Ludwig had almost dropped his boiling pot full of potatoes when he heard Gilbert come bursting in. He had been making extra today because things were starting to go bad and though wurst and potatoes was always best after the first time it was cooked, reheating and eating it later was better than having the food go bad.
Not that having the excess food had been entirely Ludwig's fault in the first place. He had sent Glibert out shopping and about four hours into the so-called 'trip', Ludwig had gone out and done the shopping himself, suspecting his brother wouldn't have done it on his own.
That had been very embarrassing when Gilbert showed up three hours later with the groceries.
Either way, the result had been an excess of groceries that were now about to go bad so there was an excess of food being prepared.
Ludwig was watching his pot, so he didn't turn around to address Gilbert and see him and his dogs covered in mud just yet. Mostly because Ludwig didn't really feel like getting mad at Gilbert right now.
"Potatoes, wurst with sourcrout, and something with this chocolate...." Ludwig hadn't gotten to the chocolate yet, but he'd been wanting to use that cooking chocolate for a while.
Then the second statement set in. Ludwig turned around slowly.
"What do you mean 'that's good?" Ludwig asked. "And how much mud did you just track into my house!?"
Gilbert kneel down and unleashed the dogs, letting them run over to his brother.
"Well I was out walking the dogs, like you asked and I had an awesome idea and obviously it must have been SO awesome that it left my brain and traveled through the air and into your brain!" he said, mostly avoiding the question.
Gilbert walked over to his brother, almost as excited as the dogs at their feet as he began looking over the various things that had been cooked. "What are you talking about West? I am no mud tracker. Blame them!" he said, pointing towards the dogs as he pushed his brother to the side to look over the boiling pot himself. "They wanted to play with the awesome me at the park even though they knew good and well it was rainy and muddy out!"
Ludwig would have been much more pressing about this idea of Gilbert's if it wasn't for the fact his wonderful dogs were trying to eat the wurst he just finished cooking and getting mud all over the kitchen.
"Gilbert-!" Ludwig protested. "You could have at least hosed the mud off before letting them in!"
"Argh! Watch that pot! I need to clean-!" Cue Ludwig getting licked on the face.
"...I'll be right back." And with that Ludwig quickly led Blackie, Berlitz, and Aster out back to be rinsed off and dried. Hopefully Gilbert wouldn't make the kitchen explode in his temporary absence.
Roderich was sitting at the piano off in the other room, his fingers languishly giving their loving attention to each cream and black colored keys as the song of Johan sebastian Bach echoed melodiously throughout the house.
This however....was stopped quickly with the sounds of howling, mixed with the swearing and other such things.
Breathing in a problematic sigh, the only thing he could mutter to himself was this, "Gilbert must have returned....joy." as he got up off the stool in which he sat and went to go see what the chaos he was causing for Ludwig.
...besides, part of himself couldnt help but be intrigued by the food being cooked.
Standing by the doorway after seeing Ludwig take the dogs outside, he shook his head. "Must he ALWAYS have to do everything for you Gilbert?" he asked with a sigh before he looked over at the baking chocolate. He wondered if he should think of making his chocolate chip type pancakes for a desert.... well, since Big brother West was making dinner, it was only fitting...
Gilbert had waved off his brother, only half listening to what he was saying. He did hear "Watch the pot" and was doing just that, staring into the pot of boiling potatoes.
He looked up from the pot briefly, how long had THAT guy been there? "He doesn't do everything for me Specs, I mean is he watching this pot? Nope. Didn't think so. It must suck to be wrong so much." he said to the other before looking back into the pot.
He sighed yet again, re-adjusting his glasses. "No, but he WOULD be watching the pot if he didnt have to go out and clean the dogs that YOU went and got Dirty on your walk." he walked over and brushed some random mud off his face with his cloth, "Look at you.. at least take a bath before you try eating any of the food.. you know Ludwig will have puppies if any dirt gets soiled in the food.. especially if we're trying to conserve what we have before it spoils!"
Gilbert winced as though Roderich was putting a hot iron to his face instead of merely cleaning it. "Hey! I'm not THAT dirty, I dont need any mother treatment here!" he said, pulling away.
He looked back to the pot again, momentarily. He didnt WANT to pick a fight with Roderich...Ok yeah, maybe he DID but his brother entrusted him with this pot watching task and he was determined not to half ass it this time like the last two things his brother asked him to do.
"Listen, he asked me to take the dogs out! If he hadn't asked me to do that, they wouldnt have gotten muddy, they wouldnt have gotten me muddy, and he would be here watching this pot. So really, it's not my fault." he snapped at the other, before narrowing his eyes that seemed to contain a spark of mischief "What have YOU done around here, Specs? I am sure playing the piano all day or sitting around being boring has totally helped with the household tasks."
He looked down at himself. Oh..he really was covered with dirt and grass. Maybe reenacting a battle in the park with the dogs was not his best idea before dinner...
Gilbert smirked though, seeing a large clump of mud stuck to one of his pant legs. He reached down and scooped it up quickly and threw it at Roderich, hoping to hit him.
Roddy felt his face get hot before he sputtered out his defense, "If you MUST know, i'm the one who does the cleaning when big brother cant... IM the one who takes care of making sure our money isnt going out anywhere and we're spending it in the wisest way possible... and apparently IM the one who makes...."
He was going to mention about the chocolate chip pancakes before he felt the mud graze by the side of his face, splattering against his left frame.
Standing still in shock for a moment, it turned to disgust before he took them off, and proceeded to clean them as best as he could
Gilbert had not heard any of that, he was too busy pointing and laughing hysterically at Roderich. Sure his really awesome aim didn't seem that awesome today but he would just chalk THAT up to being tired from playing with the dogs. The point was that he DID get mud on Mr. Fancypants and it was too funny!
"Aww you better get out of the kitchen, West would have puppies if YOU get dirt in the food!" he went on. Yes, he had forgotten about the potatoes. Thank goodness it was not a roast or cake or anything like that he was left entrusted with.
Wiping away the dirt, he looked down and shook his head, "And look at you, do i dare see mud on Big brothers favorite dust pan that you just dropped all over?" he said, before pointing that all the mud he dripped over was indeed all over Ludwigs favorite cleaning tools.
He turned his head waving his hand, "Also, it looks like you arent caring about the task big brother west asked? And you arent intrigued in the fact that i was POSSIBLY thinking of making chocolate chip pancakes for desert?"
To signal Ludwig's ominous approach was some swearing and loud barking from outside. It got louder and louder and eventually Ludwig stepped into the kitchen, dogs at his feet, and Feliciano slung over his shoulder.
Quietly, Ludwig surveyed the room. The mud on his favorite cleaning tools, the mud on Roderich, the thankful lack of mud in the potato pot.
Right now he's trying not to get extremely angry. It's rude to get extremely angry in front of guests, even if they are slung over your shoulder.
Feliciano looked over at Gilbert and Roderich, "Ne Ne Deitsu~ Did we miss something with them?"
He looked over and waved from his position on Ludwig's shoulder, his typical grin formin as he did so, "Ousu~! I came to make some food for dinner too for Deitsu~! He hadnt had wurst pizza in a while! the potatoes we can also make into fries~"
Gilbert was going to launch into an argument with Roderich before his brother had shown up to quell the fires. Though..he didn't look happy, Gilbert just brushed that off as his brother just being himself.
"Puppies!" he cried as he cooed at the dogs again. "Feliciano!!" he cooed at the Italian. "Brother!" he cooed at the serious face.
Yup! He was just going to ignore the anger seeping off his brother AND Austria. He was just that awesome.
Roderich couldnt help but sigh. Now they had two idiots in the house... literally.
Walking over towards the cleaning tools, he started cleaning up a little of the mud, "Welcome back in Big Brother... Feliciano." he said as he greeted the two that came into the room.
"I'll take care of the mud... if you would like big brother." he said as he nodded his head towards the "burden" on his shoulder.
Ludwig, unaffected by Gilbert's cooing, set Feliciano down.
"As much as I like visitors," Ludwig began, looking at Gilbert pointedly, "I like them a great deal more if I know that they will be invited before the invitations are sent out."
Yes, Ludwig is well aware what Gilbert did earlier, Feliciano told him a great deal about it.
He went over and checked the pot. For once there was no dirt in it nor was it over boiled.
"G-Gilbert!" Ludwig muttered under his breath. "You actually attended to the pot properly!" Now Ludwig is hopeful because he has proof his older brother isn't completely inept at life!
Feliciano looked into the pot, "Waaa~ they're looking yummy~ I could easily make theese work well into fries... maybe a good salad..."
as he got moved around the kitchen, he started humming one of his favorite songs, "mmhm hm mhhmhhmhh.. (think the main hetalia theme)" as he started expertly working with the knives and such, helping Ludwig with making an even more extravagant meal.
Gilbert crept up behind Feliciano "Ahh you are so cute! Helping with dinner!" he cooed. Yes, he was avoiding his brother's scolding for the moment.
"Did you see the potatoes, West? I did a really amazing job of watching them before somebody distracted me from my duties!" he said, pointing at the food. How could he not be praised for this? It was beyond him.
He left Feliciano's side to go stand in front of his brother to collect his praise. Oh yeah, he should probably say something about inviting the Italian. "It was just Feliciano anyway, I was sure you totally wouldn't mind! That aside, I want my reward." he said, holding out his hand to count off his good deeds "I got groceries, I took the dogs for a walk, I watched the food, yeaah the way I see it I deserve something for this!"
Roddy stood there in an almost amazed state of shock. Gilbert? Did something right? and it wasnt just one thing... a few things? And it was on his own?!?
"I swear hell must be freezing over" he muttered a little as he ran his fingers through his hair. He couldnt believe it.
Looking over at Ludwig, he sighed before speaking, "Since it appears that you and Italia are doing dinner... then i guess i can do my best to help out with desert."
Francis opens the door with a little more flair than he would have normally, "Bonjour!" He calls. He steps into the room looking particularly unimpressed with the state of the house -German decorating never was his thing. Popping his head into the kitchen, Francis gives a quick sniff followed by the most dramatic disgust he can muster.
"Oh, what is this smell..." He says and places the wine that was in his hand down on the nearest surface, "I thought surely German cooking would have improved by now." He says with a playful expression, closing his eyes and shrugging.
In any case, Gilbert had invited him out of the blue and while Francis had decided upon request to show up -whether Ludwig knew or not- he decided that being fashionably late really was the sophisticated (and not too eager) thing for a true Frenchman to do.
"And to think you're throwing a party and I only just recently heard about it..." Francis twirls the end of his hair disinterestedly.
Feliciano looks around as he's cooking to see the familiar person enter the room before he smiled widely. "Aah~ Big brother Franc. Welcome~ " he greeted Francis as he kept cooking, humming to his own tune in a cute innocently like way.
Ludwig was about to tell Gilbet a long list of things he hadn't done right when Francis walked in.
"Just Feliciano was it?" Ludwig asked Gilbert irritably. "You dirtied my dogs, tracked mud in my house, threw mud at your brother, and invited more guests than you claimed into my home?"
"You, Gilbert," Ludwig grabbed Gilbert before he could move away, "are going to be coming with me for a few minutes!"
And with that Ludwig drug them both outside to hose Gilbert off.
"West!? WEST? No!" he yelled as he tried to grab onto anything he could as his brother dragged him away.
"It was just Feliciano and Francis! Weeest!" he kept on as the two of them disappeared.
(ooc: No worries, we'll return to the normal thread. I'm sure these two will be loud, so you're welcome to reference the noises.)
Ludwig drug Gilbert until they were just next to the hose.
"Gilbert...." Ludwig began darkly, "why is it that for every task you complete successfully you seem to mess up at least four others!?"
Gilbert struggled against the grip his brother had on his collar. If he were more nimble perhaps he could slide out of his jacket and run freely into the sunset. On the other hand, that sort of plan could directly blow up in his face and he'd end up strangling himself. No, he would have to try diplomacy he thought as he eyed the hose. West wasn't REALLY going to embarrass him like that was he?
He pulled at his brother's arm again before settling down and deciding to actually go with that stupid diplomacy plan. Just be smooth Gilbert. "Because, dear brother, I am awesome and therefore only one task at a time can be graced with my success. Ever think that maybe it is YOUR fault for asking me to do things that I am too awesome to do in the first place?"
Yup. Smooth.
"I ask a single, simple task of you to walk my dogs around the park," Ludwig frowned, "and they somehow come back covered in mud and not even hosed off!"
"If you were really awesome, you would bring groceries home in a timely manner, you would clean up after yourself, and if you did come back a mess you would not track it all over my house and slug it off on my cleaning tools!" For the record, Ludwig was pissed.
He grabbed the hose and turned it on.
"Since you seem to behave no better than a dog, I am going to wash you like one!"
And now the water was turned on Gilbert, clothed and all.
"Not to interrupt this...ah..." Francis smiles, a combination between amusement and something completely inappropriate for the situation, "moment." He says for lack of a better word, and he pushes his way out into the yard. Francis forgets his thoughts for a quick second to blatantly look Gilbert over, smiling to himself, and continuing.
"But, I don't suppose you'd need any assistance?" He puts his hands on his hips and gives the brothers a smug look -he'd overheard Roderich saying something about dessert and at least Feliciano could cook. Francis had grown accustomed to his home country's tastes, after all. He wasn't sure if he could handle a bland (German) meal and an equally bland (Austrian) dessert. At least the wine would suit him.
"I mean with the food, of course." He adds, tilting his head back a little to look at the two over his nose slightly and gives them the most innocent smile he can despite the situation.
"W-West! No! Stop!" he got out before he started sputter as water his his face. Gilbert began to wriggle and pull away again. This was humiliating.
Who was that? Oh no, he knew who that was. He looked pitifully towards Francis, his humiliation rising steadily which was in effect, turning to anger. He fought against his brother and the stupid garden hose harder. "Don't you dare fucking say anything Francis. Not one fucking word." he thought while he struggled.
"I can clean myself! I will, just let me GO!" he snapped, before manuvering his legs to try and kick his brother's out from under him.
For the better or worse, Ludwig is used to dealing with Gilbert and did not lose his perchase when Gilbert kicked his ankle. It did hurt enough that Ludwig let go of Gilbert's collar and the hose. He promptly turned the thing off.
"...Are you done making a fool yourself, mein Bruder?" Ludwig asked. He knew full well that was plenty humiliating.
"Francis, if you don't like the food here, then don't come and complain about it when it is being freely offered." Ludwig was still mad, but it wasn't directed at anything at this time. Be careful Francis.
"I don't remember saying that I did not like it, just that it could use a little, ah, improvement, non?" Francis says and backs up a little bit into the door of the house -wary of Germany's ill temper.
"Still," and he twirls his hair a little bit as he looks at the brothers, "it would be rude to refuse an invitation, ne c'est-pas~?"
Gilbert propped himself up with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He was soaking wet and now he was getting cold. He glared up at his brother, a bunch of empty threats going through his mind.
He stood up and shook his arms and legs a bit, trying to shake off the excess water before he went back inside. "I think I am going to take a quick shower before dinner..." he grumbled. At least Francis had not said anything, he probably wouldn't considering his brother's current temper. He was sure he would hear about it later though.
He walked past both of them, only offering a few low swears to Francis before giving himself one last shake and entering the house. Gilbert wanted to sop water all over the floor but not too much water...he really would prefer having a last meal before making his brother angrier.
Ludwig let Gilbert go, he'd been knocked down a few pegs, it would make him more reasonable the rest of the evening (hopefully).
"But wurst is perfect, you can't improve wurst...." Ludwig is a whee bit baised when it comes to his wurst. "Though, I suppose you might have some idea for what to do with that chocolate I have laying about...."
"If I must..." Francis says with a shrug and watches Gilbert move by him -he ignores the curses for now. "Your guests should be able to enjoy something, oui?" He bows into the kitchen and calls over his shoulder a little bit.
"You should be grateful you have big brother around to help you out in this kind of situation. The French really are the best cooks in the world, after all." He purposely lets the chunk of hair he'd curled around his finger go with an extra swish of his head.
Rolling his eyes, Ludwig followed. Giving Francis something productive to do would keep him out of trouble and keep the griping down. Not to mention Ludwig really didn't know what to do either.
His only hope now would be that Gilbert didn't get water all over the house. Well, at least water was easy to clean up.
(ooc: Back to the normal thread now.)
(ooc: Oh man I am totally awesome at HTML. That struck out bit was supposed to be in italics. Awesome.) | 
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