I dropped my computer in to get fixed, but I forgot to ask how long it would be there for. To compensate, I'm using my laptop. To my joy, I have Office Word back for the while. I love Office Word.

After the defeat of the Vindice, things had quietened down between the respective groups involved in the fighting – but what seemed to shock everyone the most was how well Bel and Fran were getting along, despite having been bitter enemies at the start.

Tsuna, and most of the other Vongola guardians, found their relationship to be cute. Mukuro and his gang felt like proud big brothers. The other Varia members – excluding Lussuria, of course – hardly batted an eyelid, and the Simon Family were indifferent.

After the fighting, and now that most everyone's injuries had healed, the Varia were organising the trip back to Italy. Bel was at Kokuyo Land, sitting with Fran outside in the grass. They were pulling handfuls of it from the ground, neither of them not knowing what to say.

It was Fran who broke the silence.

"Do you really have to go...?" Fran sighed, throwing his grass into the slight breeze, watching as it flew to the side.

Bel shrugged. "I guess so. We'll probably come back to Japan in future anyway, so I can see you then."

"Yeah, but who will teach me how to use chopsticks?" There was a sad expression in Fran's eyes, one that Bel knew didn't belong there – why had this sweet boy grown up into the snarky little brat he had in the future...? "I don't have anyone to play with here; Master doesn't want to, and his friends are mean..."

"You can always go bother the tunafish," Bel pointed out. "I'm sure he and his friends would like to play with you."

"Master doesn't like them," the boy said firmly. "He told me. He doesn't like them, and he won't let me play with them unless he can watch – in case they try and hurt me, he said."

Bel sighed as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out his phone and handed it to the boy, his obscured eyes downcast. "If you really feel that lonely, you can have my phone. It has international calls and texts, so you can talk to me even when I'm in Italy. You can tell me how your training is going, or what you did. Fair enough?"

Fran nodded. "But how do I use it...?"

The blond took the phone and flipped it open. He went through his contacts and deleted them all (which were mostly everyone from the Varia minus Levi – but he didn't want Fran accidentally calling Xanxus in the middle of Italy's night lest the boy be scarred for life with the outcomes) and added in the number for one of his other phones.

"When you want to get into contact with me, press the green button and then the big square one. If you want to talk to me, hit the square button again. Otherwise, if you just want to use... uh, letters, hit the down arrow, and then the square one. You can type what you want to tell me with the letter buttons."

"Okay, senpai." Fran smiled as he took the phone back, putting it into his pocket. He pushed himself forward, planting a soft kiss on the teenager's cheek, before he pulled back with red tinted cheeks. "I remember in my memories, I used to kiss you on the lips. That feels wrong to me now, so is it okay that I kissed you?"

Bel nodded. "It's fine. You're just young, so don't go kissing anyone else on the lips until you're older. You can kiss the prince's lips in a few years."

The teal-haired male nodded. "Okay, senpai. I better go now; Master said I only had a few minutes out here with you."

Bel shrugged before he stood up. "S'okay..." Before he could walk away, however, tiny arms wrapped around his middle, stopping him from going anywhere. "Frog?"

"I love you, senpai." Fran smiled up at Bel, his eyes shining brightly. "I remember I told you that all the time, too."

A soft smile crossed Bel's features as he nodded, reaching out to pat soft hair. "I remember that, too... I remember everything about us..."

"Me, too, senpai. I'll play with your phone and get the hang of it when I'm done doing things for Master." Fran pulled his arms back to his body, turning around to go back to the blue-haired teenager. "Bye, senpai~"

"Yeah... See you..." Bel dropped his head as he turned around, walking back into town. He couldn't help but remember how warm those tiny arms around him had been, and he knew; as much as he had denied it after gaining his memories, he really did care about Fran and wanted the comfort a relationship with the younger had brought him.

Guess I owe Mammy more money for being right all along... The blond kicked at a rock sitting in his path. I won't tell him that, though – he doesn't need his ego boosted any more...

Bel remembered his reason for denying his feelings towards Fran; he didn't want to be outcast by the Varia – but he also remembered that during the future, when the other members had first found out about the relationship, none of them had made a fuss about it except for Lussuria who was overjoyed.

The Varia Storm remembered how their feelings had come to be; it was when Bel realised he cared enough about his teammate to have protected him during a botched mission that had almost cost them both their lives.

~~XX~~

"What's that you have there?" Mukuro had gone to check on Fran that night before he, too, went to bed, and found the boy playing with what appeared to be a phone.

"Bel-senpai gave it to me." Fran lifted the device into the air so Mukuro could see what it was. "He said I can have it so I can talk to him when he's in Italy. I'm having a bit of trouble working it out, though..."

"Let me help." Mukuro entered the room and sat down by the futon, taking the phone into his own hands. He observed it for a few seconds before he understood how it worked. He showed Fran how to use the phone before he said goodnight and left again.

Just one thought crossed the teenager's mind; Bel really did care about Fran, and the Italian male was sure the two would end up together once again somewhere in the near future.