A Royal Capture
Chapter Seventeen
Namimori, Japan.
In the Vongola Headquarters...
Fran had gone abruptly deaf. Everything was slurred out, nothing else registered, just the three words that had been so softly spoken to him, like a sweet prayer, opening him to the gates of Heaven for the first time in a year.
"He is alive."
Nothing else mattered, what mattered was that a miracle had happened in Italy, a wonderful, beautiful miracle had taken place, and that was all the young illusionist could focus on right now. A miracle, the first to ever happen in his adult life, the first to ever make him go completely dead to everything else.
"He is alive."
His heart was racing, but he couldn't feel it, his head was aching, but it was so dulled by the pain medication he was gulping down. He was shaking, but the wobble in his hands was a shell-shock dealt only by the fearsome rainbow that had been shot right through his heart.
"He is alive."
'He' meaning his prince, his one and only true love that at ever walked the earth. 'He' meaning the one who had made his life more than monotonous teasing, and who had delivered him from madness, made him feel emotion. Made him cry, and laugh, and love. 'He' meaning his sun and his moon, his earth and his sky. The man he'd once thought dead, the man he'd betrayed, the man he wanted to forgive him. Belphegor.
'Is,' as in existing, as in presently, that was his current state, Belphegor's current state was 'alive.' Not dead. Not decaying in some unworthy death, but awake and active, ready to embrace Fran again, alive, so beautifully alive, a life so alive may it never be snuffed out.
"He is alive."
And though he was already believing it, holding on to the needle that wouldn't let his dolorous melody stop skipping, playing, over and over, even though that needle lay over his heart now, threatening to pierce it if the words he was hearing were untruthful, Fran had to ask, he had to let his fate rely on the answer his following question would warrant. "Really...?"
"Yes, really!" Tsunayoshi said, having already snapped a picture of Fran in his daze and sent it to Xanxus. "Belphegor's returned, he's waiting for you at the Varia base. Do you want to go back to him?"
Fran felt his eyes brimming with tears, though he was fast to mask it with illusions. Even so, he couldn't hide the choked-up tone in his voice as he nodded and murmured, "Y-yes, I do."
"Well, come on, then. We're already preparing to get a team out there to make sure the Varia are all right and they have the supplies they need for an extra two people. You should probably head back with them," Tsunayoshi replied, smiling at Fran. Damn this guy, the nicest Mafia boss to ever live. Fran nodded, gave Tsuna a slight bow - something which had become slight instinct during his time in Japan. "Th-thanks, Tsunayoshi," he whispered. "I really appreciate this."
"Even I know what love is like, even if I've only felt it in passing," Tsuna whispered, patting the illusionist's shoulder. "And I know if I tried to hold you back you'd only run off and probably hurt yourself." Fran blushed at that, embarrassed, but aware that Tsuna kind of had a point.
The embarrassment didn't matter.
Belphegor was alive.
Varia Headquarters...
Belphegor hummed as he walked down the halls, arms folded behind his head as he did so. He was wearing a new, blue-and-black striped shirt that Lussuria had made for him, and he'd gotten new boots, black pants, and a brand new Varia coat, fluffy, warm, and all to comfortable to wear. The only thing they hadn't been able to retrieve for him were his old rings, and Mink, both of which were in Fran's possession.
This didn't bother him.
Strutting along down the familiar hallway, Belphegor paused, barely seeing the glint of a knife, flying towards him. He reached up to catch it between his fingers, only to gasp as it missed, hitting him in the side. "As I thought! Little brother, your depth perception is wayyy off." Bel's happy mood dampened as Rasiel approached, wearing a Varia coat of his very own. Though Fran hadn't found Rasiel at all appealing, the to-be king and former waiter had gotten fired after spending time helping the Varia escape, and the Varia were all too glad to accept him as the new Storm guardian, even though he rarely hung out with the group. This, of course, did not sit well with prince Belphegor.
"Why are you here? They didn't say anything about you being here," Belphegor accused, pulling the knife from his side and hurling it back towards Rasiel, only to growl as his twin brother caught it with ease.
"They forget about me, everybody does," Rasiel sighed. "But I am here, and I'll be out of a job if you take your place back. Not to mention, your eyesight is halved now. All that work learning how to toss knives from behind our bangs is wasted, because you're missing one."
"Don't tease me, Jill," Bel muttered, folding his arms and pouting. "We invited you to our wedding and everything, so you can't bully me. We have a truce!"
"And I'm not breaking that, even if I am the better prince," the older twin replied. "Just relax. If you can convince Xanxus to let me hang around, I'll help you out with your sight problem."
"But I don't want your help," Bel murmured, pouting. "It'll be like saying you're somehow better than me."
"Bel, your eye kind of makes that a given," Rasiel replied stubbornly, mirroring his brother in folding his arms. "Just convince Xanxus to let me stay, man, please? You know, I've kept that damn villa all nice and sparkly for you and Fran all this time. I'll keep doing it, even! I don't care, I'm used to it by now! Just let me help ya - unless you'd rather I stay Storm guardian?"
Belphegor hated logic - it made him lose practically every argument he ever got into. But because it was used in the conversation, he had no choice but to nod. "Fine. I'll take my place back, but I'll get you a position here, too. Though even if I can't do that, boss doesn't seem to have too many issues with freeloaders, if you notice Mukuro, Hibari, Byakuran and Shouichi. We have three illusionists, so I don't think two Storms will be much of an issue... issue...shishishishi..." The younger prince gave a crooked grin, snickering at the less-than-top-quality pun he'd spawned.
"That is a fair point. I wonder if I could just hang out without anyone caring," Rasiel considered, tapping a lower lip with a painted nail, before tensing as Xanxus's voice broke out behind him.
"There's a few problems I have with that," the boss muttered as he stepped up behind Rasiel and joined the twins. "The main one is that you used to bully me when we were on opposing sides, the second being the fact that you've killed me before, as I have you."
"But doesn't that make us even?" Rasiel replied, pouting now.
"Me killing you means you suck. You killing me means you suck even more," Xanxus answered with a sassy smirk.
"Well thank you," Rasiel muttered, officially frustrated.
"You can thank me later, trash," Xanxus replied. "Because you can stay, as long as you do assignments. The prince-and-frog trash hate being separated, so you will likely end up taking a lot of Bel's assignments. We've needed an extra Storm for a while, we're positively sick of needing to call on the Vongola's Storm to do assignments that this idiot is too lazy to handle."
"Owwy," Bel said, pulling the puppy eyes - er, eye - on his boss and dramatically clutching his heart as if hit by an emotional missile.
"Calm it down, Belphegor, I'm helping you," Xanxus snapped, and the prince's hands instead moved to a surrendering pose.
"Sheshe... I'd be glad to stay and help out. As you know, Lussuria and I do wonders in the kitchen-"
"That's what Fran said," Bel cut in, earning two glares.
"I don't want that image in my head, trash," Xanxus growled. "No RasielxLussuria shipping. Ever."
"But bosssss...," Bel whined.
"Go to your room and think about what you've done!" the boss ordered, pointing down the hall. Bel pouted, soon walking down the halls with a sulky aura about him.
Rasiel rubbed the back of his head and turned back to Xanxus. "All right, then, uh... I can stay?"
"For now. Don't screw things up. I don't want Flem hanging around, nor do I want any ghosts coming to bother us. If your old boss comes by, I'll probably shoot him, and if you start laughing uncontrollably at any point in time, you can expect to lose a finger."
Rasiel gasped and hid his hands behind his back. "A-all right, I'll keep that in mind," he said with a small, weak chuckle.
"Good." Xanxus started to walk away with that, leaving the older prince to muse whether he'd made the best decision in joining the Varia.
Meanwhile...
Shouichi gave a soft laugh as he observed the dress Lussuria and Mammon had picked out for him. It was long, a light pink color with a few hearts and flowers embroidered into it. Shouichi looked positively adorable, almost as though he'd be stuck on top of some giant cake at any moment. Exactly the look that the other Varia expected to be perfect. Shouichi, however, knew otherwise.
"It's beautiful," he said gently. "But it's not the right one for the occasion."
"Huh?" Lussuria and Mammon both took on looks of confusion, and Mammon folded his arms. "This is really cheap though. I don't know what you want, but if it's expensive-"
"Something darker, and sexier," Shouchi interrupted, starting to slip out of the billowy dress. "Byakuran and I have been experimenting more with his more serious side, his... I guess, malicious side. He'd probably be more receptive to something with a little more... evil intent."
"Should we be concerned?" Mammon asked, folding his arms.
"No, no, not like that," Shouichi laughed. "You guys all have dark sides, too. It's not just Byakuran. I'm just saying you should let me embrace that darkness for our wedding."
"As long as you don't go goth on us all, I'm fine with that. I've gone through the phase, myself, and I promise it's not as fun as you think," Lussuria hummed. "Then, how about something feminine, but in a dark gray color. Like perhaps, a mourning dress?"
"Let's see what they have," Shouichi agreed. "That sounds just like the sort of thing evil-Byakuran would be into." They resumed their search, but an ever-curious mother-hen Lussuria couldn't resist stalking the mechanic around the shop to ask questions about 'what he wanted,' though most of them were directed instead towards Shouichi's personal life.
"So... what kind of evil do you two partake in? Are you just roughhousing with each other at night, or... is it more of a BDSM type of thing?"
"Sorry, Luss, I'm not allowed to discuss my personal life with anyone who's not Byakuran or a dessert," Shouichi said, offering Luss a pitying smile. "I'm afraid you'll never find out."
The older male pouted. "But if it's something really sexy, I deserve to know, right?"
"What do you think about this one?" Shouichi hummed, picking up a pretty dark gray dress with a few ribbons and only a touch of lace. "I think if you could touch it up with a ruby necklace or maybe a coat, it would be perfect..."
Lussuria clucked his tongue, disappointed, but letting the subject drop. "Okay, sweetie, let's get it tried on." Moving back to the dressing room, Shouichi began to strip down, soon letting Lussuria help him into the dark dress. As he buttoned the dress up again, he smiled, watching the way Shouichi gazed at himself in the mirror before him. Once upon a time, the Muay Thai master would've had the confidence and self-interest to gaze at himself in such a manner, but since his breakup with Ryohei, he hadn't cared much for the once-delightful pastime of staring at oneself.
"I wonder what Byakuran will wear," Shouichi said softly, reaching up to run a hand through his red hair. "... Maybe a white suit? Man... I can hardly wait; he's going to be so handsome."
"Oh, young love," Lussuria murmured. "Is this the one, Shouichi dear?"
"I believe so," Shouichi agreed, smiling. "Let's get me back into my normal clothes, find Mammon, and buy this."
"Sure thing, sweetie, and then we'll head home."
Mukuro hummed as he walked into the living room, spotting his lover asleep on the couch. With a smile, he moved to the ex-prefect and sat down beside him, wrapping an arm around Hibari's sleeping form and pulling him close. "My pretty skylark," he whispered, stroking a few of the long strands around his lover's shoulders. Reaching up, he brushed the inky-black bangs out of his lover's face, before pressing a kiss to his soft lips. It wasn't long, however, before he found himself startled by hands that cupped his head, and all of a sudden the sweet peck turned into a passionate deep kiss. "Mmf...!" Mukuro gasped, before squeaking as his lover pressed him down against the pillows, his hand sliding along Mukuro's neck and over his shoulder. When Hibari finally broke away from his sleepy-ambush-assault, he was smirking.
"So you do have some uke in you," he teased, Mukuro flushing to his ears at the statement.
"Hey, hey, no fair!" the illusionist protested. "You totally just pounced on me! I don't appreciate that!"
"You don't, herbivore?" Hibari growled, getting closer, once more invading the little personal space Mukuro needed.
"Er... fufufu... n-no?" The ex-prefect moved until his breath ghosted over his lover's lips, then, about to make another comment, when Mukuro shoved him back. "All right, all right, point taken!" the illusionist said, physically unable to get any redder at that point. "Goodness, Kyouya, you haven't played seme in a while, so you're really catching me off guard here," he mumbled, fanning himself and looking away. "Whoo, seriously, I need a moment to gather myself."
"How about instead you get into my lap, pineapple?" Hibari replied, patting his knee. Mukuro shyly nodded and started to slip closer, when a loud shriek from behind them caught their attention, both jumping a bit. Hibari glared over the back of the couch, more than displeased with the situation. Squalo had apparently just been hit in the back of the head with a wine glass after washing his hair, and Xanxus seemed to have abandoned his shark with intentions of sitting down for a good Disney movie. The boss was coming in with Squalo on his heels, shouting racous complaints about trash rights and his hair which were firmly ignored as Xanxus spotted the intimate couple in their spot.
"Move," he ordered, folding his arms and frowning. "And no naughty stuff on our family couch."
"Sorry sir, we're getting up," Mukuro said with his tomato-face. "C'mon Kyouya, let's head back to our room."
"I don't want to move," Hibari said, giving his lover a flat look.
"... Kyouya... this isn't the right time to be rebellious," Mukuro said, eyes darting between his lover and Xanxus. "We need to go. Boss's orders."
"I don't take orders," Hibari replied, crossing his legs.
"Kyouya, get your arse off that couch before I give it a firm spanking," the illusionist warned, "I'll give you until the count of three. One... two... th-oof!" The illusionist gasped as he was suddenly tackled by Hibari, but having gotten remotely used to it over the months, he was fast to knock Hibari's legs out from under him, picking the mischievous skylark up again. "Y-you're a bastard," he muttered to his lover, who only stuck his tongue out at him response. "Oh yes, very mature, my love," Mukuro teased at that, starting to lumber away on shaky legs.
"Gah, they're so annoying," Xanxus groaned as he plopped down into the couch. "Shark trash, fetch the remote."
"They're the annoying ones?" Squalo mumbled as he walked to the coffee table, bending over to pick up the remote, which had fallen on the ground, when he found his back firmly pinned down by his boss's legs. "... Boss, what are you doing?" the shark growled.
"You're a good foot rest. Stay like that, but hand me the remote," Xanxus ordered, reaching out.
"YOU DAMN- NO! I'M NOT GIVING THIS TO YOU!" Squalo screamed at the older male, eyes blazing as he looked at Xanxus. "GET OFF ME!" Displeased by the noise, a reluctant Xanxus obeyed, and Squalo got up into the seat beside him, throwing the remote against his lover's side. "There, dammit," he muttered, before leaning against his lover. "You suck, boss."
"Not as much as you do," Xanxus muttered back, turning on the tv, ignoring Squalo's offended gasp. A sudden laugh bubbled past Xanxus's lips, drawing the shark's curiosity back.
"What's up, boss?"
"This," Xanxus chuckled, offering Squalo his cell phone. The shark took it and looked at the picture of Fran's stunned features, soon bursting out into laughter as well.
Hours later...
Fran gave a shaky sigh as he stepped out of the jet, looking back at Tsuna. "Thanks, kid. I'll call you when everything's cool again, all right?"
"I expect no less!" Tsuna replied with a smile as a few underlings began to unload the supplies they'd brought for the Varia. "Go get him, Fran."
"Believe me, I will," the illusionist answered, letting a small smile cross his features. He looked back to the Varia Headquarters, a small distance away.
I'm coming, senpai.
-End Chapter
Hey, look, it's on time, and it's long! :D I deserve cookies! No, better! More reviews! X3 Thanks to everyone who's been following this whole time! Stay tuned for the last chapter!
Review for reunion and conclusion!