Notes: Jade/Guy is my OTP for Tales of the Abyss and one of my all time favorites. They work so well together, IMO. Anyway, this is a longer fic and I hope that it'll be one of the ones I manage to complete. This "chronicles" how Jade/Guy evolve throughout the game. Will contain kinks others find unpleasant and will be a bit on the Mature side. Enjoy!
Guy's first impression of Colonel Jade Curtiss? Typical. The usual bad ass high ranking military officer who no doubt serves as a paternalistic figure in the party. Guy sees many people like Jade in various novels and stories told in oral tradition. He expects Jade to be straight-laced, by the book, vanilla, and minimalist in just about everything. In other words, BOOOOORING and not someone worth getting to know outside of necessary teamwork. Jade looks different from the typical army officer, but that does not impress Guy much.
However, this does not stop Guy from asking necessary questions about the possible war, where they are going, about the role of Fon Master Ion, or Luke von Fabre's well being. He is, after all, a servant and friend of the young redhead. He is also someone who has no problem introducing himself when he has to.
Jade is the first to shake his hand and this is when Guy notices the eyes. They are red, like blood or rubies for the more romantic. Maybe even a sunset. The blue rimmed glasses do nothing to hide the eyes, but Guy has a feeling that the glasses reveal as much as they conceal. The second thing Guy notices is the long hair that looks like honey glinting in the sunlight. He honestly doesn't notice anything else, but Ion may be to blame because he is the second person Guy shakes hands with. Tear is the third, only she does not succeed in shaking hands because Guy recoils as if she turned into a giant snake.
That's when he sees the smile. Jade's smile. That damnable smile.
Jade's first impression of Guy Cecil? Amazing indeed. Bold, confident, cheerful, and friendly. Just like every single dashing hero one sees in a romance novel. He'd be ideal for just about anything, really. However, Jade knows that it takes over a year for someone's true colors to show, but he already has a good idea about Guy's true colors.
Guy is gorgeous. Jade notices right away when he shakes the young man's hand. Guy's smile, like his hair, is sunny, and his eyes are a lovely shade of blue. Just like every single potential boy toy Jade reads about in sex journals. He expects Guy to be a hot head, passionate and fierce. Jade wants to say more, think more, and go over what he knows so far, but when he sees Guy recoil when Tear tries to shake his hand, Jade cannot help but smile.
Then soldiers appear and simply have to ruin everything. Jade does not like that, and so he kills them. Guy and Tear help, but Luke? Poor Luke is still hesitant to kill someone who has no problems killing him. Thankfully, Tear saves the day, and rightfully calls Luke an idiot.
During camp, Luke talks with everyone but Jade actually listens when Guy is talking.
"Of course I'm scared. That's why I fight. Because I don't want
to die. I still have things to do."
"Like what?" Luke asks.
"Like revenge," Guy answers. His smile is missing.
Luke blinks. "Huh"?
Guy shrugs and tries to smile, but it's no match for Jade's. "Just kidding."
Except Guy isn't kidding, and the Colonel knows it.
Jade smiles often. Very often and Guy learns the easy way that sometimes the smile doesn't seem to reach those piercing sunset eyes. Just like the glasses, the smile hides as well as seeks.
In Saint Binah, Jade frequently points out that Guy knows a lot about Malkuth for someone who is from Kimlasca.
"I like reading about vacation spots," Guy replies. He feels his stomach drop when Jade smiles.
Anise first appears in the form of a letter. One half for Jade and the other for Luke. Judging from the smiley faces and music notes, Guy realizes that Anise is a girl and one who is sure to cause him some grief. He doesn't know what sort of grief yet, but given the letter's gushy tone over Luke, Guy easily takes a few guesses. Luke dismisses Anise as 'annoying' and Guy believes him, but knows better than to make too many assumptions. Kaitzur is the next agreed traveling point, but they are interrupted by the very Oracle Knights the party tries to avoid.
Four are visible, but Guy knows that there are six. This is the first time he sees them, but it doesn't hinder him from knowing who they are. When Dist appears, Guy groans in spite of himself. Dist has style, Guy admits even though he hates to. He wears glasses like Jade, but his hair is white, and he sits on a floating chair. He calls himself "Dist the Rose" and he sounds like someone kicked him in the nuts one too many times. Beautiful? Hell no. Jade-
Guy starts to focus on the young man in the mask talking to the much larger man and a woman who looks like she could launch a thousand battleships with her voice alone. Poor Dist is ignored and Guy notices that Jade's smile is wider than normal. Dist thinks that everyone is jealous of his "intelligence and beauty". Guy thinks he's full of shit, but he knows not to underestimate any of the God Generals no matter how stupid they look or sound. He hears of Mohs and Van, and his own voice telling Luke and Tear to "get past the God-Generals and prevent this war."
Jade walks past them all with "Kaitzur" written all over his words, and "Luke is a brat to be ignored when he behaves badly" written in his actions.
"You'e unbelievable." Guy says, but he isn't sure who he says it to.
Ion keeps them in Saint Binah, and no one seems to mind because "hey, a bed that isn't made of earth!" Plus, the inn has free breakfast and who doesn't love free breakfast? Guy hopes that the coffee is worth drinking because he knows he's going to need some. He isn't surprised to learn that Jade is quite powerful. He's always known Jade's ability, and Guy isn't even surprised when Jade says that despite the fon slot seal, he won't have any trouble keeping up. To Luke, it's obnoxious and arrogant. To Guy, it's simple fact spoken with an obnoxious flare.
Guy has a room of his own. Usually inns with traveling parties make strange bedfellows, but tonight is an exception that he appreciates. He has his knees to his chest and can't seem to get that damnable smile out of his mind.
"A servant indeed..." Jade's voice echoes in the walls of Guy's mind. It's not what the Colonel says, but the way he says it. Jade's voice is a wide range full of command, humor, sarcasm, and a knowledge so vast, it flows through him the same way fonons flow through his slender body.
Guy can see the Soil Tree blanketing the Saint Binah night with its shadowy leaves. He can hear the whispers beyond the closed window and he knows that they speak of Jade with his damnable smile, and those eyes that take in too much. Jade is in the next room, but Guy can only guess at what he's doing while telling himself that he doesn't really care. When he falls asleep, he dreams of things full of red, but all he remembers is the color.
He wakes up to coffee in the breakfast room and Jade drinking half the pot. The Colonel fills his with lots of cream and lots of sugar. Even the Cheagle Mieu isn't that sweet, Guy thinks, but he doesn't say anything because he knows that he's not one to talk about coffee. Luke, on the other hand, can't keep his mouth shut.
"Geez, Jade, you want some coffee with that sugar?" The redhead draws laughter from everyone around him, even Tear.
"Don't laugh at my coffee," Jade admonishes with a smirk, "for someday you too will be old and weak."
Guy helplessly smiles while he pours himself a cup. He's not impressed with the coffee and neither is Jade. Guy knows that Luke wouldn't know good coffee if it came up and slapped him. As for Tear, she drinks tea with Ion while Mieu has juice. They finally leave St. Binah only to find that they have to play at the Furbas river to go anywhere near Kaitzur. Guy is sure that Luke will LOVE that.
Sure enough, Luke does LOVE it. That is, if one considers constant bitching, willful ignorance, and treating Mieu like a ball counts as love. Guy finds himself agreeing with Jade more often than he thought. Yes, Luke needs to be taught about the Fonim Field. Yes, Luke is loud. Yes, Luke complains. Yes, Luke has a lot to learn. Yes, Jade Curtiss is a trained killer. Yes, Guy knows that he is one too, but he also knows that Luke wouldn't judge HIM. Yes, Jade is smiling while he asks if Guy is from Baticul.
No, Guy Cecil is not from Baticul. Guy knows he can do a lot, but he isn't sure about everything. He wonders how much Jade knows and if "everything" is included in that knowledge.
God General Arietta interrupts their traveling with her beasts, her magic doll, and a nice earthquake that unleashes a nasty lavender fog. Tear calls it 'miasma', Guy thinks it's awful, and Jade wants to kill poor, defenseless Arietta. Guy isn't sure if he blames him, but Luke wants her alive and they end up moving their enemy to a safe place.
The servant is the one in control. Jade remembers being told that some time ago by his best friend, Peony, but he never thought much of it. Now, he thinks of it as Kaitzur slowly, but surely appears before them. Luke seems to listen to everything Guy says. Jade realizes that had it not been for Guy telling Luke to listen to someone far more experienced than even "Master Van", he wouldn't have been able to teach the young noble anything. Luke asks Guy questions, and even when orders are given, they always seem to follow what Guy himself intends.
Guy knows far too much for being a servant. Not that servants are necessarily uneducated, but Guy's "maritime training", "vacation books", "The Fonic Hymns", Guy's combat style? No, Guy did not hear about it once, or read about it. Guy Cecil knows and does many things that don't quite fit his supposed station. Jade raises an eyebrow. Guy is interesting, and Jade seldom views people in such a manner.
/I wonder what he's like in bed/? Jade smiles. He knows better than to think of such a thing given the circumstances, but it never stopped him in St. Binah and it certainly won't now. He'll be asking that question again, he's sure of it. Along with some other questions, like say, is Guy a top or a bottom? What is he into? What will he look like in leather? How fun is the lovely young man going to be? What if, what if, and what if? Jade asks many questions and answers them with more questions.
Anise is at the border of Kaitzur begging to be let through. She's lost her passport, her identification, and she is none too pleased until Luke saves the day simply by showing up at the right place at the right time. She's full of hearts and squeals as she hugs him like she's about to fall from a cliff.
Guy backs a way a bit. "Women are scary!"
This gives Jade great joy, but he hides it with Anise. At the Kaitzur inn, he hides it behind a window where he can see Guy and Luke in plain view. They are training because Luke clearly needs more of it, and Guy...
Jade sighs, tempted to close his eyes, but refuses to. Guy shines brighter than the moon, he moves like a fiery wind, leaves run from him. Hell, Luke runs from him, but the redhead learns because the alternative is to die by someone else's hand. Not a desirable outcome, to be sure. The night passes as the boys pass the inn entrance. Hopefully to bathe since Jade would rather not deal with smelly people while traveling.
The Kaitzur Inn bed is adequate. Certainly not luxurious, but Jade is used to living without cushy beds with cushy pillows and fluffy blankets. He thinks only of Guy now with that lovely well-toned body, the sunlight hair, the eyes colored like the afternoon sky. He wonders how Guy's hands would feel on his shoulders, chest, nipples, and elsewhere. Jade bites his lip, his hand around his arousal, his breathing steady like his heart. He wants Guy in here with him. but Jade knows that it's far too soon to actively pursue him now.
Guy is a dream under the solitary moon of Auldrant, but Jade is content with reality, of letting go before climax, of palming his hands on the bed sheets, and waiting until his testicles begin to cramp. He breaths in and out, his fingers curl around the sheets, and his mouth opens into a smile rarely used outside of his private space.
Most men call it "blue balls", but Jade is not most men. He calls it "testicular congestion". He has more words for it; he even knows how to describe it in great detail, but he's too busy thinking of Guy, of planning, of making when come sooner rather than later.
Choral Castle. No fun, but a necessary destination. Once a Duke's summer home now little more than ruins cobbled together by monsters holding hands, a multitude of stairs, and cobwebs. Guy is amazed at what neglect can do, but not amazed at Arietta continuing to cause trouble.
/Luke should have let Jade kill her/. Guy thinks this only once because it's too late to dwell on should have or could have. Onward is all they can do at this point. Yes, Arietta is female, a fact that Jade loves to point out, but Guy wants to see this place.
Anise proves every bit as annoying as Guy predicted. She likes to grab him, punch at him, and do everything that guarantees Guy becoming a quivering mass with a sword. Jade watches, smiling that damnable smile. The pig-tailed girl asks many questions about Luke, to Luke, about the castle and she voices her dreams of making this desolate place her home.
"Anise's Private Resort!" She declares to everyone around her.
Guy decides that there's not enough eye-rolls in the world for her antics. He walks away with Luke, taking her plans with them. Luke strays too far, as always, and attracts a doll-like being. Even Jade cries out as the monster attacks. Luke survives without a single injury, but Tear rightfully scolds him about his carelessness that caused the party to break formation. Despite Luke's bratty response, Guy knows that Luke learns his lesson.
When they find a machine, Guy notices that Jade is no longer smiling. Questions are asked about the odd looking piece of tech that has no place in an abandoned summer home. When Jade answers, he sounds uncertain, like someone who knows something, but isn't sure whether or not to answer.
A distant squeak creates certainty when Anise grabs Guy from behind. He can't breathe, his body moves because he pushes her away, but his mind is frozen with memories he is unable to describe and isn't even certain they exist. That part of his mind is a brick wall that he can't seem to bypass. Jade looks, but doesn't touch. Ion does the same. People ask, but Guy barely answers with, "The only thing that's missing is the memory of when my family died."
He looks at Jade, who is still without that damnable smile, his ruby eyes are narrowed. "Enough about me. I want to hear what's on your mind, Colonel..."
Jade's face is a blank slate. "Just as you'd rather not talk about your past, there are some things I wish not to talk about as well." He sounds clipped, as usual, but it's laced with a softness Guy doesn't know he has. Jade turns and walks away with Luke.
As they continue on, Guy keeps his eyes on Jade, feeling like a dawning is setting on him, awakening him somehow. He isn't sure why he feels like embracing the clouds, but he does. He can't identify the feeling, but if someone were, his best answer would be, "I guess it's a sort of understanding." He likes the feeling though and wonders how long it will last.
Anise and Jade walk in front of everyone else. The girl is smiling and humming to who knows what or cares because Guy senses that she is up to something. She'd been this way since leaving Kaitzur Navel Port and when the others go off on their merry way for a quick rest, Anise doesn't so much hum as she hmmmmms. Jade raises an eyebrow.
"What are you up to, Anise? Plotting to murder Tear, perhaps? Eliminate an obstacle to marrying Luke?"
Anise shakes her head. "Of course not! I'd never do anything like that! It's about Guy..."
When he hears his name, Guy looks at the two of them, his gut feeling like butterflies swimming inside of him. He can't help but edge closer because he simply has to know what they are talking about. Then, there's Jade, smiling that damnable smile yet again.
"Ah, his fear of women?" The colonel asks. He sounds amused, like someone who is planning a hilarious prank.
"You saw how seriously terrified he was. It's like I can't really tease him anymore..." Anise whines. She looks like a five year old who is denied ice cream because it's dinner time.
The butterflies vanish. Guy strolls toward the two of them. "Seriously terrified, huh?"
If he has to describe his problem with women, "terrified" wouldn't be part of the description. Then again, he's never had to describe his problem in words very often. Anise jumps, but there's not a shred of shock on her face.
"Whoa!" Her eyes brighten.
Guy shrugs, noting that Jade is starting to walk behind him. He thinks nothing of it. "Don't worry about it. Not to quote Ion or anything, but perhaps being teased during this journey might help me to get over it." When Jade speaks, Guy finds "sorry" etching itself across his nerves.
"Well, he reacted most strongly when you grabbed him from behind... As long as you avoid that, you should be just fine." Jade is close, very close. Guy swears that he can feel the other man's breath glide across his hair.
Anise is also TOO DAMNED CLOSE. "Right! Here we go! Coochie coochie coochie coochie coochie..." Hands run all over Guy. White gloves, BLUE gloves. Jade. ANISE. Guy isn't sure who his trembling body is reacting to. All he knows is that he wants this STOPPED RIGHT NOW!
"S-stop that! Cut it out! No, don't...! Ack! No! Please!" Guy cries out. He'd wedged between both mischief makers and he can't seem to get away. They COOCHIE! They KEECHIE! They SKEETCHIE! They PETA PETA PETA whatever the hell qualifies as tickling, but Guy knows that if it were only Jade, his reaction would be different. He'll never know because ANISE is right in front of him touching HIM, his chest, his arms. "Stoooooooooop!"
They don't. They think it's funny while Guy feels his heart flutter and he's not having any fun. They don't understand. They don't know what it's like to cringe every time someone of the opposite sex comes near him. Guy grits his teeth and manages to push past the both of them. He glares at Anise. Jade is still behind him, so Guy can't see him, but he knows that Jade is grinning.
"Th-that's enough already! And you stay out of this, Jade!"
Guy's eyes widen when Jade wraps his arms around him, and then IT happens. Guy no longer feels fear. Instead he feels /I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING/ along with a warm mouth full of firm teeth against his ear. /IT FEELS GOOD...NO...Jade?/ In a span of a second, Guy remembers his first impressions, and this one moment, this one simple act, DESTROYS EACH AND EVERY FIRST IMPRESSION HE HAS HAD HAVES WHATEVER OF COLONEL JADE CURTISS THE NECROMANCER. Okay, perhaps not ALL of them, but most of them.
When Jade finally lets go, Guy slowly turns. That damnable smile is there, reaching his eyes that shine as bright as the afternoon sun. Jade pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Nibble." Is all Jade says before he walks away to meet with the others.
Anise follows behind him, yelling about how cool the Colonel is and, "Wow! That's awesome and cool, and and and!"
"Oh..." Guy blinks. He doesn't bother to wipe his ear off. The wind feels good, cooling, oddly soothing. "I...I...Jade..." He shakes his head. "You're terrible."
