The Marina, Cat Island, Friday Afternoon

[okteiviakom]

As most days this week (and the one before that, and the one before that...) Octavia had spent most of the early parts of her day working around the marina. There was always maintenance work to be done, things to fix, areas to tidy. She knew how to do most of the usual things by now, too, and had less of a need for the local workers to show her the ropes, whether literal or figurative. She could just be helpful. Just that, and not a burden or a hindrance.

It settled something in her. At least a little.

But by now, her tasks for the day were done. She'd cleaned all of the maintenance grime off of herself, and was now sitting near where the Fin & Tonic was docked. Watching the water, listening to whatever noise was coming from elsewhere in the marina.

Thinking about home.

[ooc: NFB, open for all the usual with likely SP.]

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[okteiviakom]

Octavia's faint, wry smirk faded until it was gone, replaced with something more thoughtful, as her gaze slid from him to the water.

"I don't know if I really even remember," she admitted. It had been a few years, after all, and this was a question she'd... never actually thought about, before. "But... you know it started out between me and you, first. And after that went away..."

The kindest possible way to phrase it, all things considered.

"It stayed away, for probably a good while. But there was something else in me that, kind of... looked for an outlet, maybe? The, I guess, the opposite of what we'd been doing."

She paused, hesitated, tried to pick the best words.

"And if there's something in you looking to be put in its place," she said, slower, "who's better than the Devil?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke swallowed at the reminder of his . . . flinch . . . but nodded along, not interrupting. Reminding himself that none of this was about him, just now.

"You'd been dominating," he said. "You wanted to be dominated, too."

[okteiviakom]

The movement of Octavia's head was so slight that it was best characterized as about half a nod.

"I'd done bad things," she said, a touch more quiet, "and I wanted to be punished."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke lifted his hand. Let it hover hesitatingly for a moment, before moving to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

He didn't say anything. Just held her.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia made a noise in her throat, like objection, like he didn't need to. Funny how it didn't keep her from leaning against him, taking what was offered.

"I found that with him," she muttered. "He could act cruel and still make it safe."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke made an affirming noise, trying to picture Lucifer -- who could be doting to a fault when he tied Duke up -- acting cruel.

He gave her another squeeze.

"The perfect outlet."

[okteiviakom]

Lucifer was extremely good at taking on different roles depending on what it seemed like his partners needed.

As Octavia was about to elaborate on.

She nodded. "I think I told you about how sometimes I need it to feel real?" she said. "At the beginning, I needed to be -- basically wrestled into submitting. Like there was this... conflict, in my head, like there was one part wanting to be ground down to dust, another part way too angry and proud to let that happen."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke could picture that only too well. Needing to be subdued. To have the plausible deniability of not surrendering.

He’ll, he’d suggested it to her as a way to get back to what the two of them had started, once upon a time.

“And now?” he asked gently.

[okteiviakom]

"Now..."

She looked off into the distance again.

"By now, I've done enough work that we can just... feel it out, you know? Whichever way it goes." How the power shifted. "I can... want whatever I want. Including being manhandled, but I can give in without it now, too."

[betterthanaplan]

“That’s amazing,” Duke said, with feeling. “I’m so proud of you.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia looked up at him. Surprised, almost hopeful.

"You are?"

[betterthanaplan]

"I am," Duke confirmed. "You did the work. That's -- It can't have been easy. But it sounds like it got you somewhere really good."

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah," Octavia murmured. "It did. It has." The expression on her face turned a little more wry, but stayed soft. "I guess that's sometimes what you can get if you're using your date nights for extra therapy."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke gave a soft, self-effacing laugh.

"I have . . . maybe accused Lucifer more than once of trying to be my therapist instead of my boyfriend."

Different strokes, if you will.

[okteiviakom]

"The moment feeling therapeutic for me," Octavia pointed out gently, "doesn't mean he's actually acting like a therapist."

[betterthanaplan]

"Good point," Duke said. "I may also have a bit of an issue when it comes to taking well-intentioned advice." He shook his head. "But we're not talking about me right now. Do you want to . . . get more specific? About the things you two do that work really well for you?"

[okteiviakom]

"We could be talking about you, too," Octavia replied. Not that he'd made her feel like she was in a spotlight, and that was good, but she still wanted to get that out there. Just to make sure he knew he could talk about himself if he wanted to.

Anyway, with that out, she gave a light shrug. "And, I don't know, it's kind of a broad thing? Changes from week to week." But, well, it wasn't like she had to try and encompass everything. "I could... tell you what we did on the last date night we had, before we came here?"

[betterthanaplan]

"That sounds nice," Duke said. "Luce has, uh . . . hinted about occasional things. And I've seen the room of course. But I'd love to hear about details from you." He grinned. "Flesh out some of my fantasies about you two."

If he was allowed to insert himself just a little, well. He was going to do that.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia leaned against his side a little more. Gave him a lopsided little smirk for his inserting.

"Well, it was one of those times where we just figured it out on the go," she rasped. "Usually, the... mood sort of finds its own way, these days. Who has the power, who doesn't." Sometimes based on what she seemed to need, sometimes based on something much smaller. "This time it was me. With the reins."

A pause.

"So I sent him upstairs to the room to strip by himself, for a start."

[betterthanaplan]

"Oooo. Was it a punishment? Or just a 'go get ready while I finish things here' kind of thing?"

[okteiviakom]

"More of the latter," Octavia replied. "It's... a way to show control. And to make sure he's good and ready to go once I get there." Oh, right, she hadn't said: "Because then I also texted him to make himself hard."

[betterthanaplan]

"Oooo." Duke shifted a little in his seat at his own reaction to the story so far, and pressed a quick kiss to her temple. "I bet he loved that."

[okteiviakom]

"Eventually," Octavia replied, finally sliding her own arm around his waist. For comfort, or something. "I mean, I showed up in some of these... leathers, and cuffed him to the frame, it doesn't usually mean he's gonna get off easy."

Was that a pun? Maybe.

[betterthanaplan]

It got a bark of laughter, so Duke at least took it as a pun.

As would Lucifer.

"Some of these leathers," he echoed. "Say more."

[okteiviakom]

"I have these... strappy things," Octavia replied, slowly but for no other reason except to look for the words. She cast her gaze downwards, weirdly coy. "Harnesses. Leather. Different kinds. Ones for the arms, the thighs, the chest, the full torso. The hips, with... attachments for accessories."