Turtle & Canary; Wednesday [09/18].

[sake_shinigami]

So far, Wednesdays in general seemed to be working out fairly well for Shunsui to make his big day at the store; he flitted in here and there on occasion when he was out and about, sure, but he realized it did a lot for morale if he showed up for at least a whole solid day, even if it was just to make appearances.

And, really, one thing that hadn't changed about the island was that behind the counter at Turtle & Canary was still an exceptionally lovely place to nap. Canary-chan was singing softly every once in a while like a gentle lullaby, and Turtle-chan was slowly crawling around her tank as a reminder to Shunsui and everyone that life was meant to take as at a liesurely pace. We all got to our destinations eventually, might as well really take the time to enjoy the view as we went along.

And, right now, Shunsui's destination was a nice light nap that he could pull himself out of easily if any customers happened to swing by, and it would not be a long journey to get there at all.

It appeared Summer-chan had finally removed the Newbie Special sign, which was fine by him, though the "Now Hiring" sign absolutely stayed up, and would probably stay up, unchanged, even well after Summer-chan was gone.

Today's Squishy Flavors
Cheeseburger
Rice Krispie Treat
Red

Turtle & Canary is open!

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

Duke wandered through after class.

"The hell is a cheeseburger squishy?"

He hadn't gotten a good look at the shop's proprietor yet, no.

[sake_shinigami]

The Squishy flavors could be terribly distracting like that.

But Shunsui let out a breath of an amused laugh at that, the bell on the door having gently pulled him out of the soft psuedo-sleep he'd acheived by that time, lifting his hat from over his eyes just enough to get a look at the person who'd asked the question.

Hm. You know, he never really thought much about those with more clearly masculine traits, unless those traits involved being pale, effinitie, and consumptive, but it was hard to deny that this one seemed to exude a handsomeness that he really could appreciate.

"You're probably better off not knowing ♥," he drawled with a lazy, dismissive wave of his hand, "especially when there's the much better option of fine sake," which he was now sitting up a bit more, so that he could easily pour himself a nice post-nap cup, "to be had instead ♥."

Though when he finished pouring, he lifted the cup not to drink from, but to offer out instead. "Have some ♥?"

Guests first, after all. And, at the very least, beauty before age. So while Shunsui felt he and the other gentlemen might be prety well matched for the first, he highly doubted he'd have him beat on the second.

[betterthanaplan]

Not even close.

Duke blinked and frowned, looking closer at the shop keeper under that hat.

". . . You really do talk in hearts."

He shook the moment off and accepted the sake. "Kanpai. You offer drinks to all your customers?"

[sake_shinigami]

"Only the attractive ones ♥," said Shunsui, without even an ounce of self-awareness. And it wasn't even that true, considering he offered sake to everyone.

On the other hand, he also thought nearly everyone was attractive, so....

Pleased to have had to sake accepted without any fuss or objection, Shunsui smiled pleasantly as he poured a second for himself. "So how can we help you on this fine day, my handsome friend ♥?" he asked. "Or did you merely come in to gawk at the Squishy machine?"

Which was, he felt, incredibly valid and fair.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had to smirk at that. They were pretty, weren't they. "Came in for provisions," he said and shrugged. "Mostly beer."

[sake_shinigami]

"Ah, good ♥," Shunsui chuckled a little. "We've no shortage on that ♥."

It was, after all, one of the few things he ensured was kept in stock without Summer-chan's additional prompting.

"Personal stock?" he asked. "Or are you planning for company?"

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm always prepared for company," Duke said. It wasn't true, but he liked to think it was. "But I'll probably drink most of it myself."

That was definitely true.

[sake_shinigami]

"So ka?" Shunsui clicked his tongue a little, but he was still grinning lazily. "I suppose so long as it's getting enjoyed all the same, but it does tend to taste that much better when its being shared, don't you think ♥?"

This was, after all, the man offering sake to pretty much anyone who walked in through that door.

[betterthanaplan]

"While it's arguably more fun with other people," Duke said. "It tastes pretty much the same either way." He gave Shunsui a very clear once over. He'd never had any trouble appreciating the masculine form, even when it was a little hard to see it underneath billowing robes. "Why, you offering company?"

That'd be . . . weird. But potentially interesting.

[sake_shinigami]

If Shunsui had been a more confrontational man, which he absolutely was not, he may have argued that point. But, as it was, he just grinned faintly, lifting his cup as though in a toast before taking a sip, and declared, "Two things I will never turn down are good booze and good company ♥."

Of course, his brain was simply not wired to consider that company anything more than advertised in this specific situation, but that didn't make it any less true.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke gave him a lazy smile. "Swing by my boat sometime then. I stock excellent liquor as well."

[sake_shinigami]

"I'll certainly have to see for myself ♥," said Shunsui. "On your...boat ♥." He sounded particularly amused by that. "Sea-faring man, are you ♥?"

[betterthanaplan]

"That's right," Duke said proudly. "I've taken the Cape Rouge all over the world."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia didn't tend to do much of the shopping for the Blakes because commerce still weirded her out, but she couldn't avoid it all the time. Like today. So, here she was: coming in, only to do a light double take in the general direction of the counter.

"Still here, I see."

And still doing the whole semi-public napping thing, too, but she didn't feel like saying that bit out loud.

[sake_shinigami]

"Still here ♥," Shunsui agreed, sitting up a little as he pushed his hat back away from where it had been covering his face, all the better to smile at her once she came in. "As I plan to be for quite some time."

Because moving was a pain in the butt, and people expected things from him elsewhere.

"And thank goodness for that, or else I wouldn't have this particular pleasure of having your radiant beauty grace my shop, Octavia-chan ♥! How have you been, my dear ♥? May I offer you some sake before you embark on your shopping journey ♥?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shrugged one shoulder. "Sure, why not," she said, as she came closer to the counter. Wasn't as if she was in a hurry - or had any particular rules about when alcohol was okay. "Wouldn't have guessed you worked here."

She wouldn't have guessed he'd work anywhere.

[sake_shinigami]

And that would be a fair guess, especially since some might argue that he didn't really work here, either, so this next part was probably going to come as a doozy.

"I actually own the place ♥!" Shunsui informed her, preening a bit, as he carefully poured Octavia a cup from the jug he was now just going to keep on the counter, and then handed it over to her. "Just as I did the last time I was here, if you can believe it. It was all very serendipitous, really, that Summer-chan was in the market to sell just as I was thinking of returning for a bit ♥."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia took the cup, but it stilled halfway between leaving his hand and getting anywhere near her lips, because she was suddenly busy tilting her head at him, ever so slightly.

"... How much does a store cost?"

[sake_shinigami]

Shunsui shrugged a little, like he may have actually forgotten the exact amount.

He had...totally forgotten the exact amount.

"It was in my budget ♥," he decided, figuring that was a good middle ground between admitting that he wasn't sure how much he'd paid and making up some close-enough guess. "Summer-chan is much better with numbers, and could probably delve into those details far better than I ♥."

He'd also super-overpaid for it, but that was okay, because he was helping a lovely young woman realize her dreams!

...it was a miracle how he'd actually not yet managed to completely squander his family's fortune by now, especially considering there had been no lack of trying.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia raised her eyebrows a little, although it was hard to tell what exactly that was for. And she chose to take a sip instead of explaining.

"Right," she said, with the tone of a person who definitely didn't understand enough about this kind of thing to even be saying that. "Well. Good for you?"

[sake_shinigami]

"Why, thank you, Octavia-chan ♥!" said Shunsui, beaming as he took that as sincerely as one possibly could. "It's a lovely little store, the very heartbeat of the community, and yet it's not so much a distraction that I can't attend to more important pursuits around the island....♥."

"...like writing my book ♥," he added, with a wink, after a sufficiently dramatic pause.

He did not mean writing his book.

[okteiviakom]

Someone else might've been able to return the innuendo, or at least offer a quip in return. But Octavia was Octavia, and so he was lucky to get... about half a soft snort, really.

It wasn't that she wasn't that she didn't appreciate that kind of thing, but you try picking up social skills of that kind with her life experience. It'd left her a little more straight-forward.

"What are you writing a book about?"

[sake_shinigami]

"I haven't decided yet ♥," Shunsui admitted with a chuckle, especially since he mostly intended to never actually write the thing, but who knew? "Probably some grand, sweeping romantic epic like my last"--and only--"novel ♥. Certainly no lack of inspiration for my brazen, bold, and beautiful heroine around here, though ♥."

[okteiviakom]

"And was the emphasis of the last one more on the epic, or the romance?"

Look, a girl raised on Greek myths had to ask. (A girl who knew very little about literary classifications... also had to ask.)

[sake_shinigami]

"I like to think they were very much equal parts...both ♥," Shunsui decided with a chuckle, after giving it some thought. Then again, his own classification for an epic simply meant it was terribly long-winded and full to the brim with flowery prose, and romance was pretty much the exact same thing, only plus smut.

"♥ ♥ The Rose-Colored Path ♥ ♥," he said the title with the same flourish that he gave with his sweeping hands. "I could probably get you a copy if you'd like, Octavia-chan ♥."