A Legitimate Concern

Note: Demonic tradition and Sebastian's true name is explored in this drabble. This could be seen as romantic SebaCiel or it could be interpreted as platonic SebaCiel, whatever floats your boat. Please enjoy and I do apologize for taking such a long and unexpected break from dabbling in this collection.

Please excuse any typos.

"What is your name?" Ciel asked nonchalantly one afternoon after his warm tea and fresh snack cakes had been delivered. They were placed strategically on one of Sebastian's elegant silver serving carts on top of decorative white doilies that, for some reason, the demon seemed quite fond of using.

Ciel grabbed one of the cakes from the pile that Sebastian set on his desk and bit into it. He sighed as he tasted the sharpness of lemon; it was one of his favorite confections that Sebastian made.

Sebastian peered at Ciel quizzically as he readied the tea, pouring the steaming liquid into the delicate china that Lao had brought back from his homeland as a Christmas present one year. While Lao was never someone Ciel enjoyed entertaining or inviting into his home, he always had to admit that the asian man had refined taste and gave beautifully extravagant gifts.

Sebastian passed a cup across the surface of Ciel's desk and tidied up his cart before turning back to Ciel to give an answer to the young master's rather bizarre question.

"My name is Sebastian Michaelis, young master." Sebastian answered simply, pressing his hands firmly to either side of his thighs and gazing down at his child master, he appeared to be the epitome of professionalism.

Ciel shook his head, "No, what is your true name. The name you bore before coming into my service." He clarified.

Sebastian, again, seemed confused at the question but quickly smoothed out his facial features, once again donning a sleek and composed expression. "I had no name before I was brought into your service, young master."

Ciel sipped at his tea before taking another large bite of his lemon cake, savoring the moistness of the baked good and sweetness of the day's tea. Sebastian truly had outdone himself.

"Certainly even demons must have a common name with which other demons may address them by." Ciel insisted, finding the entire idea of bearing no name to be silly.

Sebastian smirked darkly in the way that Ciel knew meant he was amused at his own expense. Feeling a spark of irritation, Ciel knew the demon was close to igniting anger within him. "Answer me, Sebastian. That is an order. Explain yourself."

If anything, the demon's smirk only reached wider as he gave a deep bow and apologized, "My most humblest apologies, young master. I am unused to explaining such things to others as it is usually common knowledge among my species and my former contractors never bothered to ask. Please allow me to explain demon tradition." Sebastian cleared his throat, one pristinely white gloved hand curled in front of his mouth. "You see, young master, demons rarely associate with one another unless it has become an absolute necessity, therefore we do not require names like humans do when we are not under contract."

"So you mean to tell me that demons are nameless unless contracted to a human?" Ciel asked curiously, finding the concept both fascinating and very strange. "Your kind does not believe in titles?"

"More like titles and names are unnecessary." Sebastian explained, "Demons prefer living in solitude, in our private corners of Hell where we are unbothered by others. There is no need for a name when there is no one to use it. Thus, demons only receive names when they form a contract with a human, as I have done. Bearing a name is essential when living amongst humans."

Ciel nodded along, he understood now. "So the demons who have been named in myths and religions, those are names given to them by humans then?"

Sebastian nodded his his head once, ebony locks brushing against the collar of his pressed dress shirt. "Indeed. The demons named in human religious text and myth were all given their titles by your kind. Beelzebub and Asmodeus reside in Hell today, scorning the names they are known by on earth."

"Scorn? And why is that?"

"To be named is to be claimed, that is the saying we demons live by. We take great pride in not carrying a name or title and to be tagged by humans is to be owned by them, something which is a great insult." Sebastian's eyes flickered a quick crimson before reverting back to their natural rusty maroon.
Ciel found the passion in his demon's eyes unsettling and, mostly, unexpected. Sebastian rarely if ever showed any disdain towards his station in life as the servant of a human child, if anything he only ever seemed to display subtle amusement at being forced to take orders from a weak mortal boy of thirteen years. Sebastian had never appeared bitter or disgusted but perhaps the demon's facade as a butler had grown too thick and Ciel could no longer recognize the signals of such emotions from Sebastian.

"Do you scorn your name?" Ciel asked the question that had been itching at him. While it was understandable that a prideful demon such as Sebastian would take being chained by a human as a critical blow to his ego, it never really dawned on Ciel to consider this as he ordered the demon to complete his daily tasks over the years.

"Of course." Sebastian answered without a hint of hesitance, "All contracted demons do."

Ciel had expected this answer and ignored the sting he felt in his chest in order to continue with his next question. "Then do you despise me?"

"No." Again, without delay, Sebastian answered honestly.

Ciel had not been expecting that. Meeting Sebastian's intense gaze, Ciel challenged, "Why not? I am the human child that dared to name you, to chain a demon, so why then do you not hold me in contempt?"

"Do you wish that I did, young master?" Sebastian stance had slackened, taking on a more relaxed pose but that was not saying much when it came to the butler. Sebastian always appeared rigid and stiff like a board. "Do you long for me to hate you?"

"I desire no such thing." Ciel denied vehemently. "I am merely unused to the bewildering way in which your mind works and the ways of your species."

Sebastian seemed unconvinced but said no more on the matter, instead he took a step closer to the young earl's work desk, adopting a calming aura which transferred to Ciel almost automatically. The boy grew quiet as Sebastian stared down at his tiny form nestled in his padded chair.

"I do not hate you, my lord. That is impossible for you are far too amusing and adorable for me to harbor such a harsh emotion towards you." Sebastian smirked as Ciel bristled at his description but continued onward despite the boy's annoyance, "And I do scorn the name you have given me but not for the reason you seem to believe."

Ciel remained silent and so Sebastian took the opportunity to catch his young master unaware. Rounding the desk at a pace undetectable by human eyes, Sebastian pressed his front flush against the tall back of Ciel's chair, laying his hands gently on the boy's small shoulders and applying hardly any pressure at all.

Ciel jumped at the quickness but settled instantly when he felt Sebastian's gloved hands touching him. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack, demon?"

Sebastian chuckled, "My apologies, young master. I forgot myself for a moment."

"Explain what you mean, Sebastian." Ciel demanded as he leaned back into his chair, craining his neck to peer into Sebastian's face.

Sebastian smiled pleasantly down at his struggling master and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, a silent promise to do as asked. "I will admit that when I first came into your service a mere three years ago, my pride was wounded and I did hold a certain amount of resentment over the fact that I had been summoned by a human child. But after seeing the beauty cased inside you, young master, all those negative emotions fled and I was overcome with an excitement that I had not experienced in a very long time. I was the most fortunate of my kind to exist in that moment because I would one day be granted the privilege of tasting your precious soul." Sebastian spoke with such emotion that Ciel was reeling.

The demon always got a sort of faraway whimsical look in his eyes as he spoke of the wonders and mysteries that made up Ciel's soul, his voice always dropping low with desire to sample a taste, if only to tide him over until the fateful day when his master's revenge would finally be completed and he would be allowed the full meal.

"You speak of me with such," Ciel paused as he searched for the proper words, "Admiration and awe." He finally said, "And yet you say you scorn the name which I have given you."

"Just because you have a wondrously pure and beautiful soul does not make the humiliation of being tagged any less demeaning." Sebastian laughed though his words were harsh, "But you have once again misunderstood, my lord."

Ciel slammed his small fist on his desk and stomped his foot on the ground beneath which he, much to his own private embarrassment, could hardly reach. "Then speak plainly, Sebastian! What do you mean?"

Sebastian sighed in exasperation as if he had been patiently explaining his reasoning a hundred times to a distracted child. "Young master, you know how much I dislike canines."

"Well yes, but I hardly see what that has to do w-" Ciel paused mid sentence and there was silence. And then Ciel was laughing.

The boy was laughing so hard, harder than he had in three years, and it was genuine, belly aching, laughing. Ciel grabbed at his desk to balance himself and wiped at the corners of his eyes where small tears had gathered. He brushed the wetness away and tried to calm himself down. It wasn't until after Ciel had recollected his composure that he found Sebastian planted back where he had been standing before on the other side of Ciel's desk, softly glaring at his master.

"Honestly, Sebastian," Ciel sighed, "And you call humans petty?"

"It is a legitimate qualm, young master." Sebastian insisted, although there was hardly any fire behind his words and Ciel could spot the humor dancing in his eyes.

Ciel leaned back in his chair and waved his hand at his servant, a signal for dismissal. "Go and attend to your other duties, I'm sure my inquisitiveness has already taken you away from important tasks that need your attention."

Sebastian gave his usual smile and gave a deep bow before then exiting with his serving cart as quietly as he had come. Ciel watched him go as the door clicked shut the boy couldn't help a soft chuckle as he thought back on Sebastian's words.
"Honestly," Ciel spoke to himself, "For a demon to be so upset over being named after a dog, how odd."