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The Park, Sunday Morning

The island offered a lot more pleasant places for walks than the countryside around Allerdale Hall did. For example, there was a lot less blood-red mud that stained her skirts, and even though Lucille wasn't particularly fond of either flamingos or ducks, she stopped by the pond to watch them.

"Silly creatures."

They were silly, but they were also very much alive. Most of the birds she found at home were dead and decomposing in some room she rarely entered. She was rather tired of death, at least for the moment, which was probably a good thing for everyone.

[Open!]

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Well, it would seem that perhaps death might still find Lucille, albeit in an entirely different fashion, because it seemed that Shunsui Kyōraku was actually up and about during a weekend morning. But don't worry. He was merely on the way to find himself a good park bench nap, as it had been far too long.

That didn't mean, of course, that he wasn't against the idea of distractions; in fact, he may have been quite pleased to have found one on his way to his favorite napping bench by the pond.

"Ah, now ♥," he remarked, as he approached, practically soundless but for the appropriate fluttering of his robes, "there's a new face on this lovely morning ♥! I should know, as I make a point to know all the beautiful women on this fair island ♥."

Well. When he wasn't ~~being woefully neglected for other characters~~ being too lazy about it, anyway.

"Good morning, my dear &hearts. It looks like I chose an excellent day for a little stroll ♥."

Lucille turned her head, and not quite sure how to react, she said:

"You did? And why is that?"

Always pleased for the opening to a conversation rather than an immediate dismissal, the smile of Shunsui's face blossomed, and he ducked his head as if to offer a bit of gratitude toward her excellent social decison.

"Because otherwise," he explained, "I'd have not had the opportunity to make the acquaintence of such a lovely young swan such as yourself ♥. Tell me, my dear..." The inquisitive tilt of his head seemed to make the playful bent of his grin, "are you a fan of sake ♥?"

"I am hardly a swan," Lucille said. "Is it a compliment where you're from to liken a lady to an aggressive bird?"

She'd ignore the sake for now.

Ignoring the sake or not, Shunsui had already produced a cup out from somewhere in his robes, chuckling softly at the response as he then removed a jug from his sash and began to pour. It didn't matter if she was to take it or not; if she didn't, then he could merely enjoy it himself.

"I was gathering my inspiration more from that particular bird's notorious beauty and grace ♥," he informed her lightly, "thought I suppose time will tell if such other infamous attritubes are just as applicable ♥."

And, with the wine poured, he offered the cup out, bowing slightly as he did. "Sake ♥?" he asked. "A gift, of course, and I shall expect nothing in return, but if you happen to be feeling generous this morning, I will gladly take a name ♥."

Since he was holding it out to her, Lucille accepted, peering down into the mug.

"Lucille Sharpe," she said. "I just returned to the island. And you are? Is there a bird you would liken yourself to?"

The question brought out another soft laugh from Shunsui, whose smile brightened just a little bit more to make up for the slight twinge of sadness underneath.

"A flamingo, of course ♥," he said, without a moment's hesitation, with a smooth gesture of his arm toward those exact birds ruffling their pink feathers from the pond's edge, before finding himself a second sake cup to pour for his own.

"Though, perhaps," he added, looking up from his pouring with amusement in his eyes, "in this moment, we are both geese, following paths of migration from our homes to return to this fair island ♥. You see, Lucille-chan, I too have recently returned to roost here for a bit, so already we have something in common ♥!"

Clearly, this was the perfect thing to drink to, so he smiled at her and lift his own little sake cup in a toast to their newfound friendship. "I am Shunsui Kyōraku ♥," he then offered, "and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lucille-chan ♥."

With that, of course, he then sipped.

"I can see the likeness to a flamingo," Lucille said with a tiny smile. She held the mug, waiting to sip from it.

Far more than a duck, anyway. Shunsui drowned the tiniest somber twang underneath all his brightly strummed cheer with a slightly longer sip from his cup than he may have normally taken, a brief dip of a toe into the depths underneath the shimmering surface of smiles and hearts.

"You'll have to let me know what you think ♥," he said, a small, goading reminder that cups of sake were meant to be sipped, not held, and took a little more again from his own cup. "Where is it that you're returning from, Lucille-chan ♥?"

She finally took a sip, her face displaying nothing of what she thought about the taste.

"England, 1889," Lucille said. "And yourself?"

"Soul Society," Shunsui answered pleasantly, "and who can even keep track of the years these days ♥?" Timelines could get notoriously ~~non-existant~~ wonky for a Shinigami after the first thousand years or so. "Well, allow me to welcome you back, Lucille-chan. I don't suppose it was for the incredible wealth of both excellent n napping spots and beautiful women, was it ♥? Because then we'll have even more in common ♥!"

"Not really, no," Lucille said. "My house became a bit too much to run all by myself, and I went to school here once, so returning seemed like the best choice."

She paused.

"Naps?"

"Don't tell me," Shunsui said, with a bright laugh, "they haven't got the concept of naps in England, 1889, Lucille-chan ♥! It's no wonder you came back, then; that sounds absolutely abysmal ♥!"

"Of course we have naps, I've just never been much inclined to have them," Lucille said. "Do you have a lot of them in Soul Society or did you escape there because there was a lack of them?"

"Plenty of opportunity for naps ♥," Shunsui mused, looking back a bit fondly on some of the choice spots around the Seireitei with a wistfulness in his voice, "but a nearly criminal likelihood of them being interrupted , and, even worse, interrupted to then go do work! How can anyone expect to get their naps in with all those interruptions, Lucie-chan ♥?"

Edited 2020-05-24 18:55 (UTC)

"That sounds horrible."

Lucille's smile curved a little. "I suppose I was lucky to have no one interrupt what I was doing."

And here she was interrupted looking at birds.

Shunsui's smile had no trouble curving, nor was there anything little about it as he leaned ina little, as if to dispose a secret to her.

"There are, you know," he said, "good interruptions as well as bad, and I am firmly of the mind that any interruption with sake is a decidedly good interruption ♥. Even better when it comes along with lovely company ♥."

Now Lucille took a sip.

"Not too bad," she said. "But don't tell me you feel the need to give ladies alcohol in order to flirt with them."

"Of course not ♥!" said Shunsui, beaming. "I give sake to people I don't flirt with, and I'll flirt even without sake ♥. But it does make things a little nicer, neh ♥? Sharing sake in my culture is symbolic of friendship and camaraderie and good will; who wouldn't want that ♥?"

There was a long pause. Then Lucille took another sip.

"I'm not easily seduced, but the sake isn't bad."

Ahh, but you were still talking with him, Lucille-chan, and you were still sipping his sake, which was still further than he got with some, and so Shunsui was without a doubt considering this an immense success.

It helped, really, to be successful when you set your bar so low you just couldn't help tripping all over it.

"I'm glad you enjoy it ♥," he said, his smile now a bit beatific and indulgent. "And there's certainy much more where that came from, Lucille-chan, and I shall consider it a great honor and pleasure to be able to share sake with you again ♥. But there's no point in looking forward to the pleasures of the future when we already have the bounty of each other's company in this very moment ♥."

Now Lucille realized that Shunsui would not be scared off by being informed it was useless to pursue her. To be fair to her, Lucille had little experience of flirting, and while she might not want to admit it directly, she did miss company. Well, not all kinds of company.

"I feel like I have to be blunt here, but exactly what kind of company are you looking for?"

She took a step back.

Shunsui did not appear in the least bit fazed; in fact, he seemed just a touch more amused.

"Exactly the kind of company I seem to have found, Lucille-chan ♥," he mused. "A lovely newfound friend who can enhance the natural beauty of the scenery by her mere presence, to enjoy a cup...or perhaps two...of sake with beside the pond on a splendid early summer's day ♥."

Then his grin went a bit crooked, his tone teasing and smooth. "Exactly what kind of company did you think I was looking for, Lucille-chan ♥?"

If she truly felt she had to be blunt.

"The more intimate kind," Lucille replied, taking another sip of sake.

"Sometimes, one does have the good fortune to discover more than he seeks," Shunsui admitted easily, "but one who cannot be gratified with this," he lifted his cup, made a small gesture as he swept his gaze around the park, and ended it with a nod and a smile at Lucille, and a small sip, "will rarely find gratification elsewhere ♥."

"I can't be the only one who gets your intentions wrong," Lucille said, not sure what to make of Shunsui. "But I admit I don't generally enjoy things the way you seem to do."

"People," said Shunsui, sounding now thoughtful, reflective, maybe just a bit ironic, "tend to have trouble coming to terms with such simple intentions. They always expect such complexity! Ulterior motives! But I don't consider them ulterior motives, Licille-chan, just pleasant possibilities ♥."

"You're unusual that way," Lucille. "If you're telling the truth, that is."

"If I'm telling the truth ♥," Shunsui agreed, with an amusement for not having any intervention to sway her one way or the other on that notion, and enjoyed the moment, the view, the gentle breeze before asking, "How's.your sake, Lucille-chan? Need a refill ♥?"

"I still have plenty left," Lucille replied, smiling. "I admit I'm more of a tea person though."

"So ka~~ ♥?" asked Shunsui with a faint chuckle. "Sake will always be my drink of choice, but I do enjoy a good tea every so often ♥."

Except powdered matcha, which was the worst.

"Tea is very important in my culture as well," he noted. "Perhaps we should get together and have some sometime, Lucille-chan ♥."

"I sometimes have tea at the Perk," Lucille said. "When I'm on the island."

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The Park, Sunday Morning

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