((Note: Okay, so I may be going out of character. I'm trying my best not to, but I'm having particular trouble with Claude. And I have seen episode six now. ^^. However, as a reviewer pointed out, I'm not being true to the manga, which is true. I haven't decided whether to read it or not. So…yeah. Not Manga Compliant))

Sebastian sat by his bedroom window. The manor was quiet and dark, save for the branch of three candles Sebastian kept by his side. Perfectly still, he waited, listening to the ticking of the clock marking off the hours. When the sun came up, Sebastian unfolded him from his seat, blew out the candles, and went to prepare to attend to his master. For the first time, Sebastian went about his duties with a heavy heart. Claude had not come.

XXX

"Get out of here, you whore!" Claude, who had been coming to collect Alois' lunch tray, paused in the hallway outside of Alois' study. Not that the young earl ever got any studying done. The outburst was followed the sound of shattering china. It appeared that Alois was throwing dishes at the help again. Claude was grateful that it wasn't him this time. From the sound of things, Hannah was Alois' target. Claude didn't know what it was about the young woman that made Alois hate her so.

Claude felt anger bubbling with in him. Whenever he spent time with Sebastian, Claude was always jealous that Sebastian got to serve a master who respected his opinion, who listened to him. Who, considering they were both serving very young masters, obeyed him when necessary. And Claude was certain that Sebastian would never have stood for Alois' behavior. And in that moment, Claude decided that he wasn't going to either.

He opened the door. Alois had thrown a plate across the room. Hannah was bleeding from a relatively minor scratch across her cheek. Claude wondered what it said that they were grateful when the wounds inflicted by their master were minor. Their master should not have been inflicting wounds at all.

"Alois, that will be quiet enough!" Claude said. Claude had never raised his voice to Alois before, and it was enough to make the boy hesitate before reaching for the next piece of china. Claude was standing beside the desk in an instant, more quickly than the human eye could follow. He grabbed Alois' wrist before he could throw anything else.

"Hannah," Claude said calmly, "You may go. I will deal with His Highness." Hannah gave a breif curtsey and swept from the room.

"You spoiled my fun, Claude," Alois said with a pout. "How are you going to make it up to me?" But Claude had yet to let go of Alois' wrist. "I do not intend to make it up to you, Alois Trancy." His grip tightened, enough to be painful, but not enough to leave bruises on Alois' delicate skin. "I will no longer tolerate you treating the staff in such a manner."

Alois squirmed, trying to wrench his wrist away. "How dare you! You're just my butler! You have to do what I say!"

Claude removed his glasses with his free hand, his golden eyes flashing. "I may have agreed to serve you, Your Highness, but you should not forget that while I am your loyal servant, I am also a demon. And my duty as your loyal servant is to do what is best for you, even if you do not like it very well." He finally released Alois' wrist, and put his glasses back on. "Is there any thing else Your Highess requires?"

"You will pay for this," Alois hissed, cradling his wrist.

Claude bowed, collected the remaining dished from Alois's lunch, and exited the room.

XXX

Claude was pleasantly surprised. He and the rest of the Trancy staff had managed to get through the rest of the day without anything unusually untoward happening. Claude extinguished Alois's candles for the evening, and was about to leave, a single taper in his hand lighting the way, when Alois called him back.

"Claude."

Claude sighed, "Yes, Your Highness?" He turned around and found Alois standing on the bed, the pitcher of water that normally stood on his bedside table in his hands. The butler couldn't help but wonder what Alois was up to.

"Come here."

Obedient, Claude went and stood by the side of Alois' bed. Alois raised the pitcher and poured the contents over Claude's head.

Now, Claude and Sebastian were not vampires. Garlic, silver, a crucifix, none of these would have a much of an effect on them. But they were demons. And being doused in several liters of holy water was certainly a problem.

The pain was immediate, and intense. Claude collapsed to his knees, as the burning water burned the side of his face, seeped through his suit to burn his back arm, and side. As his vision went dark behind his glasses, he heard Alois horrid, high pitched laugh. "I told you I'd make you pay!"

Alois called for the triplets to come and clean up the mess.

XXX

"You seem distracted today, Sebastian. I asked you to bring me my correspondence."

"My apologies, Young Master." Sebastian fetched the requested paperwork, then assumed a position behind Ciel's chair. Ciel opened the first letter, eyes scanning the overly elaborate Victorian script. Sebastian didn't move. Ciel raised his head. Normally his butler would have moved on, and been about other work. Sebastian wasn't the type to stand idle.

"You're hovering, Sebastian."

Sebastian hesitated. "I have a request, My Lord."

This time, Ceil put down his work entirely, twisting his head around to look at Sebastian. Sebastian stepped forward, going to one knee beside Ciel's chair. "I would like to go away for a while, My Lord."

Ciel considered. Sebastian had never asked anything of him before, (well other than his soul, of course) and there weren't any particularly urgent problems that they needed to solve. One the other hand, Ciel couldn't imagine being without his butler. His protector.

"For how long?" Ciel asked softly.

"Not for long, My Lord. A day or less."

Sebastian deserved a day. "Very well," Ciel said, turning back to his work. Sebastian got to his feet. He bowed to his master. "Thank you, My Lord. I'll leave tonight." He paused in the doorway, looking back at his master. Ciel's head was bowed over his desk. Sebastian smiled. He would find Claude, and everything would be all right.

XXX

Claude opened his eyes onto blackness. He lacked the will to move, but from what he could surmise, he had been placed his own bed. And someone was knocking at his window.

"Sebastian," he said softly, a smile on his face. When Claude didn't get up to open the window, Sebastian let himself in. At a snap of his fingers, the candles in the room sprang to life.

"What has he done to you?" Sebastian hissed.

"Holy water. Burns." Claude let his eyes drift closed again. Sebastian gathered Claude in his arms. "Sebastian…what are you doing…?"

"I will not leave you here."

Claude struggled feebly. "I have to stay and look after Alois. Contract."

"The contract obligates you to serve Alois, not to let him torture you." Sebastian carried Claude through the silent house, the way he had carried Ciel many time before. "What inspired him to do this, Claude?"

Claude smiled against Sebastian's shoulder. I stood up to him. I told him to stop picking on the servants, and Hannah in particular. He said he would make me pay for it. I suppose he was right."

XXX

"My Lord!"

Ciel rubbed his temples. Meirin was perhaps the last person he wished to have interrupting his work. "What is it?" He said testily.

"My Lord, Sebastian has returned. Finnian saw him entering through the servant's entrance a few minutes ago!"

"Thank goodness. Thank you, Meirin, that will be all." Ciel hurried off towards Sebastian's quarters. He hadn't quite imagined how difficult it would be to be without his butler for even the space of a morning and part of an afternoon.

The Earl Phantomhive didn't knock, "I'm glad you're back, Sebastian," he said, entering the room, "I wanted to discuss with you the plans for Her Majesty's garden party this weekend." Ciel stopped in his tracks. "Sebastian!"

Sebastian was leaning against the headboard, with Claude's head in his lap. "Yes, My Lord?" he said, running his fingers gently through Claude's hair.

"You brought my enemies into my own house!"

"Ciel," Sebastian said, and Ciel knew he was serious, as Sebastian very, very rarely called him by his given name. "Claude is not your enemy. Alois is your enemy, Claude just happens to have a contract with him."

Ciel looked skeptical. "So this is who you've been seeing then, Sebastian?"

Sebastian nodded. "Yes. This has nothing to do with you and Alois. Claude and I have been seeing each other for centuries."

"Well," Ciel stuttered, "is he all right?" he asked, noticing the burns on the side of Claude's face.

((Next Chapter: Alois discovers Claude is missing, and I try to work in as much Sebastian and Claude fluffiness/smut as possible. ))