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

[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.

He winced at the grain of dirt in the pitcher and wondered if it was from the sink or the pitcher itself. How could a lady like her live in such a run-down apartment? If only he could help her out somehow, offer her a new and better place to live. As friends, of course! As one friend helping out another, yes, that was all.

He turned back to the cake and at least smiled at the sweet aroma, masking the terrible stench of dew and fungi growing somewhere. He also noticed that there weren't plates or forks. Well, they could come in handy unless they intended to eat with their hands.

"Elizaveta?" he called, stepping into the kitchen once more and lingering at a distance. "Are there any clean plates? And forks?"

[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.

Plastering on a sunny smile, Elizaveta turned and faced her guest and clapped her hands. "So! Um...Right!" The cake was still on the counter, so the Hungarian woman brought it to the table, then turned and came back with the whipped cream a few seconds later. She began to busy herself with Roderich's plate, placing on it a near black slice and a dollop of white on the side. Setting the plate back down in front of the Austrian, Elizaveta dragged her chest up and sat facing him.

[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."

A WILD HUNGARIAN HAS APPEARED! finally

[manlierthanyou]

A light blush once again dusted Elizaveta's cheeks at her guest's compliment, but she brushed off the words and shrugged sheepishly. "No, not really. It wasn't hard to manage at all." Of course, this was exactly opposite of the truth. Elizaveta wasn't especially talented in the kitchen, so an already difficult torte was made into an ordeal that lasted several hours. In fact, this was cake number three; the other two either having burnt while serving an extended stay in the oven or deflated (she still wasn't sure how that happened). However, just the fact that Roderich truthfully enjoyed what she made made the entire day completely worth it.

Her heart near bursting, Elizaveta finally let loose what she had been wanting to say for some time. "Thank you, Roderich. I have no words to explain my gratitude to you. I mean, you put up with me, and you're really nice, even though I'm pretty difficult to be with. I'd understand if you want to decline, but maybe you and I couldbeofficiallyfriends," she enthused, the last of he ramblings a nervous train wreck of words. She laughed awkwardly and bunched up her skirt into her fists. "I don't know if that makes any sense, but it's been a long time since I made any friends, so I..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry."

OOPS.... PREMATURE ENTER THERE. 8D

[notaustralian]

Elizaveta's sudden outburst caught Roderich completely off-guard. For a long moment after she spoke, the Austrian stared at his fork with stiff lips. Not quite knowing how to response, he lifted up and looked over at her. His silence, he hoped, had not upset her. After another much-too-long moment to still his breath, he put down the fork at last and gingerly slid his hand over to hold hers.

With the softest and most genuine smile he could manage, he said, "I don't understand why you would say that. You are a wonderful person, Elizaveta." Pause. He needed to brush up on his complimenting skill. He retracted his hand promptly, not wanting her to feel any more uncomfortable with the situation. "It'd be an honor to be your friend, and I am so blessed that you would choose me. If anything, I should thank you for wanting to befriend me."

He smiled at her again, hoping it would somehow make her smile as well.

"Please, don't apologize. I like being with you."

As friends, he neglected to mention.

DAMN MY CURRENT LACK OF LAPTOP.

[manlierthanyou]

Elizaveta did smile. Roderich might not have seen it, however, as her face was now buried into his neck as she hugged him tightly. "Szeretlek veled lenni," she repeated quietly, whispering it into his dark hair, not even caring that he possibly had no idea what she had just said. I like to be with you Funny how phrases in English mean much more in other languages. Of course, Elizaveta understood that he had not meant the usual Hungarian confession of love; he'd only meant it as friends. Still, it was nice to hear.

Curse my inability to understand Hungarian!

[notaustralian]

Roderich softened up and kept a gentle hand on Elizaveta's waist. He wondered why she was being so emotional over being his friend with him. He honestly did thought she was a wonderful person and how could someone like Elizaveta not have friends?

He gave a pat on the back, hoping it would make her feel more comfortable as well as signaling for her to sit up. But when Elizaveta didn't let go, Roderich could only smile to himself.

An idea struck him.

"I'd like to take you out for dinner someday," he suggested, "seeing as how you spent your day baking for me." He pushed her off him gently, hands on her shoulders. "Would you like that?"

Youtube is a beautiful place. Rodi should hit that shit up.

[manlierthanyou]

Elizaveta felt herself being gently pushed off, but after Roderich's invitation, she really didn't mind. "Dinner? With me?" Like a date? her mind finished, but she did not mention that out loud. If anything, it was a dinner date between friends, so shut up brain.

"I'd love to," she accepted softly, smiling dreamily into her guest's violet eyes. Such a lovely face he had, and so close to her's, too. And hair, with that piece that seemed to eternally stick up out of place, the colour of rich, black coffee. Coffee...

She gasped. "I forgot the coffee!" she cried, then jumped up and spinned around in one movement, then ran to the counter to check on her brew. "Eh, it seems okay," she said, sniffing the pot. "You finish your cake; I'll make the poor woman's answer to Einspaenner." As she had said this, she had reached into the fridge and pulled out a can of Reddi Whip. She gazed semi-despairingly at it, but then imagined Roderich's soft, honest smile and reassuring words. Then she imagined that coupled with his hand on her breast. Well, she thought as she began to pour the hot liquid into two mugs, This evening wasn't such a failure at all.