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It's late evening as it is, and you were about to head home for the day. Teaching Americana has been one of your most favorite things to teach about since teaching in England, and seeing British students react amazingly to things you considered normal was the icing on the cake.
Before you left your classroom though, you got a call from the Dean.
"Professor Layton has requested your presence at his office urgently."
Odd. Normally he would just come to you in person if he had something to talk about. Maybe this was something strictly pertaining to teaching, or maybe just archeology.
Nevertheless, you chuckled at that, and made your way to his office.
It wasn't a huge secret that you and Hershel had been a couple for a good long while now, even before you got this job thanks to the teacher's exchange program back in your home country. It had just so happened Hershel Layton had recommended you to Gressenheller University for the exchange, as a solely logical choice.
How much of that was true was up for debate. You wouldn't deny he probably was thinking logically about it, but on the other hand, you (and a couple other teachers) knew there was a trace of BS somewhere in there. He just wanted to see you more often.
When you got together, you were nervous he wouldn't be on board for an often long-distance relationship. You were an American citizen first and foremost. And although you were working on getting dual citizenship in the UK since your mom was born and raised there in Britain for a good chunk of her childhood, you could never permanently tear away from your home. As much as you loved the silly puzzle solver, you cherished your family too.
And he respected that. Saying that he agreed, wholeheartedly accepting the relationship with it's circumstances. That only made you love him more.
You would spend a good chunk of time in England, then the other chunk of the year back in America. You had found a balance, strengthened now by your frequent use of teaching abroad, and it kept your relationship stable. It was a good thing you two were strongly committed people as well, so even when you were away, your bond never faltered. Besides, you two kept in touch every day when apart, and it was adorable to hear and read Hershel's longing for your presence every time.
You now found yourself standing at his door, taking a moment to stare at the hat emblem upon it, finding it endearing, as always. You were now extra curious as to what he was requesting of you.
'Only one way to find out.'
Gently, you knocked on the door, hearing a "You may come in." from the other side. Opening the door, your eyes settled on his sitting form.
"You sent for me Professor?"
As you entered his office, you found him sitting at his desk, deep into paperwork with small artifacts to his left side, stack of papers to his right.
He had his brown overcoat hanging on the couch to the side of his office. You could hear the smile on his face as he turned to see you out of the corner of his eye. "Ah, Miss l/n, glad to see you got my request in a decent time."
You think about scoffing at him using your last name so formally, then finally shut the door behind you closed.
Hershel scribbles something down on a paper as he speaks. "Please excuse me y/n, I was just finishing up filing this paperwork."
You smile reassuringly, holding up an open hand and taking a few steps forward. "You're fine Layton. Take your time. I wasn't in a rush anyways."
You set your purse and school things beside the couch, already having assumed he would take an extra hour to do some busy work.
While staying in London, you used to rent a flat out most of the time, but recently Hershel decided that letting you stay with him was a more beneficial arrangement. Financially and practically.
He moved the finished paper aside as you spoke up again, tilting your head a little to the side. "So, why did you ask the head to call on me? He said it was an urgent matter."
He turned in his chair to finally meet your curious stare, hiding a hint of anxiety in his demeanor. "Ah, yes, well, it is something quite important."
"Really?"
He stood up from his seat, dusting his hands against his pants for no apparent reason, his hat hiding his eyes for a moment. "Well, imperative to me I should say, actually."
You blinked, thinking it over with a professional context. You remained open to listen. "Is it something about the students? Or your teaching schedule or something?"
He shook his head, walking over a little to you, meeting your eyes. "No, nothing of the sort right now."
You watched something flicker across his eyes. Then, you crossed your arms, straightening your posture, becoming a little more skeptical. "Okay Hershel, what's up? They said you said my presence here was "urgent." And if it's a personal matter, why didn't you just come get me? Or talk about this at home?"
There was a crack in his cool expression, a nervousness as he scratched the side of his left cheek, briefly glancing away from you. "W-well..."
He stood with this for a moment, before an idea popped in his head, lifting up his features. Not really an original thought for him, but one that brought him great enjoyment.
He chuckled, looking back to you, three fingers going to tip the rim of his hat up, a grand smile raising up his lips. "What if I give you a puzzle to figure out the answer?"
You raised a brow, skepticism melting into a heartful challenge. You gave an adoring grin, skewing into a slight determination. You shifted your weight to one side, keeping your arms crossed. "Okay I'll bite. Hit me."
He went on to recite a riddle, and you payed close attention. "For some I bring the gift of life, for others I bring death instead. I've been known to mend relationships, or to tear them apart with gossip and innuendo. Some think of me as a wild rockstar, but I prefer to be known as a simpleton. I am often given, occasionally stolen, rarely sold, and never borrowed. What am I?"
You glanced up to the side, thinking carefully about the riddle. One of your arms moved to place a finger to your chin. You hummed a little, looking back to see him putting on a poker face. He knew if you could read his true expression, you would get even more suspicious.
You hummed again, unsure with your first answer. "Hmm... Flowers?"
Despite his best attempt at a straight face, a cheeky grin stretched his lips up. "Good guess, but not the thing I've sent you for."
You curled your finger to rest just below your bottom lip, and furrowed your brows to ponder a little more.
And then, it hit you.
Your face morphed into an exasperated look, then your eyes squinting and your mouth thinning into a line. Your arms fell to your sides, and you tilted your head, meeting his gaze. "Seriously?"
A chortle escaped his throat, briefly glancing down to his shoes then back up to you, and he flicked the brim of his hat up. His eyes had a glint to them, and he couldn't be bothered to hide his skewed grin. "What?"
You straightened your neck, crossing your arms again briefly, answering the riddle out loud. "A kiss."
There was a glow on his face to your answer, as he goes to hold his hat cheerfully. "Correct! Or, some people would say heart as well-"
You swiftly lowered your arms back to your sides, snapping his name with a playful exhaustion. "Hershel!"
He breathed out a few more chuckles, curbing his mirth quickly, surrendering himself. "Okay, okay."
He came up to you, and went to hold your hands, a wave a shyness abruptly hitting him. "I-." He paused just briefly for a soft, almost unnoticeable blush coinciding with a sheepish smile to grace his features. "I just really wanted to kiss my girlfriend."
For a moment you're silent, before you playfully gawked at him, then started giggling with adoration. A warm color brushed your cheeks, and he seemed to beam even wider at your mirth. You gave a big grin back, rolling your eyes and squeezing your held hands. "You're such a dork."
Hershel chuckled once, choosing not to comment as you went to kiss him happily, to which he gratefully reciprocated.
It was for a long good stretch of seconds before he departed, and you could feel the smirk drawing up your lips as you spoke. "You asked the headmaster for my presence because you wanted to kiss?"
"I didn't say that to him." He retorted lightly.
"Well of course you didn't." You breathed out an amused huff.
He held back a chuckle, tilting his head down, then peeking to your sight under the rim of his hat. "You found it cute, no?"
You conceded, your smirk fading into a small smile, giving your intertwined hands another squeeze. "Yes. If a little childish. I'll admit it made me giggle."
Hershel grinned innocently, playfully winking at you. "You must be rubbing off on me dear."
"Oh shush." You exhaled a soft laugh, then gave him another chaste peck against his lips.
As you departed though, Hershel stole another quick kiss from you. Then another. Then another.
Then you giggled, eyes closed. And he took that opportunity to lightly feather a peck against one of your closed eyelids which only made you giggle more.
You opened your eyes, and you spotted a twinkle in his pupils. You leaned your face closer to him, knowing he wanted a little more, almost touching noses. "You know, for a gentleman you're not very subtle."
His hands squeezed yours, tilting his head a little to the side. "I believe I was being subtle." He sounded so sure of himself that it almost made you laugh out loud. Instead, you held your tongue to it and met his lips again, tender.
Again, and again. The kisses got longer, harder, deeper. Sipping lips longingly, passionately. His hands untwined from yours and rubbed up your arms, firmly going to hold your biceps. Your hands rose up and settled on his upper chest, between his shoulder muscles. With each fervent kiss, you both found yourselves moving a step. You were lightly pushing him backwards, and he followed along, as you were guiding yourself and himself somewhere.
You both engaged in open mouthed kisses as the heat slowly increased. He held himself steady, absolutely indulging in the high-running romantic passion. Then, he found his back lightly touch a wall now behind him. For the short window of time when you both departed to take a breath, nose against nose, one of your hands dropped to his hip, pointer finger lightly stroking his side, silently asking for permission. He exhaled, just slightly nodding his head once.
You pressed your mouth against his quickly, raising your right hand up above the right side of his head, settling on the wall. With your other hand, you kept to his chest, pressing the professor completely up against the wall, moving your body closer, but just not completely touching yet. His hands let go of your arms, mumbling slightly with a low hum and wrapping his arms around you, one up your back and the other firmly around your waist, teasing the hem of your shirt.
You were delicate yet sure in your actions, as always. Giving him the security and relaxed space to let his restraint in intimacy wane, even just for a little bit. Besides, he knew what you liked, and he's always cheekily willing to bend a rule or two to give you what you like. Just so briefly he eyed the door to his office; closed. Good. Wouldn't want anyone accidentally walking in and immediately assuming...
You lightly touched your tongue to his bottom lip, once again asking through touch. Flicking once, then twice. He responded by meeting your tongue with his, an audible exhale huffing out his nose. You hummed back, tongues locking, twisting and swirling with each other in the world's most sensual dance. His hand on your back rubbed up and down, his hitched breathiness attempting (not so much) to hide pleasurable sounds. You were a lot less subtle, humming audibly in long stretches, the hand on the wall sliding down to the back of his head, slipping under his hat to lightly grasp his brown hair. Your left leg joining his beside the wall.
He loved the way you went about being intimate. Especially since you two hadn't gotten to that base. You weren't explosive, and never seemed to want to be. And you always asked with each step. He loved that. Which was good, as you knew he didn't want to go from 0 to 100 with passion either. Rather, he enjoyed a slow build up, letting the passionate feelings bloom naturally, like a pot of tea on the stove. Slowly getting warmed, then hotter, simmering, bubbling steadily, then getting to a boiling point, boiling well, and soon a little after which the kettle signals the end and the kettle's taken off the heat, satisfied with the result.
God he loved that metaphor to describe you. A sexy spot of tea.
And now his chest feels abnormally warm. He tries to brush it off.
You both have to depart from the French kissing (it's just been a total make out session for you two for a time now) because you're both so out of breath. There's a shine of saliva on your tongues, and his lips are a shining natural cherry red. Yours probably were too, but you didn't speak to any of it. You could only stay silent, catching your breath for a minute. Hershel was huffing quietly too for a long moment, his heartbeat clearly audible to him.
He knew that this wasn't quite over yet for you. After sufficiently catching his breath, he moved his face to your upper neck, just below your chin to your right, and started peppering kisses. You let out a giggly sigh, and hummed with pleasure again, tilting your head to give him better access. He peppered light, fluffy, kisses down your neck to your shoulder, then back up again. You silently giggled and hummed all along the way, riding high off of love. Your left leg hooked on his leg. Your hand on his chest sliding to his sleeved shoulder.
You moved your head to kiss his earlobe, and you could practically hear his smile.
You trailed kisses down his neck in turn, him slowing his pecks to take in your affection. You stopped between his neck and shoulder, and left longer kisses there. Gently sucking his skin.
You could hear an audible gasp land on your neck, and he lifted his head away, back onto the wall, his head still held in your other hand. You just slightly grazed your teeth across the spot, and he held back a noise. Unprompted, you fully pressed up against him making your body flush against his, hand on his shoulder sliding off his sleeve to get more exposure to continue the kissing. Then-
His heart grew heavy. Beating with the weight of thunder. His entire body felt like it was about to ignite into flames. You were flush against him. Against-.
He stood stiff as his eyes popped open. Emotions washed through him, as he realized what just happened to him. This sudden feeling.
It didn't help as you sucked his skin delicately to his shoulder and rubbed your hands on him tenderly. He bit his lip as a heated groan escaped his lips. He desperately panted out your name, suddenly too aware of himself. "y/n.."
You paused, raising your head just a little, talking in a low voice and a chuckle bubbling up your throat. You noted how he had stopped kissing you. "What? I thought you wanted to kiss me?"
He exhaled heavily, still feeling your weight against his. He glanced over to you, being upfront. "Yes. Still do. However..."
You turned your head to whisper directly into his ear, unable to not let a tease slip out. "You should expect the intensity by now, honey. You're dating an American woman."
His face was burning red, and took a few more breaths, chuckling softly. You pecked him on the lips, as he did peck back, however he reiterated. "I know. I do. I like the way you go about it. But perhaps you could reign yourself in a bit dearest?"
The sly grin that curled your lips was too easy, now noticing that his top hat was fairly crooked atop his head. "You certainly didn't show any restraint against me."
He glanced down a tad, humbly conceding to that. "That's true. Heh, that's my own failure in self control."
Your hold on him softened. He looked back up to you, and his hold on you relaxed as well. There was a creeping shyness in his eyes, only getting more and more bashful and embarrassed as he sheepishly spoke slowly. Sometimes glancing away. "Upon reflection, my asking might have hidden something more... Underlying than just a kiss. And, your boldness is only exemplifying it. This isn't exactly the best place to be so... daring."
You blinked once. Next, you could feel him.
And then it hit you.
Your eyes widened for a second.
"Oh. Oh. Hershel..."
You pulled your body off of him, off of the sudden compromising position. Gaze staying surprised but shock quickly fading. Your leg unhooked from his and your hands went to hold his shoulders. "Why didn't you begin with that?" You asked gently.
His cheeks flushed a rosey red, almost biting his cheek and spiking his nerves as he fumbled to explain. His arms fell off of you. "I really did just only want your kiss to begin with! Don't misunderstand. I just- It's just-."
He stopped himself. His panic dissolved as his blush darkened to a crimson, and his hand went to pull the rim of his hat down, hiding his eyes, ashamed. "Please excuse me. ...I'm only just a man." He's self-conscious about his emotions getting so high-strung. He glances away, keeping his eyes hidden. "Those feelings aren't very becoming of a gentleman."
You completely understood. Then, a warm soft grin spread across your lips. You raised one hand up to the rim of his hat, tipping it up as his nervous gaze met your empathetic one. "It's alright Hersh. It's completely understandable and normal to get that way about me. After all, you do genuinely love me."
His fingers let go of his hat, and his hand gently clasped yours, shy in his tone of voice. "Of course. I'm... Just not used to these... Sensual feelings showing up so unannounced. It's been quite a long time. I apologize."
You stepped away from him, letting him stand straight off the wall and take a few steps forward to regain his personal space.
You spoke earnestly, ghosting your arm with a hand. "I would've stopped if you said or indicated beforehand."
He nodded, readjusting his hat, speaking out with honesty. "I understand. I know. ...Admittedly I didn't want you to stop. A part of me wanted more than just your touch."
You both glanced away, speaking in unison. "..Sorry."
Your gaze snapped back to him, and after a minute, he coughed awkwardly, unsure of where to go from here.
He had seen that subtle expression that crossed your face; a mild disappointment. You hid it well, but he had still caught it. And while it was true you were a tad disappointed he and you had to stop, you would be content with what you got.
The awkward atmosphere hanged over like a kicked up cloud of dust for a beat, then started to settle.
You kept silent, before your thoughts abruptly reflected on his. A smirk came crawling across your face. "So..." As his attention turned to you, a amorous glint crossed your eyes. You placed your hands on your hips, tilting your head and shifting some weight to one side. "I turn you on, huh?"
That made a wonderful pink blush blossom across Hershel's cheeks and nose, shattering any attempt at composure, and he let out an uncontrollable stutter. "I- I- uh, um-"
You laughed out loud lightly, interrupting & shaking your head as you came up to him. "Only teasing out of adoration Hershel. Don't feel so embarrassed. Besides,"
You leaned into his ear, whispering flirtatiously.
"You turn me on too."
His heart seemingly stopped at what you just admitted, completely caught off guard. He found his breath had gone still, and he was left flushed again, speechless, mouth open adjar. You took a step back to see the exasperated result in plain view.
Finally, he took a long moment to recover and composed himself, fiddling with his top hat again and feigning a cough. "Um, how about we table that discussion until we get home then?"
You nodded immensely, walking over to the sofa in the office then gesturing to it.
"Of course. I'd also value private discretion for that. These types of couches wouldn't be comfortable anyways if we did end up doing anything of the sort."
Hershel fidgeted in place, a lump forming in his throat. He puts a foot forward, having to force the words out of him. "Are-. Are you sure you'd want to make that step?"
You stand straighter, observing the anxiety washing over him. You speak with caring concern. "Are you sure? We don't have to do anything you don't want to. I know you'd want me to be comfortable with it, but I reiterate the same back to you."
He nods once, briefly glancing away while holding his arm. "Indeed I'm a tad frazzled by the prospect, however..."
He pauses long enough to gain some confidence, and strides over to you, taking your hands in his own, his cheeks tinted a brush of pale red. He gives a small, shy smile. ".... I'm certain there's no other woman alive I'd want to make love with. Do you hold the same sentiment about me?"
You blush softly, your heart skipping a beat. Then you chuckle, fondly rolling your eyes. "Hershel, I think we've both been secretly having that desire for each other for a long time now. I put my full trust in you; I'm ready when you are. And vice versa?"
He smiles a little more, agreeing. "Right."
You can tell by his demeanor that he's not quite ready to say yes. Maybe a few more talks about it and then he'll feel ready. That's all right with you.
He lets your hands go, taking a step away. "Well," he starts, walking over to his desk, staring at the different piles of paper. A couple are almost filled out. "I have a few more papers I should fill out before we leave." He's neutral now.
You sat down on the couch at that as he continues to eye the documents and research papers.
In between a stack, near the bottom, he spots a document detailing a purchase of a certain (often sentimental & symbolic) piece of jewelry, and it's pickup date. He's reminded of it, and then makes a note to better hide that somewhere else before you happen to spot it. He's happy he'll be making that choice.
He glances at the research again, then the clock. And he hides a grin, deciding papers could wait a few more minutes.
Layton delicately takes off his hat, gently setting it upon an empty part of the desk. "However," He turns to you, and his grin brightens his face as he saunters over. "A true gentleman should always put a lady's needs first. And I know you weren't done with kissing me yet."
You can't help but beam at the prospect, turning your body to meet him. Hershel sits right next to you, and slides his arms around you in an embrace, a cheeky quirk to his lips. He makes sure to keep his eyes set to yours.
"Now then, where were we?"
You giggle, wondering if you really have rubbed off on him, wrapping your arms around his neck as he pulls you into a tender loving kiss, leaning into the couch. This time Hershel having a little more control over the intimacy.
You happily sighed internally. You love this silly puzzle-loving gentleman. And he wouldn't have it any other way.