storypaint (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
storypaint) wrote2009-06-16 08:19 pm
storypaint) wrote2009-06-16 08:19 pm
Speechless (Layton/Claire)
Title: Speechless
Fandom: Professor Layton
Length: 324 words
Prompt: Professor Layton (Anon) Fan Meme: Layton proposing to Claire.
Pairing: Layton/Claire
Other: AU.
Excerpt: "Would you do me the great honor...?" he asked the mirror, running the bill of his hat through his hands. He coughed, then tried again.
He'd been practicing the Speech for weeks. It had already gained a capital letter in his mind.
"Would you do me the great honor...?" he asked the mirror, running the bill of his hat through his hands. He coughed, then tried again.
"Claire Tesdinic, would you...?"
"As you know, we've been walking out together for some time..."
"I have spoken with your father, and he thinks this is a marvelous idea..."
Hershel frowned at his reflection for a moment, then sighed and replaced his hat. The top hat never failed to make him smile, because it reminded him of the wonderful woman who'd given it to him.
The woman who would be his bride within the year... if he was able to make it through the Speech, that was.
*
When he took a breath and stood up to finally ask the question, Hershel Layton's mind went utterly blank. Claire stared at him politely as he opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it again. The words he wanted did not appear.
After a moment, he managed to make it to one knee, feeling oddly creaky for a young man. He took her hand in his, feeling his tremble, and still he couldn't speak.
A smile dawned on her face. She looked down at him sweetly and said, "Of course I will, Hershel."
There was a copy of his final Speech in his coat pocket but he fumbled past it for the engagement ring, and managed to slide it onto her finger without dropping it.
She pulled him to his feet and into an embrace. It was a little too intimate for a public restaurant, he really thought, but he couldn't protest at all. He put his arms around her firmly, and thought about the new Speech he'd have to memorize, with all the little back-and-forth phrases.
As long as he could remember, "I do," he decided, he'd be all right. Claire would understand the rest.
Fandom: Professor Layton
Length: 324 words
Prompt: Professor Layton (Anon) Fan Meme: Layton proposing to Claire.
Pairing: Layton/Claire
Other: AU.
Excerpt: "Would you do me the great honor...?" he asked the mirror, running the bill of his hat through his hands. He coughed, then tried again.
He'd been practicing the Speech for weeks. It had already gained a capital letter in his mind.
"Would you do me the great honor...?" he asked the mirror, running the bill of his hat through his hands. He coughed, then tried again.
"Claire Tesdinic, would you...?"
"As you know, we've been walking out together for some time..."
"I have spoken with your father, and he thinks this is a marvelous idea..."
Hershel frowned at his reflection for a moment, then sighed and replaced his hat. The top hat never failed to make him smile, because it reminded him of the wonderful woman who'd given it to him.
The woman who would be his bride within the year... if he was able to make it through the Speech, that was.
*
When he took a breath and stood up to finally ask the question, Hershel Layton's mind went utterly blank. Claire stared at him politely as he opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it again. The words he wanted did not appear.
After a moment, he managed to make it to one knee, feeling oddly creaky for a young man. He took her hand in his, feeling his tremble, and still he couldn't speak.
A smile dawned on her face. She looked down at him sweetly and said, "Of course I will, Hershel."
There was a copy of his final Speech in his coat pocket but he fumbled past it for the engagement ring, and managed to slide it onto her finger without dropping it.
She pulled him to his feet and into an embrace. It was a little too intimate for a public restaurant, he really thought, but he couldn't protest at all. He put his arms around her firmly, and thought about the new Speech he'd have to memorize, with all the little back-and-forth phrases.
As long as he could remember, "I do," he decided, he'd be all right. Claire would understand the rest.