After a long time, here I am again! And again, English is not my first language, so sorry for the grammar errors (I'll correct them if you tell me). Thanks to James Birdsong for the review and to all the people who read this! =)
Cooling: the process of becoming cooler; a falling temperature.
The Professor pushed Luke a little more up his back and tightened Flora's hand to encourage her to walk faster. The weather that night was cold and Layton's teeth didn't stop chattering. A shiver ran up his spine.
"Are you ok, Professor?" asked Flora, feeling Layton shivering.
"Yes, Flora. Don't worry about me" Layton was more worried about his apprentice, shivering and with a hold of iron in the neck of his Professor while he carried the kid on his back.
Their last adventure was a bit hectic: running trough all London, when they thought they've caught the criminal an unfortunate accident had Luke pushed off a bridge and onto the wild Thames -on a very rainy day. Layton had jumped to catch him, knowing that the kid didn't have enough strength to swim to shore.
Now it had stopped raining, but the air was cold and whipped at the Professor and Luke's clothes, still wet from their 'trip' to the river.
"Come on, Professor. We're here!" exclaimed Flora, pulling Layton's hand towards the house.
"F-F-Finally" murmured Luke between his own chattering teeth. Layton laughed a bit and searched in his pockets for the key with one hand -pushing Luke up his back again with the other. When he tried to open the door, his hand was trembling so much because of the cold that he couldn't find the keyhole and Flora took the key from him.
"Let me, Professor"
"Th-thank you, Flora" but by then the girl was in the house and running to the dinning room with the intention of start the fireplace. Layton closed the door with one foot and went upstairs.
"Come on, Luke" murmured Layton to his apprentice, once in the bathroom, encouraging him to release his neck so he could put the boy in the floor "You need to take those wet clothes off, and take a hot bath, at least..."
Luke did as the Professor said, and started to take his shoes off while Layton opened the hot water tap.
"Are you all right, my boy?" asked Layton, helping his apprentice with the lace of his shoes.
"Yes, P-Professor. Only my f-fingers are a bit clumsy from the c-cold" a bit late, Layton discovered that his fingers also were trembling and clumsy, but at the end managed to take Luke's shoes off. When the boy didn't move, Layton looked up to see that he was falling asleep "Luke? Do not sleep now, my boy."
"I wasn't sleeping!" exclaimed Luke "I was r-resting my eyes a little."
Layton laughed quietly "Go take that bath, and then we will rest for the night"
Leaving the bathroom, the Professor took some fresh clothes for Luke and himself, leaving the former on the bathroom door. Then he walked along the corridor (hearing Flora in the kitchen, and smelling some delicious tea) until the second bathroom of the house.
Once he started feeling his hands and toes again, Layton stepped out of the bathroom wearing three or more layers of clothes and made his way towards the dinning room, where he found Luke and Flora in front of the fireplace with a blanket draped around them, sipping tea.
"Professor! Come here with us!" said Luke, without stuttering and lifting the blanket "There is plenty of space for the three of us, and Flora have made a delicious tea!"
"Really, it's the same tea as always, Luke..."
"I am sure it has something new, are you sure you didn't put something without noticing?"
"Yes, of course! I did it the same as always and..."
"Come on, come on, there is no need to discuss about the tea" said Layton, seating between the two "Also, if it is so good you have to thank Flora: it is not a gentleman's way not to do so."
"Hum!... Thank you, Flora" said Luke into his cup.
A while later, Luke and Flora were asleep on either side of the Professor and he was sipping from his cup of tea contemplating the flames: that was the way that Layton stopped shivering and felt the warmth of home.