When school finished for the day and Fran found that Belphegor was the one waiting by his classroom for him instead of Mukuro, the boy couldn't help but fear that he had lost his new guardian, just like how he had lost his family – he hadn't been told this morning that Bel would be the one picking him up, so why was the blond here?

"Where's Master?" Fran questioned, holding his schoolbag close to his chest.

"He had to stay behind at work." Bel shrugged as he slipped his hands into his pockets, walking towards the exit. "He asked for me to take you out for ice cream or somethin'."

"Oh." Teal eyes looked up at Bel curiously. "When will Master finish work?"

"In a few hours." The blond hissed as a teacher brushed against him, glaring at the other man. He then turned to look down at Fran again, noticing the frog teddy tucked tightly in the boy's arm. "Did you end up naming that thing?"

Fran shook his head, clutching his toy tighter. "He doesn't need a name..."

Bel snorted as he pushed open the double doors that led to the outside. "You know Mukuro put the last of his money on the stupid thing for you, right?"

"Huh?" Fran tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He only had enough money for his medication, but he instead gave himself withdrawals so that you could have it." The blond sneered down at the boy, calculating each and every little reaction he got from the younger.

"...I made Master sick...?" Fran looked visibly shaken at his own words, stopping just past the doors. "...I didn't know... I didn't... mean... to make Master sick..."

Bel leant down, patting teal hair. His obscured eyes shone with malice, his voice flowing smoothly. "Next time you want something, you can ask me~ I'll buy it for you~"

Fran nodded. He dropped his bag to the ground and shifted his teddy so that he could wrap his arms around Bel's middle. He buried his face against the man's stomach, feeling very happy that Mukuro had been the one to take him in – he liked Mukuro and Belphegor very much because they were so kind to him.

"Thank you..." Fran relaxed as he felt a large hand pat him on the back. "I love you, Bel-senpai."

Bel just grunted and shrugged; he had never been one to comprehend love. "Let's just get out of here – there's too many people around for my liking."

Fran nodded. He went to pick up his bag, only to find that Belphegor was taking it for him. He tried to smile in appreciation, but his facial muscles wouldn't cooperate with him.

"Senpai, instead of ice cream, can we go to the park so I can play?"

Bel felt his eyelid twitch in annoyance; he would much rather sit somewhere with ice cream than at a boring park with nothing to do. He was about to snap at the boy and childishly demand ice cream, but he was smart enough to know that if he fucked up too many times with Fran, either the boy wouldn't trust him or Mukuro would step in – and neither of them were desirable results at all if he were to eventually coax the younger into his bed.

"Yeah..." Bel muttered, pulling his car keys from his pocket. "Guess so..."

"Thanks." Fran approached the black BMW Bel owned, opening the front passenger door to climb in. He waited while the blond threw his bag into the back, and then they were on their way to the park.

Bel wasn't entirely sure of how to talk to Fran – he was used to being able to say whatever was on his mind to Mukuro, but he knew better than to try that with Fran; it would only lead to trouble.

Fran seemed content with the silence as he stared out of the window, hugging his teddy tightly to him.

Bel just cleared his throat, finding it awkward to talk to Fran without Mukuro around. "...How's school?"

"It's okay." Fran didn't even bother taking his eyes away from the window. "The work is easy."

Bel just nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. He didn't know why he was feeling so vulnerable in this position – Fran was just a kid, and if Bel wanted to, he could take the younger without a problem. ...Was he really that worried about Mukuro's reaction...?

"We wrote a short story about our weekend." Fran turned to look at Bel with amusement just visible in his eyes. "I wrote about how you kissed Master and then Mukurowl attacked you."

The blond's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he bit his lip, trying to resist the very strong urge to hurt the boy. He instead growled out, "That wasn't funny..."

"I thought it was." A hint of a smile crossed the younger's face. "Why do you kiss Master, though? I thought that was only for someone you love...?"

"Oi, are you implying I don't love Mukuro or some shit?" Bel glared at the boy, taking his eyes from the road for several seconds.

"Yeah, because you're friends!" Fran pointed out. "Master told me friends don't do that stuff."

"Hey, we've done a hell of a lot more than just kissing, brat." Bel sniffed in annoyance. "It sounds like you're jealous or something."

"Why would I be jealous?" Fran's teal eyes were emotionless as they fixed on Bel's face. "Your mouth is probably full of germs from all the shit you talk – I'd get sick if you tried to kiss me."

Bel's mouth fell agape before he raised a hand, slapping the boy across the face. He growled as he tried to move closer to the boy, ready to rip him apart, but he quickly stopped when he felt his car swerve in front of oncoming traffic.

Jerking the car back roughly into its own lane, the blond almost lost control of said vehicle – and the fact that he was doing well over the speed limit didn't help matters much.

"Stupid little piece of fucking..." Bel muttered under his breath as he focused on the road, ignoring Fran who was glaring at him.

"Don't hit me or I'm gonna tell Master," Fran threatened.

Bel snorted, taking a deep breath before he replied. "You'd tell the stupid pineapple anything, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." Fran rubbed his cheek against his teddy. "So do anything I don't like to me and I'll tell Master on you."

"Feisty, shishishi~ I like that." Bel licked his lips; he had always liked a challenge. "Would you tell him if I did something to you that you liked?"

"Yes." Fran spoke in a tone that screamed, it's so obvious, senpai.

"What if I asked you not to tell him?" Bel's smile was placid as he awaited the boy's answer.

"I would still tell him if you hurt me." The younger shrugged. "But if you told me not to say anything, it depends on what you're making me keep secret."

"Does that mean you're going to tell him I hit you today?" Bel was eager to hear the response; it was rare for someone to have the guts and go up against him – never before had a kid been the one to challenge him.

"I won't this time because you didn't know I would dob on you," Fran pointed out. "But hit me again and I'll tell Master."

"Aww, shit, Froggy, I'm so scared," the blond mocked. "What's he gonna do? Sic his stupid owl on me? My mink would kill it in seconds if he tried that."

Fran wasn't liking where this conversation was going; he was uncomfortable around the topic of death, but it seemed Bel hadn't realised that.

Bel looked at the younger curiously as Fran kept silent. "Well? What have you got to say about that, smartass?"

"That I don't like the idea of things dying..." Fran mumbled, hugging his teddy tight. "...I don't like this conversation anymore..."

Part of Bel honestly felt bad – just because he didn't understand loss and mourning didn't mean Fran didn't feel those foreign emotions.

"Wait, you mean you liked admitting you're a tattletale?" Bel shook his head before realisation hit him. "You were just trying to piss me off, weren't you?"

The corners of Fran's lips lifted as he nodded. "Did it work?"

Bel shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "How does Mukuro put up with you?"

"I'm good for Master." Fran's lips twitched once more, his childish instincts trying their hardest to put a smile on the boy's face.

The blond just sighed; Fran certainly was a handful.

~~XX~~

"Hello, little one." Mukuro stood up as Bel and Fran approached him. He had been sitting on the floor of the shop as he sorted through the bottom shelf of merchandise, happy to see two of his most precious people. "Did you have fun with Belphegor?"

Fran nodded. He lifted his arms into the air, his hands making grabby movements as he silently asked to be picked up. Mukuro obliged, holding the younger close to him.

"Thank you for looking after him, Belphegor."

Bel shrugged, leaning against the wall. Part of him was tense, wondering how Mukuro would react once he noticed the mark on Fran's cheek.

"What happened to your face?"

There it was. Bel watched warily as his friend cupped the boy's cheek in his hand, soft eyes regarding the bruise with concern.

"I got hit with a swing at school," Fran said. "I was chasing butterflies and wasn't watching where I was going."

Mukuro believed him. Part of him was relieved that no one had physically harmed the boy, but he still couldn't help but wish Fran hadn't been hurt at all. "I'm almost done here, little one. Go have a look around so I can finish this, okay?"

"Okay." Fran didn't complain as he was put down onto the ground; he merely wandered around the store, looking at everything with curiosity.

"That kid's a fucking brat," Bel complained, relaxed now that he knew he wasn't going to be in strife for having hit the kid. "He called Mink a hairy rat."

"Is that not true? Kufufu~"

"Oi!" Bel snapped. "Mink is just as sexy as his owner!"

"Oh, please don't tell me you've done that with the poor little thing?" Mock horror flashed in heterochromatic eyes as he knelt down, returning to his work.

"Hey, I'm not into furries!"

"I know, but most normal people don't refer to their pets as 'sexy'."

Before Bel could reply, the door to the back room opened and Mukuro's boss stepped out, a man who was near identical to Mukuro in looks albeit a much lighter shade of blue hair.

"Have you finished your job, Mukuro?" The man spoke in a voice as soft as Mukuro's, but unlike the man who had kindly opened his heart up to a young boy in need, the older male radiated nothing but malice.

"Almost, Daemon." Mukuro bowed his head, holding back a sigh; Bel knew that his friend and the younger's boss didn't get along – something about sexual harassment on the job.

"Once you've finished what you're doing, you may go home." Though Daemon seemed polite and respectful to his employee, Bel knew differently – that man was a master at deceiving others.

"Thank you." Mukuro fell silent as he focused his attention on what he was doing, subconsciously picking up the speed in order to get what he was doing done faster.

"Oh? Who's this?"

Mukuro tensed as he turned around, finding Fran standing in front of Daemon, teal eyes looking at the older male curiously.

"Aren't you cute?" Daemon chuckled as small arms reached into the air. He paid no heed to the other two adults as he reached down, picking Fran up and holding him. "What's your name?"

"Fran." The boy seemed as emotionless as ever, but Mukuro knew he was just curious about the stranger.

"Oh, Mukuro, is he yours?" Daemon turned to look at his employee, smirking at the younger male. "I didn't know you had a kid."

"I just adopted him last week," Mukuro explained, wincing as he saw the older male tighten his hold on the boy – if there was one person he wouldn't trust with Fran, it was Daemon. "That's why I took a week off and changed my hours."

"I see." Daemon showed no sign of putting the boy down, and Bel couldn't help but bristle in anger – if anyone was going to defile Fran, it was going to be him, not some stupid fucking man who didn't know how to back off of his own employee.

Stepping forward, Bel bit his lip as he approached Daemon. When he was close enough, he reached out and snatched Fran from the older male's arms, snarling as he did so – Fran was his.

"Senpai?" Fran wasn't entirely sure of why the blond had grabbed him like that; he had only approached the other male in the belief he was doing the right thing by getting to know Mukuro's friends.

"Stay away from him," Bel snarled to the older male, hugging Fran tight to his chest. Pointing towards his friend, he added, "He's not interested, either."

"Oh, he will be." A vicious look crossed Daemon's eyes before he chuckled, turning around to head back out into the store room. "He will be."

Bel just glared as he watched the other leave. Fran wrapped his arms around his neck, the frog teddy tucked safely in between their two chests. Mukuro just sighed as he focused on what he was doing, knowing that Daemon wouldn't bother him with Bel here.

Fran just looked in between the two older males in confusion, not entirely sure of why they didn't like the man he had just met; the light-blue-haired male seemed just as nice as Mukuro was, after all.