#(Sonia is perplexed as to why he isn't in his own bed)

[more-than-a-princess]

@mechatiqe asked: [ 12 ] a lonely bus stop at 2am, (except kaz is snoozing away on the bench there)

Various Settings/Location Prompts - Accepting!

It was one of the few times Sonia would let her perfect posture slip: where no one could see her, or paid enough attention or care to tell her otherwise. In the back of the black car, with its tinted windows and bulletproof exterior, she leaned against the leather seats after fastening her seatbelt, driver and bodyguard in the front. Upscale parties that stretched late into the night, even after a full day of classes, were a test to both her nerves and her stamina. As soon as she'd been free to leave Miss Yukizome's homeroom, her private tutoring sessions for the day had been entirely devoted to primping for that night's gala: skin and hair and nails and makeup, well before she even donned her gown and jewelry that had been painstakingly selected for her via video call at home. Every bit of her appearance, from her looks to her gestures to her words, had to send just the right message to the organizers and attendees: that Princess Sonia of Novoselic was inquisitive and respectful of their culture and customs, not appropriative, and she was delighted to represent her father in all sorts of polite chit-chat, photographs, and dances when requested. Of course, a speech was expected as well, in nothing less than flawless Japanese delivered with the brightest smile.

No pressure, save for the ones that cut into her heels and toes. Weight of the diamonds and emeralds at her ears, neck, and wrist aside, it was her shoes that brought along the aches and pains. As the car turned a corner onto a busier road, well away from the tucked-away mansion in the city's most expensive area, she reached down to unbuckle the small straps around each ankle, letting out a sigh of relief as she kicked the glittery shoes aside.

"Are you more at ease now, Your Royal Highness?" A question in Italian came from up front. Insistent that Sonia not muck up the event, her mother had sent over a guard from Novoselic personally recommended and vetted by her family's head of security who would be certain to keep the Princess in line and on task in the absence of her personal secretary. In public, anyway: in the privacy of the car, Luca hadn't given a single care to how his client slouched in her dress, one that easily cost a three month's salary for the average Japanese office worker, against the seat or how she so easily discarded the shoes her mother had insisted upon. By a coveted French designer that pinched and prodded Sonia's toes.

"Very much so, Luca, I feel as if I might finally breathe today," She smiled, knowing it would be reflected in the rearview mirrors. Breathing, much less eating, were secondary and tertiary activities in her gown, considering how fitted it was through the bodice, but for now she didn't mind. Soon enough she'd be back in the safety and comfort of her dorm, her gown hung on its satin-padded hanger, while she dug into the chicken karaage, onigiri, and sweets the chauffeur had picked up for her from the konbini and that all three of them had made a pact not to tell her family about later. She deserved indulgences here and there, even if they were ones the Novoselic Royal Family didn't approve of.

Just like extending a helping hand when it couldn't be recorded for future posterity, or at least a necessary PR campaign in the wake of a scandal. As they pulled up to a stoplight, Sonia glanced out her window, her tired eyes suddenly no longer feeling so tired. A familiar shade of hot pink, of black lined eyes and a hat and jumpsuit: Kazuichi Soda looked far less animated than his usual self in her presence. On the contrary, he seemed to be waiting for a bus, fast asleep. A bus, she noticed after rolling down the window and sticking out her beautifully-coiffed head to read the sign beside the bench, that likely wasn't coming: the bus ended its route nearly two hours prior, if the sign beside him was accurate.

Sonia frowned. She couldn't very well leave him there, but this was Kazuichi she was considering. Their friendship, for all intents and purposes, was a relatively new development of relatively new mutual respect: he no longer called her Miss Sonia or put her on a pedestal, and she no longer referred to him as her stalker and pursued a restraining order. They were navigating uncharted waters, so to speak, and the last thing either of them needed was for him to read into a situation for something that wasn't there. Still, it would be cruel to simply drive by and allow him to sleep on a bench.

She cleared her throat, having made her decision. "Soda-san!" She called from the car. To no avail, it seemed, before she quickly instructed her driver to remain idle by the bus stop for a few moments longer. Nodding in satisfaction, she stuck her head back out the window again: was she truly going to 'cat call' him? That was what it was, right? When people hung their heads out the window to garner the attention of someone else?

"Soda Kazuichi-san!" She spoke again, this time louder, with full intent to wake him and anyone else in a fifty meter radius. "What are you doing out here so late? I am afraid the buses have stopped driving their routes ages ago. But if you would like, I am happy to share my car with you back to Hope's Peak Academy."