Ever since Fran had knocked Mammon's tank from its place, Bel found it even harder to let Fran out of his sight in case something happened to the younger; he couldn't bear the idea of being all alone again now that he knew his best friend wasn't waiting in his room for him anymore.

As the months passed by and the eve of Bel's birthday arrived, the blond played with the idea of leaving the Varia. It was true he hated it here, unable to get along with anyone but Fran, but would they let him take Fran if he did leave? He doubted it; they hadn't liked their relationship in the first place.

The blond was sure he was going to be kicked out whether or not he wanted to leave; he was unable to believe that the workers could possibly want him to stick around for any longer when they weren't legally obligated to keep him there the second midnight ticked on the clock – they would instead want to get rid of him as soon as they could, he knew it.

Bel frowned as he looked down at the boy fast asleep in his lap; the thought of leaving him behind was agonising, and he swore the more he ran his long fingers through teal hair, the more his heart was torn apart. They won't let me take him with me… They know what I'm like…

The boys were lazing about on the couch in the living room, having been watching the TV together. Fran had found a real interest in magic – illusions especially – and had quickly learnt the schedule of all programs relating to it. Said child had been exhausted from having helped Lussuria bake for the older boy's birthday and had quickly fallen asleep with his head in Bel's lap just minutes into the first program.

Bel sighed as he heard Lussuria call out that dinner was ready; he didn't want to wake Fran but he couldn't let the boy go hungry. He shook the younger's frail body. "Froggy… Froggy, it's time for dinner…"

Fran's eyes opened just a crack as he moaned, not wanting to move; he wanted to stay there forever with Bel. "S-senpai…"

Bel shifted his hips slightly as he felt a twitch of interest in his groin. He forced his mind away from that train of thought as he pulled Fran to his feet and allowed the other to lean heavily against him; he would do anything for his boyfriend. "Froggy has to eat."

Fran yawned quietly before he nodded, knowing the blond was right; as much as he would have loved to stay curled up on the couch, it would be nice to get some food into his scrawny body. He allowed Bel to escort him into the kitchen, and he was only too happy to take his favourite seat next to said teenager. He looked down at the plate that had been waiting for him, finding a plate of strange-looking food he had never seen before on it.

The child poked at the string-like bits, not knowing what to make of it; was this some weird form of ramen? "What is this?"

"It's called spaghetti, Fran," Lussuria explained as he made sure everyone had what they needed. "It's an Italian dish."

Fran scrunched his nose up in confusion. "But… this is Japan…?"

"Yes, hun, but to celebrate Bel's big day tomorrow, we decided something from our original homeland would be nice."

Fran blinked. He remember being told the Varia House had relocated across from Italy years back, but up until now, they had only ever indulged in the Japanese side of culture; why were they making an exception for now?

"…Did…" Fran frowned as he struggled to find the right words. He knew what he wanted to ask, but he didn't know how to phrase it.

The cook, who seemed to sense his charge's dilemma, clarified. "Bel was the first kid we took in from when we first started Varia House. All the other kids we got after Bel had eventually left over the years, but Belphegor has been with us for years."

So Bel was from Italy, too? Come to think of it, I never asked where he was from. "Oh."

Fran wondered why the organisation had changed their country of residence, but he didn't find it too important to ask; he felt it was better to tackle this strange new food instead. He poked with his chopstick at the brown sauce-like substance before he twirled a wary strand around his chopstick. He hesitated to raise it to his mouth, but when he did, he found the taste was unique from that of Japanese food, and he liked it.

By now, Squalo and Xanxus had taken their seats at the table and were eating their food without complaint. The other kids were quiet as usual since most of them tended to struggle with their social skills, and it was Lussuria – as always – who initiated the conversations between everyone and kept them flowing.

"Bel, dear, would you like to do anything for your birthday?" Lussuria smiled at the boy, hoping to steer clear of the conversation of Fran; it wouldn't do at all to cause distress or a commotion so close to a special day for one of the boys he saw as his children.

Bel shrugged. "The prince doesn't care."

Lussuria sighed inwardly; it had always been that way for Bel, never caring for his birthday – or any celebrations for that matter. He imagined it had to do with the way he had been raised as he could remember their first birthday with Bel; Lussuria and the other workers had bought Bel everything they thought he might want, but it had all just been received with a cold, mistrustful glare as the boy slunk back into his room without a word. Even on Christmas the boy had – and still did – stand in the doorway of the living room and watch with a sad expression on his face as everyone else unwrapped all of their gifts, almost as if he had expected to be left out and unwanted. No matter how hard Lussuria had tried, Bel had never once accepted any gifts.

"But surely there's something we could do for you that you'd enjoy, hun." Lussuria, as always, never gave up in trying to get the blond to open up.

"The prince just wants to be with his Froggy…"

Lussuria could hear the sad, longing tone in the younger's voice, and he knew Bel well enough to know that he was scared of the upcoming celebration – but what he was scared of, he wasn't sure.

~~That night~~

"Hey, Froggy?"

"Yeah?"

The two were lying in Bel's bed together, with the teal-haired child's head on Bel's chest. Bel licked his lips in uncertainty before he was able to speak his worry out loud. "...If... If I leave Varia, you would come with me, right...?"

"Of course, Bel-senpai." Fran's voice was heavy with sleep, but Bel knew the younger meant what he said; he had learnt to trust the younger, after all.

"What if... What if they wouldn't let you? Would you still try and come with me?"

"Of course. Can we sleep now? I'm tired..."

Bel nodded. He ran his hand along Fran's back as he forced himself to relax; he was stressed, but he needed all the sleep he could get – too many sleepless nights he had had lately. "Goodnight, Froggy..."

"Goodnight, senpai."

As Bel closed his eyes and tried to fall into a sleep that just wasn't coming to him, he couldn't help but fear what tomorrow would bring.