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Luke's, Thursday

Duke came into the diner without fanfare, despite not having been there in months. His staff, after a moment of gasping and cheering, followed his lead, letting him fuss around the kitchen like this was a perfectly ordinary Thursday.

Duke had never felt more loved, outside his relationship with Octavia and Lucifer.

Today's Specials
Grilled cod with chunky avocado salsa

Luke's was open.

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Octavia was also trying not to make a big deal out of his return to the diner. But there was nothing in that rule (that she'd made for herself) about not getting lunch with or from her snogon. Especially since she'd had a heavy class to start her day off with.

So... Yes, she showed up, around lunchtime, with her tiny smile and her customary, "Hayun, jaka."

"Hayun, gona," Duke responded, as was also customary. He came over to offer her a kiss. "How's your day going?"

"Pretty much everyone in my death class is in denial except me," Octavia replied wryly, after claiming the kiss. "Does that mean I'm finally good at school?"

"Well," Duke said with a snort. "It is Death class, after all. You've practically got an honorary PhD already." He pulled back to tug her towards the lunch counter. "Milkshake? A treat for being the best student."

Octavia went with his tugging, as she pretty much always did. "I don't even need an excuse," she said, half teasing. "I can have a milkshake just because I want one."

"That is also extremely true," Duke agreed, nudging her towards one of the stools and going to retrieve the milkshake supplies. "If you did bad in school, I'm guessing it was because your teachers couldn't handle you being right all the time."

"I didn't actually go to school before here," Octavia reminded him, deeply wry about it. (Had that ever actually come up, specifically? Aside from as something to be inferred from the story of the girl under the floor. After this many years, it was hard to say. Maybe she was actually just clarifying.) "I mean, not really."

She thought about it for a second, adjusting how she sat on the stool with a faint little shimmy.

"Well, except for Earth Skills, I guess."

Edited 2026-05-28 20:33 (UTC)

Duke caught sight of the movement, and watched it through his lashes as he went through the familiar process of putting together a milkshake for her.

She was incredible. How was he so lucky?

"I thought you hadn't. But then you were all like 'I was bad at school' so I figured I must have forgotten something." He let out a soft chuckle. "'Earth Skills' sounds like something they'd teach at the school here. Was that before they sent you all down?"

"Yeah," Octavia confirmed with a tiny, wan smile. "Fire, shelter, you know," she said, watching his hands as he worked. (His hands had always been one of her favorite details about him.) "Adults trying to teach a bunch of kids how to survive in a world they hadn't ever actually seen, either."

"That's how they'd learned it too," Duke said. "You all were a few generations into not seeing the Earth, right?" He shook his head. "What was that like? You wouldn't have known anyone in class, after all. Or being around so many people."

"It was weird."

That probably wasn't surprising, huh? Octavia shook her head a little, then shrugged. (No longer smiling, more introspective.)

"I mean, I'd seen... some of them, before, in lockup. But that just meant that as soon as I walked in, everybody knew who I was. You know. The whispers." She'd gotten very familiar with the whispers over her time in the Sky Box. That's the girl they found under the floor. "It was really lonely."

Duke set aside the milkshake (it was at the blending stage, it would keep for a moment) to reach for her hand.

"Sounds like it. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

He'd experienced a version of it, himself -- plenty of whispers about the homeless kid in class, after all -- but his community had been a bit larger, and he'd had more places to escape to.

And it had started when he was eight years old. He'd had plenty of time to get used to it.

Octavia lifted one shoulder just a bit. Oh well. "It was pretty weird in other ways, too," she said, a little lighter. She was rubbing her thumb gently against his hand, now that it was there. "Tense. Which I guess is what it's going to be if you're teaching kids about survival and don't tell them it's because they'll actually be needing the skills in two weeks."

"What'd they tell you it was for?" Duke asked. He let his hand linger a moment longer before going back to working on the milkshake.

Octavia thought about it for a second, her lips parted as if she'd been expecting to be able to answer right off the bat, but couldn't.

"I don't remember."

That was pretty novel, actually. Not being able to recall something from the Ark.

"But probably something about... Not wanting those skills to atrophy?" she giessed. It felt likely, all things considered. "In case some of us did eventually get pardoned. 'Cause, you know, at least some of the kids in there with me had already been learning Earth Skills with the rest of their normal school stuff, before they'd been thrown in a cell to rot."

Duke nodded. "Makes sense. Sounds like the kind of thing they'd come up with." He finished blending the milkshake and got out the whipped cream and toppings. "When did you all find out the truth?"

Octavia shrugged again. Mild, small.

"The day they told us we had to get on the dropship."

Duke grimaced sympathetically.

"They really threw you all into the deep end," he said. "I honestly don't know what I'd do if I was one of you."

"You'd do what you've always done," Octavia retorted, wry again, even if it was a little on the faint side. "Survive."

Duke nodded. "That's true." He let out a soft, wry snort. "I'd probably figure out a way to start a fresh new Ground black market."

"Niylah had a trading post," Octavia replied, now a little more fond. Or at the very least softer. "She could probably have used another questionable supplier."

"They always can," Duke said. He topped the mound of whipped cream with a fresh strawberry. "I got to know a few people like that, in my time."

Octavia's gaze had drifted back down to his hands, but now she looked up at his face again, a little curious about something that had just come to her. "You still have those connections?"

Duke tilted his head and shrugged. "Haven't been maintaining them, but I could check. Anything you looking to get?"

"No, not really," Octavia said, shaking her head a little. "I was just wondering, I guess."

And a shrug, to boot.

"You know, if that was maybe going to be an option, some day."

"Well. I still have the skills that got me the contacts, either way," Duke said. "So I can always remake them if we need to."

And Lucifer had plenty of contacts of his own.

"Maybe that's one of our future plans," Octavia said, only half joking. "For if... when we eventually leave here."

Look at her acknowledging the possibility, and without prompting no less.

"Questionable operations."

"Those are some of my primary skills," Duke said, giving her a surprised smile at the 'when'. He slid the milkshake over to her. "Tried something a little new: added a bit of basil. Tell me what you think."

Octavia quirked an eyebrow as she picked up the milkshake. "If it's good, we'll know where to get more fresh basil."

In her little garden on the deck of the Rouge, of course.

She took her first sip, equal parts appreciative and contemplative. This was serious business, after all.

"You enjoy this, getting to use your homegrown basil will make it even better," Duke said. "We could also muddle some with soda water and syrup for a good mocktail."

He watched her carefully for her reaction.

Octavia was clearly making sure to really place the influence of the basil on the taste, her face all thoughful as she rolled the flavor around on her tongue.

She took another sip. This one was a much bigger one, which may have given him a clue about how it was all being received.

Even before she smiled and said, "It's great, jaka. Tastes like... summer."

Duke beamed and ducked his head. “Thank you. Your garden inspired me.”

"It did?"

Okay, so Octavia looked a little touched by that. Shush.

“It did,” Duke confirmed. “You’ve got a good looking crop going.”

Because he was clearly an authority on such things.

“Or, well, it looks good to a guy who knows very little about crops, anyway.”

Octavia exhaled a chuckle. "The basil's looking pretty green, at least?" she offered.

Really, almost everything was flourishing. She'd been pretty meticulous about her plant care ever since they'd come back from their trip.

“And very leafy,” Duke said gravely. “I think that’s a good sign.”

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Luke's, Thursday

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