A/N: A bit of a introduction rather than a full chapter, hopefully I'll get this done quickly w was gonna be a one shot but oops got real long w''

Enjoy~!


Snow flakes fell from the sky outside an office window, the glass covered the thinnest sheet's of ice. It was mid December up in Canada, a cold scent of winter in the air. Kiku Honda was one of a few that did not enjoy this scent. He despised the cold, it always got him sick. He had lived in Japan until he was fourteen before moving to Canada, and ever since he could never comprehend how such weather can even occur.

But.. He pushed through it. The jobs were well-paying though he could never really afford to move back to Japan if he wanted to, so he just stuck with what he had. The place he lived in was an apartment, a moderately small one with one bedroom, bath, kitchen and living room. Homey, aside from a few noisy neighbors and the absence of company (other than his cat, but the animal was so unpredictable at times, it wasn't comforting to say the least), but nothing that couldn't be dealt with.

Kiku was soon back to what he was doing inside said office building, rooting through papers and faxed messages. He was a secretary, working for his boss , a man that earned lots of respect and loyalty the hard way; through hard work. He was the head of a well known brand company, so he made quite the pretty penny.

As his secretary, Kiku earned a fair share of money as well. He paid most of his money though into paying off his student loans and other college bills, apartment rent and other necessary things. In the end he ended up with some good extra money, which he used to bus to work or on lunches if needed.

His boss and him were in a... more business like relationship. It was complicated. Mr. Beilschmidt always admired Kiku's fast and smart abilities in the work field, admiring those aspects with curt nods and shoulder pats in approval, of course. Kiku tended to commend his bosses serious demeanor and deep thinking ability, which was a good thing for a boss to have.

The two never really got intimate and personal. Every time Kiku would think about getting closer to his boss, he quickly dismissed the thought. He had never seen a soft side to the man, and from the rumors and gossip tossed carelessly throughout the office, it seems no one else had either.

On this particular day, Kiku was seated at his desk, typing away at a key board. He was awaiting Ludwig to come and give him directions or buzz him from his office, but it'd already been ten minutes passed when he should've done that, so Kiku was getting a bit wary. Ludwig was never one to miss a day of work, even if he were sick, he'd at least bring his work home so he could finish it there.

"Hey there small-fry," Kiku was startled out of his thought process as a certain German's voice boomed in the small room from the doorway, Kiku tearing his eyes from the keyboard quickly. There stood Gilbert, Ludwig's well known boisterous brother. Kiku wasn't too fond of the man at times but they did share a somewhat strong friendship.

"Gilbert? Where is your brother?" Kiku asked, Gilbert pouting a bit from his greeting not being returned,but went back to his cheery attitude swiftly.

"He's sick, and I made sure he didn't bring his work home this time. The guy overworked himself to the point of catching the fever, so I'm taking over for him," Gilbert answered, Kiku going stiff. Gilbert wasn't exactly the most... well, he was just one to goof off whenever given the chance. He was capable of being serious, he just chose not to.

"Ah, really? Could you tell him that I hope he gets better?" Kiku hummed, knowing he probably wouldn't get the chance to say so himself. Gilbert merely snickered and waved a dismissive hand.

"Nah! You can do it yourself, I'm sending YOU to take care of him," the elder male replied, earning a disgruntled look from Kiku.

"What? why not you?" Demanded the Asian quickly, a bit confused but knowing faintly what Gilbert was hinting at, and boy did he not like it.

"Someone needs to house sit poor West, and someone needs to fill his job. Since I'm oh-so-talented, I'm qualified to take his position for awhile, while you can take a few vacation days on the house to take care of him," Gilbert explained, Kiku sinking down in his seat.

"...Why...?" Asked Kiku again in a, dare he say, whiny fashion. Gilbert couldn't help but laugh at the reply, coming over and putting his hands on Kiku's desk to loom over the smaller man.

"You and him have been buds for awhile, right? Haven't you been business partner for, what? five years now?" Gilbert inquired, Kiku leaning back in his chair away from Gilbert.

"Six, and just business partners. I've only been to his house once for a Christmas party. Why should our business relationship make me responsible for his health?" Kiku replied with a not-so-amused look, Gilbert pursing his lip.

"Well! You two need to get some bonding done, if you know what I mean," Gilbert said, raising a brow and smirking. Kiku stared at him for a moment in thought before his face darkened three shades of red.

"M-Mister Gilbert, if you keep acting like this then I won't go at all!" Kiku snapped, the German erupting with laughter at the reaction, bringing a hand to his own face.

"F-fine fine, so, you'll go?" Asked the still giggling man, Kiku sighing heavily and nodding a 'yes' to him.

"He cannot be sick for too long, right?" Kiku asked, Gilbert shrugging lightly.

"Luddy hardly ever gets sick, so he'll get over it soon... or not, he could be sick for weeks," Gilbert hummed, the man at the desk groaning lightly, making Gilbert giggle more.

"I'm just kidding," Gilbert chuckled in reassurance, managing to dart his hand out quick and sneak a hair ruffle to the Asian, who flinched and moved his head away, Gilbert pouting at this.

"I'll get going then," Kiku huffed, standing up to retrieve his things. He was still blushing up to his ears, just not as badly as before. Gilbert 'pffed' as he noticed this, not trying to laugh again.

"Luddy thinks you're adorable, y'know?" Gilbert suddenly blurted out, Kiku furrowing his brows and quickly turning his head away to hide his embarrassment.

"D-do not make up such lies," Kiku muttered, Gilbert pursing his lips, watching Kiku put away some papers.

"He does~! He told me himself, well, the lil' book he writes in did, but still Luddy can sacrifice ONE secret being told," Gilbert blabbered, Kiku sighing as he thought Gilbert was just trying to get him to blush more, if that were so he was very successful. Kiku grabbed his coat, a dark purple in color. He slipped it on, bottom of the coat reaching his thighs in length.

"Do not freeze out there little birdie, its minus-ten put there," Gilbert cooed as he straightened up, digging his hand into his own pocket. He pulled out a little key and set it on the desk.

"Use this to get in, west's probably sleeping. He's expecting you, though," continued the man was he turned and started towards the door, waving Goodbye with a a little 'good luck~!' before he left.

Once left alone, Kiku heaved a heavy sigh, not enjoying his situation. He was horrible at getting close to people, usually when he met someone, they found out where they stood with him and kept it like that, like mister Jones who he found to be a very nice friend. They often played video games and talked about latest games published. Since the American was involved with gaming companies, it was easy to get new things to play.

Gilbert though... he always kept trying to push past the business-partners. Kiku had known Gilbert for as long as he did Ludwig, and he was always attempting to get closer or more intimate with him, which Kiku didn't like. He hasn't been touched or held or whatever in a caring fashion since he was a kid, and planned to keep it that way.

Kiku snatched the key off the desk, stuffing it in his pocket. He didn't want to think too deep about it. It was a topic he always didn't want to think about at all.