DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hetalia or anything related to it. It belongs to an epic man in the name of Himaruya Hidekaz.

Chapter 1

Kiku packed his clothes into his suitcase. It was a day before his flight to France wherein he was assigned to be a photographer for Ciel*, a French travel magazine. He decided that it was the safest choice since French magazines are usually grotesque and revealing. Despite already having read a lot of hentai, yaoi, and yuri mangas, he's still not prepared to see a naked body in personal.

He sighed nervously and felt a shiver down his spine. It was his first time to be out of Japan, and he's not used to the feeling of leaving his home. All his life, he had spent every single day at work. If not, he would plop down his bed and read manga. He rarely hangs out with friends, and if he does, it would be at the coffee shop near the workplace. It's not that he doesn't want to socialise. It's just that he grew up in a very secluded environment with strict parents, and he had gotten used to staying at home and rarely going outside. He has lived with the belief that the outside world might do him harm, so he forced himself to stay away from people, even if it means having no friends at all.

But then he realized that being isolated from everyone else doesn't solve anything, and so he chose photography. Little by little, he's getting himself used to people. However, that feeling of anxiety still wouldn't leave him, and that's when the boss decided to take him to France.

Kiku pushed his thoughts away as he laid his back on the bed. He was going to miss Japan. A lot. As much as he wanted to stay, he couldn't or else his work would disappear in a flash. Besides, it's only France, one of the most beautiful countries in the world. What bad could happen?

Or so he thought...

Kiku had a jetlag. He didn't expect that a plane ride would be so exhausting. He had to go through a lot of inspections, his suitcase was so heavy, and the plane was too crowded, according to him, that is. He never had the chance to truly appreciate France's beauty for he had gone straight to his hotel room after the arrival.

The room was a large Western-style room with a double bed and a television on the wall in front of it. There were two tables-one side table and one study table-beside the bed and on its left was a door leading to the balcony. The bathroom was the room in front the main door, and right beside it was the closet. French paintings adjourned the wall, adding a bit of a Renaissance feel to the room. Kiku thought it looked dashing, though he had a hard time getting himself used to the room.

The Japanese man went straight to the bed, startling a bit when he bounced on the soft mattress. His eyelids had gotten heavy as he yawned. He was so tired that he didn't bother to pull the covers. He just closed his eyes, hoping that he would be able to get a good rest.

That is, until his phone rang with his boss's name flashing on the screen. Kiku groaned, annoyed at his boss's inability to differentiate 30 minutes from 10. He reached for the phone in his pocket and answered the bleeding call.

"Kiku, you need to come here now aru! The magazine's editor-in-charge is looking for you aru!" his boss Wang Yao's voice blasted from the other line. Kiku rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. When Yao panics, he doesn't have any other choice than to follow the older man or else he'll have to suffer endless whining about laziness and Hello Kitty. Somehow, every conversation with Yao always ends with Hello Kitty.

Kiku forced himself to get up and grabbed his SLR camera. It's just for a few minutes, he thought. His boss better treat him to dinner after this.

"Ah, Kiku! You're finally here aru!" Yao stood up from his seat to accompany the Japanese man to their table. There were two men sitting across their table. One had whitish blonde hair and vibrant purple eyes, while the other had long blonde hair flowing until his shoulders, a very short stubble resting on his chin, and brilliant blue eyes resembling the deep blue ocean in which one might drown if he wasn't careful enough.

"Mr. Ivan, Mr. Francis, this is Honda Kiku, one of my most talented photographers." Yao introduced as Kiku bowed down in front of the two men.

"Zdrasvuite**, comrade! I'm Ivan Braginsky, editor-in-chief of Ciel." The taller purple eyed-man stood and shook Kiku's hand.

The long-haired man stood up as well and cleared his throat. He looked at Kiku with interested eyes and said, "Bonjour. Je m'appelle Francis Bonnefoy." He lifted Kiku's hand to his face to plant a small kiss on it, but the Japanese man immediately pulled it away with a straight face. 'Hmm, so stubborn.' Francis thought, smirking at Kiku's cold expression.

The four sat down and ordered their beverages as the two bosses discuss about their upcoming projects. Kiku browsed through his SLR's pictures, yawning every now and then. Soon, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He looked up to Francis on the other side of the table sipping a glass of iced coffee with eyes settled at his façade. Kiku found it uncomfortable, pulling off a scowl.

"Please don't do that." He demanded to the Frenchman, drinking his own cup of what they say was Maccha green tea, though it didn't really taste like it.

"Do what?" Francis teased, leaning closer to the black-haired photographer.

"That. I don't find it comfortable when people look at me for a long time."

"Is that so?" Francis finished the remaining dregs of his coffee before turning back to Kiku. "How could you be a photographer, then? People basically look at you for a long time when you take their pictures."

"I take pictures of nature and landscapes. I rarely take photoshoots with human models, and if I do, it's only because the actual photographer is absent and I'm just acting as substitute."

Francis raised an eyebrow at the reserved Japanese man. His charms wouldn't work on him, and it's the first time Francis experienced such rejection. Interesting.

After the long conversation between the two bosses, they all agreed to start the photoshoot tomorrow after breakfast. Ivan gave his business card to Yao and Kiku; Kiku did the same.

"Oh, wait!" Francis retorted, grabbing a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote his number on it. He gave it to Kiku who was hesitant whether he'll take it or not. 'It was like asking yourself if you want your virginity taken or not.' Kiku thought, rejecting the French man with a headshake. He gained confused stares from Yao and Ivan, who shrugged it off with a laugh.

"He's just that shy aru." Yao told Francis, who nodded in understanding. Yao instead took the paper from the French man's hands and kept it inside his pocket.

Before they parted ways, Francis made sure he gave the reserved photographer a flying kiss, which Kiku only ignored. Kiku doesn't like him. He thought Francis seemed too confident for him, but he hoped that it was just a first impression. He wouldn't want to work with somebody whose ego is even bigger than his brain.

"Oh, yeah, Kiku?" Yao called, shoving Kiku's thoughts for a while. "I know a great French restaurant nearby. I'll take you there as an apology for taking away your remaining 20 minutes aru."

Kiku turned to his boss and smiled. He guessed his boss could tell time after all.

End of Chapter 1

Finally! I've published my first multi-chappie fic! France*Japan is one of my greatest TP's and it saddens me that only a few acknowledges them. This was supposed to be a personal fanfic, but because of ImDREW and her inspiring words, I decided that I'll put it here in FF. Thanks, Gam! You really are the best! OTL

*Ciel is a French word meaning "sky." It's one of the few French words I know. I wasn't using a translator at the time I was writing this. But it works! It's a travel magazine after all!
**Russian for "hello"

If there are any mistakes, please do point it out so that I could fix it soon. ^^

Should I continue this? Please review! It would make an alien happy, and I'm an alien! XD