Within the few days that had passed, Fran slowly found himself coming out of his shell around Tsuna; the brunet was the one and only person he wasn't snarky to, and though he had never really been a fan of touch, he didn't mind when the younger would brush his fingers against him or embrace him in such a gentle manner, he felt all his stress ebbing away; he even loved the way they would kiss so lovingly, having started to trust the other enough to truly allow him entrance to his mouth and become vulnerable beneath someone else's hands – something he knew could lead to a messy end if he weren't careful.

Currently, Fran and Tsuna were lying on the brunet's bed together, the younger on his back while Fran rested his head against the other's chest. Emerald orbs were closed as small fingers threaded through teal hair, and the illusionist found himself in the kind of peace he could previously only dream about.

"What are you thinking about, Fran?" Tsuna lifted his head slightly, glancing down at the taller male.

"I don't know…" Sighing, Fran moved closer to the warm body he felt so safe with. "I guess I was just… thinking about when you go back to your own timeline…"

Tsuna tensed, having not expected for the scrawny boy to be the first to bring this up – in fact, part of him, for whatever reason, had believed the illusionist would completely disregard this until it came time to part ways. "…Yeah… I guess that… it's inevitable…"

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Tuna-Fish; I can work it out for myself." Shifting restlessly, Fran lifted a hand to scratch above his eye. "I know you're going to have to go back. I know you can't stay here. You don't have to hide it or sugar coat things for me because I can handle it. The only thing that bothers me is… that I will be with your future selves, and I don't know what changes to expect."

Tsuna nodded in understanding, knowing that Fran had every right to be concerned about such matters; he himself was worried about how much ten years could have changed him, but he trusted in his heart that he was still as kind as ever. "No matter what, I know you'll be happy with the Vongola, Fran."

The boy hummed in agreement, lifting his head so that he could press his lips to the younger's. Their kiss was soft, not rushed in the least; just the two of them soaking in the others' comfort.

When they broke away for air, Fran asked, "What are you going to do when you go back?"

"What do you mean?" Reaching out, the Vongola Decimo ghosted the tips of his fingers against Fran's pale cheek.

"I mean, without me. I will only be very young in your own time; seven. On top of that, I will be in France with my grandmother, if both timelines haven't changed drastically and what I remember goes for your own time, too."

"Varia have their own illusionist, and I didn't see you at Kokuyo Land," Tsuna explained. "You're probably right."

Humming softly at these words, Fran nodded. "Varia kidnapped me from my home. The noisy, dumbass commander and the fake prince. They killed my grandmother in front of me and then took me to Italy to dump on Master so he could train me well enough to replace Mammon. I don't want that to happen in your timeline – what they did was scarring enough."

Tsuna agreed wholeheartedly, and the last thing he wanted was to know that he hadn't been able to save the Fran of his own time; he would do whatever it took to make sure the other Fran was safe from cruel hands, to spare him from the kind of suffering his older self had lived through.

"I won't let it happen to you again, Fran," Tsuna promised; he didn't know how he was going to achieve that, but he knew that he would do whatever he could to make sure he kept his word. "I'll make sure you're happy when I go back."

Kissing the younger again, Fran allowed Tsuna's tongue to slip into his mouth, too damaged to really be able to take the initiative in his relationship. His own wet muscle danced tentatively with the brunet's, his small fingers curling into the other's blue jacket.

Breaking away, Fran said, "I'm going to sleep now, Tuna-Fish. Wake me up for dinner."

Tsuna nodded, threading his fingers through soft teal locks. He allowed the weaker male to curl up against him, and they stayed together like that for a while until the Varia Mist had fallen into a deep sleep, soothed by the younger's presence.

The brunet carefully untangled himself as to not wake the other up, before he slipped out of the room and went to get a glass of water. On his way to the kitchen he was stopped by Spanner and Shoichi, and when he noticed the anxious expression on the redhead's face, he knew what he was about to be told; the Vongola were ready to go back to their own timeline.

~~XX~~

When Fran woke up, it was to Tsuna shaking him. The smaller male held a sad look on his face, and it was then the illusionist understood; Tsuna had to say goodbye.

"Are you going back already?" Fran spoke in a soft voice, his eyes revealing how he felt about this occurrence. "I thought we had more time."

"I know…" Leaning down, Tsuna pressed their foreheads together, wishing Shoichi had told him this later, but the longer they delayed returning home, the worse the results would be; they had been in the future for too long, and they didn't belong here – not at all. "I'm really going to miss you, though. Are you going to come and say goodbye to everyone? Yamamoto would love it if you did; he really likes you."

Closing his eyes, Fran shook his head; he didn't want to have to say goodbye to the ones who had saved him from a life of agony; he just wanted them to stay with him forever, to keep him company and remind him that no matter what, he never had to suffer at someone else's hands like he had before.

"I can't do it, Tuna-Fish." Dropping his head against the younger's chest, Fran sighed. "I can't… I don't want to see you leave me behind…"

Tsuna nodded in understanding, kissing the other as gently as ever. He caressed a pale cheek, whispering, "I don't want to leave you behind, either, Fran… I wish you could come with me… I really do…"

Fran hummed in agreement before he pulled away, laying down beneath his blankets; was it really so wrong of him to want to hide away from the world? He had always spent so much time sleeping away his well-hidden depression, he couldn't change that now – not when this hurt more than just about everything else he had been through, second only to losing his grandmother.

"Bye…" Fran mumbled, staring blankly at the wall ahead of him. He listened as Tsuna gave his own farewell before he focused on the sound of retreating footsteps, unable to find even the strength to force himself into oblivion; he was hurting, the weight on his small shoulders crashing down on him to an extent it never had before.

When life hurt so much, was there really a reason to continue living? Would the Vongola understand if he offed himself here and now? Mukuro wouldn't care, nor would the Varia – so why would people who didn't even know him in this timeline give one shit?

The only problem was, Fran himself knew that he was too much of a coward to take his own life, afraid of the what-ifs and anxious of self-harming.

If only Belphegor had gone through with his daily threats and killed Fran long ago.

~~XX~~

"Fran…"

Opening emerald eyes to his name, Fran lifted his head from the pillow, having finally dozed off. He looked up at the rather tall brunet that was leaning over his bed, unsure of whether or not he should believe his eyes; he knew that it was the Tsunayoshi Sawada of this timeline standing over him, but what really left him speechless was the fact that the man he was looking at was more attractive than he had ever thought Tsuna would grow up to be, and it left butterflies in his stomach.

Twenty-four-year-old Tsuna smiled as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to Fran, reaching out to pull the boy into his arms. He wasn't surprised when the now-younger male froze at the action, understanding that Fran may be nervous of whom he was probably seeing as a stranger; he was sure it would be daunting to be suddenly faced with someone you knew but didn't actually know.

"I didn't think Varia would give you up so easily, Fran." Tsuna smiled as he lowered his face, pressing his lips to a soft forehead. "But I guess now that they have Viper back, it didn't really matter."

Fran didn't speak; he was trying to fit together the puzzle that was Tsuna, knowing that while the future brunet still seemed to act the same as his younger self, there was an air of maturity about him that the illusionist hadn't been able to pick up from the smaller teenager.

"Are you still happy to be here with me, Fran?" Loosening his hold on the younger, Tsuna waited for Fran to speak.

"…" Trying to get his mind into working order, Fran could feel himself falling apart at the seams; why was it that he just wanted to cry? Tsuna hadn't done anything that should warrant these feelings, but…

Curling his tiny fingers into the Vongola Decimo's black jacket, Fran leant forward, seeking out the other's comfort. He let the first few tears slide silently down his cheeks before he sobbed, and that was when the dam broke.

Tsuna held the Varia Mist tight, as patient as ever as he soothed the younger; he understood completely; Fran still needed to get used to all of this, and though he was away from the abuse, the damage had still been done.

The epilogue will be next.