In the few days that had passed, Xanxus nor Mukuro had heard or seen any sign of Squalo and his friends; it was almost as if they had immediately given up upon finding out where Bel and Fran were. It had been disappointing on their behalves, and the scarred man felt that if his ex wasn't going to rise to the bait, there was no more reason for him to keep the blond in his basement. With a dull blade in one hand and Mukuro behind him, the raven descended the stairs with a twisted sneer on his face, his red eyes glancing at Fran before they focused on the other adult who hadn't moved an inch since his latest assault just a few hours ago.
"Oya, Xanxus." Looking over at Fran who was curled up in his usual corner, Mukuro shook his head. "Not in front of my Fran."
"I don't give a fuck about him." Grabbing blond locks and pulling Bel into a sitting position, Xanxus was pissed to find the other not responding to him anymore; Bel had been like that since the phone call, seemingly staring into space and taking no notice of what was happening to him – had Xanxus finally succeeded in breaking him for good?
"No!" Fran couldn't stop the tears from running down his cheeks, terrified as he watched the dull blade slice deeply into his friend's cheek. "Don't! Don't hurt him! Please!"
"He won't feel it for long," Xanxus muttered, not satisfied by the blood that leaked down to the ground. "He'll bleed out quickly once I cut his throat."
"Please, stop..." Not wanting to let his friend die like this, Fran stumbled to his feet and ran to stand in front of Bel. He was there for all of two seconds before he was shoved out of the way roughly, hitting the cement with a loud thud. He watched with wide eyes as the blade was next pressed against Bel's throat, droplets of blood leaking down his pale skin.
"Xanxus…?"
Everyone in the basement stopped at this, hearing someone calling for the scarred man from upstairs; who had dared let themselves in like this?
"Xanxus, are you home?"
"Fucking Lussuria." Throwing the knife away carelessly, Xanxus got to his feet. Looking at Mukuro, he said, "Distract him before he comes down here and finds them."
Mukuro nodded, following his lover towards the stairs; it wouldn't do to let someone in on their little plan, after all.
Upstairs, Xanxus waited until Mukuro stepped out beside him before he kicked the basement door closed in an aggressive manner. He glared at his visitor, a flamboyant man by the name of Lussuria. "The fuck do you want, faggot?"
Behind his sunglasses, Lussuria avoided all eye contact; this man had once been his boss and a friend, and as much as Lussuria still loved and cared for the scarred male, he was honestly afraid of Xanxus – anyone in their right mind would fear the person who had shot them in cold blood, after all. "Xanxus, honey… I was talking to Squa-chan, and… And he said you took Bel-chan…"
Xanxus didn't wait for the other to finish what he was saying; he pulled one of his guns out from the holster on his pants, pointing it at his guest as he slowly clicked the safety off. "Did you come here to die, trash?"
Lussuria gulped heavily, shaking his head. "…I… I came to ask you whether or not it was true…"
"Tell me, trash; what do you think is the truth?" Keeping a stoic look on his face, Xanxus was eager to hear the answer; would he pull the trigger or let the older male walk away unscathed today?
"…" Looking down at his feet, Lussuria almost didn't want to answer that question; if he said the wrong thing, he would find himself full of lead. But then, there was also Bel and Fran… What was the right thing to do here…? "…I… I believe Squa-chan…"
"You believe that whore?" Letting a smirk cross his face, Xanxus couldn't help but laugh a little. "You believe him over me?"
"…Yes…"
"And why is that?"
"…" Gulping, Lussuria felt as if he could cry; he knew coming here was suicide, but he only wanted to help his friends – he should never have thought he could make a difference by trying to talk to Xanxus. "…Because I know how much you resent Bel-chan…"
"You're damn right I resent that little cock-sucking slut. I would have killed him all those years ago had the shark trash not come back home. I had already cut his fucking balls off and only got a little way through his dick, but I would have made him eat them before putting a bullet in his fucking brain. I don't even know why the shark trash brought him home in the first place; all he was good for was watching him cry and scream whenever he'd see me kick the shit out of the shark trash."
Lussuria felt sick upon hearing these words, wishing he had been able to do something sooner to help Bel, but Xanxus was mentally ill, and nothing anyone could do for him would save him from his sickness; he would only get worse with the years to come, and Lussuria wasn't sure he wanted to know what the other would do in future. "…"
Lowering his gun, Xanxus sneered. "You tell that shark trash that if he wants the blond trash, he can come here and get it himself."
"…" Knowing he had been lucky to get out of this alive, Lussuria could only nod and turn back around, leaving through the front door; if he stayed any longer, he would be lucky to get out of it alive.
Xanxus waited until the front door had been closed quietly before he sheathed his gun again and turned to Mukuro. "I'm not done with that blond whore."
"Kufufu~" Mukuro followed with glee, trembling from anticipation as they descended the basement stairs once again; he was so excited to see what his lover did to Bel, and he sincerely hoped there would be no more interruptions.
The blue-haired man couldn't help but watch in silence as Xanxus stomped over to the younger two. He said nothing as Fran was thrown across the room, wanting only to watch Bel's demise. He sneered as the scarred male unzipped his pants and freed himself, feeling his own pants tighten at the way Xanxus pulled Bel's head up into the air by tugging a huge chunk of golden locks, and when the oldest male started thrusting violently into the blond's mouth with no remorse for the broken male, Mukuro couldn't help but slide his own hand into his pants.
Maybe there would always be some use in letting Bel live, but if Xanxus wanted to kill the blond, then Mukuro would enjoy it all the same, after all.
~~XX~~
When night rolled around, Mukuro found himself seated comfortably on the couch with a book in his lap. Fran was curled up against him, not by any will of his own, but because Mukuro had dragged him out of the basement and forced him there.
"M-master…"
Mukuro hummed at the boy's voice, moving heterochromatic eyes to meet emerald ones. He reached out, caressing the younger's chin with his thumb. "What is it, little one?"
Fran shook where he sat, hugging himself tightly; he wanted to go back downstairs and sit with Bel, but Mukuro wouldn't let him. "…I… I don't get it…"
Mukuro loved hearing Fran's hesitant whispers, knowing that he was the only person who could instil such fear and submission into the naturally-snarky teen; he knew that it was only he who would ever see Fran for what he was; a frightened, lonely child who was so used to being alone, he naturally pushed everyone away from him as a coping mechanism.
"Get what?" Slowly sliding his arm around Fran's shoulders in order to pull him closer, Mukuro remained patient; he loved his little one too much to rush him along.
Tears started sliding down Fran's cheeks at this, his shaking becoming worse; Mukuro knew he was frightened of continuing on, and this made the man genuinely curious; what on Earth could the boy be thinking? "…"
"Spit it out, little one; you know you can tell me anything."
"…" Shaking his head, Fran gulped before he forced everything out at once. "…If your family always raped and abused you, why do you do it to me, too…? What did I… do…?"
"Oh, little one, it's not that you did anything; it's that I love you so much." Brushing teal strands from the younger's eyes, Mukuro allowed himself to become gentle in this moment; anything to relax Fran and reassure him. "I love you more than anything, and I want you to love me back, too."
"But I don't…" Lifting his arm to wipe at his eyes, Fran shook his head, sniffing back tears. "…I don't love you…"
"Maybe not now… But some time in future you may."
"You told me you hated your family and what they did to you… Well, I hate you and what you do to me… I want to go home… Please, let me go home… I hate you…"
"I know you hate me, Fran. I hate that you hate me. But you can always learn to love me, Fran. You can always learn."
Pulling his knees to his chest, Fran wished he had died the day he walked out in front of that car; if he had, he would finally get away from all of this. However, life still seemed to hate him as much as it did on day one, and thus he was still stuck in a life of misery.
And then, Fran remembered Bel. He remembered the day he had met the blond, ten years ago. It had been shortly after the teal-haired boy had met Mukuro for the first time, so when he had come across sixteen-year-old Bel curled up in an alley, crying as he suffered severe hyperventilation due to his fright at being separated from Dino, Fran had clung to him – for the first time in his seven years of life, he had found someone he could understand and relate to, even if he had never learnt why his friend was the way he was until seven years had passed.
Fran wasn't the only person in agony, and it would be cruel to leave Bel to fend for himself – especially now, especially with the other going to need more love and support than ever if they were to get out of this alive.
Taking a deep breath, Fran almost couldn't believe he was about to ask this, but he would do anything for Bel – Bel was the only friend he had ever had, after all.
"…If I love you… Will you let my senpai go home instead…?" Feeling his tears flow harder, Fran was almost afraid to hear the answer.
"Kufufu~" Patting a teal head in an affectionate manner, Mukuro nodded. "Anything for you, little one. I will talk to Xanxus about it soon."
Dropping his face against his knees Fran hugged them tight as he cried; he knew what he had gotten himself into, but he had to do something to get Bel away from here; the blond was so sweet, and deserved so much more than this torture.
