Author's Note: Spoilers for Professor Layton and the Curious Village ahead! I've only finished the first two games so everything written within this fic about the characters, their history, and relationship, is purely speculation/my take on things. It's not going to be totally accurate, just a little retelling. Also, lol, the opening sounds dirty and I totally did not intend for that. XD Oh well, it shall eventually be Layton/Luke. Enjoy!
S t i r r i n g - A r r i v a l
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"--and this bedroom, my boy, shall be yours."
Our hands were merged together as two, not one, half inadvertently guarding and the other imperatively passive all in one gesture. An onslaught of confusion began to set in. Not only for I, but for us both. Emotions were high and yet, on the outside, everything was at a standstill. This was the right thing to do. Wasn't it?
I walked you to the center, more frightened than I had been during any of my firsts. Sat you at the mattress, where you stayed, languid and unmoving. I stood as well, silent and uncertain. This role was new to me; an adoptive parent to an orphaned child? Not quite. Nevertheless I hadn't an inkling of what to do with you, or if there were even any such thing to be done. The days that followed were very much alike.
One morning, on my way to fetch the daily newspost, you emerged after a time long enough to be nearly forgotten. With the same blue cap you wear to this day, and eyes the size of the Moon herself and same celestial pull, it seemed as if a cold chill rushed up my spine to cause every hair to stand on end as your soul's mirrors set on mine. You stood still and tiny. I stood tall and flustered.
And I must admit, I was taken with fear.
Funny, don't you think?
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The path from London was long and wearing. Small black wheels made their way along a road that grew more winding and narrow the further into the countryside they rolled. The vehicle they towed was apple red and unlike any other, for it had been customized by the owner--solely for the fact that he wished to wear his beloved top hat at all times, even while driving a car.
Luke guffawed a good few times before settling down to wipe his laugh-induced tears. There was a moment more of giggles before he fully composed himself.
"P-professor... were you really afraid of little ol' me??" Layton smiled without showing a single sign of embarrassment.
"Well now, 'afraid' may be too strong a word, my lad. But yes, I was rather apprehensive. I'd never had a problem with children before then. However, bringing one into my home was an entirely new experience." Layton paused briefly while he adjusted his brown top hat, then went on without shame. "Every time you emerged from you room I panicked and began to ask so many questions. 'What's the matter?', 'Are you hungry?', 'Are you thirsty?'"
Luke fell into another giggling fit.
"'Do you need the restroom? A bath? A new pair of shoes?'. Good heavens was I a mess. Have you forgotten about those times?" Layton briefly shifted his gaze to the chuckling lad, before returning it to the yellow tinted road.
Luke calmed himself, chest heaving up and down, eyes shifting from Layton to nothing in particular and back again. There were some amusing memories he accounted for in the back of his brain, but all of these were absolutely new.
"I don't remember any of that!" Smile wide, Luke stifled his laughter. "For a grown man, you certainly can be muddle-headed sometimes." Layton's mysterious smile slowly vanished at the playful insult, but he had never been a man without a comeback. Smiling once again, he said:
"Ah, all of this reminds me how cute you were as a lad." A moment passed to let the compliment sink in. Once Luke's attention was caught, his mouth small and admiring eyes open wide, Layton continued with a smirk.
"You know, Luke, you have the same face now as you did then." At first, the young apprentice smiled, but a few moments went by, and out of the corner of his eyes he could see that Luke had finally caught on.
"Hold on a minute--what is that supposed to mean!?" Layton chuckled as Luke folded his arms across his chest and glared holes into the older man.
"Oh nothing my boy, simply that y----"
The words were cut short by something that happened in an instance: A gasp, a shriek, and a bump so severe it could have jarred them greatly had they not been strapped in. The collision caused the man to swerve, brakes screeching as the automobile ran off the road and into the grass. Thankfully, they thought, it ended there. Both sat breathing for a moment, before Layton checked to see if Luke was harmed. The boy insisted he was fine.
"Wh-wh-what happened??" Luke glanced up, then around them both. Layton pondered for a moment all the things it could have been--a stone or branch in the road, an animal, or perhaps even a flat tire. He immediately discounted the last option, having heard no such sound that a bursting tire makes, and he could only hope that it was not an animal for Luke's sake. Just in case, he decided to go investigate on his own.
"It was likely a piece of debris in the road. Stay in the car, I'll go have a look." As Layton unfastened his harness and stepped from the car he heard Luke cry "But--!", then cautiously moved back up towards the road. He followed the tracks his tires had made, praying his beloved automobile was unharmed by this hiccup, and finally, found a dark clump several feet down the road. As feared, it was indeed an animal that had obstructed their path. He rushed to the animal's side, then stepped back once he realized it could not possibly be living any longer. A single, brief glance of mangled flesh, fur, and blood was enough for the man to turn his head away. What an unfortunate fate for anyone, even an animal, to meet. It was a terrible sight to see as well; so awful in fact, an ill feeling rushed from the man's stomach up into his esophagus. One hand was placed promptly over his mouth. Luke must have sensed something, seeing as he fearlessly hopped out of the vehicle to check and see what it was that had his guardian so distraught.
"No, Luke!" Layton demanded with an outstretched hand. "S-stay there." Luke did stop; however, it was only for a moment. When the boy brushed passed the older man, he quickly snatched him by the arm, once again insisting he stay back.
"Don't look. I-I... hit an animal... a dog." Layton' face was pale and eyes hard but despared. One would expect a child to mirror such an expression after hearing those words, but Luke's face remained calm. Without a word, he gazed up. He didn't even attempt to pull away. Layton felt piercing tension from those still, inscrutable eyes, and knew there was no use in holding him back. With ample reluctance, Layton released his younger apprentice--who continued to stare into what very well could have been the pit of his soul, then finally turned a moment later, and calmly made his way to the animal's corpse. With a breath, the professor followed behind. Luke hardly flinched when the dead creature came into view, crushed and disfigured several feet behind the Laytonmobile. He kneeled down before it. Layton met him at his side. The smell was nearly as atrosious as the sight, but the man remained calm--that is until he saw a small hand reaching out to touch the dog.
"Luke!" With one swift strike, Layton slapped the hand away, drawing the attention of the young boy onto him. "Good heavens boy, what are you doing!? Don't touch it!" Luke met the man's protectivity with anger.
"Professor!" Layton reflected the child's glare for a moment, but once again, he withdrew in defeat. In situations such as this, the man was not sure how to be assertive. Approaching with a collected head was much more complicated than it sounded.
Standing to his feet, Layton crossed his arms and looked away--although, he looked back as soon as Luke returned his attention to the dog. A bit ill-heartedly, he watched from the corner of his eye as the boy placed his hand on the dog's broken ribcage, then stroked the muddy fur. His eyes soon fell full on the boy. Usually so open with emotions, now cold and unreadable. He couldn't grasp what words to say, so he simply apologized.
"I'm sorry, Luke." A pause, then Luke lifted his gaze to him.
"It's all right Professor. He was already dead." Despite the sadness in his voice, Luke offered a feeble smile, stood up on his feet, and wiped his hand on his shorts; the mixture of mud and who-knew-what other substance staining both the cloth as well as his fingers. Dreadful.
"Good observation my boy! Now let's get going!" Layton turned on his heel and headed back towards the car, his strut slowing the closer he got.
"Professor..." It was inevitable. Layton glanced back, examined those enormous dark eyes, and uncovered the silent understanding of what needed to be done next. For the boy's sake, if no one else.
"Where shall we bury the ol' chap?"
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Hershel Layton was a tall and polite man, the impressive height further extended by the length of his top hat; a ridiculous piece that probably made him seem more aged than he actually was. Actually, perhaps he was just that aged. Nevertheless, he was and always had been a dashing gentleman, inside and out. His apprentice on the other hand was anything but; mischievous, cheeky, and with terrible manners to boot--particularly when it came to social etiquette. A true gentlemen could keep his calm and deal with any given situation without losing his head, but Luke was known for flaring that temper of his and resorting to the hastiest of decisions.
Despite all of that, Hershel, as proper as any gentleman could be, found that he could not help but love that little boy, irrationality and all.
It was perhaps that very "love" that drove him to do sensational things from time to time. Such as holding a burial for some strange dog he'd hit in the road. The decision was a simple and guilt-filled one. He had inexcusably averted his eyes from the road, even if it had only been for a second. As they stood in silence over the shrewdly constructed memorial, hats over their hearts, the dog now nothing but a mound in the dirt, Layton did however begin to wonder. If it had indeed already been dead, how on earth did it appear in the road so suddenly? There was a logical solution to everything, so this surely was not an exception. There had to be an answer he could not see. But for now, Layton and his apprentice both needed to focus on the task they had at hand, in the mysterious little town of St. Mystere.
They both could only hope this incident was not a premonition for events to come.
A short trip down the road and they finally reached their destination. As they entered the town, Layton could sense there was something very different about this place. The circumstances, the peculiar tower, the air itself. It seemed wherever they turned and with whomever they spoke lied problems and puzzles that needed a sharp mind to solve. For this, Layton was exuberant. Luke happily tailed along as well. Fortunately for those who requested their presence, the professor decided that most of the villagers would have to wait. They had important business to attend to at the Reinhold Manor.
The path to St. Mystere was a rocky one, to say the least.
Upon our arrival into town, we were bombarded by curious townsfolk wondering what on earth we were doing in their village. Who were we? From where had we arrived? When they learned of our area of expertise, they were prompt to test our wits. I greeted those I could politely and promised to accept their challenges at a more convenient time.
Soon we made our way to the home of Lady Dahlia, where we learned of the perplexing case at hand. Since her husband's death there has been a heated inheritance dispute between the Reinholds, one that can only be resolved with the help of something called the "Golden Apple". According to Lady Dahlia, her husband left no clues as to the objects whereabouts. That is where Luke and I come into the picture. However, rather than aiding in the search for this "Golden Apple", we have instead found ourselves being sent on a chase to find and capture Lady Dahlia's "baby", which is not a baby at all but a fluffy white cat named Claudia! Although I am more interested in the deafening sound that caused Claudia to scare in the first place, I feel as though we have no choice but to respect Dahlia's wishes and return her animal to her as soon as possible. After the incident on the way to Mystere, something tells me I should not trust myself with any animals at this point. I'll leave this one to Luke.
"Write and walk, Professor. Write and walk!" Luke scolded gently from afar.
Layton lifted his head from his journal, confusion setting in on his face. The boyish giggle that followed coaxed a smile out of the man. Luke continued to walk. Once the entry was complete, he slid the journal into his coat pocket and attempted to catch up with his young apprentice. That feline couldn't hide for long with two "detectives" on the prowl.
Little did they know, cat-catching and puzzle-solving was soon to be the least of their worries.