~Valkyrie x Dexter~
A/N: Hey again – yes it's me and I'm back with another Dexkyrie for you all! This one goes to Illiterate Cookie for requesting the pairing and the song Every Night by Imagine Dragons – that song is amazing by the way so you all should check it out, really meaningful and as soon as I heard it I thought it was perfect for those who are risking their lives fighting for their countries so that's basically what inspired this songfic. So, thanks a bunch Illiterate Cookie! And just so you guys are aware, there is some mild swearing in this! :O xx
FlawD: Vex, my good mate, my good buddy old pal! How have you been? It feels like forever since the last time I wrote you!
Dexter: Well had you had put your butt into gear ages ago and actually had written something, you probably would've written me a lot earlier! :)
FlawD: Well – I um, had some stuff going too you know!
Dexter: Excuses, excuses FlawD, you seriously need to update more!
FlawD: *hangs head* I know, I know, I just feel like nobody's really interested in my stuff anymore…*sigh*
Valkyrie: Pull your head in FlawD! Of course some people are still reading your stuff! I mean, come on, you've got over 60 REVIEWS! 60 reviews that are filled with wonderful compliments and suggestions because those readers who review are interested in your stuff!
FlawD: I-I guess you-you're right –
Valkyrie: You bet your pale bum I'm right! You'll probably get a review for this chapter just to prove my point!
FlawD: *holds up hands* Okay! Okay! I get it, I'll stop sulking and move on to the important stuff – Vex! The disclaimer please!
Vex: *reads teleprompter* "FlawDiamonds does not, in any way, own anything related to Skulduggery Pleasant nor does she own any of the songs used/mentioned in these songfics." Huh, I thought you did own some stuff?
FlawD: Heaven's no! No way in hell I'm that awesome to create a protagonist that's a magic skeleton and there is NO WAY that I own any of the songs used in my songfics – I'm just your average teenager!
Valkyrie: I hope that you all know the drill by now, YOU HAVE TO REVIEW IF YOU WANT MORE! YOU CAN ALSO SUGGEST SOME PAIRINGS AND SONGS, that's the rule and you know it! Except the requesting of pairings and songs is to your personal tastes, you don't have to if you don't want ^_^
FlawD: THIS IS SPARTA! …wait, that's definitely not right…oh crap, what was it again?
Val & Vex: THIS IS DEXKYRIE! :D
Normal POV
Every Night – Imagine Dragons
'I'm coming home to you'
'Every night…'
He hadn't written to her for a consecutive three months. Three whole months, roughly 90 whole days since she'd received any type of communication from him. Altogether he'd been gone for two years and five months. That was a total of 883 days. His absence from the chair across from her, from the right side of her bed, from the house they built together, from her heart seemed to kill her little-by-little every single day.
She was scared, oh so scared of the day when she would open the door and see a man in uniform on her doorstep with a solemn look on his face. She was frightened of the very vision of that man handing her a small scrap of paper with life-changing words printed across it.
Her throat felt constricted.
She forced herself to breathe and banish those damning thoughts from her mind.
She'd written so many letters to her best friend Miss Low – scrawling out her wayward emotions on paper in elegant writing though didn't seem to ease her gruelling pain. At least Miss Low wrote back.
Mauve eyes cast down to stare at the meal in front of them. Her line of vision shifted and zoned in on the plate full of dinner opposite her. Despite knowing he wasn't coming home anytime soon, she just didn't have the heart to not set down his dinner. A ghost of a smile drifted over her face when she recalled how he'd snatch her up in his strong arms after setting down his plate and give an affectionate kiss to her lips. The tiny up-lift of her lips faded into a frown when she pulled herself back to the present and stared at the empty space in front of her.
She was overwhelmed by loneliness.
"Come back...Vex," Tear after tear poured down high cheek-bones as the broken woman whispered to the one who wasn't there.
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"Lieutenant Vex, you're discharged."
He didn't question the news, just took his papers and left. Left that damned office he hated the day he arrived. Left the man he had served under for two painful years and five agonising months. Tears filled the brim of his eyes and his bottom lip quivered uncomfortably. His breath came out in sharp puffs that physically hurt his chest. His worn combat boots crunched against the muddy ground but he didn't care. If anything, he enjoyed the sound and the surface of the squelching dirt. It reminded him that he'd never come back. He quickly pushed his way through the many sullen looking soldiers and the battle-worn sergeants. He shot out short apologies here and there but they were only half-sincere. Upon reaching what used to be his assigned tent, he ripped the curtains apart immediately and was met with the sight of his startled mate, Hopeless.
Hopeless looked up at him with curiosity. Once he saw the tears in his best mate's eyes though, he shot up and ran up to him.
"Vex! What's happened!?" He held Dexter by the shoulders and all Dexter could do was stare into his friend's lily-pad eyes.
His nostrils flared as he tried to breathe and he clenched his teeth with happiness.
"I'm going home," He choked on the words – they didn't even sound real. Hopeless' grip tightened considerably on Dexter's shoulders before he ripped him into a massive hug. Although the tears were scarce, they fell heavily and Vex swore it was the most tears he's ever cried. His arms hugged Hopeless fiercely as his friend beamed a contagious smile and laughed along with him. He roughly kissed his hair before ruffling it in a friendly way.
"Oh Dex! This is great! Y-you get to go home and see your girl! I bet she won't believe the sight of ya! Oh man, you've gotta get your shit together so you can race off and get your bloody ass outta here!" Hopeless babbled quickly and rushed over to Vex's thin mattress. He leant over and snatched the duffel bag that hung on his bed post.
Dexter made his way over and joined Hopeless in getting his stuff together and bent down to grab the small metal container that held his loved one's letters along with a few small belongings. He opened it gingerly and instinctively reached down and plucked out a small black velvet box that within held an everlasting promise to the woman he loved. He wasted no time in lifting the lid and revealing the gold band that still gleamed after such a long time. He fingered the piece of engraved jewellery gingerly before sliding it onto its assigned place of his marriage finger. It felt familiar and it was like she was already in front of him with a beautiful smile. His heart shrivelled at the picture of her that was burned and deeply etched into his memory. He closed the box before shoving it into his bag which Hopeless held in front of him.
"You gonna come see me go?" He questioned.
Hopeless's jaw dropped, "of course I'm going to come to see you leave! First I'm going to give you my favourite bottle of Jack and then I'm going to watch you travel far away from this place while imagining that it's me going back to my girl and not you," he said matter-of-factly to Dexter who smiled and laughed at his friend's antics.
Deep inside though, Dex felt a serious pain for his companion. He'd been his best friend throughout his entire experience in the army and they'd grown impossibly close after swapping stories of their girls that were waiting at home for them.
*Flashback*
"Oh man! She's a beaut! Eyes like raw sapphires, raven hair as smooth as silk, curvy hips that sway when she walks and a heart as big as the planet. She's got this innocent air about her as well and while she is completely selfless she's also quite naïve, the doll. And there are those times when she catches me starin' at her like a lovesick puppy and she just gives me the most…amazing shy smile that makes me feel like I can do anything, y'know? Because she's there with me, y'know?"
"I do know," Vex whispered almost reverently.
"So," Hopeless nudged him in the side, "tell me about the poor gal that got stuck with you."
"Well," Vex started off, "Sh-she's got theses lilac eyes that seem to gleam in the evening and the sharpest cheekbones I've ever seen. She almost always wears her hair up and of course she looks lovely but it's those rare moments where she lets her hair down and it's just – like, cascades down her back in these long navy-tinged tresses and she's just, breath-takingly beautiful. Oh and you should see her legs! They're the longest things I've ever seen and she just walks with this wonderful grace that makes people turn their heads when she walks down the street." Vex sighed longingly at the very memory of her.
"What's she like?" Hopeless asked quietly, completely intrigued at the girl his best mate had married.
"Stubborn," Vex blurted the first thing that came to mind before sharing a laugh with Hopeless. "She's so incredibly stubborn but she is loyal to a fault. And speaking of her loyalty, I've never seen someone so loyal and protective of their friends and family. She can be incredibly giving though and rarely delves into her own needs. She's just got this wonderful aura around her that makes you wanna be a better person, a better man, a better husband just so you can spend a couple of moments of her time…"
"She sounds like an absolute gem and a keeper, at that" Hopeless pointed out. "So, what's this gem's name hmm?"
"Valkyrie,"
"Fitting," Hopeless observed. Vex grunted in approval.
"How about yours?"
"China," The strawberry-blonde-haired man said while sharing a soft smile.
"Like the cutlery or the doll?" Vex joked.
"Who knows? She's as precious as both…" Hopeless whispered with a startling truth to his words that made Dexter's expression soften.
"I just wanna hold her, y'know? Don't wanna kiss her or nothin', just hold her," Hopeless stared down at his hands that sat open in his lap.
Vex turned his head towards the man next to him and slung a confident arm around his shoulder and gave him a comforting pat on the back.
"I know buddy, I know."
*End Flashback*
'Coming home to you every night'
Dexter met the crisp air of outside as he emerged from the tent with Hopeless. He readjusted his duffel bag that was slung over his left shoulder. He made his way over to the car that was waiting for him with Hopeless and he felt his friend clasp his shoulder in an encouraging gesture. With that simple action though, reality seriously crashed into Dexter. He might never see his best friend again. It was honestly like he had to leave one to be with another. He turned to the tall man beside him and looked him dead in the eye.
'My mind is made up, nothing could change that'
"You write to me, alright? I already scribbled mine and Valkyrie's address in your diary so send some paper over to us sometime when the new cargo ship is up and running, okay?"
Hopeless laughed and the smile touched his emerald eyes. "You got it Dex, and hey, you never know, I might be getting discharged soon and then I and my girl could visit you and Val sometime,"
"I'd love that Hope," He said with complete honesty. Val really would love Hopeless if she ever got the chance to meet him.
Hopeless pulled him in for one more hug before they patted each other on the back and drew apart.
"I guess this is good-bye my friend," Dexter said with a faltering smile on his face.
"Good-bye until we see each other again," Hopeless corrected.
"Right, of course, until next time." They clasped hands in a solid hand-shake before Vex clambered into the automobile and watched from the back seat as Hopeless waved him off with a proud grin on his face. Vex waved out the window and gave him a quick thumbs-up before Hopeless disappeared completely from his vision. Once he lost sight of the familiar freckled face and burly build, he felt something sink in his heart. Possibly one of the happiest days of his life was also the most heart-breaking.
'Please be safe' Vex sent out a thought and prayer to his best mate.
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'I'm coming home to you'
'Every night…'
His heart beat erratically in his chest and his breath shook every time he visioned the woman who'd be in the very house he was standing in front of. He was at his house but he wasn't home, not yet anyway. Seeing her and having her wrapped up in his arms would be home. He swallowed dry air and it made his throat itch but he ignored it. Pressing his palm to the unlocked doorhandle, he gripped it tightly and pushed, remembering to bump it slightly because it would get caught once it was opened half-way.
'No matter, no matter'
'No matter what we're facing'
Slowly, he closed the door behind him and stared hopefully down the long hallway. He waited for a couple of breaths to see if she would come and check on who was in their house but the sound of her footsteps didn't come. He raised an eyebrow before hesitantly toeing his way up the hallway. He could see their familiar small dinner table for two next to the wall on the right like it always was. He peered out the large window the table was pushed up against too and remembered the many nights he'd share candle-lit dinners with Valkyrie while peering out the rectangle stationary window. He remembered watching her eat when the candle light and the moonlight would hit her face at just the right time and give her this ethereal beauty he had never seen anything like before.
He glanced down at their table and his eyebrows furrowed when he saw that there were two plates on the table top. The meals were definitely cold by now but one was half-eaten while the other remained seemingly untouched. Was she supposed to have dined with someone else tonight? A frown plastered across his features but before he had time to dwell on the two plates in front of him any longer, he heard a surprised and pained gasp from behind him. The smashing of glass followed shortly after and when he turned around he was met with the vision of Valkyrie barely holding herself up against the wall while a small pool of water and tiny garden of glass lay at her feet.
Her hair was free of the restricting bun she always wore and the simple tanned button-up dress she wore finished beneath her knees and her simple navy slip-on pumps hugged her feet so nicely that they seem to give her legs more shape than they already had. Her red-lipstick mouth was hung open in surprise and those indigo eyes of hers shined with a vast fog of disbelief.
His very heart seemed to stretch to impossibly lengths just reaching out for hers but he didn't dare move in case he spooked her. His throat constricted itself and he felt like he could pass out any second.
"Yo-you're h-home?" Her voice was barely above a whisper and he strained to hear her.
"I'm home," he confirmed.
"And this isn't some kind of cruel dream?"
A chuckle. "This isn't a dream, at least, I bloody hope not."
A weak smile pushed itself onto her face and she stared at him. He wanted to squirm under her scrutinising gaze but he couldn't physically move. Not with her looking at him like that anyway. He watched as she calculated everything in her head. How much muscle he had gained, how much weight he had lost, how much shorter his hair was, how much she bloody missed him. She speculated the concerned look in his eyes, she speculated how physically tired and torn he looked from spending so much time out on field and at base.
'It don't matter, don't matter'
Once her eyes settled lovingly on his, he asked the question that had been scratching his mind the moment he noticed it. After all, he had to know whether she waited for him or not, whether his belief in her faithfulness had just been for nothing.
"Were you supposed to have dined with someone else tonight?"
The question was flung out into the open and hung there with tension hanging on its tail.
"What?" She rushed out, as if confused by the question.
"When I came through the door, I noticed you have to dinner plates full of food sitting on our table," He gestured to the table behind him, "so, were you planning on dining with someone I don't know about-"
Her face split into a grin and that soft giggle he had missed so much stirred something within him. She had no hesitation in walking her way over and into his arms. Her hands cupped his face while she pressed soft, caressing butterfly kisses all over his face except for his lip. Tears slipped from the creases of her eyes and on instinct his hands shot up to wipe them away.
"You silly man, how could I even had the time to date someone when I had so much worrying and crying to do about my husband that was sent off to war for two years and five months, hmm?" She laughed along with him he pressed solemn and slow kisses to her wet cheeks.
"But then, why are there two plates?"
Her eyes cast down as if embarrassed. "For every night that you were gone, I still made dinner for the both of us. It was bad enough that I could no longer serve up breakfast and occasionally lunch to you and the thought of not having another plate of food across from me made my heart ache for you even more." More tears tumbled down her cheeks like a rolling river but the pads of his thumbs served as the logs that stopped them in their tracks.
"That is…an absolute waste of food you silly woman," He smiled up at her. At first she laughed but the wondrous sound got caught and she found herself whispering over and over again to him.
"I missed you so much."
The words were like angels singing in his ears.
"I love you, Vex."
And then she said that sentence that honestly felt like the whole of Heaven had written him a symphony.
''Cause the reason that I'm here'
"I missed you so damn much Val, I love you, Gods – I love you," He whispered delicately across her moist lips. His aching hands found her waist and pulled her forth and pressed her irrevocably closer to him. Her warm hands found the back of his neck and played with the ends of his hair – she missed the feeling of it slipping through her fingers.
They kissed each other with such fierce loving that it felt as though their hands were bleeding from the sheer greatness of it all.
Down went Val's hands as she explored the simple olive green t-shirt that stretched over his body. She felt the need to shred the material from him, to become familiar with his body all over again. But first, they stood in each other's warm embrace that left them pining for more.
"Why didn't you write to me?" She practically whimpered against his lips.
"I did, I wrote to you all the time, every day when I had the time – but about three months ago the cargo ship crashed with our letters and some of the supplies got attacked and went down. I'm sorry I couldn't reach you another way Val," he told her.
"I was so afraid that someone might deliver a telegram to my door saying that you'd been killed in action or something – I haven't eaten properly in weeks."
His mouth slipped over hers, earning a soft sigh. "I'm here now, stop worrying – it's okay, I'm here." He inhaled deeply as his mouth dove for her neck. The scent of the vanilla perfume he'd bought her for their fourth year anniversary wafted its way up his nostrils and numbed his senses with the smell. It was like she was around him in every way and he had missed that notion so very, very much.
'Is the same through all these years'
His tongue flicked out against her soft skin and he felt her hands tighten around his broad shoulders. He took his time in making his way back to her lips by lightly scraping his teeth across her neck and casually nipping along her jaw.
'Not changing, not changing, anything at all'
Once their lips had found one another again though, they didn't let go. They let each other's hands roam and their mouths lovingly share a sweet caress. He felt her tug and pull on his shirt and he was more than happy to catch on to what she wanted.
His arms swept her up and those long legs he loved wrapped themselves around his waist. He confidently carried her up the stairs while their hands shed the material barriers that blocked them from truly being with one another.
'I'm coming home to you'
With the clothing barriers tossed carelessly upon the floor, they let their love consume one another until they were the only people in the world.
'Every night…'
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FlawD: *wipes forehead* Phew! That was a wild ride and I enjoyed every minute of it actually and I really hope you did too!
Val: That scenario was a lot different from what you've previously done
FlawD: I know but I thought it went quite swimmingly. I dunno, there's just something about you and Dex that just clicks – just works *clicks fingers*
Dexter: I think it's because Val's so obsessed with my good-looks, isn't that right Val?
Val: *blushes*
FlawD: I know I certainly am! I mean, *coughs nervously* you all should seriously review because you have no idea (or maybe you do) about how much it impacts my writing. As always, I love hearing from you guys and big shout to all those who reviewed last update! I'll see you hopefully sometime soon, m'kay? :D xx