Am I Good Enough? – Chapter 2: Companion for Life

A/N: Much thanks to you 6 reviewers who actually found my story worthy enough to be reviewed. I will apologize for not updating this story sooner. It was evil mid-term week of doom and it showed me no mercy. Hope you guys enjoy the final chapter!

Disclaimer: Tales of the Abyss is strictly the property of the Japanese production company: Namco Tales Studio. This story implies nothing about the characters nor does the plot of the story have any effect on the video game or the manga themselves. This story is pure fiction.

Note: I sort of got the chapter title from one of Guy's character Titles. Even though it's really called 'Friend for Life' I found the word 'companion' to be much more appropriate for their relationship…and to be much more alluding to certain details.

——†——

Guy woke up in a state of frenzied panic. His forehead sweated profusely while his heart hammered against his ribcage in an almost painful manner. He clutched one hand over his bare chest, gulped down the lump that had somehow found its way into his throat and begun to take deep and heavy breaths to calm down his nerves.

He took a quick scan of his surroundings and realized that he was in his bedroom, located on the second floor of the Cecil Villa, just a single block away from the Emperor's palace in the Malkuth capital of Grand Chokmah. He heavily sighed and brought one hand up to rest against the side of his forehead.

"Not again…"

Guy glanced over to his side table and noticed the glimmer of a very familiar silver dagger. After letting out another heavy sigh, Guy fell back against his pillow and begun to reflect upon a particular memory that he had hoped to have remained forgotten after so many years of repression. For first time in a long time, Guy had felt the heavy weight of shame press down against his heart.

"And after all this time…"

He didn't know how long he had been lying against his mattress, mindlessly listening to the mull of the rain against the windows, but an unexpected knocking of his bedroom door snapped him back to reality.

"U-uh…come in!"

Slowly opening one of the large sky-blue double doors was none other than the second occupant of his frightful vision: Luke Fon Fabre. The red-head was curiously peeking from his position on the other side of the door with only concern gracing across his concerned – and somewhat tired – features.

"Everything alright Guy? I thought I heard a strange noise coming from your room so I thought I'd drop by to check it out."

Guy's face lightly blushed in embarrassment after remembering that Luke was vacationing in Malkuth with him, taking temporary residence in one of the Cecil Villa's guestrooms, specifically just one door over from the Master Bedroom. Thankfully the dimly lit atmosphere of the house probably rendered Luke incapable of seeing it with clarity.

"N-not to worry little buddy…just a nightmare…"

Luke was about to respond to Guy's dismissive statement, but a quick flash of lightning temporarily illuminated a very peculiar object located on top of one of Guy's nightstands.

"Oh…you were thinking of THAT again…weren't you?"

Guy's eyes snapped up in surprise.

"T-thinking of w-what again?"

Luke sighed. "I may be thick sometimes Guy, but I'm not as completely oblivious as I often come off to be." Guy's breath slightly hitched in his throat when the red-head actually stepped into the room and casually made his way over towards the blonde's half-clothed form. Once Luke reached the edge of the bed, Guy couldn't help but feel captivated if not slightly intimidated from the analytical gaze of those hauntingly emerald green eyes.

"L-luke…?"

Without even uttering a single word, Luke directed his gaze towards the Gardios dagger, which he noticed was only partially unsheathed.

"I…I…."

"Don't say a word…"

"B-but…h-how-"

"Do I know?" Guy could only nod back.

Luke softly sat down on the mattress right next to Guy with his gaze aimlessly directed towards the door of the partially opened bathroom, perpendicular to the position of the ex-noble's bed. The red-head then began to make small meaningless kicking movements with his feet in the hopes of easing up his hesitancy towards elaborating on the question that his long-time friend had asked of him.

"Well to be honest it kind of all came to me only about a year ago, back at the Manor, when I finally found out about the…you know…the bet."

"O-oh…"

A few moments of silence had passed between them before Luke continued on.

"You know…I always wondered why you were really in my room that night." Luke made a small laugh, "Little did I know that it was for a much less pleasant purpose than I would have liked to believe. That weird and almost unnoticeable hole in my bed left me confused for weeks on end."

He couldn't tell if the young heir was joking or being sarcastic but either way, Guy turned his head away from Luke in shame. Luke noticed the defeated look plastered across his friend's handsome face and instinctively placed one of his hands on top of Guy's own in reassurance. Upon sight of the blonde's surprised expression resulted from the gesture, Luke made a warm smile back.

"It's okay…it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"H-how…how can you say that? For Yulia's sake Luke I almost ki-"

"What's done has been done Guy. You and I of all people know very well that the past will forever remain unchanged." Guy mentally cursed himself for his tarnished childhood soaked with blood and deceit. "But the good news…is that we can make up for it all by shaping our present to redirect our future. So that we may never have to relive those painful memories again…"

Guy felt Luke's fingers gently curl around his own in addition to observing the forlorn look contained within those youthful green eyes. Only one word came to blond noble's mind upon the sight: Akzeriuth.

"Luke…"

Even though he was aware that he was being addressed to, Luke averted his gaze back towards the Gardios dagger; effortlessly lying on the nearby nightstand. What happened next nearly stupefied the blonde in his place: Luke was shaking.

"L-luke…?"

"Guy…c-can I stay here with you? I don't…wanna be alone tonight."

A huge wave of nostalgia crashed upon the swordsman's heart. In spite of everything that had happened between them – Asch, Eldrant and all – when it came down to the basics, Luke was still a child. He's really only 8… (1) The Luke that was trembling before him was that very same child that he tried to kill so many years ago. And yet, through it all, the boy eventually grew to become the sole reason as to why he never really followed through with the murder while also becoming his number one reason for living the rest of his life in an honest and just manner.

"Of course you can…"

Luke bashfully lay down on the bed, until he was situated right next to Guy, and gently rested his head on top of the blonde's bare chest. Guy on the other hand gently placed one of his hands on top of Luke's crimson mop and smiled down at the calming 18 year old with which he had taught, befriended and even raised despite the 4 year age difference between them.

"You're never alone Luke…you have all of your friends who care about you far too much to push you away."

"Yeah…," Guy was caught off guard after realizing that Luke had not fallen asleep yet, "But none of them…are quite like you…"

Guy's heart swelled up almost painfully after hearing Luke's last comment. Acting almost intuitively, Guy nuzzled his cheek against Luke's hair while the red-head snuggled even further into the blonde's strong chest.

Am…I really that good enough…to deserve someone like you…?

——†——

Gailardia looked up from his kneeling form on the ground next to Luke's bed, only to notice that the young heir was still in the exact same position as he was when he entered the boy's room; completely unharmed. He glanced over towards his right hand which was tightly clamped onto the handle of the Gardios dagger and noticed that it had only stabbed right through the mattress, just inches away from Luke's torso. His hand began to tremble when the reality that Luke was still alive had donned upon him.

"W-why...? Why can't I do it?" Luke snuggled his face even further into the oversized stuffed rappig.

"M-mary…everyone…" Gailardia hung his head down in shame. "A-am…am I good enough…to be your victor?" He quietly asked of himself.

The young blonde's body began to tremble as he continued to stare at the sleeping heir. However, all thoughts of honor and justice were completely obliterated and replaced with the unbearable weights of shame and guilt.

"N-no…I'm not." Gailardia firmly stood up straight as he pulled out the dagger from the mattress, loosely holding on to its golden handle with minimal effort.

"I'm sorry everyone…" Gailardia hung his head down, "But…I can't do it…I won't do it. It's," A single tear escaped from his crystalline eyes, "not even worth it. Had I gone through with it…I would be no better than the criminal who started it all."

After wiping his eyes with a sleeved arm, he turned around and made his way back towards the window which he used to enter the bedroom with. However, as he undid the clasp, a faint sound halted him in his place.

"W-who's there…?"

Gailardia gulped down the lump in his throat while continuing to remain rooted in his spot.

"Guy…? Is that you…?"

Realizing that it was already too late to escape now, Gailardia quietly placed the weapon down on the windowsill and calmly made his way back to Luke's bed.

"Y-yes…i-it's me Master Luke. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"W-wha…," the 10 year old made a very noticeable yawn which Gailardia couldn't help but find somewhat endearing, "What's going on? Is something happening?"

"No, nothing at all Master Luke. I…uh…I just had this, strange feeling that something was going to happen to you. And so I…just…decided to sneak my way over here. To be certain that you were indeed alright."

"Oh…okay…"

While Luke was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Gailardia gently rested a hand on top of the boy's head.

"Now…it's time to go to sleep alright Master Luke? It's very late and you have an early training lesson tomorrow morning with Commandant Grants. You don't want to embarrass yourself by falling asleep during the middle of his teachings now would you?"

"N-n…n…"

Gailardia assumed that Luke was about to say 'no' but another big yawn prevented the young heir from doing so. The blonde couldn't help but make a small laugh at the adorable display. He gently guided Luke back down until the boy was in a lying position, comfortably resting his head against the massive feather pillow that greeted him.

"Good night Master Luke…"

But as he turned away, Gailardia was stopped in his place by a firm tug at his pajamas. He looked back and observed Luke with a shy look on his face, tightly clamping onto the hem of his sleeping shirt with his small hands.

"G-guy…? U-um…c-can you," Luke bashfully shrunk down into his blanket as a faint blush tinted his cheeks, "stay here with me tonight? I-I…I don't wanna be alone…"

Gailardia's face began to warm up at the sudden request. Although he felt a little odd at the thought of fulfilling his Master's request, the small voice inside of his heart that prevented him from killing the boy moments ago, came back again and encouraged him to comfort the crimson-haired child.

"S-sure…okay…b-but you have to promise me that you'll go straight to sleep if I stay alright?"

A sleepy but overjoyed smile graced Luke's face. "Thank you Guy!"

As Gailardia lay down on the bed next to Luke, gently moving the stuffed rappig aside, the sudden action of the boy nuzzling against his chest nearly sent his heartbeat into overdrive.

"Mmm…warm…"

The feelings of awkwardness and thoughts of vengeance completely slipped his mind when the boy's body heat began to calm down his nerves. For some unknown reason, Gailardia felt compelled to wrap one of his arms around the boy to make sure that he stayed in place; which he did. The blond servant made a sincere smile as he continued to stare at the clingy bundle in his arms.

"Don't worry Luke…you're never alone. You have your family, the other servants, Commandant Grants, and Galan here (2) to provide you with company right?"

Luke made a quick glance over towards his stuffed rappig with the big yellow bow.

"Yeah…," He nuzzled Guy's firm chest once again, "but none of them are like you…"

For the first time in his life, Guy Cecil, once formally known in another life as Gailardia Galan Gardios, felt that his life now had more meaning to it than to simply bring justice to his fallen brothers and sisters. And all of it was because of the innocent boy who was currently sleeping on his chest. This boy was his light; and he mentally vowed that from this day forward, he would protect that light from any dangers out there that dared to extinguish it; swearing his utmost allegiance to the one who had opened up his eyes, and his heart, to a world that he once believed was merciless and unlawful.

——†——

As Guy continued to watch Luke sleep against his chest, a sight that occurred quite often during his servant times in the Fon Fabre Manor, he couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt jab at his heart.

I still can't believe that I had almost succeeded in ending your life Luke…and when you were only a defenseless child nonetheless.

Guy smiled as he gently wrapped both of his arms around Luke.

But had I done so…I wouldn't have been able to realize at just how much you really mean to me. You've proven to me time and time again that there's more to life than just 'getting even'. You have essentially saved me from the path that would lead to my own self-destruction. And for that…I owe you everything. Thank you…Luke.

The pouring rains eventually stopped, peacefully quieting the once noisy night. As the light of the unveiling crescent moon shone through the windows, the famed Jewel of Gardios, (3) which was mantled up on the wall just above the headboard, illuminated the sleeping pair with its brilliant electric blue shine.

FIN

——†——

A/N: Well there you have it folks! Hope you guys enjoyed it!

(1) GAME SPOILER (skip if you haven't beaten the game entirely): I know this may seem confusing, but I made Guy say that Luke was only 8 because in the game, all of you players know that Luke is a replica of Asch; who in actuality was the original Luke. In the game, replica Luke is created to take place of the original Luke (Asch) when it was foretold in the score that he would be killed during his 17th year. When Luke was 10, replica Luke was created and subsequently resumed the former's role as the 'Fon Fabre Heir: Scion of Lorelei's Power'. This way, not only would the score be fulfilled (as it prophesied for 'a child with hair of red') but it would also save the life of sole heir to the Fon Fabre name.

Since replicas are just the physical copies of their originals, they initially start off as a blank slate, having none of their original's memories at the time of their 'birth'. So in other words, while both Luke and Asch appear 17, Asch is the one who has actually been alive and has had memories encompassing 17 years, while Luke has only really been alive for 7 with memories of his own within that time frame.

And one more thing…I don't know if you readers out there have realized this yet but I wrote this story in the sense that the events of Eldrant and Van have been over for 1 year (hence Luke being '18'), and that Luke and Asch are still two separate entities – and not one. If Luke and Asch were one higher-evolved being, then it wouldn't really make a lot of sense for Guy and Luke/Asch to have such a close relationship.

(2) Yup, Luke's stuffed rappig is named Galan, Guy's legal middle name. And to make this even cuter, the big yellow bow on the stuffed toy is there to match Guy's hair color…awwwww! I don't really know if 'Galan' actually his middle name or just a second first name (ie. Mary Sue or Bobby Ray) but I decided to keep it as a middle name since Guy is sometimes referred to as just 'Gailardia' instead of 'Gailardia Galan'in the game...I think.

(3) The Jewel of Gardios: the sword that had once belonged to Guy's father, Zygmund. This was also the sword that Guy had bet against Duke Fabre under the grounds that the heirloom would be rightfully his if the Duke's son (Luke) had made him cease all thoughts of revenge while he became a servant in the Fon Fabre Manor. Or something that…I can't remember the exact detail but I think it's close enough.