AN: This deserves more/better sensory detail, but I'm too lazy to fiddle with it right now. I might fiddle with it someday, but that day is not today. Also: Sebastian headcanons ahead. If there's anything you'd like to see me expand on in this 'verse, let me know and I'll try to get around to it.
Ciel's favorite place on the whole ship was, as the salesman called it, the Eye. The Eye was a small portion of a long and narrow domed ridge on the top of the ship, situated on the front end of the ridge. It was made out of a heavily reinforced, glare-resistant glass made especially to withstand the forces of space, unbroken by any framework or metal. The reason it was Ciel's favorite place was because of the view: with nothing but millions of stars and the occasional nebulae above and around the viewer, space was truly a sight to behold. Ciel had turned the Eye into a sitting room and any time not spent in his study (which also had an impressive view of space with a window that took up an entire side of the room) was spent in the Eye. He also frequently brought business associates and guests in there when entertaining them; whether it was to impress or intimidate them, nobody really knew.
Tonight, Ciel was intent on relaxing after the hectic week he'd had. For the past several days, he'd been planet-side personally dealing with a network of embezzling managers at a group of factories on a planet beyond the Solar System. In between visits to the factory, Ciel was obliged to humor journalists, reporters, and talk show hosts in the general area. The whole endeavor had been exhausting and time-consuming and if Ciel got one more call from anyone, he'd throw the receiver out the nearest airlock.
Ciel had just settled down into his favorite armchair in the Eye with a printed book he'd been meaning to read (printed books were a rare novelty in this day and age and Ciel collected as many as he could) when a knock came from the door.
"Come in," he said with warning edge to his voice.
The door slid open and Sebastian came in with a trolley bearing various sweet things.
"I thought that perhaps you might like something sweet to accompany your pleasure reading tonight, my lord, as a reward for making more appearances in the media this week than you do in the average month," Sebastian said as he maneuvered the trolley next to Ciel's chair.
"Damn right I deserve a reward," Ciel said, relaxing back into his chair, having tensed up in anticipation of the message he would receive.
"Tonight we have hot chocolate with strawberry shortcake and mint sugar cookies," Sebastian said as he set the tray down onto the table next to Ciel. "Would you like some whipped cream to go with your hot chocolate, my lord?"
"Of course I want whipped cream, who do you think I am? And two desserts tonight? You spoil me, Sebastian," Ciel commented dryly.
"Well, you took all those requests in stride like a proper gentleman and didn't lash out even once," Sebastian said as he spooned in a generous helping of whipped cream. "That deserves a reward all by itself."
"If behaving nicely gets me more sweets, then perhaps I should do it more often," Ciel remarked with a smirk. He nodded approvingly at the amount of whipped cream Sebastian spooned into the hot chocolate.
"Don't get your hopes up Young Master, this is a one-time occurrence."
"So enjoy it while it lasts, hmm?" Ciel murmured as he brought the glass up to his lips.
"Indeed. Is there anything more you require from me, my lord?" Sebastian asked.
"Ciel took a slow sip from his glass, relishing in the taste of this rare ambrosia. He stayed silent for a few more moments as he took a taste of the strawberry shortcake.
"What would happen if you were to fall into a black hole, Sebastian?" Ciel asked at length.
Sebastian blinked a couple times, thrown off a bit by the seemingly random question. "Well," he began after a couple moments of thought, "This body would be unable to escape as it is constrained by the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time. However, you may rest assured, my lord, that I would be able to escape it and return to your side."
"But how would you do it, Sebastian?" Ciel pressed.
Sebastian can clearly visualize how he would do it in his head, but there are no words in any of the human languages that could sufficiently describe it, not even remotely, but the Young Master clearly wanted a detailed description of the method he would use. Instead of trying to describe the method using a complicated series of analogies, Sebastian goes for the simpler answer.
"To describe how I would escape from a black hole requires vocabulary that humans simply do not possess, my lord. It is a complicated series of maneuvers that requires…" Here Sebastian paused, searching for the proper word, "shifting through multiple dimensions beyond the three that humans can comprehend."
Ciel frowned, unsatisfied with Sebastian's answer. "Do you mock my intelligence? I do not appreciate being talked down to, Sebastian." Ciel was not pouting, but it could be heard rather clearly in his voice.
"I do not intend to imply that you are unintelligent, my lord, quite the opposite. However, I think even the most brilliant scientist would have significant difficulty imagining what it would be like to live in the seventh dimension," Sebastian replied. "It is not a matter of intelligence, but a matter of the limits of the human mind, my lord."
Ciel nibbled on one of the mint cookies and mulled over Sebastian's response, still frowning. "I suppose you have point," he conceded. "Time travel is quite difficult to contemplate as it is, and that's only the fourth dimension." Ciel would've pressed further for a proper answer, but he was too comfortable and content with his hot chocolate to put up a fuss about it.
"Indeed, my lord. Is there anything else you need, Young Master?" Sebastian asked.
"No, that will be all, Sebastian," Ciel responded, picking up his book.
"Very well. I shall take my leave, then." Sebastian bowed slightly and wheeled the trolley out of the room and the door closed behind him with a light hiss.
Ciel sighed and burrowed deeper into the cushions, settling himself in for a pleasant evening of sweets and reading. He gazed outside at the stars, absently watching the stars pass by in the distance for a few moments before he turned back to his book, content to read by the warm light of the lamps in the room for the remainder of the evening.