"Bel-senpai, it's so big." Fran's teal eyes were wide as he stared around the mansion he had just stepped into. He could see a huge living room off to his left. There were red drapes drawn over giant windows and the carpet was red, too. There were several black couches positioned so that they made a crooked 'C' with a coffee table in front, a flat screen TV which took up more space than Fran believed was possible sticking out of the wall. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with all sorts of things, and a few plants were placed against the wall here and there.

Further down the entrance hallway, Fran found a kitchen, the dining room, a spare bathroom and the laundry room. He almost couldn't believe his eyes, not understanding that there were still three more floors to the mansion to explore.

"Let's go to the prince's room." Bel was placid as he grabbed Fran's wrist, leading him up the spiralling staircase. "His stuff is more interesting."

"Okay." Fran's tiny feet struggled to keep up with Bel, but he didn't mind; once they got to the bottom of the stairwell, the blond picked him up and rested him on his strong shoulders.

The boy giggled, gripping the teenager's hair tightly as he was given a piggyback up the stairs. Bel, who usually didn't like anyone touching his hair, had already made an exception for Fran, and Fran alone.

The Storm Guardian ran up the stairs as fast as he could, his hands wrapped around chubby legs securely so that Fran didn't fall. They both laughed as they stopped at the third floor, neither of them thinking at all on the stress they had so recently been feeling - all that mattered was they were together and having fun.

"Hey, Bel-senpai?" Fran smiled as he was brought to one of the double doors further down the corridor. "Bel-senpai, is your room as big as downstairs?"

The blond nodded, stopping at the doors that led to his bedroom. He pushed them open, revealing a room that was bigger than Frans' entire house back in Jura.

"Bel-senpai..." Fran was in shock; he had never thought a bedroom could be so big before. The double bed that rested against the middle of the far wall was covered in red silk sheets, more pillows than the teenager could possibly use decorating it. There were clothes and other items scattered all over the floor, hiding it from Fran's view. A desk sitting in front of a large window held a whole bunch of silver things that looked suspiciously like the knives from his dream. There was a closet to his right, and a door leading off to his left.

"What's in there, Bel-senpai?" Fran pointed to the door on the left, not sure what to think - he had never heard of bedrooms having more rooms inside them.

"The prince's personal bathroom." Bel brought Fran over to the bed, leaning over so that Fran fell onto the soft mattress. He laughed when Fran pouted up at him, brushing teal hair from the younger's face. "Move over."

Fran did as he was told, making way for Bel. They lazed on the bed together, the boy's head resting on Bel's strong chest.

"Froggy..." Bel's fingers combed soft hair gently, his voice softer than ever. "...Froggy, tell the prince about your dreams."

Fran reached out, grabbing Bel's hand as if to ground himself. He was quiet for a few seconds before he started explaining, in a voice that was just far too quiet for the boy, "...In my dreams... I was in a squad just like this... You guys even look... like younger versions... And in my dream... I... I had a crush on Bel-senpai..."

Belphegor laughed as Fran's cheeks flushed and the boy looked away. "Is that so? Did you ever say anything?"

Fran shook his head. "He hated me, but... I-I think that... after... After that happened... he stopped hating me..."

"After 'that'?" Bel knew exactly what the younger was talking about, but he also knew it would do them both some good to talk about it.

Fran nodded. "Bel-senpai's brother... He hurt us... He did things to me I didn't understand... It was... It was really scary..."

"It was just a dream," Bel promised. He reached out, pulling the younger into a hug. "The prince will never let anyone hurt his Froggy."

"You're just like Bel-senpai from my dreams," Fran uttered. "The only difference is that you don't hate me..."

"Yeah, but I'm sure the dream Bel is pretty handsome, right?" A lopsided smirk made its way onto the teenager's face, his egotistical personality shining through. "Dropdead gorgeous even. Sexiest man ever."

Fran giggled, wriggling closer to the older male. "Do you have a brother, Bel-senpai?"

"..." What should I tell him? Should I tell him the truth? Bel sighed, not sure what to say. He's too young to understand - he may not even piece all the puzzle together yet... What if... I tell him the truth when he's old enough to understand...? "...Yeah... I had a brother, but... he's dead..."

"Sorry, senpai... I didn't mean to upset you or anything." An apologetic look crossed Fran's face as the boy leant up, kissing Bel's cheek.

"It's fine." The Storm Guardian continued running his hand through teal hair, smiling in reassurance. "After all - it was only a dream; it's not like anything from the dream ever happened... Right?" As much as Bel wanted to believe in his own words, it was hard knowing the truth - that they weren't dreams; they really had happened and had left behind damage neither of them knew how to cope with.

"Yeah..." Fran closed his eyes, a soft, relaxed sigh escaping his lips. "...Yeah, just a dream..."

~~Thirteen years later~~

"Froggy, can I talk to you about something?"

Fran looked up from Bel's bed where he had been laying down, reading a book. "Yeah?"

Bel fidgeted with his hands as he looked anywhere but at Fran, not knowing how to start off. "...It's just... I have something important you need to know..."

Fran placed his book aside, moving over to make room on the bed for Bel. He was silent as the older man processed his thoughts, giving him time; it was rare to see Bel distressed about anything, so this must be very important.

"...Do you remember those dreams you had...?"

Fran nodded - as if he'd ever forget that... "Yeah."

"...Well... It's just..." Bel lifted a hand to his hair, pulling at his blond locks; he didn't know what to say, just that Fran was now twenty-years-old and had a right to know the truth. "...They... They weren't... dreams... No matter what I told you..."

"I know, senpai." Fran said in a calm tone, sending a wave of shock through Bel - how did he know...? They had always done their best to keep the truth from Fran...!

"What...? What do you mean, 'I know'...?"

"I know." Fran shrugged. "I heard you and Lussuria talking about it. They're memories. I was just too young to understand."

"...We only wanted to protect you, Froggy..." Bel whispered, feeling as if Fran was going to hate him for keeping this from him.

"I know. I'm glad you did, senpai. ...I... don't think I'd have coped if you told me any sooner..." Fran glanced at his lap, feeling his body tense at these words.

"You're not... mad...?" Bel was almost too afraid to hear the answer.

Fran shook his head. "You did the right thing, senpai. Thank you."

Bel slowly started smiling once more before he crawled over Fran, pinning the younger to the bed with his arms and legs either side of his body. "Does the frog still think the prince is sexy?"

Fran felt a smirk slip onto his face. "I always did, senpai."

With that said, Bel closed the distance between their lips, the two sharing their first kiss together in this current timeline. The blond couldn't have been happier, finally feeling as if the damage in his heart was repairing - and Fran, someone who had never truly been able to get over his fear of other people, melted, finally at peace.

When they broke apart for air, Fran whispered, "I think I like this timeline better, senpai. No one had to rape me to get you to love me."

Bel couldn't help but laugh, leaning down to kiss the other gently again. Murmuring against soft lips, he whispered, "The prince loves his Froggy. ...He always did..."

"The frog loves his prince, too," Fran uttered back, reaching up to hug the taller man.

Bel knew things may never be perfect due to their ongoing trauma, but he did know that things couldn't have been better right now - their first kiss was perfect and, soon enough, their first time together was better than they could have ever imagined.