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From the moment she saved him from being falsely imprisoned, he knew he was in love with Katrielle. From the atmosphere that changed when she walked in, to the way she subtly commanded a conversation to her favor, he was in awe of everything about her. That was why he wanted to be by her side as an assistant, a friend.
Did he find that he owed much to her? Of course! But it wasn't entirely out of infatuation that he was with her. He respected her and cared deeply for her. And out of that respect, he kept the majority of his infatuation locked away, sticking to the tiny quips that came out every so often.
It was an open secret that he crushed on her hard, and that extended even further when her brother came along.
Alfendi was a mysterious sort to start with. Somewhat withdrawn but gentlemanly was what he could describe him as. He had his own way of investigating and interacted with others but found that he complimented quite nicely with his companions. At least… until his other side showed.
His other personality, his original as Ernest found out, was far more abrasive. He was curt, quick to the point and easy to rile up. Murders were a mixture of blood, excitement, and melodrama that he ate up with fervor. But outside of his job, he was...oddly quiet and thoughtful.
The first time he had experienced it for himself was when Katrielle "handed him over" when Lucy was sick with the flu.
"For the last time, Kat, I don't NEED an assistant for the day! I can get by on my own."
"Yes, yes. But let me tell you, it makes a world of difference when you have someone to organize your thoughts."
Katrielle leaned in close and the whispers tickled his ear, giving him a blush of brilliant red.
"See, he gets awfully grumpy when he doesn't have someone to bounce his ideas off. He'll never admit he's bored and maybe a bit lonely when he's left to his own devices for too long."
"I'm capable of working alone! I did before Lucy worked here."
"You blew through, like, five weeks of work in three days! And the suspects behind all the cases were scared to death at the end of their interrogations. You won't believe how much I got out of Mr. Barton sometimes!"
"What? He tells you what I've been up to?"
"Why wouldn't he? He's a family friend!"
"That blathering old fool…" he hissed under his breath.
"Besides! You and Ernest only met each other when I'm over, and he wanted to learn more about criminal investigation."
Which, it was true. As time grew, he found himself wanting far more than just being an assistant. He had a fondness for mysteries that nearly contended with his knack for botany, but found himself unable to solve cases like Katrielle did.
To be under the tutelage of Alfendi Layton… He found excitement just thinking about it.
"Okay, and why can't he just tag along with you as always?"
"I'm not afforded cases involving police work all that often. But you've got that in spades. Won't you take him under your wing for a couple of days, just to get his feet wet with Scotland Yard's investigations?"
His bored eyes looked over Ernest as he seemed to analyze everything about him in one long stare. Once he gleaned enough from his glance, he scratched his head.
"If he really wants to, I won't stop him. But the danger of being around an investigator will always be high. Especially with me. I won't protect you if you get into trouble."
"I understand perfectly, Mr. Layton! Thank you so much for letting me join you, even if for a little while!"
A beaming smile from Ernest made the man glance to his sister, as if expecting an answer from her.
"Come now! He's your temporary assistant! He's eager to help you out."
"Right. Alright, come along then…"
As Alfendi's fleeting figure made its way out the front door, Ernest gave a meek wave as a goodbye and quickly walked out to match his stride.
What he didn't realize was that his heart was put to the test the moment he was in his possession.
His hair was a lavender purple, considerably mute from the wild red mane he sported before. The lad could only assume that he's changed over. A gentle smile was tossed Ernest's way and he found himself tumbling on his words to give a suitable conversation.
"Relax, you won't be getting into any mysteries right away. First, we should get to know each other properly, wouldn't you say?"
"Oh, um, of course!"
He sat on the little office chair that sat opposite of Alfendi's rolling chair.
"So, Ernest, tell me… what made you decide on me as a mentor? Surely you're not tired of being around my sister, hm?"
"Oh, no sir! I'd never tire of her! Um, I mean…! I really wanted to learn from you too, after hearing so much about you."
He raised an eyebrow. "How much have you heard about me?"
"A lot of stuff, I'm really impressed with how much you've done and…"
His sentence drifted when he noticed that Alfendi, despite being quiet, was trying to steer him to a certain answer by how he nodded his head. Ernest understood immediately.
"Well, I also have heard about the personality changing, but that doesn't bother me. Your mind is a brilliant one, regardless of circumstances."
Al let out a sigh that he didn't realize he had. His shoulders relaxed and he sat back in his chair. Perhaps he wasn't too sure of the outcome himself and wished to hear it with his own ears.
"Very well then. I'll do my best to teach you all that there is to investigation. But I won't go easy on you. You'll get the same treatment as Lucy did when she started."
"I don't expect less, sir!"
Ernest felt his admiration for him grow, when Alfendi saved him from yet another terrible fate that had fallen on him.
It all happened faster than he could process. They were both interrogating a particularly nasty fellow with a bad temper. Ernest was told to keep quiet the whole time and to let him handle all the talking.
But unfortunately, the Alfendi that did the interrogation was ruthless in his pursuit and set off the suspect in question. He was already 92.5% sure of the person being the culprit, but with how quickly he reached for his knife...It sealed the deal.
"If you wanna give me lip, then I'm sure you won't mind lip yourself...from your friend here!"
"...Huh?"
Quicker than Ernest could lift his head from his notes, he was grabbed by his scalp and the knife's edge was quickly swung to his chin.
He teared up and closed his eyes out of reflex and didn't open them until he realized that the blade never made contact. When he opened them, he saw Alfendi grabbing hold of the blade with a bare hand.
"Mi...Mr. Layton!"
There was a fiery in his eyes that he was sure not even Kat had ever experienced as he retaliated with a punch using his other hand. The blow landed sqaure in the attacker's jaw and caused him to fly a good distance backwards before he fell onto his back.
"Attacking police is a big mistake, but the bigger mistake was thinking you can lay your hands on whoever you want."
Alfendi looked over to Ernest, his gaze still hardened.
"Did he hurt you?"
Ernest shook his head. "Um, no… I, I think he just pulled my hair a bit, that's all."
A dangerous grin spread across his lips and Ernest felt his chest tighten at that. Using his unbloodied hand, he lifted the attacker by his collar.
"Did he pull anything out? I'll punish him for every strand that's left your head."
The man in his clutches froze and started tearing up.
"No! Please! I'm sorry! My anger got the better of me! I'll stop, just let me go!"
"You better watch it, or my anger will get the better of me."
Ernest raised his hands. "N-no! Nothing happened! You caught him before he did anything! Don't do anything rash!"
Al clicked his teeth. "Fine. But only because you said so."
In an instant the man was dropped onto the floor and he flexed the hand that was cut as he examined it. A large line of red stretched across his palm and droplets fell to the floor in small drips.
"Ernest, let the guards know what happened. I'll stay here and make sure this guy doesn't do anything else."
"Um, right! I'll be right back, then!"
Once Ernest retrieved some help, the first that arrived at the scene was a curly haired brunette that looked only a few years older than him with a couple of guards from the reception area.
"I got here as soon as I could! Is anyone hurt?" He asked.
"Sniffer, I see you got sent over for this one," Alfendi answered back.
He was currently his calm, collected self, now bandaged from the altercation and sitting next to the handcuffed perpetrator. A weak smile was thrown his way along with a nod to the two gentlemen that proceeded to haul their new prisoner behind bars.
"Yeah, we're a bit short staffed today… sorry about the wait, Mr. Layton."
He chuckled. "You know, at some point either of you should drop the 'Mister Layton'. It's odd to hear it from two people now."
Sniffer and Ernest turned to each other, now realizing that Alfendi referred to both of them. One pushed up his glasses, while the other chuckled timidly.
"No promises there, chief. You're my superior after all!"
Ernest gave a small shrug. "I'm working under you, even if temporarily… So it feels weird not to use 'Mister'."
Alfendi nodded his head, the smile now looked pained.
"Of course, of course… valid reasons to do so."
He cleared his throat.
"Well, the antics from earlier only solidified the connections I've made: This man is indeed our killer in this current case. Furthermore, one can also conclude that the victim's death is not premeditated and done so in a fit of rage."
"You solved that case right quick! I'll take him to the holding cells for the time being then. You two ought to lock up after you've finished the paperwork, yeah? I'm sure your partner's feeling tired from all of this."
"Of course. Thanks, Sniffer."
Once the day was finished, the two cleared their work and shut the office for the day.
"Well, I best be off—"
"Ernest. Let me take you home."
It wasn't asked as a question, nor phrased as a suggestion. No, it was almost a demand, abrupt and without hesitation on his end.
"Oh no, I can't just have you extend yourself further on my behalf. I'm sure you have to get home yourself."
His eyes were sharpened once again and Ernest realized in an instant that his hair was a deep red, similar to the cut he sported.
"I need to make sure nothing else happens. Look, my sister would kill me if you got hurt."
Ernest's words stopped as soon as they formed on his lips. Miss Layton, caring for him? Was there something that he missed when the two were talking?
More so than that… Alfendi was more than willing to beat someone down the moment they laid their hands on him. And the smile he gave when he was going to do it was frightening!
"Sorry today didn't go over so well. We don't normally have anyone so...fiesty. But there are always exceptions."
"It's fine, Mr. Layton! I knew it when I took up the mantle of being your temporary assistant that danger was an element."
"...In any case, I'll drive you home. I won't take no for an answer."
The car ride was silent as the day's events surely tired out the two. But it wasn't nearly as tiring as Ernest's thoughts were once he got to his little apartment.
He knew the feeling far too well. It was the same feeling he had when Katrielle saved him: a sense of longingness, idolization, and of course…
Love.
But what about Katrielle? No, he still felt the same about her. That much didn't change—It probably never will, even if friendship was all that awaited him. It's not as if he minded, he wanted to be her friend first and foremost.
But her brother? Him as well? Really? Was this new type of hubris he was unaware of? He didn't stand a chance to be noticed by a chief inspector of Scotland Yard, let alone his amazingly talented sister! And it wasn't as if he would feel the same, he barely knew him!
Though he supposed he could say the same about Kat and when they first bumped into each other.
His thoughts devolved halfway into the evening. He found it was hard to go to sleep that night.
____
That day had changed him. His thoughts were so unorganized that he could barely work as usual. It wasn't long before others had noticed. His canine friend was the first and only to approach him.
"Hey, Ernest."
Ernest snapped from his stare at the ceiling. He momentarily forgot how and why he was lying on the couch. The memory came back immediately—Miss Layton sent him there after he nearly scalded himself with tea in his absentmindedness.
"Oh, hi Sherl. I didn't see you there."
"Kind of hard to when your head's in outer space. But I can see you're deep in thought."
"Yeah. I guess I am."
"About what?"
He hesitated.
"Is it about Kat?"
"Y...Yes. And her brother, Alfendi."
"Is it about what happened two days ago? I hear you had a close shave with the person you guys were interrogating."
"Yeah. If he hadn't acted fast, my head probably wouldn't be on my shoulders right now."
"Well, he's in prison and you're out here, so that's hardly anything to get your paws in a twist about anymore, right?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that, Sherl."
Sherl's brow furrowed and he hopped up to sit in Ernest's lap. After a soft "oof", the lad sat up to scratch behind his ears.
"Alright, try me. I may be an ol' dog, but I know some tricks. What's the problem?"
"Well, I...it's…"
A gentle nod came from the hound.
"It's Alfendi. I can't thank him enough for some of the things I've learned from him and even more so for him saving my life. But...now I feel the same way I did for Miss Layton when she saved me some time ago."
Sherl stared ahead for a moment before his mind put everything together.
"Wait! Are you saying you—!?"
"I can't help it. He can be very kind and thoughtful just like she is. And he's smart, and calculative…"
"Oh, brother! I think you might just get too attached to others too quickly sometimes. He's not exactly the most personable guy on the block, you know?"
"I know…"
Sherl hummed. "Well, what else did you like about the guy? What got you so enamored with him?"
"It was how he quickly saved me without a second thought for his own safety and how he would do anything to make sure I was safe. And how he took me home in his car just to make sure nothing else would hurt me."
He went on and on until nothing else came to mind. Sherl was silent the whole time until he asked:
"Does he know? That you like him that much, I mean."
"No, of course not! I can't… I can't tell him! He only really got to know me well enough on the job and that's it."
"And you never told Kat about how you felt about her either."
"Yet it feels like I'm...betraying her."
"You can't cheat on someone you were never with, Ernest."
"I know, I know!"
"Are you going to tell either of them how you feel?"
Ernest grimaced. "What would you say are the chances that either of them would like me the same way?"
"Uh… the chances seem about the same, at least that's how I see it."
"Which is…?"
"None, if you don't say anything."
He groaned. It was about what he expected from the dog, but he was right. Sitting on it will not yield any result. He would just lose his nerve and end up a slave to his feelings until he either told them or got over it.
"I won't get in your love life. That's something only you can decide on yourself. But, as a dog that knows a litter or two, siblings aren't really the ones to share. Especially their lover."
Ernest sputtered, his face lit red in embarrassment.
"I...I know that! I… I'm just all mixed up.”
“It’s been eating at you that much, huh?”
“Almost to the point where I can’t do anything. Maybe I should take some time off and cool my head. I have my college classes to think of after all! I’m sure it’ll pass.”
With that, Ernest picked Sherl up from his lap and lifted him till he was face-to-face with him.
“Thanks, Sherl. I don’t talk about myself that much so I sometimes forget that it helps to talk to someone whenever something’s wrong.”
“Hey, I’m just doing what any friend will do. You do keep me fed and my coat cleaned, after all.”
He grinned. “Well, someone has to. And I know Miss will overlook the baths here and there while she’s case-bound.”
“In that case, mind considering signing me on as your emotional support pup? It’ll at least get me into your dorms when Kat’s away.”
It brought a snort before a chuckle. “I can try, but I can’t make promises.”