New writer and this is my first story. No flames, but helpful comments appreciated. Thank you for at least giving this story a chance. I do not own anything of Hetalia or anything of Funimation.

A man sitting in a fancy office room has fallen asleep on his desk. It is late around 11 o'clock at night. The busy streets of New York are unheard in this giant room. When the office door opens, the man slowly wakes up to notice how he had fallen asleep for too long. The very important papers for his business trip still need to be completed. The office man then noticed it was his business partner who opened the door.

"Tim. Was I expecting you this late?" The business man asked his partner. Tim, who was a tall and blond hair man, said nothing until he walked closer to the desk.

"No, you were not." Tim answered quietly but continued. "I apologize but I am moving to another job department and decided to tell you before I left. Sadly it is before the trip we had to take so Ludwig is making an arrangement for you to have someone else go with you to Italy."

The office man took the information in slowly instead of making an outburst. He nodded and looked down at all his papers. "Who is he pairing me with?"

"Feliciano Vargas." Tim responded and left the room. The office man had many different thoughts pass him that moment. He decided he was going to talk with Ludwig about this later the next day. The man still had papers to fill out.

~O~

Around 2 o'clock the next day, the office man went to his boss Ludwig. He knew he had to find out if he really was going on this business trip for sure with his new partner. The man was also thinking about all the things he heard of this Feliciano Vargas.

Just as his thoughts began, the door to his boss's room opened and he was asked to come in. "Lovino Vargas, pleased to see you. I'm guessing you heard of your new partner?"

"Cut your crap Ludwig. I bet you knew Tim was moving departments and wanted Feliciano with me. I have been told that guy is very annoying cheerful and is nothing like me even though we have the same last name." The office man named Lovino Vargas said in response. "You probably think it's funny too! I am not putting up with any crap. If this guy messes around while I'm trying to work, I'm done."

Ludwig took off his work glasses. He was a blond and rather built man. He took a deep breath before he spoke. "Lovino, as much of what you might have been told, Feliciano is a hard worker. He does act up by messing around but he gets his work done on time and it is rather impressive. I need you two to work together because I have a feeling you two would really help out this company. Also considering I know you well, you will fight me on this. So I made up a deal. If this very important business trip does not go well, you can have the job we talked about."

Lovino was in shock at first but spoke, "You know that is risking your company?"

"Not if I thought this through." Ludwig answered. "I also have Feliciano coming up here to meet you."

Lovino sat down in the office chair in front of him. The idea of getting the job he wanted was important but he still would get better pay from doing this business trip right. Just then the door opened and in came an auburn haired man.

"Ve~ Ludwig I came just on the time you asked." The man stated and sat down next to Lovino.

Ludwig nodded and introduced the two. "Alright, just to make sure, did you both turn in you papers to Antonio?" They both nodded. "Have fun on your trip on Wednesday then."

The two left the room in silence until the door shut. "I heard you talking to Ludwig."

Lovino frowned at the ground almost annoyed at the idea of being eased dropped. "What does it matter to you what I say to Ludwig?"

"It involved me, so I took the chance to know what's going on." Feliciano countered. "You sounded upset with the idea of me being you partner now because of those stupid rumors."

"So you do know about the rumors?" Lovino pried. "Yet you do nothing to stop them. That's pathetic. Shouldn't you want people to think better of you?"

Feliciano did not seem to care what he thought. "What you call pathetic, I call strong. Not many people can handle rumors like that, but I don't care what they think. I only care what I think of myself; you should too."

The slight smile and nonchalant response that came from Feliciano bothered Lovino. The conversation ended there as he didn't feel like fighting the man, and had to focus on packing.

After a brief introduction to his new partner, Lovino thought about what his boss had said. Ludwig was willing to give him the job he wanted if the trip did not go the way it should. However, was it worth risking the business? In his younger years he always had this dream of an ideal job, and felt like it'd make him a happier person. At the same time, Lovino felt as though he really had become a part of this business. Ever since his cousin Antonio got him the job, he felt he had really made an improvement with himself; the business was something he could rely on.

Why would Ludwig risk his business on Lovino's decision? It was the question Lovino kept asking himself. Also, why did Ludwig believe Feliciano could pull off being an impressive partner for Lovino? Why did he think Feliciano was so important to this business trip? These questions continued to plague him as he packed.

The set up was Ludwig's idea. He wanted the two to become partners. He even arranged a new job for Tim so the two would pair. Did he not know about the Feliciano rumors? Almost everyone knew about the rumors, so he must have.

Maybe Ludwig didn't care for the rumors. If he really did know and felt Feliciano was a good worker, he should have put an end to them. It seemed like both men did not think much of the rumors at all. Sadly, those rumors could destroy the company. Or, at least, that's what Lovino thought. The rumors had been around a while and nothing had happened. Maybe they weren't as bad as he thought.

Lovino looked at the clock and saw that it was already six. He was still in his office, thinking as he looked through business papers. A knock on the door caught his attention. Antonio stepped in without permission and sat in one of the chairs near Lovino's desk.

Antonio was a tan man with an almost light brunette hair color. It only seemed light when he stood next to Lovino, whose hair was a dark brunette. Antonio said with a cheerful smile, "you excited Lovi"?

Lovino retorted, "What did I say about calling me Lovi!?" Antonio liked to give people nicknames, but Lovino did not want any other name than his own. He said, "And what does it matter what I think about this trip?"

Antonio gave a look. He knew Lovino better than anyone, and could tell there was something wrong. "Are you not happy about the business trip to Italy? I mean, I know you wanted to go back to your home country, so I made sure you were able to go on this trip. Even Ludwig was more than happy to have you go on this trip. It's also really important for the company. We have to make sure all our branches in Italy don't cut us off."

"I know that. I'm okay with the business trip." Antonio gave his full attention as Lovino spoke. "I am just worried about my new partner, Feliciano Vargas".

Antonio went over and patted Lovino on the back. It was something he would do whenever Lovino seemed stressed. He said, "Lovi. Are you worried about Feli"? Lovino snapped back, "You gave him a nickname too? Look, Antonio, I'll be fine so do not worry about it, alright?" Antonio nodded to Lovino and took the hint that he wanted to be alone for a while.

"Have fun anyway, Lovi, It's only Monday; you have till Wednesday to bail on this trip". With that, Antonio left the room. Lovino hadn't even thought about bailing. He never gave up on any task. Maybe he shouldn't worry so much and just go on the trip. Standing up from his desk, Lovino decided to go home and get all of his packing done.