This is an AU chapter where Squalo and Xanxus have Bellonas.
Since he was much younger, Squalo Superbi has known he won't get a Bellona bride of his own. That has always been fine with him, more time for himself, he assumes. Even if he envies his older brother having the marriage to one of those beautiful snipers because that means he'll never fight alone, he lets it go.
And then he meets the girl he is introduced to as Bellona Superbi Seconda, the sister of his brothers' bride, and who later tells him (so far later, he has known Dino and his Bellona for years, has met Xanxus) her name is Paola. What surprises him is not being gifted her (her mother and father are dead, and her brother is a Don), not when Bellona Superbi Prima had begged and pleaded for her sister to be taken care of, but that she wants to learn the blade.
Born a natural assassin as all her mother's people are, little Bellona quickly takes to Squalo's style, gleefully complementing his speed training by using him as moving target practice. Squalo quickly develops a possessiveness over his Bellona, confusing all his schoolmates but Dino Cavallone, for whom insults to his Bellona are far worse than insults to him. Dino and Bellona Cavallone gift him understanding smiles, and his Paola blooms in her gentler cousins' care.
Xanxus, two years older and infinitely stronger, originally disdains his right hand's protectiveness of the girl eternally at his side. And then he overhears a conversation, not long before Squalo plans to confront the Sword Emperor.
"Squalo," She begins, falters, and proceeds resolutely when Squalo cups her hands in his.
"I know how you think, that in order to understand the Emperor, you will have to cut off your hand, but I am begging you, Squalo, don't." Her voice has wobbled, and Xanxus can hear the tears. Grimacing, he would turn away if the next words she says hadn't rocked his world.
"My family has always believed that a Don is who you die for, but that the people you live for are far more important. Squalo, please, I'm so scared that you'll break yourself so bad that by the time you come home, I can't help you." Xanxus flees from that conversation, considering that it made him want. A warm, adoring, perpetually armed girl of his own. Someone who didn't care that he wasn't actually Timoteo's son. Someone who wanted to keep him from breaking.
Within a week of taking the Varia, Squalo Superbi has made it clear that despite not having married her yet, Superbi Seconda is his, totally and freaking completely, and the gunshots when Squalo is disobeyed are only further proof.
Xanxus decides to interview Don Erik Bellamy after witnessing Bellona Varia and Bellona Cavallone's shared rampage over attempted assassinations on Dino and Squalo. Both ladies had impressed him, their loyalty and skill so fucking obvious he didn't know why they were content to just be Mafia wives for the most part.
At sixteen, Xanxus is capable of negotiating his own contracts, at least in this. So he goes, and when he meets Alessandra Bellamy, he is captivated. Long blonde hair and wintry eyes of blue and grey and green are only the beginning of a beautiful woman. She hunts him down, like a little cat, landing scratches on his arms and knocking his guns from his hands before kicking the crap out of him 'because she can'. She rises from the crouch she landed in as he stands and informs him
"So long as your intent is to become the Vongola Boss, Bellona brides will be unavailable to you. We accept power, yes, but we refuse to stand at the top. If you wish to remain head of the Varia-" Her nostrils flare, and she finishes bitingly
"Despite that being rightfully Squalo's position, then you can choose a Bride from any of our Unclaimed." Alessandra swipes a stray knife from the ground, pausing when Xanxus asks
"Why Bellona?" Pulling in a breath through her nose, Alessandra replies, heaviness to her shoulders
"So that it appears we're only women. You've met Colonello, yes?" He nods warily, biting back a yelp when she states
"He became an Arcobaleno in the attempt to protect someone he loves. When our sons aren't saddled with responsibility, they search out a cause and usually die in it's name before they're twenty." Another pause, then, softer
"My brother died to give me the right to choose."
That.
That cuts through the fog in his mind. Alessandra is heartbreakingly aware of the lifestyle, has the right to choose who she ties herself too, and he wants to be that, at least for now. But Alessandra isn't finished.
"Bellona is a war goddess of ancient Rome, and we apply the moniker to our best and brightest because it makes us impersonal, blurs out the individual to make us a collective. It makes us harder to pinpoint and target."
Xanxus shifts his feet and gazes at her. Alessandra looks back, shattered eyes downcast, feet braced, and whatever she sees in his eyes, it makes her toss her hair over her shoulder and tip her chin into the air. Rolling his shoulders, Xanxus extends a hand and asks
"Will you be my Bellona, Alessandra Bellamy?" She eyes him warily, acceding only when he swears
"So long as you are my Bellona, I will not pursue Boss Vongola." A pale hand slowly reaches for his, red eyes widening when she curled elegant fingers against his palm, pulling his arm away from his side and stepping in to kiss his cheek, leaning her forehead against his jaw before murmuring
"Call me Varia." He nods, grimacing when he realizes Squalo will scream when he realizes Xanxus has brought back a Bellona capable of monopolizing his Bellona. Pausing, Xanxus considers asking about her cousins' name, only to start when Alessandra slips a hand under his shirt. She snickers at him and reprimands in a low voice
"Training and reading can only take up so much time, Xanxus. Unless you're opposed…" She cackled when he grunted, and laughed when he swept her over his shoulder and carted her to her current Don, Erik Bellamy. Who smirked at Xanxus and handed him a brand new contract requiring the young Boss' signature.
Dragging a blonde Bellona with a messy mane into Varia headquarters gets him gawked at, plunking her on her ass on his bed and fucking her until she screams in delighted pleasure gives him the vicious satisfaction of both his orgasm and the look of constipation on Squalo's face when Bellona Superbi Seconda realized Xanxus was screwing her older cousin.
Alessandra flicked a knife at her baby cousin and raised a brow. Bellona Superbi snarled
"He wants Don Vongola!" Alessandra threw another knife, grunting before patting the revolver on her thigh, drawling
"Kitten, he knows the moment he pursues Don Vongola, this cat is gone." Bellona Superbi ambled to her seat at the table, smiling only once Squalo pulled her into his lap. The younger Bellona grumbled
"We should tell them our real names. Bellona Superbi Seconda is really long, and Varia is an organization, not a woman." Alessandra nodded and patted Xanxus' hand as she seated herself to his left. The others crowded around as Alessandra turned and tilted her head at her cousin. Who nodded and sounded off
"Paola Chiara Bellamy, I was nicknamed the 'little wildcat' by my trainer and gained the 'Kitten' moniker because of it." Tilting her head back in the direction of her cousin, Paola smirked when she purred back
"Alessandra Olivia Bellamy, Charteux. For my French father."
In the end, the 'Cradle Incident' that happened in so many universes simply does not happen here. Squalo's 'Sword Style Stomping Tour' is altered in that a cheeky Paola points out that defeating and not killing his opponents guarantees they'll train to rechallenge him.
Xanxus agrees with a false grumble when Alessandra demands he train Tsunayoshi after his brothers' deaths. Squalo (whose been fucking Paola for years by then) is horrified when his Bellona asks him to accompany Xanxus while she's on a mission.
Of course, they go, tutor the next generation into badassery, and they are surprised, to see another pair of Bellonas, but not really, not truly. Sofia and Maria are as dark as Paola, even look like her, but Squalo know they aren't his goddess of war.
Finally, finally, Squalo can return to his woman.
He is very, very pleased to be able to approach her in a practice room, to lay her down on the mat to the sound of her breathy whines and to fuck her until she screams, her hands clawing at his back and shoulders, hips stuttering against his own.
He loves her, but he won't tell her. Not here, where anyone can hear, can use against them if the situation might call for them. All the Varia know is that both the Boss and his Second like fucking the Bellonas anytime, anywhere.
An effective camouflage, given most can't tell Paola and Alessandra apart. They are so very different, but seemingly interchangeable enough that most observers believe one is as good as the other.
Lie.
At least for Squalo. Paola is his, and not even Xanxus will take her from him. That thought rides at the forefront of his mind as he tosses Paola over his shoulder, arm vibrating with her chuckles as he marches to their room.
Tossing her onto the bed, he turns her over, growls a warning about moving her hands as he pulls on a condom grabbed from the bedside table and after giving it a moment of thought, grabs a glove and tube of lube from the drawer. Snapping on the glove, Squalo smears lube onto the glove and then his cock. Cupping Paola's belly with one hand, he works his fingers into her ass, smirking when she pants and flexes her hips, her cum dripping onto the blanket below them. Once he's loosened her sweet ass, Squalo strips off the glove, tossing it into the trashcan, grimacing when Paola reached for the bedside drawer. Working quickly, he grabbed one of the wipes, cleaned his hand and her belly, tossing that into bin too, before finally sliding his cock home.
Paola's tight around him, choking around the fullness of their joining, when he thrusts again, she squeaks his name, but it's barely a whisper of sound. The way he's pinned her, there's nothing she can do but take him, and he knows she hates not being able to see him, but he enjoys nailing her ass so much she lets him.
Only once he's pulled out and pulled off the condom, tied off and in the trashcan, and pulling her close, does he murmur
"Love you." She mumbles a reply, and they drift off together.
A/N: Please email me with prompts! All fandoms I write for (or, challenge to enter a new one). Also, check out the fan blog on my profile, if you please.