The Varia were worried, with good reason too; Their baby mist had not yet come back from his scouting mission in Austria. They sent him out nearly two months ago, so it was understandable they were wary. If Byakuran and the Millefiore caught him, they were ridiculously outmatched and wouldn't be able to rescue him even with external forces. Squalo had been forced to go to Budapest to join up with Vongola's rain and Xanxus and Levi had been needed at Vongola HQ for some reason. The sound of an unidentifiable motorcycle coming up their driveway made the two currently at Varia HQ rush outside, ready to fight any intruder that was foolish enough to come into their territory.

The motorbike rolled into view revealing its rider; It was a male, tall and lithe and quite thin. Belphegor was the first to quell his flames and rush forward, "Froggy! Where have you been, we were getting worried."

The storm pulled off the identified mists helmet and peered into his eyes, "Lussie, come here. I don't think he's feeling very well."

"There's no need to waste your flames Luss-sempai, I am merely tired from my journey." Fran said monotonously.

Tired was an understatement; His eyes were swamped by deep black circles that came from very little sleep, his face was a pasty white and, overall had a drained aura surrounding him. "Leave the bike here, we can move it later. Bel sweetie, can you go tell Xanxus that Fran's back." Lussuria gently commanded as he looked over the exhausted mist.

Belphegor didn't bother protesting and quickly walked into the house to grab his phone and tell his boss the good news. Lussuria frowned as Fran didn't move to get off the bike, "Are you injured anywhere Fran-chan?"

Fran shook his head gently, "I am uninjured; however, I may need some assistance to the nearest chair." Lussuria gave him an alarmed look. "I am simply worn out Luss-sempai, that is all."

"Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you?" Lussuria questioned. Perhaps, the sun thought, it would have been better to just pick him up. He will undoubtedly choose to walk.

Fran made up his mind quickly, "I should just need some support, there won't be a need to carry me."

Lussuria sighed inaudibly, he was right as usual. He helped Fran slide off the motorbike and started to walk to the house with Fran's left arm tossed around his neck. It was rather obvious Fran limping and Lussuria resolved to look at in when they got inside. Fran sucked in a breath when they walked up the stairs as he had to put pressure on his left leg. The sun guardian sat Fran down on the three-seater couch and called for Belphegor.

"Shishishi, right here Lussie. What is it you need from the prince?" Bel cackled as he walked behind the sofa.

"Get me one of the large ice packs and some painkillers." Lussuria said as he looked more thoroughly at the exhausted mist.

Fran spoke up before Belphegor could leave the room, "If you could get me a glass of water and something small to eat I would be very thankful Bel-sempai."

"Anything else?" The storm asked in the doorframe. "No? Good."

Fran managed a laugh at his sempai's actions, making Lussuria smile. "How have things been back here? Is it only you two manning the fort right now?" Fran asked curiously.

Lussuria cleared his throat, "Squalo is in Budapest right now with the rain from Vongola. I believe they were eliminating a few squadrons near one of our research bases. Xanxus and Levi are currently at Vongola Headquarters, they were needed regarding co-ordinating new strike teams." Fran nodded, relieved that his famiglia were not injured or, god forbid, dead. "As for how things have been, hmm. It's been a bit tense since Reborn went off radar, but it's probably Reborn being himself. There haven't been any other attacks on the mansion here either which is nice. Last time was terrible."

"So sorry to interrupt, but the prince is back." Belphegor said, making Fran jump as he hadn't seen the storm.

Lussuria moved to put the icepack on Fran's leg but stopped when the mist threw a hand out. Seeing Lussuria's questioning looked Fran explained, "The pants are too thick for the cold to touch my skin, I need to take them off. It's probably good to let my legs breathe fresh air too."

Belphegor helped take the belt off when Fran started struggling, "My uncute kouhai, please stay still while the prince assists you."

Lussuria watched, icepack in hand, as the Storm helped pull the tight pants off the young adult. The storm halted his tugging when he heard Fran hiss in pain, and looked up at the mist. "It's really nothing sempai, just keep going please." How could Bel say no to that look.

With one more sharp tug, the leather pants were off the illusionist and the two elements got a good look at what made their kouhai tear up in pain. It was a long, purplish scar that had obviously been hand stitched on Fran's left thigh. Seeing where the two were looking Fran rushed to explain, "Open fracture of my femur. It's why I was so late."

"Your femur." Belphegor repeated blankly, looking at the raised scar tissue.

Lussuria chimed in, "You do realise dear, that the femur is one of the hardest bones to break in your body."

Fran winced at the sun guardians tone, "I would rather not repeat the story a second time, so can you wait until everybody arrives please?"

Belphegor growled and walked out of the room, fists wreathed in pulsing, red storm flames. Lussuria and Fran watched the pissed off storm walk out of the room, wincing when they heard the faint sound of explosions. Lussuria turned back to Fran, "Hold the ice pack on your leg and take this."

Fran obediently dry-swallowed the offered painkillers and looked longingly at the refreshments on the table beside him. "Food now?" He asked hopefully. Lussuria rolled his eyes and handed his baby mist the ham and cheese sandwich. "Thank you, sempai!" Fran said as he dug into the delicious looking sandwich.

Belphegor walked into the room looking more relaxed and sat down next to the full mist. He dragged the younger adult onto his lap when he saw him nodding off. Bel cursed at Lussuria when he noticed he was looking at them. "Bel!" Fran mumbled, "Sleeping time." And drifted off into Morpheus' realm.

XXXXXX

A nudge on his shoulder made Fran shoot up, not entirely aware of his surroundings, and light his hands with his flames. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he saw three wary Varia members looking at him. A twist of his Will dissipated his Indigo flames and he lay his head back down on Bel-sempai. Fran yawned as he greedily took in the sight of his sky and rain for the first time in weeks. "Boss-sempai, Captain. Nice to see you again ne?" Fran said sleepily.

"What made you so late?" Xanxus questioned.

"Straight to the point as always sempai." Fran stated. "This was the reason of my problems getting here." He gestured at the rather long scar.

"What Xanxus means, is where did you get it." Squalo translated.

Fran frowned and started to explain, "The reason Byakuran hasn't been bothering you guys is because he's been chasing me across Austria. I had completed the mission and was in a hideout when the Millefiore and Byakuran himself burst in." Various growls came from the protective guardians when they heard the name Byakuran. "Yeah. I didn't have any time to do anything when Byakuran slammed his fist into my leg. Boom, instant fracture. It was just by luck it was open. I managed to get away by shifting and was on the run ever since."

During the story telling, Squalo ended up on the sofa with him, Lussuria draped over his shoulders behind him and Xanxus sat opposite of him. Flames were dancing on everybody's fingertips and through the bond, seeping into the claimed mist. "You guys are going to make me flame-drunk again, can you stop."

"No." They all chorused, intent on making sure he was re-marked with their flames.

Fran sighed in exasperation, "Can you tell me where Levi-sempai is then?"

"Vongola. They need him for some more testing." Xanxus answered.

"Ah, well if we're going to make me drunk can we go to bed instead of staying on the couch?" Fran asked, already slurring his words minutely.

Belphegor gently carried him bridal-style into Xanxus' room since it had the biggest bed, and set him down carefully. That night, the elements watched over the mist, each of them touching some part of him as they fell asleep one by one.