Professor Hershel Layton was a very busy man. If he wasn't tending to his students and academic responsibilities, he found himself on a dig site of some kind. There were also the occasional instances in which Layton would be asked to investigate some sort of mystery that kept him away from London. There was always something going on in his life to where he hardly had any time to do anything. Sure, he had the lax hours of the evening with his cup of tea and books to preoccupy his time until he had to go to bed, but never much outside of that. Normally Layton wouldn't mind, but time began to weigh heavy on him and make him reconsider how he allocated his time. There were places he had to go, people he needed to see.
The one he felt he had to see the most was none other than Randall Ascot. Layton was lucky to have the opportunity to take a week during the summer months to go and visit Monte d'Or. It always warmed his heart to see his friends from his past, who kept in contact with him now following the events of a few years prior. Out of all of them, though, the most excitable one was Randall. No matter how much time had passed, he still seemed almost attached to him at the hip. The welcoming hugs from his best friend always made his heart swell, both back in their Stansbury days and in the present day. Some things really don't change.
Yet some do. There were always little things the two of them picked up back when they were teenagers. Layton much more so, who could label what his feelings for Randall were, yet lacking the courage the redhead had to say anything of it. Societal pressures, Randall's father, whatever it may be, he never could get the words out. Instead, he was entangling his fingers through the roots of his self-grown forget-me-nots in his family's garden, wondering how it would be like if things were different. Wishing things were different. Layton didn't have to wish anything like that anymore, as the two of them were grown, mature, and better equipped at knowing that the world around them was a cruel place.
The world outside didn't matter to the two who looked out upon the horizon from the tallest room in the Reunion Inn. Their fingers entwined, bodies pressed against each other, whispering the things they either didn't have words for or what they could be condemned for. There was no one but them, the setting sun, and the incoming moon. In that moment, their lifelong adoration and devotion extended far beyond the stars.
"There's no need to put it into words. I don't believe there are words for it. Being here with me, living in this moment, means much more to me than any thanks. It soothes a part of me that has loved you since the day our eyes locked on each other for the first time. I couldn't say it then, but it fills me with a deep joy to be able to say it now."
Layton chuckled softly as he nuzzled gently against Randall. "It fills me with a deeper joy to hear you say that, though. Your path of healing has been nothing but inspirational." Suddenly, a slight, mischievous glint sparked in his beady eyes. Layton smirked, "glad to know some things finally got through that thick head of yours."
