In the long week that had passed since Fran had been brought back to the Varia, the other members had found it exhausting to deal with both the boy and Bel at the same time – especially since the only two members putting in the effort to look after them were Squalo and Lussuria. Xanxus refused to do anything for them, his reasoning that Bel shouldn't have been so reckless – and Levi, only ever wanting to make the boss proud of him, followed like a sheep to its flock.
While Bel was on strict bed-rest, he hadn't seen Fran since the accident had happened, unable to leave his room. Fran, though they shared bedrooms, hadn't wanted to go in and see who he had been told was the one who had caused the accident – he was both nervous to meet another new person he couldn't remember, and scared of how he would react; he didn't think he'd be happy with the one who had done this to him, and after hearing how the other was badly injured, he didn't want to risk anything happening by his hand. Instead, the boy had taken to sleeping with Squalo, the silver-haired man strangely enough accepting of him.
Right now, Squalo and Fran were sitting in in the kitchen as Lussuria cooked them breakfast; they were the only three awake so far – Squalo only because he had a mission soon.
"Fran, dear, will you be okay when Squalo goes?" Lussuria questioned, scraping some pancakes onto a plate for the youngest member.
"Huh?" Fran looked at Squalo, his teal eyes full of fear; it was almost as if he thought the older male was leaving and never coming back. "Where are you going…?"
"Just on a mission," Squalo reassured as he cut off a section of his pancake. "I'll be back in a few days."
The silver-haired man thought nothing of Fran's whimper until tiny arms wrapped around him, Fran burying his face in Squalo's chest.
"I don't want you to leave, Squalo…" Teal eyes looked up to meet grey ones, and Squalo honestly felt bad about the tears that were welling in them.
Patting teal hair in an effort to bring comfort to the younger, Squalo cleared his throat, uttering a soft "Voi…" in discomfort.
"He won't be gone long, honey," Lussuria soothed. He brought Fran's plate over to the table and set it in front of the boy. "That's what happens here; we all have to leave sooner or later, but we always come back."
"But I don't feel comfortable here without him…" Fran placed his face back against the man's chest, tightening his hold. "I… I don't feel safe…"
Squalo looked at Lussuria, his eyes pleading the flamboyant male to do something about this. He pushed gently at Fran's shoulders, very uncomfortable with this position; he was an awkward person when it came to physical contact, and he avoided it as much as he could.
Lussuria placed his hands on small shoulders, pursing his lips. He knew Fran wasn't the same as he was before the accident, but he hadn't realised the boy didn't feel safe with them. Was that why he only seemed to want to be around Squalo?
It did make sense; Squalo was the one to come and get him after the accident, after all. It was probably natural he'd feel best around the silver-haired man.
"But you can stay in the kitchen with me and help me bake cookies, Fran, sweetie." Lussuria smiled and wrapped his arms around Fran, hoping he could help the younger boy.
Fran shook his head. "I don't want to… I don't want Squalo to leave…"
"Get off me, brat," Squalo mumbled, pushing harder at the younger. "You're too close."
"What's going on?"
Squalo and Lussuria turned to look at the kitchen entrance at Bel's voice, finding the young man limping into the room with a crutch under one arm, the other still in its sling.
"Bel!" Lussuria hurried to the blond's side, trying to direct him back upstairs. "You shouldn't be walking so soon! Go back to bed!"
"But the prince is bored." Bel sighed as if to emphasise his point. "There's nothing to do in his bed except jack off, and he's bored of that already."
Fran, who had fallen oddly silent at the blond's entrance, turned to look at him. As soon as his teal eyes fell on the blond, he whimpered, his head feeling as if it were about to explode.
"Brat?" Squalo looked down at the shaking body in his arms, concerned about the tears that trailed down Fran's cheeks as he continuously whimpered, reaching up to rip at his teal locks.
"It hurts…" Fran sobbed and started thrashing in Squalo's arms, flashes of a scene he didn't remember crossing his mind.
The boy heard the blond's voice in his mind's eye, telling him to shut up. There was a flash of a truck, the blond jerking the wheel, a loud, deafening crunch as a guardrail gave way. It was black after that, but he could hear continuous bangs, glass shattering, the screeching of tires somewhere in the background as horns kept beeping.
"Fran!" Squalo had started to shake the boy, not knowing what else to do. He was worried greatly, having never seen Fran like this before. "Fran, what's wrong?!"
Lussuria, who was still over by the entrance with Bel, clicked his tongue as he frowned. "I think he's recovering memories. Hold him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself, Squalo."
Squalo wrapped his arms tightly around Fran's waist, trying to hold him still. He grunted as the boy's elbow flew out of nowhere and knocked him in the face, reaching up a hand to hold where he had been hit.
"The fuck is wrong with you, kid?" Squalo snarled, grabbing hold of Fran's wrist. He squeezed it tightly, almost as if he were trying to break it. "Don't fucking hit me like that!"
"Squalo, he didn't mean it!" Lussuria moved to Squalo's side, taking Fran from him. He felt the boy curl up against him, shuddering in pain as his cries slowly died down. "Let him calm down. He's in pain and probably scared."
Bel just watched, his mouth set in a firm frown. When he spoke, it was in a small, uncertain voice. "Did… Was that my fault…?"
"No, sweetie," Lussuria reassured. "Sometimes it's unexplained how this happens. Maybe it was a smell or something that triggered the memory. I'm sure it wasn't you."
Bel looked at his feet, his shoulders tensing uncomfortably. He knew it was his fault this had all happened, and it was eating away at him.
If only I had been more conscious of how he was feeling… Bel looked at the ground, his body tense. I nearly killed us both… Probably would have if Fran didn't do what he did…
Though it took a few minutes, Fran eventually calmed down, his tiny hands fisting tightly the fur around Lussuria's jacket. He hiccupped a little, his cheek resting against the man's chest.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" Lussuria asked, wiping away tears with his sleeve.
"The accident…" Fran mumbled, closing his eyes. "…I remember it…"
"It mustn't be a very pleasant memory," the older male soothed. "Want to help me with lunch today? We're going to have fettuccini."
Fran shook his head. "I want… to go with Squalo…"
Lussuria bit his lip as he looked at the silver-haired male. There was silence for a few seconds before the gay man said, "I'm not sure if that's a very good idea, sweetie."
"Why not? What are these 'missions' everyone talks about?"
What if we tell him the truth about us? About him? Lussuria wondered. He's a sweet child, but even with his memories intact, he was too sweet… He's never gotten his hands dirty, unlike the rest of us… He's just too kind-hearted to be a killer…
"I have to go and meet someone," Squalo said, careful to avoid telling the other of his true objective. "They're a bad person, and I have to watch them and get evidence of their wrong doings."
Fran wiped at his eyes. "C-can I come…?"
Squalo and Lussuria shared a look that screamed No!, but they knew things would be hard if they said that to the teenager; Fran was adamant on staying with Squalo, no matter what.
"…If you stay in the car when I go to meet him," Squalo gave in. "Is that a promise? You can't come into the building when we have our meeting, no matter what."
"I promise," Fran replied, rubbing his now-itching eyes.
Squalo sighed as he checked the time on his watch, annoyed to see that he was going to have to hurry up and pack a bag for Fran – he wouldn't even get to finish the breakfast he had barely touched, either.
"I'll get him clothes," Squalo growled as he stood up, moving past Bel who was still watching the scene warily.
Lussuria, who noticed this, flagged the blond down. "Fran, this is Bel."
Fran didn't look at the blond as Bel took a seat across from where Lussuria had sat him back down – he instead kept his head down, almost as if he didn't want Bel to be there.
"Where will Squalo and I be going?" Fran asked, poking at his now-cold pancake with a knife.
"Well, another town, darling," Lussuria explained. "It will take a few hours to get there; the mission is what's going to take a while."
"Will I have to stay in the car all that time?"
"No, sweetie; Squalo will get a motel for you to stay in; but sometimes it's unavoidable to be delayed."
"Oh. Okay."
It was silent again until Squalo returned fifteen minutes later with a backpack in his hands. He gestured for Fran to follow him and, after the boy said goodbye to Lussuria, Fran did.
"Are we going now?" Fran asked, looking up at the tall man.
Squalo nodded, thrusting the backpack towards the younger. "Take your shit, kid."
Fran accepted the backpack, holding it to his chest as he followed Squalo through the mansion and out to the garage.
The boy's stomach started twisting at the sight of the cars parked in the huge room. There was the four-wheel-drive Squalo had brought him back in, another replica of it, complete with the Varia's logo on the side, a black Lexus, a white Mercedes-Benzes, and a sleek black BMW.
Images that had presented themselves in his head earlier played over and over again in Fran's mind, and he started to tremble at the thought of getting in one of the cars here – any car for that matter.
Squalo had grabbed a set of keys from the hooks sitting next to the doorway they had just come through and made his way over to the Mercedes-Benzes. He looked back at Fran, sighing as he noticed the look of fright on the young face.
"Do you want to come with me or not?" Squalo called, more than happy to leave him behind – in fact, that was exactly what he wanted to do.
Fran nodded, forcing himself over to Squalo. He pulled the door open with a shaking hand, his heart racing as he climbed into the passenger seat. He almost immediately grabbed the seatbelt, clipping it in tight.
Squalo didn't comment on Fran's behaviour, knowing it would most likely be due to the fact that he had been involved in a serious car accident not long ago.
It was silent between them as Squalo clicked the remote sitting on the dashboard, lifting the garage door up for them to drive out. It was still quiet as he drove through the garden on the long, winding road to the front gates, and even as they pulled out onto the street, he didn't speak, mindful of the fact Fran needed to relax.
Hell, he was even staying under the speed limit if that was what it took to make Fran calm.
"Squalo…?" Fran mumbled five minutes after leaving the mansion.
The addressed man turned to look at Fran, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
"I… I need to pee..."
Squalo was already regretting letting the boy come along with him.