AN: This is my very first story here on ! To fully appreciate, you have to be familiar with the events of Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. :)

"She's gone!" Luke gasped, looking around the corner. Layton turned away, beginning to walk in the other direction. He knew. At this very moment, the flames were undoubtedly engulfing her, burning her body to the point where it couldn't even be recognized for a mourning. Claire. His one, his only. Tears welled in Layton's eyes, and his throat felt like a lump of clay had been stuffed in it. Grief filled his body, and he physically hurt from trying to hold it in, to be a gentleman. But Luke had wandered off. No one was there. Beginning to feel overcome, Layton took off his hat and clutched it to his chest. He never took off his hat, save to bathe and sleep, but now he stared down at it, letting his tears drip down onto the velvet. He could still feel warmth where Claire had wrapped him in her last embrace, could still feel where her lips had touched during their last kiss. It was too much…Layton couldn't take it.

"Claire!" Layton sobbed. "Come back! I can't…I can't do this! Please…" It was ten years ago all over again…learning that the accident had gone so, so wrong, going to the site, seeing the smoke rising, knowing that his one and only hadn't survived. There were the funerals, the mourning, and his heart felt like it had shattered all over again. Only this time, few would share in his grief. Perhaps Dmitri and Don Paolo knew what he was feeling…but neither of them had had her like he did. Neither of them knew the soft caress of her lips, the way she smiled for the one she loved, the sparkle in her eyes whenever Layton had given her the perfect gift. They couldn't know how it had felt to go back home after seeing the accident, seeing the chair Claire always sat in remain empty, barely noticing that the perfect dinner Layton had prepared for their date had gone cold. Why did she have to go? She was there, there just barely. There enough to make Layton's love be rekindled, make him fondly remember those years like he never had before. And then fate had ripped them apart.

It seemed like just yesterday that Claire had given him that beautiful smile at dinner, when he'd been about to ask her how she'd feel about them moving in together and given her the pocket watch. Oh, how Layton wished he'd asked her. All those things left unsaid seemed to weigh Layton down, and painfully catch in his throat. It seemed like, just five minutes ago, Claire had produced that massive box with the top hat in it and told him he looked dapper in it, and made him promise not to take it off. Layton's tongue was heavy with all the times he should have told her how lucky he was to have her. She was perfect. But it was just moments ago that he had to leave Claire…forever. If it was even possible, Layton felt even emptier now than he had ten years ago, alone with the snow and his hat, the only remnant of his one and only love. For once, he wasn't thinking about being a gentleman or being an example for Luke. All he wanted was Claire. He just wanted her back more than anything in the world. If only his heart wouldn't feel so shattered...if only he felt a little less lifeless. Claire had gone on about disrupting the flow of time and meddling with nature, but Layton honestly couldn't have cared less if they could have had their future back...if they could have wound up their unwound future.

"Professor?" Luke asked timidly from across the alleyway. If Layton had any life in him, Luke's abrupt return would have been startling. "Um…the others…want to know if you're all right." Layton didn't respond at first. "Professor?"

Layton raised his head up, wiping away the last remnants of his tears. His eyes were red and stinging from crying, something he hadn't done in years, and he undoubtedly looked awful. However, he looked down at his hat, and gently brushed away the snow and tears. I know you, he heard Claire say, and I know you'll stay strong. After all…isn't that what a gentleman does? Layton knew he had to honor Claire's expectations. It wouldn't be easy…the massive weight of her death seemed relentless. But Layton knew he had to be strong. Had to hold his head up…and be a gentleman. And who knew? Maybe one day he and Claire would meet again. He put his hat on, straightened it again, and stood.

"Thank you, Luke. I'm all right," Layton told his apprentice, valiantly keeping his voice from cracking. "Now, shall we head back to London?"

"Of course, Professor…" Luke replied, uncertainly examining the professor's blotched cheeks and puffy eyes. However, he let it go, and the duo headed to the Laytonmobile, ready to resume life as it had been…before this unwound future.