You say Gutentag, I say Namaste' ~Germany/India~

Sati wiped the fireplace mantle until it sparkled. She kneeled down onto the floor and began cleaning the German's fireplace. Already she had cleaned up the Prussian's mess but she felt that she owed Ludwig a beautiful home. Her hands became black with soot as well as her cheeks. It was all worth it though. Ludwig had shown her great hospitality and she fully intended to return the favor.

The event of his brother's visit had been a rather exciting one but, he did not wish to dwell on that right now. After all was said and done he had returned to inside his home, and then retreated into his kitchen to make up something delicious. Dinner had been rudely interrupted but, now he could get back to what he was doing before. His other guest he knew could not have any beef, and so he decided upon making a fish dish instead. The question was what? Germany's culinary experience was mostly with land mammals, and then of course there were vegetables. Never before had he prepared a dish of Talapia, Habbot, or Salmon, and so this would be a learning experience. Going to a cabinet across the room he fetched his cookbook, and then hurriedly turned pages until he found a suitable recipe. Walking around the kitchen he checked all ingredients he had at his disposal, and then the freezer at what kind of fish he bought.

The other day at the store the man had decided to pick up Salmon. It was a thought on a whim, an impulse buy he only made a few times a year. Luckily for him he had made this purchase so feeding his guest would not be difficult. Speaking of which he had actually not seen her since he came back inside the house. Setting the fish at the bottom of his sink, he turned the water onto lukewarm and let it run softly over the packaged meat. That way he could slowly defrost it without ruining the fish, or so that is what the instructions he read had told him. Far be it for him to actual do anything against normal regulations; that would be unheard of. Ludwig made sure he pulled out the side dishes before exiting the kitchen, and then made his way into his living room. There Sati was on her hands and knees, cleaning up his floor without so much as even being asked to. Furrowing his brow the stern looking man made his way across the hardwood floor towards her, his bare feet padding gently.


"You do not need to do this really, this mess is my own." The man assured her kneeling down onto her level. Really, he had never seen such kind behavior in his entire life but, he was not going to say he wasn't thankful for her assistance. The Indian woman was kind enough to even have helped make his dogs were all right earlier.

She smiled up at Ludwig upon his comment. "But I want to! You have shown me great hospitality and I need to return it! You are a very kind person and that kindness needs to be returned!" she chirped.

Sati went back to her scrubbing and hummed slightly, pleased that the fireplace was ginning to shine. Without thinking she moved next to the floor, scrubbing the area by hand and wiping it to a sparkling dry finish. And she kept working as if all was right in the world, and to her it was. Sati thought to herself that such a kind person deserved a clean home, and from what she knew of outsiders, the German people loved clean homes. And she was determined to give him the cleanest home she could.

The man found himself taken aback by such generous behaviour. Never before had he witnessed someone so willing to be kind to another. Even in his own country where hospitality was supposedly one of the main attractions, he had never happened upon anyone so kind. Standing up right again he made sure to step around where she was cleaning, and stood off to the side quietly for the moment. Well if he could not stop her then he guessed that he would let her clean. Clean to her heart's content but, he felt a little odd not being the one to do so. In the back of his mind he wondered if it would all be cleaned to his standards, and that everything would be as sparkling as he would have it. The German man always had those kinds of thoughts when someone else was cleaning. Prussia said he had OCD but, he only thought it was just him being as thorough as he possibly could.

"Are you thirsty?" The man inquired finally stepping towards the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and looked over awaiting an answer.

"Me? Oh water will be fine!" she smiled at the German before resuming her scrubbing. Sati started in a small area and began working her way outward in a circular motion, pausing only to ring out her sponged and soak it into the soapy water. The Indian woman continued this for 20 minutes before going to the bathroom and emptying out the water to replace it with fresh soapy water.

Immediately she went back to position and got to work. She continued to hum, smiling as the little bells she wore chimed happily. "Is the fireplace to your liking?" she inquired, glancing over at the sparkling area in question. "If not I can go back and clean it again." she added, suddenly worried and wondering if she did a good job.

Did the German appreciate how she was cleaning? Was it good enough? Did she need to get the bleach to get the porcelain to sparkle more? Come to think of it, more and more imaginary imperfections in her work began to rear their ugly heads. Unaware of it, Sati began to chew her lower lip nervously, and awaited the German's judgement.

Ludwig had gone to fix Sati her glass of water while she emptied the water. Really, the man was absolutely astounded at the level of care she gave. Never in his life had he come across someone so kind, and so willing to help clean someone else's home. Though, Germany's knowledge of India was only based off what he had read in books. That being said the books he had read were not entirely the best, and all other information was gathered at museums he had visited. Perhaps now he should take this time to learn more from her? Grabbing the glass which was cool to the touch, Ludwig walked into the living room upon hearing her question. Looking over at his sparkling fire place he stopped. Did she honestly think that it was not clean enough? Mein Gott, even he had never been able to clean something this pristine. Her skill with water, soap, and a sponge left his meticulous cleanliness in shame. Blue eyes scanned the fireplace more out of awe, and then he looked directly at the tan skinned woman.

"It is perfectly fine, the fireplace looks astounding." Germany reassured her as he walked to place the glass on the coffee table.

A big smile spread over her face. "I'm glad it pleases you!" she exclaimed, scrubbing the floor with more vigor. Before long she finished the floor and dusting the decorum in the room. Sati was thrilled that he liked her work, and continued working harder and harder until the room was finished. Then and only then did she accept the water from the German man. "Thank you very much Ludwig." She smiled, the room glistening behind her. It was so clean you could eat off the floor.

She put her cleaning supplies away and sat on the couch, looking very pleased. "How does the room look? Does it please you?"

Ludwig watched her work with interest, and was amazed at her energy as she went around the room. Did she really feel like she needed to do all this? He could only wish Gilbert was this courteous upon going into his home but, that was wishful thinking. Though the mental image of his brother was a feather duster was an amusing one. Taking a seat his eyes followed her after she was finished, and he seemed to have lost his voice when she spoke for a moment. Does it please him? The room looked as if he had suddenly been whisked away in the Hall of Mirrors! Everything shone with such brightness that the German man was sure he could see his reflection. The floors so neatly polished that Ludwig would be compelled to do the unthinkable; eat off of them. However, he was not so far gone into shock that he was going to do something that drastic just yet.


"Of course it pleases me, really. This is something that you did not need to do for me but, thank you very much." Ludwig cracked a small smile, why was it so difficult to smile? He then rose his glass and took a sip from it before setting it back onto the table.
"Now if you could just impart this work ethic to my brother..." Germany shook his head, "He used to be a hardworking, taciturn at times, and serious individual. Now he acts like a rebellious teenager who has no direction in his life, I worry."


No matter how many times Germany got onto Gilbert for his outbursts, and actions the man could not feel resentment. He only felt a growing sense of worry and anxiety over the situation surrounding Prussia. No longer an Empire, no land to call his own, how was he even still alive?