Thanks for helping out with drownout! As a request, could you write a lil fic about the bostonius crew doing something fun! Idk like game night, going to a festival, the girls forcing sycamore to do his hair differently or smt. Go wild!
Aurora turned the apple over in her hand, inspecting the freckles and imperfections on its skin.
“You know, I can peel them if you’d like, and you could take over beating the eggs. It would be faster,” Emmy said. She had been whisking quite vigorously: a show of strength considering Raymond’s kitchen was well enough equipped to use an electric mixer.
Aurora considered, but declined the offer. There wasn’t much else she could help with, even if she was moving a lot slower than Emmy and Raymond. Of course, as a butler, Raymond made it his business to know exactly what he was doing. Emmy shared his confidence, but after watching her stumble trying to fish with her bare hands in Kodh, Aurora figured she walked into all situations this way.
Raymond silently took the knife from Aurora’s hand and replaced it with a peeler. The process became a bit smoother after that, and the three soon found themselves with a dough-lined pan full of sticky apple filling. Raymond expertly laid strips of dough into a lattice and crimped the edges.
Emmy whisked it off the table and walked backwards towards the open oven, “go see if the boys set everything up. I’ll be right there.”
Aurora came out into the living area preceding the Bostonius’s cockpit. Professor Layton, Professor Sycamore, and Luke were sitting around a Monopoly board complete with stacks of cards and piles of colorful fake notes. Aurora sat next to Luke who was fiddling with the terrier piece, and asked him to explain the premise of the game. He finished right as Emmy returned, and the game began.
After a bit of banter Layton was entrusted with the banker position since he was capable of both basic math and not cheating. Everyone took turns rolling the dice and claiming properties until most of the board was occupied.
Aurora pulled a card as the square she landed on instructed her to. “Go to jail? But what crimes have I committed?”
“You haven’t done anything wrong, silly. That’s just a handicap the game throws at you”, Luke said.
“But it doesn’t seem fair. I haven’t committed any sort of fraud, and I’m pretty sure I counted my notes correctly when paying rent.”
“Tell them, Aurora,” Emmy said. “Fight the injustices of big business.”
Professor Sycamore said, “I’m sure you’d be singing a different song if the dice were in your favor.”
“I have an idea. Let’s overthrow Desmond and redistribute his wealth.”
“Now, now,” Layton said. “Remember, we are playing Monopoly, not a tabletop RPG. I’m sure you’ll recover from your temporary incarceration, Aurora dear.”
Luke rolled the dice and moved his terrier to the square with a tap icon.
“Pay up, squirt,” Desmond said.
“I’ll show you waterworks,” Luke snarled, handing over the payment.
“I’ll line your pipes with lead.”
Emmy landed on one of Desmond’s squares as well, looking down at the paper money in front of her.
“Uh oh, looks like someone is going to have to mortgage her boardwalk,” Desmond said with a fake pout.
“I’m afraid the power of wealth is getting to your head, Professor,” Layton said.
“Unless…” Desmond drawled. “I make you a little deal.”
“No way.”
“Give me the boardwalk and you won’t have to pay me rent on any of my squares this time and the next two.”
“Oh don’t even start with deals. If we start making deals we’ll lose track of them and this will all be a big mess.”
Layton borrowed a notepad from Luke. “I am perfectly capable of documenting and supervising complex business transactions.”
A beeping noise rang out from another room.
“Thank Christ the pie is finished,” Emmy said, stretching. She left for the kitchen, leaving Desmond’s cocky offer in the air.
Raymond looked into the kitchen, “gloves, dear.”
“Oh yes, of course.”
The game paused, a moment of quiet save for the chorus of chewing. Aurora picked small forkfuls off of her slice, savoring it. Suddenly, she felt a small pit form in her stomach. Why? Did she develop an intolerance to apples or something? … Was this guilt…? For what, enjoying a sardonic little board game? This isn’t what you’re supposed to be doing, Aurora. You weren’t made to waste this much time. Shut up. This wasn’t a waste of time. This was just a fun evening well spent with her travelling party. She thought back to the blemishes on the apple peel and looked down at her own smooth hands. There’s a lot they don’t know. Christ, there’s a lot I don’t even know about myself yet.
Luke broke her out of her trance, “cor blimey! My compliments to the chefs!”
“Luke, my boy. It’s hardly been two minutes and you’ve already inhaled that sizable slice. Did you forget to chew again?”
“I chewed very well, mind you. It’s just a testament to the pie’s quality.”
“Why thank you,” Emmy laughed. “It was a group effort, eh Aurora?”
Aurora smiled, “yeah. It was.”
Raymond collected their plates, and the game resumed once more. Aurora could scarcely believe these were the same people who were fishing together in harmony a few weeks ago on their last day in Kodh. Despite the witty jabs and sly attempts to collect all properties of the same color, Aurora knew everyone really did care for each other.
She looked at the “get out of jail free” card she had just drawn and Desmond’s boot sitting in the prison tile. An uncharacteristically devious smile crossed her face as she held up her card and said, “I propose an auction”.
Everyone froze in shock. Desmond had stacks to spare, but even Layton was willing to pay for his downfall. Emmy and Luke ended up pooling their money into a winning bid in the joint effort to screw Desmond over, and whoever landed in jail first got to use the card.
Aurora found herself laughing all throughout the auction, collecting her considerable payment in return. Many ages have passed, and men are still absolute fools, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
