It was unexpected when the thumping noises came from beyond Souda's garage door. After all, by the time on Souda's watch, it was 5:24AM. He'd been pulling an all night shift to finish off this car for a job the next day but even with his nocturnal tendencies, he was getting ready to clock out and hit the hay soon enough. As he slide out from underneath the engine, he called out in response. "Just gimme a sec, alright," his voice filled the otherwise silent room but no one answered from beyond the door. He jumped to his feet and walked over to a trolley of tools, sliding out different drawers, replacing different size wrenches and spanners within them. As he shut one drawer, another more aggressive, slower set of thumps came from the door. "Hold on," Souda turned his head towards the door and shouted. He'd only been a couple of seconds, they could wait, couldn't they? He pulled out another drawer but then a third set of unorganised thumps like a child throwing a tantrum bellowed through the room. He slammed the drawer and stomped over to the door controls, hitting the button to lift it. "God damn, you come to my house at 5 in the freaking morning and starting slamming around like a wild animal, can you not just wait one minute, you impatient ass-" The furious voice became as quiet as a mouse as he recognised the skirt at floor level, worn by a girl slumped up against the wall. It was faint for the second but in this quiet environment, the sobs were quite clear. As soon as it was possible, Souda squatted as low as he could out under the mechanical door and dropped to his knees in front of the blonde girl with her knees up to her chest and her forehead against her crossed arms. "…I jus- I wanted to surprise you… why didn't… you like my surprise?" the words barely got out behind the sobs. An eyebrow raised on Souda's features, as he wondered what was going on. Sonia was made of tougher stuff than that, being shouted at wouldn't reduce her to tears normally. He leaned closer to her, a hand extended out and rested on her arm as he began to speak. "Sonia? I didn't mean that, y'know. I was just a little frustrated. I'm sorr-" Her arms swung outwards sending Souda back onto his ass, holding himself off the ground with his hands. This was definitely not the normal Sonia. Was she drunk or something? "You're- You're so mean! And rude! To a Princess!" she yelled at first as she raised to her feet, looming over Souda with her out-swinging, angry gestures. Then her voice turned to a sort of wailing tone as she threw her head back, stamping with each word. "I, am, a, princess!" Drunk seemed logical now. She covered her face with both hands for a few seconds before running off down his drive and into the street. His mind slowly repeated those words over and over: Into. The. Street.
It took a second for Souda's brain to click but when it did, he bolted after her, following her into the middle of the road. They were lucky it wasn't a busy road and it was gone 5AM but the chance of the odd car heading out for the early commute was still risky. "Sonia, you need to get out of the road. Be angry at me inside, don't be stupid" He regretted his choice of words immediately as the blonde reached down and undid the fastening on her shoe, pelting it towards the mechanic. The heel hit him in the shoulder as he turned to deflect it away. Fortunately, she stopped her rampage for another short burst of sulking, the opportune moment for Souda to get her out of the street. Picking up speed, he dashed towards her to catch her unaware. He slowed down just in front of her, bending down and hoisting her over his shoulder before making a speedy u-turn and running back towards his house. Once Sonia had adjusted to the situation she was in, she started slamming her fists down on his back and screaming things along the lines of "Let me down!" and "You're a jerk!". Oh, how people would talk tomorrow… He stooped just low enough to grab her discarded shoe and continued on into the drive, slowing to a walk. Funnily enough, Sonia had also slowed down, lazily letting her arms drop onto Souda's back before finally giving up. She went still for a moment, giving him a moment of peace before the drunkenness resumed. And it did so as predicted, with her hand reaching up and yanking the beanie hat off of him, pulling it onto her own head and beginning a painfully bad impression. "Haaaaa, I'm Souda, I love cars more than people," she mocked, degenerating into crude noises and sounds. Inside, he took her into his bedroom, finally setting her down on the edge of his bed. He quieted her down eventually and went to get her a glass of water to sober up.
When he returned, she was sat motionless, as if she were waiting for him to return to move again. He helped her sip the glass of water for a while before placing it down on a nearby cabinet, stepping back. At this, Sonia's hand flung forward and grabbed onto one of his, barely holding on by his fingers at this distance. "Where are you going?" she asked, seemingly genuinely curious. "I was just gonna, uh, head back to the couch, let you get some rest, y'know. Get whatever it is that's affecting you out of your system." A snort-giggle came from the Princess, one of her hands returning to her face to cover her mouth and nose but she couldn't help but laugh more. "There's nothing affecting me, I'm a Princess, I act regal at all times," she proclaimed, but the over-enthusiastic shaking of her head was her tell. Souda tried to pry his hand from hers, but she tightened the slight grip she had on him and pulled him a bit closer. "You can't leave me alone tonight. I don't have my security. W-w-what if… If someone g-gets into your house? You have to stay!" She squeezed on his fingers again, bringing him another few inches closer. He sighed, trying to avoid the puppy dog eyes she was giving him. His eyes focused on a corner of the room but he heard it yet again. The early signs that the waterworks were being turned on. He couldn't just let her cry, he had to try and get her to rest. As he turned back, he was taken off-guard as the Princess leapt from her seated position, flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips firmly against his. His eyes were as wide as they could go with surprise. He didn't know what to do with himself, his arms were stuck to his side and his feet rooted in place. This was something he'd often thought about doing to Sonia but, like this… If he kissed her back, he was taking advantage of her, if he pushed her away to avoid that, she'd think he was repulsed by her.
He stood there, inanimate as the kiss went on, using all his will to keep himself from returning the kiss and it eventually it broke, the blonde plopping back down onto the edge of the bed with a dejected look on her face as her hands slided down his arms until they grasped his again. Her voice was a whisper but the boy could just about make out her words. "I-I'm sorry. I wanted to give you a better surprise t-then before. I hope you'll still stay… please…" After that kiss, Souda was pretty sure he'd have agreed to anything she asked, right there and then. "… Okay," he caved with almost no resistance, showing the Princess a sincere smile. She immediately brightened up, her dismal expression replaced by a beaming smile of her own. "Thank you, Souda! Thank you a lot! I shall not forget this, I am in your debt," she rambled on as she began to scurry back across the bed and lie down. Souda, still being dragged around where she had a hold of his hand, had to walk around the side of the bed and he couldn't help but chuckle at the drastic shift in mood she'd shown. His fingers eventually wriggled free from hers as she got comfortable under the covers and Souda fetched another blanket and pillow. He placed them down next to the bed, kneeling on the blanket to talk to Sonia, who had moved her pillows as close to the edge as she could, so that when she lay down, she looked over the spot where Souda would sleep. "I'll be right here, okay," he assured her, nodding to the quick set up he'd arranged. "Anything happens, you can count on me. So don't worry and just focus on getting your rest." He went to take the beanie that still sat atop her head but her hand flicked his away. "Don't. I like it," she mumbled through the pillow, her hand dropping down beside the bed after she spoke. The pink haired boy smiled warmly, opting to adjust the beanie around her head rather than remove it. When he was done, he leant forward and gave her a soft peck on her forehead before settling down in his own make-shift bed. "Sleep tight, Sonia," he spoke quietly as he laid his head back on his pillow. He noticed the hanging hand feeling around for something out of reach and taking a guess, he slipped his hand into hers and gripped it tightly. The similar response he got from her hand told him he'd guessed correctly, and not long after the two drifted off into sleep, to wake up later that day with their hands still joined.