Bunny Boy

Thunder

CRASH.

Bundling up close near the corner frame of the spare bed, Arthur squealed. Absolutely nothing was worse than thunder and lightning. The sounds loud, the flash bright, everything that screamed danger and scared the bunny. As ridiculous as it seemed, Arthur was absolutely mortified of thunderstorms; he recalled once being trapped in his den unable to leave as a bad storm swept over the forest and nearly flooded his home. And everything seemed to rise with storms; Arthur's heartbeat, his shaking, the pitch of his sounds. There was nothing as dizzily scary as a bad storm.

Which was exactly what Arthur was forced to face. Except this time, rather than fellow hybrids or his own soft and fluffy and comforting mother to be at his side, he was left with no one.

The human was out shopping for food for him. He was much too old to be cuddling at his mothers side, even if he were out in the wild. Most of what surrounded Arthur's den at the moment was human civilization, so no other hybrid definitively occupied the rural suburbs like he did.

The rabbit tried one final tactic, which was to keep his paws over his floppy ears and block out any sound, additionally, squeezing his eyes shut. His face contorted fear as he did this, panic settling in the bunny's chest as he heard another CRASH And squeaked loudly.

At first, Arthur was a bit stunned to feel droplets falling down his cheeks. He was sheltered, so no rain could get in. How was his face wet?

It was only then he realized he was crying. How pathetic.

What was a scared little creature to do in a situation like this other than run and hide? Arthur rarely had been one for crying except in especially stressful scenarios like this one, and in this moment, that's all he felt like he could do. Yet another terribly bad clap of thunder sent Arthur dashing under the bed skirt and hiding, hurting his leg in the process as he hit it on the bedframe. What was taking Alfred so long? Did the human get caught in the thunder?

The sudden thought gave Arthur a sense of panic. In all honestly, Arthur knew little about human living conditions and whether or not they could die in a rainstorm, especially one as bad as this - with cold rain blowing hard in the wind and lightning in such close proximity, what if Alfred didn't make it back?

The thought was almost as terrifying as the storm itself, and with a small squeak paired with a sob, Arthur let himself cry in the uncomfortable cold of the locked spare bedroom. And for the first time in a long time, he wished he was just a baby bunny again, curled up in the comfort of his mama's warmth.

Barely registering the clicking sound of the door up near the front of the flat, Arthur hid best he could.

"Arthur, I'm home!" Alfred suddenly called, and the bunny had never been so relieved in hearing a humans voice.

Alfred was soaked head to toe, yet his groceries were dry; clear sign that he shielded the precious items from the bustling rain. "I have all the things you asked for," He called again, not one hundred percent sure that the rabbit could hear him. He set them on the counter, pacing over to the spare room and unlocking the door. The American was puzzled to find the room empty once he entered, save for the cage resting in silent threat a couple feet away.

"Arthur..?"

Small squeaks and honks could be heard muffled, and Alfred cocked a brow, trailing his eyes among the room in a mini search. He looked behind the spare dresser, no Arthur. Behind the bedside table - no Arthur. And in a small and startling realization when he heard a soft sob closer to the bed, Alfred kneeled down and lifted the bedskirt that hid the rabbit.

And there he was met with something that tugged at Alfred's heartstrings.

"There you are!" He said quite softly, and Arthur flickered opened his bright green eyes, fearful and shaking pathetically under the bed springs. He saw Alfred and panted slightly yet his tremors remained present, slowly inching closer to the human.

And then another clap of thunder that was so loud it shook the whole flat rang out, causing Arthur to outwardly squeal and jump.

"Woah, hey, come out, it's alright, bun..." Alfred tried cooing, softly reaching a comforting hand out. "You're in shelter...thunder and lightning can't hurt you.."

Arthur was too afraid to nip or bite at Alfred's coaxing hand, frozen curled up in place under the tight fit of the mattress and squeaking in pathetic distress. "Come here..." Alfred continued to reach until he could gently pat Arthur's ear, earning a jolt from the rabbit as his tremors refused to cease.

"If you come out, I can hold you until the storm passes." Alfred offered softly, and just the very tone of the humans voice comforted Arthur. The bunny swallowed down his fear and inched closer to the other, squeaking and gruffing nervously until he was out from under the bed.

"There you are, Artie." Alfred hummed softly, moreso to himself than the rabbit. The human crossed his legs in a sitting position on the plush carpet and extended his hands slimly in an appropriate-sized hug offering. "Come here, little dude."

Hesitantly the bunny approached, nose twitching in anxiety and tremors only slightly calming. He was but a few inches from Alfred's lap now when a bright flash of lightning startled Arthur and caused him to dive into the safety of the humans lap. The loud thunder followed suit, making Arthur cry in irrational fear.

"Shhh, It's alright," Alfred cooed, gently holding the rabbit and softly petting his head. His heart broke at just how bad the poor thing was shaking, "You're alright, buddy, calm down."

Alfred's body was so warm, just the temperature of the human made Arthur's tremors slow. He curled into Alfred's body best he could, graciously accepting the petting and hiding his face from the outside world. Every now and then a clap of thunder would pass and Arthur would squeak, but as time passed, both he and the human noticed that the storm had started to slow.

And so it had, eventually dwindled more to nothing but soft rain and no thunder.

"Looks like it's nearly over," Alfred commented, having still pet the bunny rested in his lap. Arthur's tremors had ceased completely now. "I never thought a rabbit as picky and snobby as you would be so scared of-"

But Alfred looked down, and noticed Arthur fast asleep in his lap, nose and tail twitching every now and again in his sleep.

Smiling, the American gently lifted the bunny so he was rested contently and rather adorably in his arms, carrying Arthur out of the spare room and into his own. He found his green scarf and gently coddled the bunny in it, this time, letting Arthur rest upon his plush bed.

"There you go..." Alfred cooed quietly as he tucked the bunny in best he could. "Sleep well, little dude. No way I'm letting thunder get ya."

And so he gently pet the rabbits head, earning a soft sleepy squeak from Arthur and a mild twitch of the nose.