Chapter 2 – Two halves don't always make a whole.

Tino took in a deep breath through his nose before straightening up, clutching the strap across his chest from his brown leather satchel; the trusty, slightly worn one that he used every day without fail, and making his way towards the elevator leading to the 35th floor. Once in the elevator he quickly peered at himself in the mirror. Today he wore a black and white check shirt with the sleeves rolled up half way, a black satin waistcoat and black trousers. His shoes were slightly pointed and shiny white and a black beret sat atop his mass of fluffy, almost white hair.

Perhaps it was a little too much for the eye to take in at once, but it suited Tino in an odd way. He wasn't unfashionable per say, but he always found a way to mix one style with another to create his own, sort of crazy signature style. He was very short in height so sometimes he didn't even pass for his age of 23 - and still having braces didn't help either, so he was usually taken for someone much younger and wasn't always taken seriously.

With this in mind he began to run through in his mind what he would say to his new boss. Should he go straight in for a hand shake, or introduce himself first and wait for his boss to offer his hand? He wanted to give a good first impression unlike the day before and the fiasco at his interview. Before he got chance to make a decision the doors of the elevator glided open and Tinos' eyes widened at the sight before him. How could something so… so modern fit into a building with architecture so regal and old?
He swallowed nervously and stepped out of the elevator. The front desk was directly infront of where he stood, so he approached it. Strangely, no-one seemed to be behind the desk. Tino stood on his tip toes and craned his neck in order to peer around the office.

"Um, Hello?"

Just seconds later a woman stood up quickly, almost as if she popped up out of thin air, and startled Tino. She breathed out sharply causing her fringe to blow upwards. Long, chocolate coloured hair was tied into pigtails and held by two red ribbons. Her large brown eyes blinked a few times before she regained her composure and sat down in her chair.
"I'm sorry about that," She paused to smooth out her hair a little before continuing, "Welcome to ICON. How may I help you?" a small smile sprung up onto her lips as she looked Tino in the eye.

"Um, I'm here to start my new job. I'm Tino Väinämöinen, assistant to the Editor in Chief?"

"Ah! Yes, they said you'd be starting today. Come with me and I'll show you to your office." She came out from behind the desk and walked around the circular pod which seemed to be the main reception area, as all else Tino could see were various glass offices and studios. The place truly was amazing. Pictures of models and mannequins with designs on littered the walls and hallways, and on one particular large wall just to the left of the elevator was the front cover of every issue of ICON from the very first, right up until the current one, all surrounded by a black frame hung in rows of eight.

"Follow me. Francis should be in the conference room right now, so I'll take you there. I'm Michelle by the way." She said with a smile.

Tino followed just a few steps behind her, observing everything that they passed, trying to remember the way. The clicking of the small heels on Michelle's shoes and the somewhat heavy thumping of Tinos' steps echoed as they walked down a tunnel-like corridor. Tino wasn't the lightest of people, but by no means the heaviest. He was a little overweight but the extra pounds accumulated mainly around his thighs and bottom rather than his stomach, giving him a rather feminine appearance from behind. He was never really bothered by his weight and wasn't self-conscious at all, so he didn't mind wearing clothing such as skinny jeans, but compared to Michelle and her dainty steps he became aware of how loudly he walked. Thankfully, Michelle broke the silence.

"So where did you come from?" she asked as they turned a corner.

Tinos' concentration on trying to lighten his steps disappeared when he replied.

"Oh, well I originally come from Finland but I moved here because-"

"No, I mean what job did you have before this one?"

They stopped before a set of glass double doors. Inside Tino could see several people seated around a circular table and at the head of it, a man with long, blonde hair tied back in a ponytail stood. He was dressed in a deep red suit and stood with magnificent posture. That had to be Francis.

Tearing his eyes away he replied to Michelle's question, now feeling slightly embarrassed and nervous.

"Well, apart from helping out in my friends' bookstore and a few internships at college… this is my first real job." He said with a small smile.

The kind and caring look which Michelle had when leading Tino to where he was supposed to be suddenly vanished upon hearing this.

"That's funny. When I applied for your position they said I wasn't experienced enough." And with that, she turned on her heels and stalked away back the way they had come. A wave of mixed emotions suddenly washed over Tino, guilt being one of them after seeing the look on Michelle's face, before he decided he should greet his new boss before worrying about anything else and getting him flustered. Nothing was going to ruin his chances of a good first impression.

He took another deep breath through his nose and strode forward... only to run straight into a glass wall.

"Emil!" Lukas called to his brother from the kitchen where he'd just finished preparing breakfast. It was a routine of his to wake each morning at exactly 06:30, even during the weekend. Emil on the other hand chose to not wake up at all, relying on his brother to get him up for school. He was currently in his last year of school at 17 years old and couldn't wait to leave that wretched place.

"Emil! Are you up yet!?" Lukas shouted for the second time upon having no response the first time. Lukas had finished preparing breakfast over ten minutes ago. He sat himself down at the table, took a slice or toast from the rack and began to cover it in Jam. Today his routine for the day was to drive Emil to school, drop some books off at the library, go food shopping, check his items on eBay and if he'd sold any make sure to package them to be sent the following day. The rest of the day could then be spent how he pleased until it was time to pick Emil up, prepare dinner and then possibly help Emil with homework if Tino wasn't already doing so.

Glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall which read 08:24, and Lukas was now frustrated. Emil's breakfast would probably be cold by now and they should be leaving for school in less than fifteen minutes. Lukas drove Emil to and from school every day and liked to be on some sort of schedule. Rolling his eyes, he stood up from the table and walked swiftly down the corridor. Throwing the door open, he entered into Emil's bedroom. Emil was completely hidden in a tangle of blankets, sheets and pillows.

Shaking his head, Lukas approached his brothers bed.

"Lukas what're you doing?! It's cold!" Emil whined still half asleep whilst retracting into a small ball in the middle of the bed, much like a scared hedgehog, when Lukas stripped the bed of all blankets suddenly exposing Emil's skin to the chilliness of their apartment first thing in the morning.

"If you actually wore night-clothes to bed, you might not be as cold. Now get up before I send you to school in your underpants." Lukas stated simply before dropping the blankets in the floor and leaving the room, just as quickly as he'd come in.

Emil blinked in the harsh morning light streaming in from his window and glared after Lukas as he stalked out, propping himself up on his elbows. "They're boxers! I don't wear 'underpants'!"

Tino found several pairs of eyes suddenly staring at him as he stood with his hand over his nose. It throbbed badly from where he'd collided with the glass, and he could only hope that it wouldn't bruise or start to bleed. 'So much for a good first impression.' he scolded himself as he gently pushed open the door he'd run into and sidled along the inside of the wall. He came to a stop next to a group of people who were stood at the back of the conference room. Francis quickly caught Tinos' eye before clearing his throat and continuing to speak before he was interrupted by his new assistants… graceful entrance.

"So. As I was saying. I'd like to thank you all for joining me on such late notice this morning, but I thought that we'd run through this month's agenda for the photo spread featuring Natalia Arlovskaya. We all know she's a hard model to work with but we should feel honoured that she's offered to appear in this spread."

The majority of people in the room began to take notes as Francis spoke, including Tino. He'd never heard of Natalia before, so it'd be a good idea to perhaps research her later in order to impress Francis with his knowledge. Francis continued to speak and Tino took more notes when suddenly they were yet again interrupted.

"Oh, so you started without me. How very kind of you, Francis."

Tino looked up from his notepad to see a man stood in the doorway. His face was utterly striking, yet somewhat unusual looking. Piercing green eyes scanned the room quickly whilst thick and insanely large eyebrows furrowed above them. Untamed locks of blonde hair framed his face. A beige tweed suit adorned him and he adjusted his tie slightly as he stepped into the room. He was very aristocratic and seemed to look down his nose at the entirety of the room, including Francis. Tino was a very observant person and took all of this in in a matter of seconds.

"Well you were late. Sometimes you'll have to skip your morning cup of tea if you wish to be on time for meetings, Arthur." Francis chortled a little and shrugged his shoulders, dismissing the latest addition to the room whilst turning back to face the rest of the company. He was about to continue speaking when Arthur cut across him, now standing at the opposite end of the table.

"So now that I'm here we can discuss the shoot with Natalia Arlovskaya. Elizabeta, I need you to be in charge of the photography. Please make sure that all of the photos we are using go into the correct folder to be printed into the spread, and the photos that are being discarded get, well… discarded. Your style of photography will be perfect for this shoot, no?"

"Yes, Mr Kirkland! Do you want me to go and find Vash and Berwald so we can get set up for her arrival tomorrow?" Tino could only guess that the pretty woman who answered to Arthur was Elizabeta. She seemed happy to oblige to Arthur's instructions and left the conference room quickly and quietly, clipboard in hand.

"I assume that everyone else knows their positions? Could I please ask that if you have no part in the spread and are seated in here, please return to your work. The meeting is over for you-"

"Arthur, I understand that you own half of this company, but let me stress the word HALF to you." Francis interrupted Arthur in his tracks, making it clear to raise his voice slightly upon the word 'half'.

Everyone who had began to stand up upon being dismissed hovered awkwardly, some even gingerly sitting back down again.

"Yes but Francis dear, I understand you own 'half' of the company," Arthur mimicked Francis by too exaggerating his word, "only one of us out of the pair seems to know how to run a successful magazine. And that's me."

A:N: Hey everyone! Thanks for reviewing and following this fic, I hope you're enjoying it as much as I love writing it. Sorry these first two chapters are a little short, they'll get longer as we get more into the story. :) Thanks for reading!