Don't own.

Set sometime after the Curious Village, and a response to a request on the Layton Meme. Just a little cutsey fic. Badly written with lots of errors, but I'm just too tired to fix them at the moment. If you see anything glaring, let me know and I'll try and get it corrected when I'm more awake.

"Professor?"

Hershal Layton looked up from a report one of his students had submitted for review, he turned in his chair just enough so he could see Luke. His apprentice seemed somewhat upset, and Layton was immeadiately concerned that it might have something to do with his parents. Luke suffered from occassional bouts of homesickness, or more rather, parentsickness; since his parents had moved to America a year and a half ago to look after a great aunt on his fathers side. They had not wanted to expose Luke to the old lady's deterorating health, and Hershal had willingly taken the boy in when asked. It wasn't often he found someone who shared his interest in puzzle so completely.

"Yes Luke?" he asked, turning fully to give the boy his full attention.

"Flora... she'll be staying here for a long time won't she?"

Hershal frowned, having expected something more along the lines of 'Mum sent me a letter' which normally preceeded these peroids of upset. "Yes, my boy, I dare say she will."

Luke shuffled his feet. "So does that make you like her father?"

Ah, Hershal felt his confusion clear, the connection between this line of questioning and Luke missing his parents became clear (which was really the only reason he could think of that would bring Luke to him so upset). "No Luke, Flora had a father, and one she loved very much. I am merely a gaurdian, someone to atch over her and teach her. Much like you." He hoped this reassured Luke in some way that he was not trying to take over for his parents, that they loved him very much and would be returning for him as soon as they could.

Oddly though this only served to make Luke more upset. "So she's sort of like your... assistant?" there was a hopeful note in those words that made little sense to Hershal, and while his mind quickly went to work trying to figure out the puzzle that was Luke at this very moment, he replied.

"Prehaps more of an apprentice, if she was willing. She has a good mind, and with the right motivation she might get some enjoyment out of puzzles I dare say."

"Oh..." The softness of that word caught Hershal by surprise, and he took in the dejected slump of Luke's shoulders, reviewing his words and finding nothing amiss in them... prehaps he had been too subte in his reassurances? "Goodnight Professor."

Before Hershal could think to stop him, Luke had turned and left the room. Hershal listened to his heavy tread up the stairs and turned his chair back to his desk, staring down sightlessly at his students report, trying despretely to work out what he had said or done to make Luke even more upset than he had been.

****/****

Luke settled into his bed with a heavy heart, curling up on his side, frowning furiously to himself. Maybe he shouldn't have bothered going to the Professor, at least then he might have managed a few more weeks believing he was Layton's one and only apprentice; a title he held proudly.

Everyone else had been assistants.

Luke had met a number of them, all girls, which was in part why he had decided to be called an apprentice as opposed to an assistant, it was a far more unique position. But now Flora had ruined it.

Burying his face into his pillow, Luke let out a long sigh, holding back tears with all his might. He couldn't really blame Flora, her father had died... Luke knew what it was like to get left behind, even though his parents were still alive, and he knew better than anyone that being the proffessors apprentice helped stave off the lonliness.

But really, not being Laytons only apprentice was not what was bothering him. The problem was if he lost his place as the Professors number 1 apprentice. Because no matter what the professor said, he was as close as Flora would have to a dad for forever, and that made her a lot more special than him now.

"Luke?"

Luke startled and turned over in bed until he could see the door, and the figure of the professor standing there. "Professor." he said, confused, the professor rarely came up to check on him before bed.

The Professor made his way across the room and sat on the edge of the bed, lookng very serious, and Luke was a little nervous, afraid Layton was about to tell him that he had already lost his place as number one apprentice. "You are something of a puzzle, my boy."

Luke frowned. "Professor?"

"I'm afraid I made some assumptions as to our conversation downstairs that I should not have. and in doing so I am afriad I may have caused you some distress." Layton looked sad, and Luke could not even begin to come up with a reason why. Adults weren't ever supposed to look sad like that, like something was their fault. And the Professor never made mistakes.

But before Luke could find his voice to speak, the Professor continued.

"Luke, you will always be my number one apprentice."

Luke blinked, mouth gaping like a fish, but for once the Professor didn't scold him. "But-"

"But nothing my boy. You were my first apprentice, so logically you will always be number 1 no matter how many come after you." he held up a finger for silence when Luke looked about to speak. "But even if you had not been my first apprentice, you would still be my Number 1."

"Why?" Luke asked.

Layton smiled. "In all my years Luke, I have never found anyone who has shared my enthuasim for puzzles as much as you, and I doubt I will again."

Luke smiled in return, snugling into bed, feeling much more comfortable now.

"Goodnight Professor." he said as the Professor was leaving the room, his tone much more contented than it had been before.

Layton nodded, tipping his hat. "Goodnight My Boy."