Fran had been quiet after he finished his breakfast; he had become upset by the fact that Chrome and Mukuro were going to school today and would be leaving on him on his own. It wasn't that he didn't want them to go, but he was feeling a little nervous about being left alone while he knew Bel would still be skulking around the orphanage somewhere; Mukuro had told him that the blond was the only orphan not allowed to attend school and so always spent his days alone in his room. Part of Fran felt bad for the older boy, but the other half of him couldn't help but think the other deserved it with his bad attitude.

The teal-haired child had wandered out of the house after watching Mukuro and Chrome leave for the bus. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he was sure he had been out there for a while, just sitting on the back porch and looking around at his surroundings. The yard was fenced all around so that it was closed off completely and could only be entered through a gate off to the side or the back door to the house. There was an apple tree standing in the far left corner next to the fence, and a garden was growing around both the back of the house and most of the fencing. Fran liked the porch best; it felt comfortable to him with its deck chairs and table – it was almost… welcoming to him.

"Fran?"

The addressed boy looked behind him as his name was called. He noticed Tsuna was standing in the doorway with Gokudera by his side, and the green eyes that had previously been angry when Fran had looked into them earlier that morning now seemed calm and placid, as if the brunet was an instant stress relief for him.

"You should come inside, Fran. Lunch will be ready soon." Tsuna smiled as he held the door open wider in invitation. "We're having takoyaki first, and then Lussuria is going to cook up a big meal for everyone."

"Bel-senpai will be there…" Fran mumbled as he swung his legs off the side of the porch. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the blond, and all he wanted was to be left alone out here where he could think.

"But so will we," the brunet reassured. "You know we won't let him do anything to you. Come on."

Fran sighed before he obeyed, not wanting to be pestered; he was quickly learning that the other adults here were relentless when they wanted the kids to do something. He walked back into the house and stepped past the older two, but though Gokudera had seemed calm by Tsuna's side, he tensed and glared angrily at the child as they passed each other.

Fran's eyebrows dipped as he tried to process what he had done wrong. Had he accidentally brushed against the other? Or was it that his mere presence was repulsing the silver-haired teenager? If it was the latter, Fran had grown used to it – he was, as Bel had kindly pointed out to him before, a slut.

It was understandable that Gokudera wouldn't want his filthiness to touch him.

By the time the trio arrived in the kitchen, they found Lussuria was handing a plate of food to Bel. Fran cocked his head to the side as he listened to the conversation between them.

"Sweetheart, why are you so grumpy today?" Lussuria's voice was gentle as he watched the blond glare down at the plate as if it were the source of his discontentment.

Bel sneered at the question. "I am not grumpy! Fuck you!" And then, as soon as he turned around to take his food to the dining table, he halted and grit his teeth at the sight of the trio. In the blink of an eye, his plate had left his hands and flown through the air in order to spill all over Gokudera after hitting him in the head.

"You fuck!" Gokudera roared. He ran at the blond with every intent on slaughtering the other; he was far from the mood to deal with this bullshit, and Bel was going to pay. He was barely aware of the deep gash in his leg from where the plate had shattered on the floor and sprayed him with shards; all that mattered was getting his hands on that fucking blond. "I'll fucking kill you!"

"Don't touch me!" Bel screamed back as he was tackled to the floor. He threw punch after punch at the younger, but all it resulted in was making Gokudera angrier than he already was. To the bystanders, it looked as if the two were trying to kill each other – in reality, it probably was that way because Lussuria couldn't pull them away, and not even Tsuna's shouts for them to stop fighting went unheeded, and it wasn't like Gokudera to ignore the brunet's orders at all.

Fran's eyes were wide as he surveyed the fight. He watched Bel and Gokudera roll around on the floor, with punches, kicks, scratches, bites – anything they could get in – accompanying their shouting. He whimpered as he hid behind Tsuna's legs; what he was seeing right now was utterly terrifying for his young mind.

"Gokudera-kun, get off him!" Tsuna ran forward to stop the fight. "Gokudera-kun!"

It wasn't until a stray fist hit Tsuna in the face did the quarrelling stop. Both Bel and Gokudera looked up when the brunet let out a cry of pain, and it was the silver-haired male who walked away from the fight; he knew it was his fault Tsuna had gotten hurt, and he felt horrible. He clambered off the bloodied 'prince' and put his now-shaking hands on Tsuna's shoulders as his eyes shined in guilt. His voice quivered as he spoke. "T-tenth…! I-I'm so sorry!"

Tsuna removed his hand from his nose so that he could peer at the younger male. There was a trail of blood between the two, but he still smiled; he was just glad the fighting had stopped. "It's okay, Gokudera-kun."

Lussuria was tending to Bel. He held a napkin to the boy's forehead as he jittered anxiously; he hated seeing the boy like this, and he wished that there was something they could do to save him; it broke their hearts watching as he slowly lost himself to his trauma. "Bel, you should know better than to fight with your friends like this! You're hurt and this could have been avoided, honey!"

Belphegor pushed the man away with a growl. "They're not my friends and don't call me honey!"

Tsuna ignored this, knowing Lussuria could handle himself. He glanced down at Gokudera's leg, seeing the way blood was flowing in rivers and the boy's skin rapidly paled. "Gokudera-kun, you need stitches."

"What? Oh – I'm fine, Tenth. Honest."

Tsuna wrapped his arms around the teenager as he pulled them both to their feet. "We need to get something to wrap around that and then we're going to the doctor's."

Fran, who had been forgotten because of the fray, watched with teary eyes as Tsuna led Gokudera out of the room and Lussuria kept mending to Bel's injuries. It wasn't until he let out a loud sob as the stress of everything finally got on top of him did anyone pay him attention.

Lussuria frowned as he saw the boy standing there, whereas Bel's heart clenched for some unknown reason; why was seeing the usually stoic child so emotional hurting him? He's crying…? Bel couldn't understand the reasons behind the boy's tears; what could possibly have upset him? But… why…?

Lussuria left the sixteen-year-old's side to bring Fran into a tight hug and rock him back and forth. "What's wrong, Fran, dear?"

Fran reached up to rip at his hair at his distress; his tiny body couldn't possibly contain all the suffering he held deep inside. "It hurts!"

"What hurts?" Lussuria glanced back at Bel in an attempt to keep an eye on both of the boys; he wouldn't put it past the blond to use this moment to run away again.

The teal-haired boy shook his head as he continued to cry. "I-it's hurting me! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Lussuria continued to rock the boy and whisper soothing words to him. "Shh, it's okay, Fran. It's okay, honey. You can trust me."

Fran started shouting now as those words only added more to his distress; how was he supposed to trust someone he barely even knew? "Leave me alone! I hate you!"

The chef knew these words hurt him, but this was a damaged child who was probably fearing for his safety – he couldn't take them to heart. "Honey, it's okay. What's hurting you?"

Bel sat and watched this scene. He knew this was so similar to how he had been when he had first been brought here as an eight-year-old who wouldn't allow anyone to look at him, let alone touch him; he had only wanted to be left alone.

When I first came here… Bel thought to himself, I didn't want anyone to come near me… If anyone spoke to me, I'd attack them with whatever I had to keep them away… But it was when they came too close… did I cry… Just like how Fran is crying… Because I was honestly terrified…

The boy could remember never wanting to come out of his room. Back then, it had just been him, but when other orphans came along to join them and the adults had gotten sick of breaking up fights started by Bel, Squalo had resorted to getting a pet for the blond in hopes of calming him down; with Bel's dangerous personality, the gardener had been very careful in keeping an eye on the animals' safety, quickly deeming kittens and puppies as unsuitable after rescuing several from the boy's cruel hands.

In fact, Mammon hadn't even come from Squalo; on one of the many occasions Bel had ran away from the Varia, Xanxus had found him, sitting calmly in the park with said frog on his head. The first words that had been spoken between them were from Bel asking if he could name the frog Mammon, and from there, it was an unspoken agreement between the two that the blond could keep the amphibian.

Mammon was the only reason I didn't run away again until I got older… Bel recalled. In fact, he was the only reason I started talking to any of them here…

"Please, don't hurt me…"

He sounds so scared… Just like how I used to sound when I… When I…

"Hey…" Bel's voice was hesitant, uncertain. He pushed himself to his feet before he approached the boy. When he was close enough, he squatted down and stared into teal eyes. He fidgeted uneasily before he said, "…Froggy shouldn't be scared of Luss…"

Fran quietened down at this. His tears flowed silently down his cheeks as he stared at Bel in confusion; why was the blond talking to him like this? Didn't Bel hate him? He had honestly thought that was the case… After all, the blond had tried to hurt him just like everyone else in his past had.

But before Fran could question Bel, the blond had stood up and left the room.

Fran and Lussuria looked at each other before the man said, "He's right. I just want to look after you."

There were just two questions on Fran's mind; why had Bel said what he had, and why did he sound sad…? Should he… talk to Bel…?

Finally, Fran stopped his tears and let his head rest against Lussuria's shoulder as the chef rocked him some more. When teal eyes slipped shut, oblivion overwhelmed Fran as he fell asleep.