Be My Friend
Ch. 2
Disclaimer and notes: I own nothing, just had an idea of how character interactions could have gone in "Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright" and went with it.
It was dark outside by the time they finally left the station. The littlest breeze blew across Maya's bare legs and made her shiver, and Phoenix reflexively tucked her under his arm to keep her arm. Luke hopped to the Professor's side, and while he didn't show any signs of cold, the Professor still put a comforting arm on his shoulder.
"We're heading home soon, I guess? Your home, I mean." Phoenix asked. The street lights already had the city bathed in a dim yellow light, and the strain of the day was starting to catch up to him. "It's getting pretty late."
This, evidently, wasn't the case for Professor Layton. One look up at the black night sky set a twinkle to the man's dark eyes, and Phoenix could almost feel him buzz with excitement. "Actually, I have a proposition for you. We'll take a short walk back home and then all get in the car. We're going to the London Eye."
"COR! The London Eye? Really?!" Luke gripped the bill of his hat so tightly it was almost as if he was holding himself down. "I've always wanted to get on it at night!"
"I'm afraid to ask now..." Phoenix pondered, nervously rubbing his chin. "But what's the 'London Eye'?"
Maya gasped out loud, tensing against his arm. "Nick, you don't know?! You plebian! It's-"
The Professor never raised his voice above a shout, or at least it happened so rarely that Phoenix never took notice, but even speaking softly was enough to make Maya quiet down. "Ah-ah-ah. This is a rare opportunity to surprise someone with a spectacle such as this. Not a word to Mr. Wright."
"Aw come on..." Phoenix protested the whole walk home, interjecting into their obviously delighted and purposely digressing conversation about everything but what the London Eye was. "We've had enough curveballs to last us the rest of the month, at least. Give a guy a hint and let me know what we're getting into? Anyone listening? Hello?"
About the time they made it to the Professor's house, though, Phoenix had given up. His complaints were falling on deaf ears, and besides, it was kind of nice to see the joy on Layton's face as he talked about it. After seeing him for so long always serious and grimacing, Phoenix found the raw excitement layered underneath his deep tones soothing. It made the ride out into the streets of London that much nicer. Looking out and seeing the famous buildings, most of which Nick snapped fast pictures of and sent right to Edgeworth, nearly made the drive feel outright magical. In a good way. Not a manipulative, hypnotism induced way.
"Oh, look, there's a carnival!"
"Where, Nick?" Maya checked out her window. She had called shotgun, of course, leaving Phoenix in the back seat with Luke. "I can't see it."
"Over that way! See the ferris wheel in the distance?"
Maya's immediate silence should have been a big clue, especially when the Professor finally parked and ushered the group to walk towards the ferris wheel, which kept getting bigger and closer...
Phoenix stopped at the end of the queue. "The London Eye is the ferris wheel, isn't it?"
"It's, like, the most massive ferris wheel in the world, Nick," Maya said plainly. "Don't treat it like just some carnival ride!"
His mind supplied "I'll treat it like a giant wheel of death," but seeing the smile on Layton's face snapped his mouth shut. He couldn't trample on that enthusiasm with smart-ass. "Uuuh... how should I treat it?"
"With respect and admiration, of course!" said Maya. "And a healthy appreciation for heights!"
"The view from the London Eye at night is extraordinary," the Professor explained. "We might not have the opportunity to do this in the future, so we must take advantage of our free time."
"Not to mention the queue looks rather short," supplied Luke. "Helps to be out of tourist season."
Layton nodded in agreement. "I should be able to get us tickets for a flight with little trouble. I'll get the tickets while you three explore. We shall meet up afterwards."
Luke twiddled his hat. "But where, Professor?"
"That's easy!" Maya grabbed Nick by the ear and tugged down. "We'll meet up at Nick! He's the tallest guy here!"
"I am not-!" No no, for the Professor's sake, stifle it, Nick, he thought to himself. The rest of the thought came out as a bit of a growl, and he rubbed at his tugged ear. "I'll keep an eye out for you, Professor."
As Layton disappeared into a tiny shuffle of tourists, just a tip of a top hat among a crowd, and Luke went off on his Maya-assigned errand for a quick snack before boarding, Nick found his ear tugged again. "Come on, Nick, where did your tongue go?!"
"Agh- it's in my mouth, Maya, what do you want from me?"
"To be yourself!" Maya stomped her foot and puffed out her cheeks, defaulting to "obviously mad" to make her point. "Once you got into the car you got all clammed up and super-polite! It's annoying! What got into you?"
Damn, was he being that obvious or did Maya just know him well? Phoenix tugged at his collar, wicking cool air into his shirt to soothe his sweating neck. "Look, Labyrinthia was one thing, but if the Professor's going to keep us in his house and pay for us to do tourist things, we have to be on our best behavior!"
"Best behavior you belongs in the courtroom!" Maya smiled. "REAL you's gotta get some quips in before the Professor starts thinking you're a eunuch!"
"What."
"Come on, lighten up! Or do I have to give you the Pearlie Treatment?"
"What's the Pearlie Treatme-"
Maya punched him in the gut.
Phoenix had Maya in a mocking headlock and noogie, joking about feeding her to the social worker, before he even noticed Professor Layton was there. He only noticed when he stumbled backwards and fell into hands waiting to catch him, one hand holding a little fan of tickets. "Oh jeez-!"
He threw Maya out of his arms like she'd been lit on fire and turned to the Professor, only to see him smiling his delighted smile with a hint of teeth underneath. "It's good to see the two of you having fun again. I was worried that you were too tired to enjoy the sights."
"Oh..." Of course the Professor had noticed... there went his plan of good behavior. "Yeah... Maya had mentioned that I should try and be a little more-"
"Frisky!" Maya interjected.
"'Frisky' is probably the very worst word you could have picked, Maya. You make me sound like a goat."
"Don't go saying that in front of Mary, or she might try to-"
Phoenix was loud enough to be heard down the street. "THIS IS THE SONG ABOUT DROWNING OUT MAYA, IT'S A SONG I'M MAKING UP SO SHE DOESN'T SCAR MY BRAIN WITH THINGS I DON'T WANT TO HEAR-"
Luke, at some point, had come back with snacks. "Did I miss something?"
"Nothing important to you!" Maya said before anyone could interrupt. "Did you get the chips?"
"Oh yes! Fried fresh!"
"Chips" turned into something like a very late dinner. The Professor ate his with a fork to keep his fingers from getting greasy. Phoenix thought it was a great idea, and kept insisting it was a good idea even after Maya jokingly wiped her greasy hand off on his suit jacket, his one suit jacket that he had because all of their clothes were still at the hotel thank you very much, Maya, he needed to smell like frying oil for the rest of the night. Instead, Maya took her greasy fingers out on Luke's face instead, and once drinks were had and Maya's hands were definitely clean and safe, Phoenix took off the jacket, folded it, and placed it on a bench. It wasn't perfect, but they would simply swing by the hotel and pick up their luggage when they could tomorrow. If his jacket wasn't there when they got off the pod, then so be it. At the very least, Phoenix wouldn't smell of chips.
It was time to fly, and Phoenix was under-informed on a lot of things. He didn't know that the wheel did not stop and that he had to run on with the pod still in motion. He didn't know about the lack of a nice, distracting ride narration. He didn't know that the pod held about 28 people but could only comfortably seat about 8, which he obligingly gave to a pair of expectant mothers and a family with scared small children.
Most of all, though, he didn't know that this was what London looked like at night. It was a forest of tiny lights bringing out both the history old building and the glittering new ones. It was the river coated in yellow while the pod inside was blue with the shine of touchscreens.
It was very overwhelming and his knees were shaking and his head was spinning and it was time to go to the middle and wait out the ride how long was it?
He didn't know the rotation lasted 30 minutes...
Finally, he admitted quietly to Professor Layton from well within the middle of the pod. "I'm terrified of heights."
"Oh dear... my sincerest apologies." Layton lost eye contact with him to gaze for a moment at the floor. "In my excitement, I did not think to ask if such a thing would make you uncomfortable..."
"I should have said something sooner myself, but..." He couldn't help but rub the back of his head, a motion that made his shirt crinkle in his ear. He felt so... undressed without his suit jacket. "You know, being a manly man and not admitting to fears, got all caught up in looking cool for-" you, he bit down quickly. "Luke and Maya."
"That being said, I would like to stand by the window a little longer, and I would enjoy some company."
Phoenix couldn't begrudge him that, but still he had to ask. "Couldn't Luke and Maya keep you company, Professor?"
"I am afraid that would be quite rude at the moment." Layton directed his gaze around Phoenix's high shoulder. "Have a look."
Luke and Maya had taken a perch at the end of the bench and fallen quite asleep, Luke tucked into the crook of her legs as she curled up into the smallest ball she possibly could. Phoenix chuckled to himself and spoke much more quietly. "Kids. Use all their energy at once and then suddenly you have to carry them home."
The Professor's muffled laugh was more of a rumble from deep in his chest. "Quite right. Now, Mr. Wright, if you would please join me at the window."
"Phoenix."
The Professor put a hand to his chin, holding it in contemplation. "Your given name? Are you sure?"
"I'm American! We did kind of go through hell together, Professor, with me you're on a first name basis."
That got him a smile, and Phoenix felt a little lighter inside. The Professor nodded in acknowledgment. "I wish I could extend the same to you-" Phoenix's chest clenched, "But I find it hard to go by my given name even in intimate company. If you like, you may drop my title and simply call me 'Layton'."
Phoenix smiled and rubbed at his neck. "I can do 'Layton'." Oh goodness, he chided himself, tell Layton you meant no innuendo, he didn't mean it, honestly, but would apologizing for it make it an innuendo? He didn't want it to be. He felt like such a teenager. How embarrassing. How old was he, honestly? How old was Layton? Mid 30s? He was terrible at gauging ages and too easily flustered to think, and Layton offering him his hand made it that much worse.
Flustered or not, he took the hand, and Layton walked him over the guardrail and held it tight in his. It wasn't a grip, nothing in Phoenix's hand was crushed or pinched or squeezed. It was simply a confident hand in his, clasping his palm. Phoenix took a long breath and looked out into the night, taking in the lights again and getting lost in London's beauty. He mistakenly looked down and started to shudder all over again...
Layton squeezed his hand, steadying him. His head wasn't floating out in space, it was here on a solid floor with people.
Phoenix looked to the professor and saw him still looking out, taking in the sight, his eyes far away but pleased. He wondered where his mind was. Phoenix, for what it was worth, was just happy to see electricity at this point. Maybe Layton had gotten homesick? Maybe...
Maybe he could just ask. "Can you see your house from here?"
Layton's other hand came up to stifle a laugh, and Phoenix's heart roared in his chest.
Then Layton sincerely scanned the city and pointed to one particular cluster of lights that Phoenix couldn't tell apart from any of the other ones. "No, but I do see Gressenheller University."
"Oh. Alma matter?"
"Place of employment."
"Oh! Neat." Well, he'd broken the ice, he thought, time to ask a serious question. "Are you happy to be home?"
"Immeasurably."
"I'm... well, I am, but I'm not. Home, yet. You get it." Phoenix flexed his fingers, reflexively wanting to twine his fingers with Layton but instead putting them back where they were previously. "You didn't get your memories replaced like Maya and I did, so maybe you don't know how this felt, but for a little while there, my memories of home and my memories of Labyrinthia being sealed off mixed together... and I was kind of terrified I'd never make it back again."
London sat below them, listening.
"I'm happy you never felt that way," Phoenix admitted. "If you didn't, that is, if you did, I sympathize..."
Layton's hand adjusted- oh no their palms were sweaty was that his fault oh goodness- and hooked his pointer fingers just a little higher against Phoenix's pinky.
Was this still being a gentleman? Phoenix looked to Layton again, but his eyes were still on the city, his expression blank.
Phoenix gave Layton's hand a firm squeeze, getting its owners attention. "Ah, I didn't mean to bring the mood down, I'm sorry. The good news is we're back now, and we got out of there thanks to you and your sharp thinking. Good job, Profe- Layton! Sorry. Habit. Layton."
Phoenix brought the hand to his chest in a small thump of a hug, pulling Layton closer a step- he held onto his hat- and finally getting the shorter man to smile again.
"Thank you," Layton said quietly, "My dear friend."