|
Post by Liechtenstein on Dec 5, 2010 16:12:22 GMT -5
As soon as the attention was drawn back to her, she fidgeted uncomfortably. She didn't pull away, but her green gaze wandered as her mind did the same. Lili knew he meant well by asking about her birthday but it reminded her that her own brother hadn't done a thing. He didn't usually make a great deal of occasions like birthdays, but even a 'Happy Birthday Schwester' would have sufficed. Not to mention, a person on his "do not associate with" list had bothered to visit and buy her a present. It didn't make sense. She looked back at Prussia, still confused.
Even so, she forced a halfhearted smile for him. "W-well, I'd just started some fondue when you arrived, but cake does sound nice..." Liechtenstein liked sweets almost as much as she did cute animals, and even her modesty couldn't turn down a cake. She knew how to bake, but because of Vash was much more practiced in making chocolate.
"I don't have a particular favorite..." she continued, shifting herself to face forward again and gently retracting her hand. Liechtenstein felt a bit guilty for lying, but it was just cake, right? In truth, she liked vanilla the best, but honestly preferred to simply go along with whatever someone, in this case Gilbert wanted. "A-anything you want is fine, Mr. Prussia."
The quiet nation transferred the box with both the new ribbons and old one from her lap to a nearby end table before gracefully getting to her feet. She straightened the skirt of her scarlet dress before turning to face the sitting German. "The kitchen is this way," Lili turned her head to indicate the direction, "I hope we have all the ingredients." she added hopefully before leading him into the kitchen.
|
|
|
Post by Königreich Preußen on Dec 6, 2010 13:41:05 GMT -5
Following Liechtenstein to the kitchen, Prussia felt himself frowning once more. It wasn't that he didn't believe that the young nation could speak for herself, moreso that she seemed so accustomed to letting another speak for her, he worried that she forgotten what it was like to be on her own. "You know, I'm not picky when it comes to cake. I like all kinds, but... If you insist, I guess I'll surprise you with something awesome."
When they got inside, Gilbert quietly urged the young nation to gather up her fondue and sit at the table. It wouldn't hide him from view, but at least the other would be focused on her food instead of him. Eventually, the smell would likely give away anything that he was doing, but for now, he'd simply have to enjoy what element of surprise that he had and make the most of it.
Moving about the kitchen, the Prussian quickly set to work on the cake. Any German or Austrian recipes he could think of were complicate and required a great deal of ingredients, and in the end, it would just take too long to make. Thinking it over carefully, his mind slowly moved toward his more Western friends and he remembered something that America had taught him long ago. A simple birthday cake recipe that would be quick and easy to make.
Glancing back at Liechtenstein, he grinned and set to work, taking care not to make a mess. He insisted to himself that he was only being polite and saving himself the trouble of cleaning later, but a much quieter (and more honest) part of him knew that some of the extra precaution was because he didn't want Switzerland dusting for finger prints later to find out who had been in his kitchen. That would lead the trigger-happy nation to him... and Prussia really didn't like being shot. It wasn't pleasant. In fact, it rather hurt... and he didn't want to experience it any more than he had to.
A little over an hour later, the fruits of Gilbert's labour were finished and he walked over to the table boasting a small, but oddly neat looking cake and set it down. A plate was set in front of Lili followed by a fork and knife as Prussia gestured to the cake, "Chocolate buttercream icing and a vanilla cake--western style. Simple, but it's something Al taught me a long time ago for if I ever needed a good cake in a short amount of time. First slice is yours, of course. Birthday lady's rights, ja?" ----------- A/N: Derpy post is derpy. >>
|
|
|
Post by Liechtenstein on Dec 8, 2010 0:31:38 GMT -5
Lili had been under the impression that she was assisting in the production of her own birthday cake and frowned a little when he obliged her to go to the table. She’d opened her mouth to protest and insist she assist, but figured arguing with the resolved Prussian would get her nowhere (and no cake, if she made him angry enough) so she compliantly obeyed. A surprise… It rung in her head as she stared blankly at the bowl in front of her.
The word haunted Liechtenstein for the following ten minutes, trying to guess what he could be doing. She’d chosen to sit with her back to him for the surprise’s sake, but found it very difficult to refrain from twisting in her chair to peek. Her childish curiosity was squashed by Switzerland’s rules of etiquette, however, and she tried to distract herself with the cooling fondue in front of her.
She didn’t have anything to eat with it, so she improvised and poked an index finger into the quickly solidifying cheese. Hoping her guest wouldn’t notice her unusual and very unladylike fondue-eating technique, she licked it off. The girl continued to lazily eat this way until finding a way to amuse herself. She dragged a digit through the contents of the bowl and formed shapes and letters, only a little ashamed of playing with her food. Lili wrote her chosen human name a few times (Liechtenstein was far too long) as well as her brother’s and even ‘Prussia’ along with stars, hearts, and other mindless designs. She held back a giggle, imagining what Switzerland’s reaction would be.
But that reminded her; what time was it? She glanced anxiously in the direction of the front door. When did Vash say the meeting was going to end? Lili couldn’t remember for the life of her if he said it was going to run late or end early…Gilbert had distracted her and she could barely remember the events of the early morning. She lost her appetite for the fondue and pushed it away, subtly wiping her slightly damp finger on the skirt of her dress, and prayed Prussia wasn’t giving her extra work; the little Alpine nation already had to check for and eliminate any traces of footsteps, hair, or feathers. She certainly didn’t want Switzerland to put bullets through the German’s silver head.
Her fretting ceased suddenly when a new scent met her nose. She sighed a soft, yearning sigh as it grew stronger and more concentrated. Liechtenstein was normally a patient girl, but with the tantalizing aroma of a cake in the oven she found herself salivating in a very improper fashion.
When the pastry was set down in front of her, her face lit up, soft eyes widening wistfully. She wondered if he somehow knew vanilla was her favorite, but she reminded herself it was a rather common flavor for cake and it was complete coincidence. Lili almost forgot she was the hostess and quickly rested a hand on the chair adjacent to hers, asking him to sit.
Once he was seated, she anxiously reached for the knife with the intentions of cutting the cake, but with hesitation, set it back down.
“Danke, Mr. Prussia…you’ve done a lot for me today.” she began, giving him a genuine, gentle smile, “But I was just wondering…”
The little blonde paused, waiting for the right words to come to her. How could she ask him if there were any ulterior motives behind the visit? He’d been impeccably polite, given her gifts, baked her a cake…it was almost too nice, and what Vash would deem as suspicious. Lili wanted to believe he was just a generous person, but wasn’t shielded enough to know how greedy and manipulative people could be. She again doubted that he was here just for her birthday, she was a tiny, relatively insignificant country and thinking he actually liked her was just flattering herself. She couldn’t help the gradual fading of her gracious expression as she contemplated.
“…why you would…” she mumbled tentatively, not meeting his blood-red eyes. Eventually she lost her nerve and quickly corrected herself, “A-actually, it’s nothing!” Her fair face promptly flushed a dusty pink, and she hastily cut a piece of cake, shoveling a forkful into her mouth in the least sophisticated way possible.
ooc; Then that makes mine, like…derp-tastic. >< Gott, I have to stop babbling. u_u
|
|
|
Post by Königreich Preußen on Dec 13, 2010 13:08:10 GMT -5
"I thought you'd like vanilla," Prussia murmured, nodding as he watched Liechtenstein's reaction to the cake. "It suits you. Something Roddy taught me a while back. Hell if I remember what it was called, but he said that if you're gonna make someone a cake, that you can guess what flavour they like by their personality and how they look. Sounds like a load of BS, though, ja?" He leaned back in his chair and sighed, raising an eyebrow at the slightly malformed appearance of the cheese. It didn't take a genius to know what had happened, but he kept the thought to himself. After all, everyone needed to break the rules once in a while.
As he watched the young nation beside him pick up the knife, Gilbert couldn't help but grin. Despite her obvious joy with the cake, she still seemed to hesitant and polite. It was amazing that someone so gentle could have been raised (for the most part) but someone like Vash. The Prussian guessed that there was still some parts of Roderich's teachings still in there, but he wasn't one to judge. Her manners likely made up for his (which he had, he just opted not to use them most of the time.)
“But I was just wondering… why you would…”
Another grin worked it's way onto the albino's features and he leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table with his chin in his palm. It really was easy to make the girl flustered--even more so than Roderich--and there was nothing Gilbert loved more than getting people worked up. Though, he would admit, the motive here was because it was cute, not to piss the blushing party off. "Why would I do all this?" he provided helpfully. "Dunno, to be honest. I was just walking down the street, being my normally awesome-self, and I saw that in a shop window. It made me think of you, and before I knew it, I was buying it. On the way out, I saw the shop's calendar and noticed the date and, using my amazing memory, I knew it was your birthday and that no one was going to be home with you. And thus," he gestured to himself, "here I am. Making your day more awesome."
|
|
|
Post by Liechtenstein on Dec 18, 2010 17:31:18 GMT -5
The cake was even better than it looked. Lili chewed as slowly as she could, enjoying the treat thoroughly and meaning to get the recipe at some point. She put on a pleased yet well-mannered smile and put her fork down when she could speak. “Thank you, this cake is…awesome.” His signature word felt strange on her tongue, but not in a bad way. She could tell why Prussia liked saying it all the time.
She meekly nodded when he supplied the end of her question. As she listened, she dabbed around her lips with a napkin, attempting to eliminate crumbs or frosting that may have escaped her mouth. The nation looked tentatively up at Gilbert, as if to check if there was something on her face by reading his expression.
“Th-that’s really thoughtful of you…” Liechtenstein mumbled, feeling as if he was asking for praise with his little story. She didn’t say anything for a moment letting her eyes wander over the table until they reached Gilbert’s empty, clean plate.
Where are my manners? she scolded herself silently.
“S-sorry, here. You made it, you can have as much as you want.” Lili stammered and quickly cut a generous piece for the chef of the cake. She checked to see if he had a fork, but had the little nagging feeling that she was forgetting something.
“Oh! Let me get you something to drink.” she offered when she noticed, practically jumping out of her chair.
The little blonde swiftly removed a couple of glasses from the cabinet and set them down on the counter with two gentle ‘clink’s. She opened the refrigerator, a cool, welcome gust meeting her pink cheeks. She didn’t waste time looking for the beverages--the longer the appliance was open, the more electricity was wasted. Lili pushed the milk out of the way to reach the “hidden” canned beers Switzerland kept and took one for Gilbert and one for herself. She silently wondered how she was going to replace the two missing ones so her brother wouldn’t notice. The young nation never drank in her brother’s presence, so telling him she’d had both all by herself would earn her a disbelieving response and probably a little reprimanding. The worry was pushed from her mind, deciding to put off that problem until later.
“Beer, Mr. Prussia?” Liechtenstein didn’t wait for the answer before pushing the refrigerator door closed with an elbow. She knew a true German wouldn’t turn down a beer, even in the late morning.
The dainty girl started on the first can after they joined the empty glasses. She struggled for a moment to open it, biting her lip in concentration until the loud popping noise met her ears and her expression brightened proudly. Liechtenstein poured the contents into the glass, careful not to let it splash or (God forbid) spill. She went through the same motions for her own, but gave herself only half as much as the silver-haired man. She was no heavyweight when it came to drinking.
“I’m sorry if it’s not to your taste…Bruder often sacrifices quality for price.” she apologized beforehand, setting his drink down in front of him and gracefully taking her seat once more.
-
ooc; OMG. Long wait for fail post. ;u; I'm sorry. D| I could not bring myself to write anything until just now.. Idk, I just had this Jimmy Neutron brain blast thing. xD
|
|
|
Post by Königreich Preußen on Dec 20, 2010 11:24:56 GMT -5
Grinning at the use of the word 'awesome', Prussia nodded in thanks. As much as he asked for it, the sudden praise without having to ask for it was nice. It felt different--though he couldn't begin to explain why. Whatever the feeling was, it was nice, and he secretly hoped it would happen again. If only once.
The comment about his thoughtfulness, however, threw him off. He blinked owlishly, staring at the younger nation in faint wonder. Was that what the action had been? It was rare that anyone ever called him thoughtful, even on the occasions when he did go out of his way to do something helpful. Yet there it was. The statement had seemed so innocent from someone as docile as Liechtenstein, but it still sent a bizarre feeling racing up and down his spine as a light pink dusted his cheeks. What the hell is wrong with me today...?
Happily, the confused thoughts were short-lived as the ever-familiar sight of the can that held his favourite beverage appeared in the female's dainty hands. Gilbert's grin returned full-throttle as he happily accepted the drink being offered and downed half of it in one chug. As expected, the taste was watery compared to the beer he always managed to get his brother to splurge on, but the alcohol was happily welcomed. At least it gave him an excuse for the light flush (or it would have--he could only hope Liechtenstein didn't know of his high alcohol tolerance.)
"Don't worry about the taste," he muttered, reaching for his fork. "Beer is beer, and I'd never turn it down--especially the free kind. Danke."
As he began eating his cake--and silently praising himself, for spur of the moment, it came out pretty damn good--a sudden thought occurred to him. Entering the house had been a pretty big gamble as it was, but what if Switzerland noticed? The dirtied dishes could easily be explained by the cake, but Prussia didn't know if Liechtenstein knew how to bake cake (though even if she did, Lili certainly didn't seem the type to make a cake for herself. She was far too sweet.) And what if Vash rationed the eggs and flour and other cake things? And the beer. That was definitely an easy thing to keep count of. How would the young nation be able to explain it's sudden disappearance?
"Hey, Liechtenstein..." Gilbert asked, pulling his fork from his mouth as he licked his lips, ridding them of all frosting. "You think your brother is gonna notice all this? He isn't insane enough to keep track of flour and the rest of the stuff, is he? I mean, you don't peg me as the drinking type. And I can't see you making a cake for yourself either. No offense. You're just modest, that's all. It's a compliment, take it. But..." he glanced around the kitchen. "Is he gonna lost his shit?"
--------------------- It's fiiiine. Sorry it took me so long to reply. The last week of school and life in general sucked away my will to do things. T_T
DX it's hard to post when cousins are floating over your shoulder.
|
|
|
Post by Liechtenstein on Dec 23, 2010 11:19:13 GMT -5
Lili took a polite sip from her beer as he dug into his own piece. She couldn’t help but crinkle her nose a bit at the slightly bitter taste, but tried to maintain a neutral expression. It was true that she had indulged herself in little tastes when Switzerland wasn’t looking, yet wasn’t quite used to it. Nevertheless, she forced herself to finish the drink to impress the older nation.
She chewed on her bottom lip nervously. The beer could be easily replaced or explained, but she hadn't even taken into account the ingredients for the cake. The brother in question did, in fact, keep a close eye on their food levels so as to plan his regular and infrequent shopping trips. This would most likely affect the schedule that had been set up, but she daren't tell Gilbert that.
"I'll think of something, there's no need to worry…H-he won't even know you were here..." she mumbled to reassure him, though her dishonesty hardly eased her own fretting. She fixed her gentle gaze on the table, quickly breaking eye contact guiltily. Lili didn’t like lying (she wasn’t very good at it, either) to people she liked and respected, but couldn’t let him feel guilty or even get in trouble for doing such a kind thing for her.
Liechtenstein didn't want to dismiss her guest so abruptly, but if she wanted to restore the missing food she had to do it soon. There was no telling when the meeting would end, and Vash wasn't the type to stick around and socialize afterward. If I use my own money, he won't notice...I can hide the present...but the cake...? Her green gaze wandered to the dessert, wondering what she could do with it. She hated to send it home with its creator, but Switzerland would be suspicious; when would she have learned to bake an American-style cake? That would bring Alfred in, and Lili certainly didn't want an innocent nation (or anyone, for that matter) to be subject to her brother's wrath.
"I can always buy more to replace it..." she suggested, glancing up in a tentative manner, "B-but, I think you should keep the cake...D-don't misunderstand, I really liked it, but..." Her soft voice trailed off and she traced the rim of the glass in front of her anxiously.
-
ooc; Dx GAH. I would have had this posted last night, but my mother is mean.
|
|