When Tsuna arrived back at the Vongola Headquarters the next afternoon, Belphegor was in tow. The blond was grinning happily, Tsuna's hand clutched tightly in his. He was humming, his obscured eyes darting around the younger Vongola in contentment.

"Yo~" Bel raised his hand into the air, greeting the others. He didn't let their silence get to him; he was used to it, after all. "Shishi~ What's up?"

"…" Mutters filled the air as everyone talked amongst themselves, not trusting the Varia member one bit.

Bel just cocked his head to the side before he laughed again, reaching down to play with Tsuna's hair. The brunet lifted a hand, placing it top of the bigger one.

"Belphegor wanted to come over for a while, so can everyone please treat him with respect?" Tsuna knew it wasn't a good idea to let his own guardians mingle with a Varia member, especially one such as Bel, but he didn't want to reject the man when he had looked so hopeful at spending more time with the younger earlier.

"Why would we respect a creep like him?" Gokudera's green eyes narrowed at the blond. "I bet he'll try and rape you in your sleep if you keep hanging around with him."

Bel's mouth dropped open at this accusation, instinctively tugging his hand from Tsuna's in order to grab several knives from his pocket. Holding them in front of him in a threatening manner, he growled, "Say that to my face, Hayato."

"Don't fight!" Tsuna moved to stand in front of Bel, pushing the other back slightly. "Gokudera-kun, don't talk to him like that! Belphegor, put the knives down!"

"Kaching…" Doing as told, Bel slipped his knives back into one of his pockets, standing tense by Tsuna's side; he was hurt beyond belief at being referred to as a rapist – while he was pushy by nature and didn't quite understand boundaries and social acceptance, he did know that no meant no, even if he threw tantrums because he didn't get his own way. He knew where the line lay, and he dared not cross it too far.

"Gokudera-kun, say sorry to Belphegor." Tsuna sighed when his friend just glanced away, knowing the silver-haired teenager wasn't apologetic to anyone but him. "Gokudera-kun… What you said hurt him."

"Tenth…" Gokudera did not want to apologise, but if his beloved Tenth had asked him to… Dropping his head in embarrassment, the teenager mumbled out a half-hearted sorry.

Tsuna nodded in appreciation, just glad the older male had listened to him; he knew how hard it would have been for Gokudera. "Thank you, Gokudera-kun. Now, everyone please try and get along with Belphegor."

There were more murmurs around the room before Yamamoto spoke up, his eyes shining. "Does this mean you and Belphegor are dating, Tsuna?"

Before Tsuna had a chance to reply, Bel leant down and wrapped his arms around the younger, resting his chin on Tsuna's shoulder.

"Yup~" Bel's smile was laidback, pressing his front snug against the teenager's back. "The tuna-fish is the prince's boyfriend now~"

"Belphegor…" Tsuna smiled softly as he patted the hand curled into the front of his jacket. "Belphegor, you never asked me if I wanted to date you; you can't make that decision for me."

"Why not?" Bel nuzzled his cheek against the smaller male's own, purring in contentment. "The tuna-fish wouldn't have rejected the prince – and since the prince gave him his very first kiss, it's only fair."

Tsuna knew Bel was right; he wouldn't have said no if the other had asked him in the first place. Instead, he just pressed back against the chest behind him, letting the older male's warmth envelop him.

"I didn't know two guys could date." Yamamoto stared in wonder, trying to work out how this was possible. "How does it work?"

"Just like a guy and a girl." Bel sneered in a mischievous manner before he continued on. "But when two guys have sex, one guy puts their –"

"- Belphegor, he doesn't need to hear this!" Tsuna squeaked as he jumped forward, putting his hands over his friend's ears. "He's too innocent!"

Bel shrugged. "We can show him if you would rather; I don't mind if he watches – voyeurism is a turn-on for me. …Except for that stupid frog…"

Tsuna blushed, pulling his hands from Yamamoto. "L-let's not go down this road just yet, Belphegor…"

Bel sent a lustrous grin to his new boyfriend, kissing the younger's cheek. "Soon?"

"Maybe."

Resting his chin in unruly brunet locks, Bel said placidly, "The prince doesn't mind waiting; he has lots of whores he can pick up in the meantime~"

Tsuna frowned, understanding that Bel was as new to relationships as he was, but these words still hurt; he didn't want to share the blond with anyone, and considering how little time they potentially had together until the machine was fixed, he wanted him all to himself.

"Belphegor, you can't do that." Tsuna ignored Gokudera's rage, wanting to be the one to explain things to Bel; he knew the Varia Storm would listen better if he heard it from his boyfriend.

"Why not?" Bel pouted, squeezing Tsuna's hip.

"Because when you're in a relationship, you don't see other people. You –"

"- But the prince isn't seeing other people!" Bel stomped his foot on the ground, upset that Tsuna could think so low of him; he knew how relationships worked! "He just wants to fuck people until his boyfriend is ready!"

"I know that, Belphegor." Tsuna was calm as he put his hands on Bel's chest, trying to keep him composed; he could appreciate that being with such an unstable man would be no easy feat. "But when you're in a relationship, you can't… do that with other people, either…"

"But why…?" Bel whined softly, hating that there was so much he needed to learn; he was a genius, and he had been sure he had everything down-pat – was it really possible he didn't know everything?

"Because that's what a relationship is, Belphegor; just two people who love each other."

Bel hummed to himself, linking these words in with everything else he knew. He soon asked, "But it's okay if I jerk myself off, right?"

Tsuna blushed scarlet as he looked away, clearing his throat. He could see that the other Vongola – minus Yamamoto, who was laughing and most likely not knowing what it even meant – were uncomfortable as well.

"Of course, Belphegor…" Tsuna scratched his cheek in a shy manner, avoiding eye contact. "I wouldn't ask you to… stop that as well…"

Bel beamed, just glad that he could still get some sexual pleasure – it wasn't as good as sex, but it would be enough for him. "Then the prince will just masturbate as he waits. Will the tuna-fish give him a handjob or two every now and then? Or a blowjob, even?"

Tsuna felt as if he could die of embarrassment, and he didn't blame the others for vacating the premises; he would leave, too. Somewhere during the verbal exchange, even Yamamoto had been dragged off, someone trying to preserve his innocence.

"Well…" Tsuna laughed nervously, having never thought about this before. "…U-umm… I-I guess… Maybe… I-If I'm… c-comfortable with it…"

The Varia Guardian nodded, pleased with this. "Then the prince is content~"

Tsuna turned around in the strong arms, returning the embrace. He buried his face in against the other's striped shirt, feeling the other's beating heart ever-so-slightly. They stayed like this for a minute before Bel picked the younger up, carrying him through the base.

"Entertain the prince~" Bel let his tongue hang out at the side of his mouth, his smile never disappearing. "The prince likes being played with."

Tsuna nodded, relaxed in these arms that seemed to love carrying him everywhere. "We'll go get everyone together and play a big game, okay?"

"Let's play hide-and-seek! Shishishi~" Within a split second, Bel's demeanour had turned from semi-serious to that of a child excited for Christmas morning. "Hide-and-seek is the prince's favourite game!"

Tsuna wasn't sure if he'd be able to convince everyone to play such a game, but he supposed he could always try; all he had to do was attempt to convince Bel that this was a game they were playing, and not a mission where he had to kill whoever he was able to find; he wouldn't put it past the man to take a stab at at-least one of them purely out of habit.

~~XX~~

To Tsuna's immense surprise, he had been able to talk almost everyone into playing with Bel; while Hibari had flat-out refused and left the premises completely, Gokudera had grudgingly agreed on the condition he could hide with Tsuna. Yamamoto, the babies, and the girls were having the time of their lives, while the Millefiore traitors and the rest of the Vongola guardians were docile about it.

"Tenth, this is a great hiding spot," Gokudera praised his boss' abilities at picking hiding places, his green orbs filled with admiration. "That knife-bastard will never find us here!"

Tsuna smiled at his friend, not sure if such a generic hiding spot was such an achievement; after all, they were hiding in a closet.

It was quiet between them as they waited it out, and so far, they hadn't heard nor seen Bel once. They were relaxed, thinking he probably just hadn't come this far into the building yet.

"Tenth, can I – shit!"

"Hiee!"

The two teenagers scurried backwards as a knife came out of nowhere, embedding itself into the wall behind them as wire fell limply to the ground. Bel seemed to just materialise as he tackled Tsuna to the ground, hugging the other to death as he rubbed their cheeks together.

"Found ya~ Shishi~" Bel didn't let the other sit up, content with laying on top of the younger. Gokudera watched with resentment in his eyes, but he didn't say anything; Tsuna was already speaking.

"B-belphegor, how many knives have you thrown at people so far…?" Tsuna reached up, patting blond locks gently.

"I threw them at everyone." Bel shrugged, grinning placidly.

Tsuna smiled shyly as he reached out, tugging the knife out of the wall before he slipped it into his pocket. "Let's leave the knives out of this, okay? Someone might get hurt otherwise."

"That's the best!" Bel licked Tsuna's cheek as he emptied his pockets of all his weapons, trusting the brunet to take good care of the dozens he carried everywhere with him. "The prince has found everyone, so let's go again, kay~?"

"Sure…" Turning to his friend, Tsuna asked, "Are you up for another game, Gokudera-kun?"

The silver-haired male mumbled something before he shrugged, looking away as he said, "Only if you're playing again, Tenth…"

Sometimes Tsuna swore his best friend was a puppy.

~~XX~~

Bel was disappointed to return back to the hotel room without the brunet, but Tsuna had said he wanted to be able to stay with his friends for the night, and that Bel could come back tomorrow if he wanted to.

Opening the hotel room door, Bel kicked it shut behind him, finding Xanxus and Squalo going over paperwork together – well, Squalo was, and Xanxus was watching him work.

"You look glum, brat." Squalo's dark eyes fixed on Bel, wondering if something had happened. "What's the matter?"

"The tuna-fish didn't want to sleep over tonight…" Bel sighed.

"Of course he's not going to want to spend every second of the day with you, Bel; he needs his own space, too." Squalo handed the paperwork to Xanxus as he got off the bed, heading into the small kitchen. "He has friends other than you as well, and he's not going to fucking drop them for some bratty prince."

Bel sneered. "The prince is not bratty."

"Whatever. Just give him room and time to himself, Belphegor." Pouring himself a glass of water, Squalo returned back to his boss' side. Bel knew there was more than just a boss and subordinate relationship between them, but they never seemed to show their intimacy when other people were around.

Throwing himself down onto his bed, Bel wrapped his arms around Mammon, who was already curled up and fast asleep in the blankets; he had originally been sharing the bed with his friend, but with Tsuna's arrival, he had been forced onto the chair.

Hugging Mammon tight to him, Bel rested his chin against the Arcobaleno's hood. He watched Squalo and Xanxus for a while, his mind focused on Tsuna, before he was distracted by the hotel room door opening again. Fran stumbled in, his frog hat askew and his Varia uniform buttoned messily. There was a hint of a bruise on his neck, and for once, his emerald eyes showed a bit of life.

"Senpai, guess what." Fran moved closer to the blond, his eyes fixed intently on the older male. He ignored Bel tensing at his approach, instead saying in a taunting tone, "I had sex before you even got a touch from your boyfriend."

Squalo choked on his water at this, disbelieving; Fran was such an antisocial person, it was hard to imagine him going out and having sex. …Unless… it was with someone he already knew and was close to… But who could that be?

"Who the hell would want to touch you?" Bel growled, fiddling with one of his knives. "The prince has been having sex since he was twelve, so you don't win, you stupid frog."

"I'm just saying that in the time you've had a boyfriend, I succeeded in having sex before you two did anything." Fran raised a hand in the air. "Now, don't be jealous, senpai; if you'd rather, I can conjure up an illusionary tuna-fish for you to make love to, complete with scales and a tail as well."

"You little shit!" Bel tossed one of his knives at Fran, stopping only when he felt Mammon stir in his arms. He sighed, not wanting to wake his friend.

"Who the hell did you have it with?" Squalo's eyes were wide, unable to resist asking this question; the suspense was killing him.

"Master, of course." Fran shrugged. "He's been locked away for so long, we haven't been able to have it yet – we had to resort to having mind sex."

"What the fuck?"

"It's like phone sex, but with our mental link." Fran shrugged again. "It's fun."

Bel growled again, pulling the blankets over his head. "Stupid frog. At least I have a boyfriend who loves me, and not some old pineapple pervert."

"Senpai is older than Master, so if Master is old, senpai must be ancient."

Squalo laughed at this while Xanxus snorted. "Good one, trash."

Bel just sighed, closing his eyes as he tried to drift into sleep; he had become so used to Tsuna's presence so quickly, it was harder to relax than it had ever been.