fandomtownies | Turtle & Canary; Wednesday [06/24].

Entry tags:

Turtle & Canary; Wednesday [06/24].

Not only did Shunsui have the fact that a nap was needed because he had somehow magically failed to avoid that Wednesday activity thing in the part (it may have had something to do with the fact that he had forgotten it was actually Wednesday; they didn't exactly hold as much significance for him these days), but he now felt emboldened by a new and (in his mind) argument-proof defence against Apu-san for all his napping.

"It's research, Apu-san ♥," Shunsui explained, with that beatific, sleepy smile to his beleaguered employee. "Very important research ♥."

Which earned Shunsui a bit of a rant, but he just let the words roll right over him because he was in a very good napping state, and if he wasn't, he might have taken the time to jot down lesson idea: napping through lectures and/or tirades, but there was no point in disturbing a nap for something like that. He would simply exemplify the idea of practicing what he preached.

Today's Squishy Flavors
Pralines
Prawns
Red

Turtle & Canary is open!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Now, this was... This was one of the oddest things Octavia had done on the island so far. Not from the outside, of course, but for her. She'd gotten away with a few days of not feeling like what she was seeing wasn't real, but stepping into Turtle & Canary after seven years threw her right back into that feeling.

Enough that she found herself - at least momentarily - just stuck at the door, staring at the store.

If it made her feel any better, at least Octavia wasn't the only one experiencing a bit of time-displaced questioning of reality. Because cracking an eye open at the sound of the door opening and seeing her standing there in the doorway at least helped Shunsui to confirm that this was in fact Wednesday (Wednesday activity nonsense notwithstanding), but it had him wondering exactly when this was. Because there stood someone he'd sort of figured it would be a while before he saw again, if he ever saw her again. And in all of his important research into napping techniques, he was sleepy enough to assume this was just some sort of dream, although this was hardly how she appeared (in both her physical appearance and...not so physical presence) in dreams.

So there was a moment, of a mind trying to work through a comfortable haze.

But be it dream or time displacement or whatever else it could have possibly have been, it was still good to see her, even with the new heaviness she seemed to bring with her.

"Ahh, Octavia-chan ♥." And so there it was, that lazy rumbling drawl and the sleepy, lopsided smile, as he shifted his hat and pushed it up enough so that she might see it even from the doorway. "Is it my turn to be brooding and sulky over running off without a word of contact now?"

There were eight hundred dead weighing her down. It was a miracle she could even move.

At the sound of his voice, Octavia blinked her way out of her momentary stupor. But her voice was raspy in all the wrong ways.

"No phones in the apocalypse."

She was struck by the old urge to greet him in Japanese. And then struck with the realization that she'd forgotten how to. The knowledge had atrophied with the rest of her skills that hadn't contributed directly to survival.

So all she was left with was a mild but faintly dazed, "Hello, Shunsui." And didn't move, just yet. In a moment, her legs would listen to her again.

"Konnichiwa, Octavia-chan." Shunsui offered a soft, lingering smile to accompany the unintentional jog to her memory. Lingering, just a moment, before he set two small cups on the counter, reached for a jug always within reach. "You can come in, you know...unless you plan to make me go all the way over there to give you your sake. I think it suits brooding much more if I stay here, though I wouldn't really know..."

And, sake poured, he picked up one of the cups, held it out in a flat hand; his grin broadened with warmth as his attention focused on her.

"I've never been very good at it ♥."

Maybe it was the sake that did it. Octavia was slow to move, but she did. Not that she reached for the cup right after she finally reached the counter, either.

Too busy looking at his face.

Because this part, this part right here, felt exactly as surreal and absurd with everyone. She'd lived with the fading memories of them, with the ghosts of them, for so long that actually seeing their faces again almost made her dizzy.

Shunsui would have liked to have thought that he would leave that cup held out for her as long as necessary, but he was feeling an incredible urge to just drink it himself and hand her the next one. Because he wasn't used to that, people actually looking at him, and when they did, it was rarely a good thing.

But he could always look back, and that, he was good at, even if his smile didn't change. She was definitely looking close enough to notice that his eyes had, though.

"It's been a while," he finally said, cup unmoved as if suspended in time, "hasn't it, Octavia-chan?"

He was sharply reminded of a scene not too long ago, amidst the rubble of a fake Karakura Town, the flap of a skirt in the breeze, and a lingering stinging feeling of pain in the side of his face. And so he just couldn't help himself, that one potentially very stupid thing to say lest she looked too close.

"You've gotten even more beautiful than the last time I saw you ♥."

Hey, to his credit, at least it hadn't been exactly word-for-word what he'd told Lisa-chan.

Just like some things Lucifer had said last night had been extremely Lucifer, that was a very Shunsui thing for him to say.

She turned her gaze away. "I've been underground for six years."

As far as she could tell, that had just made her paler, while the years had made her older, and limited nutrition had left her just a little smaller in places. Two of those things, she was slowly working on fixing.

Oh, well, you know how it went with these very old supernatural beings and devils and gods and what have you once they found a schitck...

It was always a relief when someone finally looked away, but it didn't always feel good. Still, his smile seemed to find a little more room.

"Ah," he said. "So that's what's different."

That was definitely not what was different.

Edited 2020-06-24 12:03 (UTC)

"A month here was seven years for me."

It wasn't Duke's job and Octavia knew it, but she kept finding herself wishing he would brief people with the basics so she wouldn't have to.

She looked up again. Maybe she'd take that cup, now.

"Such a pain when time decides to muddle itself like that, neh ♥?" Shunsui observed lightly. "But on the bright side, you haven't missed much. And perhaps that just means we'll have to celebrate your return with a drink for each year, rather than the one measly month."

He then gave a soft chuckle. "I'd complain about you not waiting a little bit longer to give is eight years to make the celebration particularly lucky, hato, but I'll gladly take getting to see you now ♥."

A light joke, on the surface. But while seven years might not be a lot to him, it was clear that each of them had taken a toll and one more....well...

Octavia's expression wasn't even subtle about the way it darkened.

Hardened.

Her voice, though, went flat. Which was about par for the course. "Seven was enough."

As if he needed the confirmation.

"Then to seven long years," said Shunsui, lifting the other cup, the tilt of his smile like an assured, gentle block against the driven strike of that distinct hardness, "and the fact that they are finally over."

Octavia lifted her own cup, just a little, and said nothing.

Just drank it in one go.

Rarely one to be uncomfortable with silence or to be out-sipped, Shunsui tipped and emptied his cup similarly, then methodically set it down, filled it back up, offered out the jug to do the same for Octavia's.

And, slowly, Octavia held out her empty cup for a refill.

Though in this moment, she was quiet because she was thinking - again - about how odd this felt. Some of it was evident in the way her gaze followed the cup, her eyebrows faintly knitting together.

"You look," said Shunsui, looking over at her as he carefully poured more sake into her cup, "as if something is on your mind, Octavia-chan..."

"There always is," Octavia rasped, her eyes flicking up to his face again. "I'm just thinking about the same thing I'm always thinking about these days."

And back down to the cup her gaze went.

"Time."

"And what," Shunsui slowly ventured, as he set down the jug and lifted his own cup, tilting his head thoughtfully, "would those thoughts on time be?"

Octavia shrugged, vaguely. The years away had not made her more expressive. "I don't think it needs much explaining."

She'd still try, though.

"I was gone for a month and seven years, at the same time. It... messes with my head constantly. That it's been weeks since you last saw me, and almost a third of my life since I saw you."

Shunsui's brow quirked slightly. "I have to admit," he said with a faint breath of a laugh, "hearing you refer to what I consider a small sliver of time as a third of your life is doing quite the number on me, as well, Octavia-chan."

And that was referring to the seven tears, not the weeks. In a way, that seemed almost too short, but he never had a strong grasp of time in general, especially when it came to things like people coming and going and expecting the going was likely gone for good.

"It certainly sounds like quite the adjustment, and, if you'll excuse me, I think I have a complete understatement award to pick up somewhere ♥."

Octavia was fully aware that her entire lifespan - even if she lived to see old age, which seemed... doubtful - was likely to be more than a blip to the likes of Shunsui and Lucifer.

But at least that meant she wasn't alone in having difficulty wrapping her head around her own personal timeline.

Her snort was so faint it barely counted. "I was at war two weeks ago." Everything was an adjustment now.

To that, Shunsui gave a soft, thoughtful rumble of a sound, lifting his cup tontake a sip. He'd figured as much, or something like that. Even without the oppressive change in what would likely be called her reitsu in his word, there was simply the fact that he now saw centuries of countless young cadets in her, after the halcyon days of a peaceful Soul Society had passed, after their first real wars, after it was no longer just swordplay and fun...

Two weeks felt like more than enough time, but he had to remind himself, as he did with them, that it only felt that way to him because you just got used to it after a while.

And he was quiet all that time his thought meandered, another sip, and he turned his thoughtfulness toward her.

"Did you win," he asked, "Octavia-chan?"

"No."

There was so much behind that single flat word.

And there was something of Blodreina in the rigidity of her shoulders, the tight line of her lips. Couldn't be soft when you carried the survival of humanity's last on your shoulders, after all.

So maybe not quite like his countless cadets. Or not most of them, anyway.

"O-kuyami mōshiagemasu, Octavia-chan," Shunsui said, low and deep, almost a gentle murmur. "I'm so sorry..."

Once again, Octavia said nothing. Just drained her cup again, her movements a little stiffer than before.

Knowing Shunsui got at least some part of what she'd been through was a comfort, but...

Maybe she wasn't ready to feel it.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject