Fran was confused when he woke up the next morning and found himself in an unfamiliar room. He whimpered as he climbed out of the bed, finding that the room he was in was void of any other furniture besides what he had slept on and a chest of drawers on the other side of the room. The curtains had been closed, leaving the room in darkness, and the door was shut.
"Master...?" Warily, Fran approached the door. He opened it hesitantly before he poked his head out, calming down slightly as he recognised the hallway as the one he had been led into last night by Mukuro. Making his way to the bedroom he remembered was Belphegor's, he pushed the door open. "Master...?"
To the boy's immense displeasure, Mukuro was not in the room. Belphegor was, however, curled up beneath the blankets as he slept peacefully. Closing the door once again, Fran travelled downstairs, hoping he hadn't been forgotten as his guardian left for home. "Master?"
Choosing the doorway on his right, Fran stepped into what seemed to be the living room. It was unoccupied, leaving the teal-haired child to try another room. The kitchen across from the living room was empty as well, but the dining room next door was where everyone was.
"Master." Hurrying across the marble floor, Fran pulled himself onto Mukuro's lap. Noticing the bruising on the older male's face, he frowned before he reached up, ghosting chubby fingers against the darkened skin. "What happened to your face?"
Mukuro smiled in a reassuring manner. "It is nothing for you to worry about, Fran; I am fine."
The boy wasn't convinced, but he didn't press; he knew Mukuro would tell him if the other wanted him to know, after all. He instead nestled in close as lanky arms wrapped around him, leaning up to kiss the other. He was confused when the blue-haired male hastily pushed him back, not understanding why the other whispered no. "Master?"
Heterochromatic eyes glanced around the room, just glad that no one seemed to be paying any attention to them. "We don't do that with anyone but Belphegor around, alright?"
Fran didn't know why this was, but he didn't question it; his guardian seemed anxious enough. Instead, he asked, "What's for breakfast?"
"I only wanted toast, but Squalo will make you whatever you want."
The boy nodded, turning around to ask the long-haired man seated across from them for breakfast, but his attention was soon grabbed by the blond sitting next to the oldest male.
"Bel-senpai, I thought you were still sleeping." A teal head cocked to the side in confusion. "I was just in your room. How did you get down here before I did?"
Squalo snorted while Mukuro laughed. The silver-haired male was quick to clear things up. "He didn't; Bel's still asleep. This is Bel's twin, Rasiel."
"Oh." Fran nodded to himself as if he had made a huge discovery. "That's why he looks hairier than usual."
The other blond was quick to stop laughing, instead scowling as his hands clenched. He opened his mouth in order to say something, but just one look from his guardian silenced him; unlike Belphegor, he knew not to get on the man's bad side.
"How come Bel-senpai is still asleep?" Reaching out, Fran took a piece of toast from Mukuro's plate. He was grateful when the teenager slid the dish closer to him, inviting him for more.
"He sleeps a lot through the day because he can't always get to sleep or stay asleep at night." Mukuro patted teal hair in an affectionate manner. "Sometimes it's very hard for him to get up in the mornings, so Squalo lets him sleep."
"What about school?" Emerald eyes stared in wonder at Mukuro, unable to understand this; he had never had a problem with sleep before, and he didn't realise it existed.
"He just comes to school late once he's woken up."
Looking over to the boy he had been introduced to as Rasiel, Fran asked, "What about you, hairier-Bel-senpai? Do you sleep lots, too?"
Rasiel sneered as he shook his head. "Unlike Belphegor, I'm not fucking crazy. There's nothing wrong with me -
he's the lunatic in this household."
Squalo slapped his charge across the head before he shouted angrily, "Don't talk about your fucking brother like that! He didn't ask to be this way! You should show some fucking support to your brother because of the shit he has to go through instead of treating him as if he's a disease! It's not his fault, and it
never will be his fault!"
Beneath long bangs, Rasiel's eyes narrowed. He pushed himself off his chair in silence, stalking out of the room.
"You'd better get your ass ready soon if you want me to drop you off at school, too!" Squalo sighed as the sound of a door slamming somewhere in the house answered him. "Fucking hell, they both really shit me sometimes..."
Fran frowned as he looked up at his guardian, not understanding why the man had suddenly gotten so angry; he wasn't used to shouting, his grandmother having been too kind to him and Mukuro being so soft-spoken and polite.
Glancing at his wristwatch, Squalo stood up from the table. He turned to look at Mukuro and Fran, speaking in a much quieter tone now. "We'll leave in ten minutes."
"Thank you, Squalo; I appreciate it." Mukuro was as calm as ever as he smiled playfully at the silver-haired male.
"What's he doing?" Fran reached out, taking another slice of toast from the plate.
"He is going to take me to school today; it's a long walk to the bus stop and it looks like it might start to rain soon. He's going to look after you today, too."
"Why?" Wide emerald orbs stared into heterochromatic ones. "Why aren't I staying home today?"
"Because I'm not leaving a fucking kid to sit in an apartment by themselves all day." Squalo had moved to take Rasiel's dishes out of the room, stopping by the doorway to look back at the boy. "You can come to work with me for the day and I'll take you home when they finish school. We'll stop on the way there to get you something to do for a while."
Fran stared at the taller male in awe, having not realised that there were other people out there who were as nice as Mukuro. "Okay."
Mukuro smiled as he finished off the last of his breakfast. "I'm ready, Squalo."
"Alright. Let me go see if that little shit's gotten himself ready or not." The adult was quick to exit the room, leaving Mukuro and Fran alone.
"Now, Fran," Mukuro started, a hint of seriousness in his tone. "You cannot tell Squalo
anything about what we do together, okay? Do not tell him we kiss, or that I touch you beneath your clothing, or else you're going to be in lots of trouble. It is a secret that only Belphegor can know about, alright?"
"Okay." Fran didn't truly understand why this was, but he didn't question it; he trusted Mukuro not to hurt him. "Is Squalo nice?"
"He is very nice; he is just very loud, but you will get used to it. Be good for him, alright? He has a lot going on for him already and has been very stressed lately."
Fran nodded. "Okay, Master. I'll be good."
"Good." Glancing at the doorway to make sure Squalo wasn't about to walk in on them, he pressed his lips to Fran's, reaching up to caress the younger's cheek still soft with baby fat. "You are very beautiful, Fran. I am eager to know what you will look like in ten years' time; I bet you will grow up to be a very desirable person."
Fran smiled, his eyes shining brightly. "Thank you, Master."
Mukuro smiled back, holding the younger tighter; Fran truly was beautiful, and he had high hopes for the other only becoming even more attractive as he aged.
~~XX~~Fran had followed Squalo upstairs an hour later, having dropped Rasiel and Mukuro off at school. The boy was surprised that the man was willing to drive to the next town over to make sure the heterochromatic-eyed teenager got to his classes safely, but then again Mukuro
had said he was a nice person, after all.
"Are you going to wake Bel-Senpai up?" Emerald eyes looked up at Squalo, a curious expression on the boy's face. He was clutching a plastic bag tightly to his chest, some colouring books and pencils inside; Squalo had taken him into town after dropping the two teens off at school, letting him choose whatever he wanted to entertain himself with.
"I have to; I need to get to work soon." Squalo sighed as he lifted his hand, banging against the closed door that led into Belphegor's bedroom. He twisted the knob before he pushed it open, turning to speak once more to Fran before he stepped in. "Otherwise I'd let him sleep until he wakes up himself."
Bel stirred, but didn't wake; he instead just rolled onto his other side, tugging the blankets tighter around him. Squalo mumbled something before he walked over to the bed, reaching out to shake his charge awake.
"Belphegor, wake up; I need to get to work soon." The long-haired man hated disturbing Bel's rest, especially since the other needed it so badly, but he didn't have a choice; he needed to get the younger up and at school so he could be at work on time; there was enough conflict going on in his life and he didn't need to create more by being unreliable at his job, despite the fact that he worked harder than the rest of the company put together, always leaving him exhausted and run-down to the point he became emotionally unstable.
Bel whined as he tried to pull away from the hands on his body, frowning in his sleep; he was finally getting the rest he so desperately needed, and he didn't want it to end just yet. "Squa... Go 'way..."
Lifting the teenager off the bed and into his arms, Squalo growled as the other started to struggle. "Quit it, Bel! Wake up and get ready!"
Fran watched the blond writhe for a few seconds more before he started verbally protesting, his voice slurred with sleep. "Squa...! I dun' wanna go...!"
"You're going to school, brat." Sitting the student back on his bed, Squalo backed away. "Hurry up and get dressed; I don't have much time to get to work without that fuck-face being on my back."
The teal-haired boy continued to stare as Bel adamantly refused, kicking up a storm as he screamed and shouted and kept trying to lie back down beneath the blankets. Squalo shouted back at him, and though he had raised his hand to the younger a few times, Fran was surprised when the adult instead jerked it back to his own body instead of lashing out physically at the stubborn teenager; though he himself had never been hit by anyone before, Belphegor was violent - it had often made the young child wonder if he was hit a lot in his own home.
Leaving the room to go back downstairs and wait patiently, Fran was glad that the fighting soon drowned out and it was only muffled words now; he wasn't a fan of fighting, much preferring peace and stability.
Minutes passed, and soon enough the other two males came downstairs individually, Squalo muttering to himself as he headed into the kitchen to make lunch for everyone, and Bel coming to sit down on the couch as he ran a brush through his hair. He grumbled away for a few seconds before he turned to glare at Fran, as if it was the boy's fault the blond had been forced into waking consciousness.
"What?" Fran reached into his plastic bag, pulling out the small chocolate treat Squalo had bought for him. His emerald eyes bore into the other's blond bangs as he opened the packaging, not understanding the other's seemingly-intense stare. "Do I have something on my face?"
Bel didn't reply to this; he just watched as the smaller male bit into the chocolate, licking his lips hungrily.
"Bel-senpai, I -" Fran gasped lightly in surprise as a hot tongue licked his lips. He didn't move, letting Belphegor do as he pleased. He shivered as the wet muscle lapped at his face, feeling slender fingers curling into his shoulders. He glanced down, finding a large bulge in the teenager's pants, knowing the same thing happened to Mukuro whenever they kissed; if it was apparently something normal in these moments, how come it had never happened to him before?
"Shit..." When Bel pulled away, he was panting slightly. He slapped a hand down into his lap, curling his fingers tightly against his arousal. "You taste so good. I want to kiss you."
Fran stayed where he was, allowing the other to come closer to him once more. He felt both hands gripping tightly his shoulders once again, and just when their lips where about to make contact, they both pulled away as if they had been burnt, Squalo's arrival breaking them apart.
The man was standing in the doorway, staring at the two in silence for a few seconds, almost as if he were trying to decide what he had witnessed. He was quick to dismiss what he wasn't entirely sure he had seen right, knowing that his charge had a lot of peculiar habits, and it was probably nothing; there had been times before where he had thought he had seen the younger doing something sexual but had witnessed wrongly; instead, the blond had probably been licking up blood or something he had seen - it still didn't make it right, but there wasn't much he could do to scold Belphegor in his condition.
"What." Bel scowled at his guardian as he moved away from Fran, turning his body to the side so that Squalo couldn't see the bulge in his pants.
"Your lunch is on the counter, brat." Squalo stared for a few more seconds in a suspicious manner before he added, "Put it in your bag and get in the car. We're leaving."
Bel growled as he thumped his fists against the couch, throwing another tantrum. "No! I'm not going to school!" Pointing to his lap, he made an even bigger scene. "Can't you see I'm hard?! I don't want to get in the car and let you watch me jerk off! That's creepy!"
"No; what's creepy is
you jerking yourself off to Xanxus and I fucking! Get in your room if you have to! You've got five minutes!"
"Five minutes isn't enough to get me off! Just leave me here with the stupid frog and
you can go to work!"
Squalo shook his head, his eyes burning with anger. "I'm not leaving him here with you, Belphegor! Go do what you have to and then get in the fucking car!"
Fran blinked as the teenager stormed off, not understanding what had happened. When he questioned this, all he received from Squalo was the man telling him not to worry about it.
"It just shits me when he does this crap all the fucking time!" Squalo ran gloved fingers through his hair, glancing at his wristwatch. "Now I'm going to be late for work, and my partner's foster brothers are going to give me shit for it!"
Fran cocked his head to the side. "Why?"
"Because they're fucking assholes, and are heading this branch of the company." Squalo clawed at his face, a deep breath leaving his lips. "I swear they have it out for me, those fucking homophobes."
"Homophobes?" Fran blinked.
"You'll understand when you're older." Patting the boy on the head, Squalo grabbed the plastic bag from him. "I'll put this in the car now so you don't forget it."
The teal-haired boy jumped to his feet, scurrying to keep up with the older male. He smiled at the man his head tilted back so that he could see the other. "Are homophobes people who don't like you and another boy together? Because the people who live in the apartments around me and my Master don't like him because he's with senpai."
"You're a smart kid, Fran." The adult offered a grin towards the younger. "You should go to school instead of staying in the apartment all day every day; someone as bright as you needs an education - that's why I make Belphegor go, even when he doesn't want to; because he has so much brains but would never put it to work otherwise."
“I’ve never been to school before.” Fran looked at the older male in awe.
"You should definitely talk to Mukuro, then; you're old enough to start school." Leading the boy through the hallway and into the connecting garage, Squalo pulled his keys from his pocket before he unlocked his sleek black Mercedes. "Just put your shit down on the backseat for now; we'll be going as soon as that brat's ready to leave."
Fran nodded, doing as told. He was curious about Belphegor and his family, only just realising how little he knew of the others; while the blond in question spent a great deal of time with Mukuro, the topic of those he lived with never really came up - it was almost...
avoided, to an extent.
The boy couldn't understand why that was; Squalo was such a nice person to him, and though he didn't know Rasiel or the man's partner, he was sure they would be just as friendly as the long-haired male.
