Notes: Written for a kinkmeme prompt that wanted some Layton/Luke where one of them was genderswapped. For this story, I've gone with Layton being the one to be magically now female. Set a few years post-PL3, with spoilers for that game. Nothing worse than teenage crushing on Luke's part, if you're worried.

Luke sat staring out of the window, idly tapping his pen against a piece of paper. He knew that the marks it left would mean that he'd have to get a new sheet if he truly wanted to commit to writing, but that hardly mattered if he couldn't even think of anything to write about in the first place.

What could he say had happened in the life of Luke Triton since he'd last sent a letter to England?

There was nothing happening in the dull life of a young student who didn't quite fit in with his American classmates and got teased a lot because of it that would even compare to the grand adventures that his two closest friends were probably having back home.

The Great Professor Hendel Layton and her apprentice, Flora Reinhold.

Somehow Flora just seemed to fit that image better than Luke did. Not as if that had stopped the Professor from taking Luke under her wing when he'd asked if he could learn from her initially. Luke had wanted to know everything that Layton could teach him, so that he could be smart and brave like she was all while retaining charm and grace.

He sighed heavily, scrunching up the sheet of paper and throwing it into the bin next to his desk. It wasn't the first ball of paper to find its way into that bin, nor would it be the last. After he heard the 'thud' of its landing, he pulled another sheet out from the desk and repeated the cycle of thinking, tapping, sighing and throwing all over again.

"I do worry about him," Clark quietly commented, from where he and Brenda were watching from the door.

"There's no need to," assured Brenda, walking away, only to be followed by her husband, "He just takes writing letters very seriously."

"A little too seriously," mumbled Clark.

"You say that as if you didn't find Hendel attractive when you were younger as well," Brenda teased.

That was enough to win that argument, as Clark's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink and he stuttered into silent. Defeated, he followed Brenda through to the kitchen, to help prepare the dinner for that evening.

Back in his room, Luke frowned.

This was silly. It shouldn't be so hard to write to people that he cared about. Certainly his life might not be as interesting as theirs, but they cared about him and wanted to know how he was doing. Dipping his pen in the ink with an air of finality this time, he began to write on a new piece of paper:

'Dear Professor,

I hope that this letter finds you well.

The last letter that I received from you of the mystery you and Flora solved in the little town of Berwick left me on the edge of my seat. Who'd have ever thought that it would have all boiled down to the football team being part of the Scottish league, not the English one? Only Hendel Layton, that's who! As always, I find myself amazed at your superior intellect.'

…A woman like you puts every man for miles to shame.

That was what he wanted to write. But he knew that Layton would scold him for being sexist. She's spent years teaching both him and Flora that someone's skills were in no way measured by their gender. It might not have been what society taught them to believe, but what Layton taught them to believe was far more important in Luke's eyes.

Also, something about writing a sentence like that just seemed to feel more and more wrong the older he became.

As a kid, he'd blindly thrown compliments in Layton's direction, just wanting her to know how amazing he thought she was. But the older he got the more conscious it made him about what he said.

What if she took it the wrong way and thought he was flirting with her? It was unspeakable for a boy as young as him to flirt with an elegant lady like the Professor! Just the thought it made him cringe…

It had been so much easier to not worry and just think of them both as the same when he was younger.

Part of him resented that society had ever told him there was a difference between boys and girls. Luke liked Layton's way of thinking better – that they were all the same and anyone could be an upstanding member of society if they only put the effort in.

He missed listening to her talk.

Though actually, he missed everything about her.

Shaking his head, he decided that he had to get back to the letter. Writing home wasn't just about complimenting Layton, after all. There had to be more to discuss.

'I can only imagine that the two of you will soon find yourselves whisked away on another adventure. But I do hope that before that happens you have the time to read through this. Although I sadly have very little to say. My life in America isn't nearly as colourful as yours and I find myself longing for the days when the three of us travelled the country, solving mysteries as we went.

Please do tell me how everyone is. Yourself and Flora are of course my first concern, but I also find myself wondering about the Inspectors Chelmey and Grosky, Barton and even Don Paolo! Does he still hold a grudge against you? And do you ever hear from my old friends at Misthallery? I've quite fallen out of contact with them…

I'm sorry! Here I am bombarding you with questions about how other people without telling you at all how we're doing. My parents are well. Dad is taking his work very seriously, as always, and Mum is telling him that he needs to take more breaks so he doesn't work himself into an early grave, also as always.

There have been a couple of times when I've asked them if we can come back to England to visit you, but they say that they have too much going on right now to find the time. It saddens me that it's been so long since we saw each other last and not a day passes by when I don't think of you.'

…Sometimes the amount of time I spend thinking about you and the life I've left behind worries even me, he added to himself.

'But a gentleman mustn't make a fuss and I am thankful of everything that I have here in America.

Well, I suppose that you will have a lot of letters to get through, so I won't keep you longer than I already have.

Please do reply when you have the time, as I always look forward to hearing from you.

Your apprentice,

Luke Triton'

He pushed his chair back, feeling relieved that it was finally finished. This wasn't the best letter he'd ever written, not by far, but considering that he didn't have anything to say it was a miracle that he'd managed to waffle on for even that long.

Now all he had to do was post it and wait for Layton to get back to him. Undoubtedly her letter would be filled with tales so bizarre that Luke couldn't even imagine how they might begin or end. There seemed to be more mysteries stuffed into the little isle of Britain than the rest of the world could shake a stick at. Or at least if you were an esteemed Professor of Archaeology there were, anyway.

Speaking of Professors, now that his letter was finished, Luke had to get back to studying!

Because he had his own plans to get back to England. By working hard, becoming a Professor and returning home as an equal, he'd finally be back by Layton's side.

Regardless of anything else that might have changed, Luke knew that would always be where he belonged.