[Greece] Imperial Shenanigans [Imperial crew~]

[Deutschland]

A FEW DAYS EARLIER

It would be correct to say that Ludwig's face resembled a cooked lobster at the moment. His eyebrows twitched and he kept his eyes tightly shut, not daring to look at himself. Ludwig was quite used to being embarrassed. Indeed, living with Gilbert meant that you would withstand ridicule every single day; the pranks, the teasing all but remained vivid in his memories.

But nothing could prepare him for this.

It really had started out innocent, and by all means it still was. In fact, Ludwig had felt excited when Lily told him she was going to make him a thank you present for agreeing to teach her how to make Brotknoedel, one of his famous dishes that even Katya was impressed with. But well...her present was...

He slowly opened his eye, staring at the pink apron that tugged closely to his frame. It was so very pink that it would make little girls everywhere squeal in jealousy. That was it. Nope. Can't save his manliness now. It was gone. Forever. Thank goodness the rest of the crew couldn't see him. He didn't have the heart to tell Lily how he really felt about it. She had worked so hard on it. And the ecstatic face she had given him as she gave it to him! Ludwig has beaten drunks, skilled pirates, his own conniving brother that pranks him constantly, and it was a little girl with a pink apron that defeated him. He just couldn't best her. At all.

He tugged on the straps of his apron. He wondered where on earth she got his measurements from, he sure didn't tell he- Gilbert. Dammit, he knew didn't he?

He took a long breath, calmed himself down, and entered the main kitchen. Lily and Katya were inside; chatting away and waiting for him. He instantly fixed his face into his neutral expression, and nodded at the two ladies. Katya was there because not only was it her kitchen, Ludwig also suspected Katya wanted to learn his secret on how to make his Brotknoedel. But she had said that she just wanted to look out for her kitchen. It didn't really matter to Ludwig, her company was welcome even if there may have been ulterior motives.

He grinned at Lily. "Ready to learn Lily?"

[Yes. WE ARE MAKING THIS PICTURE HAPPEN. s998.photobucket.com/albums/af106/kadoshi/?action=view¤t=Anime2441.jpg ]

[Liechtenstein]

Lily was practically bouncing with excitement. She had been ever since Ludwig had agreed to teach her how to make Brotknoedel; and more so when she realized Katya was going to join them. She had been so grateful as well. After all, he didn't have to agree to her request. She had honestly expected him to refuse. So when he said 'yes' Lily had to do everything in her power not to hug him, as she was sure he wouldn't have liked that.

Instead she had thanked him profusely, and once they had agreed upon a time to meet so she could learn, she'd rushed off to her room to set about making him a thank you gift. It was an odd little habit of hers, something from when she had been small. Vash always refused her attempts to repay him for something, in fact he'd returned her gifts more often then not telling her to save her money. However, when she would make him something, he would keep it. Thus had begun Lily's odd tradition of crafting little thank you gifts for people (like the scarf she had slowly been working on knitting for her her former captain for everything he'd done for her).

Albeit... Maybe a pink apron hadn't been the right idea. But he would need an apron for when he cooked, right? And pink was always a good color! At least that's what Lily had always thought (and Vash never complained). Still though, she couldn't help but feel nervous when she had handed the present to him. But he had liked it! He'd even gone to put it on before they began.

Smiling widely she waited for him to return, chatting quietly with Katya as she tied her short cropped blonde hair into two short pig tails, and then using a flower clip to keep her bangs out of her eyes. When he returned she couldn't help but sigh in relief, she'd been worried the apron would be too small.

"Yes! I'm ready!"

[Arthur Kirkland]

Elizaveta would be the first person to admit she looked like shit. Her hair was mussed, there were faint circles under her eyes and she was stumbling, not with drunkenness but with exhaustion. She blamed the fact that she was still not used to sleeping on a moving ship and the faint rocking and the turbulence and the never ending noise of the engines.

There was one thing she could do. And she thanked god everyday for the invention of coffee.

Making her way down the passageways and into the kitchen, it took her a long few moments of looking Ludwig up and down to figure out what was wrong with that picture. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Ludwig. Pink. Apron. What?

".... am I.... still asleep?" she asked, mightily confused and looking to the little girl - what was her name? Lily? That sounded about right - who was standing nearby. The sweet scent of coffee dragged her further into the kitchen and to the pot on the stove and it wasn't until she had a cup in her hands and the first jolt of caffeine hit her system that she realized she was standing in the kitchen in her nightgown, Ludwig was actually wearing a pink apron and that Lily and Katya were both looking at her. Forcing herself to not blush, she leaned casually against the counter and tilted her head a bit. "I take it that something interesting is going on?"

[Roderich Edelstein]

Roderich had been looking for their newest crewmember. After hearing her up late pacing several nights in a row he was starting to be concerned. It was the strangest thing with him - one moment he felt like hiding behind the nearest door when he saw her coming, the next moment it seemed like he needed to take care of her.

Taking advantage of one of the latter moods, he spied her heading towards the galley, hair in disarray. He quickly finished diving up the herbal blend he had been mixing into sachets and put them in a small paper bag.

"Elizaveta, a word..." he trailed off as he stepped into the galley, taking in the full sight of Ludwig in a pink checked apron. His eyes darted from the first mate to their nurse/optimist/unofficial mascot and decided Lily had to be behind it. Logically it had to be made by a female, unless Gilbert had recently discovered a fondness for pink, and he was pretty certain Lily was the only one alive on this earth that Ludwig would wear that from.

He decided the best approach would be to pretend that nothing was out of the ordinary. Roderich crossed the room to Elizaveta and passed her the bag.

"A blend I put together. Soak a teabag in very hot water and drink it a half an hour before bed. It should help with sleeping."

[starshasestra]

Yekaterina was bubbling with warmth. The Ukrainian always loved cooking with others, and, even if she was taking a passive role in this little culinary lesson, supervising the two Germans was destined to be a treat in and of itself.

Not to mention, she would be earning a new recipe from it—the Brotknoedel definitely whetted her curiosity, and it sounded similar enough to the fare she usually made that she could manage it. She hoped that Pan Ludwig would appreciate the efforts later—after all, there was nothing like the taste of home to put one in a good mood, tak?

Katya was wearing a simple high-necked white shirt with navy corduroy overalls today, tucked into her normal brown boots. Her hair was tied back in a cornflower blue scarf—probably unnecessary, given how short her hair already was, but at least it would keep excess flour out of her hair.

After initially commenting on how cute the other looked, the buxom woman had been idly speaking with Mis Lily about general kitchen matters by the time Ludwig approached, clad in a very pink apron. The Slavic woman’s eyebrows rose slightly, one hand coming up to shield her smile, but she kept her eyes kind. After all, it was hardly the first time she had seen a man in pink.

Ignoring the small twinge her heart gave in remembrance of her long lost brother and the scarf she had given him, Yekaterina gestured the Germans to a nearby counter, where the ingredients Ludwig had requested were standing ready. “I am hoping this will be enough, Pan Ludwig? If no, I can be going back to back for more.”

The Ukrainian woman heard the sound of someone else shuffling into the kitchen from the cabin hallway, and looked over to find the new Hungarian woman, a little worse for wear. Sure that the cause was adjusting to the rhythm of the ship, Katya gave the other a sympathetic smile, only frowning slightly at her state of undress. ‘To be so confident in one’s own skin, I can hardly imagine,’[/i] she thought to herself, before looking up at the brunette woman’s question.

“Ah, is little bit of cooking lesson—Pan Ludwig will be showing Mis Lily how to make Brotknoedel. I am here for watching.” She came over to stand next to the Central European, giving the two Germans their necessary space just in time for the Austrian doctor to bustle on in. She glanced over, smiling slightly in greeting. “Pryvit, Pan Edelstein.”[/color]

[Deutschland]

Thinking about it, the whole apron thing wasn't so bad. Honestly, it was just Lily and Katya who had the...the...privilege to see him in this pink glory, and it wasn't that bad. He trusted the two quite a bit and he looked forward to teaching Lily what she wanted to know.

He smiled at Katya, who asked him if the supplies she graciously provided him were enough. "Yes of course. Thank you Katya. I appreciate your kindness." He turned to Lily. "Now, to business. Brotknoedel is quite simple in theory, but there are certain tricks I use in order to make them. First thing, we slice these rolls very finely, and then..." He continued on, slowly and carefully explaining the instructions to her, who was bright eyed and nodded every time he made a new point. Katya also listened intently. After a few minutes, his embarrassment slowly faded away, forgetting exactly what he was wearing. Yes, this was going to be a good da-

Why is Elizaveta in here?

Ludwig froze, mid sentence, staring at the newly recruited member as she looked exhausted, and as soon as she noticed him, extremely confused. The redness resurfaced, and he didn't have the time to be embarrassed about her state of dress. Ok, ok, Ludwig calm down. I don't think she's the type to gossip about this, you should be fine. Just explain the situation and-

In fact, it was Katya who explained what was going on. Dear sweet Katya. He'd clean the kitchen for her for a week after this. He continued on with the instructions, to keep Lily from worrying. Yes, everything will be fin- WHY THE HELL IS RODERICH IN HERE TOO?!

His face turned from embarrassed to dread in the moment the doctor stepped into the kitchen. Really, four people seeing him in...this?! It was almost too much for the extremely proud German to handle. So long as no one else came in, he could bear it. He refused to snap....he refused!

[Liechtenstein]

Lily listened to every instruction Ludwig gave her, nodding enthusiastically with each point. She couldn’t wait until she had a turn to try and make the brotknoedel. Maybe she could make it into different shapes? Though she had a distinct feeling Ludwig would disapprove of that.

Elizaveta’s entrance made her turn her head curiously. She gave an almost shy wave to the Hungarian woman, shifting slightly so she was hiding behind Katya out of habit. One would think after meeting so many new people she would be able to overcome her initial shyness, yet she was still unable too. She managed to nod along with Katya’s explanation, peeking her head out and giving a tiny wave when her name was mentioned. And then upon seeing Roderich she gave another little wave and this time a soft ‘hallo’.

Her eyes moved back to Ludwig she couldn’t help but blink at his expression. Was something the matter? He looked like he had seen a ghost!