Author's Note: Buon Compleanno, my luvly Prince! =3 Damn my shoulders are sore from typing this non-stop!

Summary: Bel's birthday usually consisted of lavish parties, courting from princesses of other kingdoms, exquisite presents, and most of all the authority to do whatever he wanted. However, life in the Varia is mostly riches to rags, power versus weakness, and missions on top of missions. There is no way anyone will remember this most important date. When Bel is mysteriously summoned to the chamber of Varia's boss, Xanxus, he's given a top secret mission. Strangely enough his assignment is to find a suitable present for the boss for Christmas - and not just any present. Due to Bel's cheekiness and slide remarks, he now has to find a certain "blonde-haired, unseen-eyed, and a mass murderer" girl who will please Xanxus, for compensation.

Warning: Crack. Maybe. Xanxus/Bel is almost crack, right? But I love it like I luv Bel. =]

One in a Million

Target No. 1

Buon Compleanno, From King to Prince

Bel has an inkling of guilt when a Varia minion delivers the message that he is to present himself to the boss, Xanxus. He gathers that it probably has to do with his slaying a comrade in an informative mission. That wasn't his fault – the idiotic subordinate was in the way when he was trying to aim for the enemy. Besides, it's not like the boss to go out of his way for a mere spawn. Yup, nothing there that will deter him from coming out alive from the lion's den. Yet as he knocks on the oak entrance, he can't help but to perspire just a little from the pressure. Silence ensues until a grunt signals that he may enter. Bel sports a nonchalant front and his trademark grin as he emerges into the chamber. It's an affluent Italian-styled room, as expected of the independent squad of the Vongola, the notorious Varia. The French windows are misted over from the maelstrom of snow outside, and a fire is lit for warmth in the furnace, bestowing the room in an orange glow. Despite the coziness of the velvet furniture and the cackles of fire, the atmosphere is anything but that.

"Ushishishi~, did you want something, boss?" Bel utters finally, refraining himself from standing exactly near the doors. Xanxus is sitting idly in a luxurious settee, his eyes closed under a mat of silky jet black hair, his custom-made animal fur scarf hanging on a coat's hanger, and he himself attired in casual shirt and pants. His feet are propped up on a glass table despite his leather boots. Xanxus appears to not be listening, but with years of experience and mischief upon his shoulders, Bel surmises the boss to be paying languid regard. "If it's about the guy I accidentally killed," he begins, but abruptly stops when the boss lifts a goblet of wine to his lips. The blond waits until Xanxus has a sip before continuing coyly, "Shishishi~, boss, I suggest you get a girl to pass the time." Under normal circumstances, Bel would've chosen not to be so blatantly stupid, but boredom in the headquarter seems to have overcome his common sense.

And under normal circumstances, yet again, Xanxus would've likely blasted the offender into oblivion, but as this is a special occasion, he refrains from doing so. If his blond victim is gunned into smithereens then there will be no point in continuing this procession. His crimson eyes open to peer at the grinning front of the slim Prince. Upon his examination, Xanxus speculates that the blond isn't as brave as he acts, if the bead of sweat trailing down his neck is of any evidence. The dark-haired boss smirks, leaning on his palm as he continues to analyze his prey. "What are you inferring, Bel?"

Bel stiffens, his grin sliding slightly. It seems like his death anniversary will be ironically placed on his date of existence. "Just saying, boss~."

Xanxus says nothing, his eyes trailing over the loose striped shirt, the black hoodie, and the tight-fitting jeans. It seems like he'll need to restrain from doing more than just one thing.

"So what did you call the Prince for, boss?" Bel interrupts his reverie. Xanxus leans into the cushion, eying the blond with a patronizing glower. Then his lips curl into an arrogant smirk.

"You mentioned that I need a girl to pass the time," Xanxus growls. At this the blond's grin is undeniably wiped off, and he stands at attention with taut lips. The boss of Varia ignores the change and continues in a deadly tone, "If you're so sure about that, why don't you go find me one?"

Silence. Bel's mouth is agape, Xanxus notes with satisfaction, but his eyes are as unseen as usual. Pulling himself together, the blond insists, "Ushishishi, today the Prince has other things to do - "

"And?" It's customary that Xanxus doesn't a damn about you as long as he gets what he wants.

"And..." Bel gulps. Being by himself with a dangerous black-clouds-emitting boss is very scary. Just what did he do to deserve this mayhem? "And I need to - "

"Fuck that." There's no talking back. Bel frowns under his wavy blond bangs, inwardly satisfying himself by incarcerating the boss and presenting a magic show utilizing his knives to the Varia audience. Of course the boss would choose this particular day to harass his pride. He wonders if it is coincidental, a wheel of misfortune, or that he's just destined to be the victim on this day.

"I'm going to be fair and give you a day to find one," Xanxus says. He's having one hell of a time taunting the genius of the Varia.

Bel twitches. He can't even be granted solitude on his birthday. And just how did the conversation spiral into his finding a suitable girl for his boss? What was the original mission anyway? "I have a question, boss~." He's met with silence. "Shishishi~, may I have my original mission back?"

Xanxus yawns. "Request denied. Finish what you started, scum." Bel mutters incomprehensible words, much to his chagrin. "Details regarding your new mission," he says, smirking as he adjusts his silver tie. He waits a beat before depicting, "You have one day and three tries to find someone who meets these criteria." He can tell that the blond is intrigued, and naturally he would be; he's the type who likes to play games. "One, must be blonde. Two, eyes should be covered, and three, must have killed over fifty men, A.K.A a mass murderer."

"Shishishi~, what a taste, boss," Bel snickers. Instead of being met with a death glare, Xanxus eyes him with an unnerving smirk. He tries not to show that he's daunted by the smile, but when the crimson-eyed boss gets up from the settee, Bel involuntarily takes a step back. This is a rare sight – to see the grumpy boss of Varia out of his throne. With a couple of strides across the velvet carpet and his black coat fluttering behind him, Xanxus is within towering range at six foot two, or a hundred eighty-eight centimeters. Bel tilts his head up to look nervously at the tall, scowling man. "Ushishishi~, kindly remind me how I got you off your seat, boss?" Despite his bravado, Bel jumps out of his skin when a fist slams into the wall behind him. And suddenly his body gives off weird tingles as Xanxus's breath ghosts over his neck. Bel finds himself freezing as crimson orbs dare him into submission. It's getting too hot...

"Go." Just like that he's released from the devil's grasp. Xanxus is calmly leaning into his settee as if nothing's happened, sipping his glass of wine contentedly. Bel tries to form coherent thoughts, but finds his attempt useless. The spot on his neck still feels rather warm. He swivels around nimbly, but before he disappears out the door, the blond prompts himself into having the last word.

"Shishishi~, don't belittle the Prince! I'll find that girl for the boss~." Bel turns sideways to grin triumphantly at the dark-haired royalty look-a-like. He is met with a raised eyebrow, the crimson eyes glaring at him with amusement.

Xanxus holds the goblet of wine next to his face, looking more devious than the devil himself. "Who says it's a girl?"

Bel is left with his jaw hanging uselessly, but a certain idiot long-haired commander barges in just at the right moment to announce that the Vongola Tenth would like to gather everyone for a holiday celebration on the twenty-fifth. Superbi Squalo roughly pushes aside the dumb-struck blond and stomps into the chamber with murderous intent. The chamber doors clang shut as Squalo begins yowling in his unbearably loud voice at the irritated boss. Left alone, Bel heads unsteadily back to his room, pondering and torturing himself with what the boss meant by, "who says it's a girl?" Does that mean...? He clasps a hand over his mouth with excitement. This is a great discovery! That means the Varia's boss is –

"Senpaaaai," a drowsy voice intercepts his turmoil of thoughts. Bel scowls, turning to face a certain green-haired illusionist.

"Don't interrupt the Prince when he's driving an epiphany!"

"Wah? What epiphany? I think the drug's finally gotten to you, fake Prince-senpai," says Fran with a questioning look.

"You idiot peasant frog, I've just discovered something about the boss, shishishi~."

"And what's that, Bel-senpai?"

"I wouldn't tell you~," Bel taunts, grinning. Fran frowns, then turns his back on his senpai with a nonchalant stature, crossing his arms.

"Fine, I don't want to know." The green-haired male glances to see if Bel takes the bait – he doesn't. Fran's lips purse as he realizes that the blond is rummaging in his room. "What're you looking for, senpai?"

"None of your business. And where's Marmon?"

"Somewhere. He's on the run ever since someone reported to the boss that he failed his mission."

"Damn, just when I need his arcobaleno powers," Bel says as he flips through his closet: striped clothes, leather pants, black trench coats, furred hoodies, belts, and other types of attires.

"Where are you going, my tiara-wearing senpai?" Fran asks innocently.

"On a mission – and it's a crown, you blind frog," hisses Bel as he slips into a black, wool trench coat. He adjusts his crown so that it's at the right angle on his fluffy blonde locks. "Shishishi, time for the Prince to go look for the present!~" Fran stares at him inquisitively.

"No, the boss says she must be blonde," Bel insists as he and Fran pass by the snowing street of Venice. They arrive at a bridge suspended over the river, searching for any golden-haired people.

"Ah, senpai, look over there," Fran says, pointing to a quadruple next to a food stand while trying to stable his frog hat in the wintry breeze. Among the strange group is a black-haired girl with unseen eyes wearing a Lolita dress. Bel looks over and frowns.

"Not going to work."

"We can try, Bel-senpai," Fran says, earning a questioning look from Bel. "Let's abduct the girl and dye her hair." The blond taps his chin thoughtfully, looking from the girl to his subordinate. Then he grins, patting Fran's frog hat with approval.

"Shishishi, you can be surprising sometimes," he commends.

"Then can you let me not wear the stupid hat? It makes me look like an idiot," complains Fran.

"No way! Shishishi~, I told you you're wearing it 'til your death."

"...Stupid tiara-wearing fallen idiot self-proclaimed genius prince."

"...Ushishishi~, you. Are. Going. To. Die."

Fran crosses his arms in defense over himself, shaking his head. "I did not say anything, senpai." Bel grins wider, looming over the short male with several knives at the ready. "Hey! We're losing our target!" Fran says abruptly, pointing somewhere behind the blond.

"I'm not falling for that, idiot frog. Beg for your life, shishishi~."

"I'm being serious, Bel-senpai. The black-haired girl just went with her weird friends to an arcade."

"Huh?" Bel turns around and realizes that the frog is indeed correct – the spot were the group was is now deserted. The blond clicks his tongue impatiently. "Is this a game of hide and seek?"

"Not really. They're in the arcade. We only have to kidnap the girl now."

"Shishishi, make a diversion," orders Bel, striding over to the arcade with Fran following closely behind.

"Right. But, senpaaai, I told you this stupid hat gets in the way."

"I don't care~."

"You're so mean. I'm going to report to the lousy shark-face commander that you're abusing me internally."

"I'll abuse you physically, mentally, internally, and psychologically if you don't hurry up."

"I don't want to turn out like you, senpai."

"Shishishi, what do you mean?" Bel and Fran enter the arcade where there are neon lights flashing in every direction. There are jocks and wild-looking teenagers around a pool table, some smoking and the others making out in public. Teens labeled as "emo"s sit around on the carpeted floor, wearing ripped jeans and heavy make-up with piercings decorating their facial features.

Fran glances around, ignoring the smooching noises and the hysterical yells. "Some of these kids have their eyes covered," he observes.

"We can just pick out any one of them," agrees Bel. As they approach the pool table, they notice that the teens only have one eye covered, sadly not both.

"This mission is harder than I thought," Fran muses. He looks around and spots the same black-haired girl as before in the bowling arena. She's silent, standing next to a short guy with a guitar who's watching a spiky-haired, ecstatic teen aiming a bowling ball down an alley. "There she is," he tells Bel.

"Ushishishi~, I'll give you ten seconds – and don't you dare go over it," threatens Bel as he readies himself beside the bowling section.

Ten hectic seconds later, the whole arcade has cleared out because of a supposedly dangerous fire that is consuming the building. When the customers and employees with their manager look back at the catastrophe, they realize that the arcade appears to be the same as usual; no burnt marks or scorched lines identify it to have suffered under any damage. The people share a moment of confusion which proves itself to be useful to the duo of mischief. Bel is running with a gagged girl slung over his shoulder, disappearing from the crime scene. Fran is alongside his partner in crime, peering at the unconscious girl.

"Think we overdid it, Bel-senpai?" he inquires.

"It's all part of the calculation, subordinate," replies Bel coolly.

"That was what you said last time, but then we got fined for excessive corruption of human minds."

"That's because you messed up."

Fran pants as he runs, "No, senpai, it was because you had to go and kill your 'childhood sweetheart' in front of the Mafioso we were after."

"Ushishishi, say anymore and I'll stab you."

"No thanks, senpai." They have arrived on the outside of a barbershop. The dainty shop has a few customers in accordance, and the owner of the place opens the door with a generous smile.

"A haircut, young folks?" he asks.

"Yes sir," Fran replies. Bel enters the shop, maneuvering the unconscious girl over to a chair in front of a station. The customers glance at the new group without saying anything. "How much for hair coloring, sir?" asks Fran.

"About sixty," the owner replies.

"Dye her hair blonde."

Two hours later the trio emerge from the barbershop with Bel grinning triumphantly and Fran looking at the girl with concern. She is no longer black-haired, but instead a platinum blonde. "What do we do when she wakes up?" Fran questions.

"Ushishishi~, I'll stick it in the boss's face that I am a genius." Bel appears to not be listening.

Varia's headquarter looms over the forest coverage, extending over a few hundred feet. The trio pass through the admission gates and enter the edifice. Amazingly enough the girl is still knocked out cold, not that either Fran or Bel is complaining. They must have applied a huge dose of GHB by accident. As they end up outside of the boss's chamber, Bel starts to feel an uncomfortable awareness in his stomach, a feeling similar to having butterflies flitting around.

"Well, this is where I leave you. Good luck, my psychopathic fallen Prince-senpai," Fran bids farewell with a medieval bow at the tip of his waist. Bel scowls. The green-haired subordinate hurriedly escapes from his senpai's clutches with an amused expression.

Bel looks at the now blonde girl with tight lips, bracing himself to knock on the door. He takes a deep breath and thumps on the wood with his fist. Contrary to the grunt in the morning, this time the boss actually takes the courtesy to say, "Come in." Bel shuffles inside, holding the girl by her shoulder and leading her by his hand. Xanxus is still in the same position as before, relaxing on the settee. His eyes flit open when he notices the blonde girl in her Lolita dress. Bel takes this as a good sign, grinning widely as he twirls the unconscious victim around, flaunting his win.

Now, Xanxus is usually in a calm state of mind, but when he's furious, agitated, irritated, or...furious, he can transform into a feared-by-all lion of heightening degrees. When Bel finally appears after a whole three to four hour gap, Xanxus is pleased. But when he drags in a girl by his hand and holding her by the shoulder, that's when he needs to show who's boss and what being a boss's territory means. "Who's that vermin?" he hisses, glowering at the hated and unconscious wench.

Bel snickers, "Shishishi, take it easy, boss~. I personally fished this one out of the sea for you."

Xanxus slumps back into the cushion, visibly relaxing. Oh, so that's what the girl is here for. Well, if that's the case...He cups his chin into his palm, glowering at the female. "Give her here," he orders resolutely.

"Right on it, boss," Bel complies easily, dragging her over. He feels like he's being overly analyzed by the prominent boss of Varia, but he shrugs it off. It's probably the girl he's staring at. He hands the girl to Xanxus, letting her plop down on the settee with ease. She makes an audible sigh when she sits down. The girl is stirring, apparently. Bel watches nervously as the boss cross-examines the girl. Everything seems to be proceeding smoothly until he strikes up a question that Bel hadn't thought of beforehand.

"How many did she kill?" By the silence of the other party, Xanxus knows that the blond is caught off guard. This girl is a nice attempt, but unfortunately for Bel, it's a failure.

"U-ushishishi~, the Prince didn't think of asking. 'Cause, you see, she's unconscious," Bel says, sounding as convincing as he can.

Xanxus smirks, gesturing at the girl with a firm nod. "Failure." He can taste the satisfaction in that word. Bel is staring at him with his mouth agape. The crimson-eyed boss steadies himself, refraining from jumping the blond right then and there. "Get this scum out of my sight," he growls. Bel is slow to follow orders, so shocked is he at his first failure in the whole of his servitude for the Varia. As he lifts the girl from the chair, he feels a hand gripping his arm, pulling him down.

"Two more attempts before midnight, Bel. Good luck with that," Xanxus's sultry voice ghosts over his ear, causing his cheeks to flush and his body to flood with unaccounted warmth. Then he's suddenly let go. Bel stumbles slightly as he trudges out the doors, his face a flaming red by the time he gets out. Left by himself in the chamber, Xanxus closes his eyes and chuckles, the sound vibrating off of the walls. Really, what kind of genius is he to not follow up on those obvious clues?

"...Senpai, stop jabbing me with those weirdly shaped knives," Fran mutters, pulling them out one by one with an irritated scowl. However, the blond before him on the bed is emitting an even heavier cloud of venom. The frog-hatted subordinate sighs as yet another pointy dagger lodges itself into his back. He deliberates whether he should snap the thing in half to indicate his point.

"Ushishishi~, I can't believe that...that...idiot, grumpy, boss! A failure? Tch!" Bel hisses as he flips a twirling knife in midair.

"First failure, Bel-senpai?" Fran asks cautiously, not wanting to invoke more oncoming abuse. The blond's mouth forms a frown, and he knows he said the wrong thing.

"Ushishishi~, who says it's a failure?" Bel suddenly grins, causing his froggy subordinate to pale with inklings of terror. "This just means that the boss doesn't want to admit to the Prince's acumen."

"...Right."

"What do you think you're doing, my unpleasant kouhai?" Bel patronizes, abruptly standing up determinedly.

"Sitting?...Ow! Senpaaai, I was about to take back my thought of you being a faux prince, too."

"Shut up."

They maneuver to the gates of the headquarter, once again making their way outside. It's evening, the air bitter cold and the wind a prevailing squall. The duo reach the clearing within five minutes, arriving in the deserted streets of the city. Fran looks around searchingly, spots the arcade were they were half an hour ago, and glances at his partner. "Are we going back there?"

"Shishishi~, I'd rather we skip the chaos. The place should be jammed with those nosy policemen," disapproves Bel. He instead is making a trail to a popular bar and nightclub by the name of Bottino. Fran follows suspiciously. The door swings open, and the musky smell of mingled expensive wine and cologne tangles in the wintry air. Bel scrawls two names on a sign-in parchment, gesturing for Fran to follow him into a station in the corner under the multicolored lighting. There are stools all filled up with drunk men situated before the bartender, a busty blonde with a vivacious smile and foxy eyes.

"Why'd we come here, Bel-senpai?" Fran asks, picking up a menu and roving over the prices with a frown.

"Ushishishi~, it was the place where the Varia hanged out during an occasion, although we've stopped this ritual a few years back. Anyway, this bar is loaded with Mafiosi, so I expect we'll meet some girl who've killed over fifty." Fran nods in understanding, peering at a lemonade juice.

"Senpai, I'll have this drink." The waitress comes to their table with a smile, taking the orders briskly and then hurrying to the kitchen to inform the chefs of the new delicacies. Bel taps his chin thoughtfully, scanning the bar and the dirty dancing couples jamming to an energetic beat.

"Hey, Bel-senpai," Fran catches his attention with a waving hand.

"What do you want, peasant?"

"Well," the green-haired subordinate clears his throat and continues in a solemn voice, "no matter how I think about it, I think the boss is being somewhat obvious."

"Hm?" Bel tilts his head inquisitively. What is the frog getting at, now?

"Honestly, if you think about it, the clues are all here. Boss says we have to find a blonde with eyes covered, and must have killed over fifty men..." Fran lets the acquired information to absorb into his supervisor's brain before asking blatantly, "And who do we know who fits into all of these criteria?"

At this, the blond is unnaturally still, his posture frozen across the table. "S-shishishi~, you've got guts, idiot frog," he drawls dangerously, drawing out his knives with murderous intent.

"W-w-wait, Bel-senpai," Fran stammers, cowering behind the menu that he hid from the waitress that's perfectly justified for this usage. "If you think about it logically - " he can hear Bel hiss threateningly, and he carries on quickly, "the only factor we're missing is the fact that the boss wants a girl, then..." He peeks from behind the Italian menu cautiously, waiting for the blond's reaction. Bel is surprisingly not out of his seat demanding graphic murder, instead he seems to be lost in thought, his mouth a thin line in the cup of his palm.

"Who says it's a girl?"

Bel's eyes widen from behind his blond locks, his jaw hanging open subconsciously. Fran stares at the blond with an uncomprehending gaze, wondering what his partner's thinking. Bel grips a silver fork with trembling fingers, wanting more than nothing to drive the utensil through the table. Or stake it into a certain boss's heart. "Ushishishi~, was I made of and I didn't even realize this?" growls the blond fiercely.

"Bel-senpai," Fran calls out alarmingly. The blond appears to not have heard, busily muttering ways to hide a corpse. "Bel-senpai, look!" Still he doesn't respond. Fran reaches over and tugs the sleeve of his supervisor.

"Don't interrupt the Prin - "

"Didn't you say you killed your twin brother at your childhood stage, Bel-senpai?" Fran inquires seriously, his languid eyes staring at the blond.

Bel scowls irritatedly. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Then what's he doing here?" Fran points to a person draped in a furry coat conversing with someone. The guy is a blond with his eyes covered by his bangs, a gold crown shaped like Bel's on his head, and he's dressed in casual business attire. Bel swivels around in his seat, wondering what game the frog's conjured up and how many times he should stab him for it, and then his mouth promptly hangs agape. There, sitting there like it's perfectly normal for someone who should've been dead – and not dead – is Rasiel in all his glory, smirking at a businessman. And suddenly the blond isn't smiling anymore when he notices his twin staring at him from all the way across the room with a strange frog-hatted boy.

The businessman he's just about to persuade into signing a contract with clears his throat at the sudden conversational drop. "Pardon, Mister Rasiel?" The blond doesn't respond.

Rasiel abruptly snaps his fingers for his butler, and the man saunters over willingly. "Evacuate immediately," he whispers into his ear. The buff bodyguard nods. Within a few minutes the whole bar has erupted with dire fire alarms ringing and people screaming in all directions, pushing each other out of the way for the exit.

Bel and Fran both stand up. "Are you sure you killed him, senpai?" the latter asks.

"Of course I did."

"Then why's he alive?"

"...Shishishi~, stop questioning the Prince and conjure up an illusion, peasant. We're going to gift the boss with a present~."

"Is this how you treat your kin, Bel-senpai?" Fran asks the blond a hazardous hour later. His face is scratched up in a few areas, but otherwise he's completely fine. Bel's clothes are ripped in several places, thus exposing his shoulder and thigh in the overwhelming coldness. The blond's dragging a wiped-out Rasiel whose mouth is taped shut and his limbs bonded together with rough ropes. They're traversing the forest now, and occasionally the abducted prince would collide into a tree when Bel jumps too high up.

"Shishishi~, I hate his guts and he hates mine. If I was knocked out, he would do the same to me, shishishi~." Bel seems ultimately happy to be able to witness his nemesis's defeat.

"I thought we would be presenting him to our boss. He wouldn't want a beat-up blond, would he?"

"Tch." Bel complies by ripping off the tape and loosening the rope, but otherwise he continues to drag his twin inhumanely through the forest. They're on the outskirt of the Varia castle now. With another hostage this time, the two pass through the gates and enter the building. A few minutes later they arrive outside of the boss's chamber. With a grin, Bel stands triumphantly before the doors. This time the boss will admit defeat. He doesn't know whether he'll be pleased with his irritable twin, but all the requirements are fulfilled. A win is a win.

"Have fun, senpai," Fran encourages monotonously. Bel waves him off. The blond knocks on the doors resolutely, and without hearing a comply, he barges in with a wide grin.

"Boss~! This time it's the Prince's win!" He drags in yet another unconscious body, but this time roughly on the carpet.

Xanxus recrosses his legs on the glass table, waking up from his light slumber. He peers under heavy eyelids at the victorious blond, and his brows instantly furrow at the sight of tattered clothing. His calculating eyes rove over the ripped spots, inwardly devouring the fair skin, but his attention deters as he notices the body that's unceremoniously dragged across the floor. It's a straight-haired blond with a similar crown to that of Bel's, but he's noticeably knocked out cold. "Is this your second try, Bel?"

"Ushishishi~, all criteria filled, boss!" the blond replies, undaunted. He lifts Rasiel and pushes him onto the settee with unwarranted strength. Bel crosses his arms and continues to grin ecstatically. His dark-haired boss raises an eyebrow at his optimism; nevertheless he examines the blond slumped against his cushion.

"Didn't you mention that you killed your twin?" Xanxus inquires with a condescending glance at the overconfident blond.

"Shishishi~, I did. But he's always been a sort of devil, so I'm not surprised that he's risen from the dead to annoy me some more."

Rasiel twitches, his eyebrows screwing together, and then his eyes shoot open. He stares uncomprehendingly at the warm Italian chamber, at his smirking twin, and finally his gaze lands on an impassive dark-haired Varia boss. For a moment he considers the possibility that he's in yet another dream, but Bel's clear voice interrupts the thought.

"Shishishi, finally decides to wake up, Siel?" Bel sneers. His twin pulls himself together and grits his teeth.

"Shashasha~, sneaking drug into the illusion to knock me out. Underhanded as usual. You really haven't changed much, my idiotic younger twin!"

"Just answer this question and we'll let you go, Siel," Bel says, and before his twin can interject, he cuts in, "How many men did you kill?" Xanxus watches silently, leering at the brothers with an almost uninterested gaze.

"Tch. I'm in an enemy's hideout and you think I'll answer you freely? Shashasha~, pitiful, Bel!" chides Rasiel. He feels that his hands and feet are tied together with some sort of rough texture, most likely a rope. He can't move though, under the languid but hawkish gaze of the dark-haired man who's radiating off a dangerous aura.

"Shishishi~, you have no authority to say that, Siel. How many men did you kill?" Bel asks again, this time with an annoyed scowl.

"How would I remember? Although I'm definite that the number is more than you can handle, shashasha~," snickers Rasiel.

There's a throbbing vein in Bel's temple. "Just answer, stupid Siel."

"Tch. I've killed ninety-nine altogether."

"Ushishishi~! Told you so, boss," Bel says gleefully, grinning widely.

Xanxus wipes the grin off of his face with the next question, "How many men did you kill?"

Siel's mouth thins as he tries to recall. "Forty-nine men."

Xanxus's dark smirk appears, and with a nod at the stunned Bel, he orders him in a triumphant tone, "Take out the trash."

An hour later Bel returns to the headquarter in the worst spirit ever. He can barely restrain himself from killing the next person he sees, and the first one who does pass by is Lussuria, whom he doesn't at all want to be seen with. Fran is nowhere to be found, and with nothing to do, Bel dreads going to the boss's chamber and confront him about this...circumstance. He still hasn't changed out of his tattered outfit, but with his mood being on the low, he doesn't even to want to bother with it. With an irritated sigh, he heaves himself up from his bed. This is a princely duty, and princes must always act princely. With this determination in mind, he heads to the lion's den.

"Ushishishi~, boss, the Prince has come to – " Bel stops in mid-sentence as a low growl cuts him off.

"Which scum dares to enter when I'm changing?"

"O-oh...you were changing, boss? Whoops, I'll be leaving strai – " the blond is once again interjected, but this time his mouth is clamped shut by hand from behind. He tries to utter something coherent against the calloused hand, but nothing comes to mind when a heated breath brushes against the back of his neck. Bel gulps at the sensation, his hands hanging limply by his sides.

"You have guts, Bel." With that, the blond is unceremoniously thrown unto a soft, king-sized bed that cushions his weight.

"S-shishishi~, w-what are you doing, boss?" Bel demands, sitting up on the bed, his wavy locks tousled from the force. His crown still manages to cling onto his hair for some reason. He faces his dark-haired boss who's dressed in dark silk pants with his long satin shirt buttoned only in the middle, showing off a tan, well-toned figure. His black hair is still wet from the shower, the water drops dripping down his cheek to his neck, and the way those strands cling to his face is just...seductive.

Okay, let's not go there, Bel fights the thought with trepidation. What did he come to boss's chamber for anyway? "Shishishi~, sorry to disrupt your alone time, boss. I was just about to – " he gasps as a hand pushes his chest down, forcing him to look up at the velvety bed ceiling.

"Isn't today a special occasion, genius?" Xanxus growls, straddling the blond. Bel's face flushes as the crimson-eyed boss traps him in place.

"W-what occasion?" the blond manages before long, cold fingers trail down his exposed neck. He shivers at the contact, and despite the warning in that touch and the urge to escape, the bigger part of him, the whole of his being which finds desire in those butterfly motions, belittles him into submission.

"December twenty-second, scum."

Bel's mouth hangs open at the words. Just how does boss know? And did he just forget that today's his birthday? He finally finds the urge to struggle, but his wriggling movements go unnoticed as those dangerous crimson eyes rake his body. "S-shishishi~, boss must really know how to jest," Bel murmurs, finding the part that wants to escape disappearing with each and every second that he's imprisoned.

"Is this your last try, Bel?" Xanxus demands, his arrogant smirk slipping into place.

The blond tilts his head questioningly. "What are you talking about, boss?" Bel wonders why he's not struggling. Maybe those butterflies flitting around in his stomach are weakening him.

"Hm, I'll take that as a 'yes,'" Xanxus growls, leaning down despite Bel's noise of protest and tracing his tongue along the sensitive outer shell of the blond's ear. The younger male hitches a gasp, his body temperature leaping ten degrees per second. It's really strange to not resist to the boss's advances, and to oddly enough, like the touches. There must be something wrong with him. Or maybe there's something wrong with both of them, the perpetrator and the prey.

"B-boss, what are you doing?" Bel finally manages to utter, his cheeks tinted pink from the sensations.

"What kind of genius are you, you fool?" scowls Xanxus, planting butterfly kisses all over the blond's neck, enticing in his involuntary moans of pleasure. When Bel doesn't reply, the dark-haired boss of Varia stops his ministrations and stares at the flushed blond beneath him.

In spite of himself, Bel can't seem to stop the piling of want and need for the boss to continue harassing him. Some stupid drug must've really gotten into him. Or maybe it's really just him who's weird. Yet he can't bring himself to plead for help, because that's not something a prince does. So he settles for pursed lips, although on him, they look remarkably like an adorable pout. His eyes widen when a hand caresses his wavy blonde locks. This is very uncharacteristic of the boss – maybe someone drugged him, too? And then Bel can't think anymore when lips crash onto his, causing him to gasp in surprise and allowing a wet tongue to worm its way into his mouth. Somewhere along the way, cold fingers travel down his arm and continue their path under his striped shirt, sliding it up. Bel can hardly hold back the moans when the fingers splay over his chest and tease his nipples. Too much pleasure is taken in, and the only thing he can do is to pant heavily into the lustful kisses, gradually allowing himself to let down his guard.

And then Xanxus pulls back, something Bel isn't accustomed to. The blond blearily cracks open an eye, undiscerning how flushed and seductive he looks in his present predicament. The dark-haired boss smirks deviously, sliding a hand up Bel's thigh, caressing the place where the ripped texture is.

"Buon Compleanno, Bel."

And back to more pleasure.

The blond is a blushing phenomenon the next day, frantically trying to avoid the Varia members. Eventually though, Fran finds him lurking in the corner of an abandoned room. Surprisingly enough, the boss is also with the green-haired male. He's looking in much better spirit than the people in the headquarter have ever seen him. He hasn't even flipped out once today, and when Squalo came barging into his room this morning, the rumor is that he actually smiled at the commander. The only one who hasn't heard all of the rumors is a certain blond who's been sulking in an eerie room. That is, until Fran chances upon him with Xanxus following not far behind. The first thing the illusionist says is:

"Wow, senpai, did you get a heart tattoo on your neck? Since when?"

And that's how Fran ends up with fifty knives sticking out of his back in one day. Xanxus is heard all over the Varia castle with his barking laughter. And Bel tries to cover up his hickey with a bandage, only to have it torn off by the boss with a threat that he'll make more appear if he doesn't let everyone see the mark.

Author's Note: Damn, I can't believe it. I'm going to make it for Bel's b-day! YAY =3333 I've had to procrastinate on studying on my stupid Physics project of for this! Better appreciate it, moi Bel =33 Spread the Xanxus/Bel luv around!

Oh, and, that's my first attempt at lime LOL If my sister finds out, I'm so dead =3 But thank god she's not caught up on Reborn yet, so she can't read any of my Reborn! fics ohohohoho~