*Ciel's POV*

Sebastian appeared on the Earl's bed in a gust of wind from the cracked window, his red eyes like precious rubies in the candle-light of the room. "Trouble sleeping, my lord?" he asked softly, reaching out to brush the child's hair from his face.

"Yes," Ciel admit in a quiet voice, brows furrowing in confusion, "Are you really here, Sebastian?" Looking away from his butler, he added to the question a moment later, "Or am I dreaming it again?"

Sebastian's voice was gentle to the young master's ears, despite the mysterious words he spoke, "Life is but a dream within a dream. I believe Lau explained that to you once… something about a butterfly, wasn't it?"

Ciel sat up in his bed, grabbing onto Sebastian's hand as though that would somehow infer whether he was real or not. The action told him nothing, however, but he was glad that the butler didn't shatter at this touch; that, at least, was a good sign. "Yes, but.. that was just Lau speaking nonsense, Sebastian," he frowned, "I have to know what's real and what isn't. I have to know where you are." When he looked up at the butler now, there were frustrated tears forming in his eyes, "You left me, Sebastian. Why? Why would you leave me, Sebastian?"

The demon's figure vanished abruptly as the Earl's door was pushed open, and it was only then that Ciel realized that he was sitting up straight in his bed, frightfully screaming Sebastian's name. He gasped, shutting his eyes tightly even as Claude rushed to his side.

Just another dream… damn it.

"Damn it," the second half fell from his lips before he could stop it as he finally opened his eyes„ hands clenched into fists. He pushed Claude's hands away when the butler tried to touch him, his voice sharp, "Don't. Go… go get Hannah. I'd like to talk to her." Anyone but you right now.

Claude frowned at that, taking a step back in caution as he asked, "My lord, you can talk to me. It doesn't matter what these dreams are about, I—"

His words were cut off before he could even try to convince the Earl, "Just go get her, Claude, that's an order." With that statement, Claude left the room.

A few minutes passed before Hannah arrived, shutting the door behind her before walking over to where the young master sat. "What's troubling you, my lord?" her voice was soft, unfamiliar, soothing in some sense.

Ciel rubbed his tired eyes, trying to put the words together, "I keep having dreams about Claude replacing Sebastian, about Sebastian being here. I don't know what to do with myself, Hannah."

The maid put a hand on Ciel's arm as she spoke, trying to council the child, "Claude's told me a lot about you and that other butler, Sebastian. As it were, my lord… Sebastian left you, and he hasn't returned." Her eyes softened under the candle-light as she told him, "It's not about replacing him, my lord, it's about helping you move on. Dwelling on a demon who's abandoned you is hardly healthy And… if he were really going to come back, don't you think he would have already?"

"Well, yes, but I…" Ciel didn't even know how to finish that sentence. There wasn't any excuse for Sebastian leaving him like this, no matter how much the boy wished there was. Hanging his head, Ciel muttered, "What am I supposed to do?"

Hannah smoothed the Phantomhive Earl's hair away from his face with her free hand before speaking, "All you can do now is give Claude a chance. I've talked to him, master, and believe me when I say that he's trying to make up for Sebastian's disappearance. He just doesn't know how to go about it without you pushing him away again."

Ciel frowned at that, not understanding what the maid could possibly have meant by 'again'. "Pushing him away?" he asked thoughtfully.

Nodding, she elaborated, "He tells me that whenever he's gotten close to you, you've pushed him away or gotten frightened somehow."

Swallowing down the lump in his throat, the Earl forced himself to ask, "Has he… given you any examples? I'm not sure I understand, Hannah."

The maid pursed her lips in thought, as though she wasn't sure if she'd be saying too much by answering him. Finally, though, she replied, "Well, my lord, he did mention that he kissed you in the hotel.. and that you told him not to do it again."

"I told him not to do it without my permission," Ciel corrected softly, hugging himself as he muttered, "But I suppose that's nearly the same, isn't it?"

*Hannah's POV*

Hannah frowned, trying to reassure the young master while still being honest, "Well, yes, I can see where he would have taken it that way. But answer me something, master…" She paused, collecting her thoughts before asking, "Do you want to give Claude a chance? Do you want to believe that you can be happy again without that other butler in your life?"

"I… I want to try, Hannah, but it… it isn't fair to Claude," Ciel mumbled, shaking his head at her, "I can't look him in the eyes and tell him that I don't miss Sebastian. I can't pretend like I've forgotten about—"

Gently, the maid rest a hand on Ciel's arm, "And he isn't asking that of you, my lord, only that you let him help you." She sighed thoughtfully, trying to find a way to explain it without being horribly blunt; after a moment, she decided that a metaphor of sorts would be best, "The spider doesn't want you to feel trapped here, Ciel. Rather, he wants to lick the wounds that the raven's talons left on your skin. He just wants to help you move on, to help you heal."

"Spiders are poisonous," Ciel muttered, frowning at the maid's words, "It's hardly safe to let one lick your wounds like a puppy."

Realizing her small mistake, Hannah amended, "Perhaps that wasn't the right phrase, then. Nonetheless, spiders can suck poison out just as surely as they can inject it; I assure you that Claude means to do the former… He means you no harm, my lord."

"How can you be so sure?" The disbelief was palpable in the room as the young Earl asked this question. He swiped at his eyes to clear the tears from them, a shuddering sigh leaving him.

Resting a hand on Ciel's shoulder, Hannah replied, "I just know, my lord." She paused in thought before adding, "Now, you should try to get some sleep. I won't be far if you wake up again." She stood from her place at the edge of the bed and waited until Ciel had laid down once more; then she pulled the covers over the human and murmured, "Rest now, master. Everything's…going to be…just…fine." By the time she was finished speaking, her voice growing quieter with each word, Ciel had fallen asleep.