my_own_advocate | Samsara, Sunday Evening

It wasn't a great idea to keep sticking to old traditions to the letter, Lucifer and Octavia had found last weekend. And so Lucifer had suggested something else for this Sunday night.

Samsara.

It was a place where she felt safe. And it could-- go somewhere else, for a nice change of scenery. "Should we take her to the back of the preserve? Or head further along the coast?" Lucifer asked, as he hopped aboard, basket of food in hand.

[[ for her ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

okteiviakom

"Why does that make you nervous?"

Not so much with the joking, anymore.

From:

my_own_advocate

"I don't know," Lucifer admitted. "It just feels like something's expected of me. Not by you, mind you. Just... existentially."

From:

okteiviakom

"Existentially," Octavia repeated. Thought about it for a brief moment, then said, "I guess I get that."

From:

my_own_advocate

"You do?" Lucifer asked.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia gave the tiniest shrug.

"It's not like I don't have a lot of issues with what I think is expected of me," she said, after a moment. "And it's not really connected to anyone, most of the time."

From:

my_own_advocate

"Mm, yes. That's it," Lucifer said. He hesitated. "I think at some point I just... started... needing to move at times. To make myself feel all right in the moment."

From:

okteiviakom

"Is this one of those moments?"

From:

my_own_advocate

"It was a bit," Lucifer said. He sighed. "I think it's just leftover nerves from last time, frankly."

Well, at least now he'd identified the source.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia exhaled a quiet sigh.

"Yeah, that was... Not our best."

From:

my_own_advocate

"I don't need to rehash it," Lucifer added. "I just... realized that's where the energy comes from."

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia nodded, a tiny movement.

"Left a mark."

From:

my_own_advocate

"It's not your fault," Lucifer said. "I'm just... trying to learn how to live in the moment in this particular way."

From:

okteiviakom

Somehow it seemed like a small movement, too, when Octavia picked up her head and turned it.

To press a feather-light kiss against his cheek. "Mochof."

For trying.

From:

my_own_advocate

"You're welcome," Lucifer murmured.

He'd try anything for her.

From:

okteiviakom

"I love you," Octavia said. It just went well with the thanking him. And with... everything, lately. "Complicated feelings and all."

From:

my_own_advocate

"I love you too," Lucifer murmured. "Even as you're forcing me to accept the beauty of stillness."

From:

okteiviakom

"I know," Octavia murmured, "I'm terrible."

From:

my_own_advocate

"Terrible, awful person," Lucifer said, "With your healthy eating habits and your infuriating ability to just vibe."

From:

okteiviakom

"... Ability to just what?"

He had to have seen this one coming.

From:

my_own_advocate

"Just vibe," Lucifer said. And then, realizing that didn't clarify anything: "Turn down everything but the world around you and move with it. So to speak."