Chapter edited August 12, 2017.
Bel was quite surprised when he answered the door the next morning to find not only Squalo on his doorstep, but Kyouya and Mukuro as well. Squalo held a grim expression on his face as he invited himself into the younger's home, and Bel felt a lump form in his throat at the sight; this couldn't be good if all of them were here together…
"Squa…?" Bel's voice was tender as he closed the door behind the others. "Squa, what's going on…?"
"Where's Fran?" Squalo's voice was soft as he addressed the younger; he knew how hard the blond was going to take this, and he intended on making it as painless as he possibly could for the young man he loved so much.
"He's still asleep…"
And then, without hesitation, Mukuro responded, and it was then Bel's fears of something being wrong were confirmed; the blue-haired male was after Fran.
"I will get him, Squalo." Mukuro had barely walked two steps before his arms shot out and he had grabbed the collar of Bel's shirt to slam the older male against the wall and pin him with his weight. His voice was as calm as ever, but Bel still recognised the inner turmoil he once used to see in those heterochromatic eyes every day. "You of all people understand why I do not enjoy having someone raise their hand to me, Belphegor. Do not attempt to hit me ever again."
Bel made no move to escape the younger's hold; he instead just growled, "I said he's sleeping, pineapple! You aren't taking him anywhere!"
All it had taken for the two to separate was Squalo's hand on Mukuro's shoulder, and it was in that moment the man was glad Mukuro trusted him so much or else he would have been mopping the two younger ones up off the floor. He sighed; why did Bel always have to be so difficult…? "Calm down, Bel… I've just asked Mukuro to look after Fran for a few hours is all. No one's going to hurt him so relax, will ya?"
"I just got him back…" It was all too clear the damaged male was terrified of losing Fran again, but what else could they do? Bel wasn't exactly making this easy… "I don't… I want to spend more time with him before anyone takes him away again…"
"Bel, we need you this morning for something big so it's best that Mukuro has Fran." Squalo threaded his fingers through golden locks in an effort to calm the younger, but he knew it wasn't working very well; Bel was still upset, and only becoming more confused by the minute.
"I don't understand…" Bel dropped his head to stare at his feet. He sighed as his shoulders became taut; why couldn't he just be left alone with Fran? It was… It was all he wanted…
Squalo tore his gaze from Bel and instead moved it to meet Mukuro's eyes. He nodded, giving the blue-haired male to okay to go and get Fran while Bel was distracted. He waited for the other to leave down the hallway before he grabbed the blond's shoulders and gently tugged him away from the wall and to the couch.
Bel looked as if he were in so much physical pain with the way he had hunched over and was holding himself tightly. It broke Squalo's heart to see, but they had no choice; they had to do something, no matter how painful for Bel it was going to be at first.
"Why are you trying to take Froggy away…?"
Squalo winced at the younger's pained voice. He swallowed thickly, but he couldn't respond; he couldn't. What was he supposed to say? Tell someone so broken that they couldn't take care of their loved one? He wasn't that cruel…
"Can I at least make sure he's okay before the stupid pineapple takes him…?" Bel wiped at his eyes in an attempt to hide the tears that were quickly welling up inside of them, but he knew better; he never had been able to fool Squalo when it came to crying.
Kyouya, who hadn't made a noise since their arrival, finally spoke. His tone was stoic, and to outsiders it would have come across as cold and uncaring, and even if Bel didn't, Squalo knew better; the skylark was worried. "No, herbivore; you can't. They will be leaving as soon as they are ready and you will stay here with us or I'll bite you to death."
It was at that moment Mukuro finally emerged into view once again, this time with Fran in his arms and a bag hanging off his shoulder. He could see the tears that were now streaming freely down Bel's face, and though he truly felt bad for the other, he couldn't comment on it; he had to worry about Fran right now.
"I will take good care of Fran, Belphegor," Mukuro promised. "I have his clothes and everything else he needs with me."
A sob escaped Bel's lips. He trembled as he forced out, "H-he can't eat solid food yet… And you have t-to help him walk…"
"Thank you, Belphegor. You may ring me if you have any concerns." Mukuro knew how hard it was for Bel to allow others to take his boyfriend out, so he stayed patient with the other, understanding that Bel was only worried for Fran's wellbeing. He looked down at Fran, and in a voice soft enough for only the teal-haired male to hear, he said, "Say goodbye to Belphegor, little one."
Bel was still as the younger approached him. He waited until Fran was within arm's reach before he stood up and embraced his lover in a warm hold. He buried his nose in soft teal hair, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything; he could only allow his tears to drip from his cheeks as he tried so hard to keep himself together. As much as he wanted to beg and plead with everyone to allow him to still care for Fran, he knew it was hopeless; they wouldn't let him, and the best thing he could do for himself – no… for all of them – was to watch with a broken heart as Mukuro took Fran from the house and far away from him.
"Herbivore."
Bel flinched at Kyouya's voice. He hesitated, and after a brief glance at Squalo, he turned around to look at the skylark. His feet shuffled in anxiety, and his shoulders became taut as he stared down. "…"
Kyouya's eyes narrowed. He truly didn't want to hurt the other, but he knew there was no avoiding it today; what they were about to do was going to hurt, and they could only hope that Bel was still stable enough to cope throughout it. "We need you to watch some videos for us."
Bel went rigid, and all colour drained from his face as he understood immediately; what they wanted from him was something he could never give. "No… No, Squ…"
Squalo winced as he felt his chest tighten at the fear in Bel's voice. He had always prided himself on being so emotionally strong, but right now, for the first time in so many years, he was sure he could start crying; why did Bel have to suffer so much pain…? "Bel…"
From the corner of his eye, Bel saw Kyouya messing around with his TV. He jumped to his feet and moved so he could wrap his arms around Squalo and hide his face in the others chest and plead with everything he had to be spared the torment he was already in. "Squalo, Squalo, please! N-no! I-I can't…! No…!"
For the sake of whatever was left of Bel's mental health, Kyouya muted the TV before he took a notepad and pen from his pocket and made a note. He then looked back at the other two and, despite the efforts he made to speak in a warmer tone, asked coldly, "Who is this, herbivore?"
"I-I don't know…!"
"You do not know, or you will not tell us?"
Bel let out a strangled scream as he clung tighter to Squalo so he didn't have to look at what he remembered so well. He could hear the long-haired male trying to plead with him, to look and answer the question, but he wasn't going to obey; why did he have to be shown something that still played on his mind so often?
"Herbivore."
Bel's heart rate sped up as he felt fingers grab his cheeks and force his head to the side to make him look at the TV. He tried so hard to keep his eyes closed tight, but it was useless; Kyouya wasn't going to stop until he got answers, and even the blond knew that it would just be easiest for him if he gave the others what they wanted.
He slowly allowed his eyes to open, and through his messy bangs, a shudder of terror wracked his thin frame as he recognised immediately the image of the man frozen on the TV screen.
"Who is that, herbivore?" Kyouya's tone was a little softer now as he poised his pen against his notepad.
A sob escaped Bel's throat as he stuttered, "R-romeo… F… Fernidanz…"
"What do you know about him?" The scratching of Kyouya's pen filled the air as Bel tried to take a deep breath and continue.
"…He… He was in a child…" Bel wiped at his now wet eyes; this was harder than he could have ever thought it would be, "…Child pornography ring… He… H-he usually t-t-told me how to behave, and… W-what to do… Gave my… My father instructions… on how to take me… and… and m-make me… b-behave…"
Squalo felt so sick at hearing this. He sighed as he nuzzled his face against Bel's cheek, trying to bring whatever comfort he could to the younger, but he knew it was useless; nothing was going to make Bel feel better while this was happening.
"Are you aware of his current status?" Kyouya's dark eyes fixed on the visible outline of Bel's through his bangs.
Bel shook his head. He flinched when the images on the TV started playing again in order to identify the next person, but as much as he wanted to, he could no longer tear his eyes away from the screen as he watched his younger self be violated exactly how he remembered it. It brought no comfort, no minimisation of the pain he was experiencing when Squalo took the liberty of fast forwarding to the next person; all it did was bring back the same pain and memories Bel had tried so hard to move on from.
It had felt like years had passed before Kyouya finally turned the TV off and fell silent. Squalo remained, sitting with Bel on the couch and threading his gloved fingers gently through blond locks as the younger lay curled up against him.
"It's over, Belphegor." Squalo tried to sit the blond up, but he was worried; the other had fallen so limp during the interrogation, Bel could only fall back onto the couch as if he were made of jelly. He withheld a sigh as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'm making an appointment with your therapist for you, Bel. I'll go with you."
The only signs of life Bel showed were the silent tears that steadily rolled down his cheeks. Squalo hated when the blond suffered, and it killed him to see the younger like this, but what else could they do? Leave everything be and let someone get hurt again? Or worse; killed?
As the dial tone played against his ear, Squalo nodded at the cop who was standing silently by the coffee table. "You go. I'm gonna stay here with him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself."
Kyouya gave a nod back before he left without a word. Now that it was just the two of them, Squalo fell into a much more comfortable position as he laid back against the armrest of the couch and allowed Bel to curl up beside him, with his face buried against the stronger man's chest. His long, slender fingers never stilled against oily blond hair as he booked Bel into an emergency slot first thing tomorrow morning.
As soon as Squalo had ended the phone call, he didn't even attempt to conceal the worry and affection that was clear in his voice as he said, "I'm going to be here bright and early tomorrow morning to take you to your therapist, so you'd wanna be ready before I get here; no stuff-assing around."
With that clear, Squalo swung his arm around Bel's shoulders and held the younger tight; he was in for a long day.
