#(I can already imagine some of the Japanese attendees asking about him and her friendship with him)

[more-than-a-princess]

“Please hold one moment, Sonia-san. There’s something I would like to give you before your inevitable return to Novoselic.” As soon as he manages to capture her attention, Ryuto proceeds to extend a rectangular box adorned with grey wrapping paper and red ribbons towards her. Inside, she’ll find the complete volume of the Monstrumologost series by Rick Yancey, along with a tin of his favourite white peach oolong tea. “I recall hearing you say you had yet to read a certain author’s works and that you are also partial to tea, so I combined both into my gift for you. Hopefully, one of these would serve as a suitable distraction on your plane ride back home.”

Sonia's Birthday 2022 - Accepting birthday asks/posts from mutuals!

She hadn't had much time that day: just long enough to indulge in a cup of milk tea (sans sweets, to her regret) at a café with Ryuto before she needed to go to the airport. Even princesses with private planes kept to a schedule (as best they could), but she'd been firm on spending some time with him before she was thrust back into her royal life with little room to breathe. And if anyone knew what those expectations were like, it was him: royal in everything but title, it seemed. She could be candid with him about the week and a half of ceremonies, of official appearances, of festivals, and finally a ball that would last until sunrise, after which the younger revelers would hop a plane for the unofficial afterparty: 48 hours in Ibiza, before Sonia was mercifully allowed to return home. Some of it she was eager to experience, other bits she dreaded, but it was pertinent to him, or so Sonia thought, as some of the social circles his parents kept were making the journey to the annual Masquerade Ball after wrangling invitations from the Royal Family.

But just as she'd finished paying the bill and prepared to leave, he'd stopped her. Thank goodness, she thought, as she eased back into her seat with a smile. She would've much rather spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in his company, instead of alone on a private plane en route to her old life, but she'd take every minute she could get. "Yes?" She asked, setting her handbag aside on an empty chair. "Oh, Tsukishima-san, you did not have to but I am so pleased you have thought of me! May I open it here?"

His follow-up explanation was indication enough that he meant for it to be enjoyed on the trip home, so she grinned and carefully opened the paper where it had been taped and sealed: ripping right into it was seen as crude and hardly appropriate for a princess. Once she'd unwrapped it fully though, Sonia gasped in delight, holding up the book and the tea in both hands. "Ooh!" She exclaimed, "I've heard of this one! It's supposed to be super cool and super scary, with vivid descriptions of gore! This is exactly the sort of thing I've been wanting to read, fo' sho'! And the tea sounds lovely: the kettle on the plane has multiple settings for brewing tea, so preparing an oolong at the correct temperature should be of no issue. Thank you, Tsukishima-san! These will be a more than suitable distraction, indeed!"

Tucking both items safely into her leather tote, she exhaled a content, yet tired, sigh. She hadn't even gotten on the plane yet and she was already exhausted by what faced her: rigid schedules, rigid diet, people with rigid senses of humor and a hearty appetite for gossip, particularly where her family was concerned. "I feel rather confident you'd detest all of this, but would you mind terribly if I texted you throughout the duration of the trip? Just with things I think you might enjoy, or when it all gets to be too much. I have my limits, with socializing and all: usually when people become too petty and spiteful, I think. And I can't really say what's on my mind most of the time, like I can with you."