The Perk, Monday Morning

[okteiviakom]

"What do you mean 'the season's over'?"

Apparently one of the side effects of having been a raccoon for a month, and then wrapped up in various other transformations and assorted drama meant that you missed the back half of when your favorite caffeinated beverage was sold.

And this was how Octavia ended up sitting at a corner table, nursing a disappointing peppermint mocha instead of the PSL she'd come in for.

[ooc: Open!]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

"That isn't the look someone is supposed to have in one of these expensive coffee places," Lucifer observed.

Were things still weird? Had they not really hashed that out in full yesterday? Probably, yes. That had never stopped him from heading into a coffee place when he had fancy hot chocolate on his mind.

[okteiviakom]

"Pumpkin spice time is over," Octavia drawled, succinctly.

With only a slightly wary look up at him. Saturday had gone a little off the rails.

[my_own_advocate]

"Didn't know you were a connoisseur," Lucifer said, amused. "I'll have a caramel hot chocolate, please," he added to the barista.

[okteiviakom]

"Not surprising," Octavia muttered, a little darkly, and took a sip.

[my_own_advocate]

"Do you want me to place more entertaining drink orders?" Lucifer asked, half-teasing, half... confused. "Because I have a limit to the amount of bean milk I'll let someone put in my coffee."

[okteiviakom]

That was not the part Octavia had been responding to.

So she was just going to look out the window, now.

[my_own_advocate]

"Right," Lucifer muttered.

He took his drink and walked up to his table. "Can I sit?"

[okteiviakom]

"There's a chair," Octavia replied without looking over.

Extremely dry sarcasm was sort of her thing.

[my_own_advocate]

"Yes, I'd noticed," Lucifer said, sinking into it. "Are you still mad?"

He was beginning to have a feeling she was still mad.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia sighed. "I haven't been mad."

She was mad. She'd just buried it under -- a lot of things. Because clearly he and Duke were bad influences.

[my_own_advocate]

"Really, because I thought you were upset about Duke, at first, and here you are--"

He waved.

"Brooding at me."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's look was milder again when it turned towards him. "Isn't that what you think I'm always doing, anyway?"

[my_own_advocate]

"No, there's brooding, then there's angry brooding, which you're doing now, and there's 'Octavia resting quiet', which dominates most of the time," Lucifer said, taking a sip from his hot chocolate.

[okteiviakom]

"Well, since you're so good at analyzing me," Octavia drawled, "you figure it out."

[my_own_advocate]

"I'm not a therapist, I can't guess why you're mad if you won't tell me," Lucifer said. "That usually just leads to humans getting even madder."

[okteiviakom]

"Told you before," Octavia muttered, picking up her drink again, "lumping us all into one category is not a good move."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer rolled his eyes. He tried not to. He really did. But that was about the least blunt way he could communicate his feelings about her going there right now.

"Well, at least narrow it down," he said. "Is it the weekend? Monday? Something else?"

[okteiviakom]

The street outside felt like the thing to look at again, so Octavia did.

Followed by a long silence.

In turn followed by a dry, even, "You didn't just throw Duke out."

[my_own_advocate]

"You couldn't have led with that Saturday?" Lucifer said, deflating a bit. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do in the moment, and what I did clearly hurt you. I didn't mean to."

[okteiviakom]

"'Clearly' seems like a stretch, Lucifer."

And no, she couldn't have.

[my_own_advocate]

"Fine, I didn't think about that, because my running off wasn't about either of you," Lucifer said.

Beyond the whole 'not wanting them to see him like this' bit.

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah, I figured as much," Octavia said mildly, without looking at him. There was a sigh-like quality to her voice. "We were just collateral damage."

[my_own_advocate]

"For which I am genuinely sorry," Lucifer said, looking at her. "I just didn't really realize it would leave such an-- impression."

[okteiviakom]

"You didn't --" Octavia started, but cut herself off. Then shook her head, and then actually hazarded a look at him.

"Why not?"

[my_own_advocate]

Because it had taken years of work to get to 'slightly less self-involved', and it was easy to lapse back into it when he felt so terrible about everything.

"I just wanted to get away," Lucifer said slowly. "It didn't dawn on me that you would care."