Fran had been content with Mammon sitting on his head as he sat on his bed waiting for Bel. He had been waiting quite a while, longer than what he thought a shower should have taken – up until he had been taken from the people who had abused him, he had never had the luxury of taking care of his hygienic needs, so he was still learning how long it usually took to clean one's self.
It was only once the men in uniforms had taken him from his cage and given him to the nice lady who wore a nice dress did he even realise there was such a thing as cleanliness; he had thought it was natural to smell and be covered in filth until he was given his first bath by the same lady. Fran hadn't liked the bath; being naked was too exposing and the hands that were separated from his skin by the cloth between them reminded him of the men he had lived with.
Fran hadn't had many baths after that, not liking the fear it provoked in him.
When the bedroom door opened, Fran looked up and found Bel was walking back into the bedroom in a dazed manner. He frowned; he couldn't be certain, but he didn't think someone was still supposed to wear their clothing while they were in the shower; the saturated clothing that left small puddles of water on the floorboards that hung from Bel's body was a dead giveaway.
Bel was silent as he crossed the room and leant down to reach under his bed so that he could pull out a clean change of clothes. He turned to Fran briefly before he spoke in a quivering voice. "C-can you leave so the prince can dress…?"
Fran nodded. He knew what it was like to want to keep his body hidden, so he didn't mind the request; he understood, after all. He left the room without argument and closed the door quietly behind him so that he could sit against the rickety wood as he waited. He didn't know how much time had passed, but once he started scratching against the hardwood floor, Tsuna and Gokudera came up the stairs and into the corridor. The brunet greeted him cheerfully as they passed by, but the silver-haired male shot Fran a filthy glare.
"Disgusting frog…" Fran heard the silver-haired teenager mutter under his breath. There was more to the sentence but he hadn't been able to catch it.
Mammon's not disgusting… He's Bel-senpai's best friend… Fran reached up to pat the frog's head as he listened to Tsuna gently reprimanding the teen before they turned into Lambo's bedroom. Now Fran was getting a tad worried; did it really take so long to change clothes? Maybe I should look just to make sure he's okay, Fran thought. …B-but what if he's fine and not dressed? …Maybe he's sick? Maybe that's why he took so long in the shower.
Fran got to his feet and placed his hand on the door handle, ready to turn it. He wanted to just peek in and check that Bel was alright; he didn't need to watch. He opened the door a crack so that he could look in, seeing that the blond had taken all of his clothes off by now; his wet ones were dumped by the bed, but he hadn't made any move to dress into something clean; he was just standing there, staring down at the floor. The younger could see Bel's body was scarred from head to toe, some looking old with age and some new. It was a familiar sight, but he had never seen it on another person before; he had been covered in bruises and cuts in his old daily life, and it hurt to see Bel resembling him.
The child watched as Bel picked up underwear from the bed and held it for a few seconds before he slipped it on. He went to reach out for another article of clothing, but as if he had been stopped by some unknown force, he drew his arm back and hugged himself tight as he started to shake. He looked around at his surroundings as if he were searching for someone he was certain would be there if he looked hard enough, and then a loud sob sounded through the room. Fran knew he had seen enough; there had been a reason Bel hadn't wanted him in there and it just wasn't because he was shy.
The younger sighed as he shut the door once more and slid back down it as he rested; he would just have to wait until Bel was able to compose himself again - but almost as soon as Fran's bottom had hit the floor, Chrome had left her room and was heading towards the seafoam-green-haired boy once she caught sight of him.
"W-what are you doing, F-fran…?" Chrome asked gently.
"Bel-senpai had a shower," Fran explained. "He wanted me to leave so he could change his clothes."
A slither of sympathy crossed violet eyes before Chrome nodded her head in understanding. Fran had a feeling the girl knew all about Bel's shower issues, but before he could ask anything about it, she spoke again. "A-are you doing anything today…?"
"Senpai wanted to go into town. He wants me to come because we're boyfriends now."
Chrome smiled shyly as she blushed and looked away. "I-I see… Do you have any m-money…?" She reached into her pocket when Fran shook his head so that she could withdraw her small leather purse. She pulled a note and some coins out of a pocket and handed it to her friend. "Y-you can have this…"
Fran blinked as he looked down at the money. He knew about money and its purposes, but he had never really seen it before, much less be given it; he was honestly surprised, not knowing what to think. "Oh… T-thank you…"
Chrome nodded as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Fran's cheek. "There's fifteen dollars… That's what I have left, so buy something nice…"
"Okay." Fran slipped the money into his pants pocket, wanting to be extra careful so he didn't lose any of it; he didn't know how often he would get any money so he wanted to keep what he could.
"Have fun, Fran." Chrome smiled once more before she left so that that she could return to her own room. Fran watched her leave, and just as the girl closed her bedroom door behind her, the one he was leaning against opened and he tumbled backwards onto Bel's feet.
Bel had a smile on his face, but it was taking everything he had to force it to stay there; he was hiding his depression like he always did, and right now, he was wondering how long it would take for his façade to break. "The prince is ready."
Fran wasn't sure if he should trust the smile or not after seeing Bel just minutes ago, but he didn't question it; if Bel had weird mood swings, he could understand that. "Chrome gave me money. Can I spend it?"
Bel nodded. "Let's go. Hold my hand, Froggy."
Fran's little hand became encased in Bel's as he was led down to the first floor and out into the backyard where Squalo was tending to the flowerbeds just by the deck. The man looked up at their approach, and the child didn't miss the wince Squalo made upon noticing the younger two were holding hands.
"Froggy and I are going into town," Bel told the white-haired male as he pulled the smaller boy against him. "The prince wants money."
"Voi, stupid brat…" Squalo grumbled to himself as he dropped his gardening shears and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He shoved a handful of notes at the two kids before he returned to what he was doing. "I want what's left of it back. And take the bus."
"The prince doesn't take peasant transport," Bel growled. "He'd rather walk."
"I said take the bus, Bel." Squalo's eyes darted over to Fran for a split second as concern flashed through them. "I don't want Fran walking the streets at his age."
Bel stuck his nose up in the air as he got ready to protest again but, when Squalo stomped angrily to his feet, he raised his hands in protest as he frowned nervously.
"Voi, I'll walk you to the fucking bus stop and watch you get on if I have to!" Squalo roared.
Fran hid behind Bel at the outburst, still unused to the man's bi-polar attitude. He watched Squalo with wary eyes as his boyfriend finally gave in and agreed to use the bus, glad to leave the gardener behind; he didn't think he wanted the long-haired man to follow them out of the yard.
"Come on, Froggy." Bel tugged the kid over to the side of the house so that he could open the gate instead of using the front door; he wasn't in the mood for talking to anyone else, after all. It only took a few minutes for them to arrive at the bus stop, and though the next bus wasn't due for another ten minutes, Bel was rather content to sit on the bench with Fran sat on his lap, the child swinging his skinny legs back and forth in an attempt to amuse himself.
I wonder if I did the right thing by accepting him… Bel sighed as he wrapped his arms around the kid and kissed the corner of Fran's lips. What if I hurt him…? I… He's the only one in my life I just don't want to hurt… Why is that…? Do I… truly love him…? Even if I do, what if I hurt him…? I… I'll never be free of my scars, no matter how hard I try, no matter the amount of pretending I'm fine…
Fran… I'm scared of losing you… And I'm the kind of coward who'd never tell you that to your face… For now, while I can, I want to pretend I'm okay – maybe I will be, who knows? – but I need your help… I need you to keep the pieces together… No one else knows what it's like to be in this much pain… How hard it is to stay sane… They watch as I lose myself to the trauma and then they judge when I lash out in fear… But you've never left… never watched… never judged… You understand…
So just let me hold you and smile while I can because I don't know how much longer I can go on faking that everything's going to be okay… I love you, we both know that's the truth… Just please… when I inevitably hurt you, please don't leave me… I'm scared of being alone… because I always have been…
Let me learn what it's like to love and trust in someone and not be hurt in return… Help me face this monster that's turning me into my father… I don't want to be him… Save me, Fran… Please, save me…