Luke's, Thursday

[betterthanaplan]

So. The last few days (few weeks, few years. . . .) had been kind of an emotional adventure for Duke. And as he was wont to do on occasion, he was looking to throw all of that pent up energy into cooking.

Unfortunately, his kitchen staff was nowhere to be found. When he asked a waiter, he was informed that they were deep in the freezer, on some sort of treasure hunt. Duke decided he didn't want to know.

Today's specials
CATCH OF THE DAY
Maryland-style crab soup

Luke's was open.

[I'm a little weirded out by that "Maryland style" soup not having any Old Bay on the ingredient list. It does sound tasty though. . . .]

Comments

[bookbeltof_love]

"Gooooooooooood afternooooooooooooooon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ah, yes, the clarion call of Nina as she bounced into the diner all smiles and wearing a coat that was, for once, not pink.

As if to make up for that, in some way that only made sense to her, she had a red bow in her hair.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke came out of the kitchen when he heard that call, already moving to grab a milkshake glass for her. "Looking sharp, kid. Special occasion, or just trying out a new look?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"It was a present," she said, beaming at him and doing a twirl. "Do you like it???????"

But because it was a present, it meant she was going to wear it, even if she wouldn't have bought it for herself.

(Nina loved it.)

[betterthanaplan]

"It is extremely snazzy," Duke said. "Gives you a whole roguish air." He held up the milkshake glass. "Strawberry again?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"Yes, please," she said, because she was a sucker for strawberry milkshakes. "And I'm glad you like it!!!!!!!!!!! Though, like, I'm not sure how to feel about looking roguish..........."

It was kind of not the image she wanted people to think of her.

He was still correct. Nina settled herself on one of the stools.

[betterthanaplan]

"Depends on the situation," Duke said. "Sometimes it helps if your first impression on people involves a little bit of fear. It's just . . . another way to get your point across through your clothes."

He was talking a lot of about clothes lately. He'd had a whole "what constitutes a lumberjack" conversation with Lucifer yesterday.

[bookbeltof_love]

"Oh, I know that," she assured him. "But, like, I don't really want to have people intimidated by me at school......."

... Nina was ignoring that people could, and did, find her enthusiasm just as off-putting.

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm pretty sure everyone at the school knows you on sight by now," Duke said, loading the strawberries into the blender. "Maybe you can just skip wearing it to the welcome picnic in January."

[bookbeltof_love]

"Oh, I already have plans for that," she said brightly. "And, like, I'd hope everyone knew me, since I'm their StuCo Queen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That Shuri was a year older than her was... not sinking in. Willfully not sinking in.

"Oh!!!!!!!!!!! I got you a present!!!!!!!!!"

Okay, it wasn't really a present in the sense of 'she'd seen it and thought of him' but Nina put it in a small box and then wrapped it in pink and white polka-dotted paper with a yellow ribbon just because she could.

She set it on the counter to taunt him while he was making her milkshakes.

[betterthanaplan]

"And it's not even anywhere near my birthday," Duke said, eyeing that box. He was still going to take the time to make that milkshake extra pretty for her. "What's the occasion?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"When is your birthday????????" she asked, keenly interested and ignoring his other question.

[betterthanaplan]

"June," Duke said. "You sent me buns, remember?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"I know," she said brightly, though I forgot, THIS YEAR. "But, like, I wanted to see if the date had changed!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

[*dies*]

"It has not," Duke said. "They don't tend to do that where I'm from."

Though he supposed it wasn't impossible that they did that where she was from.

[bookbeltof_love]

[I will RUN WITH this mistake lol!]

"Anything's possible, right????????" They didn't do that where she was from either. "Can you, like, imagine the chaos if every year on January 31st, everyone had a new birthday and just suddenly knew their new birthday???????"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke took a moment to try to imagine that, whipped cream poised over the top of her poured milkshake. ". . . There'd be whole game shows devoted to guessing your loved ones' new birthdays."

[bookbeltof_love]

"Right?!!!!!!!" she enthused. "It would be amazing!!!!!!!!!!! I vote that, like, it should totally happen!!!!!!!!!!!"

Luckily, the world did not bend to Nina's whims.

[betterthanaplan]

"You have quite a unique perspective on the world," Duke said. He put a sprinkle of chocolate shavings on top of the whipped cream, and pulled out a jauntily striped straw. "One strawberry milkshake." He slid it across to her.

[bookbeltof_love]

"Imagine the anxiety on January 30th, as everyone wonders what their birthday will be!!!!!!!!!!" she suggested, before--

"It's perfect!!!!!!!!!!!! You make the best milkshakes!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

"Thank you," Duke said, bowing faintly. "So. What's the occasion for this present you have for me?"

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina considered him.

"Well, like, I did tell you I'd get you one," she noted, gently pushing the little box in his direction.

It was his tiny pocket Buddha! Also known as a sacrificial jizo.

[betterthanaplan]

"One of. . . ." Duke trailed off and opened the box. "Wait, is this one of those 'it dies for you' things you were talking about?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"Yes!!!!!!!!!!" she chirped before taking a sip of her shake.

Mmmm, delicious milkshake.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke looked down at the little thing and let a slow, real grin spread across his face.

It was the thing she'd mentioned that could DIE FOR HIM. He didn't have to worry about the tattooed man. He maybe had to worry still that his ex had the tattoo, but still. This was at least one extra life.

"Thank you, Nina," he said. "Holy shit. Thank you!"

[bookbeltof_love]

"I give the best gifts," she said, oh so modestly. "You're welcome!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

“You really do,” Duke agreed. He could feel something bubbling up in his chest that was probably a laugh, but best not to risk it. “I need to keep it on me, right? Like in a pocket, you said? Is it automatic or are there like, instructions?”

[bookbeltof_love]

"In a pocket or, like, in one of those little neck pouches some people wear???????" Nina said, beaming at him. "You want to put it somewhere on you--so not in a backpack or anything that you're always taking on and off and setting aside--and you'll want to make it secure enough that it's not going to fall out easily???????"

Nina stirred her milkshake.

"It works automatically!!!!!!! So long as it's on you, it will work." She hesitated, then continued on a bit grimly, "If you're going into danger deliberately, make sure you think about the danger you might be in-----if I'd had one of these on me when I was trapped in a burning building, I'd have died, then come back and died again. It would've done the job, but if there's no way out........"

Well. Dying twice wasn't exactly going to be fun.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke grimaced. “Ah, yeah, good note. I was thinking like a talisman bag or something would be good. Could tuck it under my shirt.” And he already wore at least a few necklaces on a daily basis, so it wouldn’t look odd for him to have it.

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina nodded.

"Especially since you, like, wear a bunch-----makes total sense for you!!!" She was totally echoing the narrative. No shame. "I hope it helps, I really do."

[betterthanaplan]

"It's helping already," Duke assured her. "Not that I have any plans to go running into danger again any time soon, but still. A little extra insurance can't hurt, right?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"Contingencies are like chips," Nina said earnestly. "No one stops at one!!!!!!!!!"

Or, well, no one should stop at one.

[betterthanaplan]

"Contingencies are maybe even more universal than chips," Duke agreed. "Or strawberry milkshakes. Seriously, though, do I owe you anything? I can't imagine these suckers are cheap."

[bookbeltof_love]

They were not cheap.

"Nope," Nina said cheerfully. "You can pay for my milkshake, if you'd like, but otherwise it's a gift!!!!!!!!!!!"

Besides, Liam had paid for it and Nina hadn't yet figured out how to pay him back.

... It was weird, having someone act like her dad for real.

[betterthanaplan]

“Milkshake is absolutely on the house,” Duke said.

And probably would be for the foreseeable future, let’s be real.

[bookbeltof_love]

She beamed at him.

"Then we're good," Nina decided, with a firm little nod. "How're you doing?????????????"

[betterthanaplan]

“I’m doing alright.” Snapping at friends, dealing with miscellaneous outbursts of defeatism. . . . “You know, just playing it by ear.”