I had this lying about in my 'story ideas' notebook and thought "why not." Please enjoy. Sorry for any inaccuracies, it's been awhile since I've watched Black Butler.

L.L.A.P

~Laces

Chpt.1

Sebastian Michaelis. A demon who served as a butler waiting to consume his master's soul once he fulfilled his duties.

Just lovely, right?

I've been living on this Earth for centuries and somehow I keep crossing paths with the blasted demon.

His most recent master is a heartless young boy named Ciel Phantomhive. How would I possibly know?
Because they needed another helper around the mansion, and I went to apply. It was better than finding odd jobs and being a prostitute for some money, which was what I had mostly been doing prior. Being a house servant would be a nice change of pace.

I wasn't expecting at all to once again come in contact with Sebastian.

Once I entered Ciel's office, Sebastian was standing right behind him, like a shadow. He smirked at the sight of me, but didn't say a word.

"What is your name?" Ciel questioned with little patience in his voice, his visible eye glaring at me. He was rather intimidating for a little boy. However, I've faced nastier people.

"Layla." I answered, my golden eyes locked on him without fear.

"Layla what?" Ciel spat, clearly impatient and irritated. I couldn't help but wonder if he was grumpy because he was having a bad day or if it was just his natural state.

"Layla Ravensdale." I informed calmly, and the smirk on Sebatian's face grew. It took all I had not to glare at him.

"What makes you think that you are qualified for this job?" Ciel questioned tiredly with very little interest. He reminded me of a spoiled child, which he most likely was.

"Years of experience." Was my reply, which was how I responded during most interviews for things.

"How old are you?" Ciel inquired.

"Twenty two." I answered with ease. Sebastian gave a short chuckle.

"You look like you're seventeen at oldest." Ciel grunted, disregarding the laugh from his butler. Or, perhaps he was prying more into my age because the demon laughed. Either way, it wasn't something I couldn't handle.

"I look young for my age." I shrugged. Meanwhile, that stupid smirk had yet to leave Sebastian's face. Gods I hated him.

"Do you have any skills aside from cooking, cleaning, and gardening?" Ciel inquired.

"I can read Latin, speak German, French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, some Gaelic, and I have just started to learn Japanese. Um… I am a decent archer and I know how to handle a sword. Let's see… what else…"

"That is quite a lot of experience. How did you manage to learn all of that?" Ciel questioned, cocking his head to the side, but still managing to look disinterested.

"A lot of free time." I answered, which seemed to be funny to Sebastian as his smirk turned into an all-out leering smile.

I hated how he looked at me. Almost as if he wanted to eat me or something along those lines. Extremely creepy.

"May I speak?" Sebastian inquired, his face becoming unreadable as he confronted his master. As always, his voice was calm and smooth.

"What is it?" Ciel snapped.

"I think hiring this young woman may be to your benefit. Along with helping everyone with their duties, she could translate for your company."

Ciel nodded his head, then looked at me.

"You have the job. You work tomorrow." Ciel stated, as if he came to the conclusion without any talk from his demon servant. "Sabastian, my butler, will show you to your living quarters." The young boy nodded, then went to look at some papers on his desk, ignoring my existence.

"This way… Layla, wasn't it?" the demon questioned as I went to follow him out of the room.

"Yes… Sebastian, correct?" he smirked at me and nodded,

"Right this way."

Once out of earshot from Ciel, I whispered,

"I just cannot get away from you, can I?" Sebastian chuckled.

"Of course not. It's nice seeing you again." He grinned at me, and I glared back at him.

"Can't say the same." I grumbled.

"Come now, be polite." Sebastian scolded in a joking tone.

"It's not my fault that you give me the chills whenever I see you. Every time you look at me it's like you want to…"

"Eat you?" he questioned with a mischievous look on his face. I shot him another glare, even though it didn't do anything except express my displeasure.

"Yes."

The demon shrugged, as if this was a casual conversation one would have walking through the hallways.

"I want what I can't have. Since you can't die, I can never have your soul. A soul that has been through so much. You'd be surprised how enticing that sounds to me." he answered.

I felt the hair on my arms stand and my heart was beating faster than usual. When he said things like that… that scared me. Just the thought that creatures like him found the idea of eating my soul tempting terrified me to no end. However, I tried to remain composed.

I quickly tried to move onto a lighter topic.

"So, is that one reaper still in love with you? What was his name again? Griff?"

"Grell." Sebastian corrected, but was no longer smirking.

"I'm taking it that his love for you is still unrequited."

"It will forever be unrequited." He stated coldly. It struck me as funny how much he absolutely hated Grell, yet how much Grell was in love with him.

It was then the demon's turn to change the subject.

"You realize that my master isn't stupid." Sebastian warned, his voice less friendly. "He will realize that you are not aging and get suspicious."

"I'm not afraid." I muttered. Sebastian quickly turned on his heel and faced me.

"Are you sure about that?" he questioned. His crimson eyes bored into mine, and I'd admit that it made me feel uneasy.

"Such a coward." He smirked.

I should have known that he was taunting me to get me angry. I should have stayed calm, but when you have a temper, it is hard to quell it. Even after centuries of life.

I wound back to punch him, but the blasted demon caught my fist.

"That would be very unwise." He stated in a low voice as something dark and sinister flashed through his eyes.

"Then don't taunt me." I growled, pulling my fist out of his grasp while taking several steps away from the man.

"I make no promises." Sebastian's voice was lighter again. I swear it was impossible to read the demon.

He opened a door that led to a small plain room. It had a small window, wooden floors and white walls. Inside was a small bed and a plain wooden nightstand. I was in the servant's quarters so everything wasn't as luxurious as the rest of the mansion.

Not that I minded that entirely.

"This will be your room." Sebastian informed. "If you would like, I can paint it blue. That is your preferred color, correct?"

"You remember?" I questioned, surprise written on my face.

"But of course. What kind of a butler would I be if I lacked a memory?" he smirked.

"Remembering a small detail like that… that's a bit queer." I stated, and Sebastian gave me a hurt look, though I knew he wasn't really offended.

"Just for that, you can paint the room yourself."

"That's what I prefer, rather than having some dreadful demon like you do it." I smiled at him.

I suppose anyone viewing the conversation would find it strange how Sebastian and I went from speaking casually, teasingly, threateningly, and business like in a matter of moments, but that was just how it went with us. We were old friends, old acquaintances, old business partners, and old enemies. Forgetting the past encounters was difficult and the roles we played flowed together.

"You will meet the other servants at dinner in about an hour. I'll retrieve you at that time. In the meantime you can feel free to unpack. Just do not set anything on fire."

Oh, he remembered that too.

He gave me a knowing look, then turned like he was about to leave the room.

"Um… Sebastian?" he turned to face me yet again, smirking at my softened face.

"Thanks… for getting me this job." I mumbled, my eyes staring at the ground as I did so.

In a blink of an eye, Sebastian had his gloved fingers tightly holding my chin, tilting it up to look him in the eye.

"It's rude to speak to the ground. But It was my pleasure, Layla." He whispered and I was glaring at him again.

"Relax, immortal." He smirked.

"I will once you get your hand off my face, demon." I growled.

"Of course." He chuckled as he released my chin. "By the way, I apologize for that scar." He informed, brushing my messy curls away from my neck to trace a faint line of an old scar still in the process of fading. "I had to obey my previous master and you did seem to make him upset."

It was my turn to chuckle.

"Sorry you didn't fulfill your master's orders due to me not dying."

"I retrieved his soul shortly after, it wasn't much of a problem." He shrugged, then left the room to attend to whatever business a butler like him had to do.

"Well…" I sighed, "This is going to be interesting."