A cute idea that I've had in my head for a while now. Credit to Khrssc on DeviantArt for the adorable artwork. Unfortunately, I don't own any rights to the Professor Layton games. Enjoy!
The first time it happened was during the summer of the first year of them being close friends. They had always been friends as children but never truly close. But when they hit fifteen years of age, suddenly something changed and the three of them became connected in a way that they hadn't been before. Angela's parents had been away for the weekend, leaving their daughter home alone. This, of course, created the perfect opportunity for Angela to drag Randall away from archaeology for a while and have him and Hershel over. They had spent the entire day doing pretty much nothing, joking about with one another and solving all the puzzles Randall threw in at random moments (not that they expected anything else from their red-haired friend). But too soon did the sun begin to disappear under the horizon. They had spent the past hour all bunched up together on one sofa, quietly talking until the sound of the soft classical music coming from the gramophone in the corner lulling them into silence. Angela mumbled something about food before gathering the energy to pull herself up and wander over to her kitchen. Hershel also murmured something about moving over since Angela was no longer occupying the rest of the sofa and thus forcing him to almost lie across Randall's lap but he didn't move a muscle. By the time Angela returned to the room with a plate of biscuits, she was about to announce that the two boys should probably be getting back home but the sight she saw before her made her stay quiet and smile slightly. Randall's head was relaxed on the back of the sofa and he had one arm stretched along the arm of the sofa and the other draped over Hershel's back whose head was resting on Randall's shoulder. Light snores were coming from the both of them.
The next time it happened was during the very next summer. The trio had been out at Memory Knoll and their day had mainly consisted of Hershel reading under the shade of various trees, Angela attempting to push Randall into a nearby stream, and Randall throwing puzzles at anyone who would listen. The time for lunch was drawing near and both boys looked up at Angela with such pleading eyes that she couldn't resist.
"Fine, I'll be back in half an hour" she said with a roll of her eyes. Then she began walking back to her house to collect some form of a picnic.
"Randall?" Hershel asked, getting the other boy's attention.
"Hm?" the red-haired boy shuffled over to sit next to Hershel as the other boy placed his book down on the grass beside him.
"Do you think it will always be like this? Just us and Angela"
"I sure hope so" Randall suddenly flopped himself down across Hershel so his head was resting comfortably on his friend's lap. Hershel didn't even flinch. He had grown used to Randall's habit of randomly curling up on him or Angela. The boy always said that it was just because they were comfortable but Hershel had a suspicion that his friend sometimes needed that extra feeling of closeness and safety which resulted in him being so affectionate. Suddenly Randall yawned, causing Hershel to also yawn.
"Doing nothing all day sure takes up a lot of energy" Randall sighed, adjusting his head more comfortably in his friend's lap. Hershel rolled his eyes, despite holding back another yawn. The two of them stayed in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes before Hershel noticed Randall's eyes beginning to close.
"You can't go to sleep, Angela's bringing us lunch" Hershel chinned his friend, nudging him slightly. The only reply Randall gave was a small mumble before he rolled over and buried his face in Hershel's leg to shield his eyes from the early afternoon sunlight.
"I mean it" Hershel said, nudging his friend harder despite the smile on his face. But apparently, Randall wasn't listening. Hershel thought about pushing his friend off him, but his body protested. His limbs felt warm in the soft summer heat and the soothing sounds of birds and the stream was enough to calm even the most anxious person. As Hershel's eyelids began to drop closed, he rested his head back on the tree behind him and lay an arm across Randall's back. A few minutes later Angela returned with a basket of food. But once she saw her two friends sleeping soundly against one another, all she could do was roll her eyes and sit down next to them, opening up her book.
Christmas was the next time Angela saw it happen- but she had no doubt it had happened many times when she was not around, not that either of her friends would admit it. They were at Hershel's house and his mother had cooked them all the most wonderful Christmas meal. Once they had all helped clean up- much to Mrs Layton's discontent ('no just leave me to do it', 'oh no, I wouldn't want it to get in the way')- Hershel's parents went out for a while, leaving the three friends alone together. Almost instantly, Randall began attacking them with puzzles and finally Hershel and Angela relented and began to solve them. They started off pretty simple, nothing too thought-provoking. But then suddenly Randall gave them the most complicated puzzle Angela had ever seen.
"How did you even think of something like this?" Angela asked, frowning down at the notes she had made. No matter how hard she stared at them, the numbers just would not work with the criteria. There was always one that wouldn't quite fit. After a few more silent minutes, Angela threw her papers down on the chair in frustration.
"This is impossible, Randall! There can't possibly be an answer that fits"
All Randall could do was smirk as he watched his friends try to work out his 'present' to them. Angela looked over at Hershel, who appeared to be in this own little world; scribbling numbers down, crossing them out, starting all over again. She turned back to see Randall watching Hershel intently as his smirk became a smile as he watched his friend work. She rolled her eyes, picked up her papers and tried again, a small smile also playing on her lips. The day rolled on much the same way until the unexplainable happened.
"I think I've got it" Hershel muttered to himself. His eyes quickly scanned over the page, checking his answers. Then he handed the paper to his friend, at which point Angela's head shot up. They both stared at Randall intently as the boy's eyes flicked over the page. Suddenly, an almost childish smile spread over his face.
"Correct" he beamed as he handed the paper back to his friend.
"What?!" Angela almost fell off her chair in shock.
"He's got the answer" Randall said simply, not moving his eyes from Hershel's oddly proud expression.
"But, that's not- it's impossible! There is no answer. I've tried every possible combination but every single time, something doesn't fit!"
When neither of them answered her, she decided there was only one way to settle this. So, she picked up the nearest cushion and threw it squarely in Hershel's face. Instantly, Randall burst out laughing so Angela picked up another cushion and threw it at him, which he managed to easily dodge. Just as Angela picked up a third cushion, something soft hit her in the stomach. It was a cushion thrown from the hands of a now giggling Hershel. Precisely three seconds of silence rolled past before all three of them broke out into full war. Cushions were thrown, barricades were made, truces were very quickly formed and then almost instantly broken. By the time the war was finally over, the room was a complete mess and all three of them were so out of breath they could hardly move. Randall flopped down in between his two friends as they all tried to catch their breath. About ten minutes of silence passed before Angela finally gathered the energy to stand up. She was about to tell the other two to help her tidy up but stopped short when she saw them curled into each other's sides fast asleep. Not wanting to wake them, she quietly tiptoed around them as she returned the room to how it had been before the cushion war, throwing a warm smile in their direction every few minutes.
That was the last time it happened for a very long time. Eighteen years dragged by and all three of them had been drastically changed. But Randall was finally home and no one was more relieved than Hershel. Once they got away from the stares of the civilians, Angela tactfully drew the others out of the room until only Randall and Hershel remained. For a while they stayed quiet, neither of them sure about what to say. But then quite suddenly, Hershel turned to his friend and forcefully pulled him into a hug. Randall instantly wrapped his arms around the smaller man's body as though it was pure instinct. Their bodies linked together in the same way they always had done. Randall smiled against his friend's shoulder and if he closed his eyes, it was as though everything was still the same as it had been all that time ago.
"You became quite the gentleman" Randall smiled once they finally pulled away from each other.
"This was always meant to be your life" Hershel sighed and looked down at his feet but Randall lifted his head back up with his forefinger.
"You suit it much better. I could never pull off a black top hat. And 'Professor Hershel Layton' has a much nicer ring to it than 'Professor Randall Ascot' don't you think?" Randall commented. Hershel laughed at his friend's ridiculous statement and suddenly his whole body relaxed. They sat together and talked about everything they could; all that they had missed in the years of being apart.
Hours later, Angela returned with Henry, Dalston, Emmy, and Luke. She opened the doors and instantly they all stopped in their tracks. Everyone else was staring at the sight in front of them in total shock, but Angela simply smiled.
"What is it?" Henry asked Angela quietly, noticing the smile on her face. When she answered, she did not look away from the reason of her happiness- Randall leaning back against the sofa, Hershel leant against his arm, his arm wrapped around Randall's waist, and light snores coming from their lips.
"Some things never change"