"Mornin', Kyouya..."

Fran's eyes snapped open and he froze as he felt lips trail down the side of his neck. He knew it was only Mukuro, and that the man had mistaken him for Kyouya, but he felt very uncomfortable with this.

"Someone's affectionate this morning... Cuddled up against me..."

The teal-haired male bit his lip as he felt a kiss being placed on the corner of his lips. He tried to ignore the hand that had slid beneath his shirt, tense as warm hands caressed his flesh.

"Is Kyouya in the mood? Hmm?"

"No, I'm not."

Fran felt his guardian freeze at the skylark's voice, and he turned his head to look up at the blue-haired male. Heterochromatic eyes were now staring down at Fran, confusion and horror evident in them.

"..." Mukuro raised a hand to his mouth, having not realised Kyouya was behind him until the older male had spoken. He pulled away from Fran, his cheeks coated with red. "I-I'm sorry, little one..."

Fran just hummed, having grown used to touches such as those during his time with Bel. He went to move off the bed, only to hiss and crumple as his stomach burned angrily. He held his tummy with one arm, trying to ignore the fellow burning in his thighs. He was sure he was bleeding again, but he didn't want to say anything to Mukuro, knowing the man would want to see the injuries and tend to them. He didn't want anyone seeing what he had been through – he didn't want them to know. He just... didn't want to be treated differently...

"Are you sore, little one?" As always, Mukuro was on the ball. "Do you want me to get you pain killers?"

"No..." Fran bit his lip as he closed his eyes, his backside starting to ache as well. "...I'm fine..."

"Pineapple herbivore, give me some time with him."

Both Fran and Mukuro turned to look at Kyouya. The oldest male had left the bed, grabbing a small writing pad and a pen from the desk opposite them. He sat in the spinning desk chair, looking as serious as ever.

"I want to get a statement from him."

"Can I stay with him?" Mukuro knew Kyouya only had Fran's best interests in mind, but he didn't want to leave the boy.

"I'll debrief you once I've dealt with the green herbivore. Leave."

The blue-haired man nodded. He caressed Fran's cheek for a few seconds before he stood up, leaving the room. He trusted Kyouya to look after Fran, but still... He just wanted the youngest to feel safe.

"Is this the man who attacked you?" Kyouya waited until the bedroom door was closed before he pulled a photo frame out of his bag, tossed carelessly by the side of the bed. It was the same photo he had been looking at in Mammon's home, and when Fran's eyes widened and a whimper escaped his lips, Kyouya knew it had been him who had assaulted Fran.

"Y-yes..." Fran looked away, reaching up to rub at his wet eyes. "...T-that's him..."

"Care to explain how your relationship with the blond herbivore worked?" Kyouya narrowed his eyes, an annoyed tone in his voice. "Why would you willingly date someone already in a relationship? I didn't think you were like that."

Fran closed his eyes, knowing he was in trouble now – he was just lucky Kyouya hadn't told Mukuro yet, because otherwise the blue-haired male was going to be mad. "...I dated him... because I love him..."

"Again, already in a relationship. What haven't you been telling us, Fran? What else have you kept from us?"

"..." Fran knew there was a lot he hadn't told anyone about his relationship, but did he really have to start now...? Couldn't he be left alone to rest for a while longer...? He was hurting, damnit!

"Tell me everything, and I'll make sure the pineapple herbivore knows only what he has to," Kyouya promised in a softer tone. "I won't tell him everything, and I'll only use this information for your case. Cooperate, and I'll have this case closed soon."

Fran sighed. He knew he really didn't have a choice, and the sooner he spoke, the sooner he could have this all done and dusted. "...What do you want to know first...?"

"How you met the blond herbivore."

"..." Fran nodded, knowing he hadn't exactly been truthful to Mukuro when he had first told the man he had a boyfriend. Kyouya deserved to know the truth – after all, the man was only trying to help him.

~~Six months ago~~

Fran often stopped in town on his way home from school. Sometimes he got takeout for lunch, others he walked aimlessly around town before going home to do homework, and then there were the times he stopped by stores and bought new games, books or DVDs.

Currently, the boy had stopped by his usual gaming store, browsing the available games for the newest console Mukuro had bought him for his birthday. Being as short as he was, he found it awfully frustrating when he realised he just wasn't tall enough to reach the game on the top shelf he wanted to look at.

Fran thought about asking one of the workers to get it down for him, but there weren't any on the shop floor that he could see. He knew he could always come back later for it, but he wanted to get it now that he was already here.

"Too short to reach it, shishi~?"

Teal eyes turned at an unfamiliar voice behind him, coming face-to-face with a tousle-haired blond he had never met before. The other was seemingly laughing at him as his hands disappeared into the pockets of his long jacket, covering his striped shirt. "I'm not short; I just don't want to reach up for it."

The other chuckled again before he extended a long arm, grabbing the game with ease. He handed it to the boy, obscured eyes watching as Fran accepted it. "Lazy frog."

Fran sniffed before he ignored the other, his eyes scanning the back of the cover. He was aware that the blond still hadn't left, but he didn't say anything.

"I've played that one before." A Cheshire grin crossed the man's face. "It's good~"

Fran nodded. He slipped the game under his arm as he grabbed his messenger bag from the floor, slipping it back over his shoulder. "Are you trying to flirt with me or something? Most people would have just left after giving me the game."

"I already have a boyfriend, shishi~ The prince is just bored~ His adoptive parents dragged him out into town with them, and now they're getting their hair cut, leaving him alone~ Will the frog entertain the prince~?"

"Fake-prince is looking at the wrong person; people tell me I'm antisocial and boring, and you seem like a pedo." Fran started walking towards the registers, finding that the other was still following him.

"Princes aren't pedos. My name is Bel~ What's Froggy's name?"

"If I tell you, you might try and stalk me." The teal-haired male waited impatiently for someone to come out and serve him, wishing he could get rid of the blond menace already.

"As the prince said before, he already has a boyfriend~" There was a hint of sadness in Bel's voice at these words, and Fran wondered why that was; the blond seemed so cheerful and outgoing, so why would this change at the mention of a partner?

"Then why is fake-prince bothering frogs and not being with his boyfriend?" Fran challenged.

"...Because Mammy is off in another town somewhere, making money..."

Fran knew there was a definite depression in the other now. In his own way, he tried to soothe the blond, but Mukuro had always told him he had a morbid sense of humour. "What, he's off selling drugs or whoring himself out?"

When Bel turned his head away, a frown crossing his face, Fran knew he was probably on the right track.

"Oh..." Fran rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his teal eyes darting to the side. "I didn't..."

"It's okay." A more forced smile was on Bel's face now, nowhere near as natural as his previous ones had been. "Froggy didn't know. But please? Can the prince be entertained a bit more? He still has another hour to fill in~"

"I was going to go home and do homework..." Fran turned his attention to the cashier who had just made it to the registers. He handed the game over before he leant down, pulling money out of his school bag. "Unless you're hungry, fake-prince? Fake-prince's treat, because this is the last of my money until my guardian pays me."

A more genuine smile crossed Bel's face again as he nodded. "Okay~ Where does Froggy want to eat~?"

"Anywhere's fine."

"Sushi? Sushi is the prince's favourite~"

"Sure." Fran grabbed his game and the receipt from the cashier, slipping it into his bag. "I haven't had sushi in a while."

Bel hummed to himself as he led the way out of the store, pleased that he had made a new friend so easily; friends had never been easy for him to make, even in school where he had always been the loner, bullied for being different – it excited him to finally have someone to hang out with he hadn't spent the past eighteen years with already.

~~Takesushi~~

"What's Froggy's favourite video game?" Bel was a pleasant person, Fran was soon discovering. He was a bit out there, but he seemed harmless, if not just a bit too lonely – why else would he be pestering a high schooler to hang out?

"I don't know; I don't get much time to play them because Master is adamant in making me focus on school." Fran raised the chopsticks to his mouth, nibbling at his rice. "Is senpai a gamer?"

Bel nodded. "Mammy says I'm lazy because I'm always in front of the TV or the computer~"

"Are you one of those people who calls themselves a gamer, even though they spend ninety per cent of their time on World of Warcraft or Pokémon?" Fran wondered if the blond would get his sarcasm – not a lot of people did.

"Shishi~ The prince plays lots of different stuff~" Bel seemed much more comfortable here than he did back in the previous store. "Mammy yells because I spend so much money on games."

Fran didn't know Mammon, but he already didn't like the other; while Bel appeared to genuinely love his boyfriend, it was clear that he wasn't happy in what sounded to Fran to be a controlling, one-sided relationship. Bel seemed so sweet, Fran couldn't help but think he deserved someone better.

"I don't like your boyfriend," Fran said bluntly. He ignored the frown Bel made, but he continued on. "He doesn't sound like a very nice person – especially if he's selling drugs or whoring around. You never did confirm which one it was, but if my boyfriend was like that, I'd be ending the relationship."

"...Mammy... just likes money..." Bel was quiet as he tried to explain things. He had had this conversation with his adoptive parents countless times, and they both said that Bel was simply too brainwashed to see the truth. "He doesn't mean to hurt me... He knows I don't like it when people come around and... and pay him to do that stuff with them... in our home... But he loves me..."

"I've never been in a relationship before, so I don't really understand it," Fran admitted. "I just don't understand why you'd hurt yourself over a boyfriend like that. As I said before, I wouldn't want to date someone who did those things."

"Froggy's just young." Bel offered a crooked grin as he reached out, patting teal hair. "Once he meets someone he really loves, he'll understand what it's like to put up with those kinds of things."

"Maybe..." Fran pushed the food on his plate around slightly before he took another bite of his rice. "But I think you deserve better."

Bel, who had already mostly devoured his lunch, just smiled at the boy. He checked his wristwatch before he spoke again. "Froggy should hurry up and finish his lunch; Squ-Squ's beauty session will end in fifteen minutes."

Fran nodded, eating a bit faster; he wasn't in the habit of wasting other peoples' money.

It was quiet between them for a few minutes before Bel spoke again, longing evident in his voice. "Froggy...?"

"Hn?"

"If the frog wants to catch up again, I can give you my number if you want it." This sentence lacked the self-proclaiming of being royalty, which told Fran the blond was serious about this. "I had fun today."

"Sure." Fran pulled his phone from his bag, hitting in Bel's number as it was given to him. "I'm not busy on the weekend. Are you free?"

Bel hummed for a few seconds before he nodded. "Yup~ Want to go to a game arcade?"

"Okay." Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Fran finished off the last of his lunch before he stood up, following the man out of the sushi restaurant. "See you in a few days."

"Looking forward to it, Froggy~"

~~End flashback~~

"Following someone around like that isn't the smartest move you've made..." Kyouya muttered as he made notes on the pad. "Do you know how many cases I deal with that start out just like that, and someone's gotten hurt? Or worse?"

"He was just lonely, and it's not like I got into a car with him." Fran sighed. "He just... was lonely..."

"Lonely or not, he could have hurt you, or even killed you, herbivore."

"But he didn't... He wasn't getting the attention he needed from his boyfriend, so I gave it to him... How would you feel if Master disappeared for weeks on end, had people fuck him in your bed, and did drugs while you were around? Every time he'd come back from wherever he was, senpai would get so excited, but he only ever got pushed away."

Kyouya knew he wouldn't handle something like that, but still... What Bel and Fran had done... "I won't tell the herbivore you made some stupid moves, but he will know that you were involved in an affair."

"Okay..."

"One more question; how long did it take before you told him your name?"

"I never did tell him my name; just after we got together, he looked at my school ID to find out." A faint, barely visible smile crossed Fran's face at his words.

Kyouya nodded, just glad that Fran seemed to be much better today.