Fran awoke to the sounds of someone moving around in his room. He blinked his eyes open and saw Spanner throwing stuff in a small duffle bag. He quickly sprang out of bed, feeling slightly dizzy, before Spanner could put another article of clothing in the bag.

"What are you doing?" Fran asked, his eyes staring questioningly at his friend.

"You're going to stay with Verde for a few days," Spanner replied, pulling his arm away from Fran's grasp and throwing more clothes in the bag.

"What? Why?

"Something's wrong and you're not telling me about it. I think Verde will help with whatever it is since it's most likely about your parents, no?"

"Yeah but…I'm fine when I'm with you."

"I can't do anything for you Fran."

Fran rubbed his arm, looked down, and bit his bottom lip, "Do you not want me anymore, Spanner?"

In a split second Fran felt his head being pulled up by a strong hand and rough lips pressing against his own. He allowed Spanner to kiss him without kissing back until the elder pulled away and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close.

"I want you, Fran," Spanner whispered in the teen's ear. "You're the person I cherish the most and I always want you by my side…but right now, you need Verde to help you, okay?"

Fran nodded and wrapped his arms around Spanner's neck, "I'll go with Verde for a few days but you better make me some garlic bread when I come back."

Spanner chuckled and buried his face into his friend's neck.

"I'll make you all the garlic bread you want as long as you always come back to me."

~0~0~0~0~

"Fran! Come in, come in" Verde greeted his nephew at the door, ushering him inside.

"Um…hey" Fran greeted as he stepped inside the cozy apartment. The first thing he noticed was the nice interior design of the apartment, the leather couch, plasma screen T.V, polished wooden floors and coffee table and lastly the paintings on the walls. "Being a cop must pay a lot, huh?"

Verde chuckled as he sat on the leather couch, "Of course, come sit."

Fran let his bag plop down on the floor near the exit before he awkwardly took a seat beside Verde.

"So Spanner tells me you've been having trouble sleeping?" Verde began as he stood and went to the neatly decorated kitchen and came back with orange juice for Fran and coffee for himself.

"Yeah," Fran nodded his thanks as he took the orange juice and took a sip. "How'd you know I like orange juice?"

"Hazama used to chug the stuff like it was the best drink in the world, I just supposed you might like it as well," Verde said with a shrug as he took a sip of his own drink.

"My dad used to like orange juice," Fran said to himself before he took another sip of the orange juice.

"You're very much like him," Verde said, "but you are also a lot like your mother."

"They're my parents after all."

"How many hours have you gotten of sleep this week?"

"Half an hour to forty-five minutes."

For the first time in a while Fran saw his uncle frown deeply at his answer.

"Has something been troubling you?"

Fran nodded.

"Care to explain?"

Fran placed his cup down on the coffee table beside Verde's before he leaned back on leather couch, "Mammon told me about how my parents met. About how my dad used to be a racer."

Verde sighed and rubbed his temples, "That child is always…urgh. Anyway, how has this affected your sleeping habits?"

"It made me wonder what it would have been like if my parents themselves told me about how they met. What they would think if they saw me now…"

"You're still in the depression stage of grieving, aren't you?"

Fran swallowed dryly before he nodded.

"No emotions, not sleeping well always thinking about the 'what if's," Verde muttered to himself before he went back to Fran, "What you wish for is impossible and I'm not sure if letting you know more about your parents will satisfy you or trouble you more." Verde sighed and shook his head, "I'm a cop not a therapist, but I'll do my best to help you overcome this depression of yours."

"I think…knowing more about them will help a bit" Fran muttered.

"Yes but it will also make you wonder about them," Verde said. "You'll always wonder as you go through your life. How it would be like if they saw you graduate, get married, have kids. How it would be like to have Rin in your life. This will always be your problem; the way to solve it is what we have to figure out. Occupy your mind with other things? Find ways to not make you worry over it so much? We'll find a way."

"Right," Fran sighed.

"Are you hungry," Verde asked his nephew, giving the boy an unseen concerned look.

"Yeah," Fran nodded.

Verde smiled softly at the young boy and gently ruffled his hair before leaving the living room and heading to the kitchen.

Fran was left sitting on the couch, staring with wide eyes at his lap. He moved around and laid side ways on the couch and moved his hands up to rest on his head.

"Papa…"