Squalo was, in general, trying to ignore everyone situated around the table. These little get togethers were just a charade after all, something to give a false sense of camaraderie amongst the Varia, but they all knew that, given the chance, any one of them would betray the others in a heart beat. They didn't really act like a team, just gave the pretense of one. So, he wasn't really happy about being very nearly forced into attending these silly things and he was currently concentrating on downing his tea and scarfing his slice of cake as fast as possible so he could leave.

Or at least, he was trying to.

"Why are you eating so fast? You'll upset your tummy that way! Here, have more tea," Ever the friendliest of their group, Lussuria happily poured more of the steaming liquid into the cup that had almost been empty. Damn him!

Snarling under his breath, Squalo prepared to force even more of the sickening substance down his throat – though, if he were being honest, his speedy consumption of the vanilla cake mixed with his hurried gulping of tea was really beginning to have an effect on his insides. He could feel his stomach tightening and twisting and he was almost certain that he was going to end up vomiting.

"Has any one seen Bel? If he doesn't get here soon all the cake will be gone," Xanxus idly commented, though it was quite obvious that he could have cared less if the blond starved to death let alone got a piece of cake. In fact, he was probably hoping their youngest member would be too late just so he could see the disappointment on his face.

With a small, almost relieved sigh, Squalo sat his cup onto the little saucer it had been served with. "I saw him in his room when I was coming here, but I have no idea what he's doing."

Mammon chose this moment to speak up, voice a bored drawl from the end of the table. "He said that he was going to have some fun today, so he might have left to go somewhere."

"Oh, maybe I should put the last piece of cake into a container for him then," Lussuria mused aloud, tapping a gloved finger to his lips. Before anyone could say anything to stop him, Xanxus had snatched the last, triangle shaped confection for himself. Everyone watched as he slid his fork into it, breaking off a decent sized chunk which he popped into his mouth with far more contempt then one should have had while eating cake. Lussuria sighed in defeat, deciding that he'd just make the blond prince some cookies later on.

Resigning himself to his fate, Squalo prepared to just chug his tea and be done with it and slowly, almost shakily, brought the cup up to his lips.

... and promptly spewed the brown liquid everywhere when Belphegor sauntered into the room wearing a skirt.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him, except Gola who was silently wiping the spit tea from it's general face region. Even Xanxus stopped mid chew to eye the young boy who didn't seem at all distressed or embarrassed to be sashaying through the dining room in a mini-skirt. All was silent as Bel plopped down into his chair beside Mammon.

Lussuria was the first to break the silence. "That looks adorable on you! Where did you get it, Bel?"

An extremely odd look was sent his way from Levi. "Why?!" The pierced man all but demanded in a tone that said he was mostly disgusted at this point. "I hope your not going to wear one too!? It's so -- gay!"

"Oh, ignore him, Bel." Was Lussuria's cooed reply as he waved a well manicured hand at the spikey haired male, clearly telling him to mind his own business. "You must tell me where you bought that. Maybe we can go together next time!"

Bel grinned, not hesitating a second to converse about his newest article of clothing. "I got it from this store downtown, it's called -" Cutting himself off, the prince suddenly lurched forward, grin wiped clean from his face as he surveyed the table in what seemed to be dismay. "There's no more cake!" He cried out.

Immediately over his shock, Xanxus sat up a bit straighter and puffed his chest out a bit more and he fixed the young prince with a smug look. "I took the last piece because you were just taking too long. We thought that maybe you'd left ..." He managed to conjure up a look of false sympathy, though no one bought it.

Pouting, Bel slumped back into his chair, no longer in the good mood he'd been in not even five seconds ago.

Lussuria quickly tried to remedy that. "I'll make you some cookies in a little bit, alright? Or if you'd like, I can make a whole cake just for you. And afterwards we can go shopping, and-."

Without so much as a word, Squalo stood up and walked around the table, his own slice of cake in hand which he unceremoniously dropped in front of Bel, making the plate clatter slightly. Spinning on his heel, he made a quick exit. He needed to get to the nearest bathroom. He could feel the tea and the cake and maybe even a bit of last nights dinner working it's way up his throat and he wasn't so sure it was because he was disgusted by what he'd just seen.

It was only when he finally made it to the bathroom and he happened to glance down that he noticed the bulge in his pants. Needless to say, Squalo spent a good portion of the afternoon in there with the door locked.

(XxXxX)

FIN

I love Bel. (huggles Bel) He is sooooo adorable. And Lussuria amuses me as well (though I get the feeling I might have made him a bit too gay in this. O.o) and – as long as we're being honest I love all of the Varia except for Xanxus and Gola. But the latter is understandable cause' it's just a robot soooo ... yeah.

But please tell me what you think! This was partially inspired by Bel X Squalo fanart, partially by my love for Bel, and to a small extent a Bleach oneshot I read on some random LJ community. It had to do with tea time as well, but not quite to the extent of this one ... also, does anyone know Mammon's gender? I thought it was a girl and on quite a few Japanese sites it's portrayed as a girl but on Wikipedia and in the unofficial translation of the manga it's referred to as 'he'. It all makes me confused ... Oh, and for those who don't know, when (this is how it is with me anyway) I get horny while I'm eating it makes me feel sick to my stomach, like I can't enjoy food and sexy things at the same time, so thats sort of where I got Squalo's uneasiness. I wonder if anyone gets turned on while eating ...? O.o