Pairing: holy OTP Rai/Frankenstein
3. Rabbit
"And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone." - Madeline Miller
"Rabbits die of loneliness, you know!" "Hide, you know that's just a myth, and besides... You're no rabbit." - Tokyo Ghoul chapter 6
When he comes back Raizel is sitting on the armchair in the living room, giving his back to the entrance where Frankenstein stands, removing his shoes and setting them aside. Raizel doesn't react to the sound of him closing the door and pacing on the wooden floor.
«I'm home.» Announcing himself with a clear voice, Frankenstein walks up to where his Master sits, ready to hear about his day.
«Did you have fun with the children today?» He patiently waits for an answer that doesn't come. Raizel clearly has something on his mind because he didn't even return the greeting, keeping his eyes glued to the his feet. An incredibly weird behavior coming from him, and who would know better than his butler?
«Yuna was sad because her rabbit died.»
Frankenstein saddens. «I see, what a tragedy.»
«She said it happened because it was lonely. Do rabbits die because when they are alone?»
Frankenstein recollects his knowledge on that matter before giving him a proper explanation.
«Some do. It's likely to happen to those who had bonds with their companions.»
«Bonds...» Raizel's warm eyes narrow, and he looks the saddest Frankenstein has ever seen.
«Yes, if two rabbits have always stayed together and one of them dies, the other does it as well. It happens to some birds, too; it's a reaction that occurs in many animal species.»
It's a sad fact, but Frankenstein wants Raizel to understand that nature is a deep world of its own, with many complex mechanisms and events going on.
«Why do they die? Loneliness isn't harmful; life is precious and must be preserved, so why?»
That's something Frankenstein will have to think hard about before he's able to explain it properly.
«You used to live alone before we met, right?»
«Yes.»
«If I were to disappear now, how would loneliness feel? Would it feel the same way as it did before?»
Raizel closes his eyes. He's back in Lukedonia, but there's no tea ready for him, nor cookies freshly baked. No one is happily humming in the garden while watering the flowers, and no one fills his knowledge with their wondrous travels and adventures. It's how it used to be before and it's suffocating. Frankenstein watches as Raizel's expression turns grim.
«I understand now.» The Noblesse finally raises his eyes to meet Frankenstein's, heartbroken.
«It could never go back to how it was. I would end up-» he stops with a long sigh, eyebrows furrowed in a pained expression.
«...just like Yuna's rabbit.»
Yes, I quoted Tokyo Ghoul. Our Lord and Savior Ishida Sui sure gave some good lines to his characters (*whispers* miss u Hide) and I could not ignore that.
Note about that: it's not rentirely a myth, though you can't say it's totally correct either since not all rabbits react like that to losses; the ones who do die because they stop eating and drinking and it's sad.
So take this angsty thing here, because angst is good.
Thanks for the attention.
pwmo