A/N: I don't own Valkyrie, Skulduggery, the Dead Men or Ghastly. Val is in her, what, 40s, I guess? And the story is AU with element of the first nine books and maybe a smattering of the tenth, which I haven't read yet. We'll see.

I'd been depressed, there was no other word for it. We had no cases and we weren't spending the time together we used to. Well, maybe I'd been bored and not depressed, it would explain my excitement over the fidget spinner I'd gotten at the local petrol station. That morning I was concentrating on it at the kitchen table, manipulating the air so it would keep spinning. I started to grin, it was a silly toy, but it was a fun silly toy.

I made it spin faster, mesmerized by the blur of black and silver before me, then yelped as it rose into the air unexpectedly. The spinner shot forward and I looked up to watch Skulduggery catch it deftly in one gloved hand. He balanced it perfectly on one fingertip, cocking his head as he stared at the spinning toy. "Well, well. Good morning, Valkyrie. Nice to see I've been replaced by a fidget spinner." He said, clearly amused.

"But- No! I mean, you-" I sputtered as he pocketed the spinner. My spinner. I wanted to tell him I cared, that I loved him and had missed him. But I wasn't that stupid. "Am I getting that back?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe. Let a boy buy you breakfast?" I didn't argue that I'd already eaten. I'd only had coffee and somehow Skulduggery just knew. "Well?" He asked and I managed a nod.

I got up, feeling strange. It wasn't like Skulduggery to just drop in, not anymore. I wondered if we had a case, but didn't ask as I grabbed my jacket. "Are you feeling OK?" I asked as he got the front door for me, then mentally kicked myself. Of course he wasn't feeling OK. My partner was clearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown if he was being nice to me, but I swear he managed an actual grin.

"Of course I am, my dearest combat accessory." He said as he ushered me to the Bentley, getting my door. He got in and glanced at me. "Seat belt. I'm feeling extremely fine this wondrous morning." He teased and I laughed. He was like his old self, teasing me and being silly. I'd missed this part of him so much.

Skulduggery flicked the radio on as we drove, he even rolled the windows down and it dawned on me he wasn't wearing his disguise. His gaze flicked over to me then back to the road. "I wondered when you'd notice. Mortals will see a perfectly normal man. Well, provided I don't take off my hat. I had it enchanted, you see."

I looked at him. "Um, OK." I said doubtfully, but it appeared to be the truth. None of drivers of the cars we passed gave Skulduggery so much as a second glance. "Why didn't you just do that before?" I asked and he shrugged.

"A man should always take pride in his appearance, Valkyrie. Besides, Ghastly just learned how to work with the material." He added and I laughed. I missed all our friends, it been ages since we'd seen the Dead Men all together and I wished for a minute they'd all be waiting for us at breakfast, but as we drove I was with Skulduggery and that was enough to make me happy.

My! Whatever could the pair be up to now? And no I don't know where the Dead Men came from.