In Between

In Between Chapter 9

Set anytime canon

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9. Selfish

Skulduggery sat next to Valkyrie, meditating while his partner slept. It had been a long day, and she deserved the rest. Skulduggery watched the girl's peaceful form, remembering when he had first met her.

It had been so many years since Valkyrie had been that young twelve-year old girl who followed him around. Now, she was a fine young woman who considered herself Skulduggery's equal, if not more. Sometimes Skulduggery missed that enthusiastic, innocent child, and wondered what had possessed him to make her into this battle-worn, tired teenager who had seen too much to stay away. But Valkyrie told him hundreds of times that she wouldn't go back for the world, no matter how trying this life may be, and Skulduggery was too selfish to let her leave. So he continued to help her flourish in this twisted environment, encouraging her and putting her into harm's way more than once.

So many times, he realized just how big of a part she played in his life. The first time had been when Serpine was torturing her. When Skulduggery had heard her screams, something in him broke. A blinding fury overtook him, just like the time that he had stood there, watching his family die at the hand of Serpine. He couldn't help them, but he could help this girl, this brave girl who had risked everything to save him. The second time was when he had to kill her reflection. His hand trembled as he lifted the gun, and the sight of her dead reflection rattled him for days, though he'd never tell her that. And it continued. The time when Doctor Nye was experimenting her. Again and again he felt a certain protective instinct about the girl. He never implied that it was because he was attached to her; he let her just assume that it was because they were partners.

Occasionally, after a particularly rattling incident, he entertained the idea of asking her to stay away from the more dangerous cases. But he never did, as he knew that she would jump on the defensive, thinking that he was treating her as a helpless child and start taking risks just to prove that she could.

He could never understand her, or their relationship. Valkyrie was undefinable. Their bond was even more convoluted: a pretty, eighteen-year-old, magical and capable girl and an egoistic, four hundred-year-old, magical skeleton detective. They were partners, best friends, some would even say that they loved each other.

Skulduggery was certain that he hadn't felt like this about his wife. His wife had been lovely, even beautiful. She had been an adequate sorcerer, but delicate and fragile. His wife had had a certain surreal aura about her, and was very careful and thoughtful. Skulduggery had loved her, and had held a certain admiration for her.

Valkyrie, on the other hand, was different. She was pretty in a darker way, and wasn't fragile at all. She was more than capable of defending herself without magic, and was unpredictable. She would take risks, and wasn't scared of a couple broken bones. Her soul was as twisted as his own.

Skulduggery sighed, and brushed a stray piece of Valkyrie's hair away from her forehead. No matter what happened, he knew that he could never live without her. He was far too selfish.

Valkyrie felt Skulduggery's hand linger on her forehead as she tried to fall asleep on the couch. She marveled at how much he seemed to have changed towards her over the years.

In the beginning, Skulduggery had been more like her teacher and mentor. She had gotten over that stage pretty quickly. Then it was more of a best friend/partner sort of relationship, if you went around arresting monsters and sorcerers and generally risked your life on a daily basis with your friend. Lately, he had been more... Protective. Somehow, they had stayed friends through the years. Even when Valkyrie found out another awful secret from Skulduggery's past, she couldn't leave. She wouldn't leave. Because after all that they had been through together, Valkyrie was too selfish to give up her best friend. So she continued to become stronger, every day worrying about her family.

Sometimes, after a near brush with death, Valkyrie considered leaving the sorcerer world behind. Go back to school and live her life. But she realized how important Skulduggery was to her. She couldn't just leave him. She realized this first when Skulduggery was kidnapped by Serpine. She had felt so lost, so helpless without him. A certain kind of determination burst inside if her, and she knew that she had to save him if it was the last thing she did. The second time was when he was pulled into the Faceless One's dimension. Again, the same single-minded determination overtook her, and she wouldn't rest until she knew that Skulduggery was safe. Valkyrie would never tell him this, but she felt safer when he was there with her. She continuously felt a spark inside whenever she was with him. She never told him this; she just let him assume that she was just putting up a brave face for him.

At times, Valkyrie just wanted to be a teenager. She wanted to go and have fun and only worry about college. But she never told Skulduggery this, because she knew he would take her seriously and let her go. Valkyrie didn't want him to.

She couldn't understand their relationship, and Skulduggery was even more puzzling. Skulduggery was... Skulduggery. The bond they shared was even stranger. Was he a father-figure? Her role-model? Her best friend and partner? A mix of all of those things? Some people implied that they could be something more, but Valkyrie doubted that.

She didn't feel like this at all about her ex-boyfriend. Fletcher was cute, sometimes even hot, even though he had ridiculous hair. He had been narcissistic and idiotic and lovable. Fletcher had absolutely adored her, but she never really felt the same way about him. He had loved her, and she... She wasn't capable of giving him what he had wanted.

Skulduggery was completely different. He was definitely not cute or hot, though his skull was oddly comforting and his facades had nice cheekbones. Skulduggery wasn't that narcissistic and he wasn't idiotic at all. Sometimes he was quite the gentleman, and very suave, but most of the times, he was just Skulduggery. Skulduggery did not adore her; instead, he treated her as his equal. Skulduggery didn't love her, but she knew that they felt the same way about each other.

Valkyrie sighed, and let Skulduggery's hand rest on her shoulder. No matter what happened, she knew that she could never live without him. She was far too selfish.

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Just a bit of a reflection on their relationship. Not quite love, but something more.

-ravenwings52