"Xanxus…"

Xanxus' lips curled into a snarl as a soft voice broke through his sleep, but still he didn't bother opening his eyes; if the annoying brat dared keep pestering him as he tried to sleep, he would just have to fire a few rounds off and listen as the other scurried away in fear.

"Xanxus…? Boss…"

The soft clicking of the safety on one of his pistols filled the air, and though it earned a frightened whimper, still the other didn't leave; his subordinate really was suicidal. "One… Two…"

"Boss, w-wait…! Please…" There was a soft sob that accompanied the words, and it was then Xanxus bothered to open his eyes; he knew it wasn't like Belphegor to come to him for help, so why was he here? "H-help…"

Xanxus narrowed his eyes. The front of Bel's clothing was stained in blood, and his hands were coated in the dried substance. There were specs of it on his face and in his hair, but the boss was experienced enough to know that not a single drop of that blood was the blond's own; it had come from someone else, and he wanted to know who. "Whose blood is that, trash?"

Heavy tears rolled down Bel's cheeks and mingled with the blood. It took a few seconds of opening and closing his mouth wordlessly before he was able to say, "S-squalo's… And T-takeshi's…"

Xanxus got to his feet within seconds. He towered over the smaller male as he roared, "What the fuck happened, scum?!"

Bel wiped at his eyes to rid himself of his tears, but it only succeeded in smearing more blood over his face. "…V-verde… He used me… Please… H-help… He has them…"

The scarred man raised his hand with the intention of hitting the younger male as hard as he possibly could, but he stopped when he saw the other cringing in terror. His expression didn't soften at all, but he did drop his hand back to his side as he yelled, "Where are they?!"

"I-I don't know… B-boss, I… I'm sorry… I didn't… I only… I'm sorry…"

Xanxus wasn't moved by his subordinate's words; he merely shoved the damaged male out of his way so that he could stomp towards the door of his office unhindered. Over his shoulder, he snarled, "Stay the fuck out of my way, scum; this is your mess, isn't it? Now we have to clean it up… Useless trash, you are…"

Those words hurt Bel, but he didn't respond to them; he instead waited until the mansion had fallen silent before he snuck back to his own room in hopes of getting himself back together before Chiara saw him, but luck wasn't on his side and his daughter caught up with him just as his hand touched the doorhandle of his room.

"Daddy!" Chiara's tiny feet sounded across the floorboards as she ran to her father. His back was to her, so she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed up against the back of his legs, but she quickly let go when she felt something wet and sticky clinging to her skin. She frowned as she backed away and saw the blood that had gathered on her. "Daddy… Is daddy hurt…?"

Bel shook his head. He turned around so he could kneel down and take his child's hand. "Chiara… S-something's happened… This isn't my blood; I'm okay… But… I… I need you to be prepared in case… in case Takeshi and Squalo don't come home today…"

"Are they going away?" Chiara was so innocent, and it only caused more pain in Bel's heart.

The blond shook his head. "I don't know… I hope so, Chiara… I really hope so…"

Chiara didn't understand why she was suddenly pulled into a tight hug. It confused her even more when her father dropped his face against her shoulder and started crying into it; she had seen him do these things with Takeshi, but never with her; she knew how hard Bel tried to hide his tears whenever she was around, so why was he crying now? She didn't understand.

"Daddy?" Chiara lifted her arms up so he could wrap them around Bel's neck in her own hug. "Is daddy okay?"

"No, Chiara… No, I'm not…"

Chiara had no idea what she was supposed to do; all she knew was to let Bel keep hugging her, and that was what she did.

~~XX~~

"Daddy…?"

Bel peeked out from the pillow he was hiding under so he could give his daughter a tired look. "What…?"

"When are you gonna come out from the bwankets and pway with me?" Chiara pulled herself up onto the bed so that she could nestle in next to her parent. "I'm bored…"

"I don't want to play tonight, Chiara…" Bel shook his head. "I just… I wanna be left alone for a while… Okay? Go play with Mammy…"

"But, daddy, no one else is here; everyone's gone."

Bel flinched. If they were the only ones home, then Xanxus must have taken both the Varia and Vongola with him to find the two Rain guardians. What if Squalo and Takeshi didn't come back? What if… What if none of them came back…?

"…" Bel closed his eyes as he forced himself to hold back his tears. His voice was choked when he said, "…Chiara… G-go play in your room… Daddy wants his alone time…"

"But I –"

Bel jumped when he heard a loud crash from downstairs; if there was no one else home, then who was it who sounded like they had just smashed a vase? He tensed for several moments before he jumped to his feet and grabbed his daughter's hand tightly; he didn't care how bad he was feeling right now; if someone were here to cause Chiara harm, they were going to have to get through him, first.

There was shouting floating up the stairs now, but Bel couldn't decipher any of it or even work out who it was; his mind was spinning so badly, he could barely focus on anything except the tiny hand in his own; oh, if someone dared touch a hair on her head, he would…!

"Daddy, who is that?" Chiara was too young to understand the concept of danger properly, but even so, Bel hated to hear that her tone was full of curiosity rather than guard; what if she were to run into the enemy's arms one day when he wasn't there to protect her…?

"Shh…" Bel gathered his child into his arms so he could hold her against his chest. He nuzzled his nose against her soft hair, but nothing he could do was a comfort for himself; he was still stressed, and all he wanted was to get away from everyone and everything, to be able to go somewhere he could finally be at peace.

It felt like forever until the footsteps Bel knew were inevitable finally approached his door. He could picture it out; someone was going to burst into his room through the door Chiara had left unlocked, and they were going to take his daughter from him and… and…

Bel didn't dare think more on the subject.

"Bel, honey?"

But then, to Bel's honest surprise, none of what he had expected happened, and instead a soft knock on his door broke through his fright. He recognised Lussuria's voice, and that in itself was enough for him to slowly move back to his bed now that he knew he didn't have to prepare himself for an attack. "Lussu…?"

The door opened and Lussuria stepped into the bedroom. He looked troubled, more so than Bel could remember seeing him. The blond couldn't blame him, though; the Sun Guardian probably knew who had attacked their teammates. "Sweetie, can you come with me, please? I have to show you something…"

The younger male hesitated; did he really want to see what he had done to two people he loved so much…? But even so, he still got back to his feet and carried Chiara over to Lussuria. He flinched when the flamboyant man put a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't shake it off; he was ready to welcome the comfort because it was something he needed in this moment. "What is it, Lussu…? Did you find Takeshi and Squ-Squ…?"

Lussuria nodded. "They're going to be okay, Bel-chan, but there's something else you need to see… May I hold Chiara for you?"

Bel didn't want to pass his daughter off to the other, but he did so anyway; he had a feeling he was going to have to. He followed Lussuria through the corridor and down the stairs towards the infirmary, and with each step he took, the more stressed he became; what was waiting for him past those doors up ahead…?

It was Lussuria who broke the silence once they entered the infirmary. "Honey, this could be very hard for you, so please know everyone's here for you. Alright?"

"Luss…?" Bel tensed. "What happened…?"

"Sweetheart… When we went to get Takeshi and Squalo, we… We brought someone else back with us… We thought you should know…"

Bel's heart started racing; could it… Could it really be…? In the tiniest voice he had ever used, he whispered, "Who is it…?"

The taller male shook his head. "Come have a look, hon…"

The Storm Guardian swallowed thickly as he forced his legs to move again. He walked past the bed he could see Squalo laying in, with his eyes closed and a ventilator over his mouth. He winced. He tried to ignore the other bed where he could see Takeshi sitting up in it and watching him with a blank expression on his face, but it was hard to do so when he knew it was all his fault they were here in the first place. The other Vongola guardians who were gathered by their friend's bed gave the blond small smiles as he passed, and Bel had to wonder; did they know the truth of why the Rain Guardian was injured at all…?

And then, finally, when they passed by the two beds and got to the very end of the infirmary, Lussuria stopped by a privacy curtain that had been pulled around the stretcher. He gave Bel a serious look before he said, "You go in, honey. I'll stay here with Chiara. Call out when you want me."

Bel tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, but it wasn't easy to do; his head was swimming, and all he wanted in this moment was to disappear. But instead, he forced himself to enter past that curtain and see what Lussuria had brought him to.

"O-oh…" Bel's breath caught in his throat as he stared at a tiny body curled up beneath the blankets. With their long, golden hair that looked as if it had never been cut before, it was hard to tell if he were looking at a girl or a boy, but that didn't matter to him; he knew in his heart that what he was looking at right now was probably the only one of his children he would ever get back from Verde's clutches. He licked his lips as he took in the sight of the bandages wrapped around their tiny limbs, and it broke his heart to see them shake so violently from fear and watch him as if they expected him to hurt the child. Bel shook his head as he slowly moved closer to the bed.

Without a word, he climbed onto the mattress and gathered his missing child into his arms. He hated the frightened whimper the younger made, and it hurt him more than anything ever had to know that he was the reason the other was trying so hard to get away, but he couldn't let that get to him right now; he didn't know what his child had been put through, and he needed to reassure the other that it was okay to trust him.

"Shh…" Bel tightened his arms around the small body, but all it seemed to do was make the other thrash harder. "It's okay; I'm here now… I'm here… You're safe…"

The child only started to cry at these words, but Bel couldn't blame them; he could only imagine the things Verde had done to his child.

"It's okay to cry; you're safe now. You're safe."

Bel didn't know how long had it taken, but after what felt like decades, his child finally stopped crying and instead rested quietly against his chest. He gave a relieved sigh, glad that he could at least soothe the kid, though he wondered if the other would ever come to trust him or think of him as their parent; it was doubtful at best, but he could always hope.

"Your hair is really long…" Bel had never been so gentle as he threaded his fingers through the dirty mattered locks. He looked into purple eyes that conveyed nothing but fear and exhaustion. "I can get Lussu to make it all nice again. Would you like that? He does my hair for me, too."

The child shook their head. "…"

"Well… I want to brush it; get all of the knots out. Is that alright?" Bel didn't receive any kind of response, so after calling Lussuria in past the curtain, he requested a comb, scissors and a bottle of a dry shampoo. He didn't say anything until the Sun Guardian returned and gave him what he needed, and as carefully as he could, he started working at his child's filthy hair.

"Are Squ and Takeshi gonna be okay, Lussu…?" Bel was quiet. He was trying to brush through a particularly bad knot, but it soon became apparent that the only way it would come out was to be cut off.

Lussuria nodded. He looked up from where he was playing patty cake with Chiara so he could say, "It doesn't seem like Verde had gotten to them yet. But, sweetie… We're going to have a long talk about selling out our comrades like that…"

Bel flinched. "…"

"It's alright, hon; I know you were used. We aren't going to worry about it right now; we have other things on our minds. For now, focus on your child."

The blond nodded. He cut through another lock of hair before he raised the comb once again to less resistance this time. "…Is Takeshi mad at me, Lussu…?"

"I don't know, hon. I don't think he is. I think he's just hurt that you would do that."

Bel sighed. "…"

A few more minutes passed by in silence, and finally Bel had completed his task of brushing his child's hair. Now that the mattered mess was out of the way, he was able to see that, right now, he was holding his son close to him. He was disappointed the younger hadn't spoken at all, but he could understand; the boy was probably traumatised, just like he still was.

"Does that feel better?" Bel smiled when the boy turned around to look at him, but still he received no response.

"Sweetie, what's your name?"

"Cappi." It wasn't the boy who spoke; it was Bel interjecting before anyone else even had a chance to open their mouths. He sounded incredibly defensive over it, and even when Lussuria gave him a concerned look, he growled, "His name is Cappi, Lussuria!"

It took a few moments for Lussuria to speak again, but when he did, he simply nodded. "Alright, Bel-chan. He's your child; you can name him whatever you want."

The sudden aggression the blond had been showing disappeared, and it was replaced by an all-too-familiar exhaustion. "We're going to our room. Come on, Chiara."

Lussuria didn't try and stop them; he knew that Bel just wanted to be alone with his two kids where he felt safest. He watched as the blond got off the bed with the newly-christened Cappi in his arms, but he couldn't help but wonder; would the Storm Guardian be able to piece together his son after a life of knowing nothing but Verde…? He certainly hoped so.

Bel waited until Chiara had come to his side so he could hold her hand before he started leaving the infirmary, but before he could do so, he stopped at the foot of Takeshi's bed. He shuddered beneath the gazes of the Vongola, but still he whimpered, "T-takeshi… Your chin… What happened to it…?"

Takeshi lifted his hand up to ghost over the deep cut to his chin. He frowned, but no matter what had transpired between him and Bel just hours ago, he still spoke in a kind tone. "Don't you remember, Bel-chan? You did that…"

Bel chewed at his lip before he shook his head. "Not that one… I didn't… I don't remember doing that…"

"You did, Bel. When you shoved me. It's okay, though. Don't worry about it. I'm not mad."

The Storm Guardian rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet for a few moments before he shook his head. "I'm… going to our room…"

With that said, Bel hurried out of the infirmary, unable to be around the others any longer; he was only going to get stressed further, and he couldn't deal with that today.