#(And meanwhile Sonia is internally waxing poetic about Gundham)

[more-than-a-princess]

@heartheaded asked: "I think he's handsome, and I like his dog!" (from Teruteru -- among the tamer things he could say about gundham when asked of his opinion! out of respect or fear for them both! lol)

Discussing Relationships sentences - Accepting!

She wasn't sure how she'd started on the topic with Hanamura. Maybe it was the power of an uneasy silence, one that had settled in the mostly empty classroom in the face of bravery. Or as much bravery as Sonia could muster.

When she'd watched anime and dramas featuring high school students who cleaned their own classrooms, she'd looked forward to it: a quintessential part of the normal student experience, she relished in the idea of now needing castle staff or a school custodian to look after her. But in practice, she was allowed only the broom or mop, no cleaning detergents (she'd managed to strip the finish off the classroom floors last time), and in lieu of being paired with a close friend, Yukizome-sensei had decided that Sonia Nevermind and Teruteru Hanamura would be responsible for cleaning the classroom that afternoon.

Something that prompted snickering from Hiyoko Saionji, a glare from Peko Pekoyama, and a worried look and whispered words from Tsumiki Mikan before Sonia had gently assured her that she'd be all right. For as delicious as Hanamura's food was, he had a tendency of coming off a bit awkward around their classmates, particularly the girls. But she wasn't a coward and she insisted on trying to befriend everyone she could, maybe they just needed a suitable conversation topic. But what did they have in common besides their class and classmates? It certainly wasn't food: he was an incredible chef and she managed to ruin toast.

But Sonia had paused mid-sweep around Yukizome-sensei's desk as they went down the class roster, remarking mostly good things about their classmates (try as she might, saying a kind word about Kazuichi Soda still proved difficult). Her head jerked up to look at Hanamura, disbelief in her eyes: someone else besides me recognizes that Tanaka-san is beautiful?. From the way their classmates expressed their confusion at his words or discomfort at the giant bear, or snake, or tiger that often found its way to their classroom, Sonia had felt certain no one else appreciated Gundham's beauty.

"Y-yes," She agreed, albeit hesitantly as she continued to sweep back and forth and yet none of the dust and debris made it into the dustpan. "I can agree that he is handsome, and his animals are lovely." But as her smile strained, trying to keep the mood lighthearted, Sonia realized it was more than just being handsome.

It was the fire in his eyes when he was truly exhilarated about something. It was the way his brow furrowed when he was concentrated over a paper or his journal, taking notes of all of the beasts in his care and how best to look after them. It was the way his Supreme Overlord of Ice facade melted away when he thought he was alone with his Devas, doting on them sweetly and in a way wholly unbefitting of a dark lord. The latter she'd caught him doing just a week ago, before he'd tugged his scarf back up over his face and instructed her on the right type and amount of food to feed the dogs that currently occupied the kennels in his lab.

Sonia sighed, shaking her head as she continued to sweep with more focus at hand. The less she thought about him like that, the better: it wasn't as if he saw her in any way beyond a platonic friend and if he was smart, he wouldn't see her as something more than that. She had a life script she was destined to follow, one that constricted and suppressed until most in the system either adapted or broke. And she didn't wish that for him: she didn't wish that for anybody.

"He is really good to them, his animals!" She chimed in, kneeling to reach the dustpan before shaking it over the trash can. "But many of our classmates are good at looking after others. Like Mikan-san with her patients, and Nidai-san with the students he is coaching! It is admirable to see such care in our peers, do you not agree?"

She needed to change the subject to something, anything, besides the boy whose piercing gaze and deep voice invaded her thoughts at the most inconvenient times. Late at night, for example.