The Park; Tuesday Morning [08/09].

[sake_shinigami]

It was a rare thing, indeed, for Shunsui to not only be up, but also about, this early on a morning where he didn't have a class, but, well, the thing was, he thought today was a morning when he had a class. Being pulled back into the Soul Society for the weekend had thrown him off a little, and, as a result, he had gathered underneath the tree by the duck pond in the park where his class usually congregated, with some tea and a few scrolls of poetry, idly wondering where his students were and not yet realizing that he was about twenty-four hours too late on that one.

It would be rather unfortunate if he'd lost out on some good napping time if no one was going to show up, but even he had to admit, it was rather nice, just enjoying the morning and some tea and watching the ducks and flamingos enjoying their little pond, despite the ungodly (perfectly normal) hour.

[[ open for all your park-related (or very belated poetry class) needs! ]]

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[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon, meanwhile, had been better yesterday than he had been all week, because cats, but now he was left with almost as much terror and angst as before, plus the sadness of the lack of cats.

He'd decided to try to remedy that by doing something unusual and going for a walk, and now he was wondering if he should regret that. But it would be rude not to at least acknowledge Shunsui, even if the man was terrible, so he gave him a nod as he passed by. "Shunsui."

[sake_shinigami]

And despite it not only being morning but also a day off from where he thought he was, Shunsui was in a surprisingly pleasant mood, no doubt thanks to it becoming increasingly apparent that his students were not, in fact, showing up for class today, which meant less work for him and more time later for a nap. So he met that nod and that greeting with a lazy smile and a duck of his head and hat of his own, and...

...summarily realizing he did not at all remember this man's name. Clearly, he had not deemed it really worth remembering.

(Although, to be fair, he did feel that way about most men's names).

So he figured a standard, lazily cheerful "Ohayō gozaimasu~~ ♥" would suffice, and a lift of his cup in salute to how rare mornings were, in general, much less good ones, and, far be it for him to let all this good tea go to waste, gestured toward the little set-up he usually had for his class to ask, "Care for a drink ♥?"

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon wavered, but tea was nearly always good, and for someone whose best friend had tried to kill him, it wasn't as though one argument was enough to put him off forever.

"Thank you," he said, only a little reluctantly, and came to sit.

"Um. You look like you're expecting someone, though."

[sake_shinigami]

"My poetry class ♥," Shunsui explained, easily enough, rather wishing Jon hadn't taken the offer, but it was too much trouble to be bothered about it. Far easier to just pour the man a cup, let him enjoy it, and probably zone out on at least half of what he might have to say.

"Though I'm starting to believe," he added lightly, passing the freshly poured up over with another bob of his head, "they've collectively decided to skip today, to which I say, good for them ♥. May they be sleeping in soundly or pursuing other equally if not more enriching pursuits ♥!"

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I...I thought your class was on Monday," Jon said, taking the cup. That seemed more polite than going on about people skipping class. Anyway, didn't Shunsui teach napping half the time?

[sake_shinigami]

Shunsui did not teach napping nearly as much as he would have liked.

There was a...considerable pause, made perhaps slightly less obvious with a long sip of his tea, and the lack of students suddenly became just a bit more obvious.

"It is on Monday," Shunsui confirmed, setting his cup down for a moment and practically feeling the facepalm Nanao-chan was no doubt inexplicably performing all the way in the afterlife at that moment. "And now I have the rather sneaking suspicion that today is not, in fact, Monday after all..."

Whoops.

"That," he chuckled, almost a touch sheepishly, "certainly puts the morning into a new perspective...♥."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Erm...no," Jon answered, amused and exasperated but also more than a little understanding. "Today is Tuesday. I, um. I hope you haven't missed anything too important."

[sake_shinigami]

"If I've missed it," said Shunsui, with perhaps a soft smile in thinking that he'd only have to worry about that if he hadn't managed to get his days straight before tomorrow, "then it couldn't have been all that important ♥. Considering none of my students came beating down my door with complaints for the missed lesson, I can only hope that means none of them were left truly heartbroken over the unexpected free time...."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"In my experience, few students their age are," Jon said. He'd been the exception.

"But, um. The tea is good, thank you."

[sake_shinigami]

"I'm just glad," Shunsui drawled out with a smile, "it isn't going entirely to waste ♥. And how have you been? It's been quite a while, hasn't it ♥?"

Since their absolutely famous turn as unsuspecting roommates on that school trip practically...oh, ages ago, really.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Yeah, since that. Jon grimaced.

"I'm fine." He absolutely was not. "I hope you've been well."

[sake_shinigami]

"I certainly can't complain ♥," Shunsui mewled amicably. "I could perhaps do with a little less....demands," his free hand swung in a dismissive gesture, "from back home, but my Nano-chan VII has a new friend to keep her company when I'm out and about, so that's been a rather happy turn of events ♥."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I...I take it Nano-chan VII is your, um...pet?" He just barely managed to not make it a question.

[sake_shinigami]

"Roommate, actually ♥," Shunsui corrected, with clear fondness for the subject at hand. "She doesn't get put much; she's terribly shy ♥."

She was also, you know, just a plant.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"O-oh." Jon was now thoroughly confused. "Okay. Well, um, I'm glad she has company now."

[sake_shinigami]

"It's really much better for Issa-chan, too ♥, Shunsui added, conversationally, as if Jon should have any idea who any of these parties were. "She was hardly a good match for her last caretakers..."

Considering that one of them may have been trying to poison her (complete conjecture, of course, there was no concrete proof of this), this was perhaps a bit of an understatement.

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I, uh, don't know who that is, either," Jon confessed.

[sake_shinigami]

"Ah, well," Shunsui offered, "that is a bit surprising, because it would seem she does get around much more ♥. Issa-chan is Seivarden's cat, and since she went flitting off to space, she's had quite the journey, until she's most recently fallen into my care ♥. All for love and romance, of course; the lovely lady was causing quite the rift between Lucille-chan and her roommate. It was the very least I could do ♥."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Oh. I think I did see her, then," Jon said. "I didn't realise she wasn't their cat. If she's the white fluffy one. She's gorgeous."

If he was a little bit wistful, could anyone blame him? He was still getting over cat withdrawal.

[sake_shinigami]

"Isn't she, though ♥?" Shunsui agreed with a distantly admiring grin, and, would you look at that, it would seem these two could find some common ground after all! "Love at first sight with that one ♥. She's quite the charmer."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Cats solved everything!

"I bet." Jon smiled. "I hope you're treating her like the queen she clearly is."

[sake_shinigami]

A hand went to Shunsui's chest, feigning offense, though it seemed a bit spoiled by that crooked grin and the faint chuckle. "I am quite sure," he stated, "she wouldn't even tolerate anything less ♥. Nor would I even dream of anything else ♥."