DenEst (another vball au) 2

                                    

                                          


                          
Sliding open the door, Esti looks around the rather small house, eyes glancing over the living room. It was illuminated by a soft, warm yellow light which seemed to embed itself in every little crack and crevice in the floors and the walls. There was a small bookshelf tucked away in the corner, its wood-- painted white-- splintering from age and the burden of carrying the heavy, leather-cover books, gifted to Pip by a girl in the tennis club. ( wink wink :0). 
                          
The small couch in the centre of the living room had blankets sprawled over it, the coffee table was messy with crinkled notes and a few textbooks stacked on top of each other. There was a glass of water there too, half empty as it stared at the television, which was playing the women's tennis rounds. The sound from the TV was lovely; it filled the room with a homey atmosphere-- completely unlike Estonia's apartment, where each wall stood with a pale, white face; everything was tucked away, out of sight: the TV was never on either. 
                          
It was refreshing. Lively, but calming. Warm.
                          
Estonia's gaze drifts to a boy with an apron on, stumbling out of the kitchen with a rather large knife in hand. She blinks at him before bowing politely, hands folding neatly, hovering above her thighs. "Good evening, Pip. It's nice to finally meet you." 
                          
Esti was always good at being polite. 
                          
Pip's smile is tired (when is it ever not, though), and he waves with his free hand. Normally he'd be much more polite, but it's easy to see that he's exhausted "Hey Den, Estonia. You're actually earlier than I expected, would you mind waiting until I finish making dinner?"
                          
In actuality, they weren't early at all, but just five minutes later than the arranged meeting time. Pip was just accustomed to Den coming at least 30 minutes late. "You can sit on the couch, if you want. Can I get you something to drink?"
                          
"Redbull!" Den chirps. He seems to be right at home, already tearing apart Pip's couch, lifting the cushions and checking behind it.
                          
"Absolutely not. You can have water." Pip disappears back into the kitchen, still speaking. "If you're looking for the socks that you left last time, they're on the coffee table. I took the liberty of washing them, since you probably won't do it yourself. Estonia, do you want a drink?"
                          
"Do you have any tea?" Esti raises her voice only slightly, still keeping her polite nature as she walks to the couch, sitting beside Den and resting her hands in her lap after setting her backpack underneath the coffee table. She hands the folded socks to Den. "If not, water is fine. Thank you." 
                          
Den snatches the socks from Esti and stuffs them into his backpack which he dropped unceremoniously on the floor, following the socks with the volleyball, forcing it in and zipping his backpack shut as he grumbled about 'dirty sock thieves.'
                          
Some sounds come from the kitchen, and after a minute or two, Pip comes back out with a glass of water in one hand and a cup of hot tea in the other, setting both down on the coffee table. "I hope chamomile tea is okay, I added some sugar in it too."
                          
Estonia nods, thanking Pip quietly as she takes the tea into her hands ceremoniously, setting it on her lap as she hummed. 
                          
She fucking hates herbal teas. But she couldn't tell Pip that, she didn't want to be rude-- she just had to deal with it. Hopefully Den wouldn't say anything bluntly. 
                          
Den completely ignores the glass of water, instead glancing towards the TV and cackling as he rubs his hands together. "Women's tennis, huh? I knew you were an avid fan, but--"
                          
"Mal or Indo must've left it on," Pip snaps, grabbing the remote and changing the channel quickly, seeming slightly flustered. "That's all."
                          
"Uh-huh."