Disclaimer: No.
#4 Our distance and that person
If there was one thing and one thing only that Luke had learned in his five years of conscious memory and of spending that entire time confined to the manor, it was knowing when someone was acting out of character. In between being routinely insufferable and going the extra mile to torment everyone around him, Luke passed his time watching people.
He knew how his mother took her coffee when she was sneaking it against her doctor's orders, knew that Rena the scullery maid was in a particularly sordid relationship with one of the footmen, and he knew exactly what it looked like when Guy was avoiding him.
It wasn't that he actually avoided him, certainly. The swordsman did his job effectively and efficiently, taking care of whatever Luke asked of him. It wasn't like he COULD get away with shirking his duties, living at the manor like he did. No, it wasn't a matter of ignoring or avoiding Luke that gave him away.
Guy's eyes said everything he wouldn't.
When something was upsetting him, he wouldn't even look at Luke. When he did, he wouldn't meet his eyes, focusing on a spot just to the side of his head. His normally exuberant and often exasperated voice would be subdued and ominously mellow, and he wouldn't scold or reprimand or do any of his normal Guy-like things whenever Luke was behaving particularly badly. Luke may or may not have been particularly awful on days like that, if only to try and get a reaction out of him.
It never worked.
Luke didn't know what in Auldrant Guy had to worry about, anyway. It wasn't like he didn't have somewhere to live or food and he had a job. All he had to do was take care of Luke and he did it well, and as long as he did that, he should consider himself worry-free.
Even though Luke thought and believed that, the look that lived on Guy's face when he avoided him said otherwise. Those days were anxious and stressful because Luke couldn't help feeling challenged, feeling like there was more he didn't know about his servant than he thought, and he disliked it.
Today was definitely one of those days, and Luke sat on his bed, glaring at the wall.
He thought he was brooding. Anyone else would say that he was sulking and getting dangerously close to pouting.
"Ugh, I can't take this," he muttered to himself, "Time to find that jerk and snap him out of this."
Luke scrambled off of his bed and exited his room into the courtyard, scanning the bushes. He wasn't looking for Guy; he knew he wouldn't find him here. But someone else would definitely know where he was.
"Pere!" the redhead exclaimed, dashing down the stairs and stopping in front of a rose bush, peering around to find the head gardener pulling up weeds.
"Hello there, Master Luke," the man greeted, raising a hand. "You've been scarce today."
"Yeah, yeah," Luke brushed off, going straight for the kill, "Where's Guy? I know you know where he is. You always know!" He definitely didn't have a whine shining through his voice, and he scowled sullenly when Pere lowered his eyes, shifting uncomfortably. "Come on, where is he?"
"Perhaps if he's not around here, he could use some time by himself?" the old man offered, "Don't you think he's entitled to it?"
"No," Luke answered promptly, "Maybe if he weren't acting weird, but he is and I want to know what's going on. He goes off on his own all the time, to train and do other stuff that doesn't really matter much to me, but he's being strange and I want to find him. He's still within the walls, right?"
Bound by honor to be unable to avoid a direct command, Pere sighed.
"Yes, Master Luke. I believe he can be found in the guard's training yard."
"Why there? He hates going there to train because everyone gives him flack."
"I wouldn't know, Master Luke. I've divulged too much of his privacy already." To Luke's shock, the gardener turned away from him and focused back on his weeds. It didn't matter, though. Luke had gotten what he wanted, and he knew where to go.
"I'm off, then! Thanks, Pere!" he called behind him, making a beeline for the stairs leading out of the courtyard and through the hallway that led to the guards' barracks and through another that led to the training yard.
He wasn't even though the door before he heard the clanging of metal, shouts and taunts, cheers, and the haggard breaths of people involved in a fight. Luke shoved open the door, reeling back in shock at what he saw.
His timing was perfect.
He swung open the door just in time to watch Guy lunge forward, making a swing with his sword in a feint move, catching his opponent with an agile leg around the back of the knees when the guard fell for his feint. The man dropped to the ground, groaning slightly and Guy backed off, eyes alight with something Luke wasn't used to seeing. There were men lined up on the fence, some making bets, some nursing injuries. Guy himself sported what would definitely turn into a black eye if not treated with a healing spell, and to Luke's eyes, experienced in watching him move, it was obvious that he was favoring his left arm.
Ignoring everything but the prospect of another fight, Guy twirled his sword and proclaimed loudly to the entire courtyard,
"Any other fresh takers?"
A taunt.
It was like it wasn't even Guy speaking anymore to Luke's ears. Luke knew calm, knew irritated, knew worried, knew excited, knew pleased. He didn't know this.
"…Guy?"
The entire courtyard froze. The guards knew that they weren't doing anything wrong, but somehow it felt like they'd all been caught doing something they shouldn't have when the young master of the house walked in on them. Guy went stony, masking his look of surprise under an expression of almost sullen resignation.
"Do you need something, Luke?" he finally asked. He wouldn't meet Luke's eyes, and a flash of fury ran through the younger man.
"I do. You can come back with me, or I will be your next opponent."
Guy didn't glare or scowl, but his eyes sang out in mutiny, glaring into the ground.
"…Fine," he grit out, tossing the sword he'd borrowed to one of the men on the fence and making his way towards the door, still favoring his arm. Luke could see the marks indicative of a grab and twist, and wondered if Guy had any other marks on him. Once they were alone in the hallway, Luke turned to come face to face with his servant, folding his arms over his chest.
"What the hell was that?"
"What was what?"
"That. That whole thing. You never get into it with the guards. We both know you're strong. And…" He trailed off. How to bring up that for a moment, Luke hadn't even recognized him?
"I needed to burn off some steam," Guy finally answered, staring at something just at the side of Luke's face.
"Why?"
"I just needed to."
"But why?" Luke insisted stubbornly, startled when Guy finally raised his voice.
"Goddamnit, can't I have anything of my own? I said I needed to blow some stuff, so can't you just leave it at that? I'm not your pet that comes when it's called. I'm my own damn person with my own damn problems, and sometimes I'm not the person that can smile all the time when I'm upset!" His words echoed down the hallway and he finally went silent, breathing heavy. Luke was so shocked by the outburst that he'd backed up to hit the wall, mouth dropping open. Guy's hands had clenched in his belt loops and even though he'd gone quiet, he seemed nowhere near offering any sort of apology.
"What's gone so wrong that you feel like you have to go violent apeshit on my family's guards?" Luke hissed, "I don't know how it got started or what, but you are my servant. They are supposed to protect my family if something happens. What the hell would you do if something happened and they were too down and out to be useful? What then? I don't care how bent out of shape you are; think about what you're doing."
"Don't you dare lecture me, you obnoxious-"
"I will lecture you if I damn well please."
They stood at opposite sides of the hallway, glaring furiously at each other. For a good minute, angry silence reigned. Finally, Luke lifted his head haughtily and turned his back, making his way back down the hallway, leaving Guy where he stood. His whole frame trembled with rage and an ache in his chest that he couldn't pin down, and he didn't need to look back to know that he was the only one walking.
Until suddenly, he wasn't alone.
A set of footsteps followed him but Guy said nothing. Luke knew he was there even without being able to hear him; he was so familiar with the other man that he could smell him. The redhead slowed to force the blonde to walk beside him and finally dared to glance out of the corner of his eye to survey him.
All of Guy's anger seemed to have faded and now he just looked tired. Tired and worn and upset and hurt and that worried Luke more than he'd like to admit. The uncharacteristic violence was startling and one thing, but this was another entirely.
"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" he finally asked quietly, "I know there is. Otherwise you wouldn't do this. You listen to all of my problems, all the time, and never tell me any of yours. I can't think of any, but you obviously have some, and I can't understand unless you let me know. Don't friends tell each other stuff?"
"…I don't think I can," Guy finally answered, eyes shuttered, "I really, really don't think I can. It's too big and too… Just too everything. …I'm sorry I went off on you. I was out of place."
"Yes and no, I was asking for some of it," Luke muttered under his breath, as if being quiet would null the fact that he'd admitted it, "Okay, then. I have a deal for you." Guy merely raised an eyebrow in question, and Luke wished that he'd just talk and stop looking so exhausted. "You don't have to tell me what's bothering you if you don't think you can. But tell me when something's bothering you. I can tell anyway. And don't avoid me when you're upset, because it's just annoying. And try to avoid hurting the guards, too."
"Tall order," Guy muttered with a shake of his head, before his expression wavered. Luke just barely caught it, and his heart clenched. For a moment, just a brief moment, Guy looked as if he were going to cry and it was all Luke could do to not lean in and hug him.
He couldn't resist the temptation and did so anyway, wrapping his arms around his servant and squeezing tightly, feeling Guy trembling under his grip. Eventually, the tension and resistance drained out of him and he dropped his head to Luke's shoulder, letting out a shuddering breath. Unthinkingly, Luke tilted his head and pressed his lips to Guy's temple, knowing that if he pulled away and licked his lips, he'd taste sweat and the coppery tinge of blood from a head wound that had been healed and swiped away in the midst of battle.
"I can take care of you sometimes too, you know," he chided lightly, trying to hide the shakiness of his voice behind bravado, "So take my deal."
Guy didn't verbalize his answer, but Luke felt him finally nod into his shoulder, hands finally confident enough to drape around Luke's shoulders.
