『 Noblesse Oneshots & Imagines 』

Philia

Raizel inhaled the night's cool air, letting the soft breeze play with his hair as he watched the twinkling lights emerging from the buildings. The stars too, shone like sprinkled glitter on top of a jet black paper. The moon, however, was much brighter and bigger than the little shining lights.

The wind carried the little croaking of the crickets and the occasional howls of dogs who wandered the silent streets of the neighborhood.

The silence felt like a balm, soothing the tension within the Noblesse that had resulted from the arising conflicts in the recent while.

This new world of the 21st century he awoke in showed him things, and allowed him the experiences he hadn't gotten to in Lukedonia.

The serenity of the silence quickly subsided as Rai began to sense an aura— one he knew well— escaping from the room to his right; Frankenstein’s room. For the power of the Dark Spear to leak into the air at such an hour— it meant only one thing.

Rai at once quitted his balcony and reached Franenstein’s door. He raised his hand at first to reach the doorknob, but changed his mind, and knocked on the door. Before, in Lukedonia, whenever such an incident occurred, knocking on the door was sufficient to raise Frankenstein from his nightmare.

But when the silence remained, Rai opened the door, entering the dark room. The only source of light was the moonlight that peaked in through the gap in the curtains. But Rai didn’t bother thinking to close the curtains properly as his eyes darted towards the bed where Frankenstein laid.

The blond was vulnerable to the powers of the Dark Spear while awake— it only worsened at night. It was clear— his distress; Frankenstein laid on the bed, curled so his knees were close to his chest, his hands were clenched— gripping the bedsheets.

Frankenstein was generally a light sleeper, but it changed whenever he was stuck in a nightmare. Rai stepped forward towards the bed in sincere hopes to awake the blond from his nightmare, but had remembered Frankenstein’s words. Rai had been asked to not approach the blond should he be having a nightmare. Rai also recalled the solution too, and immediately scanned the room to have his gaze fall upon the console table opposite to the bed. On top of the console table laid a lamp and a record player— similar to the one Frankenstein had placed in his room in Rai’s Lukedonian mansion.

Rai approached the record player, which had been set up previously, and only required to be started— and Rai did so.

It was a unique idea according to Rai, but he didn’t mind it as long as it worked. The music began to play— soft like the chimes of a music box— Rai turned towards the bed, watching as the blond relaxed his stiff muscles. He noticed how the bedsheet crumbled as Frankenstein shifted, and Rai knew— from similar unfortunate experiences— that the blond was going to wake up.

The raven turned back to face the console table, this time reaching out for the lamp. He switched it on, letting it illuminate the room in a warm, dim light. It lit up the room gently, unlike the harsh overhead lights. Rai then exited the room, and instead of heading back to his own, he went to the kitchen. 

Pouring the warm tea into the teapot, he watched for a second the soft steam the warm liquid let out before turning towards the cabinets. As he took in its wafting smell, he put down a dish on the kitchen counter before proceeding to fill the plate with biscuits— just as he had seen Frankenstein do for him. Taking a tray, he set two tea cups along with the teapot and plate, and not forgetting to take the sugar and milk before making his way to the blond’s room.

Frankenstein was awake and seated on his bed, his eyes staring vaguely in the direction of the record player, taking in the melody that eased his mind. He turned to the sound of the doorknob rattling, and was momentarily surprised as his master walked in, holding a tray.

Frankenstein got out of his bed, reaching out to Rai as he extended his hands to relieve the raven from the burden. But Rai refused to hand over the tray, a look in his eye— Frankenstein thought— to be similar to that of a child refusing to hand over a priced possession.

“Master,” Frankenstein smiled, “over here.”

He guided Rai towards the table near the window, only taking a seat after Rai had.

Rai extended his hand to reach for the teapot when the blond opposed.

"Let me," Rai said softly before pouring the tea into the two cups, passing one towards Frankenstein and having one for himself.

Rai had deeply appreciated all that Frankenstein had done for him. Never once leaving his side since his arrival in Lukedonia, Frankenstein had begun ever since then to accompany Rai before going on to make a blood contract with him. Rai had known that Frankenstein tried hard to find him after he had gone to sleep, and never once stopped waiting for his arrival despite the passing of more than eight centuries. However, Rai hadn't often received chances to show Frankenstein the gratitude he felt.

Frankenstein accepted the cup, taking a sip of the drink before setting it down. He had noticed Rai's crimson eyes gazing at him with worry, but said nothing as he pushed the plate of biscuits towards Frankenstein's side of the table.

"I'm alright, Master."

Rai nodded, looking a bit relieved at the confirmation.

Frankenstein took a biscuit from the plate— sugar cookies, the one he usually snacked on whenever he worked deep into the night— and in his cup was black tea with a spoon of sugar, just as he had in the morning as he skimmed through the newspaper for any news which would pique his interest. Frankenstein glanced towards Rai’s cup. A dash of milk, and to satisfy the raven's sweet tooth— eight spoons of sugar.

"Did I disturb your rest?" Frankenstein asked, passing the biscuits' dish toward Rai.

"No, you had not," replied the raven after finishing his biscuit. Frankenstein made a mental note about Rai's liking of the biscuit. It was not hard to notice the way Rai's eyes minutely widened after taking the first bite— almost a nibble as a taste test, before taking another bite with a faint, but excited smile. Frankenstein would give his master the biscuits with his tea next time. Before his train of thoughts continued, Frankenstein had a realization.

"Had you been in the gallery, Master?" It had to be the case, Frankenstein's sleep had been disrupted by the nightmare, but the music coming from the record player had prevented him from sleeping through it. And considering how it wasn't long since Frankenstein had gone to sleep, it meant that Rai was awake and fully conscious during the time to have reacted as fast as he had.

"No," Came Rai’s immediate answer, like he had been waiting for the question.

"Right," said Frankenstein, hiding his smile with his cup. "Thank you," he whispered before taking a sip of his tea.

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This is for katielovespolarbears!!

And as per the readers' opinions, I'll be keeping the new cover

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