fandomtownies | Turtle & Canary; Wednesday [05/12].

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Turtle & Canary; Wednesday [05/12].

When Shunsui breezed into Turtle & Canary probably a bit later than he should have, he expected it would have been almost a mirror of when he'd breezed back into Division Eight two weeks ago, where everything was kept in perfect order by his very competent and very lovely young second-in-command, but this, alas, was apparently not the case.

Division Eight, after all, didn't have an unruly Squishy machine.

"No one can convince me," he murmured to himself as he came in to see Apu-san utterly failing at keeping the thing under control, "that it didn't wait until today to do this..."

Thankfully, it was at best a minor convenience, because that just meant a call to Movie Class-chan to wave a wrench at it or whatever it was she did, and that would be that, and hopefully she could even be quiet about it so that the nap he had planned wouldn't be too troubled, either.

And, of course, there was a sign that needed an update.

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Today's Squishy Flavors
OUT OF ORDER

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Octavia had other, off-island shopping plans for today, so this visit was likely to be brief. But it was happening, and it counted.

"Do I want to know what's wrong with the Squishy machine?"

"I don't even want to know what's wrong with the Squishy machine," said Shunsui, as if this was a statement that would surprise anyone. "All that matters is that it's not working, there's someone on her way to hopefully fix it, and at least it's not absolutely gushing out frozen sugar slush into the streets like it did last summer and attracting bees..."

Did you want bees in your store again, Shunsui? Because statements like that was what got bees in your store again, Shunsui.

But all that aside, Shunsui let out a small sigh before turning his attention to something much more pleasant with a beatific smile to go along with it. "Konnichiwa, Octavia-chan," he offered. "And how are you on this lovely, Squishy-free day ♥?"

"Konnichiwa," Octavia replied as she came up to the counter. Shrugged. "I'm fine." To say she was rattled would clearly have been too honest, and anyway, she was pushing past it with all her determination today. "We were in San Diego for the last couple of weeks. On... vacation."

It was one of those words that just refused to flow smoothly from her mouth.

"Mmmm." Shunsui hummed thoughtfully at the difficulty with that word and the possible interpretations of it, reaching not for the jug usually at his hip but instead one that was under the counter, and he produced two small cups as usual, setting them on the counter as he poured and spoke. "Welcome back, then, Octavia-chan ♥. I just got back myself from two weeks, although it was hardly a vacation. I had to work."

"Believe me," he flashed her a grin, picking up one of the cups, "I know, it sounds absurd to me, too ♥. I'm sure the lot of you had a much more enjoyable time."

Actually, it hadn't been that bad, the new recruits were a delight.

Most of them, anyway.

He offered out the cup.

"Water ♥?"

Even with the different jug, Octavia had been half-bracing to remind him about the drinking. Maybe even going into the why, this time. But then he said that, and her expression wobbled into something softer, too surprised to hold back the signs that she found the gesture touching.

She nodded. Murmured, "Mochof."

Reached for it, as always. Careful, with the unnecessary lingering little touch.

It was very rarely actually about the sake with Shunsui, anyway.

And once he was absolutely, positively certain that there had been a successful transfer of cup to hands with all sorts of dragging fingers to be sure, he pulled his own hand away with a languid, crooked smile, and set the jug aside, making a note to himself not to confuse the two for later, lest he disappoint any other visitors that might come in.

Ducked his head in acknowledgement, picked up his own cup.

"So," he said, lifting it to his lips for a sip, "tell me about you...vacation, Octavia-chan ♥."

Octavia shrugged a little, lopsided. "We rented a boat in the bay," she said. "Didn't really do much."

Which was the point of a vacation, but she didn't have a lot of previous experience with those.

"Duke took me to the zoo --" Yes, it had been adorable. "-- and we took the boat out to this lagoon place a couple of times. That's about it, really."

"That," said Shunsui, with a pointed sip of his drink, "sounds perfect ♥."

Especially the not much parts. He was a big supporter of doing not much when it came to anything, but especially vacations, surprising no one.

"Color me envious ♥. What did you enjoy the most?"

Octavia hesitated. There were a few things that would have made solid answers, but none quite as true as --

"Just being with them." It was almost a laughably simple thing, but one they'd been disastrous about a lot, lately. "No Fandom, no... issues, nothing else."

Even without the disasterousness involved, she was talking to someone who made it a habit of savouring even the most simple things. And maybe it was the hesitation, or maybe it was something else, but Shunsui also appreciated how genuine it felt, whether Octavia meant it that way or not.

"That does sound nice," he said, his look gone a little speculative as he added, "Perhaps needed."

"It was," Octavia admitted, after a little sip from her cup. Glancing away, a little. "We'd had a hard time. The three of us."

Just with trying to be the three of them, and not two plus one.

Shunsui's own sip came with a thoughtful hum.

"Well, it can't all be easy," he said, "dealing with other people." Which is why he very rarely bothered beyond a very superficial level. "Finding a balance between even just two can be a challenge, much less three..."

Which he also felt he could speak on some experience, although that was....quite a bit different.

"Nothing," he sent a crooked smile her way, "I'm sure you don't already know, of course. But I'm glad you hear you're having a better time of it, lately."

Octavia shrugged a little. "It takes work." And it was work she was finally finding the energy to do, again. Slowly but surely. "Like everything else."

She looked at him again, lips curving faintly into something wry, something knowing.

"And no, you don't need to remind me how you feel about that."

There was nothing faint about the grin that responded to that, or the laugh that accompanied it.

"Oh, good ♥," Shunsui enthused, lifting his cup as if to eagerly toast to that. "That saves me the effort ♥."

With that, he finished the contents of the cup and reached for the jug again to refill it, but, before he did, the tilted it questioning toward Octavia to see if he should top hers off first.

Octavia held out her cup. It felt like a part of the ritual of it, the refilling. And she was feeling like clinging to tradition, right now. The routine of it.

Also, enough about her.

"So what've you been up to?"

Please. Shunsui could go the entire rest of his afterlife without speaking another word about himself and be perfectly happy with it, but he also had no issue in obliging the question.

Once her cup was refilled, anyway, and his following suit.

"I've been back home," he offered, setting the king down again. "Back in the Seireitei. New recruits from the Academg ♥! It would hardly do to have new members in my Division and have their dead Captain be absent! It's also quite convenient, I should say, that new recruits always seem to come through during on of Fandom's breaks, too ♥!"

Edited 2021-05-13 18:30 (UTC)

Octavia already had two specific hours every week dedicated to nothing but talking about herself.

But also she was genuinely curious.

"That does sound convenient," she offered with a soft little snort. "Anyone interesting?"

"Eighth Division always gets the brightest and most interesting young Shinigami women ♥," Shunsui said with a pleased smile, dedicatedly ignoring the few men Yami-jii slipped in with each new batch in his determination to ruin all of Shunsui's machinations to have the Gotei 13's first entirely female (their dear Captain notwithstanding, of course!) squad. "But I suppose there is at least one I'm a little worried about; she's just so quiet and shy, like a kitten! But I'm sure she'll flourish under Nanao-chan's influence; she was like that once herself and has since proven herself quite capable and strong. It'll be nice seeing how they'll grow in the coming years ♥."

Octavia's surprise at Shunsui only mentioning the women was exactly zero. And faintly, wryly amused.

"I'm not sure quiet and shy is something to worry about, anyway," she offered. "Quiet, at least."

"Perhaps not ♥," Shunsui allowed with a light laugh and a fond grin. "I've found that it's usually the quiet ones you have to watch out for the most ♥."

Which hadn't been remotely true in his experience; loud or quiet, you had to look out for most of them either way, but he was willing to make indulgences for the fact that he was talking with a quiet one now.

"It is possible, though," he ventured, in the lightest tone at his disposal, "for one to be too quiet..."

"I don't buy it," Octavia replied without missing a beat.

Well, she wouldn't.

"You don't have to ♥," Shunsui said, barely giving the next beat even a whisper of a chance to breathe, grin flourishing, lifting his cup again, this time with a wink. "What do you think this is, Octavia-chan? Some kind of store ♥?"

Edited 2021-05-14 13:41 (UTC)

Octavia's little amused noise was just a little more pronounced than her usual snorts.

"Fair point."

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Turtle & Canary; Wednesday [05/12].

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