* 𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 !

“     ever thought of dropping off of earth?     because i have and i’m doing it right now    —     i believe i would be the best coffee shop owner in the world,    actually…     ” @junipcrs <3

         “  would  i  be  a  terrible  person  if  i  say  yes  ?  sometimes  i  just  want  to  run  off  and  live  in  the  european  countryside  .  maybe  the  french  countryside  ?  but  what  makes  you  say  you’d  be  the  best  coffee  shop  owner  in  the  world  ?  ”

Hegia

gk

"shoot," neo takes a sip of his drink through his straw. "i go like, nowhere. but uh, if i had to try and list...i love dumbo, but that's not really the city? so i guess like central park, i just like parks, laying in grass like once a month feels healthy.... um... skyscape, chelsea piers because of all the sports stuff, oh! and i used to love this place called flying tiger? they sold like knicknacks, but it closed. and... theres an arcade in chinatown that's cool. there's like a ton of regulars so it's like super homey."

         “  well  if  you’re  asking  me  ,  i  think  it  counts  .  i  mean  it’s  brooklyn  so  technically  part  of  the  city  ?  and  it  really  doesn’t  have  to  be  restricted  to  manhattan  if  it  helps  !  ”  nonetheless  ,  she  makes  a  mental  note  of  all  the  locations  he’s  mentioned  .  “  but  i  get  it  .  parks  are  nice  .  i  mean  ,  just  look  at  all  this  !  ”  gestures  towards  the  lake  and  the  boathouse  they’re  in  .  “  we’re  smack  dab  in  the  middle  of  the  city  but  central  park  kind  of  makes  me  forget  that  i  am  sometimes  .  i  heard  there’s  supposedly  five  waterfalls  located  in  central  park  .  somewhere  in  the  ravine  and  loch  ?  have  you  been  ?  ”

“ five years , huh ? good thing i'm sitting at four years living here myself . i know that seems like i've been living here for quite some time but ... ” the words ‘ i spend a lot of my time running around moving mountains for my clients ’ nearly leave her mouth . perhaps this was the sign she needed some form of work - life balance . “ anyways , i guess that means it's time to start exploring and all that . maybe we can do that together . what do you think ? ” rio grinned at her , nodding a bit as she placed her phone back down onto the table . “ i need a change of scenery from time to time so i guess cafés have become my thing . plus i'm a sucker for a good iced coffee ... some might say i'm a coffee snob . ” which was true . “ i absolutely adore thai food . have any restaurants stood out to you yet ? ”

         “  i  think  it’s  a  nice  round  number  for  a  cutoff  ,  ”  ana  admits  ,  chuckling  lightly  .  “  i’ve  only  been  here  for  about  two  years  now  ?  so  technically  ,  i  still  have  an  excuse  as  to  why  i  haven’t  explored  much  of  the  city  !  ”  with  school  and  diplomatic  appearances  ,  she’s  mostly  been  confined  to  manhattan  .  at  rio’s  suggestion  ,  she  nods  enthusiastically  .  “  oh  my  god  ,  yes  !  absolutely  .  i  think  it’s  way  more  fun  to  explore  with  someone  else  .  especially  when  it  comes  to  restaurants  and  cafes  .  there’s  two  thai  spots  in  the  east  village  ––  somtum  der  and  terra  thai  .  the  food  hits  the  spot  when  i’m  feeling  a  little  homesick  .  ”  it  was  rare  but  it  happened  in  occasion  .  “  but  speaking  of  cafes  ,  which  ones  are  your  favorites  ?  or  at  least  ones  you  keep  going  back  to  if  you  don’t  have  an  absolute  favorite  .  ”

“  well ,  depends  on  what  kinda  places  you  mean .  ”  there  were  honestly  too  many  to  count  even  within  the  surrounding  five  blocks ,  let  alone  all  of  new  york .  “  i  mean ,  i  can  list  five  bars  off  the  top  of  my  head ,  but  that’s  not  helpful  if  you’re  not  looking  to  drink .  ”   considering  her  question , they  pursed  their  lips  in  thought .  “  but  who  cares  if  you  only  go  downtown ?  if  what  you  like  is  there ,  then  fuck  everyone  else’s  opinions ,  y’know ?  ”

         “  i’m  open  to  any  and  all  !  but  in  hindsight  ,  maybe  asking  for  top  five  might  be  a  little  too  hard  ,  ”  she’ll  smile  sheepishly  .  there’s  definitely  a  lot  to  do  in  the  city  but  between  school  and  diplomatic  obligations  (  for  example:  attending  embassy  galas  on  behalf  of  the  thai  royal  family  )  ,  it  makes  it  difficult  .  “  true  but  there’s  so  much  more  to  the  city  so  i  just  don’t  want  to  restrict  myself  ,  you  know  ?  besides  ,  it’ll  give  me  the  excuse  to  go  out  more  .  so  i  suppose  your  top  five  can  consist  of  restaurants  ,  sights  ,  and  any  other  hidden  spots  !  ”

despite the innocence of ana's inquiry, sophie felt distressed. maybe— just maybe— it had something to do with the fact that out of the fifty seven counties in new york, she only knew one like the palm of her hand. up until a few weeks ago, sophie had only stepped foot outside the boroughs of brooklyn once, and that was purely accidental (she had, in fact, fallen asleep on the train and ended up lost in the grand central station). for a moment, she found herself torn between wanting to pitch the station as her recommendation and blurting out whatever popped up second. maybe she was overthinking, but in all fairness, everything seemed to get in her mind nowadays. " i'm pretty bad at this to be honest.. but if you ever find yourself in brooklyn, john's deli is amazing. "

         there’s  a  small  part  of  ana  that  feels  a  little  disappointed  with  herself  for  not  being  able  to  explore  the  city  as  much  as  she  liked  .  she’s  been  living  here  for  around  two  years  now  with  her  sister  and  she’s  barely  scratched  the  surface  .  then  again  ,  she’d  always  been  more  focused  on  finding  the  next  thing  that’ll  keep  her  out  of  her  home  country  .  first  it  was  electing  to  stay  in  england  for  college  and  now  getting  her  phd  in  new  york  .  “  i’ll  keep  that  in  mind  !  and  honestly  ,  it  doesn’t  have  to  be  constrained  to  food  recommendations  .  i’m  open  to  all  .  museums  ,  the  sights  ,  anything  that’s  a  not-so-known  must  see  .  the  works  ,  you  know  ?  ”

                    “   woah   ,   hey   ,   sorry   !       i   didn’t   mean   it   like   that   …       you’re   —   you’re   super   cool   ,   really   fancy   for   sure   .       no   diss   on   your   awesome   britishness   .       it’s   just   …       your   sister   always   seems   so   serious   ,   with   the   whole   tea   and   crumples   vibe   .       kinda   makes   me   feel   like   i   need   to   put   on   a   shirt   with   buttons   or   something   ,   you   know   ?   ”       leans   back   ,   scratching   his   neck   ,   a   little   flustered   .       “   gosh   ,   no   .       i   mean   ,   we’re   friends   .       she’s   talked   about   me   ,   hasn’t   she   ?       we’re   …       yeah   ,   good   friends   .       so   like   ,   a   totally   chill   ,   platonic   thing   ,   unless   …       —   wait   ,   you   think   she   wouldn’t   even   share   it   with   me   ?   ”

          “  i’m  kidding  !  it’s  fine  .  just  havin’  a  laugh  .  still  doesn’t  take  away  from  the  fact  that  i  too  have  a  very  cool  accent  .  but  i  get  it  .  we’re  different  .  but  i  swear  ,  she’s  not  always  so  serious  .  ”  and  it  doesn’t  take  a  genius  for  her  to  see  that  julian  is  flustered  .  “  i  mean  …  in  not  so  many  words  .  but  i  guess  if  you  wanna  slap  a  label  on  it  ,  we  could  go  with  friends  .  ”  she’s  honestly  glad  to  hear  that  her  sister  has  friends  outside  of  her  small  circle  of  boarding  school  friends  .  “  she  might  share  it  with  you  if  you  ask  nicely  !  it’s  just  a  non-zero  chance  that  she  won’t  share  with  you  .  even  if  you  two  happen  to  be  friends  .  it’s  a  trust  thing  .  i  think  .  ”

rio mulled over the question , picking up her glass of mimosa . " you know , i kind of feel called out ... " she grinned teasingly behind the rim of her glass before setting it down . " i haven't lived in the city long enough and i do find myself downtown a lot ... what does that say about me ? but i will say i'm a pretty avid café goer – just look at this place ! it's called homecoming over in williamsburg . coffee place and a floral shop ? " her hand quickly plucking up her own phone to scroll through her most recent pictures . " dreamy , right ? "

         “  well  …  ”  ana  starts  ,  a  teasing  smile  present  on  the  princess’  lips  .  “  i’d  say  it’s  passable  if  you  haven’t  lived  in  the  city  long  enough  but  that  just  gives  you  the  excuse  to  start  venturing  out  more  .  don’t  get  me  wrong  ,  downtown  is  great  but  i  am  determined  to  not  turn  into  the  person  who’s  lived  in  the  city  for  five  years  and  knows  nothing  else  outside  of  downtown  .  ”  she  reaches  for  her  glass  of  mimosa  before  leaning  in  to  view  the  pictures  on  their  phone  .  “  oh  that’s  so  beautiful  .  it’s  so  ethereal  .  i  need  to  step  it  up  a  notch  .  i  just  go  to  the  same  café  by  columbia  because  it  does  the  job  ,  ”  she’ll  admit  with  a  light  laugh  .  “  my  current  mission  is  to  find  the  best  thai  restaurants  in  the  city  .  ”

“       sadly,      we can’t keep our crown.     we need to give it back once our reign is over so they can keep not only evidence of our reign,     but to showcase it at the silly little museum they host once a year before the competition starts,      but they do give us a replica:     the same thing,      just make it smaller and less impressive as a memento.     however,     i kept my crown.     the two thousand sixteen crown they keep showcasing at the museum?     that’s the replica.      ”      she smiles,     “     things…     happened during my reign and after some back and forth between the lawyers,     i was allowed to keep my crown that is currently sitting at the top of my crown shelf,     but shhhh...     ”

         she  listens  with  interest  ,  nodding  every  so  often  to  follow  along  .  “  i  heard  about  that  .  it’s  like  a  replica  with  crystals  and  semi-precious  stones  instead  of  actual  diamonds  ,  right  ?  ”  ana  muses  with  a  light  nod  .  “  i  think  you  hold  so  much  power  for  being  able  to  keep  the  real  crown  .  but  how  do  you  even  insure  that  ?  and  security  ?  ”  even  the  crowns  within  the  thai  royal  family  stay  locked  in  a  vault  at  some  undisclosed  location  .  not  exactly  something  you  can  wear  everyday  .

                    “   grant   writing   ?       so   ,   academic   masochism   is   your   thing   ?   ”       teases   ,   throwing   a   glance   ,   all   mock   horror   and   wide   eyes   .       “   and   you’re   like   ,   so  chill   right   now   .       seriously   ,   not   a   single   wrinkle   on   your   forehead   .       i   literally   could   never   .   ”       edges   closer   ,   voice   dropping   down   to   a   conspiratorial   whisper   ,       “   forget   the   academia   drama   for   a   night   !       come   dancing   with   me   ?       just   this   once   ?       i’m   thinking   cocktails   ,   the   kind   that   makes   you   forget   what   a   dictionary   even   is   .   ”

         “  absolutely  not  .  if  that  were  the  case  ,  i’d  have  chosen  to  study  something  like  global  affairs  .  ”  she’ll  wrinkle  her  nose  up  in  distaste  .  maybe  things  would’ve  been  different  had  her  parents  shown  any  interest  in  her  schooling  .  “  years  of  dealing  with  the  press  gets  you  to  internalize  everything  ,  don’t  you  know  ?  ”  words  are  said  in  jest  .  but  it’s  true  .  even  more  so  whenever  her  brother  dominates  the  headlines  .  lips  purse  up  in  thought  at  nia’s  suggestion  .  “  i’ll  do  it  on  one  condition  ,  no  cocktails  that  make  you  forget  what  a  dictionary  is  .  i  don’t  want  to  risk  waking  up  with  a  hangover  .  ”  besides  ,  getting  blackout  drunk  is  more  of  her  brother’s  thing  !