A/N: I don't own Skulduggery, Gordon, Ghastly or Valkyrie. Val is a newly minted 21, story is from her POV. "If I had You" is a song by Adam Lambert. And yes, Skul is female here. If you don't like it, don't read. I'm not doing it for shock value. Being pan I happen to like writing lesbian romance. And I always wondered how different things would have been if Skul was female. Spoilers, I guess.

It was my twenty-first birthday and I was spending it all alone in Uncle Gordon's mansion. Lucky me. Thanks to my Surge I'd no longer be aging and it would have been impossible to hide the truth from my family much longer. So I'd went away, had someone from the Sanctuary talk to them, and now as far as they knew, I'd never existed. That was a scary thought, you think that no matter what they would remember, but they didn't.

Thanks to my work with Skulduggery I had no friends outside of work, and none of those friends were close enough to even know it was my birthday. No that it mattered. Skulduggery had taught me that birthdays were like holidays; something card companies used to get money out of sentimental soft-hearted people.

So, I resolved to ignore the day the best I could. She'd be impressed if she only knew, and she couldn't, because just mentioning the day would negate ignoring it. I sighed. My mobile rang and I nearly jumped out of my skin, The big mansion was spooky, even with Uncle Gordon there. Well, his Echo, at any rate.

I looked at my caller ID. Skulduggery. Maybe we had a case.

"Hello?" I answered tentatively.

"Valkyrie. Are you doing anything tonight?" Skulduggery asked, a slight urgency in her voice. I frowned. She never got much excited about anything but work. Still it was wonderful to hear her voice. I could listen to it all day. Not that I'd even told her of course. She had a big enough ego as it was.

"No, why would I be?" I asked, puzzled.

"Well, as far as I know, it is your twenty-first birthday. I thought you might have had something special planned. You can come over if you want, later. You'd have to wear something pretty, and bring an overnight bag with whatever you need." She said, baiting me. She knew I couldn't resist a mystery.

"That sounds great. Do you want me to drive or will you be picking me up?" I asked, eager to see what she was up to.

"Ghastly will be picking you up in two hours. See you then." She rang off and I went to get ready, wondering exactly what it was she had planned.

Two hours later I had on a decent dress and heels and very minimal makeup. Skulduggery had seen the amount of makeup I used to wear one time, arched a brow, and very sweetly asked if she could borrow the trowel I'd used to put it on to pave her driveway. Point taken.

Ghastly gave a whistle of appreciation when he came to the door for me. "Nice dress and before you ask, no, I don't know what she is up to. Only that nobody has seen her for a week, and tonight is an all-girls thing. No men invited." He shook his head in amusement and got my door for me, taking my bag and setting it in the back.

I leaned over for his door and he smiled as he got in. "Thanks. You look beautiful tonight, by the way. How does it feel to be twenty-one?"

"Strange. By mortal standards I'm an adult. By magical standards I won't be one until I'm at least one hundred." I said as he put the van in drive and pulled out.

Ghastly snorted. "Trust me, I'm not considered an adult yet to some older sorcerers. But you get used to it. Revel in being able to use your age as an excuse to do as you please, that my advice." He grinned at me and I laughed. Ghastly was my closest friend other than Skulduggery and it was great getting to see him for the drive. It was going to be a long one, since Skulduggery had insisted on living so far from just about anywhere, so he stopped for tea and coffee for us then turned on the radio. We chatted a while, and I made sure to thank him for the coffee.

Ghastly looked at me after a while. "Valkyrie, maybe this isn't my place, but I've been Skulduggery's friend for over four centuries, and well, I know she's let you closer than anyone, ever. She never observes holidays, you know that. Tonight is a big step for her, so be gentle."

I looked at him. "I used to think she was just unfriendly, but now, with loosing my own family I realize why. There's no point anymore, is there?"

Ghastly sighed. "There's always a point if you want there to be. Skulduggery shut down completely after she lost her family. Loosing a husband and child like that- Well, tonight, just be gentle with her, OK?"

"You're a good friend to her, to both of us. You know, this could be a case for all we know. Skulduggery does have a strange sense of humour. A very strange sense of humour."

Ghastly smiled and we pulled up to Skulduggery's house. He walked me to the door and handed me my bag, bundling me into a brief hug. He only left my side when Skulduggery answered my knock from inside, calling me in. I entered, putting my bag near the front door. "Skulduggery?" I called.

"Come find me." She answered, fairly singing.

I shook my head grinning, following the sound of her voice. "Skulduggery?" I called again, ending up in one of her living rooms, but it had been transformed and I stopped to take it in, blinking. "You decorated." I said in awe. And decorated she had. Black paper skull banners shaped like sugar skulls hung from the ceilings, and the table before me was draped in black. Silver candelabras held candles shaped like stacks of day of the dead skulls and skeletons dressed in all sorts of outfits decorated the table amid the food offerings.

I turned and looked at her, catching my breath. "Skulduggery, you're beautiful!" I said, and I meant it. I'd never seen her in anything but the sharp suits and fedoras Ghastly made her. Well, a tux, once, but never in a dress, ever.

It was inky black and done in the style a fashionable woman may have worn in Mexico a century or so ago. Ruffled material went just to her above her forearms, showing off her bones, but the black skirt billowed out to the floor. There were black roses of the same material as the dress, and the top showed off a generous amount of her flawless clavices.

She was wearing a black wig, much like the statues on the table, accented with red roses, and even held a lacy black fan. I just stared in utter awe, wondering what made my best friend go to all this trouble. Skulduggery grinned and twirled around so I could admire her, then held the fan up so I could only see her hollow eyes sockets looking at me. "A test of your detection skills, Detective Cain. What did you notice about me that was different?"

"Well the dress is obvious, but the dress is a clue, isn't it?" I asked, and she nodded encouragingly. "And the way you're holding the fan. What I should have noticed is either your face, which looks more beautiful without the façade by the way or your clavicles- You got rid of the façade, didn't you?" I asked excitedly.

"Well done!" Skulduggery said dropping her fan to confirm my suspicions, grinning at me. I'd always been able to read her expressions and now she looked most pleased with herself. I drew her into a tight hug, though we rarely hugged anymore.

"About time, I always tried to tell you you'd be more beautiful without it. Thank you, for all this, this is wonderful. you decorated, and you NEVER decorate, and you cooked and you never do that either. Thank you so much, Skulduggery, and I mean that."

She was hugging me as well, which surprised me. "Your my partner and best friend, Valkyrie Cain. Thanks to me dragging you into magic-"

I drew back slightly to tilt her chin up gently. "Hey now. I chose to follow you and be friends and partners. I'm with you because you're my absolute best friend on the planet, you never drug me anywhere, OK?"

She grinned, her confidence and massive ego returning. "I knew that. Now then I bet you're wondering about your gift." She teased.

Now what possible gift could she have for Val?