Turtle & Canary; Wednesday [02/26].

[sake_shinigami]

Not long after Shunsui had gotten into the store that..."morning", Apu was there to hand him a piece of paper.

"What is this?" he asked.

It was a bill, apparently, for the repairs on the door.

"What door?"

And Apu incredulously asked if Shunsui had even been aware that the cheese panda had thrown around cheese to a point where he'd actually broken one of the freezer doors and that it needed to be replaced, which just seemed to get a chuckle out of the Shinigami.

"Of course not ♥," he beamed, almost fondly at Apu's irritation. "I don't handle any of that stuff! Why else do you think I hired Summer-chan back on ♥?"

Apu murmured an answer that was definitely not safe for work or for a public community that Shunsui absolutely heard.

"Well, yes, of course ♥," he said. "That, too ♥."

Today's Squishy Flavors
Pistachio
Denim?
Red

Turtle & Canary is open!

[[ and blah blah blah SP because everything from here on out will be a crazy blur ]]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

Last week had been one of recovery from the previous one, while next week Octavia wasn't going to be around at all, and suspected Shunsui might not be, either. So it was Wednesday, and there was only one thing to do.

"Konnichiwa, Shunsui."

She needed some groceries, anyway.

[sake_shinigami]

Next week was the whole reason Shunsui had started teaching again, so, yes, he would definitely not be around. After all, what was the point of carousing around the mortal world to the increasing ire of all those around you back home if you weren't going to at least take the most advantage of it?

"Ahhhh, Octavia-chan ♥!" He beamed to see her come in, waving Apu off from whatever it was he was thinking of bothering him with next. "Konnichiwa~~ ♥! I was hoping we might get a visit from you today ♥."

He'd also decided that he liked to think that she had come to visit last week, too, but, seeing him so deep in his naps, was kind enough to not disturb him, even though he had many resources available at his fingertips to prove that this had not been the case at all.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia would gladly corroborate that take on things. Last week was kind of a blur, so who was to say what had really happened, anyway?

"Well, here I am," she said as she made her way to the counter. Smiling, even though it was predictably faint. "Ready to buy things."

That was nowhere near being her priority, and not just because the concept of buying things continued to be sigh-worthy.

[sake_shinigami]

"Almost ready ♥," Shunsui corrected as he predictably found his jug with one hand, a pair of cups with the other. "We can't have you going about buying things before you've at least had some sake ♥."

[okteiviakom]

"Kinda figured," Octavia replied, with the kind of snort and vaguely fond tone that suggested there was nothing 'kinda' about it. "I'd hate to break with tradition, anyway."

Or at least this one.

"How's your week been?"

[sake_shinigami]

"Mostly uneventful ♥," said Shunsui, with a pleased tone that made it clear that this was the preferred answer, speaking as he poured. "A few jaunts out to the mainland, Nanao-chan gave me notes on the novel pages I've sent her so far,"--they had been surprisingly brief and boiled down to simply this is complete, unadulterated drivel, but at least you're actually writing, which he took to mean that she'd enjoyed them immensely--"and I believe I lulled my class into the best sleep of the semester so far with my talk on anarcho-pacifism ♥."

With a satisfied, lazy sort of smile, he handed the cup out for her.

"And how was yours, hato ♥?"

[okteiviakom]

"Mostly uneventful, too," Octavia replied as she reached for the cup. The more unnecessary touches of her fingertips against his hand might not have lingered as long as they sometimes did, but they were still present and accounted for.

"I let Duke teach me more about yoga," she added. "That's about it."

[sake_shinigami]

And if the unnecessarily touches of Shunsui's own fingers against her hand as his own retreated from the hand-off lingered a bit longer than they sometimes did, well, then, that was merely because he felt it wouldn't hurt to make up for a few weeks that had been missed. After all, one could never be too cautious when it came to the art of proper sake cup handling.

"Yoga?" he mused, grin tilting a little. "Now that must have been a sight to see ♥."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia snorted softly.

She could still sort of feel his fingers against her skin even once she'd pulled her hand away. Like the ghost of a touch. "It was... stretchy, mostly."

She was leaving the word 'bendy' for other people.

[sake_shinigami]

"I should certainly hope so ♥," Shunsui noted with a faint chuckle as he now poured his own cup. "Otherwise, I would have no choice but to question Duke-san's effectiveness as an instructor ♥."

[okteiviakom]

"He's pretty effective in most things he does."

In Octavia's highly unbiased opinion, of course.

[sake_shinigami]

Oh, yes. Truly, entirely impartial and unswayed. The tilt of Shunsui's grin went a bit knowing.

"I'm glad to hear it, Octavia-chan," he said, "that he would be as competent and..."

Pause? What lingering, teasing pause do you speak of?

"...capable as he seems ♥."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's little eye roll was not very sharp.

Or at all.

Her gaze ended up down towards the counter at the end of it. "He makes me happy." This time, she even managed to not sound grumpy about it, like she had when she'd said it to Lucifer. (And yes, this was only the second time she was even admitting as much out loud. No matter how obvious it may have been between the lines before.) "It's enough."

It was way more than that.

[sake_shinigami]

Shunsui's smile softened and warmed at that, even if she might not see it with her eyes averted as they were. But she should know it was there by the tone of his voice.

"It's a good thing," he said. "You deserve to be happy, Octavia-chan ♥."

[okteiviakom]

"Do I?" Octavia asked, raising her gaze again.

It was meant to sound joking, and she hit that target about halfway.

She'd just had a lot of things happen to her over the years that had made her wonder whether actually being happy was in the cards for her. Even if it had been just quiet, private question she'd asked herself.

[sake_shinigami]

Even half off the mark was too much for a retort like that, but Shunsui was incredibly well practiced in maintaining that soft, gentle smile without even a moment's falter.

And he answered it with a question of his own, which sounded like he was going for blithe, but didn't quite get there.

Which would have been precisely where he'd hoped it would land.

"Why wouldn't you?"

[okteiviakom]

Although Octavia's tone stayed light, her expression turned a little wry. And maybe a little sad around the edges. (Around the eyes.) "Because every time I've had it before, it's been taken away."

Her mother, being able to leave the quarters on the Ark, those first steps on the ground, Lincoln. All gone.