A/N: Welcome to Chapter One! Now the story can really start!

I usually take a breather between writing chapters, but I got the news that my cat died today (I live with my grandma now). To distract myself from being sad, I am writing as much as I can in terms of fanfics as well as original stories.

Poor Toris; he is so unlucky… He finally meets Feliks in this chapter, though~

Toris' coworkers in this are not Hetalia characters; they're not too important, but I still had to give them names, so I guess that makes them OCs, XD.

*Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.*

01: First Impressions

It had been a year since Toris started working at Vilkas Enterprises. He knew he should be grateful for the job, especially since he was able to quickly find an apartment within his budget, but it was draining to him. It wasn't the work itself, however. No. Secretarial tasks, while repetitive and menial, were actually quite comforting to Toris. What hindered his enjoyment of work were his coworkers.

"Are they still doing this to you, Toris?" A tall, blond boy with glasses gently grabbed the brunet's arm, wincing at a bruise.

"It's okay, Eduard; the 'year of initiation' is almost over." Toris pulled himself out his thoughts in order to meet his roommate's eyes. Seventeen-year-old Eduard von Bock was admitted into college a year early, and needed a place to live. Since he and Toris were pen-pals in high school, the older boy was happy to help. (Not to mention, Eduard helped pay the rent and grocery bills, which made living together a cheaper option for both of them.)

The tall blond shook his head. "It's not right. This is an apartment leasing agency, and these people are hurting you."

"Please. It's not that bad. The worse they do is push me around and maybe throw supplies at me." While Eduard was correct, and the constant hazing took its toll on him, he wasn't about to complain, especially not when the pay was so good.

"I don't like it." Eduard adjusted his glasses. "Businesses aren't supposed to be this way. Hell, these men are adults, yet they're acting like schoolyard bullies."

"I think it's because I was able to get this job so easily, and I get paid a little more than some of them. They're just jealous. Jogaila warned me about this."

"Yeesh. I'm not going to lecture you anymore, Toris, but be careful, okay?"

The Lithuanian nodded, relieved that he could finally change the subject. "I did find out something interesting at work, though."

Eduard raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

"Jogaila's getting married. And he's merging Vilkas Enterprises with his fiancée's company. She also runs an apartment leasing agency, can you believe it?"

"Is she also Lithuanian?" Eduard took a seat on the couch next to Toris.

"Nope. Here's the kicker. She's Polish. That's what makes this so interesting." The brunet drummed his fingers on the coffee table.

"I thought you said you didn't care about your home country's politics?"

"I don't. But considering how I've heard older Poles and Lithuanians complain about each other, even here, I find this marriage intriguing. I wonder how they met…"

Eduard smiled wryly. "I had no idea you were into romantic drama and gossip, Toris." With a laugh, he slapped the brunet's back. However, the grin quickly fell when his friend winced. "Toris?"

"It's nothing. I just wasn't expecting that, that's all."

"Toris." Eduard's tone turned serious. "Let me see your back."

With a sigh, the Lithuanian turned so that his back was facing Eduard, allowing him to gently lift his shirt up.

"What happened, Toris?"

"I take it there's a bruise."

Eduard narrowed his eyes. "No shit there's a bruise. It looks like a shoe-print."

"Oh. Yuri Kazakov thought it would be funny to step on my back while I was picking up some papers I dropped yesterday. It's no big deal; he's the biggest jerk of the office; he even pushes some of the others around."

"This isn't right. You could sue, Toris."

Toris lowered his shirt and turned back to face Eduard. "I can't, Ed. As much as I would love to transfer to the next town's branch of the company—they're a lot nicer—there are no job openings there. And if I quit this one, it would be nearly impossible for me to find a job that matches its pay, since I'm not in university. If I quit, I'd lose this apartment, my car, and everything else because I wouldn't be able to afford it. I'd be on the streets, Ed. And so would you, unless you transferred universities and moved back home. I couldn't do that to you. Or to myself. So I just suck it up; it'll be worth it in the long run."

Eduard nodded, though he didn't look happy. "I understand, but I hate it. What gives them the right to treat you like crap? Seniority? That's BS, and you know it! My coworkers don't hurt me because I'm the newest member of their team. Sure, we don't all get along, but we're at least mature enough to be civil. At least let Jogaila know; maybe he can fire the worst of them."

"Jogaila's the one who warned me that the others probably wouldn't act too kindly towards me, and gave me advice for staying on their good sides. Even though it only worked some of the time. He didn't want to fire anyone because they're good at what they do, so he basically told me that the environment would make me stronger."

"Wow. The more I learn about this guy, the more he sounds like a sleaze." Eduard frowned.

"He's not a sleaze; he's just trying to do what's best for his company."

"Even at the cost of your well-being?"

"I'm not that important, Eduard."

The two said nothing until Toris looked at the clock. "Šūdas!" he swore, smoothing his shirt and rolling his sleeves back down. "My ride should be here soon; I have to go to a meeting to discuss the merger with the Polish company."

He was right. Not even a minute went by before Toris' phone went off. A text let him know that the car had arrived. "I'll be back later, Eduard. Do you mind if you make dinner tonight?"

"I don't mind, though you know my cooking's not that great. Text me when you're leaving?"

"Definitely." With a nod, Toris grabbed his jacket and left his apartment, running as fast as he could to his ride.

The brunet's heart sank when he opened the car door and noticed his companion for this endeavor was none other than Yuri Kazakov. The ride was silent until they parked in front of a narrow, though elegant, building.

"You better impress him. If you embarrass us, or the company, so help me… Don't make us regret hiring you," Kazakov spat, yanking on Toris' shirt.

"Him? Him who?"

"Consider this to be a test, of sorts. Jogaila wants you to talk to one of his fiancée Jadwiga's friends, who happens to be one of her employees, about the merger. His name is Feliks, and this meeting's actually at his house. Jogaila wants to know if you two can get along, since apparently, you're going to be work partners."

Toris nodded, even more nervous than before. "I'll try my best."

A slap across the face—hard enough to hurt, but soft enough that it wouldn't leave a mark—snapped the brunet's head to the side. "Trying isn't good enough. You will make a good impression. Otherwise there will be consequences."

His stomach churning, Toris exited the car. Without saying another word, he followed Kazakov into the building and through an almost-scary looking hallway. When they reached their destination, Toris was met with an…unusual…sight.

What? The brunet's face nearly turned red when he saw the young man in the chair. The blond was clad in an archaic-looking cape that would have looked weird with any outfit. If he had been wearing one. Besides the strange garment, the shorter male wore only a pair of briefs.

"Umm…" Toris' voice caught in his throat. "You better impress him. If you embarrass us, or the company, so help me… Don't make us regret hiring you." Remembering the warning he was given in the car, the brunet dug his nails into his palms in order to calm himself down. "My name is Toris Laurinaitis. I'm here to discuss…" He paused as his stomach churned. Seeing the disapproving face of Kazakov, he tried to make his voice stronger. "I'm here to discuss the marriage of my boss to yours, as well as the merger of our, ah, of their companies." Please let that be enough; I don't think I can keep this up… Besides the fact that Feliks (That was his name, right?) was barely wearing any clothes and looking like he just rolled out of bed, Toris was deeply intimidated be the look in the blond's eyes.

"That's right." Toris noticed that the young man's voice sounded confident, with a slightly bored-sounding drawl. His English was better than Toris's own, and though he still had an accent (Polish? Has to be…), it was more subtle and masked. Because he was so deep in thought, he missed what his new colleague said next.

"Ah, can you repeat that, please?"

The blond raised a thin eyebrow. "Are you listening, Laurinaitis? I said that I found it interesting that both of us were chosen to discuss this rather than the happy couple themselves."

Toris sensed a bite behind the Pole's words, but he didn't say anything. Especially since he didn't know why the bitterness was present. "Ah, yes," he finally responded with, trying to be neutral. "That is interesting, Mr…."

"Łukasiewicz. Feliks Łukasiewicz. But just Feliks is fine."

"Okay, Mr. Łu—er, Feliks. It is nice to meet you." Toris assumed that this talk was a test, to prove that he was worthy of working for such a prestigious company. Maybe that's why Feliks is only in underwear. Maybe it's some sort of initiation for him, too. His company must be run the same way, since Jogaila wants to merge with it…

"Hello, Toris? You're spacing out again. It makes you look stupid, you know that?"

The brunet's face burned with shame at Feliks' words. He could just feel Kazakov glaring at him. Oh God. I'm screwing this up. "I'm sorry, Feliks." He bit his lip, trying to salvage what he could of this disaster. "As I said before, I'm here to discuss Jogaila's impending marriage to your boss Jadwiga, and the merging of their companies."

"Ah, yes." Feliks smirked, an expression that Toris wanted to grimace at. "But first, I need you to do one thing."

"What?" Toris had a bad feeling about this.

"You need to…" He tilted his head. "…Show me your penis."

Take that, Jadwiga! Feliks internally stuck out his tongue at the door, where he knew his boss was waiting. That's what you get for coming to my house at ass o'clock in the morning and saying that you scheduled a meeting with a representative this afternoon about your stupid marriage and company merge, and then asking me to discuss it in my own home with some kid from Jogaila's company! Who does that? Of course I'm gonna make dirty jokes and wear only my underwear! And…and you know I'm bad with strangers, and that…His throat closed up, and it took all his strength to keep from running out of the room. Get it together, Feliks… Don't panic. Not here. No.

Trying to distract himself, he forced his eyes to meet Toris'. But instead of the young man laughing it off or responding with something snarky, his face looked horrified. His hands were even shaking a bit. He discreetly looked to the side, and Feliks could see that he was anxiously looking at his senior. The man's mouth was set in a grim line, and he nodded.

All of a sudden, the brunet's eyes widened, looking as though he was silently pleading against something. At another glare from the older man, his shoulders tensed, and he closed his eyes. His trembling hands moved upward until they rested on his belt buckle.

What is he doing? Wait. Feliks remembered what he just said. Oh God! They're really making him…? Pushing his shyness aside, he stood up. "Stop!" he yelled, the color draining from his face. "I was joking. It was a stupid, tasteless joke, okay? You don't have to do anything!"

Toris looked like he would faint with relief. His hands moved back toward their original position: stiffly pressed against his side.

"This meeting…" Feliks' voice got softer. "This meeting will be temporarily on hold. I need to get my suit." His heart was starting to pound painfully, and he knew that if he didn't leave soon, he would lose it. "And afterwards, I need to talk to Toris. Alone. We will discuss the matters of the marriage privately, understood?"

Without waiting for an answer, he leapt out of his chair and left, slamming the door behind him. Something is very wrong, here… Jadwiga and her fiancé tried to get his attention, but he ignored them in favor of running upstairs to put on some decent clothes. He tried to focus on buttoning up his jacket, but he couldn't get the image of Toris' humiliated face out of his mind. What is going on? Something was wrong with the brunet's place of employment. And Feliks was going to find out what.

And that's the end of Chapter One! Hopefully, it wasn't too horrible.

Toris' working environment is very unhealthy, but, like he himself said, he's not going to quit because the pay's too good. (Even though he wishes he could get a job elsewhere.)

Hopefully I wrote Feliks adequately; I am always self-conscious of how I write him.

The scene where Toris was introduced to Feliks started off as a joke between Meagan Snow and I. We were discussing episode 95 of Hetalia, the one where Poland and Lithuania meet to discuss the marriage of their bosses, and somehow, a modern AU came up. Because it looked like Feliks was wearing what was considered underwear back then (but he wasn't; the angle was just weird), we joked that Feliks would show up to this meeting in briefs and a fancy cape only.

See you next chapter!