Squalo tightened his scarf around his neck and glared at anyone who dared look at him; he could feel their gaze burning from the intensity of their gazes, picking him apart and silently judging him. They'd probably judge anyone wearing a scarf in the middle of summer, but that was besides the point; the point was, they should just mind their own fucking business.

As he walked through the busy streets as he made his way home from school, the fourteen-year-old couldn't help but walk slow; he wanted to take as much time as possible on his journey, hating even the thought of returning back to whom was awaiting him; if coming home late would only get him into trouble, so be it; it was still less time spent around him, after all.

"This is fucking shit…" Squalo kicked at the cement beneath his feet as he let out an annoyed growl. "Fucking stupid piece of…"

The teen's muttering quickly stopped as he turned the corner and realised his path was blocked by a large crowd gathered along the footpath. He didn't care much for why so many people were gathered there, assuming it to be some sort of get-together, so he sneered as he pushed his way through, intending fully on ignoring whatever everyone seemed to be enamoured with.

However, when he got into the middle of the circle, Squalo found himself stopping as he took notice of the tiny child huddled up against the wall behind him. The kid wasn't anything special; he was a shrimpy little thing, golden hair with bangs long enough to curtain his eyes.

What Squalo really noticed was that his hair was caked with dirt and grime, his clothes that were too big for his tiny frame were ragged and filthy, and his mouth was downturned in a frightened manner. But the worst of it was the blood that stained patches of his clothing, the sticky red fluid that clung stubbornly to half of his face, and the bruising on the other side.

Someone had hurt and abused this boy, but even so, Squalo couldn't find it in him to approach the younger and try to help.

"M-mommy…!"

Squalo stopped once more as he heard the whimper he doubted the other bystanders would understand; he knew most people didn't speak any language outside of their own native tongue, and he was probably the only person in the whole crowd who understood what that kid had said. He turned back to find that the boy was crying now, and his arms were wrapped tight around his trembling body. It was a pitiful sight, but one the teen could understand, however much he wished he couldn't.

Squalo sighed. He shook his head as he changed direction. He moved to kneel before the boy, and he wasn't surprised when the other tried to back away further at his approach.

The older male allowed quiet Russian slide past his lips as he tried to soften his demeanour; it wouldn't do to scare the child more than he already was. "What's your name?"

The child looked around at the people gathered around them. He whimpered before he whispered, "B-belphegor…"

"Where are your parents?"

"They said they were going home…" The boy sniffed as he raised a dirty hand to rub at his eyes.

"Where's home?"

"…N-not here…" The younger sobbed quietly. His voice became thick with tears. "I tried to find them, and… And a stranger hurt me…"

"Your parents abandoned you." Squalo got to his feet and turned to glare at the onlookers, hating how no one had bothered to do anything. He addressed them, hoping someone would finally take a stand and do something about this, because he wasn't the best person to take care of an abandoned brat. "The kid's been abandoned, and he isn't from Italy. He's speaking Russian. Someone take him to the cop station so they can deal with it."

Squalo didn't consider himself to be a heartless person, but he couldn't afford to do anything more than this; if he didn't get home soon, then he'd –

"What?" Squalo looked down at the boy who had attached himself to his leg. He instinctively tried to kick him off, hating to be touched. "Don't follow me; go bother someone else."

The child didn't listen; he just hugged the teenager's leg tighter. He said nothing, not until Squalo eventually gave in and allowed the boy to follow him. "What's your name?"

"Squalo." The older male sighed when he felt an impossibly-tiny hand grip his. He hated himself; he knew he shouldn't be letting this kid follow him home, but what was he supposed to do? The boy didn't seem to speak Italian, and he had been abandoned in a country the teenager doubted he had ever been to before this – and he had seen firsthand how people did nothing but stare, even with the boy clearly wounded. "When we get back to my house, you have to stay with me, okay? Don't wander off, and if you need something, you need to tell me. Don't talk to my boyfriend, though; stay as far away from him as you can."

The boy nodded as tears continued to roll down his cheeks. "…"

Squalo pulled his phone from his pocket so that he could text his best friend and asked them to come around; hopefully with someone else there, it would deter his boyfriend from doing anything.

With a bit of luck, Squalo's partner would be fast asleep, and would remain that way until the next day – maybe it would give him enough time to work out what to do with the child who seemed to have decided he wanted to stay with Squalo.

~~XX~~

"Squalo, you know this isn't a good idea."

"Yeah, I fucking know, but no one else was going to take him to the cops, and what am I supposed to do? He doesn't speak Italian."

"I'm sure they could get a translator, and what's wrong with you translating?"

"I'm busy trying not to get my face kicked the fuck in."

"He's sleeping; you have time to go to the cops with him."

Bel sat on the couch next to Squalo. His head turned side-to-side as he watched the two teenagers before him talk in a language he wasn't very familiar with. The tip of his thumb was in his mouth as he held a loose hold on the silver-haired male's sleeve with his other hand. He was frightened of being without his mother, but comfortable with Squalo; the other had been the only person to help him, and it comforted him to have someone to talk to in this strange country. The blond sitting on Squalo's other side had been introduced to Bel as Dino, but while the other smiled warmly at him, he hadn't said anything to the child; did he only speak Italian?

Bel tugged at Squalo's sleeve before he whispered, "I have to pee…"

"Can you hold it?" Squalo gave Bel a tired look that displayed just how exhausted he was, but the boy was too young to understand why; he thought that maybe the older male just hadn't had enough sleep.

"No…" Bel squirmed. He whimpered when he felt his pants becoming wet; he had held on for as long as he could, scared of his new surroundings and uncomfortable telling Squalo he needed to go. He let out an embarrassed squeak as he ducked his head as he pushed his hands against his lap, trying to hide the evidence.

Squalo made a horrified noise as anxiety consumed him; if his boyfriend found out about this… "Voi, Bucking Horse! Go get me a towel!"

Dino was quick to do as told, knowing the severity of the situation; they had to hide this from the other occupant of the house, or both Squalo and Bel were going to wish they had never been born.

"I'm sorry…" Bel sniffed as his eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry…!"

"It's okay, Bel." Squalo stood the boy up so that he could examine the mess; the couch was soaked, and if his boyfriend walked out any time soon, he was going to know. He chewed at his lip; they had to do something about Bel's wet pants, too, or else they would give everything away – if they could at least fix that, then maybe they could play it off as water having been spilt and the punishment wouldn't be as bad... "I'm going to get you a blanket to sit under; can you stay under there, no matter how hot you are?"

Bel didn't understand the request. He cocked his head to the side; why did he have to stay beneath a blanket if he got hot? "Why?"

"Trust me on this." The silver-haired teen snatched the towel Dino was handing him. He quickly started drying the boy down before he wiped off the couch as much as possible. "Xanxus is going to fucking flip…"

"That's why you can't keep Bel here." Dino tried to get it through his friend's head that Bel would only be in danger here, but he knew how stubborn and prideful the younger was; it wasn't going to be easy to make Squalo listen. "Squalo, you know what Xanxus will do to him. You want him doing to Bel what he does to you? Because you won't be the only one wearing scarves and jackets in summer."

Squalo shook his head. He knew what Dino was trying to tell him, but part of him had already become fond of the little boy who always clung to his sleeve, and he wasn't sure he wanted to give Bel away to be placed in an orphanage.

Squalo knew he was being selfish, but he had already made up his mind; he was keeping Bel, and that was the end of it.

The teenager knew what he was getting the boy into, but even he would never realise the severity of the situation until it was too late.