Xanxus was suffering from what he considered a mild hangover. With no adult to tell him he wasn't allowed near the good booze, he had more or less dove right into that cabinet without a second thought. He quickly found he had certain preferences, and that never included the weak wine he was allowed around the shitty old geezer.

Timoteo was of the opinion only those 'of age' were allowed to drink proper booze (Xanxus knew he was being a fucking hypocrite, because Daniela had told him stories of how her son had started drinking when he was sixteen and how she had taken great pleasure in making him suffer through subsequent hangovers) and thus made certain he was only allowed to order a set amount of wine before he was forcibly cut off. Worse yet, the wine was never strong enough to give him a decent buzz in the least.

So it was only natural that when he came downstairs to reach the kitchen that he was less than amused at finding his crappy Storm Officer (one of many who had been less than pleased by the fact that he hadn't earned the title Varia Leader the traditional way, but smart enough not to bitch too loudly about it) made into bloody chunks with a blond child barely older than he was when he first went Flame Active giggling like a little kid who had been up to something quite naughty.

He was not being paid enough to deal with this shit. Hell, the old geezer was still pissy he took over the Varia in the first place without giving him a warning!

Xanxus looked at Mammon, who had drifted over once they detected the intruder in the wards.

"Miser brat. What do the rules say about murderous little fuckers under ten killing an officer?"

"The rules are quite clear and make no mention of age, Boss. If he's capable of fulfilling the usual requirements then he's your new Storm Officer, or to be placed under the officer who shares his strongest Aspect," said Mammon.

Xanxus glared at the giggling blond. He was squinting quite a bit before Mammon sighed and floated the glasses to him.

Xanxus had the worst habit of forgetting them, since he wore contacts most of the time. So much so that Daniela had, as a joke mind you, made a point to put a pair of his prescription in every Vongola (and recently Varia) owned base and safe house so he would never be without his glasses if he somehow ended stranded.

Most of the Varia found this to be quite hilarious, so much so that it became something of an unofficial joke to "find the glasses" before settling in or doing anything. They knew they found them when they located a glasses case with a tiger that had red feathers along it's mane and green eyes. Generally they put them back in a random location, to make it harder for the next people to visit to find them.

The brat giggled like a loon, staring at Xanxus.

Xanxus, on the other hand was not in the mood to deal with the kid's shit this early in the morning (it was almost noon).

He strode right up to the brat, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck (which made the kid act like a misbehaving kitten) and looked the brat dead in what he hoped was the eyes.

"Ushishishi... Put the Prince down, peasant!" said the brat.

Xanxus glared at him, unmoved.

"Look you little shit. You might be the new 'prince' of my Storm division but in this castle I am fucking King and you will obey me."

"And if the prince refuses to obey the fake king?" sneered the brat.

Oh it was so on now.

Xanxus didn't even think twice. He walked right over to where the nearest chair was, flipped it right side up and then put the brat over his knee and tanned his ass red. The kid squalled like a wet cat.

"Let's get one thing fucking clear brat. Either you obey my orders or I'll do worse than simply tan your sorry hide when you piss me off. I'm not above using little shits like you for target practice with my guns," sneered Xanxus.

The kid openly glared at him, not happy at having someone actually discipline him.

"You got a name brat?"

"The prince does not give his name to annoying peasants," snarked the kid.

He was really not in the mood to deal with this.

"Well until you give me a proper name, your new one is going to be Belphegor," he said flatly. Spotting his Sun, he smirked. "Luss! I got a new dress up dummy for you. Make sure this little shit is properly outfitted before dinner!"

Lussuria squealed, and had the less than pleased "Prince" in her lair before he could get a word in edgewise.

Mammon watched the entire thing with amusement. They could tell this was going to be hilarious and profitable, if they played their cards right.

The newly named Belphegor was not having a good day. It had started out so well too! He had found a nice castle to claim, taken out the loud mouth who had mocked his crown, and was showing all the peasants who the boss was.

Then that man with the strange green eyes had shown up and everything had gone to hell in his opinion. No one had dared to lay a hand on the Prince before, and lived to tell the tale! Worse, he had more or less handed him over to that annoying woman who fluttered about! She didn't even have the decency to stay bleeding when he stabbed her, just tutted at him and poked him with a needle every time he tried!

How dare that peasant call himself a king! He would show that fool who the real royalty was around here.

Catching a delicious smell, he followed his nose straight to the kitchens...where he found the peasant handing out bowls of stew to the other peasants.

What a joke... no real king would dare serve food like a commoner!

His stomach growled, traitorously reminding him it had been some time since he had last acquired food. He had learned a lot of unpleasant things since running away from his family.

Hearing the growl, the older men (and lone woman) looked at him. He was unceremoniously hauled up to one of the stools.

"Eat brat. You're no good to anyone if you're half-assing things on an empty stomach," said Squalo, handing him a bowl and some fresh bread.

Belphegor didn't touch a single thing until he saw the older man roll his eyes and take a bite first of his soup.

Hunger won over paranoia. The older ones looked amused at how quickly he ate the stew and bread.

"Eat slower brat. Your stomach needs time to expand and absorb the food. We're not going to steal it from you," said the fake King.

Belphegor glowered at him, but that was around the time the food properly started to kick in. He was feeling very sleepy, and almost passed out on the chair.

The fake King caught him before he blacked out.

Third POV

"Voi. So you're really going to keep him as the Storm officer?"

"He killed the shit fair and square with no outside assistance. Nothing in the rules mentions age, though he's not going on any solo missions until he's at least thirteen," said Xanxus firmly, scooping up the brat with one arm.

The kid was clearly exhausted, not used to being a runaway. If he really was a prince this was likely the first time he had to do anything on his own, without any help from adults and servants.

Xanxus remembered all too well the way he had been thrown into the deep end in the Iron Fort. He was often paranoid out of his mind, too proud to ask for help until Daniela found him. He had felt like he was drowning, with no idea what end was up and how he was supposed to survive. And in the slums that had always ended up in a very quick end...even if getting there was painful and bloody.

"Where's the boy going to sleep? It's going to take at least three days for us to clean out the Storm Officer's room," said Mammon.

"Let him sleep in the office. I'll take my tiger form and keep an eye on the kid until the room is clean or he adjusts first."

Xanxus had some long couches in his office, and a personally crafted bed in his room. The office was impersonal enough that no one would believe he was sleeping with the kid, and anyone stupid enough to imply such a thing was going to end up on the wrong end of some pissed off Elements.

Seeing the boss take extra care bundling the blond child up and putting him on the couch to sleep off the first real meal he must have had since running away, Lussuria grinned. Mammon...was too busy taking pictures to sell to Daniela later.

Daniela would coo at them before poking fun at the grumpy dragon that was her favorite grandson.

The moment Xanxus heard the kid start to stir, he grinned and turned into his tiger form, which he called "Erebus".

Belphegor took one look at the massive face of the tiger staring him down with amused red eyes (Xanxus had put his contacts in) and made a very "un-princely" yelp.

(Mammon would later congratulate themselves on making sure that they had multiple cameras ready to blackmail Belphegor years later... no matter how much he denied yelping at meeting Erebus, they would gleefully bring out video evidence that he did.)

Belphegor tried to back away, but was prevented by the couch. So he could only stare baffled when the tiger picked him up gently by the scruff of his new shirt...and proceeded to treat him like a cub.

Squalo walked in, took one look at what was happening and started cracking up.

"I see you've meet Erebus," he said cackling.

"Unhand me this instant, you stupid cat!" hissed Belphegor, trying to fend off the tiger's tongue. The cat merely pinned him down better and continued to treat him like an errant cub that needed to be cleaned. It had a rumbling purr and it was pretty obvious it wasn't about to move anytime soon.

"Don't bother trying to fight Erebus off... fucking cat is quicker than he looks and twice as vicious when he's annoyed with you. That is, when he's not being a lazy bed hog and stealing your food."

Xanxus gave Squalo an evil look. Squalo glared right back... he had more than once been the victim of Xanxus in a pranking mood, and his loud "VOI!" could be heard more than once when Xanxus stole his food in tiger form, or worse, pinned his Rain down and did the same thing he was doing to Belphegor now.

Lussuria found it amusing and happily brushed the cat's fur...in between finding a way to clip feathers or other tasteful accessories into his fur or on his ear.

The only reason Xanxus didn't have a piercing yet was because he hadn't found one he actually liked.

Mammon... well, the Mist was fine with it so long as they were allowed to take plenty of blackmail pictures and never had to suffer the indignity of tiger slobber. That being said there were a few suspicious pictures of a massive viper happily sunning itself on the large tiger that had Fantasma sitting nearby.

(Mammon would never live down the near heart attack Xanxus had given the Mist when they found out he was a parselmouth. Viper had literally shifted back in shock when Xanxus had hissed right back at them and they actually understood the snarky remark!)

Belphegor was very put out at the tiger spit bath, and positively hissy when he had to take a real one before bed. Never mind that he wouldn't be able to sleep in his new room for a few days at least.

Xanxus was surprisingly patient with his behavior.

"I don't get it...why does boss put up with that spoiled brat?" asked one mook.

Squalo snorted.

"Vongola Nono threw his ass into the lion's pride and didn't bother to make sure the Boss could fit in. He made Coyote do it, and that fucker hated boss from the start because his mother was a whore and he thinks that she tempted the Ninth or some bullshit. The only one who bothered to sit down and explain anything to him was the Eighth, who pretty much blackmailed her son into handing over the Boss to raise. I think he only did it so she wouldn't have reason to come more often and 'correct' his behavior and decisions," said Squalo.

"So..."

"So the boss looks at this brat, who's clearly out of his element and had no idea what he did when he killed that idiot, and sees himself. That and he's always been partial to kids."

It would surprise many that Xanxus occasionally babysat the kids that the other women of "distinguished age" brought with them when they had tea with Daniela. He was surprisingly good with small children, who were in endless awe of the fact that a much bigger kid was willing to play with them and even humored them with their games without complaining once.

And that was before the endless fascination with Erebus the great white tiger with red (or sometimes green) eyes gave them. They certainly didn't mind the tiger spit, especially since he let them ride him.

Belphegor balked at sharing the sunk in baths... Xanxus was a firm believer in not giving a shit in regards to public nudity...he had nothing to be ashamed of, after all and his scars were battle prizes in his opinion.

The blond prince openly sulked, but at least listened when Xanxus told him how to work the showers, and where he could find the shampoo, conditioner and body wash. He wasn't going to baby the brat, and he was more than old enough to wash himself. If he tried to escape without getting clean (not likely, considering Belphegor was very much like a cat that preferred being clean), then Xanxus or Squalo would toss him into the baths instead.

The boy was not happy, but he knew when to shut up and follow orders. Even if he did have to wear a spare shirt as a nightgown, at least until Luss could order some clothes his size. And he would not admit to falling asleep to the rumbling sound of Erebus snoring next to him protectively.