Drip. Splish. Splash.
Layton had exited the party to move his fingers along the water. As odd as that seems for some people, to Layton it was a way of letting off steam. And it was a private and quiet way to do it.
He loved every minute of it.
Suddenly, Layton heard a voice calling him, it was his apprentice Luke. He walked over to him. Layton looked towards Luke but not in the eye.
"Did you need something Luke?" he asked.
"Are you okay? You exited the party really early." Luke replied. "I just wanted to know if you were fine."
"…well, I am okay. But I do feel like I should tell you something. Luke do you know what Autism Spectrum disorder is?" Layton explained as he dried off his hand. Luke sat down and nodded.
"It's a developmental disorder I believe. One of my classmates is Autistic, but she's the only person I know." Luke said. Layton sighed as he soon began to fidget with his fingers a bit.
"Well not exactly. You see Luke, I'm autistic too." Layton explained. Luke was a bit surprised.
"R-really? I didn't think you were….oh! I;m sorry If I said that wrong I just really didn't expect the world famous Professor Layton to be autistic!" Luke said embarrassed.
"It's quite alright," Hershel said. "Not many people know unless I tell them, but I do know I was diagnosed as a young child. I could make minimal eye contact but it made me very uncomfortable. As I grew older I trained myself to not gaze in their eyes. I was never discouraged to act autistic, but it wasn't very obvious according to many….that is unless you know me very well."
"Yeah! You do like to take in every detail! And you love puzzles a lot, right?" Luke asked. Layton smiled and nodded.
"And puzzle solving does work as a "Stim" for me." he added.
"Hey….my classmate in school sometimes has trouble with noise and other sensations. Do you?" Luke asked.
"Sometimes, but not often. As a child, I hated loud noises and bright lights. But as I grew up I adapted to them. And well, if I get overwhelmed I begin to stim in my own ways." Layton smiled. "I'm glad I have people who understand me."
Luke stayed quiet for a little while before he asked…
"Hey, professor?"
"Yes, Luke?" Layton asked back.
"Could I splash with you?" Luke wondered. Layton smiled widely and patted Luke's back.
"Of course."
