Short and late Christmas fic inspired by something on Tumblr. Spoilers for Last Stand of Dead Men.
I'm sorry in advance.
Skulduggery Pleasant gave a slightly pleased whistle at the sight of the present in front of him. It wasn't wrapped all that neatly but Skulduggery didn't exactly send gifts to many people and he knew Valkyrie would be happy just with the fact that he had got her a present other than the promise of another stick. He carefully stuck another shiny red bow over another hole in the wrapping paper then wandered out of his house to where the Bentley was ready and waiting on the drive.
It was easy to tell he had impressed himself with his wonderful gift giving skills this year, as he reverently picked up the present and placed it on the passenger seat of the Bentley so he could keep an eye on it when he was driving over to Haggard.
He adjusted his hat and touched the Facade Tattoo on his collarbone, another new face sliding up into place on his usually bare skull. He looked in the wing mirror and smiled. This was a good face. Nice thing to have at Christmas. He turned the radio on and whistled to some of the Christmas songs on the Bentley's radio. There was barely any traffic as he drove into Haggard, the sky was clear and the air was as fresh as it should be on a cool, sunny winter morning. It was going to be a good Christmas this year, he knew it.
He parked the Bentley just up the street from Valkyrie's house, slid the present into the pocket of his tan coat and wandered the rest of the way. For a while he sat on the wall on the opposite side of the street, just looking through the window, until the Edgely family all walked into their living room. Melissa Edgely was holding Alice and rolled her eyes when Desmond made what Skulduggery could only assume to be the sort of strange, nonsensical joke that both Valkyrie and Gordon had said he was famous for. Skulduggery let his Facade drop as he saw the reflection, or Stephanie as it liked to be called now, laugh and open the presents meant for his partner. He turned abruptly and walked back to the Bentley, dropping the present he'd put so much effort into inane of the neighbours' recycling bin as he passed it.
For a while he sat in his beautiful car, alone and in complete silence, knowing that if he'd had eyes, they'd probably be filled with tears.
Yes. For some people it would be a good Christmas, maybe even for the Edgelys and the imposter who thought it was one of them. He took his revolver from the glove compartment and made sure it was fully loaded. Darquesse had apparently been spotted somewhere above Dublin several hours ago.
He'd deliver her gift personally.
