To Dino's surprise, he had gotten Squalo to stay with him a while longer, and though the phone calls from Xanxus hadn't stopped, at least the long-haired man had the option of ignoring them - though the blond was concerned that his friend's abuser would show up at his home, it hadn't happened yet, and he was relieved; he truly didn't want to deal with the stress that someone like Xanxus created everywhere he went.

Dino had thought long and hard about what he could do to alleviate some of his friend's stress on the matter, and the only thing he could think of was to take him to see the friends he hadn't seen for a few years now; all he had to do was get Squalo to agree to come.

"Hey, Squalo?" Putting his laptop down on the coffee table, Dino looked over to the younger who was slowly starting to get his appetite back up. He tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach, instead saying, "Would you come to Japan with me?"

"What the fuck for?" Pushing away his plate of pizza, Squalo could only imagine the wrath that would be aimed at him if Xanxus found out he had left the country.

"I thought you might like to see Takeshi again." Shrugging, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, the blond continued on. "It's okay if you don't want to; I was just thinking of going up to see Tsuna."

"..." Weighing his options carefully in his mind, Squalo was conscious of the fact that he would indeed love to go back to Japan and see the younger group of males - the only thing stopping him was what Xanxus would do if he found out. "...It's just..."

"Xanxus will never know if no one tells him," the blond soothed. "He'll just think you're still somewhere in Italy."

Squalo nodded, knowing the other was right. "Then I want to come with you. When are you going to leave?"

"I was thinking of going in a few weeks, but it might make more sense to leave within the week instead; you might not be able to get away if you're back with Xanxus, after all."

Squalo nodded. He reached up, rubbing at his face self-consciously, wishing there would be more time to give his bruises time to heal, but he knew that Dino was right; at least in Japan there would be no one willing to lay another hand on him in the same manner Xanxus always did.

"I'm going to need clothing and shit." Tugging at his jacket, the younger sighed. "Think we can go back to my house and take it without him noticing?"

"I will see what I can do; when will he next be at work?"

Recalling the company roster from the top of his head, Squalo said, "Tomorrow morning, until lunchtime."

"I'll go then. You stay here just in case he hasn't gone."

Squalo wasn't in the mood to fight; in fact, he was much happier grunting in agreement as he went back to his pizza; he just wasn't sure how much more of this he could take without completely losing grip of his sanity. "..."

Turning back to his laptop, Dino watched his friend from the corner of his eye; one could never be too sure what was going through the younger's mind, but he usually had a feeling it was nothing good – it was understandable, however, with everything the other had been through in his life. "I'm going to book us tickets now. Would you like to invite anyone along? Belphegor, perhaps?"

"Nah, that little shit's hit another bump in the road so he's better off staying here where his doctor and therapist are in case he needs them." The long-haired man would have loved to bring his admirer along with them, but he knew it might only stress the younger out more than he already was; traveling took a lot of energy, and that was something the blond never had when he slipped.

"You don't think he'll be okay if he's with you?" Cocking his head to the side, Dino didn't understand; Squalo had always been Belphegor's rock, the one who could help him the most whenever the young man didn't feel right.

Squalo shook his head. "He'll be okay; he just needs to rest and not be dragged around to different countries."

"That's true." Having opened an internet page and gone into their local airline's website already, Dino clicked a few more links so that he could book tickets. "If you change your mind and he wants to come, I'll get him another ticket if we have time."

"I'll ring him later to check on him." Putting his now-empty plate onto the coffee table, the smaller male ran his gloved fingers through his hair. "Want a coffee? I'll make another pizza, too. Like some?"

The blond chuckled as he tapped away at his laptop. "A coffee would be great, but I can do the pizza for you; come sit back down; you've done enough for everyone."

"I'm used to cooking; shit doesn't bother me. Want some or not?"

Knowing that his friend was right - and wondering at the same time if Xanxus had ever so much as picked up cooking utensils, let alone cooked - Dino said softy, "Yes, thank you, Squalo."

"I'm going to cook spaghetti for dinner, too." Moving around the kitchen to get everything ready, Squalo glanced over his shoulder. "Can I borrow your car so I can get shit for it?"

"Keys are on the kitchen counter. I can get it all for you if you want to relax instead."

Shaking his head, Squalo almost felt offended by his friend's genuine kindness; though he knew that the other was only trying to be a good host and give him a break, the silver-haired male was doing the only thing he knew to thank his friend for letting him stay; he had been a slave for so long, he could barely think of anything else to do with himself. "I've got it. I'm not a fucking cripple, Bucking Horse."

"I know." Smiling at his friend, Dino finalised his purchase. "I shouldn't treat you as if you can't do things. I'm sorry."

It had been a long time since Squalo had been apologised to; usually it was he being forced to apologise for some petty little thing Xanxus blew out of proportion, such as spilling a single drop of wine. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, the man muttered a hesitant, "...Yeah..."

Dino left it at that, knowing it would take a long time before the abused male returned to the way he once was - he may never be one-hundred per cent again, but anything was better than the frightened, angry man Squalo had been moulded into.

Dino just wanted his friend to be happy again, and that was all that mattered to him.

~~~XX~~~

When Dino had gone to bed that night, he couldn't sleep; thoughts of Squalo were plaguing him. He felt stressed, concerned about whether or not he would be able to save his best friend or whether Xanxus would make things worse than ever.

All Dino wanted was Squalo's safety and happiness to return, but would that be possible? A loud crash from the living room told him no, probably not for a long time.

"Squalo?!" Throwing himself out of bed, Dino rushed to the living room to find the damaged male sitting on the couch, tears running down his face. The glass coffee table in front of them had been upturned, shards all over the floor. Putting his hands on the younger' shoulders, the man was cautious of glass as he leant in front of the other. "Squalo, what happened? Are you okay?"

The long-haired man growled as he tried to pull away from the touch, his body becoming stiff. He shook uncontrollably as his dark eyes took on a look on loathing, forcing their tears to halt, but Dino truly wasn't sure if that negativity was aimed at him or not. "Don't fucking touch me! Get your hands off me, Bucking Horse!"

By now, Squalo's tears had stopped, though his face was still wet; Dino knew the other would have still been crying if no one had come to his side; the abused male was so prideful, he couldn't bear to be seen in moments of weakness and would do whatever it took to look anything but weak.

"Squalo, what happened?" Reaching out to brush tears away with his thumb, Dino's hazel eyes became softer than ever; seeing the man like this... "What has upset you?"

"Nothing! Fuck off and stop putting your nose where it doesn't belong! I'm fucking fine!"

"No, you're not..." Dino never liked pointing out to his friend that Squalo wasn't okay, but it had to be done; it had to. "You know you can tell me anything, so what has upset you?"

"I'm not upset! Fuck off!" Squalo knew no one would believe his words, not when the evidence of his suffering was clinging to his face - but was it so bad of him to not want anyone to think less of him? He was so fucking tired of being treated as if he were nothing but the trash Xanxus always said he was. "I'm fine!"

"Squalo..." Moving very slowly, Dino opened his arms as he brought the frail man into a gentle embrace. He felt the other resist for several seconds before Squalo went limp in his arms, eventually lifting his hands to curl his long fingers into the older male's pyjama shirt. "Squalo, you can tell me anything... I just want to help you."

"..." Unable to stop the tears from rolling down his face again, the long-haired man whispered, "How do I break up with him, Bucking Horse...? How do I get away from him...?"

"..." Letting his eyes slip closed, Dino shook his head. "I don't know..."

"I can't go back there... I can't... I... No more..."

"What brought this on, Squalo?" Dino was at a loss as to what had done this to his friend; had the younger been driven into insanity by his thoughts? Or was there something more to it? The other shouldn't suddenly be wanting away from his boyfriend after eighteen years – it should have been a much more gradual realisation, so… So why was Squalo so abruptly wanting this kind of advice?

Squalo couldn't keep it to himself anymore; it was all just too much for him, and knowing that the blond wouldn't beat him senseless for it was comforting. "I want to die... I can't... If I can't get away from him, I... I won't be able to do it anymore..."

"Squalo..." Burying his face against soft silver hair, Dino fought back his own tears; the thought of losing Squalo was agonising, and knowing how the damaged man was feeling... "Squalo, I... I love you so much... Please, don't do that... Please..."

"Get me out of there, Bucking Horse..." Letting his tears fall harder, Squalo sniffed. "I can't go back... Getting a taste of living comfortably again... I can't go back to that... I can't..."

"You don't have to," Dino promised. "I'll talk to Tsuna and see if he can help us out; I won't let you go back to him."

Squalo nodded, continuing to vent to his best friend. Dino listened, but he truly wanted to cup that pale face and kiss away the other's pain. He knew he couldn't, the younger only having just made the decision to leave his partner and the last thing he would want is to have himself confused further.

Hopefully their trip to Japan would help Dino create a better life for Squalo; the blond would do anything for his best friend, after all.