(A/N: Inspired by an ADORABLE headcanon by cadoized on tumblr!)
To come here so early hadn't been the plan.
The plan had been to wait two more weeks. The plan had been to take her to a restaurant nearby, so that when they came again and passed this way it wouldn't be suspicious to peek inside the nearby shops. The plan was to have been subtle about the whole thing, because if there was one person in the world who might not figure out what looking inside a ring shop meant, it was Lucy Baker.
But Alfendi hated plans. Or, at least, one of him did.
"Why, look, a ring shop. Feel like looking inside? Stealing anything?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He knew, of course, she wouldn't take the second part seriously. (He didn't, either— unless the staff there gave him some serious trouble or whatnot.)
"Ee, sure! The looking part, of course," she exclaimed, her short hair already bobbing up and down as she ran inside. A bell mounted above the door rang out with her laughter. Lucy wasn't a girl obsessed with material things, but she did enjoy them, even just to look at. In other words, she was easy to please and still easy to find presents for: a rare combination in a girl. It was really a miracle she'd fallen in love with—
"Prof, look!" the lass squealed excitedly, skipping around the small space like a kid in a china shop. At least all the valuable items were safely secured. "These are so pretty!"
"We have more than you see here," the young man behind the counter stated, "but these are the ones we keep on display." He looked up at Alfendi and smiled knowingly.
"You have quite a selection here for such a small space," Alfendi noted politely. "You make good use of what you have."
"Well, I'm not the one in charge of all that, but I'll take the compliment!" the man replied jovially. Turning back to Lucy, he asked, "What's your name, little one?"
"Lucy," she replied, "but that's DC Constable Baker t'you!" Somehow, even that statement sounded like the friendliest reply on earth when it was her voice saying it.
"Well then, DC Constable Baker," the man said teasingly, "see anything you like?"
"They're all pretty!" she replied with a smile. "Ooh, look at these—"
"Er, m'am, please don't breathe on the glass."
"Aye, sorry," Lucy apologized quickly, taking a step backwards. "There'r just so many little details! Prof, look't these details!"
Alfendi walked cooly over to the spot where his girlfriend stood, and looked in the direction indicated. Several silver and gold rings had been placed in an alternating pattern, each with intricate cuts and inlaid gemstones gleaming under the display lights.
"Ee, I wonder 'ow much one of these would cost? A fortune, I'll bet," she commented out loud to nobody in particular. He'd never told her, but Alfendi loved it when she did that. It made him feel less odd about talking to himself.
"I can give you the prices of any of these," the working man said in a proud tone.
"Oh, yes, I'll bet you're just dying to get your hands on passerby's money, aren't you?!" Alfendi suddenly snapped in response. "You don't really look the trustworthy type, I have to say. What do you charge people for this, hm?" he asked, pointing to a ring at random. "Let me guess— a million for the poor man, two million for the rich." He scowled with a glare harsh enough to kill a bear.
"W-what, o-of course not!" the man behind the counter exclaimed, jumping back from the sudden, unprompted change of demeanor. "I-I-I would never!"
"O' course ye wouldn't," Lucy replied cheerfully, not even taking her eyes off the display. "Ee, there'r just so many different ones! And all so shiny and clean! You must take good care of 'em, no?" she asked.
"An excellent question, my dear," Alfendi added in a low, accusing voice, "How well do you take care of these?" He put a hand on the girl's shoulder, glaring at the merchant as if to warn him that she deserved nothing less than perfect.
"A-as is my j-job! Of c-course!" The man now looked on the verge of running into the back room and calling for help.
Suddenly, Alfendi's head jerked up, his hand running up automatically to smooth his hair. "Right, I'm sure. Um, if you wouldn't mind, sir, I'm feeling a little faint. Do you have a washroom?"
"Eh?" Lucy asked, spinning around in concern. "Prof, it's not one of your headaches again, is it?"
"No, I'm all right, thank you, Lucy," he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek to reassure her. "I just need a few moments."
"Th-there's a washroom next door on our left, they'll l-let you use it if you tell them you were here," the man informed Alfendi awkwardly, his tone now both confused and fearful. He stayed a good distance away from the counter.
"Don't be too long," Lucy instructed gently with a smile that Alfendi swore could make hearts glow and birds burst into song. He nodded and left the store, his breathing quickening as he entered the next building over.
"Idiot!" he hissed at himself, quietly enough, at least, not to draw a lot of attention. "Now you've gone and done it, scared the poor boy— No, no, he deserved to be scared from the way he was looking at her— Oh, lay off, he was just doing his job and making her feel welcome!" His voice seemed to shift in some imperceivable way as he argued to the air, but his anger was a constant. He took a deep breath.
"Well, it's gone and done now, nowt more t'do about it… May 's well take advantage of this to see what 'e thinks of me, though." Walking further into the store (a convenience store of some type, which was odd right next to a jeweler's, but he wasn't really focused on that now), Alfendi leaned against the obviously-thin walls and strained to pick up any conversation.
"So… that man… he was, ah…?" the merchant boy was saying. Good. Alfendi's hands clenched into fists. If he thought he could trash-talk a detective without being found out—
"That's the Prof!" Lucy's voice said eagerly. Hers was louder and easier to hear through the wall. "Oh, I s'pose he wouldn't want you calling 'im that, though. His full title's Inspector Alfendi Layton!"
"Layton?" the man asked in a disbelieving tone. Ugh, so he was one of those people. "You don't mean— as in, the famous Hershel Layton? They aren't…?"
"Family, aye! But the Prof's famous in 'is own right, y'know? Got an awful lot of cases under 'is belt, 'e does! Lots of 'em that the rest of Scotland Yard couldn't solve on their own. Course, he's got me t'assist him now!" Her smile was practically as audible as her words. Alfendi felt his heart do that annoying fluttering thing that made him want to drop everything and pull the girl into his arms.
"All right, that's quite enough eavesdropping," he suddenly reprimanded himself, seeing a woman in a nearby aisle giving him curious glances. He headed to the washroom, alerting a worker on the way.
Several minutes later, he returned, entering the ring shop with a polite nod to hopefully alert the man behind the counter that he was back to normal. Or, at least, what he probably perceived as normal— which ticked Alfendi off, but he shoved that thought aside for the moment.
"So, do you have a favorite?" he asked Lucy, walking over to where she was still inspecting the pattern of rings.
"Eh-up, ye mean I have to pick a favorite?!" she asked, completely oblivious to what even a non-detective could figure out in a heartbeat. "They're all so pretty! But, I s'pose, if I've got to choose—"
Alfendi leaned in towards the display case expectantly.
"I like these two!"
The inspector blinked, startled.
"That's not really how a favorite works, Lucy," he chuckled after a moment's pause.
"Aw, but I can't really decide!" She gestured more passionately to the rings in question. They were placed next to each other; one was a gold ring with a heart-cut ruby held in place by golden talons, and the other, a silver band with tiny sapphires dotted around the whole thing and a larger diamond in the middle.
The man behind the counter laughed, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. "Why, those aren't even remotely similar."
"I know," Lucy replied. "That's why I can't really compare them to choose a favorite. They're both right pretty, in their own way." She grinned. "I like 'em both!"
The merchant laughed and started to give Alfendi a pitying look for having chosen such an oblivious lass, but stopped when he saw his face. The inspector was frozen still, his normally-frightening gaze fixed to Lucy with such a sheer amount of awe and gratefulness that it was almost tangible.
"U-um… right, then… I'll just be… um…?"
Alfendi snapped out of the dazed state and looked at the merchant. "We'll come back to look around another time," he said, in a firm voice that seemed to imply he wasn't just being polite. "Lucy, I do believe we have reservations at the restaurant."
"Aye, of course! I completely forgot!" she exclaimed, spinning around and taking her partner by the hand. "Let's be off before they scratch our names out, then, eh?" She quickly glanced back at the merchant as they left the store. "Thanks for the help, sir!"
The little bell on the doorway rang a goodbye for the day as the couple left the store.
It wouldn't be for a long time, Alfendi knew— whatever the sum of money was, it was going to be nothing to scoff at— but the bell would be ringing again someday, this time as a welcome. He looked forward to that day.
Both of him.
(A/N: Ahaha binging an entire walkthrough of a 3-year-old game in two days despite school and finals and then immediately writing a oneshot for it the next morning? What a ridiculous concept, totally unrealistic.) (As always, if you liked this please leave a review letting me know! Although also try to avoid spoilers for the main PL series, as I'm not totally caught up on that yet. ^^)