaled a shuddery little breath. "Ai hod yu in, deimeika."

And that was something she'd wanted to say more about.

She swallowed. Breathed in. "All the sun has to do," she murmured, "is keep showing up."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke ducked in a startled breath.

“You know, I wasn’t actually known for that, before you.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's fingers tried to tuck his ever-present loose strand of hair behind his ear.

"Sometimes we change for our people."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke’s eyes fell shut. He loved it when his people touched his hair.

“Sometimes our people change us.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's fingers found their way further into his hair again. One of these days, she thought, she was going to have to sit him down and braid his hair for a while.

"And I'm really trying to... not just change, but grow for you."

Because he deserved better.

[betterthanaplan]

“I know you are,” Duke said. He reached up with his uncasted hand to rest it against her neck. (He’d love to let her braid his hair again.) “It’s incredible to me, how much you have already.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's head tilted a little. It was her best option for leaning into the touch, sort of.

"Drugs, therapy and stubborness," she said, her tone wry. "Guess they're all good for something."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke chuckled. “Well, we’ll see how I do with the second one this time. Linda nailed me down to a weekly schedule.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia really wanted to not make a big deal about it.

Her eyebrows sort of climbed up a little, though. "Did she?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke nodded. “Sundays. That’s like. Standard though. Right?”

Well. For someone with this many issues, it was pretty minimal.

[okteiviakom]

"Uh huh," said Octavia, who really had no idea beyond knowing that her twice a week schedule worked for her. "I'm just glad you're going."

[betterthanaplan]

“Yeah. She, uh, was unimpressed with how long I put it off,” Duke said, dropping his head in a little shamed shrug. “But . . . I guess it’s good. She’s the one who said I needed to talk to you guys. About missing Haven.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia just took his dropped head as an excuse to pet his hair a little more. And to press a kiss against his forehead.

"You've been holding that in for a long time, huh?" she murmured.

[betterthanaplan]

“Kinda . . . since I got back last time,” Duke admitted. “I don’t want to be there or anything, but I think about them a lot.”

[okteiviakom]

"It makes sense," Octavia muttered. She didn't want him to think she didn't think that. "You were there for a long while, and then the way it ended..."

She hadn't forgotten how wrecked he'd been when the multiverse had seen fit to return to him to them again. How shaken.

[betterthanaplan]

“It was like a disaster movie,” Duke said softly. “And not one of the ones where basically everyone survives.”

[okteiviakom]

He didn't need to tell her what that was like.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured. "At least I got to see everyone get safely off the planet. I wish you could've gotten that too."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged, wincing a little. His worry felt a little pathetic in the face of hers.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia caught that wince, and frowned a little, concerned.

"What?" she asked softly.

[betterthanaplan]

“Nothing,” Duke said. “It’s dumb.”

[okteiviakom]

"Nothing's dumb, jaka," Octavia murmured. "Tell me?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke disagreed, but didn’t bother to dodge again.

“Your entire world really is a disaster movie. Makes the meteors seem kinda . . . tame.”