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The air smelt faintly of soap and floral undertones. Ciel buried himself deeper within the covers as they were tucked around him expertly. He watched his butler move around the room, setting things for the next day and fussing over the bedcovers. His hands were forever covered in white cloth, hiding secrets from prying eyes and curious onlookers and Ciel wondered if Sebastian kept any secrets from him.
"You look preoccupied, Young Master." The demon held a candle in one hand as he stood by the king sized bed, gazing down at the little lump in the covers. "You should sleep soon, late nights aren't good for your health."
Ciel ignored the statement.
"I'm not sleepy yet."
"Is there anything you'd like-"
"Come tell me something." Ciel interrupted.
Sebastian hesitated before replying.
"Very well then." He set the candle on the side table. "Will you forgive my insolence?" He asked motioning to the edge of the bed.
Ciel moved his legs out of the way and felt the bed depress as Sebastian sat down and turned to look at him.
"What would you have me tell you?"
"Do you hide any secrets from me?"
"Never, my Lord. You know everything and you only have to ask for information that you don't." He bowed, hand over his chest.
"Do you have family?"
The sudden question threw the demon for a bit and he cocked his head at the young boy.
"My Lord, are you asking a servant about personal matters? Do you care about such inferior matters so much?" He smirked, finger rubbing his lip as his eyes glittered.
"I thought you said you'd answer any question I gave you. Answer it- order." The seal in his right eye pulsed calmly.
"Yes, my Lord." He bowed once more. He supposed he could indulge the boy tonight.
Ciel propped a pillow up behind him so he could lie comfortably, watching Sebastian.
"Very well… to answer your question shortly, I do not have family."
"How do you mean?"
"Demons are not born from each other the way humans are." He explained, "Demons are dark masses of humanistic traits. To say, the refuse of it. We are not born, but borne from deep rooted desires such as revenge or lust."
"I'm not following, explain it more simply."
"The Bible condemns the seven deadly sins or the cardinal sins-"
"Wrath, avarice, sloth, gluttony, pride, lust and envy."
"Very good, someone's been studying diligently. I will bake you a forest cake tomorrow as a reward. These are the fundamental building blocks to what a demon is. We are those things, we embody them in it's fullest meaning. Demons have been around as long as humans have existed. You could say in a way, we were borne from humans."
"So does that mean you're always brimming with hatred? You don't seem it."
"Yes and no. My natural state is a confusion, an amalgamation of all these traits. I am not a being in my natural state. I am a chaotic storm of hatred, lust and envy and everything that comes with it. However, under a contract, demons follow a strict code of conduct. To bind ourselves to one form and to serve the contract restricts us from expressing these traits."
"But you could if you wanted to?"
"Oh yes. If you, my little Master, commanded it."
"I am not little. Can you change your appearance at will? Is that what you always look like when you bind a contract with someone?"
"So many questions, what has gotten into you tonight, my Lord?" Sebastian teased, "I can change my appearance at will and my appearance depends on the contractor. I become whatever the contractor desires me to be."
"…"
"Are you surprised?"
"…You are not what I desired."
"Such sweet lies. I have read your immature soul in it's entirety, I've seen the depths of your mind, do you believe I lie when you have ordered me not to? Don't you know the further you deny the truth to yourself, the more seasoned your soul becomes?"
Ciel ignored the rhetorical questions.
"Do demons always come into the human world, or do they come only when they are summoned?"
"Some demons like to use the mortal world as their playground, yes."
"Are you one of them?"
"I used to be."
"Till you met me."
"Don't flatter yourself."
"It's true though isn't it? You haven't eaten a single soul since you contracted me, unless…"
"Demons cannot feed on souls unless they are contracted. That is the promise between reapers and demons, much to their chagrin I am sure."
"What do demons do in the mortal world then?"
"All sorts of things." Sebastian took a moment to lean in, "All sorts of wicked things." He whispered into the little Phantomhive's ear.
Ciel swatted him away and sat up further, interested.
"Yes, but what kind of things? More specifically? Do you… you know... with-"
"Do we bed humans? Yes, of course, you've heard of incubi and succubi, have you not?"
"I thought they were mythological tales made up by gossip mongers."
"You have yourself a demon in front of you and you still deny incubi exist?"
"… Well…"
"Incubi and succubi are cousins of demons, but still demons nonetheless. Typically, demons are attracted to humans with tainted thoughts. Particularly, lust. Lust has always been a primary source of sin which can be further exploited to produce envy, avarice and sometimes wrath. We exacerbate those feelings within those humans, watching them stumble further into their own created darkness, where they will never return to the Light again."
"Why?"
"Why? Because it's entertaining, that's why."
Ciel was quiet for a moment.
"… Does… Does Heaven really exist?"
"Do you wish for absolution now? Do you hope your soul will be saved in the end? Heaven will never be an option for you anymore, my little Master." Sebastian smiled, amused.
"No! I just want to know."
"Very well, let me ask you this then. Do you believe that Heaven exists?"
"… I… I don't believe Heaven exists nor God. I don't believe such a benevolent God would abandon his son in his greatest times of need."
"That is very interesting. However, whether you realise it or not, you do believe in Heaven."
"I do not! How would you know that anyway?"
"Because you can see me as clear as day."
"What do you mean?"
"Heaven and Hell have always been two very interconnected concepts. One cannot exist without the other. Similarly Good cannot exist without Evil. You know that your demise ends at Hell, do you not? Which means, you're not going to Heaven. You cannot go to Hell if you did not believe Heaven existed."
"That doesn't make sense. What about people who don't believe in Heaven to begin with? Can they see you?"
"They cannot. They only feel morose despair, a never ending desolation which they pray they will be absolved from. Do not forget my little fledgling, in desperate times of need, even the staunchest disbeliever will hope that a God exists."
"I didn't believe in a God then."
"No you didn't," Sebastian agreed, "The resolution to reject and throw everything away for a way out. Your utter damnation of Him was what brought me into existence. You could call me your secondary God, you might say. Your Saviour."
Sebastian dodged a pillow neatly, struggling to keep his lips from curving into a wide smile at the riled boy.
"It is getting late, Young Master. Are you tired yet from asking these questions?"
"No." Ciel said quickly. "I have one more question."
"One question, then. After that I am afraid I really will have to tuck you in bed and turn the lights out. Don't forget you become quite cantankerous and waspish from lack of sleep, I do not wish to deal with such a difficult Master tomorrow."
"You really don't know when to hold your tongue, do you." Ciel grumbled, cheeks pinking.
"One question, Young Master."
"What… What is it like to devour a soul?"
"I am afraid I cannot answer that question, my Lord."
"Why ever the Hell not?"
"It is too… it is not for your ears at such a time at night."
"Sebastian, I order you to answer my question now."
"It may frighten you."
Ciel clenched his fists angrily, the faustian mark pulsing brightly in his eye.
"You dare think I know the meaning of what it is to be afraid after that? Do not underestimate me, Sebastian. Tell me goddammit, just tell me."
The demon paused, then crawling up the bed, he situated himself by Ciel and whispered into his Master's ear after some hesitation.
The boy's face went grey then whitened completely, big eyes going rounder and rounder by the minute. When the demon pulled away, he sat there mute.
"That was one question, my Lord. I shall have to take my leave now. Sweet dreams." Sebastian smiled devilishly, as he blew out the candle and shut the bedroom door, leaving his charge sitting upright in bed, deathly pale.
fin.
Drabble-y fic mainly me exploring a few headcanons of mine of what Sebastian is and where he came from.