fandomtownies | The Onsen; Saturday Afternoon [11/28]..

It really had been far too long since Shunsui had really taken the time to just enjoy the onsen ~~and make a post about it~~. And, sure, he had the luck to be able to skip his class this week due to the holiday, but that same holiday had put him in the unfortunate position of having to actually do work around the store that week, so it was all very well deserved.

To just sink into the warm water and close his eyes to appreciate it, with the occasional sip from a small cup of sake that they didn't even bother berating him over because they knew it was pointless, and thinking back a little because wasn't it around this time last year that all that business with Aizen and the Arrancar had gone down back in the Soul Society, wasn't it? Hard to believe it had been that long (or perhaps not that long ago at all, depending on which way you were looking at it), but at least that meant it should be a good long while before anything like that happened again, a year was barely a breath in the grand scheme of things, after all.

There was comfort in that. And the warm water. And the sake. And even in the solitude, though, really, he could take it or lose it with that aspect.

[[ open onsen is open! It really has been a while! ]]

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After work Lucille headed to the Onsen, feeling the need for some relaxing time, possibly to herself, depending on who was there.

Some people could just be ignored, Shunsui wasn't one of them. Still, she didn't mind him, he was rather amusing in his own way.

Lucille stepped into the water, not saying anything, waiting to see if Shunsui would open his eyes. She wore a bathing suit from her own time, a bit worn, one that she would have to replace soon.

Of course, Shunsui was aware that that someone had now joined him there in the onsen and even who that someone very likely was without opening his eyes, without even disturbing the peaceful presnce he exuded with the suggestion that he'd likely fallen asleep there, with his arms draped on the edge of the pool behind him, half empty sake cup precariously balanced in his loosened fingers. But it wasn't until after a good moment or two after Lucille had settled that a slow smile appeared crooked on his face, he cracked one eye open, and he tilted back his hat from where it had been drawn forward.

"Ah ♥," he mused, "and here I was just thinking how all that was missing was some wonderful company, and, just like that, you make an appearance, Lucille-chan ♥. I had no idea it would be such a lucky day ♥."

Lucille, now comfortable submerged in the water, said, smiling:

"And I had no idea you would be here. How are you, Shunsui?"

"Significantly better than I was a mere five minutes ago ♥," Shunsui answered easily, shamelessly, and with a lift of his cup for the improvement to scenery. "And yourself, Lucille-chan? And might I return the favor of improving your day with a sake with your soak ♥?"

An expected response from Shunsui. Lucille smiled.

"I will not say no to sake. I have been working today, not that the shop is ever busy."

With that, Shunsui set down his own cup to find one of the ones stacked within reach, tiny little bowls of hope and anticipation, to pour Lucille her own before tending to refilling his again. And lifting it again as well.

"Then here's to the rigors of inevitable work finally come to pass," he pronounced, "so that we can fully enjoy well-earned relaxation and the pleasure of excellent company ♥."

Lucille raised her bowl to that, then took a small sip.

"The shop had had quite a few deliveries of bonsais lately," she said. "I thought of you and remembered that you once offered to help me care for them."

"Ahhhh, yes," Shunsui mused, head tilting a little as if thinking back fondly on promises made much longer ago than that conversation had been, "I did offer to do that, didn't I? And here there's been all those bonsai awaiting your meticulous care, Lucille-chan, and you without any guidance! I shall have to remember to swing by and remedy such an oversight...♥."

Did he...als owe at least a few lovely young ladies some poetry, as well? Not to mention a whole book that had been about nine years in the works at this point...

Needless to say, it wasn't theh only thing that had fallen through the general cracks in Shunsui's laziness...

"Nanao-chan VII is doing quite well, by the way," he added in an amused tone, "in case you were wondering ♥. Otherwise, I'd offer to help take another off your hands."

"I'm glad to hear your bonsai is doing fine," Lucille said. She hadn't really thought about it, but it was somehow nice to hear that an already tortured plant wasn't dead.

She took another sip of sake.

"And you are always welcome, of course."

VI had a very good run! It wasn't Shunsui's fault that the island got a little gremlin-happy and he'd suddenly become very fond of butt-kicking and plant-throwing...

"Of course ♥," he repeated, with his smile and a nod of his head, and the vague feeling that he really should allow his sociability to conquer his laziness regarding that soon. "Anything else of note, Lucille-chan? Surely it's not all just flower shops and bonsai with you these days ♥."

"I have played the piano at Devil's Nest," Lucille said. "And of course there are plenty of books to read."

"There certainly is no lack of great literature out there I the world," Shunsui mused lightly, "or great music. Any recommendations ♥?"

Not that he was likely to go out of his way to track any of it down, but it made for a good, easy conversation piece.

"I recommended a novel to a friend recently," Lucille said, "that is about a man who creates an animate creature from dead body parts. The creature turns out to be far more complicated than he had anticipated."

Shunsui's brows lifted a little as Lucille explained the premise, a small frown for the uncomfortably familiar bell it rang.

Still, when he spoke, his voice was that usual wry, rumbling chuckle. "Sounds like someone I know..."

But since Kurotsuchi was hardly a...pleasant subject, he traipsed elsewhere, along a different thread.

"I prefer romances, myself ♥!"

Surprising no one.

"I've written one, actually,' he continued with an almost nostalgic, musing tone, before sliding his grin her way. "Should you find yourself desiring a recommendation for yourself, I'm sure I could procure a copy for you, Lucille-chan ♥."

"I have nothing against romances," Lucille said. "If it is of the right kind. Will you tell me about yours?"

"Oh, well," Shunsui chuckled lightly again, "I would hate to say too much; The Rose-Colored Path is a journey best experienced ♥. But it is a thrilling, passionate epic, a tale of sweeping romance and self-discovery, fueding houses and tragic battles, brimming with passion and exploration..."

Oh? Did he say passion twice?

It was a...very passionate book, after all. What it lacked in skill was certainly made up for with that passion, and then some.

"There are many different kinds of passion," Lucille noted.

"Indeed there are ♥," Shunsui agreed with an easy, broad grin. "And perhaps any I've left unexplored even in my extensive exploration of them could be addressed eventually in the sequel ♥."

"So, which ones have you still left?" Lucille asked, amused more than curious.

"You'll have to read the book," Shunsui drawled easily, with a lift of his shoulder that could have almost been a shrug, "and let me know if I've forgotten any of your favorites, Lucille-chan ♥."

"I will read it and let you know," Lucille assured him, still amused.

The Onsen; Saturday Afternoon [11/28]..

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