The beach, Wednesday morning

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was still pretty ridiculously stiff and sore after his misadventure this weekend, mostly through his back. (Duke would be giving Nathan so much shit about trying to perform CPR on stone steps if he hadn't, you know, been saving Duke's life while he did it.) But he was a firm believer that the best way to handle back pain was to use his back, and in yoga's restorative properties in general, so he was out on the beach as usual this morning, trying to roll the kinks out of his shoulders and neck.

And wondering when he'd stop panicking every time he felt just a little bit old.

[open!]

Comments

[thatwaslucky]

"Any better?" Rey asked when she arrived.

It was actually kind of a relief to see him here after last week.

[betterthanaplan]

"Moving a little more normally," Duke said. "Been hitting the tiger balm pretty hard, so that's helping. How's it going?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm okay," she said. "How are you otherwise? Soreness aside."

[betterthanaplan]

"Enjoying being alive." Duke shrugged and tried not to wince visibly. "Hoping to stay that way for a good long time."

Preferably without aging, thanks.

[thatwaslucky]

"Yes, please, do that," she said, a little more emphatic than she'd meant to.

[betterthanaplan]

"Don't worry, Rey. I have a very well-developed self-preservation instinct."

That Haven was slowly but steadily chipping away at already.

[thatwaslucky]

"That isn't going to make me stop worrying, you know," she pointed out.

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah," Duke said with a sigh. "But hey, it's worth a shot, right?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Just let it be my turn next time, how about that?"

She hadn't gotten hurt since she'd gotten here. Which either meant she was super due for it or he was safe for a long, long time.

[betterthanaplan]

"I mean, it'd be nice if it was neither of us, next time, but sure."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm being realistic," she said with a wry little smile. "But we'll work on neither."

[betterthanaplan]

"Sounds like a plan."

They were totally asking to both get trampled by whatever next came at the island, weren't they.

[thatwaslucky]

Trampled so hard.

"So what are you up for today?" she asked.

[betterthanaplan]

"Back work," Duke said. "Very, very gentle back work."

[thatwaslucky]

"Okay," she said. "And remember we can stop if it's still too much."

[betterthanaplan]

"I know." He even would. Well, he'd push it just a little, but not so much as to totally reinjure himself, at least. "So what do you think? Ready to cat-cow it up?"

[thatwaslucky]

Rey's reaction was still- always- to laugh.

"Yes, please. I apologize now for me not being able to take it seriously."

[betterthanaplan]

"Nothing wrong with having fun with your yoga," Duke said, shifting around to get on all fours. "In fact, I'd say it's encouraged."

[thatwaslucky]

"I should actually probably take it less seriously sometimes," she admitted, following along. "Trying too hard at things like handstands was probably not the point."

It was, however, how she did everything.

[betterthanaplan]

"Trying too hard is better than not trying at all," Duke said philosophically. "Seems like with handstands there's no inbetween."

[thatwaslucky]

"Not really. It was probably hilarious for any squirrels that might have been watching, though," she said lightly.

[betterthanaplan]

"They probably keep some file somewhere of all the ridiculous stuff we do," Duke guessed. "Stupid human tricks or whatever."

[thatwaslucky]

"I think we call them radio broadcasts," Rey teased.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke blew a raspberry at her. "I mean besides those. Just the funny shit, and not the boring details like classes."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm not sure I do a lot of funny things," she said, frowning. "I read."

She paused. "Unless I don't know I'm doing something."