The Perk, Sunday Morning

[my_own_advocate]

Sometimes a man - or a fallen angel shaped like a man - needed something decadent. Something deeply bad for you in the best possible way.

Sometimes a man just needed the richest and most extreme chocolate milkshake one could possibly get this far from a real city.

And so Lucifer found himself at the Perk on a Sunday morning, with a massive chocolate contraption sitting in front of him, full of tiny donuts and marshmallows and sprinkles. "Now this is worthy of the Devil," he decided, stealing a lick of whipped cream off the top with a cheerful grin thrown at the barista.

He was, as always, completely fine.

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[justice_undone]

And sometimes a spaceship in a human body needed to leave her basement apartment and her store for a cup of tea among people. That was why Breq was here, ordering a small pot, having no trouble whatsoever to get the staff to make it from loose leaves.

She looked around for familiar faces, found one that wasn't and strode across the floor towards him.

"Good morning. You play the piano at Devil's Nest, don't you?" Breq said, face expressionless and body language showing no emotion. Then she remembered, and managed a slightly odd smile.

[my_own_advocate]

"Among many other things," Lucifer said, looking up with his automatic smile plastered all over his face, "Yes."

[justice_undone]

"I run the music store," Breq said. "I'm guessing you're a better musician than the zombie band, and I find live music better than recordings, so... Is it ok if I sit down?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Oh, I know I'm always hard to resist," Lucifer said, flashing even more of a grin. "Of course, I always have time for musical interest."

Don't flirt with the space ship, Lucy.

[justice_undone]

The space ship paid no attention to the flirting, and gave no impression of having even noticed it. She had, but it didn't interest her, of course.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, taking a seat.

[my_own_advocate]

Really? Not even a blink?

Sigh.

"And I'd hope I'm better than the zombie band," he said. "Any real comparison would be insulting."

[justice_undone]

Not even a blink.

"I didn't mean to insult you."

Breq took a sip of her tea.

"That's an impressive drink."

[my_own_advocate]

"Extreme shakes, they call them," Lucifer said. "I think it's one of my favorite inventions this century."

[justice_undone]

"Which century are you from?" Breq asked. "And which planet?"

Still no facial expressions. She would remember eventually.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was fine this morning, despite last night's revelries. It had been more about the violent revenge-via-effigy for her than the beers, anyway. But still, this morning, she found herself craving... something. Something that the Perk could possibly provide.

She hadn't been here since the latest incident with Purple Pants Barista. And so, she was glad to find he didn't seem to be working today because, yes, she did actually pause at the door to check whether she saw him.

Which turned into a more general glance around as she stepped inside, which turned into seeing Lucifer, which turned into --

"What," she said, "is that?"

[my_own_advocate]

"An extreme shake," Lucifer called, "Truly an invention for everyone on this planet to be proud of."

[okteiviakom]

"Is that on the menu, or...?"

Did she kind of want one? Maybe.

[my_own_advocate]

"Yes," Lucifer said, grinning. "Though I did have to have a spirited conversation with the barista about it."

Ahem.

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah, those happen here sometimes," Octavia drawled. Although she suspected his way of having one involved a fair bit fewer knives pulled than hers had.

Still, she turned to the counter to order, "That, just less... much."

[my_own_advocate]

"Just halve the doughnuts!" Lucifer called helpfully.

[okteiviakom]

"Maybe fewer marshmallows, too," Octavia added in her perfect deadpan.

She didn't lean against the counter while she waited for the barista to get through making the monstrosity for her. Just stood there with her posture straight, her hands at her sides. Not exactly like a soldier waiting for orders, but it had shades of that all the same.

And then she got her order, and paid, and picked it up to head to a table.

She wasn't sure yet which one.

"Okay, it's still a lot." But maybe she didn't mind.

[my_own_advocate]

"A lot is the point, my dear," Lucifer said, looking over towards her. "Indulge a bit."

[somethingwithturquoise]

Was it weird being back on the island and Sunday and not going to Luke's for pancakes?

It was super weird being back on the island and Sunday and not going to Luke's for pancakes, so, in an effort to distract herself from that deeply entrenched habit that was no more, Summer was, of course, planning on distracting herself with work and finding out exactly how bad things were at the store under Shunsui's ownership, and to deal with that, she needed a coffee-and-sugar combination far greater than anything she could concoct in her own kitchen.

But nothing quite to the level of the drink that was surely going to catch nearly anyone's attention walking in.

"Well," she commented, because normal greetings were for chumps, once she had her own drink that was actually mostly sugar with, like, a whisper of coffee in it, "I think that answers at least one of my questions...."

And then snapping a picture of that concoction with her phone, because something like that needed to be Instagrammed for internet posterity.

[my_own_advocate]

"Is that question 'where can I find the attractive devil I clearly need'?" Lucifer said, looking up. "I've already 'grammed this one. Get your own."

[somethingwithturquoise]

Toooo late. Already poooooosted! With the minimalist commentary of just #YIKES.

And Summer snorted faintly. "I've already had my deals with the devil," she said. "Wasn't a fan. But thanks. It was more of a general legitimacy question, but there is no way someone who looks like you would be sitting there drinking....eating?" Eating seemed more accurate. "Something like that without looking totally depressed unless they had what I assume is probably some sort of supernatural metabolism. Or whatever that's totally unfair for us mere mortals."

Then, after a sip of her own drink, she held out a hand. "Summer Smith. I don't think we've formally met in this dimension yet."

She liked this dimension's model much better. Less creepy budget Vincent Price, more charming gossip page heartthrob. Definite upgrade.

[my_own_advocate]

"And we clearly have in another," Lucifer mused, taking her hand for a pleasant shake. "Lucifer. Morningstar, though you clearly have that figured out already."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Yeah, well," Summer shrugged a little, "it's kind of hard not to hear a name like that and not get a little curious, considering I used to work with a version of you. And I'm in pretty tight wtih some of the squirrels. And, since my version and I didn't exactly part on the best of terms, I figured it wouldn't hurt to look into it a little first."

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, then I'll apologize for my other self for not giving you the charming you deserve," said Lucifer, because he was Lucifer and couldn't not be Lucifer at her. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Your other self was kind of a dick in the end," Summer noted, sounding almost apologetic for it...no, not apologetic. Sympathetic, more than anything, because she had far too much experience with the fact that nearly every other version of her tended to be a complete dick, too, "but, I mean, what was I supposed to expect? I was pretty young and stupid back then, though, so..." She shrugged again. "You live and you learn.

"And not really?" she added, to address the question. "I just wanted a closer look at that monstrosity you have in front of you, because I'm going to probably be craving that exact thing like crazy in about...mmm," she seemed to be doing some math in her head, "ten days? Or so. And, you know, finally take the chance to say hi while I was over here."

[my_own_advocate]

"I suspect they'll still have it in stock in ten days or so, unless I've accidentally started a trend," Lucifer said, idly poking about his drink with a spoon. "I'm hoping to convince them to branch out and offer some varieties."

What? Temptation was his thing.