Luithia: Wow. No reviews. At all. That's kind of depressing.

Jade: Considering it's only been up for a few days.

Luithia:...Quiet. Oh, well. Some people seem to like it, so here's the next part!

Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes and neither party showed any sign of exhaustion. Of course, they were just sitting there, but Guy had long since regretted choosing a hard brick wall as his seat backing, and he was sure Luke couldn't have been too comfortable up in those branches. What was keeping Pere, anyway?

As if on cue, the old gardener came out into the yard carrying with him a cardboard box. He walked over to where Guy was seated.

"Is this what you wanted?" asked Pere.

"Yeah, thanks," replied Guy, taking the box from him. He carefully placed it on his lap and removed the lid. He didn't need to look up to know that Luke was watching him. After a suspenseful pause, Guy reached into the box and lifted out what appeared to be a small fontech contraption. It was flat, with countless wires and switches running all over it, connecting six colored light bulbs on the top. It was actually a sort of puzzle game Guy had finished recently. The aim was to position the switches so that all six bulbs were blinking simultaneously. A little amateurish, but Guy thought it was a clever idea.

He balanced the contraption on his knee and began playing with it. Of course, being its creator, he knew how to win, but now wasn't the time to show off. He would flip a few switches, then pause, looking befuddled, then flip a few more. He had done this for a good four to five minutes and was about to stop when he heard a soft rustling above him. He looked up to find Luke only three branches from the base of the tree and in the process of lowering himself to the next one. Then Luke saw Guy, paled, and began scrambling back up.

"Hey", said Guy, stopping him, "you can try it if you want." Luke twisted his head around, watching him warily without moving up or down.

"Only if you want to," said Guy, shrugging and continuing to fiddle with the puzzle.

He had barely looked away when the red-headed boy dropped down in front of him, nearly giving him a heart attack. Luke sat in a crouching position, staring at the game cautiously. His mouth was pulled into a small, but distinctly curved frown and his eyebrows were bunched together, forming an immature crease above his eyes which darted between Guy's face and the contraption. Altogether, this formed a rather adorable pouting expression on the child's face, causing Guy to smile openly as he held out the game.

Luke's face softened and changed to a look of slight surprise at the sincerity of Guy's offer, and he took the item. He grinned in anticipation and sat down cross-legged, placing it on his lap. Guy watched him quietly from his place by the wall, noting the changes in his expression: a grin of satisfaction when a new bulb lit up and a pout of disappointment when one went out. Guy chuckled softly to himself and leaned back, his gaze scanning the yard.

They were alone, him and Luke. Even Pere had left. No one knew that Luke had finally come down, or that he had been the one to convince him. Alone. The silence was only broken by the clicking of Luke's progress and the rustle of the leaves above them. Guy unconsciously reached for the sword at his waist.

That's right. His entire purpose for entering the Fabre household, and his true intention from the beginning, was revenge. Revenge against the Duke who had so mercilessly slaughtered his entire family. The Duke whose son he had sworn to kill. It didn't matter if he was caught afterwards and thrown in jail or executed or worse, he would have completed his vengeance. He had sworn on his sister's grave to do this and yet…

He was jolted out of his thoughts by a large object nearly being shoved into his face. It was the puzzle game, with all six bulbs on the top blinking in unison. Guy turned his head to see Luke, whose face was beaming so much, it could have been mistaken for a sixth fonon spell. He seemed to be waiting for some sort of response.

"Oh!" Guy finally realized. "Um, good job!" he told the red-haired boy, forcing a smile. Luke's grin widened (if that was possible) and even his eyes seemed to shine. He sat back down, looking thoroughly satisfied with himself.

The young blond man's eyes began to sting and threatened to well up, so he turned away from Luke and stared at the brick wall. I'm sorry, Mary, but I can't. This boy wasn't just the Duke's son, he was Luke. He was a kid just trying to rediscover himself and piece together his life after having it torn asunder. Just like me. No, Luke had nothing to do with his father's crimes. Guy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, recomposing himself.

Something tugged on his sleeve and he looked up. Luke was sitting next to him, staring at him intently with a look of confusion. Or was it concern? Where does this kid keep getting all these cute expressions from? Guy found himself wondering.

"Ah, sorry," apologized Guy as he attempted to smile again, "Did you need something?"

Luke frowned, as if not completely convinced, but pointed to the sheath at the swordsman's waist.

"Oh, you want this?" asked Guy, patting the hilt of his sword. The young red-head nodded eagerly.

"Sorry," said the fourteen-year-old, waggling a finger, "No can do. It's way too dangerous. Grown-ups only." Luke's face changed to an all-too-familiar pout, and Guy could almost hear him retorting, "You're a kid, too!"

"Sorry… Wha- Hey! Hey, watch it!" he exclaimed as Luke made a grab at the sword. Guy caught his wrist, and he shoved at Guy's face. Then Guy grabbed the back of his collar, he tried to knee Guy in the stomach, and so on and so forth. The small tussle soon grew into an all-out wrestling match, which then turned into a one-sided tickling match. By the time Pere had returned, Luke was on the ground, shaking with laughter and pinned by the older boy.

"You two seem to be having fun," said the gardener as he walked over to them.

"Oh, Pere, you're back," gasped Guy in-between breaths, "Um, we were just…" Pere held up a hand to stop him.

"Don't worry about it. Well, then," he continued, turning his gaze to Luke, "I suppose I should let the others know that Master Luke had descended, yes?"

"I guess so," said Guy, quietly, "Oh, and Pere?"

"Hm?"

"Could you suggest that the commandant start teaching Luke swordplay again?" The red-haired boy, recovering from their bout, stared at him in surprise.

Pere held his chin thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose I could bring it up. Would you like that, Master Luke?"

Luke scrambled to his feet, nodding eagerly. As Pere led him back into the manor, Luke took a last glance back at Guy with an unreadable expression on his face.

Luithia: *sighs* Mute Luke is so cute. Though he's kind of hard to write for.

Luke: *blush*Sh-shut up!

Luithia: One piece left, folks!

...

And reviews make me a happy little authoress, yes?