DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Professor Layton series, nor do I own Layton's Mystery Journey; the same definitely applies to the anime the latter is based on, I've never owned it and never will probably (I cry…)

There she was.

Ten years had passed since he'd said goodbye to her. She had her back to him, deeply engrossed in conversation with the skinny young man next to her – her assistant, Hershel figured. The last time he'd seen her she'd barely made it past his hip, her pudgy cheeks still tinted rosy-red with toddlerhood; but despite this, despite every change that had transpired during his stay in that cryogenic chamber, as he stepped alongside Luke into the large room and spotted that little pale yellow hat that resembled his own, sitting lopsidedly atop her chestnut curls, he immediately knew that it was her. It had to be.

He didn't even have to check her face. He looked at her and his heart still leapt into his throat as the realization struck him. Her name flickered across his mind – the name he'd kept tucked safely within himself for all these years – and when he placed it on her, the young woman standing before him at the other end of the room, the instant connection made his heart swell as if to burst out of his chest:

Katrielle. Kat. Miss Lady Layton to the rest of the country, the brilliant prodigy detective; to Hershel Layton, his precious daughter that deserved the world.

He listened a tad longer to her chatter with her assistant before making his presence known. She reacted just as he'd expected; she shot upright from her slight crouch, her body stiffening as a sharp gasp escaped her throat.

That sound, that involuntary rush of his baby girl's voice, sent Hershel's poor heart into yet another emotional frenzy.

"…You've grown quite a lot, Kat."

"…I knew you'd make it back to us… D-Daddy…"

When she finally turned around, finally revealed her trembling smile and glistening eyes, he decided that he couldn't take another second of this. The outside, public world, for once, didn't matter a scrap to Professor Hershel Layton. He couldn't have cared less that they had an audience, however small it was; he couldn't have cared less that what he was about to do might appear dramatic, silly even. What others thought didn't matter. It should never have mattered in the first place. In that moment, Luke, the assistant, and that droopy basset hound by the assistant's feet ceased to exist; nobody else existed apart from Hershel, his daughter, and the remaining distance between them.

He needed to close it up for good.

"Katrielle!" He broke into a run as if to catch her after a fall.

"Daddy!" She followed suit, crying out for him as she stumbled forwards, just as desperate to reach him as he was to her.

A decade of distance had passed between them, and yet to Hershel this small final journey back to his daughter felt like an agonizing eternity. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. In that time, Katrielle seemed to change before Hershel's eyes; all of a sudden he was seeing her as he'd known her last, as a little girl who wore tiny frilled nightgowns and tripped on her own heels and begged him every night before bedtime for tales of his past adventures and discoveries. That little girl was now rushing towards him like she'd never reach him fast enough, only no longer little and clumsy and cute but a beautiful, intelligent young woman who'd already made a name for herself as an incredible mind that rivaled even him. It was one of the only things that stumped even the great Professor Hershel Layton and left him utterly speechless.

"I have so much to tell you… So much has happened… since you left… we– we had to move away, b-but… I-I've made so many new friends! So many great memories, Daddy!"

"…There's no need to rush, Kat. You can tell me everything. I shall listen to your stories every day."

With one final cry she threw herself at him, burying her face into his coat and wrapping her arms tight around his torso. He felt her shuddering sobs, felt them tighten his chest and rattle his bones. He gritted his teeth and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He held onto her like, should his grip loosen, he'd lose her forever.

"Oh, Daddy… I-I missed you so much…!"

"…M-Me too, Kat… I-I missed you, too…

"…I'm so sorry th-that… that– that I couldn't be there for you all this time…"

Stinging tears built up behind his eyes, pricking their corners. He welcomed them as they trailed hot streaks down his cheeks. He held her as more apologies and assertions of forgiveness flowed out of both of them. He reassured her, rubbed up and down her trembling back, repeated her name, buried his face into her hair, kissed her face, then kissed her hair, then pulled the embrace ever tighter as his own barely-restrained sobs shook his whole body. Because she was his daughter, God damn it, she was his precious baby and he'd missed an entire decade of her life. He'd been off adventuring and letting himself be trapped in a mechanism of time like a twit while she'd had to grow up uncertain if her father was still alive. Even during his own capture, prior to his long sleep in suspended animation, he'd wondered if he'd live to see her sweet face again. How it had hurt him, thinking of the poor little girl he'd left behind, whom he'd promised all those years ago that he would always be there to protect her – a sacrificial knife driven through his chest would have given him less agony. She was his little girl, and he'd failed her. He'd broken his promise and left her alone and she'd had to grow up without a clue to her beloved father's whereabouts. And now, here she was, grown-up and matured, nestled into his arms again. Safe. Happy. To make a scene like this was only human instinct; to react any less would betray the values of a true gentleman.

"I-I don't care that it's been ten years… the past doesn't matter anymore… wh-what does is that… y-you're home, you're finally home, Daddy…"

"Yes, my dear Kat… and I promise you, I swear on my old soul, that I'll never leave you again. I'll always be with you. I promise…"

He wasn't sure if she truly forgave him or if she was simply inserting some semblance of positivity into their emotional states; God knew he certainly didn't forgive himself. He couldn't forgive this, he simply didn't want to. But just the idea that she could forgive him one day, despite everything he'd done to her these past ten years, it caused a warm spark to flicker within in his chest.

He'd make sure to keep his promise to her, this time for real. He never wanted to leave her again, leave her alone in this vast, confusing yet fascinating world. He wanted to atone as best he could, make up for every second of time they'd lost. He promised her and himself that he'd become a better father – not just to Kat, but to the other children he'd failed: sweet, innocent, doting Flora, and Alfendi, the troubled but brilliant son that he adored but didn't deserve. He'd repair everything he'd ever broken, be there whenever he was needed, become the man his friends deserved, the true father that his children deserved.

After all:

"…That is what a gentleman does…"

Hello there, wonderful Layton fans! So, this was really just a stress-relief exercise to cool off after a tense week, but I felt like you all would enjoy a bit of Dad Layton fluff so here you go :3 I'll admit, I wasn't too keen on Layton's Mystery Journey at first, but after seeing gameplay I honestly love the cast just as much as the main Layton characters (I mean, Kat is a badass, Ernest is a sweetheart, and Sherl is the perfect sarcastic grump, what more could you ask for in a detective game cast? Haha). Likewise, I loved the cases and character moments in the Layton's Mystery Detective Agency anime, but absolutely every moment between Hershel and Kat destroyed me, especially their big reunion at the end of the series :''') So I wrote a bit of fluff from Hershel's point of view based on that scene, I really hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know if you'd like to see more Layton oneshots from me, I hope you all have a fabulous day! Take care! :D

~Pixel