AN: Hello all! Happily posting chapter three of Savior! Claude finally is awake in this chapter, and most chapters from this point on will be told from his POV. I think that the story will be easier to understand this way, personally, though I LOVE writing from Grell's POV! I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Warnings for this chapter: None


Savior

Chapter Three: Awakening


Pain.

His whole body radiated with pain, though the worst of it came from his chest. He felt hot, like he was burning from the inside out. Trying to reach up to clutch his chest, Claude found that his arm was too weak to move.

Forcing his eyes open, the demon was assaulted with blurred vision of a room he wasn't familiar with. The brightness of the room made him wince and close his eyes out of instinct, but he forced them open once again, making them adjust to the light. As his vision slowly began to clear, Claude took notice of a few things.

The room he was in was indeed unfamiliar, and the man couldn't recall how he could've gotten to such a place. Also, his clothing had been changed into a pair of his own loose fitting pajamas, meaning that whomever had saved him knew who he was and had went through the trouble of seeking out his personal items.

A wave of dizziness overcame the demon, and his already blurred vision swam. Nausea followed closely behind, but Claude would not allow himself to be so weak. He was a demon, not some weak human, and he would control his body.

He could hear approaching footsteps from outside of the room as his eyes drifted closed again, and the door creaking open. A distorted voice sounded next, and Claude recognized his name being said. A cool hand pressed gently to his forehead, and the voice spoke again. Making out the word, 'fever,' Claude knew that he must be feverish. It made sense, all things considered.

Footsteps sounded, moving away and then coming back. More mumbles, and a wet cloth was pressed to his forehead. The cool cloth sent sharp jolts of pain into the demon's skin, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his chest.

"…-ey? Can -ou hear m-?" The distorted voice questioned.

Forcing his eyes opened again, Claude was assaulted with red. Everything was red, from the person's hair to their clothing to the blanket that covered his chest. Forcing his eyes to adjust, his vision cleared and the raven haired demon recognized the man before him. The reaper Sebastian Michaelis associated himself with, Grell Sutcliff.

Nodding his head slightly to the reaper's question, confusion swam in his mind. Although the red head had told him before he held no alliance with Michaelis, he owed no kindness to Claude either. The actions of the odd reaper confused him to no end, but never as much as they did in this moment.

"Ho- -ong has it -een since you ate? …not healing…" Grell said, his voice fading in and out.

Too long. It had been much too long, over three years since he had last eaten. He was ravenous, and his body wasn't as strong as it normally was. It was a wonder he wasn't dead, Satan knew he should be. Trying to speak, Claude found he could only produce a strangled noise, and the red head quickly hushed him.

A hiss of pain sounded from the reaper, and Claude turned his gaze to the red head just in time to notice him slicing his wrist with a small knife. Eyeing the knife wearily, the demon watched as it was set aside before the reaper pressed his bleeding wrist to Claude's open mouth. The smell and taste of blood flooded his senses, and his eyes glowed fuchsia as he began to lap at the reaper's offering.

"…will -ake you stronger… help -ou heal." Grell told him with a grin.

As Claude drank, he couldn't help but want more. He had never tasted anything like a reaper before, and the power and energy stored in Grell's blood was almost addictive. The more he drank, the more the pain began to fade. A groggy feeling overcame him. The wrist was removed from his lips, and Claude instinctively licked his lips, gathering any remaining traces of blood and allowing the flavor to rest on his tongue.

"You should sleep." Grell said as Claude's eyes drifted closed.

'Yes,' the demon thought to himself, 'That sounds like a good idea.'


The second time Claude woke, it was dark outside. Candle light flickered in the room, making the shadows dance beautifully in the crevasses of the room. The pain was still there, though not as prominently as before, and the raven haired man was grateful for that.

The room was empty and silent, no sign of the red headed reaper anywhere. Claude wondered how he had managed to survive Sebastian's attack. His sword, the Laevatein, was an ancient relic that was created to tear souls in two. By piercing Claude so deeply, the damage from the sword should've killed him. His survival could be called a miracle, but using such a divine word to describe himself was laughable.

The demon turned his thoughts back to the reaper, Grell Sutcliff. The foolish reaper defied logic by saving him, and if Claude assumed correctly, had broken multiple reaper laws by bringing Claude into the dimension. Not to mention his own home.

'What can he possibly gain from this arrangement? For a reaper to save a demon, how distasteful…' the raven haired demon thought to himself with a sneer. Unfortunately, Claude had no choice but to accept the reaper's offer for now. He was much too weak to leave, and would likely die without help from another.

'How could I allow this to happen? How disgraceful.' The demon spat, disgusted with his own failure. 'And what of Sebastian Michaelis and Ciel Phantomhive?' He wondered, almost smelling the fragrant smell of the child's soul. The raven demon had most likely eaten the soul and thoroughly enjoyed it with the knowledge that Claude had failed to steal it away for his own.

His stomach rumbled as he recalled the taste of the child's blood. The taste of a human's blood was tainted with the taste of the soul, and Ciel's blood had tasted exquisite. It was black as sin, but sweet with purity. Such a rarity. He silently damned Sebastian Michaelis for winning the child's soul away from him.

He considered going after Sebastian when he was healed, but shot down the idea immediately. Though spider demon's like Claude usually stayed around the same area, a raven demon like Sebastian would travel from place to place. The raven would be nearly impossible to find, and the task would be time consuming while accomplishing nothing.

The click of a closing door drew Claude from his thoughts, and he listened to the shuffling and mutters of the reaper who had saved him not long ago. A moment later, the door to the bedroom opened, and a surprised reaper stared at him.

"Oh, you're awake again? I would've thought your injuries would have kept you unconscious for a bit longer yet." Grell mused as he entered the room, shrugging off his jacket and laying it on his dresser.

"If I were a lesser demon, perhaps." Claude rasped, his voice sounding raw and gravely, "But I am not so weak."

The reaper laughed as he approached, placing a hand on his forehead. Nodding to himself, the red head removed his hand and gave Claude a large, toothy smile.

"Yes, you certainly don't look weak at all~!" Grell said with a teasing smile, "Would you like a glass of water? You sound parched." The reaper questioned, tilting his head in question as he stared down at Claude.

The demon gave a nod, taking in the sight of the red head as he left the room. Bright green eyes that seemed to glow, and long red disheveled hair. Not nearly as tall as he appeared, considering the large heals the reaper wore.

A whimsical, gender confused male with a personal agenda. The sooner Claude's body healed, the better.

The tapping of heels alerted Claude that the red head was approaching, and he watched the man enter the room again, this time holding a small glass of water. Setting the glass on a stand next to the bed, an arm slid behind his back, helping to sit him up. The pain in his chest throbbed, and Claude watched as his vision began to black out at the movement.

The pillows on the bed were rearranged behind him, and then Claude was leaned back against them. Propped up into a sitting position, Claude's head felt heavy, bobbling slightly. The reaper seemed to take notice, making his way over to a small closet to get an extra blanket. Folding the blanket, the red head secured it behind Claude's head.

"There~! Much better! Take a drink and then we'll chat, I'm sure you've got quite a few questions for me!" Grell said cheerfully as he snatched up the glass of water and placed it against Claude's awaiting lips.

A small trickle made its way through his parted lips, wetting his dry mouth and throat. The reaper paused every so often, allowing the demon to swallow, and soon enough Claude had finished the glass of water. Grell placed the glass back on the stand and took a seat on the bed near Claude's legs.

"Go ahead and ask me what you will, I'm sure you're full of questions~!" Grell said with a wink, crossing his thin legs off the side of the bed.

"How did I get here, and why?" Claude said after a moment, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Well," Grell said as he placed a finger to his chin in thought, "My boss, William, ordered me to travel to that demonic island where you and my dear Sebby fought and collect that lovely sword of yours. I was also ordered to take care of any corpses I found.

I found your body along with that woman's body as well, and after I discarded her body I found that you were still alive, much to my surprise! I decided to save you, it's been so interesting with you around after all~! Oh, you could always rile Sebastian up so wonderfully! Not that THAT will matter anymore…" Grell trailed off.

Claude's eyes narrowed at the words, silently demanding to know what the reaper meant. Grell smiled in return, though it looked half-hearted as he dug into the pocket of his pants. Pulling out a piece of paper, the red head carefully unfolded it and held it up for Claude to see.

A small card with a black frame, roses on two opposing corners. Delicately typed on the card was:

In memory of

Ciel Phantomhive

Who died at Aug. 26th, 1889

Aged 13 years.

Golden eyes flickered back to the reaper, who was watching his face for any expression. A sour feeling overcame the demon, knowing that Sebastian had indeed eaten the young master's soul. He had suspected as much.

"It's not what it looks like, you know." The red head said suddenly, catching Claude by surprise. "Actually, this card is the reason I got home so late. I received it today while out reaping with a few others, and although the Phantomhive boy is marked as deceased on our records, his soul was not collected. Upon further investigation, his body was not received by the Undertaker, and staff members of the Phantomhive mansion claimed to have seen him alive and well with his doting butler. They said the pair was leaving the country, and the mansion had been left to them." Grell revealed with a giggle and a grin.

Claude took in the information, considering the facts and coming to a conclusion. Ciel Phantomhive was a demon now. It did make sense, Jim Macken had been a bitter and jealous soul. In exchange for his own soul, he had probably requested that Hannah make Ciel unobtainable to both Claude and Sebastian, to punish them both for wanting the Phantomhive child so much more then himself. A soft chuckle sounded from Claude, sounding raspy and bitter. The sound caught the reaper by surprise, his large green eyes widening slightly before an overly large smile graced his features.

"I see you've figured out the same thing we all have~! Ciel Phantomhive is now a demon, so perhaps it is for the best that you lost, hmm? From what we heard, Sebby was still playing the role of the butler, following behind his young master and caring for him. But we both know he wouldn't stick around without reason, so chances are he's stuck with the brat for one reason or another~!" The reaper said happily.

Claude nodded slightly, turning away from the reaper to look at the bedroom door. How long would it take for him to heal? How long until he could find another contract? It had been too long since he had last eaten, he would need to find a soul soon or be driven mad with hunger.

A loud growl sounded, alerting to his hunger, and Claude felt an uncharacteristic blush spread across his cheeks. Of course, the last thing that a reaper probably wanted to know what that he was caring for a hungry demon in a world that collected souls.

"Hmmm, now that could be a problem! Unfortunately I don't have any souls just lying around! Will my blood do to sate you for a bit?" The reaper questioned, offering his slender wrist towards Claude with a slight smile.

Claude's stomach growled again, sounding loud in the otherwise silent room. His hand felt heavy as he lifted it, accepting the wrist and drawing it forward. His free hand came up and he drew his nail across the pale flesh, producing a long shallow cut along the reaper's skin. Bringing it to his mouth, Claude began to lap at the wound.

The blood was all he remembered and more. It tasted like pure energy, pulsing with life on his taste buds in a way that human blood never had. Able to savor the taste this time, Claude was surprised to find a hint of cherry mixed in with the copper blood's natural taste. It was appropriate, all things considered.

"Quite an appetite you have~! We'll have to figure something else out tomorrow, because I'm not going to sit around and be a demon snack for however long it takes you to heal… Though, that tongue of yours does feel delicious on my skin~!" The reaper giggled as Claude looked up at him from over his wrist.

Claude held the reaper's gaze as he pulled away slightly, his lips stained with red blood. He gave the healing wound one final lick as the skin mended together, cleaning it of any trace of blood. The reaper gave a happy squeal, apparently pleased with the display.

"Oh~! If you'll lick me like that every time, maybe I won't mind being your snack at all! And red is a lovely color on you, just so you know~!" Grell teased, watching Claude lick his lips clean.

Claude said nothing, but an amused smirk made its way to his face. Dealing with a reaper for a while would be tiring, but more amusing than Alois Trancy had been at least. Letting the red head's wrist go, Claude let his hand drop to the bed again.

Although Grell's blood seemed to pulse with energy, it seemed to exhaust Claude almost instantly. His eyes drooped a bit, but he held onto consciousness. A small hand ran through his hair, startling the demon out of his tired state.

"You'll need a bath tomorrow. Your hair is full of mud and blood." Grell said with distaste, twirling the raven locks in his fingers.

Claude swatted the hand away, irritated that the reaper was rude enough to touch him so easily. The demon appreciated personal space and boundaries, and he had a feeling that the reaper would do is best to ignore any boundaries that held him at bay. The red head was not put off by Claude's actions, and continued to speak.

"Your spider friends gave me quite the scare, you know." The reaper said with a frown. "Your clothing was ruined, too ruined to save, so I went to the mansion to get you some clothing to wear. After opening your room though, I considered letting you just stay naked on the bed!" The red head giggled, winking flirtatiously.

"A reaper fearful of spiders, and yet now you house one. How ironic." Claude muttered, giving the giggly red head a flat look.

"I never said that I was scared of them, they just startled me is all! There is a difference~!" Grell whined. "One snuck up on me while I was gathering your things! It was as big as my hand!" The reaper said, holding his hand up towards Claude to gesture to the spider's size.

Claude smirked. Yes, he knew exactly which spider that had been. The breed was aggressive towards anything intruding into its territory, which was exactly why Claude had taken preference to that spider, allowing it and a select few others to live in his own area. The Trancy mansion had made a habit of not disturbing its eight legged guests upon the demon's own request, but some of the species of spiders Claude had brought in himself.

"I'm surprised you were not bit." The demon said, amused.

"I almost was!" The reaper exclaimed, a smile tugging at his lips. "When I turned around, it was maybe a foot away, hovering above me and ready to strike! I'll let you know now, don't you dare go befriending any spiders in MY home! I don't care how handsome you are, I simply won't allow my house to look like your room!" Grell said, crossing his arms across his chest and looking away.

"A spider is a solitary creature by nature. Your request should not be an issue, as I shall not reside here for long." Claude said with a nod.

With a sigh, the reaper stood and made his way to his dresser. Opening a drawer, the smaller man pulled out a pair of silky black pajamas, red roses dancing along the dark fabric. A sharp cry for him to close his eyes sounded, and Claude reluctantly obeyed, disliking the bossy tone of voice.

The sound of clothing hitting the floor and shuffling filled the room as the red head changed his clothing. Claude listened to the reaper move around the room, disinterested in his actions, but pleased that the silence had returned. The room darkened as the lit candles were blown out, and the silence was broken once again.

"We'll have to share a bed while you're here, you know. You'd better keep your hands to yourself!" Grell said firmly as he crawled onto the bed next to Claude.

Claude's eyes snapped open at the sudden weight on the bed, a look of distaste on his face. How presumptuous of the reaper to believe Claude would step so low as to take any physical interest in him. And to give a demon orders in such a way. He could not allow that sort of thing to go on for much longer, his tolerance would not allow it.

An arm slid around his back to sit him up, and the soft pillows that had propped him up were removed. The red head helped him to slide down on the bed before laying him gently on his own pillow. Sliding under the covers next to Claude, the reaper drew the blanket upward, snuggling into his pillow and getting comfortable. His back to Claude, the reaper spoke again.

"Try not to move too much in your sleep, I have to work in the morning, and I need my beauty rest~!" Grell coo'd, his shrill voice slicing through the darkness.

His annoyance peaked, and ignoring the pain in his chest, Claude spun towards the red head and took hold of his slender neck, nails pressing firmly against the delicate skin. The reaper gasped, his hands immediately going up to take hold of Claude's own, but the demon would not allow himself to be overcome so easily.

"What in the hell are you-" Grell snapped, only to be interrupted by the demon.

"You would do best to remember that though I am injured, I am still a demon, and I hold no contract with yourself. Refrain from giving me orders, reaper." Claude snapped in return, silencing the smaller man.

The room was quiet as Claude slowly withdrew his hand, aware that the reaper could easily turn and injure him at any given moment. After a minute without any retaliation, Claude turned over, his chest radiating pain as he turned his back to the red head. The ache in his chest was enough to make him want to cry out, but he would not allow it.

A soft kick to his shin drew his attention from the pain though, and a smirk made its way to his lips at the smaller man's retaliation. With the satisfaction of knowing that the reaper had taken heed of his warning, Claude allowed sleep to overcome him and take him away from the burning pain in his chest.

AN: And there you have it, there is chapter three! I hope that you all enjoyed reading it, and if you did I can only hope that you'll leave me a review! Next chapter: Grell finds Claude something to eat and helps him take a bath, talks about his handsome boss, and teases Claude about his pretty pajamas. Sure to be an interesting chapter for sure~!