"When this is over... I'm going to make you dinner. You don't have to like it, and you don't have to eat it, and I suppose you don't even have to be there, but… that's what I'm going to do."

"Are you asking me on a date?"

"I think so, yes. Will you have dinner with me?" Tanith smiled the most beautiful smile.

"I'd love to," she said. She laid her hand on his chest, tapped her fingers on his collar bone, and the clear skin retracted. Once his scars were revealed Tanith kissed him once on the lips. "I like steak," she said. "Can't go wrong with steak."

"Steak it is," he muttered.

AU. He's not dead. Ganith.

This will make sense when you get to the other end of this and I will remind you of it.

(2) She isn't there

(3) She is

(4) She is thinking and he isn't there. (Non AU)

(5) She is reflecting…. (Probably non AU)

This might have a few chapters to it, even though in my plans it had started off as a one shot….

The lights on the street had dimmed to practically nothing. Most of the street lamps had gone out and the rest were so dim to the point of being useless. No cars were going past on the road so not even their headlights lit anything up.

The night itself was dark. There wasn't a full moon to bring light or even any moon. Other houses on the street had either extremely thick drapings over their windows or were abandoned. The house that Ghastly was in, for obvious reasons, was a part of the former section. He had made the curtains himself, the fabric having been gifted to him by one of his queerer customers. Once they were closed, it was impossible to tell that anyone was in the house. It didn't look and feel abandoned, but it had the feel of being uninhabited.

It was how he wanted it. After all, with a shop front home, he didn't want the possibility of anyone uninvited coming over. There was of course the random evil people who were desperate to pick a fight appearing, but they were elementals most of the time.

If they weren't, then Ghastly just sent his pretty adept girlfriend would deal with them.

Only once had mortals tried to get into his place, fully believing that it was abandoned. It hadn't ended pretty. The teenagers had received the shock of their lives to see a tailor sitting down in front of a slowly burning fire enjoying dinner. It didn't help that he had been using the hand that wasn't occupied with a fork to play with the fire.

Three teens had ran in then screamed and ran out again. It led to everyone of the sparse teens and children to believe his home was the place of a sorcerer with many scars who casually liked to play with fire. In some ways this was a blessing for him, in others, a curse. No one ever bothered him on halloween asking for sugar. It did however mean that the youngsters all dared each other to knock on his door.

For entertainment purposes, the times they did so when Ghastly had guests around, he got them to answer the door. Skulduggery did the first few times he used the facade. A new face answering the door every time they knocked wearing the same suit really confused them all. It didn't help that he still hadn't gotten full control of his facial "muscles" and so each time the expression he used was rather entertaining.

The odd times that they managed to convince Val to open the door, the guys knocking suddenly went from nearly peeing their pants in fright to smiling flirtatiously. She normally gave them all her best glare before slamming the door shut again. Every now and then someone would have the guts to knock again and she would open it again. There was always a scathing comment about some part of the person before the door would be slammed in their face again.

Normally about how they must not have any dick to stand up to peer pressure.

In the background somewhere, Skul would always smile victoriously at this. Of course now, they all knew how well matched and how in love the two are.

It was the warm smell of steak drifting across the air lazily that motivated Ghastly to remove himself from his thoughts. After checking on them he changed directions and moved to his lounge to sit and think, staring into a fire.

Right so… I don't think my top AN makes any sense yet but I will explain it anyway…

This chapter is the opening for all of the rest. Each one now continues from this point but are all completely unrelated to each other.

The second chapter Tanith does NOT come to dinner.

The third one she does.

The fourth ignores this chapter and instead is where Tanith makes a dinner.

The fifth is where she doesn't cook, instead she just remembers.

Now I have the important things out of the road…

I wish anyone who graduated to day with me all the best for your future, never lose hope and keep in contact with those who went through the time with you, they can be your driving force.

And Happy 100 fics to me :) Yay! :)

Aly