A/N: I don't own Valkyrie, Anton, Darquesse or Valkyrie's Reflection. Or Gists. A billion thanks go out to BethShadows for the follow and review and to Scarlet Bloodwhite for the reviews. Spoilers ahead.

Valkyrie didn't have long to wait. She'd made them coffee, some of the top shelf stuff Anton had and taken a mug to him. Anton smiled his thanks then looked at her. "I love you, you know that, right?" He asked, seemingly worried.

"I do, but you say it like it's a bad thing." She replied and he shrugged.

"I do have a Gist, remember?"

"And that should scare me how, exactly? Yeah, he isn't exactly cuddly, but it isn't like he goes on walkabout whenever he feels like it." Valkyrie tried and Anton looked relieved. "I mean it. It's like thinking all Necromancers hang out in graveyards and play with corpses. We don't. Gross."

Anton laughed. "OK, point taken. But I thought you worked with light now?"

"Yeah, about that. It's coming back, Anton, all of it. I don't get headaches or anything and I'm not about to go Darquesse-"

"You are Darquesse." He interrupted. "I'm sorry, Val, but you are. Whatever that thing was that went on a rampage, it wasn't you. We still don't know what it was. Research was done in your absence and we just don't know. It called itself Darquesse, maybe it thought and acted like you to a point, but it wasn't you any more than your reflection was."

"That's really not all that comforting." Valkyrie admitted.

"Why? It means what you've been told all along. You can control yourself, the same way I control my Gist half."

Valkyrie blinked. This was the first time she'd ever heard Anton refer to the Gist as himself. Usually it was just that. An it, not part of him or him. "Right." She managed. "Right you are. Sorry, Anton, I just feel so out of it lately. I'm actually happy, even though I must not look it."

"You do look tired." He agreed. "Why not go have a lie down?" Valkyrie nodded

"I love you too, you know." She said and he smiled that gentle smile of his in reply.

"I know, go on then." He said, his voice warm and understanding. So on she went, past the desk and in through his office to the small hall and the two rooms behind. Valkyrie, despite the coffee was suddenly weary. And as she let herself into her room she had no idea why. Maybe it was just the pleasant shock of meeting Anton and being there with him now. Maybe it was knowing that in less than twelve hours they would move on and there would be no backing out then.

Valkyrie set her coffee on the small table in her room and lay down wearily. She was so very tired and so very excited at the same time. Part of her wanted to run. To run from Anton because she hadn't been all that good at making relationships work so far. She didn't want to hurt the gentle man. He seemed to think she was a good person but if he was right he'd have a lot more to worry about than her reputation as the bad girlfriend.

Wow, that just got rather dark, didn't it? The story is writing itself at this point and apparently it felt the happy fun times were over.