After calming down, Tsuna had gone back to Fran's room to check on him. It hurt him to find the older male still curled up on the bed, this time with silent tears falling down his face; had the other really suffered that greatly…?

"Fran…?" Closing the door quietly behind him, Tsuna slowly approached the bed. "Are you okay?"

"It feels as if everything's just slammed into me now that I'm away from them all…" Fran muttered, his emerald orbs staring blankly ahead of him. "….The reality is… horrifying…"

"I can't… begin to imagine…" Moving closer to Fran, Tsuna reached out. He brushed his fingers against the other's cheek, all nervousness gone in this moment; Fran needed someone desperately. "I… Please. Stay here. Don't go back to Varia; even if Mukuro is still here, at least you are safe from Belphegor. That's a start, right?"

"…"

"You will be safe here," Tsuna continued on confidently. "No one here would harm you again. You can be happy."

"I can't be happy… I lost that capability years ago…"

"You can learn again," the brunet promised. "You can learn… That's a start, and it's worth fighting for."

"I don't want to fight for myself; I fight only if it's what I am told to do."

"What if I tell you to fight for yourself? Can you do that?"

"I have never been told that; I have no idea."

"Try it." Moving closer to Fran, Tsuna leant down so that he was looking into emerald orbs. It was silent for a few seconds before they both moved forward, their hot breath mingling. Their lips brushed together briefly before they each pressed harder, a soft smacking sound filling the air.

Fran moaned softly as he reached out, entangling his fingers in unruly locks; he wasn't quite sure of what he was feeling, but he did know that he felt safer than he had in a long time – but why? What was it about Tsuna that made him drop his walls, feel as if he was not in danger? Why did someone he hardly even know make him feel like that when he had never been able to feel it before, no matter where he was or whom he was around? Hell, it didn't even matter if he was alone, he still never felt like this before!

But this sense of comfort, of relief… It was far nicer than the constant sense of danger he lived in…

When they broke away for air, Tsuna was blushing profusely. He decided he didn't mind the older male pulling him closer; those skinny arms that held him in a loose embrace were quite soothing.

"Will you stay?" Tsuna whispered, resting his forehead against the other's. He wiped at wet cheeks, removing all traces of Fran's depression.

Fran nodded, rubbing at his itching eyes. "Okay…"

Relieved that the Varia member was finally cooperating, Tsuna allowed himself to be held a bit more; this was the kind of thing he had promised, and he had no intention of going back on his word.

~~XX~~

"Shoichi?" Tsuna approached the redheaded Millefiore, finding that Shoichi and Spanner had been relaxing together in the kitchen with hot cups of tea. "I was wondering something about all of this; what would happen if I were to leave Fran with my ten-years-later self? Would I still look after him like I am now? Or would I be… different?"

Tilting his head in a thoughtful manner, Shoichi hummed for a few seconds. "No; you and your ten-years-later self are one and the same; I don't see why there'd be a difference in the way you treat him."

"So… Fran would be looked after and safe from Mukuro and Belphegor, then?"

"I would think so. Why?"

"I want Fran to stay here and not go back to them; I just wanted to make sure he would have someone to take care of him if he did that."

"Of course he would, Tsuna; no one's going to leave him behind after this."

"I just –"

"- Don't talk about me behind my back, Tuna-Fish."

Tsuna jumped at the Varia illusionist's voice, turning around to find the older teenager approaching them hesitantly. His emerald eyes were lifeless once again, but there was the slightest warmth the brunet could pick out from beneath the monotone, as if he were simply joking in a blunt manner. "Fran…"

"A hot chocolate would be nice, Tuna-Fish." Taking a seat at the table, Fran was careful to put distance between he and the Millefiore traitors, trusting no one but Tsuna so far; if the two adults so much as made an unexpected movement, the teal-haired boy was prepared to defend himself with whatever illusion he deemed necessary, and he couldn't promise anyone's safety if things had to go that far.

Tsuna was placid as he went about the request, doing his best to make a nice hot chocolate for the damaged teenager, just wanting Fran to feel as if he could fit in.

When at last the scrawny male received his order, he seemed just fine with the way Tsuna had prepared it; he sat quietly at the table, sipping his drink as he stared blankly at the wall ahead, deep in thought.

Shoichi and Spanner soon got up, emptying their cups and leaving them in the sink. Tsuna took the blond's place, his own hot chocolate in his hands as he watched Fran.

"Do you want to come and meet my friends?" Tsuna spoke in a soft tone, knowing not to expect a miracle; Fran was damaged, and it may take months, maybe even years to pick up the pieces once again. "They'll love you."

"…" Looking at his lap, Fran didn't know how to reply; he didn't want to be bothered by the others, but at the same time, he wanted to be able to trust the Vongola if he were to stay here with them, to know that he was safe from further harm; he had been through so much in his seventeen years, he wasn't sure how much more he could take with nothing but his emotionless façade to try and protect himself with.

"I know you'd like Yamamoto," Tsuna promised. "He's a really good guy; very easy going. I bet he'd ask you to play baseball with him if you talk to him. Gokudera-kun is a good friend once you get to know him; he just takes a while to warm up to others."

"…" Looking down at his hot chocolate, Fran sighed. "I don't like your friends, Tuna-Fish."

"But you really don't know them, Fran. At least come and meet Yamamoto before you decide on the others."

With a sigh, Fran resigned himself to the fact that he would never be able to avoid the other Vongola, so he may as well get this over and done with now instead of delaying it and making it even harder for himself.

Standing up, Fran declared confidently, "I know I'm not going to like any of them."

"Maybe, but it won't hurt to try." Reaching out, Tsuna grabbed the other's warm hand, tugging him from the kitchen. "Let's go meet everybody."

Fran was silent as he followed the younger, not wanting to do this, but knowing Tsuna would pester him until he eventually did it.

Neither of them said a word until they had ventured into one of the bedrooms, finding Gokudera lying back on the bed while Yamamoto sat across from him, laughing happily as if he had just told a joke only he found hilarious.

"What are you laughing about, Yamamoto?" Tsuna smiled at his friend's innocence, stepping closer so that they could see Fran better.

"Gokudera fell off the bed." Yamamoto chuckled again as he turned to look at Fran, raising his hand in greeting. "Yo, Fran! Good to see you came out of your room."

"Not that I wanted to just to be around you…" Fran muttered, crossing his arms against his chest. "The tuna-fish made me."

"Haha, tuna-fish? That's cute." A gentle smile crossed the dark-haired male's face, already adoring Fran's personality; he didn't take any offence to the older male's attitude; he had grown used to it after hanging around Gokudera for so long. "Hey, do you guys want to come and play baseball with me later?"

Giving Fran a 'I told you so' look, Tsuna nodded, trying to encourage the other into agreeing; out of all the Vongola, he knew Fran would like Yamamoto the most as the Rain Guardian was so naturally easy-going.

Fran hesitated, wanting to say no, but aware of the fact that the brunet would try and coax him into it anyway. He could always put up an illusion and hide himself away, but what would be the point as there would only be another time?

"Whatever." Fran shrugged. "Can't be worse than having the fake-prince using me as his personal dartboard."

Trying to ignore how sick those words made him feel, Tsuna instead forced a smile onto his face as he tugged at the illusionist's hand again. "Let's go and get ready, Fran; we'll have to make sure everyone else knows there's going to be a game soon, too."

"Everyone else will play?" Fran was honestly surprised by these words, remembering back to how the Varia kept to themselves and never did anything together; it was surprising to know that others still enjoyed company.

"Most everyone else," Tsuna clarified. "Hibari-san won't. He might watch, but he'll never play himself."

"He is your Cloud Guardian." It wasn't a question.

"That's right."

"Cloud Guardians are worse than Bel-Senpai; they hate anyone and everyone and aren't loyal in the least. Even the fake prince was as loyal as the rest of them."

Tsuna nodded, thinking back on what he had heard at Kokuyo Land. He sincerely hoped Belphegor was okay and had returned to his teammates safely, but he wasn't going back to check; Fran was more important than the Varia Storm.

Making a mental note to contact Squalo and ask how their youngest member was, Tsuna instead said, "Everyone's got to have some good qualities about them, don't they?"

"I guess…" Having never looked at it that way before, Fran tried to think about what his good qualities were, but he couldn't come up with any; he was snarky, he hated everyone, and he only ever wanted to be alone with no one to bother him; how could someone like Belphegor be a better person than him?

Trying not to think too much on it, Fran continued to follow Tsuna, hoping that he could finally be at peace now that he was away from his tormentors.

~~XX~~

Though Fran had chosen to sit and watch on the sidelines rather than play with the rest of them, Tsuna was glad that the teal-haired male at least seemed to be warming up to Yamamoto when the Rain Guardian interacted with him; he naturally had that charm about him where people felt at ease when he was around.

Fran had, of course, stuck close to Tsuna throughout it all, and now that the game was over and everyone had gone back to their rooms, the Varia illusionist had followed the brunet back to Tsuna's room in order to give the younger a soft kiss goodnight. The Sky had returned it only too happily, and with a gentle embrace and quiet whispers of goodnight, the two went their own ways, one teenager in a good mood and the other feeling happier than he could ever remember being in a life full of suffering and pain.

As Fran curled up in his bed, he stared out of the window with a faraway look in his emerald orbs; if he could feel this way all the time around Tsuna, he would be more than happy to ditch his position as Varia Mist and instead remain with the Vongola Family instead.

At least here, he felt somewhat wanted and appreciated.