Chapter Text
Everyone has a favourite day of the week. The reasons behind one single trait can be countless– depending on the food, weather, or simply shorter hours. All of those reasons had one single thing in common– they were predictable. Therefore, it's easier to create favouritism of one single day.
Ron, the composed bunny he was, had a preference for Tuesdays. First reason was simple, probably the one most people would pick immediately– the hours were shorter. Slacking off wasn't exactly right to describe his doing. He just had other places to be– and that was rather a clear sign of setting his priorities. His workload wasn't that hard to balance with his life matters anyway.
Secondly, that's when he usually went to the hospital. Same location, usually different people every time. That rule didn't apply for the receptionist, however– their purple curls were so damn hard to miss.
It all started a few weeks ago. Ron discovered an online ad of the hospital looking for volunteers– something starting off as a survey, and depending on the answers, they'd choose certain participants for their experiments.
The bunny ignored it at first. All until the volunteering started growing, and the Animal Corp. representatives were literally standing in his department, promoting the whole experiment thing.
As a manager, he knew it was necessary and this was like networking. Improving the hospitals was a very needed thing, after all. As a living being, he hated being seen as an experiment– 'Versuchskaninchen', as Ron wouldn't want to call himself.
He couldn't lie when he filled out the needed papers. His only fear was that he'd lie and end up as the perfect candidate instead. The solution was kept simple– he just didn't tell the full truth.
Which led him to participating in another volunteering circle. They now needed actual vital data– so, clearly, Ron's free time had to be used for hospital visits now. Luckily, they were mentally underwhelming, and Ron didn't need to do much– well, at least yet.
Due to his boredom, he'd end up chatting with the nurses. These would tell him what they were doing– and how they'd pass the information to the doctors. The doctors he talked to unintentionally dropped important names during small talk. It wasn't that hard to pinpoint that the strings were leading him back to the government– the same one he worked for.
What did he even accept this job for? Ron could only internally swear at himself for doing so. It was Tuesday afternoon, just some late summer day. The bunny was busy packing some papers and other tiny items in his suitcase. Right as he finished, there was a knock on his door.
"Ron!" A feminine looking rat entered his office, closing the door behind her. She looked up at Ron, noticing he was packing. "Oh, sorry for disturbing! I just wanted to say I need to get off work a bit earlier today... Uh, preferably now!"
"Uh– Alright, did something happen?" Ron asked, taking the suitcase into his paws.
Rattina. Rattina was one of his coworkers and probably the only creature in his building he allowed to get close enough. They were great colleagues, friends, even– just two creatures that sometimes spent time together outside of work due to similar interests.
Just a few days ago she decided to cut her hair. Now, it was a bob, but it actually fit her so damn well. Ron couldn't help but feel proud of Rattina's fashion choices as well– her choice of long, pleated skirts matched her flowy blouses in such an aesthetic way.
"Oh, no, I'm fine," She tucked her hair behind her ear, giving Ron a tiny smile. "You know this whole volunteering thing they're promoting? Well, I finally got my results. Apparently they want me to join their research, so they need me to do some tests."
"The Animal Hospital?" Ron's interest was piqued, making the bunny tilt his head a little. He returned the smile, walking up to Rattina.
"Yeah!" She nodded, holding onto her purse.
"Then we need to go in the same direction anyway. Need a ride?" He asked, taking his car keys out of his pocket.
"Whaatt?? You're taking a part too? The other colleagues I've asked either denied it or just said they weren't chosen! We must be special." Rattina flipped her hair in a playful way, showing her confidence.
That made Ron chuckle. The bunny walked past her, holding the door open. "Definitely. Now, it's time to go, no need for coming late."
"Coming!" Rattina exclaimed, quickly stepping out of Ron's office and waiting until he locked it up. "I'm glad I don't need to do this alone, actually. Do you have any tips?"
"Well, this might stupid, but I always carry maple syrup with me as a talisman. Ironically enough, it always works..."
Rattina giggled, following Ron out of the office.
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"That's it for today!" The nurse in blue medical uniform walked out of the room, glancing at Ron and Rattina in the waiting room. "If you're free to continue coming on Tuesdays, that'd be amazing."
"Sure, that works!" Rattina smiled, getting up from her seat. She groaned a little as she stretched, turning to Ron.
"They didn't take that long when they did the procedure on me." Ron spoke up, fixing his glasses.
"Maybe my results are just better than yours, so they needed a while." Rattina did a little bleh with her tongue, standing straight. "Plus, there was no need to wait for me anyway."
"That's just what friends do." Ron replied blatantly, following Rattina to the exit.
"Oh my, aren't ya just sweet!" Rattina chuckled, grabbing Ron's wrist gently. "Let's go. I bet my brother is gonna starve himself at home."
"Brother?" Ron raised his eyebrow, curious due to the new information. "Since when?"
"Ron... He's my twin, and he works in our department..." Rattina couldn't help but laugh at Ron's puzzled expression. "Don't tell me you didn't see another rat there?"
"Uh... As a manager, I should know, but I don't." Ron confessed, his ears twitching from getting flustered.
"Hahaa, well now you do! His name's Ratthew. I'm sure you two would get along well!"
"I'm not keen on getting friends and you know that." Ron replied, opening his car door and getting in. "Don't forget to buckle up."
"We're you always this anti-social?" Rattina pouted, sitting in the seat next to Ron.
"Not all of us are social butterflies like you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna drive. Where do I drop you off again?"
"That corner right next to the convenience store, please! Again, thank you for the company. Who knew you're so soft on the inside!" Rattina's smile was almost contagious. But Ron's self-discipline was stronger.
"You don't know me." Ron rolled his eyes playfully, turning the radio on.
"Oh, I do! You've got favourite flowers, your favourite colour is actually either sage green or teal depending on the day, and you hate incompetent people." Rattina even pointed her paw up, naming the facts she knew.
"You can be truly insufferable sometimes," Ron snickered, spotting the convenience store.
"Keep that up and it might hurt my feelings." Rattina threatened playfully.
Whatever these two bonded over, it usually made sense to them only. But they both found this sense of comfort in it– a nice way to stop the feeling of loneliness.
Not like Ron ever cared about that feeling. He didn't mind being alone. But being alone and feeling lonely are two entirely different things– and the bunny was aware of that. Despite his relatively social work, he remained truthful to his introverted side, finding peace in calmness.
That was until Rattina appeared in his life. It's not like there was confetti flying around, or any special music entrance for her in his life. She just– appeared. And since then, with each day, Ron found it harder to believe there were days when she wasn't around.
When Rattina finally disappeared behind the corner, Ron drove off peacefully.
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Day gives way to night, and night has given way to day; a few days passed by with nothing much happening. Usually, when Friday nights arrived, some groups of colleagues went out for drinks. Ron was never the one to participate– alcohol wasn't his definition "right bonding".
The rat with a bob slipped into Ron's office around 6 PM. Nothing about her looked different; wearing business casual with tiny heels, her bow matching her soft pink blouse.
Ron looked up from his seat, blinking for a second. "Rattina? You're not gonna go out with others?"
"Uh, I don't feel like it today." Rattina chuckled, her smile quickly disappearing as she pressed her back against the door.
Ron raised his eyebrow, deciding to not press further. He analysed her for a second, and practically nothing gave her stress away.
Her face had the same unreadable charm. Usually, her emotions were easy to read, but there was nothing suspicious right now. Her style was as immaculate as always; not a single weird fold was noticeable. And Ron noticed a lot. Her bow on the same side as usual. So why was he feeling like something was wrong?
A few seconds of silence went by, allowing Ron to finish filling out some table on his laptop. Rattina finally said something again, her voice quieter than usual.
"Can we go for a walk when you're done?"
"Sure." Ron looked up at Rattina, giving her a concerned nod. "Won't your friends worry?"
"I told the others I have a meeting with you..." Rattina confessed, this time her ears twitching a little. Usually, she only did that when she felt guilty for something. Perhaps she didn't like lying– whether it was to Ron or to the other colleagues.
"Okay?" Ron stretched the "o", stopping to type. "Did you lie?"
"I just– I don't feel like socialising with them, okay?" Rattina's eyebrows furrowed as her paws held onto her own arms, basically hugging herself. Ron was no mastermind when it came to reading body language but it radiated pure discomfort.
"Don't you want to go rest at home then?" Ron asked, logging out of the system.
"Damn it, no, Ron, I don't..." Rattina hissed, her ears twitching again. "Sorry, that slipped out in a slightly mean way. I didn't mean to."
"It's alright." With each passing second, Ron realised there was something Rattina desperately needed to confess. The longer he made her wait, the deeper she was slipping into the quicksand of her own mind.
Ron quickly packed his suitcase, grabbing his jacket from the rack next to the door. He carefully took Rattina by her wrist, leading her out.
They've been walking for at least five minutes now. The sunset was becoming visible. The smalltalk that Ron tried to initiate quickly died out– until he mentioned the sunset.
"Ron, I'm scared." Rattina suddenly switched the topic, stopping to walk. They were in the middle of some empty alleyway, surrounded by nature.
"What is it that scares you?" Ron asked, turning to Rattina. Her expression mirrored how lost she felt right now. Only if he knew how to help.
"I just feel like I'm paranoid for no reason sometimes," Rattina whispered, looking around. The rat took one step closer towards Ron, looking up at him.
"Did.. something happen?"
A nod.
"It started after the hospital trip," Rattina lowered her head, taking another step towards Ron. She pressed her forehead against him, sighing before continuing to talk. "I feel like something is playing tricks with my mind."
"And... that would be?" Ron figured Rattina needed comfort. But what kind? Was he allowed to touch her? Just pat her? The bunny was truly confused, but he collected himself and just hugged her with one arm gently, his paw carefully touching her head.
"On the way back home, I felt something– or someone– following me. I didn't pay much attention to it because my home was right there. And that was my biggest mistake, I think..." She sniffled, not out of possible tears but because of anxiety. "I can't sleep at home. There's this unexplainable paranoia that I'm being watched. This has never happened before, and before you ask, no, I didn't see any difference. At least until yesterday. I could've sworn that I left the balcony window closed, but when I came home, it was wide open– And I couldn't ask Ratthew because he wasn't home yet– I feel like I'm going insane, Ron..."
"Hey, I'm sure it'll be fine–" Despite being a rational man, he always leaned towards positivity when comforting someone. "Maybe it was a coincidence?"
"I wanted to believe that until I found things laying differently in the kitchen– like, the spoon that was on the table was suddenly on the counter..."
"Maybe, uh, it was your– brother? I'm sure everything has a logical explanation." Ron glanced down at Rattina, his paws letting the strands of her hair fall through the gaps.
"I want to believe it, but my paranoia won't let me... I've been drinking coffee the way an alcoholic drinks cheap booze– Ron, this isn't me!" She placed her paws on his chest, pulling away to look up at him.
"Of course it seems like this to you right now– Hey, um, have you tried sleeping on the couch? Instead of your room?" Ron asked, blinking.
"That thought scares me even more. I don't want Ratthew to worry, so I can't tell him..." In reality, she was embarrassed to tell her twin that.
"Okay, well, are you– really sure it's connected to the hospital?" The bunny asked.
"You assume it could be just stress?" Rattina asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Well– it could be? You were stressed about your results, and this uncertainty is making you anxious because you don't know what it means for you– so the current result is your paranoia?" Ron shared his thoughts, scratching behind Rattina's ear gently.
"You might be onto something..." Rattina hummed, pressing her head against Ron's paw before pulling away. She took a step back, wiping her eyes a little.
"It's going to be fine, really. Do you want to go buy you something to help you calm down? There's medicine for that." Ron suggested, watching Rattina. She was such a brilliant, collected colleague, so seeing her in such a vulnerable state was– something.
"Could you drop me off next to the convenience store?" She asked in a soft voice, blinking for a moment before glancing back up at Ron.
The bunny just nodded, giving Rattina a tiny smile. He came up to her, giving her shoulder a gentle pat before leading her towards the parking lot. "Sure."
"Thanks... You're a great one, really." Rattina chuckled, her tone a bit weaker than usual. She must be tired even if it hasn't been a week of her stress.
"Took you too long to notice." Ron rolled his eyes, snickering. He removed his paw, keeping it in the pocket of his pants.
The walk back was filled with silence, mixed with the weight of the situation. Ron understood that Rattina simply needed a trusted adult to tell this to– well, and a friend to listen to her, too.
As a friend, he recognised she needed distraction, too. Since neither wanted to initiate more conversations, the bunny turned the radio on in the car, listening to whatever music they had.
"Is there any genre that you hate, Ron?" Rattina asked, bobbing her head to the melody of whatever pop song played right now.
"I don't think so. I believe all genres have decent songs... Unless we're talking about country songs, of course." Ron replied, the convenience store appearing in sight.
"Pfft, that is what you hate?" Rattina giggled, looking out of the window. "Well, you have a point there."
"See? Of course." Ron parked in his usual spot, stopping the car. He turned to Rattina, sighing.
The rat unbuckled already, noticing Ron's eyes on her. She turned to him, blinking for a moment in silence. "What?"
"Nothing. Just– don't worry about it, okay? Get some rest. Tomorrow– you'll find out the truth about your results anyway." Ron gave Rattina one last pat, chuckling.
"Ugh geez, thanks for reminding me, now I won't fall asleep because something is bothering my soul!" Rattina sighed dramatically, one paw on her forehead, like a distressed damsel she was.
"Oh please, this was meant to be reassuring." The bunny rolled his eyes, followed by a soft smile.
"Sure, sure. Fine, I need to go now– thank you for your time, really!" Rattina smiled, getting out of the car.
The two waved at each other. Ron stayed for another moment, checking the rear-view mirror to make sure Rattina disappeared from sight after reaching the corner.
Now, it was his turn to head home, too. Little did he know that this would be the last normal conversation he'd have with Rattina.