Bel was overjoyed when Tsuna came back the next morning; he threw himself out of his large bed and moved to glomp the younger, purring in delight at the brunet's warmth.
"The prince is so happy when the tuna-fish comes to spend time with him~" Bel's obscured eyes were sparkling, the now-not-so-foreign feeling in his chest making his heart speed up again. "He feels very important~"
Tsuna smiled, feeling sick at the idea of trying to explain things to his boyfriend; Bel wasn't going to take this well at all.
"Belphegor…" Tsuna led the man back over to the bed, sitting him down on the edge of it. He put his hands on the other's shoulders as he took a deep breath, feeling his heart break at the smile – that trusting smile – on the Varia Storm's face. "Belphegor, I have to tell you something…"
As if the others in the room could sense it, the rest of the Varia fell silent, their eyes fixed on Tsuna.
"What is it?" Bel seemed as happy as ever, seemingly not even considering that bad news could be waiting for his ears.
"…" Shaking his head, Tsuna came out with it. "Shouichi fixed the machine, Belphegor."
Bel's smile faltered for a split second before he put it back up. Tsuna could see how strained it was, though. "But that's not important, Tuna-Fish! …Right…?"
"…I have the choice of going back to my own time, or staying here with you." Tsuna sat on the edge of the bed next to his boyfriend, their shoulders brushing slightly. "I wish I could stay with you, Belphegor, but… I can't. I need to go back."
Bel shook his head, his fingers twitching as if he felt great need to grab something. "The tuna-fish doesn't need to go back; he's fine here with the prince!"
"Belphegor, I can't." Tsuna could sense the hurt wafting from the man, but what could he do? He couldn't stay in a timeline that wasn't his; he had friends and family, commitments, and so many more things back home – he couldn't abandon his life for one person, after all. "I need to – oomph!"
Tsuna winced in pain as he suddenly hit the floor, the other having pushed him off the bed. He looked up, finding a quivering Belphegor standing above him, three knives at the ready. "Belphegor…"
"You don't love me anymore, do you?" Bel spoke in a quiet voice, as if he were utterly devastated. "That's it, right? You don't want me anymore."
"No!"
Bel sniffed. "The prince is used to such rejections, but he thought you would be different. I guess I thought wrong…"
"Belphegor…"
"Don't leave." It was a demand, and they both knew it. "The prince doesn't want you to leave, even if he is upset with you."
"You don't make that decision for him, Bel." From somewhere in the back of the room, Squalo interjected.
"Shut up!" Bel spun on the spot, tossing his knives towards the Strategy Captain. The other Varia became ready at this, moving to restrain Bel as he grabbed more weapons from his pocket. "Don't leave, Tuna-Fish! What did I do wrong?! I can fix it!"
Tsuna flinched as Leviathan tackled Bel hard, knocking the man to the floor. Bel snarled and shouted as he thrashed, knives flying in every direction. "Tuna-Fish! Don't leave! Tuna-Fish!"
Squalo looked up from where he was forcing Bel to drop the knives. He made eye contact with the Vongola Decimo, a hardened look in his eyes. "Get out of here; he'll only get worse and you don't want to see it."
Tsuna nodded, knowing he was leaving in such a cruel manner. He whispered, "I'm sorry, Belphegor…" and then he was gone, Bel's heartbroken screams and pleas for him to come back bouncing through the hotel corridor.
The Sky Guardian had never felt as bad as he did now; he had led Belphegor on, making him believe that what they had would last, and when it came time to say goodbye, he had been the one to shatter what little trust the blond had to not get hurt that Tsuna had been able to foster in him.
Tsuna was a terrible person, and he knew it.
~~XX~~
Bel didn't know how long he had been curled up beneath the blankets for, but he didn't care; he wanted to lay here forever and never get out of bed again. After Squalo had calmed him down, the man had tried to talk sense in to him, explaining that Tsuna did have to leave back to his own time, but Bel didn't want to listen; he was so used to being hurt, he was sure the brunet had just grown bored of him.
"Bel-senpai?" Fran was prodding the blond with a chopstick, as monotonous as ever. "Bel-senpai, aren't you going to eat anything? The stupid long-haired commander got us sushi. I know you're fat and all, but you should probably eat anyway."
Bel didn't move, didn't acknowledge Fran in the slightest; he just continued laying there, staring at the wall.
"Bel-senpai?" Fran was persistent, and for once, he only had good intentions; he could tell his senpai was hurting, and even if he was Mukuro Rokudo's student, he wasn't heartless – he was just… a bit socially awkward. "Bel-senpai, do you want an illusionary tuna-fish? I won't give it any scales or a tail this time – I promise."
Squalo, who had been watching the two from across the room, sighed. He stood up, moving to the youngest members in order to wrap an arm around Fran's shoulders. "He just needs some time to adjust; let him be by himself for a while."
Fran took one last glance at the Storm Guardian before he nodded; if he was even rejecting Mammon's help – his best friend's help – he would most certainly not be able to do anything except upset Bel further. "Will he be okay, Captain?"
"He will be, but he needs time." Squalo guided the boy back over to the table where the sushi was laid out. "He's strong; he'll get over this soon."
Fran nodded, trusting that the Rain Guardian knew what he was talking about; as much as he loved pissing people off, he did care about his senpai – that should have been obvious when he didn't abandon the other to fight his brother alone and instead protected him with an illusion.
Hopefully, Bel would be as strong as Fran knew him to be and pull through this soon; it was scary seeing such a powerful man reduced to this by just one person.