Disclaimer: No.
#11 Gardenia
If Guy hadn't loved these flowers so much, the smell might have been stifling. The scent was thick and heavy, each large, white blossom covered in tiny droplets of dew, not yet dissipated from the day. The sun was just barely cracking up over the horizon, shards of sunshine breaking through the clouds and casting a wet shimmer on everything it touched. Guy inhaled deeply, soaking it in, filling himself with morning, wet earth, and the almost intoxicatingly nostalgic scent of flowers.
Gardenia was familiar and he must have been a bit of a masochist for going out of his way to experience it, but even after all this time he was drawn to the scent like a moth to a flame. His own mother had been fond of wearing the flowers pinned to the front of her blouse, and Guy remembered being swept up in hugs and pulling away smelling strongly of flowers for the rest of the day.
It didn't matter that he was essentially sitting in a massive bush in the middle of Emperor Peony's garden at a time of day that no normal human being should have been awake. If any of the gardeners happened to come across him, he'd just say that he was looking for something, which in a way, he was.
If anyone asked, Guy would say that he'd just gotten up, but that would have been a lie. He might have gone to bed but he hadn't slept, merely staring at the ceiling in his usual room, too antsy and strung up to wind down and he'd been wandering around the castle for over three hours, pacing the halls and courtyards that had become familiar to him in the months that he'd lived there before the journey started up again. They were all more used to inns and camping at this point, but Luke hadn't been able to resist the offer of the kind of bed that Peony could supply, and Guy had to admit that they were all more pleasant and easy to get along with when they'd spent the night somewhere comfortable.
There was little sleep for Guy, though. Not lately.
Ever since the holes in his memory had filled in thanks to Anise's over-exuberance, it had been more and more difficult for him to sleep through the night, and Guy wasn't sure whether it was worse to wake up not knowing why he was drenched with sweat and terror, or to know all too well.
"This is terrible," he muttered dryly to himself, "Some people go and get drunk. I go sniff bushes because I know it'll hurt me." Sometimes he wondered if Peony knew that gardenias had grown best in Hod, or if he kept them around because they were huge and prolific and bloomed until the plant was more white than green. Like roses only with a better scent that only came in white.
The Fabre gardens didn't have a single one and Guy hadn't thought about them at all until he'd come back to Malkuth and found them flourishing in Grand Chokmah.
Eventually, he pulled himself to his feet and dusted off his breeches, thankful that they were dark so that the evidence of dew and soil wouldn't be too obvious. Back in the open air, Guy felt as if he'd come out of a dream of humid memories so thick it was almost smothering and shivered slightly as the sweat he'd worked up cooled and evaporated in the morning.
Before he left, he snipped a single bloom off of the biggest bush, one from an angle that would be missed. He brought it to his face and breathed.
Silently, he made his way back to the inner areas of the castle, the only sounds being those of his own footsteps and the rustling of the servants now just beginning to start the day. It wasn't long before he came to the guest room he sought and pushed the door open, slipping in as silent as a cat.
Luke was still very much asleep, just as Guy had expected him to be. Curled up on his side and snuggled in a cocoon of blankets, he slept deeply and easily, and Guy didn't begrudge him a bit. Smiling softly, Guy approached closer and sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling the mattress sag slightly under his weight.
Luke shifted and felt around with a hand, patting experimentally until he hit Guy's knee. Scrunching up his face, he opened his eyes slowly, blinking dazedly.
"…what time is it?" he muttered, still half asleep.
"Far too early," the older man replied, keeping his voice low, "I didn't mean to wake you. Keep sleeping."
"You smell good," Luke said, ignoring the rest and cuddling closer until he was essentially curled around Guy's hips, before bringing his nose into Guy's ribs and breathing deeply. "Really good. What is that?" Leaning down, the swordsman pulled out the blossom that he'd stuck into his belt for the walk and tucked it into Luke's hair, just behind his ear.
"They don't have these in Baticul, or even in Kimlasca at all. No one grows them, and I'm not sure if they would even survive if someone did try," he said softly into Luke's ear. "They grew easily on Hod and they… they remind me of home." If he had to be honest, Guy wasn't sure quite why he was sharing something like this, especially now. But it felt right, and he knew that Luke wouldn't dare laugh at him for it.
A sleepy, pajama-covered arm wrapped around Guy's waist and squeezed firmly.
"I don't know where you intend to go when this whole thing is over and the world is back to normal again. You know, where you're going to want to live, what you're going to want to do," Luke began, only slightly more wakeful now that he'd been talking, "But if you end up coming home with me, we can try and grow them. I think Mother and Pere can grow about anything…" he trailed off and Guy gaped at him, aghast now at the heat gathering behind his eyes and utterly touched.
"Luke…" he started and stopped immediately, unable to continue. Green eyes blinked slowly at him, and Guy shook his head, before he leaned forward and kissed him. Softly and gently, more of a caress than anything else.
"Yeah?"
The blonde shook his head silently, pausing for a split second to wipe ferociously at his eyes, before casting a gentle smile at the person he absolutely adored.
"I never stood a chance, did I?" he mused, "Not a single chance."
"You bet," Luke muttered, "If you're gonna talk, at least get into bed with me. Better yet, get into bed with me and go to sleep. You look like you've been up all damn night."
