Disclaimer: I don't own Professor Layton nor Rosa or Luke Triton since they both belong to Level-5 games and nobody else, in fact I own nobody of the professor layton franchise!
Down goes the apprentice.
Luke groaned as he stirred from the dark depths of his heavy slumber.
He felt a faint warmth embrace him as he slowly came to and he realised that he could breathe much easier than he had been for the past while. That and he felt a lot more energised than before so he could do way much more than just lay there flat and lifeless to the rest of the world.
Then he remembered the kidnapping, the illness that had sucked him into this horrible sleep and everything else that had occurred for these passed few days or so. What had happened to the professor!? Was he okay!?
He opened his eyes and discovered that not only was he back in bed but he also was dimly aware of the faint beeping of a heart monitor that didn't really sound in his ears until just now and he looked around so he could get a good grasp of the situation at hand. He noticed that he was no longer in the house nor in the Layton mobile, but he was in a room that had less colour in it than an unpainted rainbow.
The walls were so bland and boring that Luke wished that they would change colour so he could awake to nicer environment.
He also found a neat stack of gift-wrapped boxes at his feet and his tired childish eyes lit up like light bulbs upon seeing them. He loved presents, which child didn't? Or which person didn't, more like?
But then his eyes wandered to his right and he turned his head but he was beyond surprised to discover that the professor was sitting beside him with his head down as he snored louder than a dragon puffing smoke. The professor slept while sitting up in a seat yet his tired rectangular face was darkened against the bright light of the cubicle of what Luke assumed was the hospital.
It wasn't that hard the figure out. The heart monitor could only belong to a hospital and the fact that the walls and ceilings were more bland than watery cornflakes with the absence of flavour was another dead give away.
Luke reached towards the professor, minding the tubes running between him and another machine that was clearly meant to pump medicine into his body and he lightly grabbed the gentleman's shoulder before giving it a gentle and weak set of curious pats that abruptly aroused professor Layton from his deep sleep and within moments, Luke's eyes meeting those dark orbs of his mentor's.
The professor smiled as his whole demeanour flooded with relief "Luke, I'm so glad you are alright!"
The professor slowly enveloped his apprentice in for a huge embrace that was so hard it made the poor boy splutter and gag from how tight the hold was. Luke struggled and tried to make the professor release him but it was easier said then done.
The professor eventually released Luke when he realised that he was inadvertently suffocating his apprentice and allowed the young boy to sit back in order to lay in bed recumbent and to try and recover from the sudden tight squeeze he had just received.
Luke reached slowly to his bedside table so he could retrieve his cap but found he could not reach it. He was still too tired for doing much at the moment, having just woke up.
Luckily the professor understood, lent his young ward a helping hand and grabbed Luke's hat for him before plopping it on top of the boy's head where it dropped heavily much like a dewdrop dropping into a river and rippling against the gentle surface of crystal clear water. The two gentleman shared a quite long silence that lasted for a limited time before the young man recovering asked quietly, his voice surprisingly faint "...What happened to me, professor?".
Luke lain his head down on his pillow as he grown tired again, his youthful eyes heavy from exhaustion as they lidded over halfway.
The professor sighed and cuffed his hands together as he tried to contemplate on exactly what to tell the boy. Honestly it came as no surprise that his apprentice couldn't recall a thing from the experience from before, he had been only half awake throughout most of it after all so of course his recollection of the experience would be mostly half-baked and such.
The gentleman of archeology laid his hand down on Luke's smaller one and he forced a smile to his lips as he tried to be as gentle as possible as his charge had been through quite the scare...as he had.
"Luke, my boy," He spoke softly through a strained voice "you had a bad case of Pneumonia and you had been forced into a temporary coma until your lungs got better." He swallowed, licking his lips as he tried not to cry then and there from how horrid the past few days had haunted him.
Luke seemed very confused.
The professor seemed upset and relieved at the same time. He didn't know what pneumonia was but it didn't sound good, and he could detect a subtle emotion in his mentor's voice as he noticed a few spirals of said emotion swirling and manifesting themselves into those black eyes he would usually look into when he sought out any sort of common knowledge, especially on puzzles and mysteries he could not really solve.
He tilted his head to one side with his face twisted in mere confusion as he frowned.
"...What's pneumonia, professor?" He asked faintly as he heaved a sigh of exhaustion.
The professor sighed. He should have known that this question would come up, what could he tell the boy what the illness is without making him worry? He took some deep breaths to try and ease himself into telling Luke this even though it was tricky telling someone that they could have died because of said ailment.
He hung his head low and closed his eyes before opening them again as he explained "Well, m-my boy...pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs and it affects these little air sacks in the lungs called "alveoli" and...and..." he choked on his own saliva and gave a big cough before he found himself trembling out of pure fear of what could have happened to the poor boy.
He wanted to just curl up in shame of what had happened to his apprentice. He may not have openly acknowledged Luke as his apprentice and at first he didn't correct Luke just because he didn't want to upset the boy with anything insensitive or anything but professor Layton eventually felt comfortable with the boy calling himself his apprentice and he actually mentally labelled him as "best student" in his own mind.
The professor held an arm out to pull Luke in for a hug to which a very puzzled Luke had decided to concede with for the sake of his top hat-wearing mentor as he felt himself suddenly rubbing his tears stained face against the professor's tangerine shirt. He didn't know why he was crying but he could sense a heavy amount of relief in the sobs the professor actually choked out as he wrapped his hands warmly around his apprentice.
However Luke pulled his face away from the professor's shirt and looked up at his rectangular yet tear stained face with a small smile.
Luke sat on the professor's lap for a moment until he reached upwards, wobbling unsteadily as he stood up on his knees, and he wiped a few stray tears from the professor's cheek as he gave a kind smile that assured the gentleman that everything would be fine. The two exchanged smiles for a minute until Luke gave an understanding nod and he gave the bravest look he could as he adjusted his cap so it would even be brimming with confidence.
"Don't worry about me professor" Luke smiled weakly as damp sweat beads trickled down his face "...I'll be f-fine and when I'm out of here, I will work harder than ever. I-I guarantee it."
The professor chuckled through his tears. He knew he shouldn't be crying, not in front of Luke, but he was just relieved. He never would have admitted it but he saw himself as sort of a father figure towards the boy and he trusted him with everything and anything.
This brave little child would make a splendid gentleman one day, he never doubted that for a single solitary second.
Professor Hershel Layton tipped his top hat to the boy who was clearly much better but he had to make sure since he could see that Luke was still a little bit sick but he was clearly much more ready to take on the world than before. He cradled Luke on his lap and held him as he slowly lain him back in the hospital bassinet but was very careful of his wires, tubes and such as he put him back into bed -tucking him in dotingly- and patted his hand gingerly.
"How do you feel, my boy?" He asked, hoping to change the subject.
Luke gave a lazy shrug as he sighed tiredly and he admitted "...I'm tired."
The professor gave a shake of the head. It wasn't surprising to hear that from his stubborn young charge, not at all. He was happy that Luke now had regained enough energy to speak at least and move a bit more while in bed as he was still recovering from that major scare his young body had days beforehand.
He said with his voice sincere "I'm not surprised. You had been through a lot after all."
"Did I nearly die, professor?"
This question was actually sudden. The professor would have had a heart attack had it not been for the calming atmosphere that brewed around them both. He simply gave a surprised gasp and he stared directly into Luke's bright blue eyes that matched his cap in every way. He gave a simple bow of the head as he grasped the child's hand inside his as if it were his lifeline and he replied hesitantly.
"Indeed, you hang on by a thread but..." He smiled down at the young sick boy in the bed and stroked his head, toying with his hair "even when you are ill, nothing can stop the greatest puzzle-solving duo ever of Professor Hershel Layton and his trusted apprentice: Luke Triton!"
He spoke through a playful growl as he uncharacteristically gave Luke the gentlest noogie ever yet the boy appeared to have been enjoying this boisterous yet simple play session between a boy and his mentor. Luke weakly laughed and tried to escape the arm lock the professor had sandwiched him inside but managed to slowly wiggle away as the professor had released him just because he didn't want to tire Luke out any further.
Luke gently threaded his arms around Professor Layton's much bigger one. He smiled warmly and nuzzled the brown sleeved arm, much to the professor's shock, as he began to close his eyes to sleep once more with a soft smile on his lips and he rubbed his chubby cheek affectionately against the gentle velvet sleeve that tickled his flushed cheek.
"...Thank you for caring for me, Professor Layton."
The professor smiled softly in return and didn't dare make an attempt to remove his apprentice.
Admittedly this hug was a little cliché and made him feel an ounce of discomfort but there was no way he had the heart to shove him aside. It was also enough to warm his weakened heart somehow. He slowly slipped Luke's hat off his small head, exposing a headful of unkept platinum blonde hair and he ran a slick palm through the spiky hair of the young man and he felt his fingertips run along his scalp as he stroked him softly to lull him to sleep.
Professor Layton gave a small exhale as he smiled softly down at the boy and he watched Luke fall asleep for the umpteenth time.
But this time he was fine with the knowledge that his apprentice would be fine. Yes, the boy's parents were furious and were currently on a flight back home, but at least they knew he would be fine now too. Luke was going to be fine now and he was going to always be fine and pull through thick and thin since he had something better than all the riches any child would most likely get bored with after awhile:
A family who loved him, and that included the professor.
"...You are very welcome, Luke."
A/N: That's the end of Down goes the apprentice!
Yay, Luke's fine now! He's still a bit sick but at least he will be alright now. Hmmm I don't know when this would be but if I had to make a guess I suppose it would be just before "The curious village" and I hope you all review this and my other stories.
I would see Luke and the professor as a father/son pair. I do NOT ship them since that is just wrong, in my opinion.
I like seeing a nice moment between the professor and his apprentice although I think its sad when they said goodbye to each other in "Lost future" and I think the professor is somewhat a hypocrite since he tells Luke a gentleman never cries in public when HE cried in public...and I'm sure I saw tears in the corners of the professor's eyes after he said that.
Not judging him by it, though, it was sad to see Luke go.
Anyways I hope you enjoyed this and I shall write more fanfic's for you guys!
Thanks!
-Chloemcg