Within the month that had passed by, Mukuro had been proud of the progress his boyfriend had been making; though Belphegor was still a pushy, spoiled brat who threw tantrums if he didn't get his own way, he had been interacting better with both Mukuro and Fran, showing bits of affection here and there towards them and behaving just a little better in regards to his violent and aggressive nature.

It certainly came as a shock to the blue-haired teenager when he got a call from Squalo, the man telling him something the younger thought he would never hear from the other's mouth.

"What do you mean?" Running slender digits through his soft hair, Mukuro's eyes softened with confusion. He pushed the textbook he had been using to study with off his lap, looking over his shoulder to see what Fran was into in the kitchen. "I do not understand, Squalo."

On the other end of the line, Mukuro could hear Belphegor screaming in the background, Rasiel shouting back at him. Squalo was silent for a few seconds before he said, "I can't take care of him anymore. This will be for the best."

"But you have cared for him for almost eleven years, Squalo; why are you giving up on him now?" Mukuro was heartbroken to know that even Belphegor's guardian couldn't handle him, knowing that the blond would be devastated and feeling betrayed by the one he loved the most in his life. "I know that he is a handful, but he needs you more than anyone else."

"Brat, I can't – Xanxus! Stop punching him! Don't ever hit him in the head like that again! …No! I don't care that he bit you; don't fucking punch him!" Squalo argued with his boyfriend for a while longer before he turned his attention back to Mukuro, taking a deep breath before he finished what he had been about to say in the first place. "It's not that I don't want to look after him, but that I can't look after him! I don't… want him to be hurt because of me…"

"What do you mean, Squalo?" Recognising the depression in the older male's voice, Mukuro became alert at this, realising now that Belphegor must have done something that had pushed his family over the edge. "What did he do?"

"…" Belphegor's screaming became quieter as footsteps became audible over the line, telling Mukuro that Squalo was leaving whatever room they had all been gathered in. Silence filled the air for a few seconds before the loud male said quietly, "He slept with Xanxus and I when we were both smashed."

Mukuro gasped, hurt crossing his face as his chest tightened in pain; had Belphegor just… willingly cheated on him…? With his own guardians? "…"

"I don't remember all that much about what happened; just bits and pieces." Squalo sighed before he continued on, his voice becoming much quieter than Mukuro had ever heard it. "Xanxus said he had come onto us… It doesn't make it any better, I know, but… As if that wasn't enough, he went and opened his mouth about it to someone, must have made them think we had forced him or something, because the next thing we know, child protection is knocking at the fucking door… We tried our hardest to convince them nothing had happened and that it was just his illness, but Bel kept protesting and telling them his side of the fucking story… Only just managed to get out of it, but… Not sure what kind of repercussions this is going to have on us…"

"But why is this making you take him back to the hospital?" Mukuro raised his fingers to his lips, chewing at his nails in distress; if Belphegor was sent back to the mental health facility, then… He would only come out of it in worse shape than when he went in… "Surely you…"

"We were drunk, and we didn't say no, to him, brat…" It was clear that Squalo was hating on himself for what had happened, probably blaming himself for it, too, and though Mukuro understood that he was only trying to do the right thing by Belphegor, surely it could be resolved some other way than by having the blond institutionalised…? "We could have… We could have really hurt him that night… Fuck it… If we couldn't rationalise sex, then… Then anything could happen…"

"Do not drink around him anymore, Squalo," the teenager tried to offer. "If you want to get drunk, then hire a babysitter so that you are not around him when you do so. I am sure you feel bad over what happened, but you do not need to put him back in that place."

"I can't," Squalo tried to explain again. He made a frustrated noise before he said, "I can't take care of him anymore because of what I did! What if… What if I'm not even drunk and it happens again…? I won't fucking risk it! I… He's… important to me… I don't want to hurt him…"

"Squalo…" Looking down at the boy who had just sat down next to him, Mukuro smiled softly as he threaded his fingers through teal hair. "Squalo, I could hear him when you first rang me; he does not want to go back there. Is there anywhere else you could place him for a while? Can Lussuria look after him for a few days?"

"If it was just Lussuria, I would ask him, but I'm not going to risk Belphegor around Mammon; I wouldn't put it past him to rape her when Lussu isn't watching."

"Then what if you ask Tsunayoshi to let him stay?" Trying his hardest to reach a compromise with Squalo, Mukuro understood when his suggestions were shot down; Squalo truly loved and cared for Belphegor, and he knew the younger twin better than anyone else; he knew where Belphegor would be okay staying and where he wasn't, and the honest truth was, there were so few people who could care for someone like Belphegor, they could be counted on one hand.

"That meek little shithead? Belphegor would walk all over him, Mukuro."

"Hayato? Takeshi?" Sighing when Squalo again declined, Mukuro knew there was really only one other choice. "He can live with me instead if that will help you, Squalo; he is always welcome here."

"Yeah, but are you going to be able to handle him there permanently?" Squalo sounded hesitant as he asked this, reluctant to do anything that the younger ones wouldn't be able to handle. "And you have a kid; I don't want Belphegor around kids; you know what he's like… Too much hormones for him to be able to handle with just his own hand."

"I understand your concern, but I am confident Belphegor will not do anything to Fran. I just wish for him to be okay, and anywhere but there. Please, do not abandon him; I promise I can take care of him; I love him, and I know to be patient and understanding with him."

"…" Squalo sighed before the sound of a door opening on the other line caught Mukuro's attention. "Alright… I don't want him in a crazy hospital any more than you do, Mukuro, but… He's not an easy person to care for… I'll go and tell him now… I'll help him pack all of his things and then I'll bring him out once he's ready. Do you want any lunch?"

"Please, if that is okay with you, Squalo; Fran is getting hungry and there is not much to eat here."

"Yeah, that's fine, brat. I'll be there soon."

Farewelling the man, Mukuro ended the call before he turned to Fran. "Belphegor will be living with us for a while now, Fran."

"How come?" Emerald eyes looked up at the teenager, as blank as ever.

"Because Squalo cannot look after him anymore. He needs somewhere to stay, so I offered my home to him. Be on your best behaviour while he is here, please."

"I will, Master." Looking down at the textbook his guardian was reaching out to, he then asked, "Can I learn, too?"

"Of course." Moving so that Fran could see, Mukuro then explained what he was studying, glad that Fran seemed so enthralled and wasn't bored; he hated not having much for the boy to do here.

~~XX~~

"I don't want to go back!"

Squalo watched his youngest charge in pity as Belphegor crawled across the ground in order to hug his leg tightly. Trying to shake the teenager off of him, Squalo growled in frustration. "Get the fuck off me, shithead! I'm trying to talk to you!"

"I don't want to go back there!" Unable to stop the tears from falling down his cheeks, Belphegor barely heard what was being said to him. "Don't make me go back there! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Belphegor..." Leaning down, Squalo picked his charge up from the ground. "Bel, listen to me, shithead."

"I don't want to go back..." The blond snivelled. "Please, don't make me... I'm sorry, and I won't do it again..."

"You're not going back," Squalo promised. "I changed my mind."

Wrapping his arms around the man's neck, Belphegor sniffed. "I'm not...?"

"No. You can go and live with Mukuro instead."

"I don't want to live with Mukuro; I want to live here with you..." Slipping a shaking hand beneath his long bangs to rub his eyes, Bel sniffed. "I don't want to leave..."

"If you didn't do what you did, you wouldn't be..." Squalo muttered. "It's for the best, though. You'll be happy with him."

"Not as happy as I am with you..."

"..." Feeling horrible about what he was doing to his charge, Squalo didn't respond to this; he instead said, "C'mon; I'll help you pack your shit..."

"I don't want to leave..." Obscured eyes met with dark ones, fresh tears welling up in them. "I don't understand... Why are you making me leave...? I said I was sorry and that I won't do it again!"

Knowing he was hurting himself as much as he was his charge, Squalo wished he could hand the youngest off to someone else, but no one could get Belphegor to respond to them as well as Squalo could; there was a reason the blond had always liked him more than anyone else in his life, after all.

Wishing there was something he could do to take away all of Belphegor's suffering, Squalo resigned himself to the fact that the teenager was only getting worse, and there may soon be nothing they could do to save him.

~~XX~~

By the time Squalo had arrived at Mukuro's apartment, Belphegor had long-since fallen asleep. He was clinging tightly to the man as he was carried inside, unaware of the two sets of eyes that were watching him.

"I'm just gonna put him on the couch and then I'll bring his shit up." Squalo sighed as he deposited the boy onto the couch, brushing blond bangs from the younger's eyes before he straightened back up. "I'm not fucking joking; the second he becomes too much for you, you call me and I'll come and get him – and if he dares try anything to your brat, call the police if you have to; I won't have him turning out any worse than he already is."

"Try do what to me?" Fran looked up at the man with curious eyes, not quite understanding what the other meant; Belphegor did a lot to him already, so…

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Squalo felt uncomfortable talking about sexual things to someone else's kid; while he had been the one to talk to Rasiel and Belphegor about it when they became old enough, he also hadn't technically been their guardian when he had done it as the two were still under their adoptive father's care; Squalo had simply become close enough to the twins for a brotherly relationship between them all to develop. It hadn't been until Xanxus and Squalo had moved to Japan in order to manage one of the branches of Xanxus' foster father's company did they gain legal guardianship of the twins.

"Promise me something, kid…" Leaning down, Squalo looked Fran in the eye as he dropped his hands to fragile shoulders. "If Belphegor ever does anything that scares, upsets or otherwise makes you uncomfortable, I want you to tell either me, Mukuro or another adult right away. If he ever… touches you… down there…" clearing his throat, Squalo glanced away, fighting back a blush of embarrassment, "…get away from him. Don't go near him and tell the first person you can find."

"Bel-senpai already tou –" Fran frowned as Mukuro quickly cut him off, wondering why that had happened; Mukuro always listened to what he said, so why was now different?

"-Thank you greatly for your concern, Squalo; I will be sure to reinforce your words." Patting a teal head gently, Mukuro shifted nervously, knowing just how close they had come to being caught; if Fran had said that to Squalo of all people… "Let me help you with Belphegor's belongings; I trust he has many boxes to bring up."

Squalo snorted. "It's Belphegor; he has far too much shit cluttering his room up; still going to need to do a few more trips in and out just for his games and crap."

"I will help," Mukuro promised. He grabbed Fran's hand as he led the boy out to the balcony and towards the stairwell. He apologised as he bumped into one of his neighbours, distracted by the rain; he had never truly been a fan of water, finding that it often made him uneasy. "Be careful driving around while it is wet, Squalo; the roads may be slippery."

"I know, brat." It was no secret that Squalo refused to stick to the road rules, instead creating his own as he went along; while he still wouldn't drive to the conditions, even while wet, and would instead continue to speed, it was endearing to know that his kid's boyfriend worried about him.

Squalo was glad that Belphegor was dating Mukuro, because he didn't think the blond could have found someone better for him in his condition.

~~XX~~

When Belphegor woke up a few hours later, the first thing he did was frown at the many stacks of boxes that rested against the far wall. Pushing himself into a sitting position, the teenager looked around for Mukuro, finding him and Fran standing in the kitchen as they made dinner together.

"Mukuro…?" Getting up from the couch, Belphegor moved to join them. He tensed as the younger male hugged him tight, unmoving in the thin arms, his eyes wandering over to Fran. "…"

"You are safe," Mukuro promised, hugging his boyfriend tighter. "You are safe. I talked Squalo out of having you put back in the institution; you are going to live with me now."

A single tear slid down Belphegor's face at these words, feeling his legs start to become weak; as much as he didn't want to deny it, he was frightened; while he was fine staying for a few days with Mukuro, it was terrifying for him to know that he had pretty much just been kicked out of the only home he had truly been happy in, and that he had been shipped off to live with someone else. "…I miss Squ-Squ… I want to go back home… Please… I miss my home already…"

Mukuro knew Belphegor didn't like change, uneasy with the idea of things being different to what he was used to. He also knew that the blond loved Squalo more than anything, and it was probably tearing him apart inside to feel as if he had been abandoned by the man he viewed as the parent he had never had.

"You will be happy here," Mukuro promised, knowing to be patient with the older male; it would take a while for the other to adjust, after all. "You are safe and will be happy with me; I will take care of you. Squalo is going to continue giving you an allowance, so you will still have money and all of your belongings."

"Squ-Squ…" Using the nickname Belphegor hadn't said since he was a little boy, the blond fell to his knees, his tears coming harder; he knew he had fucked up, and that if he hadn't taken advantage of his guardians' drunken states and gotten them both to have sex with him, he wouldn't be in this situation now.

It hurt him to know that it was his fault, and for once, he couldn't blame anyone else around him; he had been the one who had gotten on his knees for Xanxus, after all.