"So, how do you play?" The assistant asked once they had both sat down.

"Well, it's very much like a typical exchange of puzzles, with an…added gimmick. If the solver answers to the puzzle correctly, then the presenter of the puzzle must remove an article of clothing, but if the solver is incorrect, then the solver must remove an article of clothing." Vivian swallowed hard, feeling her face heating up at the prospect, but she felt relieved knowing she wasn't the only one blushing.

"Now, before we begin, I must ask again." The professor turned to his assistant, fixing her with his gaze. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes." She responded with next to no hesitation. "I wouldn't have asked otherwise."

"Very well." Professor Layton straightened his hat and cleared his throat. "Don't be afraid to say if you want to stop. Now then, ladies first."
"All right then." Vivian put a finger to her chin and closed her eyes in thought. I just need to treat this like a regular exchange of puzzles on any other day. That's the only way I can think to quell my nervousness. "Ah! I've got one!" She exclaimed, catching her fist in her hand, "When posed a question about her date of birth, a girl responds like so: 'The day after tomorrow, I turn 22, but I was still 19 on New Year's Day last year.' When is the girl's birthday?"

After a moment of thought, the professor's answer was clear, concise, and direct. "January 2nd."

"That's correct!" A second of contented silence sat between the two for a moment, before the girl remembered the gimmick of the game. "Right, I have to, uhm…" With almost no effort, she reached down and inserted her finger into the space between her heel and her shoe in order to remove it. The first loss of clothing belonged to Vivian. She looked back up at the professor with a smile, intending to ease his discomfort. Layton smiled back, but she could see it was difficult for him to hide his discomfort.

The game continued until all "safe" clothing was removed, which left the professor with four articles of clothing, and Vivian with two, not including their undergarments. Professor Layton seemed nonplussed, as he genuinely enjoyed spending time exchanging puzzles with his assistant, or any puzzle buff, for that matter, and yet Vivian felt he was erecting a façade of excitement about the puzzles in the hopes that she would grow bored; however, Vivian had been waiting too long for a chance like this.

"There is a sealed beaker which holds a single germ. After one minute, that germ splits in two. One minute after that, the two germs split once more, creating a total of four germs. If we were to continue at this rate, a single germ could multiply to fill the entire beaker in exactly one hour. Knowing this fact, how long, in minutes, would it take to fill the container if you had started with two germs?" The professor presented. Vivian had a good grasp on solving puzzles, but Professor Layton would always be the best. She had a decent strategy in mind for most problems: always think outside the box, as the puzzle's explanation will most often contain a loophole that is the answer itself or the method for finding it. It would be difficult to explain the exact procedure to another person, but consider the puzzle where a man needs to plug up holes in order to block the smell of garlic. The garlic emanates from three different holes, and the man only has two corks. In order to completely block the smell, where do the corks go? In his nose.

"It would take 59 minutes. You only move one step ahead in the germ making process you started with."

"Correct." At this point, Professor Layton seemed to realize that Vivian was still interested in this crazy puzzle-solving game, and all their modest clothing had been removed already, leaving both adults barefoot. Hesitating slightly, the professor began to remove his coat. After he had removed his coat and hung it neatly in the closet nearby, he had a spot of inspiration that perhaps if he tried losing on purpose, his assistant would then lose interest, as he wouldn't be playing along.

"I believe it is your turn to present, Vivian." The girl seemed to have been lost in thought for a moment before she turned her somewhat dazed eyes back to the professor.

"Huh…? Oh, right! Let's see…" Thinking for a moment, Vivian decided to throw out a rather simple, yet decisive, puzzle. "A tennis ball has fallen down into a hole. This hole is very deep and has a few sharp bends along its path, making the ball impossible to retrieve by hand. And worse still, the ground around the hole is made of concrete, so the ball can't be dug out of the hole. However, you have something that's extremely commonplace with you that you can use to get the ball out. What is that something?"

"Hmmm…Would a length of rope with a glue-like substance on the end suffice?" At this, Vivian's eyebrows shot up. She had picked a simple puzzle. Sure, even seasoned puzzle veterans could be wrong sometimes, but that puzzle was also decisive, in that once one knows the answer to the puzzle, they never forget it because of how creatively one has to think in order to arrive at the answer, much like with the smell-and-cork problem she would never forget. To this puzzle in particular, the commonplace object is water, which would be used to fill up the hole, and the tennis ball would float to the top. With the professor's answer, Vivian knew.

Emmy had mentioned to Vivian once that he had answered puzzles wrong to get out of a game they were playing one-on-one, and the pink-haired girl had never believed that the professor would ever be a spoilsport in a game concerning puzzles, but now she knew exactly what game Emmy was talking about, and she knew exactly how to show her determination.

"That's incorrect, Professor." Vivian cast her eyes down to the couch cushions, trying her best to feign confusion. She darted her eyes up to see he was now removing his top hat, unveiling his neat, yet somewhat scruffy, head of chestnut hair. After several years of spending day after day with the professor, Vivian had grown accustomed to seeing his head adorned by the trademark headgear, so seeing him without it was a bit jarring to her. She knew she would grow used to this side of Layton as well, as she had grown used to the idea of him wearing a hat inside. "I believe you're presenting next?"

"Indeed." The professor cleared his throat, Vivian decided that this was something like a nervous habit he had, and he began to speak, "The first letter of the alphabet is A, which is followed by B. I ask you to name the last letter of the alphabet; however, that letter is not Z."

Much like her tennis-ball-in-a-hole puzzle, this one also had a simple, unforgettable answer; however, Vivian was not about to give up so easily. Whether they both lost until they lost all their clothes, or they went back to the original way of playing and tried to win clothes off each other, she wouldn't stop until they were in a situation where no inhibitions would be held. At least, she would allow the professor to know about her lack of inhibitions when it came to him.

With a cheeky smirk, Vivian responded, "Are you sure the last letter of the alphabet isn't Z?"

The professor blinked before he replied near robotically, "The last letter is not Z."

Vivian made an expression as though she was thinking really hard about the puzzle, until she shook her head and said, "No, I'm pretty sure the last letter of the alphabet is Z. That's my final answer." She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, as if to say she was completely immobile on the subject.

With a defeated sigh, the professor stated, "I'm sorry, but that is incorrect. The answer to that puzzle is T." Professor Layton scratched his head and looked to the side, wondering why it was so difficult to get these ladies to lose interest in this ridiculous game. Upon looking back at his assistant, the professor immediately turned away in embarrassment, as she had just finished unbuttoning the last button on her blouse and was now removing the shirt, revealing her ample breasts and supple skin. She still wore a bra, but that did not help much in the grand scheme of things.

"Professor, it's my turn." Vivian spoke up, fidgeting slightly.

"Very well. I'm listening."

"How do I know for sure if you won't even look me in the eye?"

The professor gulped nervously before turning his full attention to the girl, his eyes darting down for a millisecond before he met her eyes, refusing to break contact. Vivian had placed a splayed hand across her collarbone which did help in drawing Layton's attention away from her chest, but only a bit. After what seemed like an hour, she presented her next puzzle.

"Howard and William are hired by a farmer to sow flower seeds. They've been assigned a twenty-acre plot of land and split it in half so they can each work on their own. Howard starts from the north and William starts from the south. Howard can plow the land at a rate of thirty minutes per acre. William takes an hour to plow, but sows seeds at quadruple the speed Howard does. If sowing seeds on the twenty-acre plot pays $200, how much of that money should go to Howard?"

"The twenty-acre plot is divided in half at the beginning, so, naturally, the same should be done with the pay. Howard will receive $100." The professor responded, a light blush still coating his face.

"That's right." Before Layton could protest, Vivian stood up and unbuttoned the two buttons along the side of her shin-length skirt, allowing the cloth to drop to the floor. The professor's eyes widened as even more heat rose in his cheeks as he looked Vivian up and down. Realizing just what they were doing, Vivian shyly moved her a hand to cover her lower region as her other stayed splayed above her chest, while he quickly looked away and tightly crossed his legs, in order to hide…something, Vivian couldn't tell.

The girl meekly sat back down, while Professor Layton sipped at his tea, hoping the drink would give him something else to focus on while he thought of another puzzle. Keeping his eyes closed until he had a brain-teaser in mind, the professor turned back to Vivian, keeping his eyes locked on her face as he dished out the next puzzle.

"Mice are notorious for their ability to multiply at breakneck speeds. The type of mouse a certain pet shop sells gives birth once a month, birthing seven infants each time. Baby mice mature and can give birth two months after they are born. You picked up one of these baby mice at the pet shop and brought it home the day after it was born. In one year, how many mice will you have?"
The assistant didn't even have to think for the solution to this puzzle. "You still have one mouse after a year. You need two mice of opposite gender in order for any sort of reproduction to occur!" She answered matter-of-factly.

"C-correct." The professor was taken aback by how gung-ho his assistant still was about the game, as he felt almost completely mentally exhausted, as his mind felt utterly foggy.

"Um, Professor?" Vivian asked. Layton jumped slightly at the question, wondering what she wanted to ask about, when she pointed toward her chest, indicating that he needed to remove an article of clothing. The professor realized this and began to remove his orange jumper, leaving only his pants and underwear left on him. Everything seemed to grow blurry as Professor Layton tried to process the situation Vivian had placed him in, his mind trying to flicker to any other thoughts besides the sense of growing heat beneath his crossed legs. He had no shirt, and she was stripped to her undergarments. The professor was vaguely aware of his assistant blushing profusely as she turned away slightly, taking a deep breath in order to calm her nerves.

Sneaking a glance or two at the woman next to him, Layton realized just how well-endowed she was. Vivian's skin was blemish-free and her eyes shined brighter than any bright blue sky. Her body seemed to curve in all the right places without making her feminine features too overbearing, but still caught the wandering eyes of many a man in the towns and cities they had ventured to. She wasn't just beautiful appearance-wise, though: she was always there to be a shoulder to cry on, an emotional anchor, always providing a gentle smile or a warm embrace to those she knew were suffering.

…

When Claire had faded away, Vivian had cried too, not just because she had lost a very dear friend to her, but also because she knew it hurt Professor Layton even more. On one of the days before they had said farewell to Luke, while Layton was working at his desk, trying to re-immerse himself in his teachings, and yet still finding it difficult to smile, Vivian had come up from behind his chair and embraced him tightly.

"Vivian, what-"

"Professor, I-I want you to know…" Her head rested on his shoulder, her voice receding into an almost-whisper, "I-I'll always be here for you. No matter what."

"W-what are you…?"

"I know that when she left, it hurt you so much. It hurt me too…" Professor Layton could hear her voice quiver with emotion, as she tried in vain to steady her breathing before she could break out into sobs. "But," She moved to face the professor, standing next to him as a single tear rolled down her cheek. The girl looked him in the eyes with a sentimental smile on her face, "We have to live. She would want us to keep living our lives, and she would want us to be happy." With this, she took his closest hand and clasped it gently with both of hers.

"So, let's keep on living. Together."
The conviction in her eyes, the kindness in her voice, and the warmth of her heart all culminated to cause tears to well up in the Professor's eyes again. Vivian leaned over and took the Professor in her arms, allowing him to cry into her shoulder. The sobs were restrained, as he tried to grit his teeth to hold back the tears. His assistant spoke again.

"Please, don't hold back." The professor blinked in confusion as she continued, "It hurts more if you keep emotions like this bottled inside. So, don't hold the tears in. I don't want you to hurt." A small, shaky chuckle was heard to his side, and then she said, "I mean, a bodyguard is supposed to help you through hurtful situations, right? So, that's what I'm going to do."

The dam broke. The room was devoid of sound save for the sobbing of the Professor, and sometimes one or two from his assistant.

…

Vivian was always there, through thick and thin. She always had been, ever since a few weeks after the original time machine-accident, and she never failed in keeping up the spirits of those around her. Vivian was beautiful in body and mind, and how the Professor had not noticed before was beyond him. And as he was pondering this-

"Professor? Are you in there?" The professor was dragged swiftly out of his thoughts to see that Vivian was bent over, standing in front of him, her face mere centimeters away from his. Layton jumped back in surprise, causing Vivian to flinch back in shock from the sudden reaction.

"Ah, quite sorry, my dear. I was just lost in thought for a moment." The girl cocked her head to the side in confusion as she sat back down.

"So, do you have your answer, then?" She asked.

"Answer?"

"To the puzzle. Remember?"

To be perfectly honest, the professor hadn't heard a word of what his assistant had said in the past few minutes, he had been so deep in thought. He even momentarily forgot the conditions of the game, but he quickly remembered them, and recognized that the two of them only had two articles of clothing left each. Not wanting to force the girl to strip down completely, Professor Layton decided that he would throw the game in order to at least keep a little semblance of being a gentleman in a situation that was far from befitting for a gentleman.

"I apologize, Vivian, but I don't believe I know the answer to that one."
"Are you sure, Professor? I could repeat the puzzle if you want…?"
"No, no, I heard you clearly the first time. I fear this puzzle is my loss."

"Ah…I see." She said, casting down her eyes. With a reassuring nod to himself, Professor Layton stood up to remove his trousers, and that's when he finally remembered.

He was as erect as a post. Crossing his legs seemed to do the trick in hiding the obvious sign of arousal, but the professor hadn't realized that once he stood up, that it would be on full view for the lady sitting beside him. As he expected, Vivian was staring at his erection in shock, as though it had magically appeared out of nowhere. Heat began to rise quickly to Layton's face as he tried fervidly to escape this embarrassing situation.

"P-pardon me, Vivian, I must excuse myself." The professor made to stride over to the washroom, but all he saw was a quick flash of bright pink before he bumped into Vivian, standing right in front of him. From what he could notice amidst his cesspool of thoughts rushing through his head, her breathing had grown labored and her face had heated up even more. Her eyes kept flicking from Layton's face to his groin region and back up again.

"I-I-" The girl seemed to have difficulty speaking.

"Vivian, i-it's alright, just let-" The professor tried to excuse himself again, but this time he was stopped by Vivian putting her hands on his shoulders and pushing down firmly, forcing him to sit back down on the couch. With no warning, Vivian knelt on the floor in front of the Professor, her face a miniscule distance from his crotch. Professor Layton's eyes widened as he felt her fingers curl under the waistband of his pants and briefs, knowing what she was planning on doing, but still wondering what would inspire her to do something so…lewd.

"V-Vivian, wait!" He called out, more panicked than he had intended. The girl tightened her grip on his clothes before she looked up at him. She was biting her lip and her once bright blue eyes were clouded over with a fog of lust. The professor gulped, trying to sift through his thoughts for the right words to say. "I…haven't lost my briefs yet, I don't believe…So maybe we should…"

"I'll…even the odds." Vivian murmured, leaning back on her haunches. Thinking they were finished, Layton made to stand up, but she placed her hands on his thighs, as if to say, "We're not done yet." Reaching behind her back, an almost inaudible clicking sound was heard from behind her. Retracting her arms, she moved her hands up to pull down the straps of her bra, revealing the full extent of her breasts. She looked up expectantly, relishing in the fact that the professor's breathing had deepened slightly as he gazed upon her half-naked body. Realizing what he was doing, Professor Layton brought a hand to his mouth and looked away shamefully.

"I want to make you feel good, Professor…" Vivian purred, a lustful smile turning up her lips. Without further delay, she returned her hands to his remaining articles of clothing and swiftly yanked them down his legs to his ankles, allowing his erect member to free itself.

The girl found herself unable to wait any longer, as she shot her hand out to grasp the professor. At this, he gasped harshly, using his hand to prevent anymore ungentlemanly sounds from escaping. Vivian took notice of this, and began to work his prick, moving her hand up and down his length. She moved her other hand to his exposed thigh, massaging the inside of his leg. Professor Layton was clearly pushing himself to stay quiet, and so, finally, his assistant spoke up again.

"I want to hear you, Professor…" Vivian coaxed, running her thumb over the tip of his dick. She stopped her ministrations for a moment before making eye contact with him, her tone serious. "It's not good to keep your emotions tucked away like this. So…let me hear you…please." With this, Vivian placed her lips on his manhood, giving it a small peck, before engulfing it in her mouth. The professor let out a gasp, followed by a moan, as his body shuddered under his assistant's warm cavern. Smirking inwardly, Vivian closed her eyes and focused all of her attention on pleasing him, moving her mouth up and down his prick. She had started the lip service with both of her hands on the Professor's thighs, pinning him to the seat, but as she continued her blowjob, she moved her hands to touch wherever she could, trying to feel every inch of him under her. The girl ran her hands over his chest, rolling his nipples under her thumbs, which, much to her delight, caused him to inhale sharply. She moved her hands to his back and slowly let them drift to his ass, massaging the firm flesh with her fingertips. Vivian decided upon the most pleasurable setup after gauging her Professor's reactions, moving one of her hands from his rear to his balls, fondling them as she continued her mouth movements. Occasionally removing her mouth to trail her tongue along his length, pleasure was at the forefront of her mind. She knew she had loved Professor Layton for a long time, but actually feeling him and tasting him was causing any thought she had to be lost in an unstoppable torrent of lust and affection. Vivian could tell he was enjoying this too, with his breathing becoming labored and shuddering, his fingers digging harshly into the cushions beneath him. He was losing his composure quickly, as the girl felt his fingers beginning to tangle themselves in her long pink locks, tightening and loosening as she bobbed up and down his length. Even still, his assistant could not deduce the reason why he was still letting such an ungentlemanly event occur. Is he just lost in this moment of arousal or does he…Does he actually-

"V-Vivian, I-I can't-" She was broken out of her thoughts at the professor's warning. Professor Layton tried to separate himself from her mouth, loosening his grip on her hair as he tried to shift. Before he could fully pull out of her, Vivian placed both of her hands on his thighs again, locking him in place. She opened her eyes and gazed up at his face, watching his face contort in ecstasy as he seemed to lose what little control he had left.

"V-Vivian…!" The Professor cried out, his voice a swift crescendo as he suddenly pulled Vivian's head down, releasing inside her mouth. The girl didn't mind as she heartily gulped his load down, finding the salty taste a bit overbearing, but disregarding it as she knew that Layton was the donor.

After she had swallowed every last drop, Vivian removed her mouth from his softening member. She looked up to see the Professor was trying to regain his composure, eyes closed as he attempted to steady his breathing.

"I-I'm sorry about that. I-I lost myself for a moment." The Professor apologized. His last-minute forcefulness was a touch out of character, but Vivian found she could easily forgive him due to his unfamiliarity with the act. And…

"It's okay." His assistant murmured, placing her hands on either side of the professor, pushing herself up so she was at eye-level with him, "I…rather liked it." She said, looking away shyly, blushing.

"Vivian…You…" Layton was still shell-shocked by her sudden change in attitude regarding the predicament they had both inserted themselves into, but all of these crazy happenings goaded the normally shy Professor into being a bit bolder, making him willing to take a chance.

Professor Layton brought a hand up to his assistant's face, brushing his thumb across her cheekbone. She looked up, startled by the sudden contact. Without giving her a moment to properly react, or for himself to properly think through what he was about to do, the Professor leaned forward, bringing his lips to hers. Vivian's eyes widened in shock as she tried to process what was happening.
He was kissing her.

He was kissing her.

He was kissing her!

The professor's eyes were closed as he gently pressed their lips together, wanting to express what he was feeling, but still refusing to force her either way. Vivian felt tears form in the corners of her eyes as she shut them and kissed him back fervidly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to bring herself closer to him. Feeling bold, she opened her mouth and ran her tongue along his lower lip, enjoying how he shivered slightly underneath her. He parted his lips, allowing her to explore his mouth. Vivian tried to goad her partner into participating and not just letting her do whatever she wanted by playing with his tongue, swirling her own around his, feeling him moan into the kiss. Complying, Layton reached out to explore her mouth, noticing the taste of himself on her lips. Trying to get closer, Vivian moved to straddle the professor, unknowingly bringing her crotch into contact with his dick. The two moaned as they felt the contact of the other, the girl moving slightly so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

"P-Professor…I-I just…" She gasped, closing her eyes and trying to catch her breath.

"Vivian…Would you want to…Rather, do you…want to…" The professor seemed to have difficulty speaking. His assistant opened her eyes and sat up, looking into his eyes. Professor Layton bit his lip and looked away, unable to finish his sentence, and yet knowing full well what he was implying.

The girl thought for a moment. She didn't want to force him to go further if he didn't want to; however, he was putting the offer out on the table…

Finally coming to a decision, Vivian wrapped her arms around her love's body and hugged him gently.

"If…If you really want to, Professor…" The girl gulped and sighed, feeling the professor's arms rise up and embrace her back. She gave a small shudder under his warm touch, "I-I would like it. I would like it a lot." Her muscles tensed as she took in a sharp breath. "P-please…Professor, I just…Please, take me Professor…I want you to take me!" She cried out, refusing to deny what she wanted any longer.

Professor Layton was surprised by how forward she was being, but tightened his grip slightly as he said, "All right. Shall we…relocate then?"

"I-I'd like that." Vivian responded embarrassedly.