AN: Written for a prompt on the FW meme. I don't own Professor Layton. Thanks, all! Much love!

Now or Never

This was the stupidest thing Luke had ever done.

Since coming back and see things as they had been and seeing her again…he had known it would be difficult. And he had been determined to keep himself under control and be a gentleman and not do anything to upset things. Her happiness mattered to him, and the fact was that she was happy with someone else. It wasn't as though she had told him she didn't need him or anything. They were still close friends, and visited frequently.

His mentor had taught him better than this.


He wasn't entirely sure what had prompted his self control to snap like this. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He did know. She had asked him what became of her future self. It was the one question he didn't want to answer for various reasons. And he was supposed to leave the next day, to return to his own time and his own world.





Her future self didn't. The woman she would grow to become would fall in love with another.

It was now or never.


Feeling sheepish and almost apologetic, he eased off a bit, softening the kiss without letting her go completely. He didn't dare to let her go just yet, not wanting the moment to end.

…and then suddenly he felt her move.

No, not move.


She had always been such a shy girl.



And dear lord, this was not the place for this they were standing by the window in the Professor's firelit study where anyone could walk in on them they were going to get caught and this wasn't proper but…

Oh, who bloody cared?


…he was horrible.

He was potentially destroying her future happiness, and he didn't care a whit for it.








Slow, measured footsteps crossed the room, and he saw Layton's silhouette cast on the wall by the light from the fireplace, tall and imposing. "Luke. What in the world were you doing?" the Professor asked in that same harsh, clipped voice.

To his amazement, Luke felt a laugh bubble out of his throat. He pressed one hand to his eyes to keep himself from having to see Layton's face, and to keep Layton from seeing that he was a hair away from weeping. "I am…selfish." Another high laugh. "I am the most selfish being…"

Luke couldn't even finish the thought.


The future.

His own time.

It felt so distant, so foreign now.

In a way, Luke felt a bit guilty for leaving without saying goodbye, but he had been fairly certain that he couldn't bear to face his mentor's past self. And he certainly wouldn't be able to look Flora in the eye.

He wondered if she hated him. Probably. In that respect, he probably hadn't disturbed her future too much. Hopefully his hopeless indiscretion wouldn't affect things for his younger self. He was already very fond of her at that age.

…strange, though. He felt as though something had changed. His mind was reaching for memories that seemed to be floating just out of reach. Memories that were his, and yet didn't entirely belong to him…

Had he changed something?

Shaking the feeling off, he made his way towards home. After Layton had disappeared, Luke had remained in residence at the brownstone where the two had lived for so long. Flora had left for school a couple of years before, and after her marriage she'd had a new home. But Luke remained.






And then she appeared in the doorway, wearing an apron and a smile. "You're home!" she said.

"Y-yes…" he said, startled. What was Flora doing here?

She crossed the room, put one hand to his cheek…and pressed a kiss to the other side of his face. "Welcome back," she said. "You must be exhausted. Go sit, I'll make some tea, and you can tell me everything that happened!" She gathered the cat from his arms and hurried back to the kitchen, leaving a bewildered Luke to stare at her back.



A moment later, she appeared with the promised tea and the cat making a determined attempt to trip her. She handed him a cup before taking one for herself and taking a seat. "So tell me what happened. Please, tell me everything!"

Luke stared at her for a moment, then chuckled dryly. "Flora…do you remember that kiss?" Her blush was answer enough, and he said, " probably won't believe this, but…"