A/N: This chapter goes out to my darling Byakuran. Why, beside the fact that she's awesome as all heck? I'm the most out of character Squalo right now, because I have to be serious in an RP fight... So I'm crackin' up everything else. My brain's literally dead when it comes to writing right now, because I'm so damn overwhelmed by school.
BANG.
Squalo would have looked up from his desk, his scowl not quite so menacing with his eyes wide with shock. He would've stared straight up at Bel's smug grin, then the gigantic pile of manila folders the prince threw onto his desk, then back at Bel again, to fall at the prince's feet, and tell him everything he needed to know.
Squalo would have, had he been in his room.
With a little hum of annoyance, Bel stared for a second, at the pile of completed mission files (he should have done a couple of months ago) on Squalo's desk, then gave a small, almost inaudible sigh. The completed missions were supposed to be the bargaining chip for permission to search Squalo's room. Usually, Bel wouldn't need permission, of course, but on this occasion, Bel needed more than permission. He needed guarantee for his life, and if the Sharky was any bit as smart as Bel now peg him as, he would've set up traps to prevent anyone from searching his room, and finding some classified information.
Classified information that Bel needed.
After a few moments of contentrated contemplation, Bel had made up his mind. He was the Prince. He didn't fear the Sharky, or any traps he might've set. Nothing could escape his princely eyes, after all, and he was sure to catch even the tiniest out-of-place thing...
Bel threw open the closet, and heard the sound of a needle falling to the wooden paneling.
Without a moment to spare, the prince ran at a speed that would've defied slow-motion cameras everywhere, on which all that would've appeared is a blond shadow with a suspicious glitter on his head. Once he figured he was a safe distance away, he waited. Waited for something to burst into flames, to blow into smithereens, or even a bright flash of light or smoke. Nothing came (much to his disappointment), and Bel was left standing in the hallway of Varia manor, slightly dumbfounded as to why the heck Sharky would do such an idiotic thing as a fake trap so cleverly hidden. The contagious pride of Squalo's burned within him, having all fell out a metaphoric window and died a sad, painful, and non-heroic death, and all Bel could think at the moment was how grateful he was that Squalo wasn't in his-
"...Brat."
"Fuck you too, God," Bel quickly muttered under his breath, before attempting to vault over the railing that fenced in the hallway up in the second level, but in his way was a silver sword, threatening the well-being of his nose with even a hair's breath of movement. Bel turned around with a strained grin.
"Sharky~! How's it going for you on this fine, fine day?"
When in doubt, act nonchalant, was it? Squalo raised a skeptical eyebrow, snarled something uncomprehensible under his breath, and grabbed the back of Bel's uniform with his left hand, leaving the sword dangerously close to the back of Bel's neck, and the prince figured it wasn't the best timing to kick Squalo's... anything, unless he wanted permanent paralysis via a severed spinal cord. He did, however, have a reputation to protect.
"It's all your fault, sharky," Bel murmured angrily. "You and your stupid room and missions and pride..."
"Oh, shut up," Squalo snapped, and tossed Bel unceremoniously into his room. Squalo's room, that is, and the prince couldn't help but feel just a bit smug at what it meant. Apparently, though, the swordsman had x-ray vision, or super sensitivity (Bel was more willing to bet on the x-ray vision), and growled, "Voooiii! Wipe that grin off your face, brat, or I'll give you something to fucking grin about...!"
"Stupid sharky," Bel hummed, standing up and leaning closer to Squalo. "So tell me. Where is it?"
Squalo didn't even grant that question with a reply. He only stared mutedly, arms crossed over his chest, eyes quietly confused, but shadowed with rage. Bel gulped lightly, and leaned back half an inch.
"You want to show me something," the prince diplomatically reasoned.
"...How do you know I didn't drag you in here so I can kill you without a huge mess in the halls?" The swordsman's eyes narrowed threateningly, and Bel glared back (not that Squalo could've told).
"Because you wouldn't want a bloody mess in your room." Not that the sharky could've killed him in the first place, of course.
Squalo scoffed, looking aside in confidence, and Bel resisted the urge to pull out a knife.
...He tried to resist the urge to pull out a knife.
The swordsman barely looked at the sharp weapon in the prince's hand, and grinned, baring his teeth at Bel. "Voooiiii, you stupid brat! I have about twenty pounds of fucking dynamite stuck under this room! I'll just get rid of it, and your corpse along with it!"
There had to be a law against the amount of conviction the sharky's voice, but, all things considered, even if there was, the Varia wouldn't care anyways (everything down to their leather coats were illegal). Bel didn't believe there were explosives beneath the floor where he stood, but Squalo certainly did, and apparently, not just Squalo's pride was contagious, but everything he stood for and aspired to be. It wasn't fair. There couldn't possibly be explosives under the floor. There couldn't.
With a growl (it was a growl, dammit. No matter how high-pitched it was, it was still a growl...!), Bel hopped forward and latched his legs across Squalo's neck, spinning around so he sat comfortably on the sharky's shoulders. The knives he twirled with on a regular basis had their edges fixed on the swordsman's pulse point, pressing with a nagging pressure to remind Squalo who's life was in who's hands. "Tell me now, sharky, or I honestly won't hesitate to paint your walls with blood."
It not so much as irked, but downright pissed Bel off to no end when Squalo didn't even flinch. Instead, the swordsman reached into his coat and pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it over his head to Bel. A mission file, it happened to be, and narrow, princely eyes scanned the contents quickly before throwing it back in disgust.
Name: Irene Mason
Estimated Age: 44
Appearance: 5'3" Italian female. Curled black hair, dark blue eyes, pale skin. Thin, stretched physique, slanted eyes, long neck and legs.
Others: Seen with tortoiseshell glasses on various accounts. Wears expensive jewelry, known to carry a small hand gun on inner thigh holster.
Location: ?
"Fuck this, shark-" Bel started to say, ready to start a bloodbath to protect his name, when Squalo interrupted, crunching the mission into a ball in his fist.
"If you want to learn about me..." Squalo's voice was low and guarded, but amused at the same time, and Bel found himself leaning in to listen. When he realized he had loosened his hold on Squalo in his concentration, though, it was too late, and the swordsman had already flipped him onto the queen-sized bed Squalo owned, and straddled his waist as he held the prince down. Squalo leered down at Bel, and tightened his hold on the prince's wrists.
"If you want to learn about me," he repeated. "Come on this mission with me."
"How do I know you're not just making me do more work?" Bel grounded out with a biting grin. Squalo barked out a laugh, harsh and despondent.
"Voooiii! Would you rather stay and search my room?"
"...Fine, sharky, mission it is. But the minute I feel overworked, you're never making it home."
A/N: Tadaa! A... vaguely substantial chapter...!
...At least I have plot production?
Don't expect much updates this week for ANYTHING, OTL. I'm sorry, any Curriculum Vitae readers, because I WILL do the requests, but I have a show coming up this Friday, and there's going to be A HELL LOT OF WORK.
-_-;;
I will continue writing, though? Most definitely! I love this fic, and I don't really wanna angstify it, but... I have a feeling there's gonna be a lot of pain on Squalo's part, for his past. x'DDD Or are there any suggestions? I welcome anything, especially since even I know nothing about my dear Squalo!
...OTL
Please leave a review, even just to say "You suck at updating!"