Inspiration from Lady-Alyss.

The dawn light stumbled, confused, through the windows of Skulduggery Pleasant's house. Valkyrie groaned in the chair she was sleeping in and opened one lazy eye. What was she doing, sleeping in Skulduggery's 'meditating' chair? She sat up slowly, her head complaining at her every movement. She rubbed both of her eyes and wandered out towards the corridor.

'Skulduggery?'

She managed to hear a faint moan in reply.

Valkyrie followed to where it came from to find Skulduggery on the floor, leaning against the sofa, fast asleep.

She sighed, walked up to him and shook his shoulder.

'Skul.'

Groan.

'Skulduggery, wake up.'

Groan.

'Skulduggery!'

Skulduggery's skull snapped up to meet the gaze of Valkyries, and then he groaned again and held his head.

'Wha-?'

'Why am I here?'

Skulduggery nodded slowly.

'Yeah, just, just give me a minute...'

Valkyrie snarled and threw a cushion from the sofa onto his head. He grabbed it lazily and threw it back onto the sofa. He put his hands back onto his skull.

'Where's my hat?'

Valkyrie shrugged, and then her eyes met on the window which looked out towards the front garden. Skulduggery cocked his head at her.

'What?'

She nodded at the window. He followed her gaze, to see his hat stuck in a tree. He stood up slowly, his gaze fixed onto it.

'How did it get there!'

He looked back at Valkyrie.

'Did you put it there?'

She raised her hands in surrender. 'Whoa, I've just woken up; it's too early for false accusations.'

Skulduggery rubbed his hands across where his eyes should have been.

'This feels just like a hangover...'

They both looked at each other. Valkyrie shook her head.

'We didn't get drunk did we?'

He hesitated. 'It...Certainly feels like we did...'

She let her head drop back.

'Why would you let me do something like that? And you can't even get drunk!'

'Yes I can, somehow...the important thing is that we didn't do anything stupid.'

She nodded and looked down at her hands. And then her eyes widened.

'Skul...'

'Hmm?'

'If we didn't do anything stupid...then why am I wearing a ring that I have never seen before...where my wedding ring would be?'

His head snapped up at her.

'What!'

She held up her left hand to show him. He stepped back when he saw it. She swallowed.

'I think we are now engaged, Skul.'

He paused.

'Bloody hell, Valkyrie.'

'I'm sure it's fine, I mean, it's not like it's a real engagement ring or anything.'

Skulduggery leaned forward to take a closer look at it, and then pointed at it.

'That...'

She looked down at her hand.

'What?'

'That's...my wife's engagement ring.'

'...You're joking, right?'

'No.'

Valkyrie quickly slipped it off her finger and handed it to him.

'You...can have this back.'

He took it from her and nodded.

'Right.'

Skulduggery put it carefully on a table and then returned hid gaze to her. They stood awkwardly for a minute, and then Skulduggery said quietly,

'I…need to get my hat,' and walked quickly out of the room.