Title: two houses but one home
Prompt: when you wake up in the wrong country
Characters/Pairings: Guy, Natalia, Luke
A/N: I don't think anyone serious believes that Guy's going to live in Malkuth post-game
Summary: If looks could kill, Guy would be dead ten times over by now.
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"You are here again?" As soon as they stepped out into the gardens, away from prying eyes, Natalia dropped her reserved-for-royal-guests smile. Even her voice took on a rougher tone as she crossed her arms and turned to Guy. "What about your region in Malkuth? Do you not have to govern that?"
Well, to be honest, this suited her more than the dignified princess smile that she'd been beaming at him throughout his audience with royal family. Though, no matter how hard she tried to mask her emotions, Guy had felt the daggers in her eyes from the second she'd spotted him. If looks could kill, he'd have been dead at least ten times by now. "Well, they need someone to act as a intermediary between Malkuth and Kimlasca-Landvadier. Peony thought I'd be best, since I stayed here for so long."
"That is true," Natalia agreed, nodding her head. Her skirt swished around her as the wind picked up and she brushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "Those are the very reasons I would have picked you as well. Still, I think you are here more often than you are in your own manor—could not someone else handle something as trivial as handing over a document? Or even send Anise or Jade in your place every now and then?"
Natalia's eyes were on him again, not buying his reasoning at all, and Guy laughed awkwardly. That was the problem with childhood friends—it was almost impossible to lie convincingly to them. Well, maybe to Luke, but Luke had always been especially stupid. Changing tactics, he agreed. "That's a good point." Guy rubbed the back of his head, before shrugging. There was probably nothing he could do without raising her suspicions. "Maybe Peony doesn't want me around?"
"Is it him or you?" Natalia muttered, tapping her thighs with a finger.
Honestly, for a dense idiot, she was all too sharp sometimes. Fortunately, before she could press any further, Guy spotted Luke sitting on a bench, wiping his forehead. Unlike the last time he'd visited, his friend's long mane was chopped in half. "Luke! Your hair is shorter!"
"Guy!" Luke looked over his shoulder and perked up. Bouncing onto his feet, he jogged over to the pair. "Yeah, I had Natalia did it." His voice dropped a notch and he glared at her. "She said my old haircut was terrible. That you didn't have any fashion sense."
Ah, his other favourite royal idiot. Completely reliable as usual. Guy knew he could count on him to change the topic. Taking a deep breath, he covered his heart with his hand and gave Natalia a wounded look. "You said that?"
"I…I…" Flustered, Natalia flushed a dark red. She took a step back. That was the good thing about childhood friends—Guy knew Natalia's weak points and just how to press them. "That is…"
"Oh, you can't repeat it now?" Luke frowned, hands on his hips.
A childish argument; Guy hadn't realized how much he'd missed those until now. How much he'd missed his slightly spoiled friend until he'd turned self-deprecating. It was true what they said, that you didn't realize what you had until it was gone. His manor in Malkuth was too quiet, too empty, and if Guy had asked to take on every little missive to Kimlasca, well, only Peony knew that.
And probably Jade, but that was because he was an ass who knew everything.