I'm not sure if you guys have noticed, but lately I've been updating only one-to-three chapters a day instead of more as I usually do, and that some of the chapters aren't as well written as they tend to be. For the past couple of weeks, I've been having very bad sleep which has impacted on a lot of aspects. I couldn't get in to see my doctor for another two weeks, so I've made an appointment with a different one for tomorrow morning. Hopefully we'll get my sleep back under control and I can keep updating and writing to the best of my ability.

Within the few days that had passed, Fran truly didn't understand why every time he had asked to go and visit Bel, he was always told no. He didn't know why their game had made things change so vastly, and he had a feeling it was his fault things were different now.

It was Saturday, and Fran had just woken up from his sleep to Tsuna shaking him awake, saying it was time for breakfast. The boy was unwilling to get out of bed, but he did so anyway – Tsuna was worried he was learning bad habits from Mukuro as Fran had also been getting into bed more and more.

By the time Fran arrived out in the dining room, he witnessed Tsuna placing two bowls down on the table, waiting patiently for the boy to come out. Mukuro was nowhere in sight, and Fran wondered if he was going to be in bed all day again.

"Is Master going to have breakfast with us...?" Fran wasn't feeling very hungry, feeling hurt by Mukuro's distance.

"I was talking to him before I woke you up." Tsuna smiled as he took a third bowl over to the table, sitting down beside the boy. "He got called into work, so he's getting ready. He should eat with us before he leaves."

"Oya oya, talking about me behind my back, are you?"

Fran smiled as he heard his guardian's voice behind him. Mukuro was sounding happier this morning, and in turn it made him happier as well. "Is Master going to eat with us today?"

Mukuro nodded as he took the spare seat on the other side of Fran. He pulled the bowl close to him, not entirely hungry, but knowing he had to try and be strong for the boy – Tsuna had told him about how Fran was starting to copy him in regards to sleeping all day.

"I'm going to be working, but Tsunayoshi is going to look after you." Mukuro patted teal hair as he sent a warm gaze to his younger friend. "Tsunayoshi said he'd take you to see a movie."

"What movie?" Fran watched as Mukuro pulled his phone from his pocket and typed something in, giving it to him a minute later. On the phone was a listing of the movies currently being shown, and Fran couldn't help but point to the second one. "Can I see this one, Master?"

Heterochromatic eyes widened in surprise as they noticed what Fran had picked. Mukuro shook his head, looking to the side uncomfortably. "No, little one... That movie is rated R."

"...?" Fran tilted his head, not understanding what that had to do with anything; it looked good to him, so why was Mukuro saying no?

"It's, uhh... only for adults. Sorry, but you'll have to see something else."

"Oh..."

After a few minutes of Fran picking anything but the kids movies, he had eventually been talked into seeing one aimed at his own age group. He wasn't particularly happy with the choice, but it would do; it was still a movie, and it would get him out of the house for a while.

Fran still wished Mukuro could come with them, though.

~~XX~~

"How come Master is always in bed?" Fran scratched at his arm as he stood in line with Tsuna at the cinema. "Why doesn't he come out of it anymore?"

Tsuna knew it would be difficult explaining depression to a seven-year-old, but he also knew the boy needed to know that whatever Mukuro was doing lately was neither of their faults. "Mukuro-san is... feeling really bad lately. It's hard for him to be able to get out of bed because he can't really find motivation for anything."

"But..." Fran frowned as he moved his feet, filling in the space that had just been made between them and the person in front of them, "...I don't understand... How come Master can stay in bed all day but I'm not allowed...? I... I'm feeling bad... I miss Master... And Bel-senpai, too... I don't understand..."

The brunet sighed as he reached down, picking Fran up into his arms. He held the boy close to him, rubbing the younger's back gently. "I know... You'll understand when you're older, but for now, please don't copy Mukuro-san... It'll only make things harder for you..."

Fran buried his face in against Tsuna's chest as he nodded, knowing that if Mukuro trusted Tsuna, he should, too.

~~XX~~

If Bel had ever thought he'd be so lonely, it hurt, it wasn't because he thought he would have lost both Mukuro and Mink – but here he was, curled up on his couch as he stared at the frog teddy he had bought as a replacement for Fran. He wanted so badly to go and see Mukuro, but he was afraid; maybe he was being selfish, but he really didn't want anyone to know what he'd done – or worse; wind up in jail.

Having confessed his fears to Squalo, the man had encouraged him to go and see Mukuro at work and at least try and explain what had happened – it would be a start in a long and difficult process, after all.

Finally deciding that Bel didn't like the silence of his home any longer, the man sat up and grabbed the frog that sat on the coffee table, moving to the kitchen to find his car keys. He was hesitant to get in the car but, eventually, he found himself driving towards Mukuro's work, hoping the younger was working today.

~~XX~~

Finding a park outside of the small store wasn't all that hard considering the street it was in wasn't usually all that busy. Bel grabbed the frog as he got out of the car, making sure the vehicle was locked before he approached the store.

The bell chimed as the blond pushed the door open, but no one came out to greet him; it made Bel curious as to what Mukuro or Daemon could be doing that was so important, they were ignoring customers – Mukuro worked his ass off, and it was very unlike him to be slacking off.

"Mukuro...?" Bel frowned as he slipped his keys into his pocket, moving towards the register tucked away towards the back corner. No one answered him, and he considered walking around the registers and poking his head out into the storeroom to see who was out there.

"Ah..."

Bel tensed as a sound wafted through the partially-closed door of the storeroom. He recognised it as Mukuro's voice, a sound the blue-haired male only ever made when he was being pleasured.

Greatly concerned as to what was happening, Bel jumped the counter. He pushed open the back door, finding both of the workers pressed up against one of the pallets of stock, both with their pants unzipped and pushed down, and the older male's hands up Mukuro's shirt. Bel knew his friend well enough to know that Mukuro rarely ever disliked sex or felt uncomfortable during, so this had to have been either somewhat forced, or the younger really was feeling worse than he had realised – the blue-haired male was frowning, his eyes dull and staring off to the side. He was fidgeting beneath the touches, tense and clearly struggling to hold himself there instead of running away.

Bel did the first thing that came as natural instinct to him; he dropped the frog and ran forward, snarling as he put all of his weight into knocking Daemon away from his friend. Mukuro cried out in pain at the violent exit, but he showed no other signs of distress; he merely held himself against the pallet, panting as he bit his lip and glared at the two older males.

"What are you doing, Belphegor...?" Mukuro honestly didn't know what to think in this moment – one second he was being coaxed into sex by his boss, the next his ex-best friend had just jumped said boss despite having threats of police made against him.

Bel regarded the taller male on the floor with a frown before he turned to Mukuro. He didn't speak as he turned his back to Daemon, instead approaching his friend. He ignored the whimper Mukuro made as the taller male was scooped up into the blond's arms, putting his attention back onto Daemon once he made sure the younger was comfortable in his arms.

"Erase the camera footage if you want, but they can always run a rape kit," the blond threatened. He carefully twisted a hand and patted at Mukuro's pockets, glad to feel the man had his possessions on him already. "I'm taking him home."

Daemon didn't speak as he watched the blond man pick up a toy from the ground; he instead just glared as the two left the storeroom. He wasn't one to give up so easily, but there was no point in fighting now – if the cops were called, it would only add up more evidence against him otherwise.

At least for the moment – even if the two did claim rape – Daemon had video footage of his employee consenting and not struggling in the least.

~~XX~~

During the car ride back to Mukuro's home, neither of the two had spoken a single word. Mukuro had merely held the teddy Bel had bought, lost in his thoughts. Bel was worried that any second now his friend was going to snap at him, treat him like shit for the things he had done, and it scared him – he had learnt what it was like to be alone, and he didn't want that.

No one said anything until Bel had stopped the car in Mukuro's driveway. He was the first to get out and, surprising them both, was gentle as he helped the younger out; Bel was such a rough, forceful person, one didn't think he was capable of gentleness.

Mukuro staggered into the house, looking dazed. The teddy was still clutched tightly in his arms, and Bel followed behind hesitantly. The blond was surprised when his friend held the door open for him, closing it quietly once they were both inside; he had been expecting the door to be slammed in his face in all honesty.

Without a word, Mukuro started walking towards his bedroom, only to be intercepted by Tsuna, who was looking greatly confused about what was going on.

"Mukuro-san...?" Tsuna looked between the two older males, stepping back at the uncertainty of the situation; Mukuro – though usually a very docile person – could have one hell of a temper that rivalled Bel's when he was angry. "B-belphegor...?"

Fran, who seemed to have heard Bel's name being mentioned, came tumbling into the room. He tripped over his own feet before falling to the ground, only to quickly spring back up and run towards Bel at the sight of the blond. Tiny arms wrapped around the man's waist as the boy buried his face in against a striped shirt.

"Bel-senpai!" Fran's little fingers dug into the purple stripes as he smiled brighter than he had since the incident. "Bel-senpai, I missed – M-master...?"

Fran didn't understand why he had been pried away from the man by Mukuro; he instead frowned as he was carried away from the blond he had missed so much, wishing someone would tell him what was going on, and why everything had changed.

"Master..." Fran dropped his head in sadness, hating to feel as if it was his fault nothing was the same anymore. "...Master, I can't... Why are things different now...?"

"Because my trust in Belphegor was misplaced, and now I can't handle the guilt," Mukuro finally admitted. He knew Fran would understand; the boy was much smarter than he would let on. "I shouldn't... I messed up, and it's all my fault..."

"Master, you didn't do anything wrong..." Fran wrapped his arms around Mukuro's neck. He looked down as he felt soft material rub against his stomach, only to smile brightly as he realised his guardian had hold of his beloved teddy. "You got him back. Thank you, Master. I love you."

Mukuro tensed at the boy's words, only to pat soft hair as he forced a smile onto his face. "I love you, too, little one."

Bel and Tsuna looked at each other, having heard what the two were saying to each other. The brunet didn't know what had happened for Bel to have brought Mukuro home from work, but he could only imagine it wasn't something nice.

"What's going on...?" Tsuna questioned, worried for his friend's wellbeing.

"His boss was raping him," Bel admitted. He growled those words out, making himself angry at the thought of someone hurting his best friend. "I'm going to slit that prick's throat..."

"Belphegor, that's something we need to encourage him to report – don't do anything rash or you'll only make it look bad for Mukuro-san," Tsuna advised. He often wondered if Belphegor was naturally a violent person or if it had been something he had learnt from his parents – both his foster and biological ones; his deceased parents had been nothing but abusive and negligent towards him, and while Xanxus and Squalo loved Bel dearly, they themselves were aggressive by nature.

"I don't care – I'm going to fucking –"

"-We can't do anything without consulting Mukuro-san," the brunet explained. "If he wants no one to find out, that's his choice and we can't force him. Just... Just let Mukuro-san decide what he wants to happen."

Bel sighed before he nodded. He was too tired with what had happened, and he just wanted to talk to Mukuro and sort things out.

Inside Mukuro's bedroom, the man sat on the edge of his bed with Fran on his lap. His arms were wrapped securely around the boy's waist, trying to explain things; he knew he had been cruel in letting Fran wonder what was happening, and he felt it was time for an explanation.

"Just because Belphegor is here, you can't go near him, okay?" The man explained in a gentle tone. "He's... not as good with kids as I thought he was..."

"But... why...?" Teal eyes looked up at Mukuro, a hint of sadness hidden behind stoics.

"Because Belphegor hurt you – what he did was not something to be done to kids of your age, little one... It... It's called 'rape'... The things he did to you are really bad for children... It makes them scared, and very sad... I just don't... want anything to happen to you – not if I can help it..."

"Master..." Fran reached up, wiping at the tears that started sliding down Mukuro's cheeks. He leant forward, placing a small kiss on the man's cheek. "Master, I... I liked the things we did... Bel-senpai tried not to hurt me, and he always made it feel really good..."

Mukuro shook his head. "That shouldn't matter – Belphegor should have known better than to do those things with you! I trusted him not to do it, and he went ahead and did it anyway!"

"But, Master... Bel-senpai is my friend, and I really miss him..." Fran sighed as he dropped his head against Mukuro's chest. "...I miss my family... I don't want to keep losing people... It hurts too much... Please, let me and Bel-senpai keep being friends..."

Mukuro knew Squalo and Xanxus had 'sorted it out' with Belphegor – which probably meant the two adults had kicked the shit out of their foster child – and while the man did know better, he at least had the guts to try and fix things. On top of that, the blond had just rescued him from his boss' hands – despite what had happened between them.

But Fran was only a boy, and he didn't know what was best for him... If Mukuro kept letting them see each other, it would only lead to more pain for them all, wouldn't it...?

But the boy was already in pain; he had lost his family, and must be unimaginably lonely after all this...

Pulling Fran close to him, Mukuro whispered, "...Only if I'm there to supervise... He won't be looking after you anymore, and if he ever touches you like that again, or says anything inappropriate to you, will you tell me straight away?"

Fran nodded. "Yes, Master... I just... I don't want to be by myself again... I want everyone to be happy again, because it makes me happy..."

"I know..." Mukuro helped Fran off his lap before he stood up. He took the tiny hand in his own, holding it tight as he led Fran from the room. "Let's go talk to Belphegor and make sure he knows the rules..."

Fran nodded, just glad that things seemed to be getting better.