fandomhigh | Advanced Bird Haberdashery, Wednesday, period 2

Duke, god love him, had honestly thought he might be able to come in and have the class do something other than bird hats, today. Maybe some bird themed yoga poses. Or read a story about a bird! He really ought to have known better.

The whole classroom was full of turkeys. Very unhappy, very aggressive turkeys.

After several moments of fending one of the largest turkeys off with a chair while — again — madly googling on his phone, Duke added a new rule to the class list:

Class rules:
1. Do not eat the birds
2. Do not FEED the birds

"Yeah, so, apparently feeding them can make them more aggressive," Duke said, trying for casual even as he was slowly chased around the front of the room by a 30 pound, belligerent bird. "So if you brought sausages to try to win these guys over . . . sorry?"

The turkey gobbled angrily at him and went after his shoes.

"So we're doing turkeys today!" Duke dropped the chair and scrambled up onto his desk. "They are large and aggressive." He glared at the turkeys. "And taste really good with cranberry sauce!"

The turkeys were undaunted.

"Also, the internet is really into the fact that apparently one of this country's founding fathers thought these guys should be our national bird." One of the turkeys at the back of the room took flight and swooped at him. "And you know what? I'm gonna give it to him. Good ol' Benny Franklin had something going there." He waved at the swooping bird and scowled. "For fucksake, stop it!"

The turkeys, startled by his volume, backed off and/or landed and started scratching at the tile and pecking around, looking for snacks. Duke sat down — still on top of his desk — and looked around for the hat instructions du jour.

"And we're apparently making them . . ." He picked up the paper and looked entirely put upon. "Fezes." He eyed the turkeys. "So . . . good luck with that."

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"I wouldn't know how to be nice, anyway."

That was... half true? Thanks, poor socializing!

"Guess that makes you lucky."

Duke shifted to put his arms around her waist, voice turning serious. "You definitely make me lucky."

Oh.

The smirk fell out of Octavia's expression as she shifted to loop her arms over his shoulders in turn, leaning further in.

"I could say the same thing."

She kind of already kept saying it.

"Even though I'm 'predictable'," Duke said, some teasing creeping back into his tone.

"I like your kind of predictable," Octavia replied, softly though there was something teasing in her tone, too. If you knew how to listen.

She tilted her head a little. "Your kind is..."

She trailed off, not like she was trying to find the right words but rather like she was trying to decide whether she wanted to say them.

"Don't worry," Duke said. "I promise not to let it go to my head."

Octavia huffed out a quiet laugh and shook her head, and reached up to snag a quick kiss of her own before saying anything further.

"You're predictable like the sun is predictable," she murmured. "And I don't know, that might sound unremarkable to some because they take it for granted that the sun comes up every morning. But it isn't unremarkable for me."

Not for the girl under the floor.

"I remember when sunlight never touched my skin, and what a difference it makes."

Oh.

Duke blinked and cleared his throat. "Wow. My predictability is downright poetic."

Octavia pressed a kiss against his cheek.

"I have my moments."

"You really do," Duke agreed. He leaned back against his desk -- without letting go of her waist, no. "So, we still on for the zoo next week? If you need more Preserve time, I totally get it."

Even if he'd tried to let go, Octavia probably wouldn't have let him. It was fine.

More than fine, actually.

"I'm okay with next week," she said. "I might be preserve-ed out." She'd never actually be preserve-ed out, but she'd conquered most of the weird mood she'd been having, at least.

Duke snorted. "You know I've met you, right? There's no such thing as 'preseve-ed out' for you."

Octavia couldn't really roll her eyes since he was absolutely correct. "Well, I'm close enough to it to let you take me places?"

Low-key terrifying off-island places, even.

"Nah," Duke said. "I think that's probably just you being brave."

Because he knew how terrifying those types of places were for her.

Octavia huffed as she tried to bury her face against the crook of his neck. Not at all a hiding sort of gesture, no. "There's nothing brave about going off the island."

Oh but there was.

"There's everything brave about it." Duke brought one of his hands up to cup the back of her head. "There are people out there. And people are terrible."

"They are when there's a lot of them," Octavia murmured after a beat, though she kept her tone on the light side. "And Baltimore has a lot."

"There you go then," Duke said. "Brave."

"Hosh op, deimeika," she replied immediately, but softly. "It's just a trip."

Duke chuckled. "Yeah, alright. Just saying. . . . If I can be predictable, you can be brave."

"I'm brave." Fear was a demon she knew how to slay, after all. "I just don't like it that this is one of those things where I have to be."

It was annoying to have to admit a weakness like that over something that wasn't even a real threat but just something that freaked her out.

Duke shrugged. "There are definitely worse things to have to be brave about. I've met people who are deathly afraid of balloons."

Octavia pulled back from his neck just enough that she could peer up at him with a curious little tilt of her head.

"I can't tell if you're joking or not."

Advanced Bird Haberdashery, Wednesday, period 2

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