Narrator's POV

Astre was not sure how long he had been in the closet.

He tried to keep track of the days through counting his meals but that failed rather quickly due to the irregular feeding schedule and what he was fed —sometimes he was certain that it was late evening and he received a plate of breakfast foods.

When that failed, he tried to tell the time through the tiny strip of light that poured in through under the door but that was irregular too.

He could hear the sounds of his brother going through life through: he could hear the sounds of his brother's footsteps entering or exiting the room, the sounds of fabric rustling which signaled he had changed clothes —whether that was into or out of nightclothes he could not tell—, the sound of the bed springs shifting when Ciel laid down to rest and the soft pumps of the transfusion machine and oxygen tank.

But besides that, Astre received no stimulation.

Ciel never spoke when he was in his room, leaving Astre desperately to even hear the most mundane conversation.

Even his many attempts to speak to Ciel went unheeded, Astre was stuck with the silent treatment.

Try as he might, he could never stay awake and see the person who brought him meals.

After a few days, the blunette began to feel filthy and began to smell, so he desperately wanted a bath too —part of him hoped Ciel would soon tire of the smell and let him out just even to bathe.

But honestly, Astre would have preferred to stink instead of the greatest shame forced upon him: the diaper he woke up wearing when he was first put in here and was regularly changed —and he definitely did not want to know who changed him.

Astre knew what his twin was doing: trying to break him mentally so he could put him back together.

During their time together that month, Astre would have broken if Ciel had not been there to stimulate him and keep him calm.

Unlike his brother who had been trained by their father for every situation he might face as the Queen's Watchdog, Astre had not gotten the same treatment and could only recognize what he twin was doing to him wit no way to stop it.

By what Astre guesstimated was the tenth day —but could be the hundredth for all he knew— something new appeared in the closet: a Bitter Rabbit.

But this Bitter Rabbit was not like the others that resembled himself or occasionally Sebastian or someone else, this one reminded him of Ciel.

This one had the same bluish grey as the typical Bitter Rabbit and wore the same clothes but it lacked an eyepatch so it had two black glossy eyes.

And, as much as he hated to admit it, he hugged the toy immediately and spoke to it like a child might.

Much to his delight, a few days later —or perhaps hours later— he had a second toy: another Bitter Rabbit!

This one had snow white fur and glossy emerald green eyes and wore a frilly pink dress just like the ones Lizzy favored.

He was so happy to have something to comfort him and talk to, he just wished they could talk back.

Maybe if he was a good boy Ciel would let him out and talk to him.

The blunette was not sure why he had been so mean to Ciel, he should have just behaved and obeyed his brother like he was supposed to.

After all, Ciel had gone through all that trouble of coming back to life for him and it would be wasteful to not take the fit he was given.

Astre frowned at the thought of his behavior, playing with his stuffed animals and listening for the sounds of his brother's life.

***

Ciel Phatomhive stood in front of the closet door, wondering if he should open it and see if his brother was ready.

It had been just over a week since he had locked Astre in there, but what that have been a long enough time to break him?

His precious baby brother was so weak even though he pretended to be strong, a fortnight was far too long —or else they would go fully insane according to father's training— but was a week too short?

He hated being away from his beloved twin for so long but Astre had been so naughty trying to run away.

Deciding to see if Astre was ready, the undead teen opened the closet door and saw happily playing with the two Bitter Rabbits he had been given.

Astre flinched when all the light poured in, his eyes used to the darkness, but once he adjusted he smiled, "Ciel!"

"Hello, baby brother, are you going to behave now?" Ciel asked

The younger twin nodded, "I will, I promise! I will not try to run away again, I just want to stay with you!"

"And you will not insult me and claim I am not your brother because I am revived?" The elder twin questioned

Astre shook his head, "I do not care about that anymore, you are you and you are my big brother!"

Ciel smiled at that, "Good boy, now, let us get you cleaned up and then we can cuddle for a bit before bed."

The slightly shorter boy stood up, his joints aching as he had not stood all week, but he limped his way to the bathroom.

He made no protest as he was stripped nor when Ciel did the same and led him into the prepared tub filled with warm water and fragrant lavender oil.

The nearly identical boys got into the water together.

Ciel immediately put a dollop of rose scented shampoo into his palm and began to work it into his twin's greasy hair.

Astre leaned into his touch, absolutely starved for any human contact after a week of absolute solitude.

His mismatched eyes however, went down to Ciel's pale stomach, and the row of black stitches that held the wound there shut.

Despite himself, his fingers ghosted over the large wound, feeling the bumps in the stitches.

"It used to hurt," Ciel admitted, looking at his stomach, "it was absolute agony when I first 'woke up', Undertaker constantly had to sedate me because I would just scream and scream until my body gave out, but now it is just numb."

Astre somberly nodded, "It should have been me."

Ciel's sapphire eyes widened at that, "What?"

"That died." The younger twin clarified, tears welling up in his eyes, "Everyone would have been happier if I died instead of you."

The undead twin was not sure what to say...