Chapter 1

The strangest thing about all of this was that it could have been one of hundreds of other, unextraordinary days. Tino had shown up at his job as usual, completed the usual busywork, and was now sitting down to lunch just like always. The only thing marking today as a milestone was the knot of tension in his stomach. Fighting to reassure himself that everything would be just fine, Tino breathed deeply and attempted a bite of his sandwich.

"So you're really going to go through with it?"

Tino looked up as a bespectacled young man settled across from him. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know, moving out on your own is a big deal." Eduard pushed the glasses up on the bridge of his nose before beginning on his lunch. "Are you sure about this?"

Tino fidgeted and glanced around the work lunchroom, vaguely embarrassed. He was a grown man with a stable job, perfectly capable of taking care of himself…and the truth was, he wasn't sure about it at all. He'd grown so used to being interdependent with his cousins that he had no idea if he could handle being on his own. Still, that was part of the problem, wasn't it?

Of course, he wasn't about to say any of that out loud.

"I have to do it sooner or later," he told his younger companion with a practiced smile that he hoped would mask the uncertainty, then changed the subject. "How have things been at the shelter?"

He honestly had no idea how Eduard did it all. On top of interning with the company where Tino worked, Eduard was also juggling his final year of college and volunteer work at a relatively large homeless shelter. Eduard was the picture of the over-achieving student. Not that Tino had much room to judge—he spent a fair share of his own time helping out at Unity Orphanage.

"It's been a nightmare since the takeover," Eduard was telling him. "I swear

Toris is going to have a stroke from managing all the demands Braginski is putting on us. Mostly I try to avoid the guy, but that doesn't really help anybody else."

"Is it really that bad?"

"We're supposed to be helping the homeless, but Braginski has us running things like a military installation. They're going to stop coming if this keeps up. I wish he'd come up with some other publicity stunt."

Tino provided a sympathetic look around the bite of sandwich he'd just taken. The owner of a powerful company with a reputation for ruthlessness, Ivan Braginski had decided to garner some good public opinion by supporting a few of the city's charitable causes. Apparently he was better suited to business than altruism.

"I'm sure we can look forward to an interesting response from Jones, at least," Tino suggested, naming Braginski's main competitor. Eduard snorted.

"He'll probably buy a small country to rescue it from poverty."

As their conversation devolved into making up progressively more ridiculous stunts for Alfred Jones to attempt in retribution, Tino managed to push his nervousness out of his mind. People moved out of their old homes all the time, and they survived perfectly well. He would, too.

Finally, Eduard stood to leave. "Are you going to need any help moving? I have a big exam on Monday, but if you need me to I can probably put off studying…"

Tino had to fight back a smile at the pained expression on his friend's face. He had never met anyone else who took their schoolwork so seriously. It was a mark of their many years of friendship that Eduard would even think of making such an offer.

"Don't worry about it. I can manage on my own."

"If you're sure..."

"I'll be fine," Tino told him, flapping a dismissive hand. "Just make sure to ace that test."

As he threw away his trash and prepared to return to his desk, Tino nodded to himself. "I'll be fine," he repeated firmly. "Just fine."

# # #

This had not been a good idea.

Tino looked between the assorted boxes surrounding him and the steep stairs before him. There was no way he could do this. Maybe he could handle the moving process itself, but the rest of it was sheer insanity. It wasn't too late, he supposed. He could still call his cousins, tell them he was sorry he overreacted, tell them he really didn't want to move out—

Except that he did. Drooping in defeat, Tino heaved a deep sigh. That was it, then. No matter how much the idea of living on his own terrified him, he couldn't stand the thought of staying there any longer. He would just have to do his best to forge ahead and try not to regret his decision too much.

And none of that helped him move his boxes.

With a heave, he hefted the first crate and approached the stairs. An apartment building like this one really should have an elevator, he mused as he began his ascent. The incline on these steps was quite steep. It made him nervous, particularly carrying a heavy load like this one that not only threw off his balance, but also obscured his view of where he was placing his feet. He was so focused on his footing that he didn't realize there was anyone else there until he nearly walked into him.

Surprised at this sudden presence, Tino squawked and stumbled backward, forgetting that he was no longer on level ground. A flash of terror tore through him in that moment of certainty that he would soon be tumbling down the stairs headfirst, unable to stop it.

Except that he stopped. Tino looked in wonder at the steadying hand on his shoulder. "Thank you so much," he breathed in relief. "You're a real lifesaver. I can't believe I almost walked into you like that, you just surprised me and these steps are so steep…"

He trailed off as he realized that his rescuer wasn't responding. Sure of his footing once more, Tino looked up (and up…and up) into a pair of intense blue eyes that nearly had him stumbling back once again. Regaining control of himself, he made an effort to curb the babbling that he was sure was an aftereffect of that sudden jolt of adrenaline to his system.

"Anyway, thanks again for the hand." He smiled nervously at the taciturn stranger and continued on the path to his brand new apartment.

Managing his load was considerably easier on level ground. Tino lugged the box into his apartment, leaving the door swinging in favor of sparing a hand to close it. He'd only be coming right back out again. Burden safely deposited in the front room, he heaved a sigh. It was going to take far too many trips to get everything up here.

Tino turned and stopped short—though this time he managed to keep himself from making any unflattering noises. In the doorway, a stack of heavy-looking packages in his arms, stood the stranger from the stairs.

Tino gaped for a moment before recovering himself. "Wow, thanks, you really don't have to do that," he stammered, stepping to the side as the imposing man strode into the apartment to place his load beside the box that Tino had just set down. Turning to face Tino, the stranger gave a shrug.

"Looked like you needed help."

Tino stared awkwardly at this strange man, and the man stared back with an unwavering cobalt gaze. Seriously, this was starting to freak him out. Who did stuff like this without being asked? Plus, the guy was intense—not to mention huge. And he'd only spoken five words in this entire time. How were you supposed to react in situations like this?

"I guess I did," he said, plastering a smile across his face. "I'm Tino Väinämöinen, by the way. I suppose we're neighbors now."

"Berwald," grunted the tall, blonde man. "Oxenstierna," he added as an afterthought.

"Nice to meet you! It really was great of you to help."

Berwald nodded in acknowledgment, then headed for the door. In his wake, Tino couldn't help slumping a little in relief. There was something about his new neighbor that set him on edge, no matter how good the guy's intentions seemed to be.

The relief was short-lived. As Tino descended the stairs once again, he realized that Berwald had not continued about his business, but was instead selecting another crate from the mass of Tino's things on the sidewalk. The newcomer scurried down the rest of the stairs to do his share of the work, protesting all the while. It didn't do him any good. His insistences that Berwald had already done enough were met with unyielding silence, and one steely stare that made Tino swallow his arguments with a hiccup. After that, he conceded defeat and let Berwald help.

Tino couldn't remember the last time he had felt this completely awkward. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the extra hand, but Berwald was still kind of freaking him out. If the guy would at least talk, that would help… But as it was, Tino found himself chattering about the first inane things to pop into his head, just to fill the silence. His new companion remained laconic, occasionally offering up a handful of words as if each one was a priceless gem he hated to part with. It gave Tino almost nothing to work with.

Finally they lugged up the last odds and ends. Tino's cheeks were starting to feel sore from so much forced smiling, but he kept it up as he said his last thank-yous.

In return, Berwald gave him a solemn nod. "Anytime."

Then, at long last, he was alone in his apartment. Arms feeling vaguely noodle-like, Tino slumped against the closed door. He wondered if the rest of his stay here was going to be this weird. He hoped not; living on his own was going to be hard enough as it was.