Disclaimer: The wonderful Skulduggery Pleasant series belongs to the also wonderful Derek Landy. Who isn't me.
Normality.
"Morning sunshine."
Valkyrie groaned as a male voice penetrated her ears, and woke her from a lovely, deep, dreamless sleep.
She turned over, and came nose to nose with Fletcher Renn.
"Christ Fletcher, what have I said about you fecking teleporting into my room?" Valkyrie snapped, pulling her duvet closer around her.
"Um. That you love it, and never want me to stop?" Fletcher grinned.
Valkyrie swatted at him. "No, I told you I don't want you to do it. What if my parents walk in? I mean there laid back and everything, but I doubt they'd be any bit happy with me allowing a strange boy to sleep in my bed."
"But I wasn't sleeping!" Fletcher protested.
Valkyrie glared at him. "Fletcher, don't be an eejit."
"You're cute when you're pissed off." Fletcher commented, poking Valkyrie's nose gently.
Valkyrie grabbed his hand. "Don't do that either."
"Aw, c'mon Val! I'm your boyfriend! I can poke your nose if I see the need to."
Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "Don't make me set fire to your hair."
"Why? Because you love stroking it?" Fletcher teased.
"When have I ever, in my life stroked your damn hair?" Valkyrie demanded, sitting up slightly.
"Well, theres a first time for everything…"
"Yeah," Valkyrie pondered. "You'd look good bald."
Fletcher raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, no hair stroking. Unless.."
Valkyrie clicked her fingers, and summoned a dancing flame between her finger tips.
"I'll shut up now." Fetcher said quickly, eyed the flame nervously.
"That's a good idea." Valkyrie grinned, and lay back down on her comfortable bed. Even with Fletcher sprawled across it, there was more than enough room.
"Aren't you getting up?" Fletcher inquired, looking down at her. "We could go.. I dunno. Surfing."
"Okay, one, its raining," Valkyrie began pointing out the flaws in Fletchers plan. "Two, its nine o'clock on a Saturday morning and I'm not planning on getting out of bed until at least twelve, and three, what the hell would make you think I'd want to go surfing?"
Fletcher shrugged, as best you could when propped up on your elbows staring down at a beautiful, mesmerising black haired girl.
"I thought it'd be fun. We never do anything together."
"Yeah we do." Valkyrie argued. "We um.."
"Save the world, nearly die, investigate murders, and pray that the worlds stops falling apart long enough to get a sleep and a bite to eat in there somewhere?" Fetcher finished for her.
"No need to be so pissed about it." Valkyrie said. Fletcher sounded unusually annoyed.
"I'm not pissed Val." Fletcher sighed. "I just want to spend some time with you."
"And you aren't now?"
"You know what I mean. Like normal teenagers? I dunno, could we go to the cinema, or something? Be normal?" Fetcher suggested.
"Normal, as in no teleporting," Valkyrie began before Fetcher interrupted her.
"No magic, no saving the world. Just you, me a bucket of popcorn and a probably very lame movie." He finished, smiling.
"Make that two buckets of popcorn and a large 7-up and you may just have a deal." Valkyrie grinned back, still making no move to get out of bed.
"Why do I have to pay?" Fetcher moaned, flopping down next to her.
"Because, as you so aptly put to early, you are my boyfriend, Boyfriends do that kind of thing." Valkyrie said matter of factly. "That, and I'm totally broke."
"I could just teleport us into the cinema, and I wouldn't have to pay for tickets."
"What happened to being 'normal'? Plus, I doubt the Irish public are used to a boy with fairly strange hair, and a teenager suddenly appearing in the cinema. That may just get that Sanctuary's backs up."
"I don't have strange hair!" Fletcher protested. "you like to stroke it after all."
Valkyrie reached out, grabbed onto Fletcher's hair, and summoned another flame. "Do you really want to go there?"
"Fine, fine!" Fletcher said, detaching himself from Valkyrie's grip. "Bloody hell Val, are you trying to pull all my hair out?"
"Yes." Valkyrie replied. "Now, do we have a deal?"
Fletcher nodded. "We have a deal."
"Good." Valkyrie said, snuggling down into her pillow. "Now go away and come back in about five hours."
Fletcher just stared at her. "Uh, no."
"I want to sleep Fletcher, and the cinemas aren't open yet."
"We could teleport to somewhere where they are open."
"No. Because, a, we'd end up in Singapore or something, and b, I want to sleep. How am I going get that through your thick head?" Valkyrie said, her eyes peaking out from under her covers.
"You're a very loving girlfriend Val."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Valkyrie was sitting up again.
"Well, I arrived here this morning and didn't get so much as a hug." Fletcher pointed out.
"I'm just not a morning person." Valkyrie replied quickly.
"If you're afraid you're gonna hit me in the head again, and fall on the floor if you give me a kiss, you do realise you're lying on a bed."
"Its not that!" Valkyrie snapped.
"Then what is it?"
Valkyrie sighed, rolled her eyes and mashed her lips to Fletchers.
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" He grinned, his arms somehow around Valkyrie's waist.
It was pretty amazing actually, but Valkyrie wasn't going to admit that.
"Now, go away. Come back at two and I'll be ready."
She felt the pressure of Fletcher leaning against her disappear, and heard a slight crashing sound in the corner of the room.
"And don't even think about waiting around until I do get up, and get dressed."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Fletcher grinned, and teleported away for real this time.
///
"Wow. You look.. Different." Fletcher grinned as he leaned against the wall by Valkyrie's house, waiting for her to join him.
"Is that a good or a bad thing?" She asked, zipping up her hoodie.
"Well, you don't look like you can beat me up, so it's a good thing." Fletcher teased.
Valkyrie just smirked, and held his hand in a bone crushing vice. "I can't beat you up?"
"Ow, ow, ow!" Fetcher groaned, trying to prying Valkyrie's fingers from around his own. "Okay, you can! You can beat me up!"
Valkyrie grinned, and relaxed her grip.
"You do look nice by the way." Fletcher said as they walked down the street towards the bus stop. "Very.. Normal."
///
"Isn't it like a rule that you have to see chick flicks on dates?" Fletcher inquired as they stood, staring at the cinema listings.
"Not when you're with me." Valkyrie said. "Unless theres a feminine side of you that you want to let out. I mean, you can cry on my shoulder if you like."
"Oh ha-ha." Fletcher rolled his eyes. "You're very bloody funny you are."
"I know." Valkyrie grinned. "I want to see Clash Of The Titians."
She could tell Fletcher didn't look particularly overjoyed at her choice, but he mooched up to get the tickets, and popcorn anyway leaving Valkyrie on her own.
Not to look like a total eejit standing in the middle of thee cinema, Valkyrie settled down at one of the tables in the foyer, and watched the world go by.
"Stephanie?"
Valkyrie had to take a second to realise that it was her the girl was calling. Looking for the source of the voice, she saw the bright and bouncy Jane McCauley waving at her.
Valkyrie forced a smile, and waved back.
Bad idea.
Jane took it as an invitation to come over, and arrived at the table just as Fletcher finished buying their snacks, and tickets.
"Hey Val, was it 7-up you wanted?" He asked, setting the popcorn down on the table and not noticing Jane.
"Val?" Jane raised an eyebrow, "Her names Stephanie, not Val!"
Valkyrie had to give Fletcher credit, he took it all in his stride.
"Yeah, I know. Val's just a silly nickname I have for her, isn't it Stephanie?" Fletcher said smoothly. "I'm Fletcher by the way."
"Jane." Jane beamed, taking the hand he offered her. Turning to Valkyrie, she giggled.
"So, who's this fine looking English lad?"
Valkyrie forced another smile. "My boyfriend."
"Seriously? Why didn't you tell me?" Jane squealed.
Valkyrie was friends with her- well, her reflection was friends with her- so she played along, pretended that Jane was her best friend.
"it's a new thing." Valkyrie nodded. Yeah, a new thing. I've only been seeing him for four months now.
"Oh!" Jane looked at them, her blonde head bobbing. "I'm interrupting your first date? Steph, I'm so sorry! Details on Monday, 'k?"
Valkyrie nodded, her smile painfully fake.
"Friend of yours?" Fletcher inquired, handing her a bucket of popcorn.
"Shut up." Valkyrie sighed, and began to eat the salty, hot snack.
///
It was halfway through the movie when Skulduggery, Tanith and Ghastly walked in.
"We have a new case." Tanith whispered, the couple in the row behind staring at her sword.
Valkyrie and Fletcher exchanged looks.
"The movie's not that good anyway." Fletcher sighed, and they followed their three rather suspicious looking friends from the darkened screen, and headed for the entrance.
"So much for normal, huh?" Fletcher said as he and Valkyrie ducked down a side street to teleport.
Valkyrie grabbed his hand and grinned. "Normality's over rated anyway."
Fin.
Authors Note: My first Skulduggery fic, so tell me how I did, pretty please? Reviews are love, flames will be used to roast marshmallows!