Chapter 4 – The Representative
"Are you 1000% sure that I didn't bring it home last night?" Tino flapped frantically turning every piece of furniture upside down. Lukas stood in the kitchen, still in his pyjamas with his hair stuck up everywhere after only just rolling out of bed just moments earlier. He sighed and pressed his hand against his forehead. It was way too early in the morning for this.
"Yes, Tino. I'm 1000% sure you didn't bring that stupid binder home last night." He said bitterly, rolling his eyes and yanking the refrigerator open, taking the carton of orange juice and pouring a glass for Emil, who would be in any minute now. Today was one of those rare occasions where Emil was actually up before Lukas could wake him. He liked to do this sometimes to prove a point to Lukas that he was getting to bed at a reasonable time and not staying up all night playing video games. By going to bed early enough he wasn't too tired to wake up on time in the morning; therefore saving his game console from being confiscated.
"Ugh, Lukas I don't think you understand how important that binder is! It's not stupid!" Tino was now crawling around in the living room beside his pull-out sofa bed on his hands and knees.
"Erm, Aunt Tino? What are you doing?" Emil came into the living room, tucking his school shirt into his trousers as he walked, but stopped suddenly, a little confused as to why Tino's butt sticking out from underneath his bed was the first thing to greet him.
"Oh! Emil! Come here! You're smaller than me, do you think you could crawl a little further under here and see if you can see a binder hidden somewhere?" Tino beckoned to Emil, his voice muffled and obscured by the fact that he was now completely under the make-shift bed.
"Give it a rest already, T! It's not here! Get yer fat ass out from under the bed and get to work!" Lukas shouted from the kitchen, causing both Emil and Tino to jump, Tino smacking his head off of the bed frame in the process. "Emil, come an' eat your breakfast." He finished, and slammed a plate of toast down on the table.
"Sorry." Emil whispered to Tino, who had now emerged from under the bed, looking like a kicked puppy.
Reluctantly, Tino trudged into Lukas' bedroom and over to his wardrobe. Because the apartment only had two bedrooms, Tino slept on a pull-out sofa bed in the living room and kept his clothes and belongings in a separate wardrobe in Lukas' room. Lukas had offered to share his room with Tino when he first moved in, but with them both being grown men, they decided it would be a little difficult; especially when Tino used to have Marcus over. Tino didn't mind his pull-out bed either. It was a double that he had all to himself and was ridiculously squishy; as he had discarded the mattress that originally came with the bed and purchased a thick memory foam one.
He pulled out an outfit and threw it on in a huff, still panicking about loosing the binder. Perhaps if he got to work earlier than he was supposed to, it would make up for the lack of binder? Hah, yeah right. But at least he was putting in the effort. Having already washed and brushed his teeth that morning, Tino waltzed into the kitchen, snatched a gingerbread cookie, slung his satchel over his shoulder and left the apartment, slamming the door behind him. His stomach was in knots so he didn't really feel like eating a proper breakfast, so he munched on his cookie as he hurried to work.
Lukas had offered to give Tino a ride to work after dropping Emil off, but Tino wasn't in the mood for Lukas this morning after the way he had shouted at him; and the walk to work should help calm him down before facing Francis.
Just over twenty minutes later Tino arrived at the Publications and called for the elevator. Once inside he began checking his face in the mirror for any crumbs that might have stuck to his flushed cheeks. Walking all that way as quickly as he did had tired him out and his breathing was heavy and echoing as he rode the elevator up to the 35th floor. The doors opened all too soon and when Tino stepped out he collided with somebody entering the elevator, knocking a hot drink out of their hand.
Tinos' hands covered his mouth and he stuttered numerous apologies as he bent down beside the man who was attempting to mop up the spilt drink with a single napkin.
"Oh my god, I'm really sorry! I didn't even see you there; I was in a world of my own. Are you okay? I didn't burn you with that drink did I?"
"Don't apologise, it's alright. These things happen, and I wasn't really watching where I was going either." Soft, kind eyes looked up at Tino through a pair of thin, round glasses while their wearer attempted to tuck a long stray strand of hair behind his ear; with no luck at all as it sprang back moments later. He stood and held out his hand. He was considerably taller than Tino; though bearing in mind, it was hard to find another male who was Tino's height, let alone shorter than him. "I'm Matthew. Matthew Williams. Arthur's assistant." he said, introducing himself.
"Tino Väinämöinen." Tino shook Matthews hand firmly.
"It's nice to actually meet you. You're Francis's new assistant right?" Matthew began before stopping himself, "Ah, you looked like you were in a hurry though before bumping into me, don't let me keep you from where you were heading. I can clean this up." Matthew smiled softly before bending down again to pick up the empty paper cup.
"Oh! Yes, I need to be somewhere. Thank you, it was uhh, nice meeting you too! Again, I'm sorry!"
Tino had already set off down the corridor before he could even finish his sentence. He decided that he was going to go right up to Francis and explain that he'd misplaced the book before the guilt could build up even more. He hurried past his desk on his was to Francis' office, as it was in the room next door, and as he passed he glanced through the glass wall at it and noticed something on laying there that wasn't there when he left yesterday. He stopped, squinting a little before turning around and making his way over.
There, sat right in the middle of his desk, was his binder. Tino flopped down in his chair, a huge sigh of relief escaping his lips. On the binder was a yellow sticky note. Tino peeled it off and read over the scruffy pencil scrawl.
"You left this in my workshop yesterday. - Berwald."
A huge grin broke out across Tinos' face. He just couldn't control it. He wasn't sure if it was purely because his binder had returned and he was no longer on the verge of losing his job, or if it was the person who brought it back to him that had anything to do with it. At any rate, Tino would be sure to thank Berwald next time he saw him.
Now that he had his binder, Tino could begin his days' work. To start off the day, he had to type up and organise Francis' schedule for the day, making sure that none of his meetings ran over or overlapped another one; that sort of thing. Then he was to deliver it to Francis' and complete any tasks given to him by Francis'.
"Alright… let's see here." Tino talked quietly to himself as he typed up and printed off the schedule. He had it done within half an hour and was on his way to Francis' office by the time 9 o' clock rolled around – half an hour earlier than it should have been done.
"Good Morning, Francis!" Tino chirped as he entered Francis' office finding him sat as his desk tapping away on his laptop.
"Oh, Good Morning, Tino. Is that my schedule you have with you?" Francis peered over the screen at Tino who was now stood at the foot of the desk.
"Yes, I got here earlier than I thought, so I might as well have made myself useful and get this to you early. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Some breakfast perhaps?" Tino asked, holding out Francis's binder.
"Oh, Thank you. I appreciate you bringing this to me early." Francis said, taking the binder from Tino as he held it out to him. "I was a little over run to tell the truth. And though it would be nice, no coffee or tea for me. I have to be somewhere in…" he paused to check his wrist watch, "Well now, actually."
Francis closed his laptop and stood, taking his suit jacket from the back of his chair and slipping it on. He remained there for a moment in thought, before straightening his jacket and continuing, "Say… You haven't by any chance heard of Natalia Arlovskaya before, have you Tino?"
Tino shook his head. "Um, well no. Not really. I did do some research on her yesterday though when I heard you mention her in the meeting. She's a Belarusian model. Why do you ask?"
A large smile crept up onto Francis' face.
"Well then, how would you like to be her assistant during the fashion shoot this afternoon?"
Tino's mouth fell open, but he quickly closed it again aware of how dumb he must look, but it was his second day on the job and he was already being offered a task such as this. He thought he'd at least just be running around after Francis, offering him coffee and snacks for the first few months. In truth, he didn't think models had assistants besides their actual PA, but he was clearly wrong.
"Yes, I'd be happy to!" he said, reflecting Francis' smile. "Is that really okay? I mean, what would I have to do?"
Francis flipped a piece of stray hair over his shoulder and shrugged, "Oh, well nothing much really. You'll just need to tend to her needs, say, if she needs a glass of water. It's not a very important job, but it's quite a big responsibility to make sure that she's happy and willing to do the shoot for us. You'll be representing our company, Tino. I'm counting on you."
Francis gave Tino a nod before fastening his blazer and exiting the room.
"Francis, wait! Where do I go? And what do I say?" Tino called after him.
"Just meet me down on floor 32 at 1 o' clock today, I'll explain everything then."
The canteen made Tino feel like he was back in high school. Everyone seemed to have their own little friendship group which crowded around a specific table. A few groups gave Tino odd looks as he wandered around looking for a spare table. If it wasn't for the food actually looking and smelling appetising, then right now would pretty much have been a step back in time to when Tino was just a teen. He began to panic, feeling anxiety and paranoia creeping up on him as people began whisper to each other. Were they talking about him? It was his clothes, wasn't it? Oh God, Tino. Why didn't you take Emil's advice and just tone it down a little?
'You're just being paranoid; we're all adults in this room. Mature, grown up adults.' Tino scolded himself under his breath for getting himself worked up over nothing and continued his search for a place to sit.
"Tino!"
He glanced over his shoulder, eyes scanning frantically for the voice calling him. It was Matthew, waving timidly at him from a rather crowded table across the room. A kind looking woman who Tino recognised from yesterday's meeting sat opposite him. She too was looking at Tino, a smile gracing her face as she patted an empty seat next to her, inviting Tino to come and sit. Tino smiled back, relieved to have found somewhere to sit as well as someone to sit with, the thought of eating alone didn't sound fun.
"So, you're Tino! The clumsy little Finn!" the woman said as he neared the table and took a seat next to her. She let out a light laugh at the sight of the confused look on Tinos' face.
"I'm Elizabeta, one of the photographers here. I was in the meeting when you decided to take an attraction to our glass door." She smiled into her cup before taking a sip of her beverage. A few others around the table chucked slightly, but in a humorous way it seemed, not out of spite.
Tino blushed furiously and cleared his throat. "Ha, yeah. I was trying to make a good impression too. Looks like I messed that up."
"Don't worry about it, we needed a laugh before Arthur graced us with his presence…" a blonde haired, spectacled man said a little bitterly. Tino gave a shy smile, not really knowing what to say. He obviously didn't know Arthur as well as these people did, so he would leave the insulting to them.
"Let's change the topic, shall we? This is our break after all, and the poor dear doesn't even know your names, guys." Elizabeta said, resting her elbows on the table, cupping her chin in one palm, and using the other hand to point out each person as she introduced them.
"You know the lil' cutie-pie Matthew over here, he's Arthurs' assistant. This here is Eduard, ICONS' financial advisor. The lovely Toris, a fellow photographer. Feliciano and Lovino, brothers and stylists. Michelle, our beautiful receptionist, and last but by no means least, Christina Densen*, wardrobe." She finished with a smile, each person either nodding or grinning at Tino as they were introduced.
"It's nice to meet you all! I was worried about finding friends when I noticed how grouped together everyone is. It's just like high school!"
Lovino rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so I guess you could call us the social rejects then or something. I only sit with these idiotas because everywhere else is full. I could sit where ever I want if I felt like it." He said in a huff, stabbing harshly at his baked potato on his plate. The table then broke out into chatter, most insisting that Lovino loved sitting with them, and he was just showing off in front of Tino. This resulted in Lovino eventually leaving the table dramatically, saying something about going off to find his self-esteem, a trail of curse words following as he did so.
"You'll get used to him. He's very sweet really." Feliciano said, taking the discarded baked potato from his brothers' plate and tucking in.
Tino laughed a little. "Yes, I'm sure he is. But I also have a question." he said.
"Oh?" Feliciano looked up from his meal.
Tino looked over his shoulder before asking, scanning the room just in case, before turning back to his company.
"Where's Berwald?"
Eduard choked on his food a little and his fork fell out of his hands while the rest of the table exchanged glances in stunned silence.
"How do you know him?" Toris asked quietly. It was the first time that he'd spoke and his voice was calm, with a slight accent. Tino scratched the back of his head and explained how he had gotten lost yesterday and Berwald had shown him the way, and about how he had returned his binder to him via the note on his desk.
"I see." Toris replied with a smile, yet he was the only one smiling.
"Um.. do you guys not get on well with him or something?" Tino questioned upon noticing the unchanged expressions.
"Sort of. There are various rumours about him and he has quite a bad reputation, so we don't really interact with him. No-one does really." Eduard stated simply with a shrug of his shoulders.
That was horrible. But what could he have done that gave him a bad reputation? Maybe he was a murderer? Maybe those cuts and bruises on his hands weren't from wood work? All sort of things were now buzzing around Tino's mind. To put his fears to rest, he decided to ask.
"I-If you don't mind me asking, what are the rumours?"
The table seemed to hesitate; exchanging glances before Christina finally sighed.
"There are no rumours. No-one really knows why he's always alone. I guess we all just assumed that there was a reason." She began, "He's been here longer than all of us, so when we first got here, he was always being avoided. We just joined in I guess, assuming somethin' was up. We don't really know for sure. He's a really weird though. When he does come out of his workshop, which is kind of rare, he doesn't really talk to anyone."
Tino sighed in relief, but his heart sank at the thought of Berwald eating all alone somewhere. Berwald had obviously been working here for many, many years, but he didn't seem to have a single friend. Yet here was Tino sat at a table full of people who already loved him and he hadn't even been here a week yet.
"That's such a shame, he seemed really nice. I'll agree, a little weird, but everyone deserves to have friends right?" Tino wasn't really talking to anyone in particular, just mumbling to himself. The rest of his company had resumed the casual conversation that was circling the table before Tino sat down. Michelle was explaining a rather complicated hairstyle to Christina, who nodded along eagerly. Tino ate in silence, just listening to the chatter amongst the table before his eyes trailed towards the clock.
"Oh crap!" He jumped up in a hurry and slung his bag over his shoulders.
"What's wrong?" Elizabeta questioned.
"I'm supposed to be meeting Francis down on floor 32 any minute now! Sorry guys, Bye!"
Tino was already rushing off down the corridor before he could even finish his sentence, leaving both his tray of food and a few stunned faces at the sudden burst of energy behind.
He hurried to the elevator and called for it, pushing the strap of his satchel back onto his shoulder when it began to slip while he waited impatiently for it to arrive. With a 'ding' the doors finally opened and Tino stepped inside. He was glad to find it empty. Turning to the mirror, he began to fix his hair. He pulled a comb from his bag and gave his bangs a quick brush, making himself look presentable. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was exactly 1pm. He'd just made it.
The monotone voice over in the elevator announced 'floor 32' as the doors glided open and Tino stepped out. It was a busy floor, with all kinds of people milling about. Unlike the maze of offices and small studios a few floors up, this floor was just one big open studio, with lights, cameras, props and backdrops scattered everywhere. Tino noticed though amongst the sea of people hurrying around that Francis was nowhere to be seen.
"There you are! Thank god, we were worried that you'd gotten lost and the shoot would be delayed!" Someone took hold of Tino's arm and spoke to him quickly, tugging him in the direction of a dressing room in the far corner of the set. She was dressed in black pants and a black t-shirt, with ICON's logo printed in white text across the front, and held a clipboard in her free hand.
Although Tino was confused, he just let her take him with her without a fuss. He wasn't late, it was exactly 1pm, but she worked on this floor, and so obviously she knew what she was doing. It wasn't until he was whisked away into a dressing room and a stylist began to strip him down did he realise this was a mistake.
"You're a bit short to be a model for this shoot… are you sure these clothes are the right size? Who measured you?"
The stylist began to fire questions at him as she tried to unbutton his shirt. In a panic, Tino pushed her hands away and turned away from her, extremely embarrassed about his exposed chest and stomach.
"I think there's been a mistake! I'm not the model you're looking for." He cried, fumbling to fasten his buttons back up.
The look on the stylists face was nothing short of a look of pure rage.
"Sir, are you, or are you not the representative from ICON?"
Tino swallowed and nodded, shrinking back a little under her gaze. "And is your name Tino Väinämöinen?
Again, he nodded, but this time more hesitantly. The stylist showed the clip board to him, and indeed his name was written on there.
"In order to give ICON some credit for hosting and sponsoring the shoot, we allowed the company to put forward one of their models to appear in the shoot, and your name is on that list."
Tino was stunned, but he couldn't deny the facts. His name was there in black and white ink, clear as day. He had never modelled before in his life! This was definitely a mistake, but Francis's words from earlier echoed in his mind.
"You'll be representing our company, Tino. I'm counting on you."
He would no doubt be in trouble if the shoot didn't go as planned, and maybe he would even lose his job! Hell, he might even get a bonus on his paycheck for doing this. Tino had never been so reluctant in all of his life to remove an article of clothing as simple as a shirt in his life.
"Y-Yes. Sorry, you're right. My mistake."
The stylist nodded, and without a word, stripped Tino down to his underwear. She was quick, and her fingers worked like lightning on the buttons. First his shirt, then his shoes, pants and socks, gone before he could say another word. She then began to re-dress him into rather… revealing clothes.
To say that Tino was way out of his comfort zone was an understatement. He remained shirtless, with just a tight black pair of boxers on. The undergarments had a garter belt around the top, which were attached to high black stockings. He looked like something out of a kinky lingerie brochure! He stood with his arms folded tightly across his chest, face pink with embarrassment. The stylist didn't look pleased at all. She eyed Tino up and down, obviously not satisfied with his lack of bodily muscle.
"You don't really look like our other models… but we haven't got any time left to worry about that." She snapped, her hands firmly on her hips.
"Um, what exactly are we shooting today?" Tino's voice, much to his horror, squeaked when he spoke, nerves truly getting the better of him.
"It's a lingerie shoot. Natalia will be the centre of the shoot, of course, and yourself and two other men will be modelling around her; in the background if you will. Make it hot, sexy and flirty. Now get out there." She commanded, pointing to the door of the dressing rooms.
Taking a deep breath, Tino made his way out into the studio.
I can do hot. I can do sexy… I can do this. He told himself as he walked onto the set. There, Natalia was already lay upon a bed in beautiful, white lacy lingerie, and two tall, tanned and well-toned men stood at either side of the bed; dressed in exactly the same clothes that Tino was wearing. Shit. I can't do this.
They looked him up and down as he approached them, his heart pounding in his chest. Even the photographer seemed a little taken aback, but nonetheless he called for the shoot to begin.
"Alright! Looking good. For the first 20 frames, I want Natalia spread out across the bed. You're the centre of attention. You there," he pointed to the taller of the two male models, "I want you on that sofa to the left of the bed. We're going to make this sexy. Natalia, you're a queen! Work it!"
The camera snapped away, and Natalia looked practically regal upon that bed. Tino and the other male model stood off to the side, out of shot. Tino began to fidget; he could feel the sneers from the population of the room and the judgmental eyes upon him. He was in a panic, and so time went by in a blur, and the next thing he knew he was being called for by the photographer.
"Alright, Blondie. I want to try something with you. I want you up on the bed with Natalia, make close contact with her. Natalia, I want you to dominate him."
He nodded towards the bed, and Tino's legs nearly gave way as he began to step forward.
Natalia sat up on the bed, gaze heavy as she watched him approach. She looked so delicate, like her skin was made of fine porcelain. She shifted on the bed, making room for Tino. She had a strange look on her face, which frightened Tino even more. Oddly enough though, when Tino went to sit next to her, she smiled softly at him, probably sensing his hesitation. This was awful; Tino was going to embarrass himself. Hell, he wasn't even straight! Though that probably didn't matter if you were modelling, but I order to feel sexy and comfortable, it probably helped, right? Just as Tino was about to sit, the double doors at the far end of the studio slammed open, and a loud bang echoed throughout the room.
"What on earth is going on!?"
Tino whipped his head around, as did lots of other people including Natalia, startled by the sudden entrance. Stood in the doorway, holding the two doors open at the side of him with outstretched arms was Mr Kirkland. Matthew and Elizabeta were stood just a little way behind him. Arthur strode into the room and people parted to make way for him as he approached the set where Tino was frozen with fear, one leg up on the bed. Matthew was scurrying behind him, worried eyes locked with Tinos. He brought a finger up and dragged it across his neck, signalling that Tino was in for it if he didn't get his ass off the set.
Arthur stopped infront of the set and looked around.
"Do I need to repeat myself, or is someone going to answer my question? And where is Francis?"
The entire set broke out into chaos. Arthur began to argue with the photographer, demanding that Elizabeta would take over from now on as she was originally assigned to do it. Matthew was frantically trying to locate Francis, and Tino could have sworn he just saw a stylist slap someone. He stood in the set, rooted to the spot next to the bed unsure of what to do with himself. Suddenly, someone grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him from the set. His mind was so lost within the chaos and the embarrassment of so many people seeing him in tight underwear – especially Arthur – that he didn't even realise who it was who was leading him away until they were safely hidden back in the dressing room. He pushed him further into the room and closed the door behind them.
"Berwald! Where did you come from!?" Tino squeaked, snatching up his clothes from where they hung over the back of a chair.
Berwald remained by the door and kept his gaze to the floor as Tino wiggled into his trousers. He shuffled around a little and awkwardly wrung his hands.
"I'm here 'cause I helped move the bed an' set up the set. That's what I do, remember?"
Tino instantly felt bad for making Berwald think that he'd forgotten. It's not that he didn't remember; he was just caught up in the commotion of what had just happened that it slipped his mind.
"Of course, sorry."
Berwald stood for a moment before reaching for the door handle. "Mmm.. I'm gonna go now."
Still with only one arm through his shirt Tino called out for Berwald not to leave, and just wait for a moment. It's true, Berwald was awkward, a bit weird and ever so slightly frightening with that harsh glare, but Tino wasn't afraid of him like everyone else. In fact you could say he was curious about this strange man and felt like getting to know him wouldn't be such a bad idea. Plus, he had already seen him in nothing but a pair of underpants. The ice was a bit beyond broken now.
"Wait, Berwald. Stay with me for a minute."
Berwald lifted his head up and finally made eye contact with Tino.
"…You want me to stay?" he seemed a bit shocked, but those gorgeous eyes shone with a brightness Tino had not yet seen. He nodded.
"Yeah. Why don't we just sit or something while we wait for the chaos out there to calm down? I mean, we don't have to sit, we could stand. And talk. Only if you want to. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. I don't mind talking instead. Or we don't have to talk at all. Sorry…"
Tino fidgeted when Berwald didn't respond and instead just stood there – hand still on the door handle – and looked at him. Then his hand slipped from the handle and swung loosely by his side. A large hand came up and rested behind his neck and Berwald hung his head rather sheepishly.
"Mmm… talkin' is nice."
A smile broke out across Tino's face as he finished buttoning up his shirt.
After all the commotion on the set had calmed down and the photo-shoot turned out to be a complete disaster, Tino, Arthur and Francis were all called into Mr Beilschmidt's office. They all stood before his desk, each mad at each other for various different reasons.
"See this is exactly why I was reluctant to leave as soon as I handed the company over to you, Francis."
Mr Beilschmidt sat behind his desk and scolded the three adults before him as if they were just school children.
"Was this really a mistake, or were you just trying to get around the deal that we made?"
Francis shrank back under Ludwig's gaze and he and Arthur quickly exchanged knowing glances. As far as Tino was concerned, he had no idea what this deal was they were talking about and was in the room purely because he had been the one involved in the mix up and was the one forced to go out into a public room in very revealing underwear! Nonetheless, he hung his head and was rather intimidated by the power of Mr Beilschmidt.
Francis narrowed his gaze at Ludwig and stuffed his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels.
"Of course it was trying to get around the deal!" he said finally, running a hand over his chin, avoiding Tino's gaze as he looked at him.
Mr Beilschmidt didn't respond and instead turned to Tino.
"Mr Väinämöinen, I appreciate you coming all the way up here but I have nothing else to say to you other than I apologise on behalf of the company about what happened this afternoon. You may leave now."
Tino nodded and slung his satchel over his shoulder, looking at Francis once more to try and catch his eye, but he had his face downcast.
"Thank you, Mr Beilschmidt."
Although he was glad to be dismissed, he couldn't help but wonder what this deal was that they were talking about. It hadn't really been answered why he had been put on the modelling list and how come nobody was asking about for Natalia's assistant. So upon leaving Tino made sure to leave the door open very very slightly. It was wrong, and he may get fired for this if he was caught. But nobody was around to see him and all of the walls on the floor of Mr Beilschmidt's office were made of brick and plaster, not glass, so he could not be seen by the company in said office when he crouched down by the crack in the open door and placed his ear against it. Their voices were slightly muffled by the thick door, but Tino could hear well enough to make out what they were saying. Plus, Francis had now raised his voice.
"I know it was wrong of me, but it's not fair!"
"Is this deal you speak of what I think it is?"
Mr Kirkland spoke up for the first time since being called into the office.
"Yes, Arthur, it is. And it wouldn't be this way if Francis could keep his hands off of female assistants!"
There was the sound of a chair scraping across a wooden floor, which was no doubt Mr Beilschmidt rising up from his seat like he always did when he was growing irritated.
"But why him!? Matthew is a handsome male, someone nice to look at! If you didn't want to give me a female assistant then why not give me a remotely good looking male at least? Someone who actually dresses like they work at a high class fashion magazine and not some short, fat, brace-face who doesn't seem to understand the importance of dressing to impress!"
Tino felt his heart drop to his stomach when he realised it was him that they were talking about. He could feel his mouth going dry and yet he couldn't seem to stop listening.
"Francis, I chose Mr Väinämöinen because I knew that you would not try to flirt with him, and you would not find him in the least bit attractive. When I saw him down in the lobby on the day he applied for a job here that is what I thought. And so I hired him after your little.. incident with your previous assistant, and it turns out that he is a very nice young boy and he gets the job done! I will hear nothing more about this, and I am very disappointed in you for trying to get rid of him by embarrassing him like this and ruining my company's reputation with Natalia and her manager!"
After Mr Beilschmidt's speech, Tino was choking back tears. Even the compliment about him working well couldn't change the fact that he now knew his superiors opinions about him, and that he had gotten the job just so he would repulse Francis into not wanting to flirt with his personal assistant. His heart was shattered into a million pieces. Wiping a few tears away that dared to leak out, Tino stood up and clutched his satchel strap tight across his chest. Never in his life had he wanted to get away from a place as much as he did right now.
"Hello? Lukas Thomassen speaking." Lukas put on his best phone voice as he answered his mobile.
"I wasn't expecting you to call first anyway."
Lukas narrowed his brows, confused at the strange greeting from this person with an unknown number.
"I'm sorry, who is this?"
There was a pause before the person spoke up again.
"I got your napkin. Though I was surprised that you didn't leave a tip. How very mean of you."
Suddenly realisation hit and Lukas's heart hitched into his mouth. He quickly brought his mobile phone away from his ear and covered up the speaker with his palm. He quickly looked around the living room to make sure Emil was definitely in his room. Though he was nowhere to be seen, Lukas got up from his place on the couch and walked into the kitchen and leaned against the countertops, putting the phone back to his ear.
"Tell me, what did you do to earn your tip?" he asked down the receiver, trying to sound as confident as he could.
His admirer, otherwise known as Matthias, laughed a little and his breath muffled through the phone.
"Well, I kept you company didn't I? And I make a good cup of coffee."
"Annoyed me sounds more like it, and I've tasted better…"
"Oh really? And who brewed it for you?" Matthias asked inquisitively.
"That would be telling. But I've had a fair share of people who liked to make me coffee in the morning." Lukas said, then immediately wanted to kick himself for saying something so stupid.
"That doesn't surprise me. You're very charming."
Lukas's eyes widened a little and he didn't really know how to respond to that. Throughout his life he had always been the quiet, weird one who no-one ever really noticed, and he watched everyone around him settle down with partners. Next year he would be 30, and hadn't even thought about dating for a god few years.
Wait, dating? Who said anything about dating? For some reason Lukas was assuming that this boy wanted to date him. What if he just wanted to be friends? Nothing that he said indicated that he was looking for a partner, and Lukas was straight after all. Lukas's heart began to race and he fell silent, a strange feeling eating away at his stomach. Matthias seemed to pick up on this Lukas's loss for words, and he spoke again.
"Sorry, that sort of slipped out. Uhh, so…"
As if on que, Lukas heard the sound of Tino's keys rattling in the front door and sure enough, when he peered into the hallway he saw the distinct outline of his friend through the netting on the front door window.
"Listen, now isn't really a good time to talk. Sorry, but I have to go."
Matthias sounded a little annoyed at the conversation being so short, and almost sounded desperate to make sure that they would speak again before Lukas hung up.
"Okay, fine. But I'll speak to you again. Are you home tomorrow?"
Lukas hesitated, though he knew the answer fully well. Of course he was home. He rarely went out unless he was going to the library or out somewhere with Emil or Tino. During the weekdays he was always sat behind the counter of his little bookshop downstairs, drawing or reading and watching the hours tick by. To be honest it would be wonderful to have someone to talk to during those slow hours when nobody came in.
"Yes, I'll be home tomorrow."
Matthias sighed, in relief or content perhaps?
"Ok. I look forward to speaking to you again. Bye."
He hung up before Lukas could even respond.
The door slammed closed which signalled the arrival of Tino, though something was off. Usually when Tino enters their home he will call out to Emil and Lukas to let them know that he's back. Lukas waited, but it didn't come. He slid his phone into his back pocket and peered into the hallway again to see Tino leaning against the front door with his hands covering his face. His shoulders were shaking a little as if he were crying. Sure enough, as Lukas approached him he could hear muffled sobs coming from behind tiny hands.
"Tino, what's the matter? Come here. Tell me."
Lukas gingerly took hold of Tino's wrists and lifted his hands away from his face. Tino's eyes were red and puffy and full of tears and his cheeks were red and flushed from crying. Lukas wasn't all that good at comforting people – it was usually Tino who was the cheerful one and did the comforting – but right now Lukas needed to do something. Tino never cried like this.
"I've just h-had… the worst day of my l-life." Tino said between sobs, snatching one hand away from Lukas's grip to wipe the tears from his face.
"Shh, come and sit down. I'll get you a tissue. Take your coat and shoes off though. I don't want shoes in the house. Get sorted out and you can tell me all about it."
Tino sniffled some more and nodded, kicking his shoes off and angrily sliding himself out of his coat. Lukas went into the living room and grabbed the box of tissues then flopped down on the couch, patting the cushions next to him. Tino came over and sat next to him, staring at the colourful patterns on the rug. He had stopped crying now and wiped the last of his tears away with a tissue when Lukas handed him the box.
Lukas didn't say anything, and just shifted on the couch and brought his legs up so that they were crossed and he was facing Tino.
"They think I'm ugly. They think I'm fat. They embarrassed me and they tried to get rid of me. I'm a laughing stock. Hell, they don't just think that, they said that! I heard them!"
Tino crumpled his tissue in his fist in frustration and fresh tears threatened to fall. Lukas placed a hand on his shoulder, his expression full of concern.
"Who said that? How did they embarrass you?"
After taking a deep breath, Tino retold the tale of everything that happened that day. Everything from Francis offering him the job as the models assistant to the last thing he heard Mr Beilschmidt say before he left the building. Lukas's grip on his shoulder tightened as he told the story and by the end of it he was in tears again. Lukas uncrossed his legs and shuffled closer to Tino, pulling him in for a hug. If it were anyone else, Tino would have been so embarrassed to be seen like this, but he and Lukas were as close as brothers and he found great comfort in resting his head against Lukas's somewhat bony shoulder, feeling the softness of his sweater against his cheek and breathing in his warm scent. Lukas put his arm around Tino's shoulder and ran his hands through his hair, a technique he had used to comfort Emil when he was younger.
"I don't know what to say. They should be ashamed of themselves, the lot of them."
Tino could feel Lukas's chest hum and rumble when he talked, but he couldn't concentrate on his words. The words of Mr Beilschmidt and Francis were still swimming around his head. After a few minutes of silence, Tino sighed and mumbled,
"Lukas… Do you think I'm fat? What about my clothes? Do you think I could impress someone professional?"
"Tino, of course you're not fat!"
Tino raised his head from Lukas's shoulder and looked at him.
"Answer me honestly, you can't say anything that will upset me more, so why not just tell me the truth because-"
"Stop it." Lukas barked, took hold of Tino's shoulders and turned him around fully so that he was completely facing him.
"Alright, yes, you're a little chubby, but I wouldn't say you're anywhere close to being fat. Your clothes are a little bright an' crazy, but it's unique to you. You work for a fashion company, of course you're gonna stand out but that's because you don't dress like a clone like everyone else does in the 'latest fashion'! You might not be able to dress to impress, but you can certainly impress people. You walk into a room with a smile on your face and even the grumpiest of people – like me – will feel like the sun just shone a little bit brighter. Who needs a fancy suit and tie when you can impress people just by your presence and the way that you carry yourself? Fuck Mr Bonniefry or whatever he's called. He's clearly just a player who's probably got every STD in the book and doesn't know that people can be beautiful on the inside as well as out- Hey, what are you cryin' for!?" Lukas stopped talking and stared at Tino.
Tears were streaming once again down Tino's face, but this time he was smiling.
"That's the most I've ever heard you say at once, Lukas!"
Lukas rolled his eyes and slapped Tino playfully on the knee.
"I'm being serious here."
Tino placed his hand over Lukas's and smiled a little wider.
"I know. Thank you."
The two snapped their heads towards the living room doorway when they heard someone wretch as if they were going to throw up. Emil was stood leaning against the door frame with his finger pointing towards an open mouth with his tongue poking out, faking at throwing up.
"So when's the wedding gonna be, huh? You two sound like a couple from like, a romance movie or something."
Lukas narrowed his eyes at his little brother.
"Don't be so insolent! And what have I told you about sayin' 'like' unnecessarily?"
"Oh, Lukas, leave him alone. He's young; your old mind has yet to adjust to the new way of speaking." Tino chided, catching Emil's eye.
Lukas hit Tino again on the knee, harder this time. Emil came into the living room and joined his brother and his housemate on the couch. Tino stood up and almost immediately after Emil sat down, and so Emil swung his legs up into Tino's empty spot and spread out on the couch, laying his feet across Lukas's lap and stretching out with his arms behind his head.
"I'm going to make dinner. Who's hungry?" Tino said as he began to walk through into the kitchen.
Emil groaned, "It depends… what are we eating?"
"Well I thought I'd experiment with-"
The two brothers interrupted their housemate simultaneously with a plea for Tino not to try out another one of his weird dishes.
"Why? What's wrong with my cooking?"
Tino seemed to forget all about being upset and instead enjoyed his time with his strange little family. While Tino and Emil were arguing about cooking, Lukas slipped his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his 'recent calls' section, found the only other number that wasn't Tino, Emil or his parents and added it to his contacts under the name: "Matthias".
A:N: Christina is fem!Denmark. She is an angel and I love her. Thanks for reading!