Hello my lovelies! So, I've been on fanfiction a while, but it crosses my mind that I've only written for games and I was thinking "wtf is up with that?" and then I read Death Bringer and it was AMAZING as usual (raise your glasses to the lovely Derek Landy for blessing the earth with Skulduggery and his ego - oh, and Valkaryrie) I checked out the fanfiction and flipped out that there's other Valduggery fans! so, I started writting and got this. Let me know how you think it turned out please and enjoy
Written to The Fray: 'She Is' and 'All At Once'

PS. Val is about 23 so the events have been shuffled to fit the change
PPS. Italics means it's a memory


Vile

Valkyrie Cain wakes slowly with a lingering sense of bliss. She's aware of the rise and fall of her chest, then the tingling in her leg – which had fallen asleep. She opens her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling above her. Sheets are wrapped around her naked body. She sits up with a groan, body hurting all over with the kind of pain that happens after a workout.

Memories flood her mind – Melancholia killing Skulduggery, fighting Lord Vile's armor, that terrible moment when her best friend was corrupted by his past – and tried to kill her, Darquesse taking over...That's where her mind blanks out. She's lying on the ground, exhausted and bone tired, her life slipping away and then, waking up here.

She pushes a hand to her temple, trying to quell the headache starting there. What happened last night? Was Skulduggery alright? What about Melancholia? With a quick shake of her head, she swings her legs over the edge of the matress. Her black clothes are in a trail leading towards the bed, alongside perfectly tailored men's clothes.

Shock hits her first, freezing her in place followed by heart stopping panic. A new wave of questions crashes into her head. Who is this guy? Where was he? Still here? She whips around, eyes scanning the king bed she'd woken in. Sure enough, he's lying on his back, looking up.

There's no steady rise and fall of his breathing, he doesn't blink and is looking for all the world to be very dead. Curiosity getting the better of her, she creeps over and pokes him once. His head turns to her, eyes glancing down then back up quickly, locking his gaze with hers. She gives a small wave,

"Morning, who the hell are you?" Valkyrie's snatched up a pillow and is holding it close to her. The man in the bed gives an all too familiar laugh.

"Want a guess?" goose bumps crawl up her spine as shreds of Darquesse's memories slide into her head.

Careening through the air at break neck speeds, fighting but then there's a change. Hands roam her body, wisps of shadow following and dancing along her skin.

The man in the bed stands slowly, hands in front of him like he's prepared for her to attack. He takes a step forward, she takes one back.

Her hands are over his body now, trying to pry off his stupid armor, to get to the man underneath. They crash into a building and keep going, through another wall.

He's still approaching but making no progress.

They smash down a door, not waiting any longer. Tumbling towards the bed, he rips off his armor but still manages to have his hands all over her.

Her back presses against a wall, the cold seeping through into her skin. He slows his approach but doesn't stop.

They're tearing off their own clothes, each other's clothes; hands roam everywhere, lips smash together.

He stands in front of her now and she reaches out tentatively towards his collar bone. Her fingers brush the two intricate symbols she knows are there.

Free of restricting clothes at last, they fall into bed. Neither knows when his facade went up, but both are beyond caring.

Skulduggery angles his exposed skull at the woman standing before him. She's dropped the pillow exposing her glorious body; the body he'd explored last night. They don't say anything for a beat.

"Skul..." the lingering feelings of last night hint at his name. "What did Darquesse do last night? What did I do?" he can't meet her steady gaze. "Oh." He backs away from her, waiting for her anger. He deserves it doesn't he? At some point last night he stopped being Vile and became himself, but that didn't stop him. How long had he waited? Through Fletcher and Calean, when Grouse died and when she found out she was Darquesse, her sister's birth and China's betrayal revealed; they'd been through everything together and all the while he'd waited. Finally his chance had presented itself and he'd taken it; the thought make him sick. He'd taken advantage of her.

The Detective's shoulders are rigid, waiting for the anger he deserves, wants it if only to stop this mind numbing guilt. Val takes a step forward so there's just a hair's breath between them,

"I don't regret it," Skulduggery looks down at her.

"You don't remember it," his rich voice is hollow. The fire in her eyes lights up, smoldering fiercely,

"Darquesse is me and I'm Darquesse, we have the same memories; and I don't regret it," she kisses him on his bony cheek. He gravitates towards her against his better judgment. Placing a skeletal hand on her beautiful face an arm wraps around her waist to pull her close. She smiles at him,

"You know that I don't mind you being a skeleton – it's how I met you and how I love you, but there is one drawback," her fingers, which had been dancing lightly on his collar bone, now touch the symbols engraved there. His new face grows upwards, the lips smile at her.

"Well, what's the drawback?" she raises a dark eyebrow.

"No lips," and she pushes her to his.


DON'T SHOOT ME! *gets shot* okay, sorry sorry sorry times a million; usually I hate it when people rewrite fight scenes to sex scenes but I couldn't resist! I don't know how you guys like this one, but reviews are welcome! And keep your eyes peeled, I'm just getting started on the Valduggery oneshots