Warnings: The general effects of old age
Spoilers: For Curious Village and maybe Layton's Mystery Journey
Set: During the LMJ years
Song: Dead Hearts by Stars

Shaky Hands (Bruno & Flora)

"It's always... the butler," Bruno grunted, heaving Matthew onto a stool in the tower's basement.

Matthew didn't dispute this accusation- not that he would have if he was awake- but flopped lifelessly onto the work table.

Bruno stood up, cracking the joints in his back. Maybe he should've taken up Ramon's offer to move Matthew to the tower...

Hrmph. That layabout would've gotten lost on his way here. Then Bruno would've had two missing servants on his hands, and Lady Dahlia breathing down his neck...

She'd demanded that Matthew be mended in time for Flora's visit.

Flora, now thirty years of age, understood that the robots were getting older (Matthew being the oldest) so that meant more repairs.

Bruno hadn't bothered trying to explain this Dahlia.

"Oh, you're just not working fast enough!" Bruno mimicked her in a snooty voice. "Perhaps it's time we employed a new caretaker... Phah!" He glanced down at Matthew. "How do you put up with Her Royal Bossiness?"

Matthew's head remained bowed over the table.

"...Probably like that," Bruno grumbled as he went to grab Matthew's key from the gallery wall.

It was by far the rustiest key and the brittlest. Of course, Bruno ended up dropping it.

He cursed and crouched down...a long way down... to pick it up. He brought the key up to his eyes, trying to keep it still. He squinted.

Didn't look damaged...

He shrugged and shuffled back to Matthew, opening the hatch on his back.

Just as he pulled up a stool of his own, Bruno realised he'd forgotten his toolbox. He groaned and turned. The toolbox was on the other side of the basement, taunting him.

He got up and dragged it over to the work table.

Armed with his torch and trusty screwdriver, Bruno started to inspect Matthew's inner workings...

"Bruno?" The shout echoed down the basement stairs.

"GRMPH!" Bruno almost fell off his stool. His tools went flying. It was a miracle Matthew didn't stir with all the racket.

Bruno stooped down to retrieve his tools. Hearing heels on the stairs, he barked over his shoulder, "Didn't I programme you to wait?"

"Didn't I tell you to fix the lights in here?" his visitor retorted.

He did a double take when he saw it was Flora tapping her foot at the bottom of the stairs. His frown vanished under his beard.

"Oh... Sorry. You sounded like Dalia for a moment there..."

Flora pulled a face. (Dear lord, she even looked like Dahlia sometimes...) "Gee, thanks," Flora drawled. "Hope I didn't scare you too much..."

She helped him tidy up the tools. "How's Matthew doing?" she wondered, knocking her old butler on the head. She winced at the hollow noise he made. "Ouch- sounds like he's lost a lot of cogs..."

"Ah, great..." Bruno rubbed his temples. "Now I'll have to search for them all..." He glanced at Flora sharply, eyebrows raised. "Speaking of which-"

"No," she answered flatly. "There's no news."

"Right..."

They worked in silence for a while; Flora held the torch while Bruno prodded at the few cogs Matthew had left.

Bruno was the one to break the silence. "How're the, er, nippers doing?"

Much to his relief, Flora chuckled. "They're not nippers anymore. Al's twenty-one, surviving uni by the skin of his teeth. Kat's thirteen..."

Bruno grimaced. He'd never understood Professor Layton's decision to adopt two more kids. Wasn't Flora enough?

Flora went on, "...She's already set on becoming a detective..."

"Wha...?" Bruno said. He'd zoned out there for a second.

"Kat wants to be a detective, just like her dad," Flora repeated tensely.

Bruno blinked. Oh- this was the part where Bruno was meant to console her. He clicked his tongue. "Teenagers, eh?" Flora nodded, biting her lip.

Bruno took her hand with a sigh.

She felt him shaking, but it stopped for a moment when she squeezed his hand.

"Come on then," she sighed, pulling Bruno to his feet. "Let's find those missing cogs and finish fixing Matthew."

"Before Dahlia blows a fuse," Bruno added.

Flora laughed. Maybe Bruno's eyes were going, but he could have sworn the basement got a little bit brighter.