The Ultimate Devotion

[manlierthanyou]

WHO: Elizaveta, Roderich
WHEN: Early Saturday evening (september 19)
WHERE: Elizaveta's apartment
WHAT: Celebrating Roderich's safe return home. And, no, it's not a date. Totally.

Comments

[manlierthanyou]

Elizaveta had just finished dressing when she heard a loud buzz. "Szar!" she swore under her breath as she finished fastening a yellow flower to her hair. "I'll be right there!" she yelled, forgetting that Roderich obviously couldn't hear her from outside. She ran to the door, pausing when her shoe slipped off to fit it back on and smooth out her skirt nervously.

It was a old dress; her mother made her take it with her to America, and although Elizaveta had argued against it, she rather liked it. Orange with a black skirt and a white blouse, with flowers embroidered along the hem. In Hungary, she only wore it to traditional festivals, but it would have to do in this situation. Whatever this situation was.

Certainly not a date or anything, so why was she so nervous?

Laughing at herself for her foolishness, Elizaveta opened the door, only to be met by a bouquet of roses.

Huh.

[notaustralian]

Roderich was caught off-guard by the door opening. His eyes were locked on a withering petal of the rose. A sigh escaped, and he went on to fix the flowers. How dare the florist cheated him! He paid good money for the roses and he should receive top-quality. What would it say about him if the flowers he picked weren't as beautiful as they could be...!

He had just finished plucking the petal off when the door opened and he was caught with a petal in his hand. He blinked at first, not quite sure how to proceed.

"Good morning," he squeaked out. Oh, that wasn't right.He took his time to prepare his voice while he studied the outfit Elizaveta had on. It wasn't something he had seen women walking around in, and he liked the difference in it.

"T-thanks for inviting me to your place. And you look absolutely lovely."

Crunching the dying petal in his palm, he handed the bouquet over to Elizaveta with a smile and a quiet 'For you'.

[manlierthanyou]

A hand shot up to Elizaveta's face to cover the spreading blush, whispering 'thank you' through her fingers. Never had anyone given her flowers, and she gratefully accepted them. The compliment; well, a lot of people told her she looked 'absolutely lovely'. What was it about the way Roderich said it that made her stomach bottom out?

"Oh. Um, won't you come in?" she invited stepping aside to give him access through the door. She turned and started walking away. "The kitchen's this way. I'm afraid I don't have a dining room," she apologised. She entered the kitchen area, pulling a chair out from the table for her guest with her foot while reaching into a cupboard to get a vase for the roses.

[notaustralian]

Roderich followed Elizaveta into her apartment. He took a quick look around - not wanting to be too intrusive but curious at the same time. The apartment, especially in comparison to his house, was terribly small. It barely had a living room and no visible dining area at all. It would be an overstatement to say he felt claustrophobic, but it certainly had a similar feeling

[manlierthanyou]

What?
Elizaveta could only think thus when she heard the tell-tale rumble of slipping dishes, followed closely by a very inappropriate swear as she realized that the shelf below the one she was trying to reach had caved in again, and her dishes were quickly cascading towards her.

She jumped back before the plates could brain her. They continued to fall uninterrupted until they met the floor, some bouncing as they did, all making a general racket as they clattered. Elizaveta was quite thankful for her foresight to invest in durable plastic dishes after the last time that shelf broke. The feeling was short lived, however, as she felt herself falling backwards through open space.

[notaustralian]

Roderich made it in time to see the dishes hit the ground in a cacophony. He was extremely relieved to find that they were plastic dishes and couldn't possibly do too much damages to Elizaveta. Still, an avalanche of plates and bowls was no good regardless.

Just as he thought the trouble was over, Roderich was startled by the sudden movement next to him. He had only caught it from the corner of his eyes the blurry image of Elizaveta falling backward. How it happened, why it happened, and what exactly he should be in response were all passing thoughts before his body moved on its own.

He wasn't particularly familiar with the proper etiquette of catching a woman. One hand went to wrap around her waist. The hand - so foolishly - headed toward her chest, just a bit above her breasts. Weakly, he pulled Elizaveta against him as his measure of catching her fall.

"A-are you alright?" he asked as soon as they both stopped moving or falling. Caught in the moment, his hands were still secured on where they were.

[manlierthanyou]

Elizaveta didn't immediately understand why she hadn't hit the ground yet. Even more confused when she was suddenly moving upwards and not down, and that she was now being held against something pleasantly cold.

Perhaps, she realized, opening her eyes would help. She did so, inclining her face slightly to see Roderich looking down at her, his violet eyes full of concern. His thin lips opening, forming words. Words that didn't quite reach her ears, but she could guess the question. "I-I'm fine," she answered, her voice shaky more from the close contact to a good-looking guy than her close brush with a certain concussion. She felt dizzy from it, and if it were not for the cool weight on her chest, her body heat would have risen several degrees. What was that, anyway. Her emerald eyes glanced down to see it was Roderich's hand. On her chest. Right there. On. Her chest. Right. There.

Her body heat rose several degrees despite it.

[notaustralian]

Upon hearing that Elizaveta was thankfully unharmed, though was a bit startled, by the situation, Roderich offered a compassionate smile and helped her stand up straight and properly. And it was during that thoughtful gesture that he realized where his hands were. The hand on the waist, he didn't mind it too much. Waists weren't particularly inappropriate.

The hand on her chest, however...

Roderich jerked as if jolted by shock of lightning. He pushed away and took five steps backward from her, bumping into the dishwasher while he was at it. His hands, he kept them behind his back as he was hiding something from Elizaveta. As if, hiding the hands, he could somehow erase what had just happened seconds ago.

"I-I am... te-terribly sorry," he stammered, cheeks glowing with embarrassment. Way to make an impression.

Strangely enough, 'segue' is one of the few words I typed correctly on first try.

[manlierthanyou]

As Roderich pulled away, Elizaveta's hand was instantly on her chest in what looked like an act of protection, but was in fact one of disbelief. She stroked the fabric absent-mindedly, her fingers searching for any evidence of the hand was so carelessly placed there, like it had never happened. But it had, and her face mirrored her friend's, blood filling every capillary in her cheeks until nearly bursting. But inside, she could almost hear her subconscious sing. That was awesome.She smiled. "Don't worry! You caught me, so I should be thanking you!" she cried, her voice and accompanying giggles light and airy, defying her still red face. She understood: he only wanted to save her from crashing to the floor. He hadn't meant to place his hands so...distastefully. And honestly, this was Roderich. He wouldn't cop a feel even if he wanted to. And, no, she was not disappointment she just felt

[notaustralian]

If only cake could erase his embarrassment and discolor the blush on his face. Roderich slowly made his way over, like a timid animal afraid of taking a harmless treat from a human's hand.

"Please," he said softly, not quite sure how to respond properly, "t-think nothing of it. I-I am just... glad you aren't harmed."

Clearing his throat, he stood near - but not next to - Elizaveta and nervously gripped his hand into a fist. He looked to the cake, immediately picking up that it was a sachertorte. Oh, what was he saying? Elizaveta specifically invited him over for sachertorte. It was his favorite; it had always been his favorite.

"T-thank you so much for inviting me. I-It's been a while since I have visited anyone at their home." Right, act normal, don't mention anything about what happened earlier...

[manlierthanyou]

Elizaveta let out a short, nervous laugh. "Yeah, well, I've never had anybody for over. For obvious reasons..." she trailed off and merely gestured to the room they stood in, letting it speak for itself. Not only was her apartment barely large enough to contain her, but there were also no windows on any of the garishly coloured walls. Not that she minded, no, but she was used to it. But she knew that it was probably a bit too much to bear for a normal person, and she was grateful that Roderich hadn't run off in a fit of claustrophobic meltdown. Yet

[notaustralian]

As requested, Roderich took the seat by the kitchen and situated himself properly in the small apartment. It was only after he had settled down once again that he realized that he was taking up the only chair in the place. Immediately, he stood up and moved away from the chair. He could not, in the right mind, take the only chair even if he was the guest and she was the hostess. No, it just wasn't right, and it was terribly rude of him

[manlierthanyou]

"Hmmmm?" Elizaveta was snapped out of her reverie and she looked back to the object of her bad thoughts. Busted. "I...excuse me? Plates...yeah! I have those." She blushed guiltily as she pulled two of the few dishes from her shelf that hadn't fallen off, then bent over to pull some cutlery out of her dish washer. She carried it all over to the small table, setting them down for herself and Roderich. That was when she noticed, then remembered, that she only had one chair. She swore under her breath. She was going to have to improvise. "Hey Rodi, could you get the cake and stuff. The whipped cream's in the fridge. Thanks!" She was out of sight faster than her friend could say 'excuse me?'

EXCUSE ME. :O

[notaustralian]

Roderich didn't have a chance to take over the plates and forks from Elizaveta since she seemed insistent on the fact that she could, in fact, carry dishes without them breaking into pieces. And he didn't want to impose, so he lingered close and eyed the fallen plastic plates on the ground, wondering if he should offer to clean them up before they were dirtied further.

As he was eying the mess on the kitchen floor, Roderich missed what Elizaveta said. When he looked up, he was only person in the kitchen/dining area.

"E-Elizaveta?" he called out timidly, suddenly feeling strange to be without her company. Only silence and a soft noise somewhere answered him.

Well, he might as well clean up the mess then. Kneeling down, he started to pick up the plastic dishes off the floor.

YOU'RE EXCUSED

[manlierthanyou]

"Tada~!" Elizaveta twirled into the kitchen holding a large wooden box. "I only have one chair, so I'll use some of my old luggage! You of course have the seat of honor, as you are my guest." Her smile faded quickly once she saw Roderich hunched over her mess. "Oh, nonono," she scolded, clicking her tongue. "You come away from there and sit, I'll clean that up!" With that she grabbed the man's wrist, pulled him up, and politely forced him into his chair. After giving him a quick 'don't you dare move' glare, she bent over and scooped up the rest of the dishes, dropping them into the sink

[notaustralian]

With only a smile on his face, Roderich allowed himself to be forcefully seated into the only chair of the place. Of course he wanted Elizaveta to take the seat, but there was also no point in arguing with his hostess if she was insistent that he took the 'Seat of Honor'.

He watched in silence as Elizaveta cleaned up the dishes quickly and dropped them into the sink. He would offer to help wash them later, he mentally noted. For now, it was time to taste the cake that Elizaveta had painstakingly made for him.

"Thank you," he said before he picked up the fork and gave the cake a taste. His honest opinion was that it wasn't anything out of the ordinary and that the cake was a bit dry to his taste. But the fact that she made it herself made it the most delicious cake he had tasted.

"It's wonderful," he said with a smile. "I hope you didn't spend too much time on it for my sake."