Author's Note: Hello, all! For those of you who are following "Reveries and Gentle Breezes," I promise that I haven't abandoned it! I simply wanted to upload my story for the Layton Brothers Secret Santa exchange before the next chapter. I anticipate I'll have another chapter finished before break ends.
This story is a sort of continuation from "It's Not Quite Christmastime Yet, Lucy Baker," but it can be read independently.
Merry Christmas!
Alfendi Layton was in a bit of a predicament.
Ever since that nasty cold he'd gotten in August, he'd given up on explaining away the various physiological symptoms that seemed to arise specifically when he was in Lucy's presence. The moment she'd shown up on his doorstep to check on him, he had to concede that his feelings for Lucy had passed beyond a mere crush: he had fallen deeply in love with Lucy Baker.
And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
Every time their hands brushed when passing files or mugs of tea, Alfendi forced down his blushes and focused himself on the cases in front of them with outstanding intensity—even by his standards. Before he knew it, nearly four months had passed, and he was nowhere near closer to resolving his feelings. He knew that Lucy cared for him, but there was a difference between caring for someone and wanting to share a life with them.
"Al!" Katrielle called to him, snapping him from his reverie one December day.
Alfendi looked up at his sister, brushing back strands of purple hair. "Yes, Kat?"
"I was asking if you wanted anything different for tea," Katrielle replied, an amused look on her face. She sat cross-legged on his couch, a cup of tea in hand.
"For Christmas Eve?" Alfendi asked. "Our usual should be fine, don't you think?"
"Well, we might need to make a bit more than usual," she replied suggestively.
Alfendi frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I simply mean in case we have any guests," she answered all-too-innocently.
Alfendi's eyes flashed amber. "And why would we have guests, Kat?" he asked archly.
Katrielle shrugged. "For all you talk about Lucy, I've never met her," she replied. "I thought it'd be nice if she joined us."
Alfendi made a noncommittal noise.
"Oh, come on, Al," Katrielle prodded her brother. "Don't you like her?"
"I don't need your help, Kat," Alfendi growled in reply.
Alfendi had rehearsed how he was going to ask Lucy to join his family for Christmas Eve tea, but when the time finally came to just do it, Layton, all his placid put-togetherness failed him, and he let out a rather sharp, "Baker!"
Lucy was long-used to such outbursts, so she had a wry half-smile on her face when she answered, "Aye, Prof?"
Alfendi wondered at her expression before realizing that he was pointing at her like he'd just solved a case. "Er, that is, well," he muttered, feeling his cheeks begin to rival the shade of his hair, "what are your plans for the twenty-fourth?"
"Christmas Eve?" Lucy repeated. "Well, I were planning to go home, but Mum and Dad're goin' on a cruise in the Mediterranean then. Christmas just south o' France, can you imagine?" She giggled before growing quiet. Lucy had never exactly been lacking in Christmas spirit, but the prospect of spending it alone was one she avoided thinking about. "So, I s'pose I've got nowt to do."
"Why not have tea with me?" Alfendi asked before he could stop himself. "With us!" He rushed to correct himself. "That is—my family's all in London at the moment, and we always have tea together on Christmas Eve. You could us—if you want." Dammit, none of this is going the way I planned.
To his surprise, though, Lucy's expression was now one of softness. "You mean it?"
Her gentle tone had his heart racing. "Of course! I'm no less than 96.7% certain that you'll enjoy yourself." That was an exaggeration: he knew his sisters would adore Lucy, but whether Lucy would return the sentiments was less certain. Alfendi had found long ago that his usual detachment did not and could never apply to Lucy: she defied calculation.
Lucy smiled. "I'd love that! Do I need t'bring owt?"
"Yes, actually," Alfendi replied. "We do a small gift exchange on Christmas Eve. Each of us is assigned someone randomly. I'll give Flora your number, and she can tell you whom you've got."
"Oh, sounds fun!" Lucy exclaimed. "I'll be lookin' forward to it!"
Telling his family over their next Sunday roast went about as well as he expected.
Katrielle nearly threw her fork as she squealed with excitement. "Finally!" she exclaimed.
Flora smiled at her younger brother. "It'll be nice to meet someone who works with you so much, Al," she said warmly.
"I told you!" Katrielle continued to crow. "Didn't I, Flora?! I told you!"
"Now, now, Katrielle," Hershel gentle admonished his excitable daughter, "a gentlewoman never boasts of her own abilities."
"Very well, Papa," Katrielle sighed. "Although I did tell you," she murmured to Alfendi, low enough that their father couldn't hear.
Flora chuckled. "Let's try not to embarrass Alfendi too badly when Lucy comes over, Kat."
"I'll have you know I intend no such thing," Katrielle insisted with a smile. "I think Lucy and I shall be great friends."
"Perfect," Alfendi groaned. This better not have been a mistake.
Christmas Eve finally came, and Alfendi and Lucy found themselves approaching the front door of Alfendi's childhood home, gifts in hand. Despite the evening light, Lucy noted Alfendi's hair color with a small exclamation.
"You've got a monk on, Prof," she remarked concernedly.
"Do I?" Alfendi asked, shaking his head. He was far more nervous than he cared to admit, but there was no need to make Lucy worry.
"You feelin' alright?" she pressed as he knocked on the door.
"Yes, Lucy, I'm fine," he answered, trying to assuage her. "It's just adrenaline."
"I know what you mean," Lucy confessed, a small smile returning to her face.
Before Alfendi could begin to overanalyze her demeanor, Katrielle opened the door, exclaiming, "Al! And you must be Lucy. Please, come on in!"
"Ta!" Lucy replied, stepping over the threshold. "It were awfully nice of you to invite me."
"Of course!" Katrielle said. "I'm Kat, Al's sister. It's nice to meet you—I've heard so much about you!"
Alfendi shot Katrielle a look that meant don't, and Katrielle infuriatingly merely laughed to herself—and at me, definitely at me—and took Lucy's coat and hat.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Kat," Lucy said warmly.
"So, Katrielle, what do you do?" Lucy asked, hoping to make small talk.
"I'm a professional gentlewoman!" Katrielle replied, laughing. "And I'm planning to open my very own detective agency!"
"A private detective?" Lucy replied. "That's brilliant!"
"Thank you!" Katrielle said. "I need to get an assistant, but I've found the perfect spot for an office. It just needs a little cheering up."
"Well, that's very exciting!" Lucy said earnestly.
Katrielle met Alfendi's eye briefly, and Alfendi knew his sister had found a fast friend. "Let me introduce you to Flora!" Katrielle said, ushering Lucy further into their home.
Lucy and Flora seemed to click instantly, too, and Lucy had already met Hershel four months earlier. Perhaps having Lucy over is turning out well. Soon, they sat down to eat, and their conversation flowed warmly throughout their meal.
"How was the Prof as a kid?"
"Why do you call Al 'the Prof,' Lucy?"
"Sounds like you ought to get a job at Gressenheller, Alfendi."
"Flora, please…"
Lucy seemed to get on perfectly with Alfendi's family: they were all passionate problem-solvers, after all. As Alfendi and his sisters cleared the table while his father and Lucy moseyed to the living room for presents, Alfendi wondered if there wasn't the smallest chance that maybe, just maybe, Lucy might want to be in his life outside the Mystery Room. It wouldn't be the first time she surprised him, and he doubted that there would ever be a last time.
I should just be grateful that she's here at all and try not to hope for anything more, he chastised himself as he joined the others in the living room. There was no use in wishing for what couldn't be when she was sitting right next to him on the sofa, a mug of hot cocoa in hand. I can be content with what we have. I must be content with what we have.
Flora shook him from his reverie when she walked into the living room moments later and began distributing gifts. "You all know the rules," she said, checking the labels. "One present per person, and lots of cheer!"
"Those are the only rules?" Lucy asked with a giggle.
"And very important rules they are," Flora replied with a smile. Within a few moments, she had handed everyone a package labeled only with their recipients' names.
Alfendi held an impeccably wrapped package no bigger than a paperback book. That wrapping job could have been anyone's but the cheerful looping letters that spelled Alfendi gave it away.
"I'm your Secret Santa, Prof!" Lucy confirmed, seeing the look on his face.
Alfendi's heart skipped a couple of beats. Dammit, Layton, get it together! "Is that so, Baker?" he asked quietly.
"Go on, Al!" Katrielle said. "Open it!"
"Katrielle," Flora whispered warningly.
Alfendi rolled his eyes at his sister and meticulously unwrapped his present, peeling the tape off piece by piece and gently unfolding the paper. Within the package, he found a blue-and-red-striped…thing. Soft knit, but small enough for…a kitten…
"What've you got there, Alfendi?" Flora inquired.
Alfendi couldn't help the chuckle bubbling up from within himself. He glanced at Lucy and saw her pleased expression. "I'm 99.9% certain that this is a jumper for Mia," he announced.
"You've got it, Prof!" Lucy chirped. "Now, you two can match!"
Katrielle giggled.
"How cute!" Flora exclaimed.
Hershel didn't say anything, but he gently smiled and sipped his Earl Grey.
"Thank you, Lucy," Alfendi said, his voice low. He folded the kitten-sized jumper back, placed it in his pocket, and excused himself for a moment. He stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, out of sight of the others. He felt feverish again—delirious in a way that was actually quite pleasing. Was this…hope?
Don't read into it, you daft man, he scolded himself. It signifies nothing. Nothing. Stop looking for signs that aren't there.
Signs that she thinks of me outside of work.
Signs that she cares for me outside of work.
He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear a soft voice behind him asking, "Prof?"
Alfendi nearly jumped. "Lucy!" he exclaimed, brushing his crimson bangs out of his face. "What's the matter?"
"Nowt's wrong with me, Prof," she said. "I were checkin' on you."
Alfendi forced a smile. "I'm fine, Lucy, truly," he said. "Thank you."
Lucy shrugged. "It's nowt, Prof. You ought to know that."
Alfendi shook his head. "I don't mean for checking on me—although, I suppose I should—or even for the present—but thank you for that, too." The words were tumbling out of him now. "I mean for everything."
"Everything?" Lucy repeated.
"Everything," Alfendi replied seriously. He felt a lump in his throat, and before he could open his mouth again, he swallowed the words unsaid. Defending me. Believing me. Being with me. Being loved by me.
Lucy didn't say anything for a moment. There's that look again. Soft, but with a flash of determination. Before he could think further on it, Lucy had risen to her tiptoes and gently pecked him on the cheek.
Alfendi's mind went blank. His mouth opened, but no comprehensible words were coming out. And he was quite certain that if his cheeks got any redder, he'd wind up with broken capillaries.
Lucy giggled good-naturedly and pointed just above their heads. "Mistletoe, Prof."
Mistletoe that definitely wasn't there before. "Of course," he managed at last, his faculties finally returning to him. "Happy Christmas, Lucy."
"Happy Christmas, Prof," she replied, grinning.
And as much as he loved her present and the chaste kiss under the mistletoe, Alfendi's favorite gift on that Christmas Eve the dazzling smile she gave only to him.
Later that evening, after Alfendi had seen Lucy home and had returned to help his father and sisters clean up, he made his accusation.
"Katrielle Layton!" he announced, pointing at his mischievous sister as if he were confronting a criminal.
"What's it this time, Al?" Katrielle replied sardonically.
"You placed this mistletoe in the doorway of the kitchen after we cleared the plates!" he stated, brandishing the mistletoe for effect.
Katrielle laughed. "Mistletoe?" she repeated incredulously. "I may tease you, Al, but I didn't put that there."
Alfendi shook his head. "Nonsense," he countered. "I'm 92.6% certain it was you. You've been meddling in my relation—friendship with Lucy for weeks now, and you couldn't let an opportunity like Christmas Eve pass you by."
"Sorry, Al" Katrielle said, placing a finger to her temple and cocking her head slightly to the side, "but the pieces of that puzzle don't quite fit. I may have suggested that you invite her to Christmas Eve, but I had no plans beyond that."
"Besides," Flora piped up, "how would Kat know that Lucy would go looking for you in the kitchen? She wouldn't have any reason to go there; she's a guest, after all."
"An interesting puzzle, indeed," Hershel remarked, a knowing smile on his face.
Katrielle's eyes brightened. "Wait just a moment!" she cried. "This mystery is history!" She spun around and pointed at—"Flora! After Al left the living room, Lucy leaned over to you and whispered something before she got up, too! You told her to check the kitchen!"
Alfendi's jaw dropped.
Hershel merely chuckled and continued to sip his tea.
Flora's eyes widened, and she began to sputter. "Well, I—I mean, yes, I told her to check the kitchen, but I—oh, what's the use?" She sighed. "Very well, yes, I hung the mistletoe just before I started handing out gifts."
"Flora," Katrielle said, shaking her head, "after all that talk about not embarrassing Al! Why did you do it?"
"Oh, Alfendi, I didn't truly embarrass you, did I?" Flora asked nervously.
Alfendi let out an incredulous noise. "No, Flora, you didn't embarrass me." Admitting that being caught under the mistletoe was more pleasing than embarrassing is the more embarrassing admission. Best keep that to ourselves. "Why did you do it, though?"
"You must have figured it out," Flora said, hoping to avoid the subject. Seeing her younger siblings merely quirk their eyebrows at her had her sighing again. "Surely, we can all see how well Al and Lucy get on. I just thought it'd be…cute, I suppose. I guess I got carried away."
Katrielle laughed reassuringly. "There are worse things than wanting our surly brother to be happy, Flora."
"I hope I didn't upset you or Lucy, Alfendi," Flora apologized, her eyes still wide. "I'd hate to have made either of you uncomfortable. For what it's worth, I think the two of you would be lovely together."
You and me both. Seeing that his older sister's worried state, Alfendi admitted a small smile creeping its way across his face, "It wasn't entirely unpleasant." In a strange way, maybe his family's meddling had given Alfendi an unexpected Christmas gift after all.