That afternoon, she was alone in her room, in the house. Professor Layton had gone off to buy groceries and supplies; they were almost out of items.
She sat by the window as she watched the fluffy clouds walk across the blue sky.
Flora let out a small sigh. She remembered the professor tell her something before he left.
…
"Flora, a visitor shall be arriving soon. If ever you hear the doorbell, kindly escort the visitor inside. Is that alright, dear?" the professor said as he stepped out of the house.
The 17-year-old girl nodded. She wasn't that interested in whoever the visitor was. Probably one of Professor's college friends or old mentors, she thought.
...
Flora looked at the wall clock. 4:32 pm.
She had been utterly bored, so she started thinking about some people.
First, she thought about Luke. Maybe he was at school. Ah, no, it was Saturday today, she told herself.
Flora thought of Luke as a responsible boy already. Not a man yet, just a grown boy. He seemed so small to be fifteen years old already.
She remembered that he had confessed to her not long ago. Luke had admired her for so long that he developed love for her. Flora did love him back, but somewhere in her mind, something was telling her that there was someone else for her. Someone who could… understand her more…
*Ding dong* *Ding dong*
The doorbell just rang.
Flora shook Luke off her mind, suddenly startled by the ring.
"C-Coming!" she said, wiping dust off her pink dress, and fixing her hair.
She put on her sandals, and hurriedly made her way down to the door.
Flora looked around the house before she opened the door, making sure nothing looked wrong in the house.
She then gripped the doorknob and turned it. She pulled the door open.
"A-ahh!" her heart skipped a beat as she set eyes on the visitor at her doorstep. She was expecting some sort of professor or mentor.
But what stood there before her as a 19-year-old guy.
"Hello there, Flora. Mind if I come in?" the guy smirked.
Flora stood there absentmindedly, still in shock. Her legs became stiff.
"Flora..? Flora?" he said.
"C-C-C…" she couldn't get the word out of her mouth.
"Well? Are you surprised I'm here?" he asked, showing a small smile.
"Clive Dove! I mean… Clive! Wh-what are you doing here?" she finally said.
It's been a long time since she's seen him, a really long time. After that incident when she was kidnapped by him, she would sometimes wonder why she was the one kidnapped. Did he like her? Nah, that wouldn't be possible, she thought.
"Oh, hasn't the professor told you yet?" he said, "The guards there granted me a day off, so I'll be your visitor for the night. Aren't you happy?"
Flora's eyes suddenly lit up. She didn't know why she was happy and her heart beat so fast.
"Ah, sorry, come in!" she blushed a bit as she led him in.
"Where's the professor? Isn't he home?" he asked, looking around the house.
"He went… to buy groceries. He'll be back soon. Oh, yeah, I'll show you to the guest's room." She held back her smile, suddenly wanting to hold his hand. Why was she feeling this way?
"Alright then." He said.
Flora couldn't hold herself anymore, and started to giggle.
"What's so funny?" Clive wondered, blushing slightly at her giggle. He found it really cute, the way her birthmark suddenly glowed.
"A-ah, nothing!" she blushed again, wondering why she couldn't control her giggles.
Her hand involuntarily reached his hand, and she gripped onto it. She then pulled him to the guests' room, running fast. Clive was in shock, but let her be that way.
"The guests' room is pretty big, if you ask me." He looked around.
"I wasn't asking you, was I?" Flora teased.
Clive smirked again. "Oh. So now you're teasing me just because you grew more mature?"
"Well, that's true, isn't it— ahh!" Flora walked around and her foot suddenly lost balance and slipped.
"Flora!" Clive shouted as he ran to her as fast as he could and thankfully caught her before her back could hit the floor.
Problem was, they were in an awkward position. Clive's right arm held on to her hips; his other arm gripped onto her right arm. Flora, on the other hand, was in the same position as him, although she was right below him, her legs almost touching the floor. The two blushed.
Flora gained composure, and tried to stand up. Well, she did stand up, but then her other foot slipped and she fell on Clive's chest. With him surprised, Clive lost composure and fell to the floor, Flora on top of him. They were in another awkward position.
"I-I'm so sorry, Clive! I'm really clumsy!" Flora said.
"It's alright, dear, I—"
*smack*
"Don't call me 'dear'! I'm not your 'dear'!" Flora denied, although she found it amusing to be called 'dear' by Clive.
"Ouch… Sorry then." He pouted.
Flora didn't say anything; she didn't know why her legs became so stiff all of a sudden. She didn't move.
"Um… Flora… aren't you going to stand up?" he asked. Honestly, he didn't want to stand up either.
She looked away, and then blushed. "Clive, close your eyes and I'll stand up."
"Why should I close my eyes?"
"Just do it." She demanded.
Without complain, he did close his eyes. He trembled a bit; waiting for her to smack him or to hit him or hurt him because she hasn't forgave him for what he did to her years ago.
He was in shock.
He didn't feel anything that hurt him; there was only a soft peck on his lips. It was only a peck, but he enjoyed it.
"Did Flora just… kiss me?" he thought.
He opened his eyes to see that Flora had already stood up and she was brushing dust away from her dress.
"Flora, did you just…" he said as he stood up.
"…it's none of your business." She said, turning to look at him.
"I see you're still in denial. Well, I can't blame you; girls act that way." He teased.
Flora pouted cutely. "Oh, so you say I'm denying something? What am I denying, if I may ask?"
"You kissed me, did you not?"
"I-I didn't! I swear I didn't!" she blushed once again.
"Okay then, have it your way." He said. "Why did she kiss me…?" he thought.
As they argued, the sound of the Layton Mobile was heard.
"The professor!" they said together.
"You stay here, alright? Be a good… dog." She laughed.
"Ah, so you want to be a good little kitten for the professor, eh? Then go fix some tea and I'll just open the door for him." Clive had the last laugh. Flora didn't like to be commanded, but for some reason, she obeyed him.
As Professor Layton held the doorknob while carrying the groceries, he was surprised that the door suddenly opened.
"Hello, Professor. Nice to see you again." Clive smiled as he walked from the back of the door.
"Ah, Clive! You're here already. Did Flora take you to the guest's room as I instructed her?" the professor said as he entered the house and closed the door behind him.
"Oh, yeah, professor. She's been a good… kitten." Clive tried hard to hold back his laughter.
"Kitten? You didn't do an experiment and test it on her, now have you, Clive?" he inquired.
"Please, Professor, he's simply acting like the dog that he is." Flora entered the living room with a tray of tea in her hands.
"Ah, hello dear. I see that you aren't a kitten. Thank goodness." The professor smiled and sat down on the couch. Flora sat beside him and got a cup of tea as well.
*Ding dong* *Ding dong*
The doorbells rang again.
"Hm?" Flora put down her cup of tea. "Who could that be now?"
She stood up and got to the door and opened it.
"Luke!" she was surprised.
"Flora!" Luke said in return, and hugged her.
"Hey, it's my little bro. Good to see you again." A voice from behind them said.
"Wha..? Clive!" Luke let go of Flora and stared at him.
Luke was pretty much amazed at how grown Clive was. Compared to him, Luke was no match for his good looks. Luke thought that Clive had become more mature.
Luke shook hands with Clive. "Nice to see you again, too." Luke smiled.
"Ah, Luke, you're here. We can finally discuss that case." The professor barged in, still holding the cup of tea. "Have you brought the papers?"
"Of course, professor." Luke showed his satchel to his mentor.
"Hm… Flora and Clive, I have a serious topic to discuss with Luke. What would you want to do while we talk in the living room?" the professor asked.
The two looked at each other, then blushed and looked away.
"Um… if you would permit, may I take your daughter out for a walk..? I promise I won't kidnap her." Clive said softly.
"Of course. Do take care. It's cold outside. Luke, where are you now? Let's see those papers…" Luke and his mentor entered the living room, closing the door.
Clive and Flora were left all alone.
"Flora, is it alright if we go out… on a walk? I mean, if you don't want…" he shyly asked.
"...let's go. C'mon!" Flora smiled and walked out with Clive.
"Clive, where do we go?" Flora asked.
"Well… let's walk around town, shall we, dear?" he said, waiting for Flora to smack him because he said 'dear'.
Apparently, Flora pouted, then just giggled. She seemed to like Clive saying the word 'dear', although she'd rather not say that for now.
And they did walk around town. Everything looked normal in the town; busy people going home since it was 6:30 pm already, restaurants' and cafes' lights starting to open. But to Flora's view, the town looked somewhat dim, even though the light posts were on.
"Flora… I've got a little surprise for you." Clive said, holding her arm. "You just wait."
They waited for a while, just standing there. What was Clive's surprise, she wondered?
Clive then clapped his hand…
…
…then viola!
The Christmas lights hanging on the roof of each building started to light up, each bulb lighting a different color; the lamp posts flickered a color of either red or green; and the fountain across the street started to light up and spurt out sparkling water. It was a beautiful sight.
"See, Flora? Isn't the town much more colorful?" Clive asked. Flora stared with awe.
"It's just looks a lot like… Folsense…" Flora whispered. She hasn't been to Folsense yet, but Layton and Luke had pictured every street on Folsense before the illusion of the town disappeared. She felt as if she was in Folsense herself.
Flora looked at Clive and smiled, her birthmark showing again. "Thank you… Thank you so much, Clive! I can forgive you for what you did to me… years ago."
Clive was relieved that they could forget the moments that happened years ago.
Flora's smile became even wider when she saw an Ice Cream cart pass by them. She tugged on his shirt.
"Clive, can we…"
"…get some Ice Cream for the two of us? Sure. I'll pay for yours, too." He read her mind.
Flora pulled his arm in delight, and they went to go get Ice Cream.
…
"Say Clive… thanks for the Ice Cream… it's really sweet… like you." Flora admitted, licking her Strawberry Ice Cream.
Clive could just not believe what she said. "I'm… sweet..?" he thought.
"Oh, Clive, wanna head up to the… beach? It's not that crowded there…" she asked.
"Why not?" he smiled as they walked into the direction of the nearest beach.
…
The two sat down on the sand.
"The air here is… cool, isn't it? I like it here…" she bit the cone of the ice cream.
"I used to come here with my parents when I was small… We used to play here."
"Oh, is that so..?" Flora remembered that he lost his parents like her, too.
Clive nodded. "I kept on coming here… until they died. Ever since those terrible moments passed, I never came here… It brings back lost memories I once had." He had just finished eating his Ice Cream.
"Ah…. I'm sorry! Do you want to go somewhere else..? I mean, if you don't want it here…" she regretted coming over to the beach.
"No, no, that was just me in the past. I'm glad to come here now… At least you're here with me."
Flora still felt his pain; the pain of remembering lost memories… memories of their parents… It really did hurt. She started to cry.
"Flora..? Flora!" Clive snapped her back to reality. "Why are you crying..?"
"N-Nothing. I just… regret bringing you here… I know you don't want to be here right now." She hid her eyes from his.
"What are you saying..? I'm fine already, Flora… I—" Clive suddenly remembered something. Like him, she had lost her parents when she was young, too. It hurt her that robots were the ones accompanying her the whole time.
"Your parents… they're gone too, aren't they?" he asked.
Flora nodded.
"It's okay… they still love you even though they're gone… as do I. So don't cry." Clive kissed her forehead.
Flora looked at him with teary eyes. "Clive… are you saying that you… love me?"
It was hard to admit it, but he did. Clive nodded. "I-I meant, love you as a friend! I-I don't want you to get the wrong idea!" it was too bad he still denied some part of his love for her.
She accepted that fact, although she got a bit sad that she was only a 'friend' to him, and nothing more.
"I love you as a friend too, Clive… I'm glad we met." She hugged him. He hugged back, too. Clive was a bit sad, too, that he was only a friend in her eyes.
As they hugged, snow started to fall from the night sky. Some snowflakes started to fall, too.
"Snow… It's finally snowing!" Flora let go of him and tried to make snow melt on her hands.
Clive smiled, and asked Flora, "Say Flora, what happens after the snow melts?"
Flora stared at him and thought. "Hmm… Spring, of course!" She giggled.
He was surprised. Usually, when he asked other people, they would say 'water'. She was a really unique girl, he thought.
"Say Clive…"Flora whispered.
"Yeah?"
"My mom and I were really close before… and when I was small, she would always tell me…
A boy and a girl experiencing the start of Winter will always end up together happily."
Clive blinked for a while, wondering if that really was true. Right here, right now, they just experienced the start of winter; the time when the snow started to fall. If that case was true… then he'd end up together with…
"Flora…" he said loudly again. He needed to remind himself not to think loudly next time.
"Hmm? Yeah, Clive?"
"Ah… um…" he tried to find the right words. "Do you think that's… true? I mean, what your mother said…"
"Well… I don't know, but… there had been many rumors that that statement was true."
They both blushed, knowing that they would end up together happily if that was the case.
Flora started to shiver. She forgot to bring her coat.
"Flora, are you feeling cold? Here, I'll lend you my jacket." He kneeled down behind her and wrapped his jacket around her shoulder.
"Th-thanks… but aren't you feeling cold yourself?" she looked up to him.
"Oh, never mind about me, I can handle the cold. Well, I hope I could."
"…just sit beside me, Clive. Maybe our body heat could warm us up." She patted the space right beside her.
"Wait, can't we just go back to your house?" he asked as he sat beside her.
"I called Professor earlier. He said he was still busy chatting with Luke about something and we can't barge in unless they're done in there." Flora sighed.
As they watched the snow slowly fall on the seashore, Flora leaned on Clive's shoulder. Clive didn't mind at all, although he was surprised at first.
"The view here at the beach is so pretty… you could see some fireflies hovering above the water with their ends lighting up; the snow would melt at it touched the sea water; the starts would twinkle brightly with their reflection on the sea, so the beach would look like there are little yellow dots on it." Flora smiled.
Clive felt a bit colder, so he wrapped his arm around Flora's hips and pulled her closer to him.
"Say, Clive…" Flora lifted her head to look at Clive.
Clive turned to look at Flora, and the two suddenly blushed.
The distance between Flora's and Clive's face was barely an inch; they were so close together that it suddenly felt hot between them.
"It's getting… cold, even with this jacket." Flora whispered.
"I know… how else should we get warm..? I'm freezing, too…" Clive whispered back.
"I don't know, but maybe we should…"
The distance between them closed up as both leaned closer to each other. Clive wrapped his arms around her hips, while Flora put both of her arms on his neck. The two kissed for such a long time that they felt so warm again. He ran one hand down her arm, touching her soft skin. As he reached for her hand, he entwined his fingers with hers, and she did the same.
After a long while, the two parted and stared at each other's eyes. The first thing that came out of both of their mouths was:
"I love you."
The two smiled and continued laughing as their cheeks got redder and redder.
"Clive, we should be going home now; it's past 7:30 pm already. I bet the professor and Luke are done discussing whatever they have to discuss." Flora said.
"Hmm… alright, then." He couldn't hold back smiling.
Flora smiled as well.
When the two stood up, they didn't notice their hand being entwined by the other's.
"I don't want to let go of your hand... It's soft and warm" she said, gripping onto his hand.
"Me neither. Let's just let go of each other's hand when we arrive at the house, okay? I don't want the professor and Luke to know what we did tonight." He brushed snow off his hair.
Then they left the beach, going back home, hands entwined with each other's.
…
That's how they ended up together.
A/N: Omegas. Did I just finish a Clive x Flora story? I am so happy OwO~ I've only finished up till Diabolical Box in the game, and I'm still currently downloading Unwound Future (where Clive is 3)
Anywaaaaaaayyy… I don't really know how Clive acts like since I haven't played the third game yet. So I read some Clive x Flora fanficts and I was soooooo excited to make one and I didn't care about Clive being OOC. And I don't really know that much about Clive and his past, so I made up the beach thingy because it sounded so sad. :(( I think Clive hangs out in this lake or something, but I'm not sure till I play the game.
P.S.: You know the thing Flora's mother told her, the thing about a couple experiencing the start of Winter, blah blah... I got that from some anime but I forgot where. And the thing Clive said about what happens after snow melts, I got that from Fruits Basket. (If you've watch that episode where the Doctor [that turns into a dragon/seahorse I think] remembers a memory about his girlfriend when they first met, then the statement should sound familiar.)
I will make second chapter nao~ Goodbye!
This is Kira07, signing out.
Ja ne, minna~