"Hello, there. Is this Chiara?"

Bel felt a lump in his throat that prevented him from swallowing. He nodded as he looked down at his hand that clutched his daughter's tightly; he was terrified, and it was taking every ounce of strength he had in him to not pick Chiara up and run far away. "…"

"My, what a beautiful little girl she is."

Bel felt as if he were on the verge of hyperventilating as he looked desperately to Takeshi; he couldn't do this by himself, and he needed his boyfriend to help him. "Takeshi…"

Takeshi smiled. He wrapped his arm around Bel's hips and nuzzled his nose in against the blond's temple. "It's okay, Bel; she's going to be safe here. She's four; pre-school will be good for her."

Bel chewed at his lip. He looked between the lady in charge of the pre-school and his daughter, and he felt sick at knowing he was finally having to part from Chiara; he wished he could keep her in the Varia Mansion at all times, but he knew that was selfish of him and, without other kids for her to interact with, he would only damage her wellbeing.

But still… He only wanted to keep Chiara safe…

Bel knelt down so he was eye level with Chiara. His hands shook as he reached out to fix her jacket. "C-chiara… I… I won't be staying here with you… Okay…?"

Chiara's purple eyes – the only physical feature she had inherited from her parent – filled with sadness. She reached out with chubby hands in a silent request to be picked up. She waited until she was being held against the warm chest she knew so well before she asked in a soft voice still slurred from her young age, "Where's daddy gonna be?"

Takeshi was the one to answer for his lover; he knew this was hard enough for the older male as it was. "Bel and I are going to do some things in town, and we will be back to get you in a few hours, okay? There'll be other kids here for you to play with, and you'll have fun."

At these words, Chiara smiled brightly and started struggling to get free; she had always wanted to play with other kids, but never before had she been around them. She knew Takeshi often tried to talk Bel into letting him take her to the park, but the blond was adamant in not letting her past the Varia grounds. She didn't understand why he didn't let her go very far from the mansion, and though she loved her parent, sometimes she felt lonely and bored.

"Chiara…" It took Bel everything he had to not break down on the spot as he watched his daughter ditch him for the worker; he wasn't used to being second-best to someone when it came to her, and it hurt greatly to watch as Chiara raised her arms in the air for the woman to pick her up. He ducked his head as he scrunched his eyes shut and made a strangled noise as he fought against his emotions.

The woman frowned as she looked at Bel. Her gaze moved to Takeshi before she said, "Is he okay?"

"Ah, he's okay." Takeshi smiled back at her as he rubbed his boyfriend's back. His Italian was limited, so it wasn't easy for him to hold a conversation with someone by himself. "He already misses Chiara. He is… Eh… Bel, how do you say it? Ah! He is very protective of Chiara and it's hard for him to trust her to be safe."

The woman nodded in understanding. "I see that a lot in young parents; it's hard for them to separate at first. He must have been young when he had Chiara."

Bel flinched. He knew the stranger had no idea how Chiara had been conceived and must have assumed he had been with a girl at some point, but still… He knew the truth, and no matter the years that had passed by, it was still very hard for him to think about what he had been put through. "…"

"Oh, he was. His girlfriend walked out on him shortly after Chiara was born, so he's raised her by himself." Takeshi knew the cover story; say whatever he wanted about Bel's "ex" and pretend that he hadn't been kidnapped and experimented on and raped countless times.

"He's done a wonderful job; she's beautiful." It was then the woman saw the sad look on Bel's face. She smiled comfortingly before he said, "There's no need to be sad, Belphegor; we'll take good care of Chiara."

Before Bel could respond, Chiara spoke again with such innocence, the blond couldn't even be upset with her; he knew his daughter didn't know any better, and he would just have to have a talk with her when he brought her home later. "My daddy's always sad; he stays in bed and cries lots."

"Ne, Chiara-chan, don't talk about Bel like that. Okay?" Takeshi's warm smile never faltered. "He's getting better; he tries very hard to be happy and is doing his best. So don't say things like that or else you'll make him feel sad."

Bel looked away when he heard Chiara apologise; he always felt uncomfortable whenever she said sorry to him as he hated the idea that she might feel as tiny and scared as he used to when his parents would beat him in punishment – he never wanted her to know the emotions he did, and he wished she would never apologise to anyone for anything.

"We'll see you soon, Chiara-chan; have fun with the other kids, okay?" Takeshi ruffled the girl's raven locks before he stood up straight again and looked down at Bel. He took the older male's hand in his and squeezed it tightly as Bel said goodbye to his child. "Ne, Bel-chan, let's go have some breakfast. You must be starving."

The blond hummed as he rubbed his stomach; he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's breakfast, and he was starting to feel it now. He took one last look at Chiara before he forced his feet to turn around and walk out of the pre-school; he had to trust Takeshi when he said Chiara would be safe there.

"What do you want to eat, Bel? I kind of feel like some pizza, actually. What about you?"

Bel raised his hand to his mouth as he fought back a wave of nausea; as hungry as he was, he was finding it harder and harder to eat because the idea of food kept making him feel sick. He had overheard Squalo on the phone to Shamal about it once, and though the long-haired man worried, he hadn't told Bel what the doctor had said; only that if the Varia Storm stopped eating, he was going to get very sick.

"Bel? Do you feel sick again, Bel-chan?"

Bel leant into the strong arms that wrapped around him. He rested the side of his face against his lover's chest as he returned the embrace; he felt safe and warm when he was with Takeshi, and it was enough for him to whisper, "Just a little… It's the pizza… You can get pizza if you want; I… I just won't eat anything…"

"Ne, Bel-chan has to eat, too, and if pizza is making him feel unwell, we'll have breakfast elsewhere. What about something light so it doesn't upset your tummy?"

The older male hummed again. He raised his hand to his mouth again as the nausea came harder this time. When it settled, he mumbled, "I just want an egg…"

Takeshi kissed his boyfriend's temple in understanding. "Then we will get you an egg. When we get home, you should have a nap; you look exhausted."

"I am…" Bel tilted his head back so he could kiss the younger's lips. He lifted his hand so he could ghost his fingertips against Takeshi's cheek as he did so; he loved his boyfriend, and he knew the other was the only reason he was alive today. He let out a small moan as he parted his lips and allowed a hot tongue into his mouth; month-by-month, it was slowly becoming easier for him to have open-mouthed kisses as he learnt to associate them with love instead of the oral rape he had received so many times in that wretched place.

Takeshi smiled brightly when they broke away for air; he remembered how everyone had had their suspicions on how long Bel was going to live for, and the most generous one of all was when Squalo had said their Storm Guardian would at least live to see his eighteenth birthday - at that time, it was only a few months away. But to their surprise – and honestly, joy, as well – the blond had celebrated his twenty-first birthday a little less than a month ago. Sure, Bel was still very depressed and anxious, but he had stopped trying to kill himself, even if there were still the nights where Takeshi had to plead with him to come out of the bathroom and put the knife down.

But in moments like these, even if no one else could, Takeshi could see the strength Bel still had in him, and he knew that if he could foster that strength and resilience, the blond could come out of the hell he was living in. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, and there was still a long way to go, but Bel could do this; Takeshi was sure of it.

~~XX~~

To say that Bel was over the moon about finally being able to pick his daughter up from pre-school was an understatement; he had been looking forward to it all day, and now that he had been able to do so, there was an obvious skip in his step that was so rarely seen these days. As quiet and withdrawn as he had become since the kidnapping, he didn't even mind when Chiara talked his ear off about her day and the kids she had been able to play with.

So when the girl asked to go to the park again, Bel's happy mood faltered as anxiety overwhelmed him; if he let her go to the park, then she would have to be around other people again… He himself was still recovering from his assault, and it wasn't easy for him to have to come out of his room – he had never been to a park himself, but he had heard that they were usually crowded with kids and parents alike, and he didn't know if he had the strength he needed to be able to cope with it; he had already used up a large amount of it in having spent the day in town shopping with Takeshi.

"Daddy! I wanna go park! Pwease!"

Bel swallowed thickly as he turned around to look at Chiara from the front passenger seat of Takeshi's car. He chewed at the inside of his lip for a few moments before he shook his head. He spoke quietly. "Daddy doesn't feel well, Chiara…"

Takeshi chuckled from the driver's seat. "Why not let her go for once, Bel? She's a kid; let her enjoy her childhood while she still can. She can't stay in the mansion all the time."

Bel pouted. He crossed his arms against his chest and looked out of the passenger window as he muttered, "But I let her play by the back door…"

"Ne, Bel-chan, that's not a park; it's her playing alone with her toys in the grass closest to the mansion. Come on; I'll be with you both and I won't let anything happen."

"…" Bel shuddered. He knew his lover was right and that it wasn't fair for him to take his insecurities out on his daughter, but he couldn't help it; maybe he was pathetic for letting what Verde had done to him affect him so much, but he couldn't help but feel so scared and depressed all the time… In an effort to help with his anxiety, he changed the subject. He leant down and grabbed one of the shopping bags from his feet so he could pass it to Chiara. "Takeshi and I bought this for you today. It's a –"

"- But I wanna go park…!" When Chiara stuck her bottom lip out, she knew she had won; Bel never had been able to resist it.

Bel hated saying no to his daughter, having heard it his entire childhood himself – he always left it up to Takeshi to deal with moments like these, but right now, there was no escape for him to leave his boyfriend to tell Chiara no, and all he could do was sigh and hug himself tight. "…Okay… But only for a few minutes… If there's anyone else there, we're going to go back home."

"Bel, that's why she wants to go to the park; so she can play with other kids. You've got to let her have that; it's something all kids need."

Bel pouted further. He said nothing as Takeshi started driving to the park, and though it took only a few minutes to get there, he finally exhaled the deep breath he had been holding anxiously upon finding that the park was vacant. He waited until the car had been stopped and turned off before he undid his seatbelt and got out of the vehicle.

"Park! Park!"

Bel could have had a heart attack when Chiara bolted from the car as soon as Takeshi had undone her straps; it terrified him to see her running away like this, and all he could do was run after her and grab her hand, even if she was in no danger whatsoever. "Chiara, don't do that! Don't run from me like that again!"

"Bel-chan, there's no need to be upset; she didn't run across a road and there's no one around to grab her. Chiara-chan, next time hold our hand instead of running, okay?"

Chiara beamed up at the Japanese male as she nodded. "Wanna pway!"

Bel was hesitant to lead his daughter over to the playground; he didn't want her here at all, and it made it hard for him to leave her side; what if someone came and snatched her like how he had been kidnapped…?

But before the blond could think too much about it, Takeshi called him over to the bench. He hesitated to go over, but when he finally did, he sat next to his lover. "Bel-chan, I know how stressed you are right now, but you should go and play with Chiara."

Bel couldn't stand to admit it, but he trusted Takeshi. He ducked his head as he whispered, "I… don't know how to play with her… I never… I never got to play when I was little… I don't know what to do…"

Takeshi understood; Bel had never had the kind of childhood he had, and because of that, the blond had never learnt how to interact properly with his daughter. Sure, he did a great job of looking after her, but when it came time to play with Chiara, he was clueless, and that in turn made him shy away even more. It wasn't his fault, but Takeshi knew his lover could still learn. He threaded his fingers through the other's growing hair and said, "Just do what Chiara's doing, Bel-chan; she'll teach you."

"But I don't… T-takeshi…"

"Trust me on this, Bel; it's not as hard as it seems."

"…" Bel looked to his daughter, finding the girl was climbing up the slide. He cocked his head to the side; how was he supposed to go along with that kind of thing? "…Takeshi… I don't… She's going up a slide… What am I… supposed to do…?"

"You can always push her up it." Takeshi nudged his boyfriend's shoulder. "Go on; give a try."

"…" Bel finally nodded. He stood up and approached the slide. "Chiara… I'm… Let's play together… Alright…?"

Chiara let out a squeal of excitement as she jumped onto her father; the blond had never played with her before, and she was so excited. "Pway! Pway!"

Takeshi watched happily as Bel quickly adjusted into playing with his child; Bel may never have learnt as a child, but that didn't mean it was too late for him; he was doing well, and that was all that mattered.

"Oh…" Takeshi frowned as his attention was grabbed by his phone ringing from in his pocket; he had just been about to get up and join the others. He grabbed the device and answered the call when he saw it was from Tsuna; why was the other ringing when it would be so late back in Japan? "Tsuna, what's happening?"

From the other end of the line, Tsuna sounded uncomfortable. "Y-yamamoto… I… I'm sorry to drop this on you, but… Can you find somewhere private… away from Belphegor…?"

"What?" Takeshi looked to his boyfriend, finding the other was still at the playground. "Yeah, he's with Chiara. Why can't I talk with him around?"

"…Because if he overhears, he's… Yamamoto… Gokudera-kun and I are at the Varia Mansion. We didn't tell you because we didn't want Belphegor finding out. Yamamoto… When you guys come back… Belphegor… Belphegor is… Well… We're going to be having a meeting, and… And… Verde's here…"

In a split second, anger and hatred Takeshi had never felt before washed over him; if he was going to be face-to-face with Bel's assaulter… Well… He didn't think even he would be able to hold himself back…