AN: Hi, folks! Sorry for the wait for the update. I've had a bit of a hectic week, but here I am with an update based upon my recent experience of having my brother and pregnant sister in law try and put together a bookshelf for me, because I really can't do DIY stuff.
sit
A little funny one-shot for you, anyway. It's set not long after How Is It I'm The Younger Sibling? Which is chapter ten of this fic!
Lillyesque
The Puzzle of DIY Furniture
25th August 1967
"Are you sure you two don't want some help?" A very pregnant Lucy asked for perhaps the twentieth time that afternoon.
"We're fine, dear," Alfendi replied.
The crimson haired police inspector sat cross-legged on the bedroom floorboards of Lilly's newly bought house. His younger sister, sat beside him. Or rather, she lay; stomach down, feet up, elbows propped up. They were both staring intently at a set of instructions that was confusing the both of them greatly. The reason for this? The instructions only consisted of pictures. Confusing, unclear, badly drawn pictures.
Lilly, who had recently opened a shop where she sold her handmade cushions, bedthrows, blankets, curtains and table cloths, had decided that it was time that she moved out of her Father's house once and for all. She had moved rather quickly after leaving school, two years prior to meeting Clive and Dimitri, and now several months after that whole... incident, Lilly had decided it was time for her to grow up. Properly. She had saved up enough money to open up her own small shop and the business had in fact been doing so well that she was able to buy a small house of her own. Even better when she found a place just in her price range that was only a five minute car journey from her Father's.
In fact, Lilly couldn't find a downside to the situation at all. Independence, quiet, tidyness (the Professor was a rather unorganised person and his home reflected that, no matter how hard Lilly and Flora worked to try and tidy up after him) it would be perfect. That was until Lilly had to sleep on a mattress the first night of living in her new house, after she largely underestimated the time it would take to put together a bed frame. She'd started at about half past three, expecting to be done by five, at which point she'd make dinner. At half past nine, she was still trying to fit the frame together with the help of the instruction booklet which appeared to be in German. Lilly's language skills were only so developed that she could not do more than ask for directions in French.
It had taken her another day to finally piece the bed together. Her bookcase, wardrobe and working desk (where she could stitch and make her furnish her goods for her shop) had arrived that day in large cardboard boxes. After signing for them and paying the delivery man a bit extra for carrying them upstairs for her, Lilly had quickly called her brother to ask for some assistance in putting together her furniture.
The first thing Alfendi had done upon arrival, was comment on the irony of the situation.
"My dear sister, you own a furniture store, but you can't put together furniture," Alfendi teased.
Lucy had then playfully hit his arm and pointed out that Lilly owned a textiles and home furnishing shop. Not a furniture shop.
Two hours later and the only thing the two Layton siblings had accomplished was opening the box and ripping through the polystyrene and bubble wrap, which Alfendi was still enjoying popping. Even opening the box had taken nearly half an hour. The other ninety minutes had been spent staring in confusion at the badly drawn picture diagrams that came in the instruction pamphlet.
"Are you sure you're fine?" Lucy said. The police constable, who was currently off work for maternity reasons, leant on the door frame of the bedroom, watching her husband and sister in law stare in confusion and frustration. "Here, let me have a look at it. I bet'ya I can figure it out."
"No, it's fine. We've got it," Alfendi pointed out. "You can't do any heavy lifting."
"I am stronger than the both of you put together!" protested Lucy.
"I don't disagree, but you're also thrity seven weeks pregnant," Alfendi pointed out. "You can go and get us some coffee, though. This may take us a while."
"Don't worry about coffee, Lucy. I can get it," Lilly pointed out. "The sofa came this morning. All in one piece, thankfully. I have no idea how they managed to fit it through the door, though. Anyway, go put your feet up. Don't worry about us."
Lilly looked up at her sister in law and gave her a quick smile before returning to an exasperated expression and glaring at the instructions.
"Honestly, you two are rubbish," Lucy scoffed. "Professor Layton's children, yet you won't go near a cup of tea, only ever coffee, and you can't solve the most basic puzzle of how to put up a bookshelf even with both of you working on it!"
"I've never been one for puzzles, you know that," Lilly said, as she stood up to go and get coffee. It was becoming clear to her that the bookshelf may take just as long as the bed had taken to put up and Alfendi was unlikely to want to stop to sleep. He was much more determined and stubborn than her- and that was saying something.
"Unlike yer Dad, again," Lucy chuckled. "By the way, I'm sure he could figure it out. Yer' Dad, I mean. Why'd you call us instead of him?"
"Well, for one, he's off in Holland doing a talk at a museum. You know those stones he found a few years ago and how they turned out to be a- err- a miniature sundial? A way to tell the time before clocks? Anyway, the stones are being placed at this museum in Holland and he's there sspeaking to consultants and journalists about them. So, because of that, he's not exactly available at the moment," Lilly explained. "Second of all, I thought about your baby's nursery, so I assumed you must be good at interior design. You two put all that together; you painted the walls that lovely yellow and you put up that cot."
"Actually, Lillian," Alfendi interrupted, "That cot came already together."
"No it didn't," Lucy scoffed.
"Yes, it did," Alfendi disagreed. "How else is it together? I, for one, certainly didn't put it up."
"No, because I did!" Lucy exclaimed.
Alfendi paused and began to blush.
"You mean to say... You can do DIY?" Alfendi asked.
"I've been trying to tell you all day!" Lucy replied, with a sigh, before holding her hand out for the instructions, as the expectant police officer couldn't exactly bend down and snatch them out of Alfendi's hand as she so desired. "Here, give me those instructions."
Half an hour later, Lilly's bookcase was up.
AN: I hope you enjoyed this oneshot! I just have a couple of annoying things to say here. I hope you don't mind.
If you have any ideas for any one-shots or mini stories for Lillyesque please let me know.
If you'd like to see anymore adult Lilly, anymore baby Lilly or anymore teenage Lilly specifically, please let me know.
If you have any questions, please ask and I can answer.
If you read this fic and would like more of it, please let me know in my current poll which you can view on my profile.
If you've just read this chapter please give me a quick review and let me know what you thought. It REALLY makes my day.
That's all, folks. I'll hopefully update again this week. :)
Nikki~