Rawr :3
Good luck catching that cupboard Starstar, and it's nice to see you again AyasumiMamera :)
Thanks to the rest of you who reviewed too, I'd do all of them again but I'm kind of in a hurry because dinner's almost ready :L
Anyhoo, I think a lot of you Layton lovers will like this chapter, as the Professor himself is back :D
Oh, and I passed 90 reviews the other day, no biggie ;) *cries inside at how awesome you lot are and this is and stuff*
Stay groovy guys, and keep on reading and reviewing! ~nellen :) xx

"Clive, honestly, you can go back to bed, I don't mind if you're not well," Flora sighed for the fifth time that morning. She'd only managed to nab about six hours of sleep in the end, but still looked a hell of a lot better than him. He'd had considerably less sleep than her that night, and it was most definitely showing.
"No, I kind of want to see the Professor, besides, I'm fine," a brisk smile flashed across his tired face, rummaging through the cupboards in search of something for his head.
"You're not."
"I am," he muttered, popping a paracetamol from it's packet and sliding the box back into the cabinet, "you never believe me."
Flora gulped, suddenly remembering the conversation of the previous night. Cruel as it was, she was kind of praying that he'd forget it. The bit about Mark at least.
"Why'd you get so nervous all of a sudden? Don't worry, I'm sure everything be fine," he planted a quick kiss on her forehead, in an attempt to be comforting, "I'll be on my best behaviour and everything. The professor liked me anyways, I'm sure he can overlook a minor prison sentence to talk to his old friend 'big Luke'."

He remembered, of course he did, he remembered every single word. But as long as Flora didn't say anything, he supposed he wouldn't. It was her business after all, right?

"Minor prison sentence? Oh sure, he can definitely ignore that," she giggled, considerably cheerier now she thought he had forgotten, "you're right though, I shouldn't worry so much. Just don't kill Luke and we'll all be fine."
"Of course," Clive grinned, lips still tingling with the feeling of that kiss, "fine indeed."
The doorbell rang, and Clive dropped his smile as soon as Flora ran to get it. He ran his fingers quickly through his hair, checking his appearance in the reflection of the fridge.
"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine." He muttered those words over and over, until the phrase lost all meaning. He glanced nervously at the clock, it had only been five minutes.
"She must be explaining me..." He realised, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He looked up as the kitchen door swung open, Flora's smile telling him it had gone well. Luke was next to enter, scowling quickly at Clive and instantly smiling again when Flora looked at him. Last to enter was the Professor, and Clive was glad to see that he hadn't changed since the last time they had met. The same brown top hat and jacket, the same hair, the same eyes, and best of all, the same comforting smile.
"G-good morning Professor," the boy stuttered, still trying to quash the nerves that burned inside him. He held out his hand for the man to shake, which he did so with a familiar chuckle. "Hello Clive, or Mr Dove, which would you prefer?"
"Um, uh Clive is just fine," he mumbled, feeling the colour rise in his cheeks.
"Well in that case, it's nice to meet you again Clive," the Professor smiled and shook his hand again, taking a seat at the large wooden table.
"I- I just want to say how sorry I am, about, well, the last time we-"
"Clive, it's fine, you are forgiven," he waved away the boy's apology, "Flora's already explained how remorseful you are about the whole thing, and it would only be right to forgive you for it. The past is the past, after all."
"Th-thank you, Professor, sir," he mumbled in reply, "that means a lot."
"So Flora?" Luke interrupted, bored of being ignored in the corner, "how did M-"
"He took it just fine, Luke, just fine indeed," she replied briskly, gritting her teeth to stop herself from attacking the little terror.
"Hey, Luke, no hard feelings after yesterday, right?" Clive interjected, feeling an argument coming on.
"Sure, sure," Luke rolled his eyes, sliding into a chair next to the Professor, "I'm sorry about almost strangling you."
"It's fine," the older lad laughed, pleased that he had seemingly diffused the fight before it happened, "there were times I wanted to strangle me, and you're right, I did break your trust."
"Yeah you kind of did didn't you?" He retorted under his breath. As much as it annoyed him, Clive couldn't help but chuckle at his cockiness. As weird as it felt, Luke did remind very much him of his younger self, if a little pluckier.
"Now Luke, a gentleman always-" the Professor began, quickly cut off by the bored looking boy, "a gentleman always stays polite, yeah I've heard it so so many times before."
"You know, I remember when you were just a little kid," Flora began, patting his head in the most patronising way, "and you wouldn't dare say anything out of turn. 'P-professor? C-can you help me with this puzzle Professor? Th-thank you Professor! One day I'll be just like you Professor!"
"Are they always like this?" Clive laughed in disbelief as Luke turned round to argue.
"Oh yeah well you just stalked us all the time!"
"Most of the time, yes," Professor Layton chuckled, rolling his eyes. Luke turned back to the other two men, having been swiftly defeated in a very humiliating way. All Flora had to do was dredge up some particularly embarrassing childhood 'theories', like when he thought she'd been kidnapped by fairies, or that time he tried to tame Claudia. She even managed to produce a photo of a younger, slightly chubbier Luke that she always kept in her purse for such arguments, one that she somehow always managed to hide when Luke went on one of his 'search and destroy' missions.
"Cup of tea Professor?" Flora chirped merrily, ignoring the piercing glare Luke was giving her as she tucked her purse back into her pocket.
"Yes please dear, two sugars," he replied politely, leaning back slightly in his chair.
"Clive?"
"Same for me please," Clive grinned. The two older ones laughed when Luke coughed indignantly, feeling left out when she failed to ask him. He tried again as he was still ignored, and again one final time.
"Need a cough sweet my boy?" Layton pretended to frown, but the smile was quite clear in his eyes.
"I'm quite fine thank you Professor," he forced a smile, feeling his cheeks go a little pink as everyone began to laugh. A pink that grew darker when Flora ruffled his hair and handed him a hot chocolate. "You can pretended you're all grown up and mature, but you're still a child at heart," she giggled, slipping into a seat beside him.