Shifting Gears:::

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favourited so far! It really makes my day. 3

Again, I don't own Professor Layton. A sick part of me wishes I did.

So, without much further ado…

Chapter 2: Blatantly Obvious

For a moment, time was at a standstill.

Luke hadn't the foggiest idea how long he'd been standing in the doorway at this point, whether it was a few seconds, several minutes, or hours.

It didn't matter.

Everything moved in slow motion as he looked dead into the dark eyes of his mentor. For a moment, he felt himself shrink as he shed several years like the papery peel of an onion and became a boy again. Thirteen again.

"Ah, Luke," said the Professor, in his usual even tone. He spoke as if he had been expecting the boy all along, but the inquisitive look on his face said otherwise. He adjusted his top hat before gesturing toward the collection of students and desks in front of him. "So glad you could join us. Do have a seat."

Luke felt the eyes of one hundred classmates boring into his back as he took a seat in the second row. Some of the ones in the front even craned their necks back to glance at him a moment, which in turn caused him to tug at his collar, color blooming in his cheeks. It was perfectly normal for a Professor to know a student by name, was it not? He could hardly think that they stared at every tardy classmate this harshly.

Unconcerned, the Professor cleared his throat and carried on with his lecture.

Archaeology in general was only somewhat fascinating to Luke, surprising considering who his mentor was; he discovered that it involved so much more than discovering ancient ruins and things, which spoiled all the fun of it. However, he found it rather easy to get interested in the lecture as it was delivered in the Professor's naturally eloquent style. To any ordinary person it was probably like any ordinary lecture from any ordinary Professor, but Luke found himself hanging on his every word as always. Instead of the gibberish he made of his notes last period, he had long coherent sentences and ideas.

"It appears that will be all for the day," said the Professor casually, glancing at the clock. "You are dismissed. Until next time."

Luke inwardly groaned as Layton gave his dismissal. Even though nearly two hours had passed, he silently cursed the idea of getting up and going somewhere else. The students around him all stretched and yawned, quickly taking their belongings and filing for the door. Luke was just managing to gather up his things as the last of them shuffled out of the room.

"Luke, my boy," Layton began, "Do you have a moment?"

He didn't even have to think twice. "Of course, Professor."

The Professor moved to close the door after the last student's departure as Luke stepped up to the front of the hall. The Professor hardly had a chance to turn around again before the boy flung his arms around him in tight hug.

"Luke…" Layton tensed, eyes quickly darting around the room. He eased some once he confirmed that the classroom was just as empty as it had been seconds before, but not entirely. The Professor nervously adjusted the brim of his hat again, which got him thinking.

This was terribly similar to a moment they had shared years ago.

He clearly remembered the flawless blue sky, the salty taste of the air that day. The Professor stood near a massive passenger ship next to his young apprentice, who unwillingly sat on his luggage, waiting.

"I guess this is good-bye," said Luke, eyes fixed upon the pavement.

"Oh, no, my boy. This is 'so long,' not 'good-bye.'" It had become evident to the Professor at that very moment that this was going to be an emotional parting. Tears were now visibly streaming down the boy's cheeks. "Now Luke, you know a gentleman never makes a scene in public."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I'm not a gentleman yet!"

Luke was sobbing, although muffled as the boy had latched onto the Professor and began wailing into his chest. Layton casually toyed with the brim of his hat as he comforted the boy, almost as if he had seen it all coming.

"There, there…."

His young apprentice finally boarded the ship, and tearfully waved farewell. The Professor remained motionless in that very spot until the ship was merely a speck in the sun.

The last time that Layton had seen the boy was on that day. Not to say that they didn't have contact, of course, as they had exchanged dozens of letters in the meantime. However, the last time Luke had been in his presence, in the flesh, was in excess of five years ago. It was almost shocking how much he had grown since then. Instead of being chest-height, the boy was now comfortably resting his chin on the Professor's shoulder. His features, his voice, even his hat had aged quite considerably and yet were all the same in so many ways. Luke was no longer a child. No, he had evolved into a young man.

Once he deemed the moment gone, the Professor broke contact, brushing past the boy ever so slightly to get to his desk.

"I'm sorry, Professor," said Luke quickly, catching his breath. He felt his whole body begin to sting with warmth. "I suppose I'm just happy to see you again. Were you surprised?"

The Professor smiled. "Quite alright, my boy. You've been due for a visit for some time now. Although I must say, I'm not at all surprised to see you here."

Luke's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "You aren't?"

The Professor simply shook his head and shrugged. It was a classic move of his. "Of course not. You write regularly, and as I recall the last letter I received from you some several months ago stated you were going into Veterinary Medicine."

"Go on…"

"St. Laszlo College has a far superior Veterinary program and is much closer to where your family had relocated. Therefore, when I ceased to receive letters from you I had a hunch that you would be travelling back to London for school. Gressenheller, specifically. Obviously if you had told me you would be attending college here, I would have tried to dissuade you for the sake of your education."

"It was simply your intuition though, Professor. Letters or lack thereof couldn't have revealed anything certain; perhaps I was attending St. Laszlo's?"

Layton chuckled, "I would assume, or at least I would hope, that you would have written an ecstatic letter about being accepted there, or any other college for that matter. However, your attendance at this establishment became truly apparent to me when your name showed up on the waiting list for my Archaeology lecture. It's no coincidence that you happened to receive the first available seat, dear boy."

Luke suppressed a grin, anchoring his chin with his thumb and forefinger. He was impressed, as usual, however still skeptical on one last detail. "Well, if you were expecting me, why did you look so puzzled when I walked in?"

"That's very simple. You have changed quite a bit these last five years. It's almost as if I'm looking at a completely different person, compared to the boy I remember. It took a moment to fully sink in."

"Of course," Luke gave a sigh of defeat. "I should have known better than to try and surprise you. Nothing gets past the Great Professor Layton."

"It isn't out of the realm of possibility, my boy. You merely need to work on being so blatantly obvious about it."

For one reason or another, Luke beamed. A few years ago, he would feel his eyebrows tug and narrow, and his fists would clench ever so slightly at his sides. He never did appreciate being bested, even by his own mentor. Yet, he wasn't angry or embarrassed or upset. He felt his insides, his heart, his lungs, begin to swell. Perhaps it was just the nostalgia of it all. The Professor was exactly as he remembered him, not a day older and surely armed with an even sharper wit than before. The man didn't miss anything. It was almost unreal. Before he could come up with a viable retort, Layton continued, his tone gentler.

"I'm not keeping you, am I?"

"Not at all, Professor. My next class isn't until two o'clock."

" Ah." Layton paused, and began assembling some important looking documents on his desk. "However, I am afraid that I have an engagement I must tend to. The reason I asked you here I was to see if you'd care to stop by for tea later."

Luke blinked. He knew the answer, but it struggled to find his tongue. "Of course, Professor."

Layton cleared his throat. "I apologise for having to leave in such a rush. I do hope you understand, Luke."

"Absolutely. We can catch up later."

"Very well then. Just come by the Manor when you're through with classes. I'm sure Flora will be delighted to see you."

The Professor gave the boy a nod before ushering him out of the lecture hall, clamping the door tight behind him.

"Goodbye, Professor."

As he watched Layton briskly walk out of sight, Luke realized that warmth he felt earlier was still there. In fact, it had kindled into a blazing fire.

And that's chapter two. Hoorah! Hopefully I can get the third chapter up sometime this weekend. Don't quote me, though! I do promise things will get a tad more interesting in the next round.

Please bear with me as I attempt to find a solid personification for Luke. I'm working at it. :3 Why can't he be so easy to write , like Layton?

Reviews are very much loved. :3