Varia eagerly waited for the moment Astra started crawling, until the day she did. Then they realized how easy their life was before the baby could move. This new chapter in their lives raised their stress levels and made Bel even more protective than he already was - it was quite a sight to see a brutal assassin fretting over a small child, demanding for her to be watched at all times.

''I need the whole castle baby-proofed,'' Bel orders, keeping an eye on Astra as she crawls towards a frog toy Fran was bribing her with, ''Every single corner, stair and door.''

The servants scatter to different parts of the castle, doing their best to satisfy the storm guardian. They know their lives would be on the line if Astra manages to bump her head to a corner they had missed.

Fran watches amused as the little royal struggles to make her way to him, but she is determined to get to her favorite toy. With one final push of her legs, Astra is close enough to grab the fabric of Fran's pants and tug on it, demanding her reward. When Fran passes the frog toy to Astra, her giggles are loud and bright as she squeezes it tight in her fist.

He looks up to Bel, who runs an exhausted hand through his hair, his blue eyes flashing momentarily under the bangs. ''You know, Senpai, she's not gonna learn how to walk for a few months,'' Fran consoles the man.

''No, but we need to be ready when she does because then it'll be too late,'' Bel replies.

Fran stares at Astra and her blue eyes and unruly blonde hair that has started to curl from the back. Though it feels like yesterday they found her from the doorsteps, in the blink of an eye, she had gotten old enough to crawl.

''Honestly, I think she is gonna skip the walking part,'' Fran finally says, ''I think she is going start running right away.''

Bel's face pales considerably at the statement. ''I hope not.''

Astra smacks Fran's knee with the toy with a determined look on her face. When she doesn't get his attention, she lets out a high pitched squeal. Bel smiles fondly at his daughter.

"Maybe you should get her a frog hat too, to protect her head." Fran suggests, unfazed by the smacking, "But with a different animal. How about a cat?"

Bel reaches to hit him across the head. "I'm not getting her a frog hat, it looks stupid."

Fran brings a hand to his chest, expression unchanging. "Wow, Senpai. Rude."

Before they can fall into an argument, they get interrupted by Lussuria who rushes in with his expression brighter than the Christmas lights he hung all over the castle much to Varia's dismay.

''Boys, you'll never guess what happened to me today!'' He exclaims, tickling Astra below her chin as a greeting before sitting down on an armchair.

''Surprisingly enough, I also don't really care,'' Fran says.

''I think you will after I tell you," Lussuria teases, trying to awaken their curiosity. When neither beg him to tell more, Lussuria huffs in annoyance and rummages through his neon yellow fanny pack for a paper that's neatly folded in two.

Bel snatches it out of his hands, skimming through the text. "What's this?"

"I won a family vacation to Santa's town for three nights!" Lussuria announces. "They provide the housing and all I have to pay for is the flights."

"You're an orphan, Lus," Fran points out, "What're you gonna do with a family trip?"

"Stop being silly, I'll take all of you of course."

Bel lifts Astra in his arms, bouncing her slightly in a way that brings a gigantic smile on her face which Bel mirrors. "Santa's town, huh?" He says, "That could be fun."

"Right? We could have a proper festive Christmas this year!"

Lussuria did have a point - they never had had a proper Christmas together. Usually at least one of them had a mission during Christmas and they never were a group who were big on celebration in the first place. When Bel was younger, they had bothered to set up a tree and sometimes get gifts but all that had been left behind as they got older. No one had the energy or enough interest to bother with the winter holiday.

"That's really sentimental and all but how're you gonna get Boss and the long-haired commander to agree to this?" Fran asks in deadpan.

Lussuria reaches to pinch his cheek with a wink and says, "If we go, none of us have to attend the annual Vongola Christmas party. Now that is an opportunity not even Boss can give up.''

And so on 22nd of December, all seven members of Varia find themselves in a private jet, ready to fly them to North. It's still practically night outside when they get seated and Bel isn't fully awake yet. Since Astra had fallen back asleep as soon as they entered the plane, the exhausted parent was going to take full advantage of the situation and sleep on the plane for as long as his daughter lets him.

The only one who seemed to be buzzing with energy was Lussuria, who was excitedly reading out loud a list of things they could do together as a family . Bel snickers to himself at the idea of getting Xanxus to wake up at the crack of dawn just to see the northern lights in the sky. It was as likely to happen as them seeing flying deer.

During the three-hour flight, Astra wakes up once but Bel pretends to be asleep, trusting that someone else will take care of her needs when they see how tired he is - and he is right. Lussuria scoops her up in his arms and rocks her back to sleep in a matter of minutes.

When Bel opens his eyes, they're not in Italy anymore. As far as his sight carries, the ground is covered in tall piles of snow. Bel can't remember the last time he had seen this much snow - lately, winters in Italy hadn't been that great. The thought of being able to take Astra for a sleigh ride makes his feet tingle with excitement.

While the rest move their belongings in a group taxi, Bel takes Astra to a nearby gas station to change her diaper much to his displeasure. He had argued with Mammon about bringing a nanny with them for the vacation because royalty shouldn't have to change diapers, it was peasant's labor, but Mammon had stood their ground and told Bel it would be too much extra expenses to bring along one of the nannies. And so, Bel had to change a diaper for the first time in his life and he did so with perfect success.

The car ride to the actual Santa town resort took less than an hour. When the car parked, more or less everyone was in high spirits and fully awake - even Xanxus who took in the snowy hills and activities with mild interest.

''I'll get us checked in and come back in a minute!'' Lussuria announces before rushing towards the nearest wooden building, all of their passports in his hand. Mammon floats after the sun guardian, muttering something about trying to get them a good deal out of it.

This gave Bel a chance to take in his surroundings properly.

All of the cottages were made out of dark wood and had a tiny porch in the front where colorful Christmas lights blinked festively. Some of the houses were smaller than others, clearly meant for couples or tiny families instead of a large group of people. A bit further from the Santa town was a ski resort which was occupied by a swarm of people even though it was only eight in the morning, not to mention it was pitch black outside. He started to understand the reason behind the festive lights.

No longer than a couple of minutes pass before Lussuria and Mammon return with three pairs of house keys and directions to their house for the next three nights. All seems to go smoothly until Lussuria reminds them they have to carry their luggage without assistance.

''The prince draws the line here - I already changed a diaper today. I'm not carrying the luggage like some lowlife peasant,'' he argues. The cold weather which turned Bel's legs into literal icicles and the fragmentary sleep on the plane was enough to bring him in a sour mood, he didn't need physical labor on top of it. On his birthday, nonetheless.

''You're acting like a child, Senpai,'' Fran comments, his words coming out slightly muffled as he buries his nose deeper in his scarf. Unlike Bel, he has his luggage in both hands, ready to carry it to their cabin. ''It's not that big of a deal, princess .''

A maniacal grin appears on Bel's face as he pulls out a wide set of knives from God knows where. The toad was playing with fire and he knew it, too. A family of four pass by them, stopping on their track to watch the scene unfold. ''Repeat that and I'll use your intestines as tree decorations, frog face.''

Squalo follows the two youngest of Varia bicker with uninterest, until he hears the woman nearby whisper ''Should we call security?'' to her husband. Fan fucking tastic. They have been on this god damn resort for ten minutes at most and they are about to have security guards on their asses. Squalo drags a hand across his face - this was supposed to be a relaxing vacation.

Then again, what else did he expect from a group of assassins?

''VOOI! Bel!'' Squalo roars, knocking the knives out of his hands with his sword. The knives drop to the ground and the snow swallows them whole. At the sight of a bigger weapon, the family scatters towards what Squalo suspects to be the security booth. ''Why the fuck did you bring so much luggage in the first place if you're not gonna carry it?''

''See? Even he thinks you're ridiculous,'' Fran comments, barely dodging the sword being slashed towards him. If he wasn't already irked, Bel would've laughed at the younger Varia officer. Serves him right.

The prince crosses his arms and says with finality, ''I shouldn't have to carry anything for two reasons. First, I'm a prince. And second, it's my—''

''Don't you dare to pull the birthday card, shitty prince. You're not nine.''

''It's my birthday.''

''Do I look like I give a shit?!'' Squalo yells, pointing the sword at him. Bel turns his head away like a spoiled brat, not willing to give up. It was a matter of pride now and prince Belphegor would not go down without a fight.

''Levi,'' All heads turn to Xanxus who suddenly speaks up, despite seeming rather disinterested in the matter a minute ago. They await for what he has to say - undoubtedly Xanxus was going to bring an end to the fight. ''Grab the trash's luggage and bring it with you. He already has the squirt to carry.''

Without a single complaint, Levi lifts Bel's bags from the ground and drag them to their cabin. Bel doesn't bother to hide the satisfied grin on his face - the prince wins yet again.

Their next obstacle appears when they step inside the house and look around, only to find a total of three bedrooms in the entire house which means they have to share . Varia didn't share . They marked their territory and fought each other to decide what belonged to who but they didn't share.

''Come on, you have to compromise,'' Lussuria begs amid the chaos, ''This housing was part of the deal!''

''You trash can fight over the two rooms. I'll be sleeping in one alone ,'' Xanxus says with finality which causes another uproar to erupt, mainly from Bel and Squalo.

''The prince has a baby, if anyone deserves a solo room it's me and Astra.''

''She's a fucking baby, she doesn't need her own bed!'' Squalo argues, ''If anyone deserves their own room, it's me after having to deal with the shit you put me through on the daily.''

''No one is getting their own room,'' Lussuria yells. All six men turn their heads to him in silence. Even Astra who had been playing with her rattle toy turns to look at the sun guardian.

''How about this - we play rock, paper, and scissors to decide the rooming?''

Aside from Fran, everyone else agrees to these terms. Before they begin, Fran complains about the unfairness of the game since he had a hell ring which gave him bad luck. After a few heated rounds of rock, paper, and scissors, the rooming is decided.

Lussuria and Levi would take the only room downstairs, meanwhile Squalo, Fran and Mammon would share a room with two beds upstairs. Mammon groans in defeat when Fran scoops them in his arms, claiming them as his sleepover buddy. That leaves Bel, Astra, and Xanxus in the last and biggest bedroom.

All roommates retreat to their rooms to unpack. Xanxus and Bel do the same, the prince following him in silence as Xanxus leads the way. Their room has two single long size beds and a small toilet with a shower. Neither of the men were used to such small beds, but they would have to do for the couple of nights they were spending there. Xanxus tosses his bag on the bed closest to the door, leaving Bel the one next to the window.

While Xanxus lies down, trying to rest before they have to move again, Bel sets Astra to rest on top of the man's chest while he builds the portable bed for Astra. He works in silence while Xanxus entertains Astra. Judging by her giggles, she is having a blast with her godfather.

When the bed is done and ready for use, Bel falls to his back on the mattress, a wide yawn tearing his jaw. His eyelids feel heavy and the man struggles to keep his eyes open.

''Take a nap, trash,'' Xanxus says suddenly. He gets up with Astra propped up on one arm and the frog toy on the other. ''The others will feed and play with her for few hours. I won't give you another chance again.''

He has been offered a gift from paradise, Bel realizes and quickly nods to the suggestion. A nap did sound tempting after all the traveling. Xanxus turns the lights off when he leaves. Sleep takes over Bel the moment he closes his eyes.

When Bel wakes up several hours later, it's to a loud crash followed by Squalo's screeching. He rubs his eyes in annoyance before lifting his phone to check the time - half-past three in the afternoon, though it was still almost as dark as when he closed his eyes.

Bel stretches lazily, his shoulders cracking slightly after staying still for so long, and makes his way downstairs where the rest seem to be, judging by the volume. Before he gets to the bottom of the stairs, he catches a portion of the conversation going on.

''You can't light the candles if you're going to smash it on his face,'' says Lussuria with a worried tone.

What was going on?

''Yes I can if you weren't such a wuss about it,'' Levi replies with a disappointed huff.

''You're too slow to do it anyway, Levi.'' Bel recognizes Fran's voice, passive as ever. ''Senpai would dodge you and the cake would be ruined.''

Bel perks up at the mention of cake and hops down the last stairs like a kid. ''I see you're done with eavesdropping, Bel,'' Mammon greets him as he comes downstairs. Bel simply chuckles, already used to being busted by Mammon whenever he tried to spy on them.

''Morning sleepyhead,'' Fran says, giving the man a once over with a scrutinizing look on his face. ''I see the beauty sleep was ineffective. Must lose its powers as you age, huh?''

Bel takes his knives out and sticks them on his frog hat with a thump. ''The prince isn't old, toad. Watch your mouth.''

Fran opens his mouth to disagree but Lussuria saves him from his self-destruction by sliding between the two with a cake in his hands. At the sight of his favorite treat, Bel forgets about Fran and smiles widely.

''Bet you thought we had nothing prepared for your birthday, scum,'' Squalo roars with Astra in his arms, struggling to hold her still.

In all honesty, Bel had been in a prickly mood because he thought no one would remember his birthday with Christmas looming so close. Or worse, it'd be celebrated at the same time as Christmas. Bel would rather have his birthday forgotten entirely than settle to share it with a holiday.

Lussuria places the cake on the counter carefully, lighting the two candles on top which spell his age - twenty-seven. ''Blow them out, trash,'' Xanxus commands impatiently. Bel suspects Lussuria dragged him to attend the celebration at least until the candles were blown off.

He takes a deep breath in and blows out the flames which flicker stubbornly before giving up and dying, leaving a swirl of smoke behind. Lussuria cheers like he is still a child and Fran blows into a party horn right next to him, the paper tube stabbing him in the ear. Bel slaps the instrument to the floor, glaring at Fran who just shrugs.

''Where are my presents?'' Bel demands, looking at his fellow guardians expectantly. The only one pulling up a gift is Fran which makes his blood run cold. Fran was a terrible gift giver. Bel would rather receive nothing at all than get anything from him.

''My gift is the cake,'' Lussuria says, ''I spent the whole morning making it!''

An acceptable excuse, Bel decides.

''My gift is giving you three days off on this trip,'' Xanxus states and leaves upstairs to their room, already had enough of social situations for the day. Bel rolls his eyes under his bangs. Not that he expected anything from the Boss anyway. He rarely gave anyone anything and he had already let him catch up on sleep and take a break.

''You never accept anything from Levi and my gift for you is to stretch your deadlines on paperwork you shitstain. But they better be on my desk by next week,'' Squalo warns but they both know it goes to deaf ears.

Bel looks at Mammon who scoffs, ''I won't charge you for having to babysit your daughter.''

So generous, his family was.

''I have a great gift for you, Senpai,'' Fran speaks up with a gift bag in his hands. Bel grimaces as he gets closer, passing it to the birthday boy.

Reluctantly, Bel takes the bag.

''Aren't you gonna say thanks?''

''I'm gonna see what's inside, first,'' Bel huffs and tears the bag open. A large box falls on the floor and Bel picks it up, inspecting his present. When the realization hits, his face drops.

''You got me...a box with two hundred condoms?''

Fran nods, too proud of himself for such a crappy gift. ''I thought real hard of what you could need. Then it hit me - the only thing you need is self-restraint and protection. I could only provide one of those things.''

''You're such a dick, has anyone ever told you that?'' Bel asks in annoyance, whacking the younger Varia officer with a box filled to the brim with condoms. Astra finds it hilarious and cackles in Squalo's arms at the scene which makes it hard for Bel to contain his smile.

Bel sets the gift aside. If he got lucky, he could ''accidentally'' forget it in the cabin without Fran noticing.

''Now that the gifting part is over…'' Lussuria smiles and pushes a cake plate in front of Bel. Unable to hold himself back, Bel shoves a giant spoonful of strawberry cake in his mouth, trying not to moan as the flavors caress his tastebuds. Lussuria has done it again.

''Do you like it?'' the sun guardian asks, giving slices to the rest of the Varia. He takes Astra from Squalo so the swordsman can eat in peace as Astra tries to steal some cake with every opportunity given to her.

''Yeah,'' Bel manages to reply while devouring the sugary bliss in front of him. Everything was just like he preferred.

It wasn't a terrible birthday at all, he supposes.

Later that night after Bel puts Astra to sleep, they all gather in the living room and light up the fancy fireplace, letting the flames be the only source of light in the room. It was an odd sight to have all of them sitting around in their pajamas and Lussuria's handmade wool socks. Bel doesn't remember the last time it had been this peaceful when they were gathered together.

''There's a reason why I wanted all of you here at the same time,'' Lussuria says, setting his drink on the dark coffee table. ''I have an idea.''

''Haven't you had enough ideas already?'' Squalo groans, leaning back on the rocking chair he was sitting on. He looked like a total grandpa with his silver hair and matching checkered pajama set.

Lussuria glares at him and Squalo falls silent. Sometimes Bel believes he has almost as much authority as Xanxus does which alone is quite impressive. ''Let's do a secret Santa this year,'' Lussuria suggests, looking at each of the guardians as if he was trying to hype them up. ''It's gonna make the whole gift process a lot easier.''

''Here's an idea to make it even easier - let's not buy gifts,'' Fran says from the other end of the couch.

''No, we have to buy gifts. We're on the land of Santa, for goodness sake!'' Lussuria argues, ''We would disgrace Christmas if we didn't even get gifts while we're here.''

Lussuria wasn't going to take a no for an answer as he pulls out an elf hat next to his armchair, holding it towards them expectantly. ''Go on, pull out a name and that will be the person you get a gift for. Hurry up!''

Fran is the first one to get up and pull out a name. The corners of his mouth tug up slightly as he reads the name on his piece of paper before shoving it into, his pocket and walking away. Bel has never been religious but he sends a wish that his name wasn't on that piece of paper - he already got one horrible gift from Fran, he didn't want another one. The rest of the guardians follow his lead and pull out a name one by one until there is only one name left which Xanxus takes without giving it a second glance.

Bel studies the name in his paper, smiling victoriously - he already knew what he was getting for his secret Santa. This was going to be easy peasy.