"Hi" she said as she reached the Bentley. Skulduggery had messaged her to meet him. And though she had a couple of hours to prepare for this moment she still felt anxious.

Skulduggery looked up at her.

"Hi, I thought we could take a drive" he said and she nodded biting against the coldness of the night. Though Dublin wasn't the most interesting place to take a drive Valkyrie had a feeling that it wasn't going to matter.

They entered the car in silence and Skulduggery revved the engine.

"We can forget about it" he motioned.

"We both know that's not possible" she argued immediately.

Skulduggery entered the road, turned the headlights on and started to drive though dim lit streets.

"We can wait until it dies out?" he tried again.

"Skulduggery. I'm with almost every single day. It would take years for that to happen"

He said nothing they exited the house filled roads and started to pass by small shops that clumped together.

"Why all these suggestions" she asked, "That you know yourself wouldn't work. Why are you being so unusual?"

Her voice sounded a little too hopefully for Skulduggery. But he hadn't trained her not to pick up on these things.

"Well" his voice went tight and then silent.

He glanced at her. She wasn't looked at him but outside the window to the stores whose lights had been turned off a while ago. He felt a pang where his heart would be.

"I'm sorry" she said.

"Don't be" he said quickly, "We knew this was going to happen someday"

She turned her head.

"You did?" she said horrified. Skulduggery didn't look at her.

"Well after all you've been through and unsettling things you've experienced I figured you'd eventually want to find someone who'd- understand your troubles" he answered trying to get rid of any emotion in his voice which might exist.

"I don't love you because of-" she started but she stopped because whatever she wanted to say about it wouldn't help the situation.

"It doesn't matter you don't feel the same why about me anyway" she shrugged it off and went back to staring through the window.

Skulduggery sighed his head bent forward and Valkyrie knew if he wasn't driving at the moment he would've put his head on the steering wheel.

"I love you Valkyrie"

Valkyrie looked up.

"What?"

They came to a yellow light though there was no one else there on the road Skulduggery stopped anyway.

"I love you"

Valkyrie looked at him in disbelief.

"You don't have to say that just to-"

"But I do it's truth"

"Oh please Skulduggery. You do love me but not in the same way. I'm not a little girl I can get over some heartache, you don't need to-"

She could never clearly recall this point when she looked back on it in the future.

Just the sensations.

Cold hard bone on her lips.

But the warmest feeling she had ever felt.

Were her eyes open or closed?

She didn't remember.

She remembered a hand in her hair tilting her neck forward.

She didn't remember how long time had passed.

But knew was that they were alone on that street, no one to disturb them and that when she could finally grasp what was around her the lights they had stopped at had gone from red to green.

And they still didn't move.

He let go gently. Leaned back to his seat. Glanced at her shocked face but he turned quickly back to the road.

Valkyrie put her attention to the road as well.

He did love her.

The fact hit her hard.

Skulduggery wouldn't do something like that without feelings. He was too much of a gentleman. That explained all the excuses, everything- she'd just been too scared to think that he was making them because he did have feelings.

She didn't know what to say but knew exactly what she wanted to say.

She kept looking at his face for a sign on what to say to break the silence.

"Give me a year" he finally said.

She looked at him for more.

"Or so" he said a bit more uncertain, "I'm just not used to the idea of"

He stopped.

"Okay" she said. This surprised him and he turned to see if she was serious.

"I understand where you're coming from" she said, "Everything his happening here and now and there isn't any time for things like this. And this is new"

"Good" Skulduggery said a little relieved.

"But Skulduggery"

"Yes?"

"You better not move on to anyone else during that time okay?"

"Don't worry" he said with humour to his voice. She had missed that tone.

"I know I'm spectacular and you're afraid of losing me but you don't have to worry about that"

She laughed.

"It's going to be tough ahead of us" he commented.

Valkyrie nodded.

She knew this. She knew there would be a load of troubles ahead of them and they would only continue to come. But she didn't feel so scared anymore.

Now that she knew how he felt.

Everything seemed like just another stage to Happily Ever After.

END

A/N: Yep that's it.

I was very drifty with ideas in this one and I'm glad I actually could finish it alright :P

Next story I'll will post is called Seducing Mr. Pleasant (DON'T ANYONE DARE STEAL THE TITLE) and will be more action, more mature and more... suggestive...

So look out for it. (Or just go ahead and put me on Author Alert, it's not that hard, just a link at the bottom of the page)

Till next time.

REVIEW NOW! (they maketh me happy)