Lucifer's Mansion, Sunday Evening

[okteiviakom]

"I don't think I've got this."

It had been a while since the last Sunday night date night.

It felt like it had been forever. And Octavia's memories of the last date night of any day of the week at the house weren't great.

None of that was what was getting to her right this second.

"It's just not doing what I want, Lucifer."

She was trying to pipe some sort of ganache onto a thing of dessert in a dainty little bowl, and no, it was not going smoothly at all. As far as issues went, it would have been almost blissfully mundane, had it not also been so very frustrating.

[ooc: For that guy and massive SP.]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer had been trying not to wince visibly. He had only succeeded on the technicality of doing so behind her, where she couldn't see, rather than next to her, where she could.

"Would you like some help, darling?" he tried. Diplomatically.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia answered with a grunt of defeat and stepped back, abandoning the piping bag.

She gestured for him to go ahead.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer took it. He lifted it. And...

"It sometimes helps to be a touch less... aggressive," he said. "Both in the piping and the whippiing beforehand."

[okteiviakom]

"I wasn't being aggressive," Octavia groused.

She might have been. At least after the very initial piping efforts had failed.

[my_own_advocate]

"A touch... agitated, perhaps," Lucifer said diplomatically.

He leaned in to gently - very gently - squeeze the ganache into the bowl.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia rolled her eyes - but where he couldn't see.

It was mostly just for her, anyway.

"Uh huh."

[my_own_advocate]

"But we'll get into that later," Lucifer said, choosing his health over his culinary snobbery.

He kept piping.

"And... there we are!"

[okteiviakom]

"Thanks," Octavia said.

The dry and the rasp of her voice were somewhat mitigated by the way she leaned against his side to survey what was technically their joint handiwork.

(Look, at least she'd successfully put in some of the bits of fruit, earlier.)

[my_own_advocate]

"And now, I believe, the honor of the first taste is yours," Lucifer said. He lifted the bowl and raised his eyebrows encouragingly.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia rolled her eyes directlyat his face, this time. But it was already a much milder show of performative grouchiness.

It also wasn't keeping her from reaching for a spoon.

[my_own_advocate]

"Oh, come now," Lucifer said. "Enjoy it!"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia snorted. "Okay, okay, keep it in your pants."

(He could have that one for free.)

She carved herself out a spoonful, careful (yes, even in her increasingly feigned grumpiness) to get a little bit of all the components.

And then she was just as careful about bringing it all up to her lips, and into her mouth. And then about considering it, too. The flavors, the textures.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer watched her face with very rapt attention.

"And...?"

[okteiviakom]

"It's nice," Octavia said, after thoughtfully licking her bottom lip. "But it could use one of those... you know, one of the fresh herbs that sort of taste like lemon?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Lemongrass?" Lucifer asked. "Lemon thyme?"

[okteiviakom]

"Or maybe lemon basil?" Octavia replied, shrugging, as she went for another spoonful. "One of those. Something with that feel."

She'd spent too much time around him.

[my_own_advocate]

"Hm," Lucifer said, thoughtful. "We could also try a little bit of sumac... but that would be dry. Hold on."

He walked to the fridge, produced some lemon thyme and lemon basil, and put the leaves down in front of her. Then he reached up to grab a tin of sumac from a cupboard, and opened it.

"Tell me which one you like best. No better way to learn than to taste."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was raising her eyebrows. "You had those all along?" she asked - more about the herbs. Predictably.

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, yes, obviously," Lucifer said. "I like to keep the kitchen well-stocked for all possible date night configurations."

[okteiviakom]

"Sounds wasteful," Octavia noted, as she reached for the lemon thyme.

[my_own_advocate]

"But very convenient," Lucifer replied.

[okteiviakom]

"Mm."

It seemed like a better idea to just taste the leaf right then, instead of saying anything further, so that was what she did.

[my_own_advocate]

Well, it wasn't like Lucifer didn't know her feelings on waste. He just didn't share them.

But he'd take this detente, and a bottle of fizzy soda from the fridge.

[okteiviakom]

"This one works fine," Octavia muttered, after a moment of quiet consideration.

No, she hadn't tasted anything else.

[my_own_advocate]

"If you're sure you've tasted enough," Lucifer said lightly.