Luke's, Thursday

[betterthanaplan]

"Boss!" Mickey flung himself at Duke the moment he walked into the diner, enveloping him in a surprisingly powerful hug. (He seemed like such a scrawny guy, usually!)

". . . Okay," Duke said, patting gently at the busboy's back. "I was only gone for like two weeks here," he pointed out. "Why are you reacting like I've just returned unexpectedly from the wars?"

Ali and Greg exchanged glances.

"You went to Haven," Greg said.

It was official: literally everyone thought Duke's hometown was trying to kill him.

Mickey hung on until Octavia hissed at him. Then he scooped Octavia up and gave her a hug, too.

Today's specials
CATCH OF THE DAY:
Shoyu ahi poke
Malasadas

Luke's was open. Don't mind the raccoon eating a poke bowl on the table in the back.

Comments

[hatesparadise]

"That's not sanitary," Danny pointed out immediately. Because of course he did.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke looked over and rolled his eyes. "That's Octavia. We'll clean the table when she's done."

[hatesparadise]

Yeah, you don't get to say things like that and just expect people to go with it, Duke. That was not how life worked.

Hence the look Danny was giving him.

[betterthanaplan]

"With bleach," Duke said, misinterpreting that look. "Look, you can sit far away from her if you want to."

[hatesparadise]

"No, no. This is the time where you explain why your girlfriend is a raccoon," Danny replied helpfully.

[betterthanaplan]

"I don't know, man, apparently Fandom just does this sometimes."

[hatesparadise]

Danny eyed the little trash panda for a moment longer before turning back to Duke. "That why she wasn't around?"

[betterthanaplan]

"You mean in Haven?" Duke sighed. "No. This happened . . . after all that. Apparently. She met up with Lucifer in LA and when they got back to the island. . . . Poof. Raccoon."

[hatesparadise]

"Uh huh," Danny said, watching that self-edit happen in real time. "You got food that hasn't been touched by a raccoon then?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Literally all of it except what's in that bowl," Duke said. "She's not allowed in the kitchen."

[hatesparadise]

"Alright, how about some poke then." And then Danny could interrogate check on him.

[betterthanaplan]

"Coming right up," Duke said.

He was coming back with a plate of malasadas and a beer too.

[hatesparadise]

Which earned Duke the sort of pleased grin that got Steve to do things like share his emotions without needing to be smacked into. "You gonna sit too? Save my cholesterol level from eatin' all of these."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had already decided that this was Danny's way of checking up on him, so he sat down without arguing. "You live with a guy who looks like he owns stock in GNC. I think you can handle a couple extra sweets."

[hatesparadise]

"That's the whole SEAL thing," Danny said, waving it off. "If you think I get dragged into that, you'd be wrong."

[betterthanaplan]

"Let me ask you a very weird question," Duke said. "Say Steve was trying to carry a sick kid out of the woods and he stepped in a bear trap. Do you think he'd be able to yank the stake out of the ground and just keep going until he got the kid to safety?"

You know, as a totally imaginary hypothetical that definitely wasn't something Dwight actually did back in Haven recently.

[hatesparadise]

Danny sighed like contemplating this was a pain in the ass. "Yes, probably."

He'd splint his leg and keep on trucking until he dropped and Danny rage-panicked.

"Why?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged. "I may have dealt with a very stubborn Army Ranger back in Haven. Was wondering if it was a whole military special forces thing."

It was probably for the best that no one knew Dwight had offered to let the kid eat him before she convinced him to go full superhero on that trap.

[hatesparadise]

Steve would be very annoyed to be compared to an Army Ranger because he was a SEAL and also weirdly proud of being in the Navy.

"Probably. They all tend to be nuts, I've found."

[betterthanaplan]

“Good to know. I’ve only really dealt with paramilitary types before.”

He really hoped Dwight wasn’t part of the Guard.

[hatesparadise]

Danny hummed and ate a malasada because it was nice and comforting. "You know I'm gonna ask how you're doing, right?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke sighed. “I figured you’d get around to it sooner or later, yeah.”

[hatesparadise]

"You know, for most people, that's not a dreaded question," he replied dryly, pushing the plate over for Duke to eat a malasada as well.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was slowly starting to adjust to Danny’s motherhenning, and took a malasada without complaint. “Yeah, well, most people get to give a generic answer and move on.”

[hatesparadise]

Danny shot him an unimpressed look. "Oh, yeah. Because most people deal with the same shit you do."