The late hours in Gressenheller University seemed to crawl for the Professor as he worked on examining old relics sent to his office. The archeology department needed someone to analyze and translate ancient texts, as they had their hands full with other projects. Luckily for them, Layton was more than happy to provide assistance.
"Looks like this is the last of it!" a feminine voice rang out.
Almost startled, he turned to source of the excited tone to be met with the back of a yellow jacketed individual. Seeing that it was Emmy, he relaxed and turned back to his work. That quick glance behind him offered a view of boxes that surrounded his workspace. All of them were filled to the brim with manuscripts. His exhaustion was obvious, but he held in his complaints.
"Thank you very much for taking the evening to help me. I would have much rather assisted you with carrying all those heavy boxes to my office before I began, but…"
"Professor, I can do manual labor just fine." Despite her statement, her muscles felt as though they screamed at her. Her back gave the same sentiment. Emmy thought she'd be in for only a couple of boxes, but it began piling up until the room was filled.
"I suppose, but there were so many boxes…"
"More importantly, you said you'd be in for an 'all-nighter' but…" she gestured to the boxes that she brought in, "This is looking more like an 'all-weeker'! Aren't exams coming up really soon?"
The cruel feeling of realization hit him before the statement was brought up. "Yes, next week."
"When do you have to give all of these translations back?"
"Two weeks from now."
"Can't you just space out some of this work throughout the week and next? Assuming it's not due till the end of the next two weeks, you can-"
"The week that it's due I must travel elsewhere. Someone needed my help with a puzzling mystery, you see…"
"And with this week almost filled to the brim with things to do, you accepted doing a mountain of work!?"
Layton flinched and began to sink in his seat as he rubbed the back of his neck. There was hardly any excuse he could give for his lack of foresight. He thought he was merely doing the smallest fraction of the archeology department, but the amount kept stacking up far beyond his expectations.
Turning his chair to her, he gave his reassurance. "I'm sure I could finish it before it conflicts with anything else."
A look of doubt crossed her face. She scolded him numerous times to not overload himself with work, especially since she had laid out a schedule for him to follow. It would save him from the stress that accumulated over time. It would also at least give both of them more personal time to get to know each other more.
Her face flushed as she tried brushing off the pangs of affection. It was obvious to her that over time they both had settled into a relationship where it was hard to distinguish if they were just friends or not. Even others that have met them briefly thought they were both a couple. Maybe if they did get more time to themselves, maybe that possibility could be explored. But at the moment, he was busy. He was always busy.
Plopping down onto the couch nearby, she continued to voice her concerns, "Don't blame me if this sounds rude, but there's no way you'd be able to finish this in time. If you keep working yourself to the bone, your body's going to give out without notice one day."
With one false move of her arms, it felt as though her statement reflected her current state. She was tired and sore over some of the manual labor she did. Whispered curses left her lips as she was left staggering by sudden, sharp pain. Emmy was too proud, too conceited to voice her pain. To have someone worry over her meant giving them trouble and showing weakness. The attempt to keep her outbursts quiet did not stop her from falling backwards into the couch cushions, however.
"Emmy!" Out of reflex, he hopped out of his chair and ran to her side.
Layton began inspecting her as he questioned her condition. She appreciated the attention but found it to be rather embarrassing.
"Professor. Professor, I'm fine!" She nudged him aside. "I may have just…pulled a muscle, that's all."
He sat next to her with an unconvinced look in his eyes. "From carrying those relics, no doubt. And I insisted on—"
"I know! I had it under control! I just stretched and…"
"And caused minor muscle strain." Fingertips of one hand grazed her sleeve as he silently looked to her for permission. "If I may, I'd like to check to see if there's any inflammatory response."
Emmy carried a frown, but ultimately allowed him further access. As he suspected, her right bicep was red and swollen from earlier. When he lifted his head to voice his findings, he noticed she faced away from him. The pout on her face was evident, she knew saying "It's fine" would not satiate his worry. She remained silent.
"I have a few things in my office that would help with the swelling and pain at least. Just a moment…"
He rose up to rummage through supplies that he kept in the corner of the room until he eyed a first aid kit. Once he brought it to her, he began pulling out a jar and a lukewarm icepack and bandage. Layton inwardly cursed his own memory, he had forgotten to place the icepack into the mini fridge from its last use.
"So sorry Emmy, but it seems I wasn't completely prepared for this. I'll just have to use what I have at the moment…" the top hatted man murmured to himself.
Once he placed the ice pack in the fridge (that was kept for snacks), he returned to her and began rubbing liniment over the bruise. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her grimacing.
"Ugh, this stuff is strong. It's nearly burning my nose…"
"Give it some time, I'm sure you'll be used to it." He chuckled at her expression. "Anywhere else that hurts?"
"Well, my shoulders and back, but I can sleep that off. You need to get back to work."
He scratched the back of his head apologetically. "I would, but I'm more concerned about you right now. At least let me take care of that before then."
While she would jump at the chance to receive care from him, it was late and his work was pilled at an all-time high. She tried a few times then to deny his offer, but he was not easily swayed. He felt that her pain was his fault; she pulled her muscle from doing him a favor. Finding that he would not take "no" for an answer, she finally caved in.
She was quite surprised that his stubbornness would rival hers. "Fine, I suppose. What did you have in mind, a massage?" She scoffed at her own joke, but her cheeks lit up from the thought. Not even a moment after her statement, she regretted saying it aloud.
"That sounds fair enough." Layton glanced over the label of the jar he held. "This works well for back pain. Ahem, you'd have to remove your jacket, however. "
With her jacket off, she offered her back to him. Her own nervous fingers drummed her thigh as she waited for him. There was one layer that left her skin unexposed. There were no problems there. She had no need to feel anxious around him. It wasn't as if he was doing anything out of line. Yet, she had no control of her rapidly beating heart.
"Ok, I'm about to apply the cream—"
"J-Just do it already! You're making it more awkward that it needs to be."
"Sorry, sorry… I thought I'd give a warning at least."
A small shiver ran down her spine as his hands lifted up her shirt and trailed up her back. Layton was firm, yet surprisingly gentle with his massage. Fiery, cold sensations began to spread along each muscle he touched. She held in a small sigh at that, biting her lip. Preoccupied with keeping her emotions in check, she barely heard the professor speak.
"I realized I bit off much more than I could chew… But I just can't help but assist others in need. That's what a gentleman does after all," his voice rumbled close to her ear. The top-hatted man paused as he searched for his words. "Truth be told, I'm quite thankful you decided to stay with me through the evening as you always do. Helping me, talking to me... It's quite relaxing."
His heartfelt statement sank into her mind as she began pondering it over. Her presence was well-welcomed, perhaps more necessary than she thought when she nudged herself into her position as his assistant.
"If it isn't too much of a burden, would you mind… staying around the office more often?"
"Do you really need to ask? Of course I wouldn't mind."
Even if the sentiment was no more than a friendly compliment, she happily basked in his appreciation for her.