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The lights in the Phantomhive estate had long since been shut off. Everyone else no doubt, had been asleep for some time now. You however, no matter how you tried, or what remedies you used, could not keep your eyes shut. In one final attempt to make yourself tired, you gathered up your things and drew yourself a steamy bath. Though the hot water did relax and refresh you, it didn't make you the slightest bit tired. “It was worth a try.” With a quiet sigh, you lifted yourself out of the water and wrapped a fresh towel around your body. The washroom was cold, and dark, making it a terrible place for you to attempt dressing. Hoping everyone else would be asleep, you quietly opened the door and peeked outside. “Looks clear.” Throwing all caution to the wind, you rushed back to your bedroom, shut the door and latched it tight. “That was a terrible idea.”

“Indeed it was. Whatever prompted you to follow through with it?” Standing in your room, just inside of your window, was Claude. He wore a smug grin on his pale face, not concerned, or bothered at all by your indecent state.

You tightly clutched the thinning towel to your chest as both fury and embarrassment filled you. As bad as you wanted to hit him, you couldn't risk exposing yourself. After taking a deep breath in, you tried to appear calm. “Would you mind very much explaining to me why you're in my room, and at this ungodly hour no less?”

“Not at all.” Smirking down at you in a way that only heightened your frustrations, Claude stepped closer and closer to you until finally he had you backed against your wall. “I simply wanted to have a little talk with you. I would have come here during the day, but as I'm sure you know, Sebastian and I aren't exactly on, friendly terms. Therefore I thought the best time to speak with you would be at night, when he's away.”

“Away?” The thought of Sebastian not being there frightened you, especially with someone like Claude staring down at you like a piece of raw meat. Forcing yourself to focus, you pressed your fears to the back of your mind and put up a brave front. “Never mind about that. We can talk if it's that important, but before we talk, would you mind standing over there, facing the wall? It's a bit cold, and my lack of clothes is doing little to help that fact.”

“My but you are brave today aren't you? The last time we met, I had you cowering in fear.” Instead of doing as you asked, he placed his hand on your cheek and stared directly at you. “Look at you know, strong enough to give me commands. Surely you're brave enough to dress in front of another.” You knew your cheeks were growing red, but you opted to remain silent, hoping he would give in and turn around. Thankfully your plan worked almost immediately. “As you wish, but it's not like I haven't seen, or touched your body before.”

The moment he turned around, you dropped your towel and dressed yourself faster than you thought possible. “Would you be quiet. I'd rather not be reminded of that. It was horrid.”

Claude began to chuckled to himself, you knew something was wrong. “My, my how reflective these windows are. I can see every single detail of your lo-.”

“Shut up!” Your anger had broken through, causing you to speak much more loudly that what was wise. Knowing he was probably trying to make you angry, you once again forced yourself to calm down. “You know, I had you turn away for a reason.” As you tied your robe tightly around your body, you walked up to Claude and placed your hand on his shoulder. “Now, what did you want?”

“To be quite honest, I wanted to, apologize, for my previous actions.” Claude suddenly became very serious. There wasn't even the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice either. He seemed genuine, but you still didn't believe him.

“Apologize, really? Did you come to apologize for what you did today, or since the day we met?” He was teasing you, you just knew it. No longer willing to be his prey, you stood up tall, broadened your shoulders and dug your feet into the ground. “Tell me the truth Claude, why are you here?”

“You picked a rather awful time to grow a backbone.” His expression was unchanged, he seemed just as, or possibly even more genuine than before. “What I've said thus far is true. Despite what you obviously believe, I did not come here to upset you.” He cleared his throat. “Though I might have had a bit of fun with you, it was not meant to be malicious. I was simply attempting to lighten the mood.”

“I don't believe you. You've tricked me on more than one occasion and I'd be a fool to believe you now.”

“You're very right. And I too would be a fool if I expected you to trust me after nothing more than a few awkwardly spoken words.” Claude lifted your hand into his and gently drew on your palm with his forefinger. Seeing him like this was so odd, you were beginning to think this was nothing more than an elaborate dream. “With that said, I am more than willing to prove myself to you. You have only to ask, and I shall obey.”

“What's gotten into you? Are you ill?” Breaking your hand free of his, you placed it on his face and began checking for any sign of a fever.

“He shook his head, making no move to remove your hands from his face. No. I'm not ill. I can assure you of that.” Claude looked away from you. He was growing stranger by the minute. “What ails me isn't a virus, it's something much more dangerous.”

You immediately pulled away, now scared for your own well being. “B-but you just sai-.”

Placing his finger over your lips, Claude shushed you and continued. “I've watched you, since our very first meeting. I found you to be, intriguing. The way you interacted with others, your kind and forgiving nature. It made me wonder, how far could I push you, before you came to hate me? How much wrong could I do to you, before you refused to forgive me. You were nothing more than an experiment to pass the time.” His words suddenly stopped flowing, but you knew he wasn't through. You watched in silence as he wrestled with his thoughts. Claude shut his eyes, took in a deep breath and continued. “However, things did not go according to my plans. I found that I rather enjoyed being with you, and was no longer interested in pushing you to your limits. I was simply, interested in you.” He looked away from you, sure he would see nothing but disgust on your face. “I refused to believe I'd fallen for you so easily. I thought a mere lapse in judgment. So to prove this to myself, I became more cruel, more cold, and more vile. Doing so didn't prove my point, it did nothing but hurt you.” Now completely silent, Claude looked angry and annoyed. With your mind still trying to comprehend everything he'd just said, you stood there with your mouth slightly open, but not saying a word. Claude suddenly grabbed you by your shoulders, forcing you to look at him. “Well? Are you going to say something, or do you prefer silently mocking me?”

“I wasn't mocking you Claude, I'm not cruel like you.” You pulled away from him and turned your back to him, desperately looked for the right words. “What you said doesn't excuse you from the things you've done, it doesn't make it right, or okay.” You snorted. “I'm still angry at you too. Especially now that I know you were using me as an experiment.” Once again you turned to face him. “But, your experiment failed. I never reached a point where I couldn't forgive you. I don't trust you, and I don't know if I ever will. But I don't hate you.”

Claude nodded slowly. “That's more than understandable. I wouldn't expect you to trust me, no one in their right mind would. Howbeit, if you would be willing, I'd like to prove myself to you. In secret of course.”

Knowing you would regret this sooner than later, you agreed. “Fine, but I warn you, one slip up and you can find someone else to bother.” A sudden realization hit you, making you wince. “When you say in private, that means you'll be showing up unannounced, doesn't it?”

“Indeed it does.” Claude's mischievous grin finally resurfaced as he cupped your face in his hands. “So if I were you, I wouldn't grow overly attached to your new streaking habit.” He placed a light kiss on your nose before letting you go and walking back to your window. “I'll leave you be.” He smirked. “You should get some rest, the suns's coming up.”

The moment he jumped out of sight, you closed your window and pulled the curtains shut. “I have got to get a lock.”