ABC's of an Old Family- Chapter 2
C is for Clean
Characters: Austria, Hungary
Hungary hummed to herself a merry little tune as she wiped the stains off the dinner plates. No offending stain could survive under Hungary's watchful eyes, so Mister Austria expects nothing but clean dishes and kitchenware by the time she was done.
Feeling the warm water run through her fingers, she carefully scrubs a particularly stubborn blotch of rust that was latching on to the pot like barnacles to a ship. This didn't damper her smile, however.
But the rust was so frustratingly resistant.
'Oh, I see how it is, Mister Rust,' She stops for a moment, and then smirks determinedly at the rust. 'You want to play rough, huh? No matter, I'll put you away and leave a mark of utmost perfection by the time I'm done with you.' She gives her towel a rather strong squeeze, bubbles leaking out of it, and she didn't even give adman when it wet her sleeve. 'After all, I wouldn't want Mister Austria to be disappointed.'
And so began her furious scrubbing, and not at all did Hungary mind the strange looks given to her by the rest of the maids who were also washing beside her.
They were all thinking the same thing; "Geez, Hungary, it was just rust."
Oh yes, just some rust that had managed to irk her and activate the overbearing beast inside of her.
These maids just didn't seem to understand the way she worked. And we aren't even touching at the subject that she's an embodiment of the country known as Hungary.
Hungary was a very kind woman, and not to mention disturbingly loyal. Oh, and because of that loyalty, no one had wanted to be on her bad side. They saw what she could do- All they needed was a certain silver-haired Prussian to come in and they would see a spectacular fight unfold. Her motherly instincts added fuel to that fire.
Only a few people, specifically the aforementioned Prussian and a tiny Italian maid, knew that she had a thing for their master. Gilbert often came to tease her for that very reason. Feliciano kept quiet about it.
So, they were the only people who knew the reason of her everyday shows of determination. Austria's expectations were quite high, so it was quite hard to please him (even if you left him in a room with his grand piano and a barrel of coffee).
Well, Austria did always think that she was his best maid. She didn't see that yet, is all.
Which was why Austria turned up at the cleaning stations later, holding a cake he made himself.
"Excuse me, but may I borrow Hungary for a moment?" He asked them. The brown-haired woman turned around at the mention of her name, and pointed to herself in question. Austria rolled his eyes. "Yes, Hungary, you."
Hungary was fighting the blush that was threatening to rise up her cheeks. She set down the pot and sponge, giving the pot a look that had meant that they were going to settle their predicament later.
"Whatever do you need me for, Mister Austria?" She asked him. Austria coughed, and looked to the other direction.
"I'm sorry, but could we bring this to another room? I don't feel comfortable with telling you in a room as crowded as this." He states, and began to walk towards the other room.
Hungary could not look at him as he said those words. Was she in trouble? Did she do something wrong? She was shaking, as she dearly hoped that either was not the case.
The nobleman noticed her shaking. As if reading her thoughts, he paused to look at her. "Stop being so nervous, you're not in trouble."
That did nothing to convince her otherwise, nope, not at all.
They arrived at the next room, where it stored a lot of fresh produce.
"Hungary, I have been observing your performance these past few years, and I have to say, they surpass everyone else's. I'm quite impressed." He tells her, with one hand on his hip and a look of kind recognition upon his face.
The female nation's heart fluttered after hearing his praise. He was praising her, wasn't he? For a moment she thought that she was dreaming.
"I've excused you to express my gratitude for your hard work." He handed her the small cake in the plate that he had been carrying this whole time. Austria blushed slightly. "I… made this myself- please forgive me if it tastes bad."
Hungary simply stood idly on the spot, as she could not believe what was happening. After what felt like minutes of awkward silence, she snapped out of her paralyzed state, and shook her head. "Mister Austria, you did not have to do this for me," she says, heart breaking slightly as she did.
Austria wouldn't have it. "I must insist. You try so hard keeping everything clean. I only feel that it's right to do this. Well, that and you would be throwing away one hour's worth of mixing and stirring and waiting."
By the time Austria left her to her own devices again, she seemed to forget all about her ferocious battle with the stain that was still clinging onto the steel pot.
And, for the next several months, no pieces of kitchenware or dinnerware are left stained and every nook and cranny of the mansion was clean.
Ciao~
Author's Note: Hey… I'm still feeling quite depressed with the first ones (A and B), and this one was a little too long to fit into a double chapter, so I'd just leave it like this.
I AM SO SORRY. This is the first multi-chapter thing that I'm releasing on Fanfiction, and I think I'm messing up the alphabet thing- WAS I MESSING UP THE ALPHABET THING?!
It's either that or I'm getting paranoid 'cause of the lack of sleep I had last night. Yeah, it's definitely the sleep thing.
So, uh, please Read and Review, hope you liked it, and I'll try updating as fast as I can.
Disclaimer: Hetalia isn't mine, it belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. ALL HAIL HIMARUYA.
