InsaneJournal

"A Whole New Form of Life," Tales of the Abyss, Guy/Luke
Title: A Whole New Form of Life
Author: Laylah
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Pairing: Guy/Luke
Rating: not worksafe
Music: Magnetic Fields, "When My Boy Walks Down the Street" ♥
Spoiler warning: ending spoilers!
Summary: Now that everything's calmed down, Luke goes to spend some time with his best friend.


A Whole New Form of Life

When they come back to Baticul as two people, only the threat that Asch might actually be embarrassed to death keeps King Ingobert from declaring a national holiday to celebrate their arrival. There's nothing they can do to get out of some of it, fancy dinners and a belated coming-of-age ceremony and his -- their -- mother breaking into tears and hugging them repeatedly. Luke tries not to grin too much when Asch looks shocked at that part. Stupid. Looks like he really had convinced himself that nobody cared.

Both of their bodies are holding up fine, even. Luke can't tell if he has the original replica body -- hah -- that Lorelei perfected, or the one that Jade created for them in Belkend when they couldn't stand to keep trying to share. Asch yelled a lot when Jade first refused to tell them who'd woken up in which body, but once they got through the first week and neither of them dropped dead from replication, he stopped bringing it up. He still calls Luke 'replica' when he's not thinking, but that's okay. He doesn't sound angry when he says it anymore.

If everyone else were still around it would be pretty much perfect. Luke writes letters to all of them, his hand cramping up as he copies over more or less the same news three times. Anise writes back, Since Natalia has Asch now, I bet you'll be looking for someone to marry, won't you? I know a charming young lady who would be happy to be your duchess! ♥ Tear writes, We are hard at work rebuilding the Order of Lorelei for the new era. I think of you often. Guy's letter says, I miss you like crazy. Come visit.

"Guy says he wants us to come see him," Luke says over lunch when he's done reading. "That sounds like fun, doesn't it? We never did get to see that manor Emperor Peony gave him."

"Why don't you go by yourself?" Asch says. "He's your friend."

"Asch," Luke says -- Guy would totally give him a chance if Asch would just stop being so stubborn.

"You don't have to say it like that," Natalia says. She looks sideways at Asch. "Even if it is a good idea."

"What?" Luke says. "But you like --"

"Yes," Natalia says. "But I think Asch and I would -- I mean, I'd like us to -- to have a little time alone, too." She blushes hard when she says that, and when Luke looks over at Asch he's turning sort of red, too.

"Shut up," he says when Luke's eyes widen.

Maybe Anise is right about them getting married, then. That's good, though! Luke never felt all that good about being the one who was supposed to do that. "Okay," he says. "I'll go ahead, then. You guys...you can follow whenever you feel like it."

He takes the Albiore, and Noelle shows off a little on the way -- she's been practicing in all that time it took for Luke and Asch to get better and find their way home. It's an exciting flight. Luke bets Guy would love it. They should go flying together.

Grand Chokmah looks beautiful, too, fresh water and happy people, and plants blooming all over the place. Airships are still pretty rare, so people come up to the gates of the city to watch them land. Luke waves to the kids who are gawking at them.

"You'd better watch out," he says to Noelle. "You're going to have all kinds of people wanting to see the ship and ask you questions."

She smiles. "I'll be fine," she says. "Besides, I can see at least one person in that crowd who's definitely here for you."

Luke looks up to see if he can spot who she means -- and breaks into a smile as soon as he does. Should have known an airship would bring Guy running. "Hi," he says, leaving the ship and meeting Guy at the city gates. "It's really good to see you."

"Luke," Guy says, and he smiles in this really warm, grateful way that makes Luke's stomach sort of flutter. "Is it just you?"

"Yeah," Luke says. "Sorry. Asch and Natalia said they'd come later. Natalia says hi, though."

"You don't need to apologize," Guy says. "I'm just glad you're here." He steps up closer and hugs Luke, hard, and that makes the fluttery thing worse. "I'm not going to complain about having you all to myself for a while." He steps back, looks Luke up and down. "You look great."

"You, too," Luke says. Guy looks -- sort of the same as always, but better, too. It's hard to explain. "Being a noble agrees with you, huh?"

Guy laughs. "Yeah, I guess it does," he says. Luke thinks he's missed hearing Guy laugh. "Come on, I'll show you up to the house."

The Gardios manor is nice -- not as fancy as the palace or anything, but it's neat and it really seems like the kind of place that was made for Guy to be happy. There's a fontech workshop downstairs, and a pool in the back -- smaller than the Keterberg spa but plenty for one person -- and there's a working elevator and everything. All the decorations are the warm golds and browns that Guy likes, and the crest of House Gardios is painted on the wall in the drawing room. There's a staff to do the cleaning and cooking -- "They won't let me in my own kitchen," Guy says with a smile -- and it seems like it's just about perfect, except for one thing.

"All this for just you, huh?" Luke says after dinner. Guy must have explained to the chef how much he likes seafood; they had a soup with little shrimp in it first, and then grilled tuna for the main course. "It seems like you'd get kind of lonely."

"And bored," Guy says. "But you're here now, right?" And when he smiles like that, Luke can't help smiling back.

They get comfortable with each other so fast it's like they were never separated in the first place. Guy gives Luke swimming lessons, first in the pool and then in the bay once he's got the basics down. They do sword practice together, and Luke tries his best to talk Guy into showing him how to do some of those cool Sigmund-style flips. They go up in the Albiore a couple of times, and sometimes Noelle even lets Guy take over and pilot the ship for a while if the sky is clear and she's not too worried about them.

Luke even comes along when Guy goes over to the palace to walk the emperor's rappigs. It's totally weird to hear Guy trying to coax Nephry out of hiding or scolding Jade for getting into the flowerbeds, but he doesn't seem to mind when it makes Luke laugh. And the rappigs are sort of cute, in a roly poly way.

They've been doing that for about a week before they actually see Emperor Peony when they're visiting. "There you are," he says, and Luke jumps, because he hadn't heard Peony show up. "I'm sorry I've kept missing you."

"I, ah," Luke says. "I'm sure you're busy."

"Far too often," Peony says, shrugging. "You'd think an empire at peace would run itself a little better, but no." He watches Guy try to drag one of the rappigs -- Luke can't see which one from here -- out of a thicket of bushes. "Somebody always needs my attention. But you look well -- I'm glad you've come. Glad you're back."

"Thanks," Luke says. Guy seems to have the rappig more or less under control. He wonders if he should go help anyway. "I've been having a lot of fun in Grand Chokmah. Guy's a great host."

Peony laughs. "I bet he is," he says. "I'm going to have to get another rappig to name after him, I think. Since you arrived he's stopped spending nearly so much time doting on my Luke, and I think the poor thing is getting lonely."

"Your highness," Guy says, and maybe it's just the warmth of the sun but it sort of looks like he's blushing.

"First names, Gailardia," Peony says. "Please."

"You make it sounds like I've just been moping around here without Luke," Guy complains.

Luke thinks for sure Peony will have something clever to say about that, but he only raises an eyebrow, watching Guy until Guy looks away. That makes it Luke's turn to blush -- Guy missed him that much? Well, it -- it makes sense, he guesses, given all that stuff Guy said to him right before they fought Van, and the part with his father's sword still makes Luke feel sort of funny.

"We should get going," Guy says when the pause gets really awkward between them.

Peony shakes his head, but he's still smiling. "Don't let me keep you," he says. "I'll arrange some free time so you can come have dinner at the palace soon." He takes Luke's hand, shakes it firmly. "It's good to see you."

Guy's quiet all the way back to the house, and he blushes again whenever he catches Luke looking at him. It's weird, awkward, and it seems like something other people should be doing -- they've always had an easier time hanging out together, haven't they? Luke thinks about it for most of the afternoon, but he can't figure out what Guy's worrying about. Around sunset, he finds Guy on the manor's west balcony, watching the glitter of the sinking sun on the ocean in the distance.

"Guy?" Luke says. Guy looks so -- so -- Luke's not sure what to call it, even, the way the light catches his hair and the angle of his shoulders and everything, except good. "You want some company?"

"Sure," Guy says. He scoots over a little, so Luke comes and leans on the railing next to him. "What's on your mind?"

Luke has to think about that for a minute, watching birds circle out over the water, frowning. "You remember what you told me right before I freed Lorelei?" he says. "About how after I came back, you were going to teach me not to keep things from my friends." He glances over. "You're not doing a very good job of teaching me right now."

"Yeah, I guess not," Guy says. He smiles awkwardly, rubs the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

"What's the matter?" Luke says. "You can tell me. We're best friends."

Guy takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh. "Right," he says. "The problem is -- there's something I want to do, and I'm not sure if it's a good idea." He laughs a little. "Sorry, that was really vague, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Luke says. He's glad he didn't have to point that out when something's obviously bothering Guy, but he doesn't think he could possibly figure out what's going on from just a statement like that.

"Whatever happens," Guy says, "I want us to still be friends, okay?" He turns away from the rails, facing Luke straight on, so Luke turns toward him, too. They're standing close enough that Luke has to look up a little to meet his eyes. Guy looks nervous.

"Of course," Luke says. "No matter what." He wonders if he should get down on one knee and swear eternal friendship to Guy, if that would make him feel better or just be embarrassing like it was when Guy did it for him. Only thinking about it now doesn't make Luke feel embarrassed at all. It makes him want to smile, want to give Guy a hug.

"Good," Guy says. "Because that's the most important thing. But I've been thinking -- if it's okay with you -- I'd like to do this, too." He reaches out and slides one hand over Luke's waist, his glove against bare skin, and leans down, so close -- his breath is warm against Luke's mouth and then his lips are soft and Luke has the fluttery feeling in his stomach again but he thinks he likes it. They only kiss for a few seconds, really, just a couple of heartbeats, and when Guy starts to pull back it's too soon, so Luke follows him, presses their lips together again. He's clumsy at it and a little off-balance but Guy catches him, steadies him and pulls him close, and that's really, really nice.

The second time Guy tries to pull back from the kiss Luke lets him, mostly because he doesn't seem to be going far. "So that's okay, huh?" he says.

"Sure," Luke says. "It feels good."

"You, ah, you know most guys only do that with girls, right?" Guy says.

"Well, yeah," Luke says. Okay, nobody had told him that, but it was kind of the impression he got just from watching people. "But that'd leave you out of luck, wouldn't it? I...liked doing it. And I like you. And --" He's not sure how to explain the fluttery thing without making it sound like I get sick to my stomach when you touch me, which isn't what he means at all.

"I like you too, Luke," Guy says. "A whole lot." He smiles -- he has a really great smile, and Luke's not sure why he never noticed before -- so Luke stretches up to kiss him again.

Guy pulls back, though, before he can. "If we're going to keep doing this," Guy says, "we should probably go inside. There'd be a lot of gossip if anyone saw us, and we don't need that, right?"

"Right," Luke says. "Okay." Guy wants to keep kissing him, that's the important part.

They go inside, and from there into Luke's room, because it's close by and the servants aren't likely to come in -- since Guy stopped being his servant, Luke thinks, he hasn't known any who would just show up to his room unannounced. Which is good. He doesn't want any interruptions right now. He steps into Guy's arms again -- it's like hugging, except they just keep doing it, arms around each other while Guy leans down to kiss him some more. And that's fine with Luke. Guy's warm and solid, holding him close, and sometimes when they kiss he slips his tongue into Luke's mouth, which sounds weird but feels like -- well, it makes Luke feel fluttery and shivery again, which he definitely thinks he likes. He tries doing it back, brushing his tongue past Guy's lips, and Guy makes a throaty little sound that Luke likes a lot.

Guy pulls his gloves off, drops them on the floor and slides his bare hands under Luke's coat. It's not like it's the first time they've touched or anything -- he had his hands all over Luke trying to show him how to swim -- but it's different like this, when it's not for a reason, just touching to touch. Luke wants to do it back, but Guy's clothes are a lot harder to reach inside than his, and he's not sure whether it's okay to start unbuttoning things or --

Well, he can always ask, right? "Guy?" he says. He tugs on Guy's shirt where it disappears into his pants. "Can I touch you, too?"

Guy laughs like the question makes him really happy. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, of course. I'd like that a lot." He lets go of Luke and starts to unfasten his vest, so Luke figures why not, he'll take some stuff off, too. He unbuttons his coat and shrugs it off, tossing it aside. His shirt doesn't cover as much as Guy's, but he takes it off anyway because they might as well match. And it makes Guy smile again, giving Luke this look almost like he's hungry, and that's good.

"You look gorgeous," Guy says, reaching for him again. "I wanted this so much, Luke."

You should have said so, Luke almost says, but maybe Guy had reasons to wait that he doesn't know about, and besides Guy's kissing him again and that's better than arguing about stuff. It feels even better with their shirts off -- Guy's skin is warm and smooth, and he holds on tight when Luke traces the muscles of his back.

Luke's cock is getting hard, and he wonders if Guy can tell. He knows it's not polite to talk about things like that, but the way Guy touches him and kisses him feels a lot better than just touching himself when he's alone, and he can't seem to help it. He wonders what the polite thing to do is, whether he should go to the bathroom and take care of it, whether Guy would laugh if he asked.

Only before he's decided how to word the question Guy slides one hand in between them and down, so he's cupping Luke's cock through his pants. Luke sucks in his breath, sharp, and suddenly he's a lot harder.

"Is this okay?" Guy asks.

"Yeah," Luke says. He wants to push against Guy's hand. "I mean, it's okay with me, anyway."

Guy laughs like that makes him nervous for some reason. "Right," he says. "Nobody's ever really talked to you about sex, have they?"

Luke thinks about it for a second, or tries to. Mostly he's still thinking about Guy's hand. "Not unless you count Anise," he says.

"No," Guy says, "I definitely don't count Anise." And that's fine, because she always talked like Luke already knew a lot of things that he didn't. "Okay," Guy goes on, and he moves his hand back to Luke's waist, even though Luke sort of pushes with his hips because he wishes Guy wouldn't, "so, ah, this stuff -- all the stuff we've been doing feels really good and we can just do that some more if you want to. If -- if we take our pants off, and we keep touching each other, then we're kind of crossing a line into having-sex territory."

"Okay," Luke says. "Is that bad?"

"Not at all," Guy says, really fast. "It's just important, especially since you haven't done it before. It's something that -- that you should only do with someone who's really special to you. More than friends."

Luke smiles. "We could be more than friends?" he says. "That's great. I'd like that a lot."

Guy looks like Luke has just offered to get him an airship of his very own. "Luke," he says, really soft, like he's amazed. "I promise I'll be good to you."

"I know you will," Luke says. When has Guy ever done anything else? He stretches up to kiss Guy again and this time when their tongues meet Guy's hands slide in toward Luke's middle to start unbuttoning his pants.

Nobody else has ever touched Luke's cock before, and when Guy does it he makes a sound in his throat without meaning to. He feels so sensitive, and Guy's fingers are rough with calluses in a really good way. He holds onto Guy's shoulders and pushes with his hips and it's a little awkward but he likes it a lot. And it's Guy, making him feel like this, and Luke thinks he understands how this is a more-than-friends thing because knowing that Guy wants to do this with him is making him ache inside from being so happy.

"You want to -- to get in bed?" Guy asks.

"You're the one who knows how this works," Luke says. "Sure." It just keeps getting better, after all.

"Right," Guy says. He lets go of Luke and steps back. "You can take your pants off, if you want to." He's undoing his belt like he's going to, so Luke nods. He'll do it too.

They take off the rest of their clothes -- Guy used to sigh when Luke left his things dropped on the floor of his room, but now they're both doing it -- and climb onto the bed. The really nice thing about doing this lying down -- okay, there are a couple of good things about it. Like how it doesn't matter that Guy's taller, and Luke doesn't have to stretch up to kiss him. Or how they can tangle their legs together for leverage to push against each other. Guy's cock is hard, too. He likes what they're doing just as much as Luke does, and that's awesome.

Guy rolls Luke onto his back, only it's not really like being pinned because the way Guy's smiling is too nice. "Let me take care of you first, okay?" he says.

Luke nods. Guy takes good care of him, always has. Whatever Guy wants to do now will probably be just as cool as the rest of it so he's not about to protest. He lies back, and Guy shifts over him, leaning down to kiss his neck, his collarbone, his chest. Guy's mouth is warm and soft, and he's still making the how-did-I-get-this-lucky face. His hair falls over his forehead and his eyelashes flutter as he works his way down, past the bottom of Luke's ribcage and over his stomach and then he's kneeling between Luke's legs and his breath is hot on the head of Luke's cock.

"Guy?" Luke says. His heart's pounding and he can't imagine this is going where it looks like it's going.

Guy looks up, and his eyes are bright, bright blue. "You trust me, don't you?" he says.

"Yeah," Luke says.

"So relax," Guy says. "You'll like this." He wraps his hand around the base of Luke's cock, licks his lips, and leans down -- and takes Luke's cock in his mouth, warm and wet and oh. It's like -- it's like -- his mouth felt so good when they were just kissing, and now, his lips and tongue slick against Luke's cock, it's --

"Guy," Luke says, his voice shaky, watching as Guy moves, watching his cock slide past Guy's lips. He wants to tell Guy how amazing it feels, but he can't even get the words out, can't manage anything but this little breathy, shaky sound -- that's Guy's tongue rubbing against the most sensitive part of his cock, oh. His hips push up a little without him even trying -- he just sort of can't help it. Guy hums around him, so he can feel it, and then takes him all the way down, far enough that Luke can feel Guy's throat clutch around the head of his cock. He can feel all his muscles going tight, and his whole body is humming, resonating, and it's never been this good by himself, and it's -- he's -- he whimpers and pushes and he thinks Guy makes a noise then but he's coming, oh, coming so hard it leaves him breathless and dizzy, with laughter welling in his chest.

Guy coughs a little, but he's smiling when he looks up. "See?" he says. "I knew you'd like it."

"Yeah," Luke says, "I -- yeah. I really did." He opens his arms as Guy sits up, and Guy leans into him for a hug. "You're the best, Guy."

"Thanks," Guy says. He kisses Luke right under the jaw, nuzzling him, stretching out beside him again. "You're pretty awesome too, you know."

Luke smiles, turns to be able to kiss Guy properly again. He can taste bitterness in Guy's mouth, but he doesn't pull back. It still feels great.

And Guy's cock is still hard, pressing against his thigh, so Luke reaches down to touch it. When he does, Guy moans into his mouth and rocks his hips, so Luke takes a better grip and tries to really stroke it. He feels a little awkward, doing it at this angle that's almost but not quite totally backward from touching himself, but Guy seems to like it anyway. And after how good Guy was at taking care of him, well.

He leans back a little so he can look Guy in the eyes. "Guy?" he says. "I want to try, um --" is there a name for it? -- "what you did for me, okay?"

"Oh, man," Guy says. "You want to try sucking my cock?"

"Yeah," Luke says. "I want to try sucking your cock." Guy whimpers when he says that, pushing into his hand, and Luke grins. This is so much fun.

"All right, here," Guy says, rolling onto his back. "It's, um, not complicated, just takes a little practice." He wraps his hand around the base of his cock, holding it out, while Luke crawls down between his legs.

"It looks really big from this close up," Luke says.

Guy laughs a little, again. "Yeah, they do that. It's going to feel pretty big in your mouth, too, so if you feel like it's too much you can always stop, or take a break, or whatever. Okay?"

Luke thinks a few years ago he'd have argued, said something about how he was sure he could handle it -- and maybe that's why Guy waited, to let him grow up a little first. "Okay," he says. "I'll try not to, though." Because it felt so good when Guy did it for him, and he wants to make Guy feel like that, too.

"Just be -- be careful with your teeth," Guy says, "and other than that, it's pretty simple."

"Right," Luke says. He licks his lips and bends down -- it really does look big from here -- and stretches his mouth wide to fit around Guy's cock.

It feels so smooth against his tongue, and his mouth is so full, even with less than half of it -- Guy's still holding on, so Luke couldn't take the whole thing even if he wanted to, but he's not sure how it would fit, anyway. He thinks if he took much more than this he'd choke on it.

Just sitting there isn't going to do him any good, though, so he tries moving a little, pulling up and sliding back down. Guy moans -- he hasn't even done much yet! -- and Luke moans back, because he can totally do this.

The hardest part is keeping his mouth open far enough that his teeth don't touch Guy's cock. Apart from that it's pretty good -- Guy makes really encouraging sounds, and it's a little like kissing, the way it makes his mouth feel all soft and sensitive. Guy tastes sort of like salt, like the seawater from going swimming this morning is still clinging to his skin. Luke thinks he likes it.

"Here," Guy says, uncurling his fingers, "you hold on instead, okay? You can keep yourself from choking that way."

Luke moans agreement, and wraps his hand around Guy's cock. It's wet with his spit even down where his mouth doesn't reach. He's sort of glad to know that worrying about choking is normal.

"Now," Guy says, and his voice is all breathless, "if you want to you can try moving your hand together with your mouth." Luke tries that, and Guy says, "Oh fuck, yes, Luke," so that's a good reason to keep doing it.

When he gets the hang of that, moving his hand and his head at the same time, Guy can't seem to stop moaning. He's making these little sounds like it's more than he can stand, and his thighs are trembling, and Luke is just so glad they're doing this together, it's --

"Pull up," Guy says all at once, his hand on Luke's arm, tugging. It sounds urgent, so Luke looks up, lets Guy's cock slip from his mouth. "Now just don't stop," Guy says, pushing into Luke's hand, and in just a couple more strokes he's coming, splattering fluid across his stomach.

Luke gives him a second to catch his breath, and then asks, "Why'd you stop me?"

"It seemed like the polite thing to do," Guy says. He smiles sort of sheepishly. "Wasn't sure if you'd be okay with me coming in your mouth."

"Silly," Luke says -- Guy let him do it, after all. He licks Guy's come off his stomach to make a point, and Guy whimpers again. It's fun, getting him to make that noise, totally worth the weird taste.

When he's gotten all of it, Luke crawls back up the bed and flops down next to Guy. He can't think of another time when he felt this happy. Well, there was the first time he and Asch saw the sky after they climbed back up out of the ruins of Eldrant. But this is a quieter, more comfortable kind of happy.

"Guy," Luke says, because he thinks he should say something about that, only before he can get the words in order his stomach grumbles.

Guy laughs. "Time to go get dinner, huh?" he says.

"In a little bit." Luke hugs him, and Guy hugs back. "What I was going to say was, this is really -- I mean, I really like being here. With you. I've been really happy ever since I got here."

"Me, too," Guy says, his voice sort of rough and quiet the way it gets when he's being really serious. "I -- I sort of want to just keep you here for good."

Luke smiles. "Really?" He tries to imagine that, staying here all the time, with Guy. "You have to promise to let me out of the house, though. I've had enough of being locked up in manors to last me the rest of my life."

"You --" Guy shifts, and looks him in the eyes. "Are you seriously thinking about it?"

"Well, yeah," Luke says. "I mean, Asch can marry Natalia now, so I don't have to. I think he'd like that. And that means I could just stay with you instead." He pauses. "I mean, if that's okay with you. If you really want me to."

Guy hugs him so hard he thinks his ribs are going to crack. "Yeah. I really want you to, Luke. More than anything."

"Okay," Luke says. His heart feels good, warm and full and bright. "I will."