That was adorable

Aww thats so sweet XD

Ahhh, the cuddles, the cuddles, this is so cute! I love it! Layton and Luke fluff is adorable! XD

Also, I sympathize with you in that it's sad that you have to put a disclaimer on this. I do that for all my stories too, even when it's brothers. :P

I love this so much

Professor layton: father figure
Luke Triton: surrogate son
love it!

Dean Delmona, bless his heart! His granddaughter ADORES him, and it appears that their shared love of puzzles is a special bond they have (even if the Dean has difficulty in solving them).

Rosa is like that slighty-overbearing yet good-hearted elderly woman we all know, whom all the neighborhood children can't help but love. There was such a woman in my hometown growing up; her name was Lucille. Her home was three or four houses down the street. She was once a schoolteacher and was always interested in knowing what we were studying in school, what we would do at recess, and she'd always have cookies and lemonade on hand. When I left town to go to college, she would send me care packages with cookies and other items I needed like toothpaste, that sort of thing.

I'm a teacher by trade, and I teach music and art to children of all ages, from two-year olds to teenagers; and I also have small nephews that are very dear to me. I really like how you portray the relationship between Layton and his young apprentice. It wouldn't surprise me if Layton came to see Luke as a surrogate son, thinking wistfully of Claire and the family they might have had.

As somebody who helped you to brainstorm this fic and totally knew what I was in for -
*sets down my tea*
No. No I didn’t. I had absolutely no idea what I was in for.

- Huh. Kinda angsty title for a fluffy fic. Okay, I’ll go with it.
- And everybody keeps saying how well I take the canon and turn it into words. Look! You do it just as well!
- Haha I know you didn’t come up with this yourself, but Layton is so sweet and such a dork at the same time, running back to thank Rosa for the tea.
- And now, on the list of things EA loves: inner monologues about what one character thinks about another.
- “Kindest and most problematic” pffft accurate
- “It was just no good” Roll credits. (Ding!)
- Also ooh I get it now
- I don’t know this Dean Delmona character but I think you’re giving me a good idea and that’s a compliment.
- Foreshadowing! Luke-shadowing!
- As a non-genius who tries very hard to write geniuses, I must say that you’ve done a great job portraying Layton as an archaeological genius.
- Luke. Lukeeeee.
- This is one of the things that surprised me. I didn’t expect this much banter and foreplay. Luke being quietly stubborn and Layton being oblivious and the small misunderstandings and miscommunications but the overall air of affection, concern, and comfort with one another...can I just have 50,000 fics with this flavor of fluff?
- “Well, that’s only natural!” I read it in his voice and about had a stroke from cuteness
- “Teasing but secretly concerned” Dad.
- Nervous laughter. Dad.
- LAYTON YOU ADORABLE HYPOCRITE
- Also, Layton’s whole inner debate over the situation. He’s adopted this boy. He just has.
- “Something inside Layton's stomach flipped unexpectedly at the thought of doing anything to harm the child.” dID I MENTION-
- Oof. Little bit of a kick to the chest there, but it’s good that he can recognize his own bad habits when he sees them.
- I can only imagine what’s going through Luke’s head right now. I’m very torn between “this happened right after Layton took him on as an apprentice and all of the sudden here’s this man he admires as a mentor and a teacher inviting much more personal contact than he was expecting” which, yes, or “they’ve known each other for some time and worked together and shared in many adventures and Layton has saved his life or at least protected him from danger more than once and yes Luke looks up to him and trusts him but all of the sudden here he is offering more personal contact than he was expecting”, which, YES
- Okay but the narration in this part is beautiful. I can see everything playing out and I can even keep track of props like the coat. Well done.
- “hard-working...and trusting...and warm...” Welp I guess I’m gonna go die of adorabilitis
- Are you sure we don’t headcanon Layton to be tactile as well?
- As I said, beautiful narration. I want to visit this Gressenheller place.
- Oh, Rosa, bless her. What a beautiful picture.
- There are so many great call-backs in this scene, from just Rosa being there herself to finding Layton in a similar state as the beginning to the click of the doorknob and even the mention of Dean Delmona as a comparison to Layton.
- AND THE ENDING LINE
- HOO BOY
- YES
- Narrative parallels brought full-circle are so darn satisfying

GOOD JOB CANDARU THIS IS AMAZE AND YOU HAVE DONE ME THE PROUD

Finally, a good Layton & Luke fatherson ship fic! And yes, I agree with you needing to tag it as gen to be tragic. Do you know how rare it is for a fatherson/other gen story to have an IC characterization AND an interesting plot? Kudos for this great fic!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS WONDERFUL! I CAN'T STOP SMILING :)

I love it all! As always, you've nailed characterization on the head :) It was also a nice touch to acknowledge the Professor's role as an archeologist! And I love the parallel opening and closing, too! AND THIS WHOLE THING IS JUST SO SWEET AND CUTE AND AAAAAAA Luke using Prof's logic against him is totally brilliant and adorable! And Hershel's internal dialogue and just seeing how much he cares about Luke 100% confirms Puzzle Dad XD

Sorry for this rambling, ADD-afflicted mess, but seriously THIS IS JUST SO SWEET AND CUTE AND WONDERFUL! Awesome job as always! :)