My MS Word died, so I'm using a program I haven't used in years. I feel so... so weird! I don't like change. Not at all.
By the time Squalo and Fran returned back to Varia Headquarters, the other members were surprised to see the both of them covered in burns and bandages.
"What happened?" Bel questioned, tilting his head to the side. Lussuria had rushed off the couch he was sitting on, immediately getting to work on healing his comrades.
Leviathan sat by his boss' side while Xanxus merely sorted. "Trust the trash to be injured on an easy mission."
"Voi!" Squalo shoved Lussuria's hands away from his body as he stomped towards the older male. "You try taking that fucking kid on a mission with you!"
Fran ducked his head at these words, understanding that he had messed up - even if he didn't know how.
"What on Earth could Fran have to do with this?" Lussuria questioned, examining said boy's arm, trying to predict if the burns would leave permanent wounds.
"How about you try fucking teaching him to control his fucking illusions?" Squalo spat. "Little shit nearly killed us."
"Dear, you know that's not possible - none of us are illusionists." The Sun Guardian carefully unwrapped one of the bandages covering Fran's wrist, getting a good look at the burnt flesh beneath it.
"Illusions...?" Fran frowned, not understanding what was being mentioned. "What do you mean?"
"Froggy is an illusionist," Bel pointed out.
"So..." the boy processed these words, coming to a hypothesis almost immediately, "...it's my fault Squalo is hurt...?"
"I'm sure you didn't mean it, sweetie," Lussuria reassured. "None of us told you about them so it's really our fault."
"I don't understand, though..." Fran found himself growing more distressed by the second - illusions? His fault...? What... What was he...? "Illusions...? What... What illusions...?"
Lussuria looked towards Bel, as if asking for him to help. The blond just shrugged, grabbing his crutches and standing up from the black fabric couch he had been sitting on.
"The prince will go talk to Squ-Squ..." With that said, Bel limped slowly towards the staircase, relying solely on his crutches to get him there.
"Lussuria...?"
The addressed man looked down at the boy. He wiped away the tears that were falling down Fran's pale cheeks, leaning down to kiss the younger's forehead.
"What is it, dear?" Lussuria asked.
Fran's tears fell harder as he whispered, "...Am I... a bad person...?"
Lussuria honestly didn't know what to say.
~~Squalo~~
Squalo had thrown himself on his bed, cursing to the skies and beyond. He was in a foul mood, and he couldn't find anyone other than Fran to blame - if that fucking kid hadn't used the fucking illusion...!
"Squ-Squ?"
"Fuck off, brat!" Squalo snapped as he heard the Storm Guardian open his bedroom door. "You're a bother!"
"But the prince has come to talk to you~" Bel made his way into the room, sitting down on the bed beside Squalo. "The prince thinks you're being a jerk to Froggy. You should say sorry to him~"
"Why?" Squalo hmphed. "He almost killed us both, brat!"
"He didn't know what he was doing," Bel protested. "Squ-Squ is being unreasonable."
"Voi! You're the one who drove him off a fucking cliff!" Squalo pushed himself into a sitting position, snarling these words. "And you knew exactly what you were doing! Don't fucking come in here and lecture me!"
Bel scowled at these words; he knew that Squalo was right, but there was nothing he could do about it now - the damage had already been done. "But the prince never blamed Froggy for it. Squ-Squ just doesn't like showing that he cares."
"Shut up, brat!"
"Froggy is really upset," Bel pointed out. "He thinks you hate him. He doesn't know what he's done wrong, though. He doesn't know about illusions or anything like that."
"If that shithead had his Hell Ring..." Squalo could only shudder at the thought of what would have happened had the boy's Hell RIng not been taken from him after the accident - neither of them would have survived; he was sure.
"But he didn't." Bel moved closer to Squalo, looking up at the red roof. "Froggy loves Squ-Squ."
"What?" Squalo didn't know how to react to these words; what was Bel talking about? Fran... loving him? Damnit, that fucking kid was asexual, he was sure - there was no way Fran would ever love someone like him. "Don't play fucking jokes on me, Bel!"
"The prince isn't playing a joke on anyone, Squ-Squ. Froggy loves Squ-Squ."
"And how do you know this?" Squalo narrowed his eyes, not sure how he should be taking these words - he knew he should be disgusted another male liked him in that way, but... it was Fran...
"The prince once asked him who he liked." Bel shrugged. "Froggy told me."
"Why didn't he tell me?!" Squalo snapped.
"Because Squ-Squ is a raging homophobe, despite the fact that he has to rage against part of himself to be so. Ushishishi~"
"Voi!" Squalo pointed at his door, snarling. "Get the fuck out, brat! I need to think!"
"Shishishi~" Bel did as told, leaving the room. He wondered how Squalo was going to take the news - and if Fran himself even knew that he had such a serious crush on their Strategy Captain.
He likes me...? Squalo growled to himself, feeling a shiver of disgust run through his being. How sick...! So the little asexual shithead does have hormones...
But then... What have
I been feeling for him lately...? It's disgusting... Why's a fucking kid turning me on, when I swore away from that part of me...? Maybe Bel's right... Squalo sighed as he stood up, ready to leave the room. Maybe I do need to talk to Fran...
~~Fran's bedroom~~
Fran was curled up on his bed, crying as Bel sat next to him, running a hand through his teal hair. He was still really upset about Squalo's outburst towards him, finding it near impossible to comprehend everything that had happened. And that thing about illusions... That just made everything even harder to understand.
The fear that Squalo - the same man who had come back for him after the accident and taken care of him when the others couldn't - would leave him forever was tearing his heart out.
"Don't cry, Froggy..." Bel continued to run his hand through the younger's soft hair, not knowing what to do; he had never comforted someone before.
"What if..." Fran reached up to wipe at his eyes, trying his hardest to stop his tears from falling. "...What if Squalo... h-hates me...?"
"The prince doesn't think he will," Bel offered. "Squalo isn't like that."
"How do you know...?"
"Because the prince always pisses Squ-Squ off, but he never holds it against the prince." The blond offered a lopsided grin at his words. "Anyway; the prince knows Squ-Squ has a soft spot for Froggy - he'll only show that with the frog."
As if to prove Bel's point, the door to their shared bedroom opened and a long head of white hair peeked in. Squalo's eyes were narrowed, and he looked as if he were uncomfortable to be here.
"Voi, you stupid brat..." Squalo growled to Bel, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Get the fuck out."
"Ushishishi~ The prince will leave the peasants alone~" Bel spoke as if he knew something the other two didn't.
It was silent between them for a few seconds as Squalo stood awkwardly by the door, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Fran just watched him warily, not sure what to think - why was the long-haired male here, after everything he had said earlier...?
"Hey, brat..." Squalo scuffed at the floorboards beneath his feet. "...I... I didn't mean what I said earlier, you know...?"
Fran shrugged, a mask of indifference coming onto his face - completely unaware of the fact that it was the same mask he always wore before the accident. "Doesn't matter. You still said it, and it still hurts..."
"Yeah, but..." Squalo bit his lip. "..."
"You hate me, I get it." Fran's voice was taking on the familiar monotone. "I guess I was stupid to trust you as much as I did. You should have just left me after the accident."
"Voi!" Squalo stomped further into the room, stopping by Fran's bed. "Stupid brat! Why would I do something like that?!"
Fran's emotionless teal eyes looked up to meet silver ones. "Because you hate me."
Squalo couldn't help but slap the boy's face at this accusation. "Stupid brat! What gives you that impression!?"
"The fact that you've treated me like shit after the fire and blamed me for it in front of everyone." There was a hint of defiance in the young voice.
Squalo reached out and grabbed teal hair, forcing Fran's face closer to his own. His eyes narrowed, his voice dangerously low. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe that's how I react when I'm scared?"
"..." Fran didn't reply to this; he knew Squalo had a point, but still...! What had he done to deserve this!? He hadn't wanted an accident, to lose his memories! He certainly didn't want to be stuck struggling to remember who these people were, or to feel safe around them! All he wanted was for things to go back to normal!
"If I truly blamed you, I would never have come back for you, shithead." And with that said, Squalo pressed his lips to Fran's, bringing the other into an aggressive kiss.