"Oomph!" Tsuna hit the soft mattress he had been dumped rudely on. His dark eyes looked up at Bel, a frown on his face; he had been brought back to the hotel room the Varia were staying in, and with all eyes fixed on him, he felt as if he were being torn apart by their stares alone.

"Why the fuck did you bring the shrimp here, anyway?" Squalo was seated at the small round table tucked away in the corner, a wineglass in his hand as he sipped at the red liquid inside it; Xanxus wasn't the only one who enjoyed his share of wine.

"The prince was bored, and the tuna-fish offered to play with him~" Bel jumped onto the bed next to his victim, bouncing the other with his weight. He giggled as he lay next to the teenager, a laid-back smile on his face as he observed the Vongola. "And he's a tuna-fish, Squa; not a shrimp."

"Whatever, brat." Squalo moved back to the newspaper he had been flicking through, ignoring the younger two; what they did together wasn't his business as long as it didn't compromise Bel's ability to go on missions.

Fran, who had been sitting placidly before the couch in between Lussuria's legs as the Sun Guardian played with his hair, stood up, ignoring the man's protests. He came to stand by the edge of the bed, reaching out to poke Tsuna's cheek.

"Are you going to have sex with him, Bel-senpai?" Emerald eyes searched for obscured ones.

Bel grit his teeth, instinctively reaching out to slap Fran's hand away from what was his. "So what if I do, frog? Just jealous that it's not your loose little ass I'm fucking?"

"Senpai, you know I'm a virgin; unlike you, I don't want to be a man whore."

The blond was scandalised by these words. His mouth hung open as he drew in a sharp breath of air, offended beyond belief; did that frog just call him a whore?

Slipping three knives from his pocket, Bel embedded them in the boy's stomach. Fran didn't even wince, powerful illusions protecting him. "Senpai, I didn't even feel that one. You should try harder."

Tsuna squeaked as he reached out, grabbing Bel's hand before the man could throw another set of knives. He shook his head, his brown eyes searching for obscured ones. "N-no, Belphegor! D-don't hurt your comrade!"

Bel grit his teeth before he frowned, reluctantly dropping his knives to the mattress; Tsuna's hand on his felt very nice, touch being something he didn't receive much, if at all – the only times people would so much as brush against him was when he had picked up a whore from the streets, needing to satisfy his urges; the desperate way they would always cling to him wasn't the kind of touch he needed and craved for.

Tsuna shivered as the man stared down at their hands, squeaking as he pulled away as if he had been burned; he should have known better than to put his hands on such a bloodthirsty assassin because, right now, the other was probably thinking about the best way to kill him for this. "S-sorry!"

Bel didn't reply; he just reached out, grabbing the smaller hand in his as he again put it back to the top of his hand. He continued to stare at the touch, his heart speeding up slightly from the warmth he could feel.

Tsuna was nervous as he watched the older male, aware of the dead silence in the room; why was everyone watching them so intently?

The brunet gasped in surprise as the Storm Guardian suddenly shifted, moving closer to the scrawny body beside him. Bel lay on top of the younger, wrapping his arms slowly, almost warily, around the Vongola. He rubbed their cheeks together as he made himself comfortable, his lean body all but crushing the smaller one beneath it.

Tsuna's mind was running a mile a minute, trying to understand what was going on; he had expected a bloody, gruesome, painful death, but here he was, the other wrapped around him as if he were some sort of human teddy bear. "B-belphegor…?"

"You're warm…" Bel's hot breath billowed against the teenager's ear, soaking in the comfort he was finding in this minute; the aforementioned whores were the only ones who would allow him to be so close to them, anyone else fighting him off and acting as if he were a disease when he would try and initiate such contact with others. Mammon had been the only one who would allow himself to be held by the blond, and even the other Varia members didn't like him going near them; it was a reaction he had gotten from so many people, Bel often found himself lying awake at night, wondering if there was something wrong with him, confused as to why he couldn't be allowed such comfort like the couples he saw on the streets.

Tsuna was anxious, feeling trapped by the other's weight, but he could see that, right now, Belphegor meant no harm; though that might change in just one split second, it was fine for now. "…Belphegor…"

The other Varia members watched the way Bel shifted ever so slightly so that he could reach out and move the younger's arms around him before settling back to his previous position. Tsuna held the man loosely for a few seconds before he tightened his grip, snuggling in closer to the blond assassin, unable to believe that he was feeling safe in his arms.

"I like this…" Bel murmured, letting his obscured eyes slip closed; as deranged, as mentally unstable as he was, he was still a child at heart – a child who had never known love and affection before, born into a life of cruelty and hate. He had taken his first lives – his family's lives – at eight-years-old, joined an assassination squad just months after, seen and done things that had unhinged him further than he had been from the start. But beneath his unpredictable, bloodthirsty mannerisms, he was still that lonely little boy who craved affection, doing whatever it took for him to get it, sex no exception. "Stay the night…"

"I can't, Belphegor." Tsuna winced as strong arms wrapped tighter around him.

"Thank you… The prince appreciates it…" As if Bel had heard only what he wanted to hear, he rolled off of the teenager, pulling at the blankets so that they could get under them. Tsuna gave up on trying to resist, instead slipping beneath the blankets. Bel curled up next to him, holding him in arms that had killed far too many people to be so gentle. The blond's breath sent shivers down Tsuna's spine, and just like that, Bel was out like a light, having not even bothered to put pyjamas on.

Tsuna reached out, putting a small hand on the man's arm. He sighed before he let himself relax, not able to understand what was running through the other's head, but deciding that maybe, just maybe, Bel wasn't all he was cracked up to be.

Perhaps ten years ago he would have slaughtered Tsuna remorselessly by now, but things were clearly different in this timeline.

~~XX~~

Tsuna had been fast asleep before he was woken by soft utterings right next to his ear. He opened his eyes, finding himself shrouded in darkness; the others must have already gone to bed.

There was a soft sniffing by Tsuna's ear, one that sounded as if the blond sleeping next to him had been crying. He sincerely doubted that was the case, but when a quiet whimper for his mother escaped Bel's lips, Tsuna found himself wondering if Bel regretted what he had done to his family.

"It's okay, Belphegor…" Tsuna moved closer to Bel, reaching up so that he could run his hand through soft blond locks. "It's alright…"

Bel shifted slightly before he leant into the touch, his whimpers soon becoming silent as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep; never before had someone other than Mammon soothed him from his nightmares.