First of all, I have to admit that I am not a native speaker, so there might be a few mistakes, but if you write me a message to tell me of them, I will correct them as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Level 5, and I don't earn my money with these stories.

Luke's Dream

Hershel stepped out of his hotel room in Monte d'Or just as Emmy walked down the corridor.

"Perfect timing," she smiled, and they went into the lobby and breakfast room together. "Is Luke still asleep?"

"Oh, yes, like a stone," Hershel chuckled. "But Monte d'Or is such a vibrant city, he needs to process all his impressions from yesterday."

"It was an exciting start of our new adventure," Emmy said as she poured herself a cup of coffee at their table. "I had the strangest dreams last night, all about the carnival and the masked gentleman."

Hershel nodded. He too had slept unwell. Seeing Angela again and telling his friends of his youth in Stansbury had unearthed some memories he had succeeded in suppressing for a long while.

They were in the middle of their breakfast when Luke joined them, looking still half-asleep. "Good morning," he yawned.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Emmy greeted good-heartedly. "Did you sleep well?"

Luke nodded. "I think so. Though I had strange dreams."

"Oh, you too? What were yours about?"

And Luke told them of a carnival street, packed with people. "I wore a suit, and I had Teddy with me. And you two were there too. The professor was wearing a white tuxedo and a white top hat."

Hershel chuckled. "What an unusual colour."

"And Emmy was wearing a long pink dress and had a flower in her hair."

"That doesn't sound like me either," Emmy laughed.

"And you two were dancing," Luke continued. "It looked really nice."

Hershel and Emmy looked at each other. He wasn't sure but it seemed as if Emmy's cheeks had slightly coloured. But before he could say something complimentary, like that surely Emmy's dancing skills were as superb as her fighting and navigation skills, she said: "What an absurd idea" and continued with her breakfast.

"Yes," Hershel said, slightly disappointed. "Absurd."

There could have been an awkward silence between the two adults now, but luckily Luke continued to talk. At first more about his dream which in the end apparently had turned into a nightmare, and then about this day's plans.

That was something Hershel could contribute to, so he told of his ideas of where to go and what to investigate today.

Emmy seemed to be back in her normal spirits as well, teasing Luke about seeing the Masked Gentleman again today, and Hershel was glad. While Emmy, however, had disregarded Luke's dream, Hershel kept thinking about it during the day, when they had nothing more to do but walk from one part of town to the other during their investigation. He kept imagining Emmy in a dress, a pink nonetheless, and how it would be to dance with her, to be close to her, to feel her back under his hand, her hand gently held in his, and he had to shake these thoughts away or he would get distracted.

They found out more about the Masked Gentleman's doings in this city, but also that Angela and Henry were definitely hiding something from Hershel and perhaps from each other as well. It was truly vexing to see his old acquaintances like this, but Hershel knew there wasn't much he could do at the moment.

"Let's eat somewhere," Emmy said as they made their way from the Ledore's mansion towards the hotel. "I'm starving."

They found a nice Italian restaurant near one of the major streets and even got a table right at one of the giant windows so while they ate their meals – Luke and Emmy as always an amount that astounded Hershel –, they could gaze onto the colourful brightly lit street and see all these people going by.

Luke would occasionally shout out something in particular he saw like "Look! It's a clown!" or "People are releasing hundreds of balloons."

All the while despite the wonderful distractions this street provided for them, Hershel kept glancing at the woman in front of him. Emmy was truly beautiful; he had never noticed it like this. When she caught his glance, she stared back at him, and for a moment they simply looked each other in the eye. Hershel wasn't sure how to interpret the look she gave him. It seemed… hopeful to him, like an open question, but Hershel wasn't sure what she was asking.

Luke's loud laughter at something outside broke their stare, and Hershel felt his cheeks colouring as he listened to what Luke had seen. Afterwards, he didn't manage to catch Emmy's glance again and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

When they had finished their excellent dinner, the street had crowded considerably. Now they couldn't just walk anymore but had to manage their way through the crowd, always trying to stick together. Luke finally took Hershel's hand not to get lost and quite on instinct, Hershel held out his hand to Emmy as well. And before he knew it, he could feel her hand in his.

"Just that I don't get lost," she said with a nervous smile.

He nodded. Of course. Just that. That had been his intent too, hadn't it? But as he felt her hand, warm and soft, he wasn't so sure about his intent anymore. It seemed as if all of his attention was focused on their joined hands and twice Luke had to steer him in the right direction, or he would have just run into someone. He had to fight the urge to squeeze her hand in his, or to intertwine their fingers, or to stroke with his thumb over the back of her hand. The urge became almost too much, and he was glad when Luke distracted him.

"Look, professor! They're playing music!"

Right on the street was a small orchestra with violins, a piano, and even a harp. Beside it was a space for dancing where couples swayed and turned already.

The little group came to a halt to listen to the expertly played music, something classical, and look at the happy couples. Hershel was disappointed when Emmy let go of his hand. It wasn't necessary, now that they wouldn't get lost in the crowd.

"Now you can make my dream come true," Luke said and smiled at the professor.

"Your dream?" Hershel replied, feigning ignorance though he had a hunch what the boy was referring to.

"Yeah. Now you and Emmy can finally dance." He seemed excited by the idea and grinned first at Hershel, then at Emmy who looked similarly stunned.

"I-I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Emmy said. "I mean, I'm not dressed properly and I'm not a good dancer. Surely, the professor would enjoy dancing with someone else much more."

"Professor!" Luke said and suddenly sounded upset. "Will you let her say these things about herself? That is not very gentleman-like."

Hershel sighed. The boy was completely right. So he stepped in front of Emmy who stared at him with wide eyes. "Emmy, you look wonderful. You don't need a pink dress like in Luke's dream to dance. Look at everyone else. They're also wearing their normal clothes." It was true: the people were dancing just in their tank tops and jeans. "I'm also not the perfect dancer, but I believe dancing is more than knowing all the steps." He took her hand in his. "It's a feeling of joy. As for me wanting to rather dance with someone else." He took a deep breath before announcing: "There is no one I would rather share this dance than you."

He could hear her breath hitch for a moment, then she nodded. "I can't argue with that, now can I?"

And Hershel Layton led his assistant Emmy Altava to the dance floor while Luke stayed at the edge to watch them. The current music was a waltz, so Hershel stepped closer to Emmy, put one hand at the upper half over her back and held her other hand.

Emmy was only a few centimetres shorter than him so he could easily look into her warm brown eyes and feel her breath on his cheeks as they danced. For someone claiming not to be any good at dancing, she fell easily into the steps of a slow waltz while he tried to lead her as best as possible.

But yes, dancing was not about perfection, it was about the pure joy of doing so. And he now realised, the joy of being with the other person. To have them close, to feel them breathe and move and smile and be alive, to have all their attention and give it back to them. He was truly captivated by this moment and never wanted it to end. Emmy kept staring at him, not once looking somewhere else as if they were the only people in the world. They didn't speak and Hershel was grateful he could just be in this moment as he tried to remember every last detail, for he feared he would never be this near her again and would never feel this close to her. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice shouted at him that this was wrong since she was younger than him and his assistant, but it was easy to ignore this voice when the most loyal, fierce but still gentle woman was in front of him. He knew he sounded like a schoolboy with a crush, but he had never felt such a moment like this, not even with Claire and they had danced every now and then. Maybe it was this city – the city of miracles –, the lights of the colours all around them that made Emmy appear to be a fairy right from a magical world.

When the song ended, it took Hershel a moment to realise this. He and Emmy came to an abrupt halt. While the people around them applauded the musicians, they still stood in front of each other, their hands in each other's.

"That... That was something," Emmy said in a breathy voice as if she had just run a marathon.

Hershel gulped. "Yes, it was." This time he couldn't control his urge and as if his thumb had a mind of its own, it caressed the soft skin of Emmy's hand.

"What now?"

Hershel looked into Emmy's eyes and knew she didn't just mean if they should continue to dance or return to Luke. "When we're back in London," he said, still aware of Emmy's hand in his, "I would like to take you out to dinner."

A smile appeared on Emmy's face, first shy and soft, then like a sun's warm ray of light. "I would like that very much."

Hershel mimicked her smile.

They went back to the edge of the dance floor because they didn't want to leave Luke alone for too long.

"That was even better than in my dream!" the boy announced happily.

Hershel and Emmy shared a smile and as they made their way back to the hotel, they kept holding hands even in streets that were hardly crowded at all.

THE END.