Disclaimer: Noblesse belongs to Son Jae Ho and Lee Gwang Su. Thank goodness, because they will (hopefully) not make anything like this happen...

A/N: A request for "Frankenstein worrying about his Master's health" that grew out of hand. Listened to "Kokoro" while writing and editing this.

Warnings: Character deaths (kinda). Slash (really not the focus though). Sadness. If you make it all the way to the end though, I promise you'll see something good :)

Eternity and a Day

It had ended, Frankenstein thought to himself.

The final battle had ended.

His Master had not held back a single iota of strength this time. Faced with so many traitors armed with their Soul Weapons, he could not have afforded to. The sky had turned a startling scarlet in the middle of the battle, and the red hue remained even now. Frankenstein wondered if it would ever disappear completely. The clashing powers had completely eradicated the surface of the island, leaving nothing but barren land with a massive crater in the centre. As soon as he could, Frankenstein rushed toward that centre point - the origin of this overwhelming strength. He tried to stop thinking altogether, fear racing through his veins, heart beating an irregular rhythm.

The gaping wound in his side did not slow him down in the slightest.

This was it - the moment of fate. The blond servant was both utterly terrified of what he would find and desperate to find out.

"Master!" Frankenstein could hardly believe it. His heart filled with relief at the sight before him.

Amidst the field of destruction and rubble, Cadis Etrama di Raizel stood elegant and tall, without a single visible wound. He had defeated the traitor clan leaders while staying perfectly intact - immaculate in fact. Frankenstein and the Lord had been worried all this time for nothing! Of course the Noblesse would be fine. He was the being that symbolized absolute power, after all.

Of course -

Frankenstein.

The voice he heard was barely a whisper. That was okay, Frankenstein thought. If his Master needed to rest, then he could take all the time in the world. Frankenstein would wait. This loyal servant would be willing to wait an eternity and a day as long as his beloved Master was okay.

The final remnants of energy faded away. With a sinking heart, Frankenstein recognized that a certain threshold had been reached... and then passed. The disappearance of power had not stopped, even though there was no longer any power to be drained from their surroundings. His Master's remaining life force had started corroding from its already-tattered edges and the process showed no sign of stopping.

Frankenstein had hardly finished registering that alarming fact when his Master collapsed. There was no warning and he was caught completely off-guard. Fortunately, his reflexes were a lot faster than the average human and he was close enough to grab hold of and stop his Master's descent right before he hit the ground. Frankenstein bit his lip and tried not to notice how Rai looked paler than usual - pale and ashen.

"We're going home." Frankenstein said, sounding more demanding than comforting. The strangest urge took hold of him - the urge to speak, say everything he had ever held back… before it was too late. But there was no need for that, was there? Rai would be fine. The Noblesse was not always cursed to die protecting what they held dear. That curse was simply too cruel and unfair to be true.

Frankenstein gritted his teeth against the doubts creeping into his mind without his permission. He needed to move.

He hooked an arm beneath his Master's legs and supported the other's weight. The Noblesse was… light. So light it felt as if he could be blown away by the lightest gust of wind. Frankenstein held on tighter, protective. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and kept talking, "As soon as we reach the mansion, Master, I will make you a midnight snack. I think you will enjoy the newest batch of ramen that I have developed - batch number 1017 if I remember correctly. The children… I will invite them over to try it out too. And you can all play Call of Duty together again; I am sure you will win this time."

Russet pupils echoed the sadness radiating from him even as he continued to force words out. Frankenstein moved faster with a desperation born of determination and despair.

The sound of thunder drowned out part of Frankenstein's next sentence. Freezing drops began to fall and as the liquid hit Frankenstein's cheek, he suddenly imagined that it was blood instead of rainwater.

It seem as though the blood-splattered sky was crying… for his Master's fate?

"I'm sorry I don't have an umbrella Master… You're getting wet," Frankenstein would have draped his shirt over the Noblesse's body without a second thought, except his shirt had been ripped to shreds by Roctis' final blow. That was also what had caused the wound on his side, but Frankenstein simply could not bring himself to care about the injury with his Master in this state. Except, as Frankenstein looked down, he was startled to find that he was bleeding a lot more than he had expected. "I-I'm sorry for bleeding on your jacket, Master."

There's no need to apologize, Frankenstein.

The scientist looked down at his Master, startled. The Noblesse had stayed silent during his entire rambling. He saw raven strands matted against snow white skin, and surprisingly - a smile.

Don't worry… … I only need ... to sleep… for a short … … while.

"No, no don't. Please, Master, stay with me. Stay awake for a little while longer. Please, please," How ironic that after Frankenstein had begged Rai to go into hibernation countless times, he was now asking for the polar opposite. Frankenstein was sickeningly aware of the fact that should his Master close his eyes now, they would likely never open again. "I will find a way to fix this. I swear, I will…"

Thank you, Frankenstein...

for everything.

Frankenstein thought that the statement sounded too final, somehow. His gut feeling was confirmed when he felt a flicker. At first he did not believe it, did not want to believe it. Then it happened again, more pronounced. Frankenstein wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all.

He was completely drenched, long blond strands glued down to his scar-covered skin, with the words he truly wanted to say jammed in the middle of his throat, when it happened.

The flickering bond shattered.

The exact same second, eyes that had glowed red for millennia diluted and morphed to empty black.

Frankenstein forced himself to travel a few more empty, pointless steps, before dropping to his knees. He felt like he was only half awake. Perhaps… Perhaps this was all a nightmare.

He cradled his Master's head close, until their foreheads were touching. Unforgiving scarlet rained down on them. "Master. Master. Master…" He called over and over again, like a mantra. His volume rose with every cry without his notice.

With the destructive rage of a madman, Frankenstein let go of a feral scream - aimed at fate, at the Noblesse's curse, at himself - his powers breaking free of their restraints. He had already tamed Dark Spear, and it whipped up a storm of dark energy. Black mixed with red, but nothing was left to destroy after the earlier battle. In the end, Frankenstein's anger could not mute the pain he felt at losing the one he loved.

All of a sudden, the fatigue he had pushed away for his Master's sake, washed over him like a tidal wave. He had fought Roctis and another member of the Union earlier and won, but not without taking lasting damage. It was finally catching up to him.

Frankenstein breathed in and out, his limbs feeling like lead. He leaned down, placing a kiss upon Rai's cold forehead.

Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad…

If he could just lie down…

Rest for a short while…

By Master's side…

Frankenstein saw red and as he closed his eyes, he mirrored the Noblesse's smile.

B-bmp. B-bmp. B-bmp.

Frankenstein's eyes shot open. He did not remember how long he had been out. The rain - if it could be called that - had stopped.

B-bmp. B-bmp. B-bmp.

The sound that had awakened him… He dared not hope, but he bit his lip hard and turned to look at the body beside him.

Frankenstein saw Rai's chest rising and falling at a steady rate and inhaled in surprise. His Master was not just breathing, he was moving! Shivering from the cold, in fact.

Frankenstein reached out a hand to touch porcelain skin, scared that this was some sort of illusion. Rai felt… warm. Alive.

Impossible, and yet -

B-bmp. B-bmp. B-bmp.

It was a miracle, and as Frankenstein picked his Master up and started moving once more, he was determined to not let it go to waste. He would not fail to protect the one closest to him again.

"We're going home." He said, simply because he could say it. The phrase sounded so wonderful and true that he repeated it over and over as he tightened his hold around the now-mortal body in his arms.

He was determined. He would protect Rai and never let him suffer this pain again. They would be together, for as long as that was possible.

They would have a happy ending.

End Note: Hope you enjoyed ^^ & if you did, please drop me a review (or write/draw/create something for this fandom ;D)! Also, just FYI, I was originally go to end it where Frankie sleeps, but I felt so bad that I had to add the semi-happy ending XD Now I have the urge to write how Rai fares as a human...