Inner Fear (Claude Faustus x Alois Trancy)

In The Beginning

A/N: Before I start, I'm warning you. This is not for the faint of heart and contains spoilers for Kuroshitsuji 2 and the main character's backstory. It also contains gay characters. Don't like? Don't read it! ||

It was a cold, rainy November night when Alois once again began feeling his childhood paranoia, though he was brushing it off as an idiotic fear of the dark. The small blonde lay in his bed, listening to the roaring rain outdoors. Last time it had stormed like this, some stupid demon had showed up with Ciel Phantomhive in a suitcase. "A suitcase! How ridiculous." He said to himself, cracking a smile. Then a sudden knock on the door made him jump. "C-come in?" Alois called, nervously.

A tall man with dark hair strode into the room. "Your Highness, I have finished repairing the pillow you asked me to fix." Alois looked over at the man, seeing golden eyes shining in the darkness. "Good job, Claude. Hand it over." He ordered sharply, trying to push down his growing feeling of uneasiness. His butler simply nodded and handed the fluffy white pillow to the blonde, who hit it to make a crease and then flopped down with his head on it. This pillow was just comforting to him, and tonight it smelled like Claude. He smiled a bit to himself before sitting back up. "By the way, Claude. Make sure all of the gates, windows, doors, and shutters are locked. Close all of the curtains." He ordered. Claude raised an eyebrow before kneeling in a bow. "As you wish, Your Highness." The spider demon rose back to his feet and left Alois' room after making sure the window was locked securely and the curtains were drawn.

Alois laid back down, snuggling in under his soft and warm blankets, his head on the freshly repaired pillow. It was still warm from Claude carrying it through the manor. As the teenager thought of that, his eyelids grew heavy and he fell into the warm embrace of sleep.

He woke up no more than two hours later holding back a scream and with tears stabbing at his bright blue eyes. "C-Claude!" He yelled, his voice cracking as he held back a sob. He often had nightmares, but this one was absolutely awful. All of the ones he had before, shoved into one terrifying, disgusting, and humiliating dream. In no less than two minutes the demon was in the room, kneeling by the bedside and gazing at the tiny blonde through the darkness as shudders and sobs pulled Alois into their grip. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, then was pulled into a hesitant but tight hug. The boy didn't even try to pull himself together, just cried into his butler's strong chest. He didn't speak, didn't move. And soon enough he cried himself back to sleep. Unknown to him, his butler simply placed him back into the bed and tucked him in, leaving the room without another word.

The next morning arrived with the storm still violently thrashing overhead. The thunder was louder than it had been the night before, the lightning more frequent. As soon as Alois woke up, he swung his legs to the side of the bed for Claude to dress him. "So what's on my schedule, Claude?" He said, his voice teasing as he tilted the demon's chin upwards with his stockinged(?) foot. Claude just let out a sigh and moved away, earning an annoyed frown. "All of your meetings have been cancelled due to the storm, but you have some academic papers to complete." 

Alois snorted. "Lovely. Just LOVELY." He said, sarcasm dripping from his words. "Being expected to work with all of this bloody noise." Claude held his temper before responding. "Exactly, Your Highness." He slipped the blonde's boots onto Alois' feet and tied them before rising and bowing. "Breakfast is ready in the dining room as soon as you are ready for it." Alois just nodded and stood up, striding past his butler with an annoyed expression. 

His paranoia grew again as he went down the stairs to the first floor. "Hmph. Just thoughts. Fat old man couldn't even get himself up the stairs." He said to himself, brushing it off the best he could. 

Little did he know that his past lay lurking in the shadows, preying and waiting for the right moment to strike.