Dino couldn't say he enjoyed breakfast without Kyouya; he had grown so used to his boyfriend's presence, it didn't feel the same when the skylark wasn't around. He was happy having breakfast with his best friend, but still… He wouldn't complain if Kyouya were here, too.

Looking up from his croissant, Squalo stared at Dino with exhaustion evident all over his features; the blond knew for a fact that he had had a sleepless night, having been up with Belphegor on top of dealing with his own physical and mental pain. "The brat told me something last night."

Dino froze, gulping; if Belphegor had said what he thought he did… Then Squalo was probably going to murder him. "…Yeah?"

Reaching out to push his plate away from him, Squalo stopped when his bandaged stump hit the plate. Wincing, he let an angry look cross his face before he reached out with his right hand, slapping the plate off the table, uncaring as it shattered on the ground; he wasn't sure he would ever get used to not having his dominant hand anymore, and the realisation that life would never be the same for him without it pissed him off.

Taking a deep breath, Squalo tried to calm himself before he said, "…The brat told me you're dating a student."

"…" Glancing to the side, Dino knew the younger wasn't in the mood for messing around; Squalo was in a bad enough mood as it was, and it was probably taking everything he had just to keep himself from shouting. "…Well… I-I guess… Bel isn't exactly making things up this time…"

"Fucking spill it!" Unable to keep quiet, Squalo clenched his hand; he had a splitting headache, and he wanted to go back to sleep; he didn't want to put up with the other dancing around an important subject. "Are you or not?!"

"…Yes…" Looking to his lap, Dino knew he couldn't let himself get upset with his friend's reaction; there was a very legitimate reason for him to be as upset about it as he was, after all. "…Kyouya…"

"You're going to break up with him, and when I get back to work, I'm making sure to put him in the other class; you're twenty-fucking-two, Bucking Horse!"

"S-squalo, wait!" Raising his hands in a defensive manner, Dino tried to explain himself; he didn't want to fight with the long-haired man, but he also wasn't going to let this go without trying to make Squalo understand; he loved Kyouya too much to let others dictate his relationship status. "You don't understand!"

"You're an adult!" It had been a long time since Squalo had roared at someone the way he was now, but he was too angry to even realise that; all he knew was that he was furious. "Voi! Adults don't fucking date teens! That's fucking sick!"

"Squalo…" Getting out of his chair to approach his best friend, Dino knelt by the silver-haired male, putting his hand on a strong shoulder. He was aware of the way Squalo tensed and shuddered beneath his touch, but he understood; the younger male had also come out of a bad family situation similar to Belphegor's, shaping him into the loud, angry man he was today. "Squalo, listen to me, okay? I love Kyouya, and I would never do anything to hurt or upset him. I know you have your reasons for disliking our relationship, and I understand and respect that, but I won't hurt him, Squalo. I won't."

"I don't give a shit!" Pulling at his long locks, Squalo closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to remember memories slowly being stirred up from the back of his mind. "That's disgusting! How can you do that to him?! He doesn't fucking know what he wants!"

"Kyouya doesn't know what he wants, I agree; that's why we're doing this, so he can know what he wants. He's already told me he doesn't want any form of sex, and that's completely fine; you know me, Squalo; I don't need sex to love someone."

"You shouldn't be looking at a fucking kid that way, Bucking Horse! You shouldn't…" It was clear that Squalo was already tiring himself out, quietening down a little, but Dino knew he wasn't going to have an easy time convincing his friend; the man had psychological damage from a sick uncle, and Dino had known from the start he might never be able to get his support in his new relationship.

"What can I do to convince you that I love Kyouya and would never do anything to him that he didn't want or like?"

Lifting his head to stare into hazel eyes, dark orbs blinked a few times. Squalo shook his head, looking away once again; as much as he wanted to trust Dino with this, he was finding it too difficult to do so. "…"

"Squa…?"

The two adults turned around at Belphegor's voice, finding the boy hiding around the corner of the doorway, peeping out at them like a frightened child watching its parents fight.

Squalo sighed, forcing himself to calm down; he couldn't take it out on Belphegor, the boy having no idea what was going on or why his guardian was so agitated; Dino was the only one to know about the long-haired male's past in such detail, the man not wanting Belphegor to know everything; the boy wouldn't understand, and it would only confuse him. "Why are you out of bed by yourself? You know you shouldn't be walking on that leg."

Approaching the two warily, Belphegor put his weight on a curtain rod he had found in his room, treating it as a makeshift crutch. He kept his head down, stopping short of Squalo so the other couldn't touch him. "Stop fighting…"

Dino watched with sad eyes as his best friend pulled Belphegor onto his lap, hugging the youngest tight; he knew better than to continue the situation around the younger blond as it would only upset the boy. "I promise you, Squalo; you have nothing to worry about. Don't stress yourself out like this; it's okay."

Glaring at his friend, Squalo then turned down to Belphegor, running his hand through golden locks. "It's okay, Bel; we aren't fighting."

"You woke me up…" Hiding his face in against the man's chest, Belphegor sniffed. "I hate yelling…"

"I know…" Sending his friend a look that told Dino this wasn't over, Squalo turned his attention to Belphegor instead.

Getting up to leave the table, Dino left them alone; he had to get ready for work, after all.

~~XX~~

Dino hadn't been in his office for long when someone knocked on his door. Glancing up, he found that Fon was standing outside; what could the other be here for?

Gesturing for the man to come in, Dino made himself more comfortable. "How are you, Fon?"

"I'm good, thank you." Though Fon was smiling, the blond could tell it was forced today; had something happened? "I have to speak with you about some concerns of mine, however… Do you have time?"

Knowing that he had a while before class started, Dino nodded, knowing what it was about; so Kyouya had said something to him already, then?

"I spent last night with Viper, and she had some worrisome rumours to tell me." Cocking his head to the side, Fon continued on. "Belphegor told her that you are dating my nephew. Is this correct?"

Not wanting to lie to the man, but also not wanting to be the one to tell Fon, Dino didn't know what to say; should he confirm or deny it? Kyouya should be the one to tell him, but… Fon clearly wanted answers from him instead. "…I think Kyouya should be the one to answer that; he's your nephew, and if I were you, I'd want to hear it from him instead of someone else."

"I did try and ask Kyouya, and he ignored me. That's why I'm asking you. I don't exactly like what Viper has told me, Dino."

Knowing he had no choice but to reply, Dino sighed. "…It's true. I love him, but he still isn't sure of what he's feeling."

"You're dating your sixteen-year-old student, Dino. Don't you see something wrong with that?"

"…" Bowing his head, Dino sighed. "…I know there's things wrong with that; I might as well be taking advantage of him… But I'm not, because I know he doesn't want sex, and so I would never do anything to him I think he wouldn't like, Fon. I've already left how far we go in our relationship up to him; until he says otherwise, I won't do anything but kissing and hugging him; I promise."

Fon wanted to argue, to take his nephew away and never let him back near Dino again, but even he could see that whatever the two had, it was somewhat good for Kyouya in a way; the teenager had been getting out of the house and wanting to be around someone else for a change – could he really take that away from his nephew when it was helping him come out of his shell a bit more?

"…" Standing up from his chair, Fon closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "If you do anything to hurt Kyouya, you'll be dealing with me. I can't deny you've done well for him so far, but I'll keep my eye on this, and I won't forgive you if he gets hurt."

"I understand, Fon. I won't let him get hurt; I promise." Wishing that the other adults would trust him easier, Dino couldn't let it get to him; he would just have to show everyone that he was worthy of being Kyouya's boyfriend, after all.

With that said, Fon bowed politely before showing himself out, leaving Dino to ponder just what exactly he was going to have to do to make everyone understand that he loved Kyouya too much to want to hurt him.