seaoftroubles | Season four preplay: Lay Me Down

Season four preplay: Lay Me Down

1. Duke gets a call from Nathan to say "Duke get your ass back here Wade's activated." -- Also feat. Lucifer and Octavia

2. Duke, Octavia, and Lucifer arrive in Haven, find out only [wild handwaving because Haven is terrible at timelines] number of days has passed even though it's been months for them. Jennifer says she's settling in okay on the Sanguine Moon and is applying for a job at the Haven Herald. Duke is all "uhhhhh. . . . 'kay, that's a choice that I support I guess". Jennifer is adorkably awkward about being nervous for the interview. Wade arrives at the Gull to grab cleaning products and is cagey about the reasons. "Soda spilled in my car." He claims that he understand the trouble is terrible and isn't going to let it take over. Duke tries to talk him through it, but Wade just shoves him off and promises to head out of town. Duke tries to pretend he believes that this trip might be an easy one. Also there is a day-time drunk sleeping on the bench outside the Gull. FOR PLOT REASONS.

3. Later that day, Dwight comes by the marina to tell Duke that the drunk died mysteriously at the police station. Duke remembers Freddie, the drunk, was into watching bear documentaries at the Gull. Dwight asks about Jordan, wonders aloud if Wade's involved. Duke says no way. -- Lucifer and Octavia are welcome to join in or not

4. Duke dreams about trying to talk to Wade about their trouble and getting attacked when he gets a papercut. Wakes up when dream!Wade slashes him with a knife to discover GIANT KNIFE WOUND ON HIS ARM! Octavia has her own injurious dream. Lucifer freaks out/fusses over them.

5. Lucifer tries to insure Duke and Octavia stay awake. Audrey decides to compare Nathan and Duke's activities the day before since they both got hit by the trouble and survived. They make the connection to the Herald and call Dwight -- too late, he gets shot in a dream. We can also have Nathan fill the OT3 in on the non-dream murders at the same time.

6. Duke takes advantage of Dwight being sedated in the hospital to check what he's looking into, finds info on the murder with the broken knife. Puts two and two together and figures out it's Wade. This can happen off screen. He and Lucifer (and maybe Octavia?) head to the local boat rental he knows Wade used and gets access to the boat he used. He follows the GPS along the coast and finds Wade's dumping grounds, including Jordan's remains.

7. While Audrey and Nathan defuse the trouble, Duke, Lucifer, and Octavia go after Wade, stop him from offing a guy at a local bar. Wade goes all high and mighty, Duke yells at him. Wade tries to pull the "brothers" card to keep from being turned in. "You killed all those people, Wade. That's on me now, too." Wade threatens to expose Lexie's secret so the Guard tries to make Audrey kill Nathan. Lucifer knocks Wade out so they can lock him up on the Sanguine Moon.

8. Octavia guards Wade on the Moon while Lucifer and Duke try to figure out where to stick him and arrange their travel back to Fandom. Wade escapes and he and Octavia fight. Octavia is winning until Wade manages to draw blood and gets the upper hand. Enter Duke and Lucifer. Lucifer goes to Octavia to try to staunch her bleeding while Duke takes on Wade? (Since Duke can't interact with Octavia's blood and all. Maybe Wade managed to open her dream wound and it's worse than just a little cut.) Wade throws himself on Duke's knife and dies. The Crocker trouble dies too.

9. Duke wraps Wade's body in a tarp. When Duke reaches for Octavia's wound, she flinches back. Duke internalizes the SHIT out of that even though it's a natural move if they've been used to trying to keep their blood off him. Lucifer suggests they clear out, Duke agrees, so long as he can bury Wade first. He asks them not to tell anyone about the murder. Luce and Tavi are probably like "whatever, we don't want to talk to any of these people anyway."

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Duke slid his arms carefully under his wrapped brother, getting slowly, carefully to his feet. “It’s okay,” he said, almost as much to the body as to them. “I screwed this up. I should be the one to fix it.”

"You didn't screw anything up," Octavia said, but she was already turning for the door, to make sure it would stay open for him.

"You did the best you could, love," Lucifer said.

If he sounded subdued, well. He knew how hard it was to believe that.

“I should have done better,” Duke said, a simple statement of fact. “Then Wade wouldn’t be dead.” He looked at Octavia. “And you wouldn’t have to flinch when I touch you.”

Wade wasn’t light, so he didn’t pause to see her response. Just started for their rental car at the end of the dock.

So he didn't see the look of concerned surprise on her face.

"That's not --" Oh, she shouldn't be airing any of this out here. He was already carrying a body. (And yes, even with her minor shock, she was keeping an eye out for any unfortunate passers-by.) "We're going to talk about that later."

Lucifer threw her a worried look, but he didn't linger. Couldn't. He had to get moving, starting after Duke with a few big steps that brought him up by Duke's side.

"I don't think she," he started, but Octavia had said-- ugh, he didn't know what to do.

“It’s not her fault.” Duke resettled Wade’s weight in his arms, trying to open the trunk. “I’ll apologize later. I just — I need to —“

Catch his breath for a start, maybe. Who knew dead people were so heavy?

Octavia darted past them to get the trunk open.

It was the least she could do. At least while she waited for a good moment to actually talk about that -- what had happened.

"I don't think fault is the issue here," Lucifer said, watching them both.

Duke sighed, and loaded the body into the now-open trunk. “We’ll talk about it later.”

He closed the trunk, closed his eyes, swallowed. Braced himself.

“I need to do this alone. It’s a family thing and — I’m the only family he has left.” He stood up and looked at both of them. “Can you guys get us ready to go home when I’m done?”

Octavia's brow knit together a little, above concerned eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Are you sure that's a good idea?, she didn't say.

Lucifer looked at her. And then at Duke.

"Just hurry back when you're done," he said quietly.

Duke nodded. Swallowed again. (Swallowed down painguiltfeargrieflove.) Then got into the car to drive away.

[if you guys want to have a Lucifer and Octavia thread here go for it! I think Duke’s pretty well done in this post. Woo! I’ll set up the next one this evening or maybe tomorrow.]

Oh.

So much for Octavia's faintly raised arms, then: the invitation she didn't have time to fully put on offer. They fell again as she watched the car.

"He'll be back," Lucifer said, his eyes also locked onto that car. "We'll have our part to play when he finally breaks."

It was strange. The way he-- missed his mother right now.

Octavia just missed Duke.

And the time thirty minutes ago when none of this had happened yet.

She turned around abruptly, her head down. "I'll go clean up the blood from the boat."

Yes. Well. Lucifer's feelings about Duke right now-- ...

"Octavia," he said, turning to look at her at last. "Not alone."

"You can come, too."

But she was already marching back towards the Sanguine Moon. Her hands felt useless, and needed to be doing something.

"Thank you," Lucifer said. Even he wasn't sure whether there was any hint of sarcasm in there. But he hurried after her, shoving his own confused mess of feelings to the back of his mind.

Sarcasm wasn't really here or there right now, anyway.

Octavia just stomped her way onto the boat, grabbed some stuff and got to work. The least they could do was give the boat back to Jennifer looking like nothing had ever happened there.

Lucifer joined her, scrubbing the boat for all he was worth.

But every now and again, he'd glance up. Hesitate. Say nothing.

Until-- "Octavia, please."

"What?" Octavia asked.

It wasn't sharp. It wasn't much of anything.

"You're upset." What? Sometimes the obvious was so glaring even Lucifer could point it out. "Talk to me."

"I don't have anything to say." She was kneeling, and now straightened up a little. The floor was starting to look clean. "Wade's just another horrible, unfair thing that happened to Duke."

"And we'll make time to help him process when he gets back," Lucifer said. (Clinging to that thought, to stop himself from sliding into self-pity about... ... clinging to that thought.) "But you're clearly also going through something, and he's not here yet, so..."

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