Notes – Written for a kinkmeme prompt that wanted some Layton/Luke based when Luke is an adult, with Layton subconsciously being attracted to him. Set many years post-PL3, with some spoilers for how the third game ends. Also, it's a long while since I've ever posted any Layton/Luke work publicly, since I've received some flak for it in the past, despite warning for the pairing in the descriptions of all my fics featuring it. So I'll say it now – if the pairing bothers you then please don't read this story, as it deals with the two being put together in a romantic sense. I don't want to receive flames after directly warning people not to read it if they don't like the subject matter. As for those who do like the pairing, I hope that I've done it justice and you enjoy this.

Luke returning to London had only ever been a matter of time. When he had reached an age where he was seen as suitable to leave home, no one was surprised to hear that he was moving back to England. Even his parents didn't particularly begrudge their son for not wanting to stay with them, as they knew all birds had to fly the nest one day and that Luke's heart belonged back home, where Professor Layton, along with all the puzzles and adventures he wanted, resided.

Of course, he was welcomed back fondly by those who had known him – Layton and Flora greeted him at the docks, complimenting him on how much he'd grown up over the years; within the city he soon met people he'd known from before, like Inspector Chelmey, Barton and Granny Riddleton, who were all surprised to see him after so long. And because he'd been away for so many years, Luke took a long trip to visit places like Misthallery and Dropstone, where again he was greeted again by familiar faces – some of which had grown and changed as much as he had himself.

But after all of the reunions were done, Luke settled down in London, where he felt that he belonged. The only draw back was that moving back meant he did not have the means to support himself just yet, let alone buy a place to live, so naturally Layton had stepped in to offer the spare room that Luke had always used when he stayed with the Professor during his younger days.

"You 'aven't redecorated this yet?" Luke asked, staring around the room that he was shown into.

"Well, I always had a feeling that you would return," admitted Layton, "And since I never found another use for it, there was no need to change anything about it."

"You really are somethin' else, Professah. Thank you," Luke replied, dropping his suitcase down in the corner.

"You're welcome, my boy," Layton said, watching him, "Though I might not be the only one who is 'really something else', as you put it."

"What do you mean?" asked Luke, frowning at him in mild confusion.

"Ah, never mind. I was just observing how much you'd grown," Layton said quickly, "Well then; I'll let you get settled back in."

Layton left the room, leaving Luke more than a little puzzled in regards to that comment. While the Professor had been far from the first person to mention the changes in Luke, the way that he'd worded it just seemed a little… peculiar? Yes, that seemed like the sort of word Layton would have used to describe his own behaviour.

And over time, Luke was given even more reasons to view Layton's behaviour towards him as peculiar. Not so much through what the man was saying to him, but the way that Luke would occasionally catch Layton looking at him out of the corner of his eye, only to make a vague excuse when he was caught and return to what he was doing.

Perhaps the Professor was just proud that his former apprentice had become a fine young gentleman like he always wanted, but Luke really didn't think that was it. You can be proud of someone without staring at them when you think you won't be caught, after all.

While he didn't bring up the subject directly to Flora, as he didn't want to worry her, Luke did ask her if she'd noticed any changes in Layton lately. But all she said was that he'd always been rather eccentric in his habits and that whatever it was it was probably nothing to worry about.

Luke did worry, however.

And on one such occasion, that worry burst out in mild annoyance.

"'ave I got somethin' on me face?" he enquired, after noticing Layton looking over at him once again, under the guise of reading a book.

"No, Luke, not that I can see," a rather surprised Layton replied.

"Then why do you keep lookin' over at me?" Luke pressed.

Shaking his head, Layton dismissed, "I believe that you're imagining thing. While I do like to check on you occasionally, I don't mean to stare. If it's coming across that I am, then I truly apologise."

With anyone else that would have seemed like a really bad excuse, but Luke really felt that Layton believed what he was saying. Layton genuinely didn't feel that he was continually staring at Luke more than normal. But Luke thought that he was and he was definitely uncomfortable about it.

There weren't many people he could talk to about the subject. So in his mild panic, Luke somehow ended up dancing around the topic with Flora for a second time, a few weeks later.

"What would you do if someone was starin' at you all the time?" Luke started with, much to the young girl's surprise.

Flora, who was currently hanging washing on the line, didn't take long to reply; "That would be quite rude, so I'd ask them to stop."

"But what if it's someone you really liked and don't want t' offend?" continued Luke.

She paused this time, and then answered, "Hmm, I'm not sure. Maybe if they keep looking at you then it means that they quite like you. Has this been happening to you, Luke? Does someone have a crush on you?"

"Please, Flora, that's really gross," Luke gagged, spitting his tongue out. Or at least, that was how he was reacting on the outside. On the inside he was now very deeply worried in regards to the whole affair.

The Professor liking Luke in that sort of way?

That was just crazy!

There was no way that a gentleman like Layton would be attracted to a boy like Luke. Sure, Luke was of age now, so there was nothing saying Layton couldn't like him if he wanted to, but he just… didn't. After everything that had happened with his old sweetheart, Claire, Luke had never known Layton to express any sort of interest in moving on from her.

Had he?

Maybe… maybe the signs had been there and Luke just hadn't seen them before now.

But no, this behaviour in Layton was definitely new. It had definitely been sparked by Luke's return and hadn't at all been present when Luke was younger. Perhaps such a long time apart, combined with how much Luke had grown up, had changed the way that Layton thought about him.

But Luke knew that he was just jumping to conclusions here. He had no evidence that Layton found him attractive, beyond the constant staring and that one comment he'd made upon Luke's return. So he was probably just worrying over nothing.

Luke would just have to continue going about life and hope that whatever it was subsided over time.

However, he'd made the mistake of mentioning the whole situation, even vaguely, to Flora, who did not stay silent on the subject.

"Have you heard the news?" she chimed, as she walked into Layton's study later that day.

"And what news would that be?" asked Layton, looking up from his desk.

"Someone has a crush on Luke," Flora informed.

"Really now," Layton chuckled, "Well, I can hardly say that I'm surprised to hear that. He has become a rather fine looking man now that he's older. And how do you know about this? Has somebody told you they like him?"

"No, Luke told me himself that he knows someone likes him," answered Flora, "He didn't tell me who, but he says someone keeps staring at him all the time and that's a sure sign."

"Staring at him…?"

"That's what I said. Why, do you know who's been watching him?" Flora questioned, curious to find out who the admirer might be.

"N-not at all. And I'm sure the matter will be dealt with between Luke and… and the other person in their own time. We shouldn't press him or make him feel uncomfortable if he doesn't want to tell us more," Layton murmured.

"If you say so," agreed Flora, "But you can't blame a girl for being curious. We've known Luke for such a long time and he's never expressed any interest in anyone before. I rather got the impression that he thought girls were icky. So it's nice to see that he's grown up beyond that."

"Y-yes…" mumbled Layton.

He didn't have much else to say on the subject. His mind was too busy being stunned by the fact that Luke thought Layton frequently watching him meant that he was attracted to the boy.

Not that he had been frequently watching him.

…Okay, he had to admit that he'd probably been looking over Luke's way a little more than was normal. But the only reason for that was because he was impressed by how much Luke had grown up. Where once there was an eager young boy, insisting that he was Layton's apprentice and following him everywhere in a dogged attempt to learn from him, there was now a learned young man, pursuing his own dreams of an educated future without aid from the Professor, succeeding in this too. And not many men Luke's age were as fortunate as to look as nice as Luke did, either. He was going to make someone very happy someda-

This was the point where Layton stopped himself, realising he was getting a little off-topic.

He knew that just looking at Luke caused his thought to train off in a similar direction every time, dwelling on how amazing the boy become over the years.

And maybe, just maybe, he had been staring.

Oh my.

He really had to talk with Luke about this before the whole situation got out of hand…

Finding Luke was not at all hard. When the boy was not at the university studying or out 'solving puzzles' (this was really an excuse for Luke to go to restaurants, to feed his rather large appetite for sweet food, but Layton pretended not to know), he was usually always around the house somewhere. He liked to study at home almost more than he did at the university.

Knocking on the door to his room, Layton entered.

"I hope that I'm not disturbing you," he started.

"Of course not," Luke replied, "You're always welcome, Professah. Was there somethin' you wanted?"

"There's… something that I feel we should talk about," admitted Layton, taking a seat on the chair by Luke's desk, as the boy was currently sat on the bed, with books about languages surrounding him.

"Oh?" Luke prompted, putting down the book he'd been holding.

"Flora says that… that you feel someone has been staring at you lately," Layton commented.

"Um, well I might 'ave said somethin' t' 'er…" Luke mumbled.

Sighing, Layton concluded, "I believe that it's me you think is staring at you, Luke."

"Don't worry about it, Professah!" Luke said quickly, "I know it ain't for the reason she thinks! You're just… well, I dunno what you're doin', but you're just watchin' me."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Luke, but I do feel that it's making you nervous all the same," replied Layton.

"A little…" Luke confessed.

"So I wanted to assure you that you have nothing to worry about. As your friend, I have only the best for you in mind and would never think any ill-will in regards to you," Layton promised him.

"So you don't fancy me?" Luke checked.

"That's rather an abrupt way to put it…" Layton trailed off.

"But you don't, do you? 'owever you want t' put it, you don't like me like that?" repeated Luke.

"I… I don't believe that I do…" mumbled Layton.

"Oh…"

That response shouldn't have caused the sinking feeling in Luke's stomach that it did. Surely he wanted Layton to tell him that this wasn't the case, so that the two of them could go back to being normal around each other.

He hadn't actually wanted Layton to be attracted to him, had he?

Whatever conclusions his mind wanted to form about this, he was cut off by Layton speaking up once more.

"That is to say, I hadn't considered that I did before today," Layton commented.

"What do you mean?" Luke enquired, now thoroughly confused. Did the Professor like him and he should be scared of him because of that, or did the Professor not like him and he should be mildly disappointed because of it?

"Feelings are… are complicated. I'm sure you do not need me to tell you that," Layton replied, "I'd never thought about how I feel in regards to you because I'd always taken for granted that our relationship was the way it was, without anything needing to be said between us. I'd never have suspected that I… But, well, when Flora brought up that I've been watching you a little more than normal, I had to agree that I have been. And it… doesn't just feel like it's because I'm proud of you."

"No, I kinda thought it was somethin' else," Luke agreed, "But you'd know if you were attracted t' me, wouldn't you?"

"I… I've tried not to think about my feelings since Claire," Layton confessed, "I never wanted to be involved with anyone again after… she had past away. And I was happy going about my life not being with someone in that sense. But I don't really 'assess' my feelings, for lack of a better word."

For all this was a serious discussion, Luke couldn't stop himself from shaking his head with a warm smile.

"Typical you, Professah," he replied, "You can solve a puzzle in a millisecond and can stop any madman 'oo might be tryin' t' destroy London, but you don't stop t' think about 'ow you feel about people."

"I do rather have a lot on my mind, you know," Layton scolded, indignantly.

This only made Luke smile more; "I know, its fine. Sometimes you just need other people t' notice these things for you."

"In this case, noticing such things has made you feel uncomfortable…" Layton replied.

"Oddly, I'm not as uncomfortable as I thought I'd be now that we're talkin' about it," Luke admitted, "If you like me then that's that, I just want t' know so we can be on the same page about it."

"Aren't you scared by that prospect? I am… rather old, compared to you," Layton questioned.

"You ain't that old, Professah," Luke assured him, "And I could nevah be scared by you. Because I know that you'd nevah 'urt me. If I'm honest," Luke sighed to realise he was about to admit what he was, "I used t' sorta 'ave a bit of a crush on you when I was a kid. But I figured that nothin' would ever come of it, so I got over it."

"My word, I'd never have guessed," Layton replied.

"You'd be about the only person 'oo didn't," commented Luke, looking embarrassed about it himself, "But I guess if you can't even work out your own feelings then I shouldn't be surprised."

"Watch your tongue, my boy," Layton answered, laughing. He was surprised to hear himself laughing but continued regardless. In light of something that could have potentially destroyed their friendship for good, Luke had past if off as no big deal. He was thankful for that.

"Just callin' it 'ow I see it," said Luke, smirking, "But, um, what do we do from 'ere?"

"What do you mean…?" Layton said, knowing exactly what Luke meant.

"Well, you think that maybe you like me and I just admitted that at one time I definitely liked you. These sorta things cause changes, don't they?" Luke clarified.

"They… don't have to," answered Layton, hoping that was true, "It's very complicated for both of us, I'm sure you'll agree. And rushing into anything is definitely the wrong way to go about this situation. I think we should just return to how we were and assess how we feel in time."

"Take it slowly? Sounds like a gentleman's advice all right," Luke agreed.

"That's what this gentleman advises at any rate," Layton concluded.

Getting up from where he sat, Luke added, "And if I notice you're starin' at me again?"

"Then you can sharp tell me to stop it," laughed Layton.

"I might not do that," Luke hummed, walking over to hug the Professor suddenly.

As much as he'd always been surrounded by affectionate people, Layton still was not quite used to surprise hugs yet. He gingerly put his arms around Luke, not having any idea what to say. Thankfully, Luke pulled away before any words were needed.

"I-" Layton started.

"You dunno what to say," Luke finished. If that wasn't what that sentence was going to be, then Luke felt that was what it should have been. "It's okay. We've said it all now, so we just get on with life as normal. I 'ope. And life as normal says it's time for some dinner, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, I believe that I do," said Layton, regarding that as the least complicated decision he'd had to make all afternoon, "And Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For understanding and for being there," Layton said, a little awkwardly.

"You're always welcome, Professah. That's what appren- …that's what I'm 'ere for – to understand you and translate for everyone else," Luke joked.

"I beg your pardon? Everyone else can understand me perfectly well, thank you," Layton chuckled.

"If you say so," hummed Luke, "Now 'urry up, we don't want Flora t' start cookin' without us and set the stove on fire again."

With that, Luke dashed from the room.

And Layton found himself staring at Luke again. Or at least, the space where Luke had been, at any rate.

Despite now being very consciously aware that he was watching him, their discussion had somehow made him feel more comfortable in regards to the notion.

Maybe he did like Luke. And maybe Luke liked him too. But they were both gentlemen now and would reach any conclusions on the topic at their own pace and, as scholars, by using carefully considered analysis.

He was loathe admitting it, but with that logic in mind, maybe him and Luke were about the only people out there who could even tolerate each other's methods in regards to deciphering their feelings.

Layton somehow didn't mind that prospect, either.