Flying Home

Prologue

He sat up, hearing the noise downstairs.
He silently got up from his armchair, listening for anymore bangs.

He wasn't disappointed.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Stealthily as a cat, he wove his way around his bed, opening the door as quietly as doors can be opened, not disturbing the quiet of the night. Unlike the noise.

The lights were off in the hallway, as they were downstairs, outside, everywhere; that is, apart from the kitchen.

He snuck down the stairs, using the air to silence his already-silent footsteps.

It had come back for him. Of course it had. It had never really left.

Through the living room, swerving around the couch, the coffee table, until he was at the doorway of the kitchen.

A dark shadow stood in the corner.
He wouldn't wait. Wouldn't give it a chance to attack. He'd attack first.

And so, he attacked.

He tackled the thing to the floor, pinning whatever limbs he could find down underneath him. A surprised squeal was heard, soon followed by breaking glass.

He growled and reached for his gun, anticipating the feel of sweet revenge-

-before meeting her big, brown eyes.

"Skulduggery?"

He was sitting on top of her, a leg on either of her sides, holding both arms above her head with one hand.

He tilted his head.

"How do I know it's you?"

A month ago, she'd have looked at him softly, assured him that it really was her, that it was over, that the monster was dead and that she loved him with all her heart-

A month ago she'd have done just that. But after being pinned down like this a dozen or so times already; well, needless to say she was getting impatient.

She rolled her eyes and sighed, exasperated.

"Oh, come off it, Skul, we've been through this how many times-"

"Been through what?"

She scowled, "Been through what we'd do if- if that shadow-monster thingy comes back. Did I give the signal? Did you hear any mysterious noise?"

He nodded darkly. "I heard a banging."

She stopped, confused, and then forced a laugh.

"That would've been me trying to get the lid off of that damn jam jar."

He looked over at the shattered glass, dark gooey smudges littering the floor.

"Why were you eating so late?"

She shrugged, getting seriously annoyed, "I was hungry. I was in the mood for toast. So I made toast!"

He looked at her for a long time, and she didn't drop her gaze. They sat, him on top of her, until eventually his shoulder's slumped.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Val..."

His grip on her loosened.

She managed a smile. "Don't worry about it." She said sarcastically.

He tilted his head in such a way so that she knew he was smiling. But it soon returned to it's normal position.

"How's your neck, by the way?" She asked, putting her hands under her head, trying to make the situation more comfortable, "I forgot to ask earlier."

"Hm? Oh, it's... it's fine..."

He drifted away, deep in thought. She knew this after she tried waving a hand in front of his face and getting no response. Which was a tad awkward, considering he was still sitting on her.

"Uh, Skul?"

Silent.

"Skully?"

Silent.

"Skulduggery?"

Silent.

"Someone spilt coke in your Bentley."

He jumped up.

"What?"

"Relax, I'm kidding."

He nodded. "Oh. Okay."

She could see the distant look creep back up, so she quickly got up and kissed him delicately on the teeth.

After a moment, he "kissed" back.

"Skulduggery," she whispered, "you have to start living in the real world again. It's over; we killed it, okay? Do you think either of us would be here if it wasn't?"

He was quiet.
She sighed.

"I think it's probably time to go see a sensiti-"

"I don't need a therapist," he snorted.

"Maybe you do, Skul..."

He looked at her blankly- well, more blankly than usual.
She was worried, that much was obvious. Blatantly so. Her mouth was turned down at the corners, her eyebrows slanted up. Her eyes themselves were wide and searching, hoping to find something in his empty eye sockets.

He sagged under her stare. He couldn't stand to see her so worried.

"I'm... I'm..."

She rubbed her eyes.

"Let's talk about this tomorrow, okay? I'm tired."

He nodded, hanging his head.

She hugged him, gently and tenderly, before walking past, out the kitchen door.

A moment or so, later, he heard her bedroom door close.

He didn't move for the rest of the night. Just stared at the ground, silent and still.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello everybody!!

So, in case you didn't see the title, this is a sequel to The Sparrow Flies North for the Summer! Yaysies!! This is probably gonna be a lot more emotional than the last one, so brace yourselves XD

99 votes on TSFNFTS... I just... I can't... o.O

Sorry if this is a bit patchy; things'll get clearer, I hope! I'll probably have to start updating on the weekend mostly, because school and sports are just taking over my life 😵

So thank you all, I hope you enjoy, more to come, stay amazing, and keep shipping Valduggery!

~book_reader263