The Rules Don't Apply
A Mystery Room Fanfiction
by I Need Sleep

Summary: Alfendi Layton, even prior to developing a split personality, had never really been adept at maintaining relationships. Lucifendi.

The Mystery Room was silent - Inspector Layton and Detective Constable Baker were both preoccupied with reports, sitting across from one another with identical concentrated faces. They'd spent the day filling out paperwork and signing away, and by the end of their day, they were both tired and sleepy, slumped forward on their desks.

With a final flourish, Alfendi signed off his name with a sigh and closed the file silently. This attracted his assistant's attention.

"You done, Prof?" Lucy asked with a smile. He locked his fingers together and stretched his arms out in front of him, feeling his joints click. He nodded.

"Yes," he made a gesture to get up, motioning to the last file on her desk. "Did you want me to take that?" He offered.

She shook him off. "Nah," she said, dismissing him. "I'll take care of it; you go and relax, Prof."

Grateful, he made his way towards their electric kettle and began to heat enough water for two cups of tea. He got the mugs ready and leaned back to wait for the water to boil, deep in thought.

The last file he'd signed off was one done by one Hilda Pertinax. Hilda, who had left him after his calm personality was born. Hilda, who avoided him and looked at him with so much pity and longing. Hilda, who had apparently loved him so before the consequences of Forbodium Castle came into play.

Beautiful Hilda whose hand Alfendi could almost still feel under his fingertips, and whose voice he could still hear muttering sweet nothings while they sat together under a setting sun.

His thoughts drifted towards Justin. He felt some anger stir within him, and felt himself partly lose control - his alternate personality (the real Alfendi, he corrected himself) rustled from within, desperate to claw out and wrap his hands around the other man's throat in rage. True, Alfendi's calmer, more placid (as Lucy puts it) personality also felt some anger and betrayal but he knew to hold it back. Getting emotional means his control would slip, and his other personality would then have the chance to take the front seat. Who knows what will happen then?

The kettle clicked and signalled that it was through boiling their tea water. With adept hands and fluid motions, the tired inspector poured the water into the mugs and let the tea bags steep. He turned and stopped in front of Lucy's desk. With a grateful smile and a quick, sincere "thank you", Lucy took the mug and held it in her hands, staring down.

"Thanks, Prof," she said, looking happy to take a break from writing. "Man, my brains are fried!"

He chuckled. "Just one more to go," he said, pointing to the last file. He watched as her eyes sparkled in enthusiasm, feeling something stir within him. A different emotion to the ones he felt when thinking about Justin (anger) or Hilda (longing).

"One more!" She said, pumping her fist into the air with a cheer. Lucy was ready to go home. She let her tea bag steep for two minutes before she took it out and placed it on the saucer. She sipped the hot tea, made a face upon burning her tongue, and fanned her mouth. She threw her boss a glare as he laughed at her as discreetly as he could. 'Must be Potty Prof,' she thought. 'But he wouldn't try to be quiet about it, so...'

"Hey, Prof," Lucy said after trying to cool her tongue down, "you can go home, if you want! I can close up."

He paused, considering the offer. He shook his head in reply. "Actually," he began, "I was thinking of grabbing us dinner."

"Give over!"

"But I'm going to have to leave your slow arse behind if you take years to finish that report, Baker," he growled, pushy personality coming through. Impatient.

She merely frowned at him and pointed her pen towards him. "Steady on, Potty," she said, before shifting her pen to point at his mug instead. She gave him a sly grin. "Your tea bag's been steeped for a while, Prof. Might want to take that out."

Taken by surprise, Alfendi looked down at his mug - tea, although it was much darker than the usual translucent brown liquid. Reminded of his father, he frowned - this was definitely for his soft side. "Well," he said, answering Lucy's cheeky, expectant smile. "This is just how I like it."

Bitter. Pure bitter. He resisted the urge to make a face, determined to prove something. He downed the warm tea in one go, and when he put the mug down with a loud 'ah,' he noted his assistant's twisted expression. "Delicious," he said, preening and glad about having amazing acting skills. How can his father stand this crap?

Her face twisted from horrified to amused. She burst into laughter. "Sure!" She said, before resuming her report composition. Stifling her laughter to giggles, she said, "I'm going to finish this now so we can have dinner."

"Good," he said, before taking his mug back to the kitchen with him to dump it in the sink. The teabag plopped and he made a face at it. The inspector grabbed a bottle of water and swished the liquid in his mouth before spitting out, determined to rid himself of the awful taste of tea. His assistant erupted into another round of laughter in the other room. He muttered angrily under his breath. "God, how can anyone stand this crap?"

'It's normally good if you don't let it stay in the water for too long,' quipped his calm personality. He began to wish that he'd existed in a different body, just so he could glare at him.

He ignored his assistant's mischievous gaze and began to pack his things away. Alfendi wished he had better clothes than the baggy striped sweater and the horrendous lab coat which he peeled off and folded into his bag, but it'll have to do. It wasn't as if he was on a date with Lucy anyway. They were just going to have dinner together to celebrate the end of the busy week.

Alfendi Layton had never really been adept at dealing with people that weren't criminals. He was useless at maintaining his relationships. His thoughts drifted towards his estranged relationship with his father and older sister realising his split personality was not to blame, although the other man inhabiting his body has definitely made things even more difficult.

He watched Lucy pack her things away, her orange hat sliding closer and closer forward. It threatened to fall from her head but she didn't bother raising her arms to steady it. She had her gaze down, stuffing things in her bag. Her tongue poked out from one side of her mouth.

Lucy is an amazing one. Determined, persevering, and able to see the good in everybody. Not to mention immensely intelligent and a quick learner. Alfendi was amazed at how much she had grown during the time he'd known her and wished she would never leave his side. Unlike everyone else, Lucy is the only one who could handle both sides of him and deal with the switches without flinching. Most other people, even in the Yard, would often have to leave due to feeling uncomfortable. However, Lucy would stick through and even had the audacity to make jokes around him and on his expense.

Not to mention the fact that she had placed a tremendous amount of trust in him that faithful day when his name was finally cleared. He felt warmth spread through his body at the memory.

She slung her bag's strap over her shoulder. She began to push him out the door, ignoring his mumbling. Apparently, Placid Prof had returned. "Come now, prof," she said, pushing. "You promised!"

"Yes, yes," he said, locking the door of the Mystery Room behind them. The duo nodded towards Dustin in acknowledgement and walked out the Scotland Yard together, ignoring the knowing looks thrown their way.

The inspector looked over to watch his excited assistant. He finally figured out what the stirring he felt when he was in her company was - happiness.

He was afraid of stuffing up their relationship and having that great feeling replaced so he kept quiet. He'll work through it slowly. The patterns he had observed from his past relationships definitely stacked the odds against him, but he's willing to try again.

Hopefully, this time, the rules won't apply.

AN: This fanfic was brief and borne out of Habits by Maria Mena (feat Mads Langer). Fantastic song. Written at 3 in the morning in between rounds of 2048. I got the idea for a longer Lucifendi fanfic but I've gotta practice writing them first (and also get used to splitting my time between university and this).

The parting line probably doesn't make much sense, but I hope it'll make more sense once you guys give the song a listen (assuming you choose to, and I really think you should!). Thanks for reading!