Disclaimer: I do not own Professor Layton. If I did, this scene would be canon, and Bill Hawks would likely not be alive…
~o~O~o~
"Thank you for everything. Goodbye."
She turned away from him for what was certain to be the final time. Not wanting him to see her disappear, she went around the corner into an adjacent alley. She knew he was in pain. Even if he hadn't said anything, the look in his eyes had spoken volumes. It pained her, too, to have to say goodbye. The tears she'd been holding back began to fall. A sad smile came to her face.
But unlike him, I won't have to bear with it for long…
The sound of footsteps came from behind her. She quickly darted over to an alcove, hoping whoever it was hadn't spotted her. The glow still surrounded her, and she hoped it wasn't bright enough to be seen. The footfalls stopped. A gasp.
"She's gone…"
Ah, so it was the boy. She should have guessed. She knew her love understood why she'd gone down the alley. But a part of her had been hoping he would try to stop her again. To hold her until she left. Slowly, she slid to the ground and put her back against the wall. She closed her eyes. What would death be like? Would she even feel the explosion upon returning to the past? Or would it happen so quickly that there will just be nothing? Not that it mattered. She'd already accepted her fate.
She just wished fate had been kinder to him.
He had done nothing wrong. While she and the others who had tried to defy nature, he had simply been living his life. He only ever did what was right and was a gentleman in every situation. Why did he have to suffer?
Something cold landed on her hand. She opened her eyes and looked up in surprise. When had it started snowing? As she stared up at the small specks of white falling from the dark sky, everything seemed to become darker. She frowned and glanced down. Then let out a small gasp.
The glow was gone.
She flexed her fingers a bit, as if to check whether or not it would come back. Nothing. If anything, she felt more 'here' than she had been since she arrived in this time. After a few moments, she stood up. If fate was allowing her a chance to stay, she was going to take it. Hopefully, it wasn't just playing some cruel joke.
She stepped out of the alcove and began to walk back to where she'd said goodbye. The boy now sat at the corner, knees drawn up and head down. He looked up as she passed by, blinking and rubbing his tear filled eyes when he saw her.
As she rounded the corner, she had to stop when she saw the grieving man. He was staring forlornly at the sky, holding the hat she'd given him long ago lovingly in his arms. Tears threatened to fall again, but she smiled instead. She came up behind him and lightly tapped on his shoulder. He gave a small jolt in surprise and turned.
"A gentleman should never remove his hat in public."
She reached out to take it from his hands. He didn't stop her, nor did he look away from away from her as she brushed the snow off his hair and carefully placed the hat on his head. She stepped back and gave a nod in approval.
"Much better," she said with a bright smile.
His hands reached out, but stopped before making contact. As if a simple touch would make her disappear. She took his hands in her own and moved closer.
"Whatever instability I had is gone. I'm here to stay this time, Hershel."
A smile finally broke out on his face. He removed his hands from her clasp and brought her into his arms.
"Oh, Claire… Please don't ever leave me again."
"I won't. Not now that we've found our future again."
~o~O~o~
First time writing for Layton. I played the games early in the year, and I knew that, if I decided to write a fic, it would be about Claire. Layton looked so happy with her and… lost when she was gone. :( And neither of them deserved that pain. Then there's that bloody Prime Minister who *insert hour long Bill Hawks rant here*. Yeah, he'll be getting a hate fic later :(
….*coughs* Anyway, until something is said otherwise, Claire actually being alive somehow is my head-canon. *is in denial*