Chapter XXVI

Hey! So…this is going to be a little PG-18-ish because I realized that I was focusing on plot development and not fluff. Fluff was the whole reason I started this story! So here you go. Fluff.

Ink…

It had been 48 hours since Mevolent attacked Valkyrie. They hadn't had anymore sightings of any dark ghosts, as Erskine was starting to call them. The Sanctuary was plaguing the Necromancers for answers about bone blades and how Mevolent was able to touch things of the living realm. So far, the Necromancers had nothing to give them, but they were researching into it.

Everything and everyone seemed to be holding a breath. Waiting for something else to happen. The Elders, China especially, hated being left out of things. China was calling in all the solids and searching for answers the illegal way. Nothing was turning up. Mevolent was quiet.

That was possibly the scariest thing of all. A calm before the storm.

Meanwhile, Skulduggery was vibrating around the house all day. He was rushing around checking all the wards to make sure Mevolent hadn't tampered with them. China was trying to figure out how to make stronger wards. Her students were helping her.

The Dead Men were in full 'I'm an Uncle! Must protect the Mother from evil coffee pots!' mode. Valkyrie was trying to ignore the hovering and focus on preparing Sparrows with what was to come. She was also continuing to take care of a house full of adult infants all the while convalescing from her transformation.

That night Skulduggery carried her to bed. Saracen was watching Sparrows. Tanith was making rounds on the upper floors while Dexter was making the rounds on the bottom floors. Ghastly was standing outside the doors of Skulduggery and Valkyrie's room.

Poor man.

Valkyrie sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, Skulduggery. I was scared. I wanted to fight but I also wanted to keep the baby safe and Sparrows."

He smiled and kissed her jaw. "I understand. Don't worry." He gave her a stern stare. "Just don't keep me out next time. Before, I was just your partner, but now I'm your husband. Things are slightly different."

She nodded. "I understand." He smiled and began to kiss her up and down her throat. She gave a light sigh. "It feels like it's been ages since we've had any time together."

Skulduggery grunted, too busy re-exploring his wife's body to give a fitting answer. Valkyrie soon found thinking to be impossible. Skulduggery stripped her and himself. She smiled up at him.

"I love you, Skulduggery Pleasant."

He smiled. "Well of course you do. Who wouldn't?"

She laughed and then frowned. "Skul…"

"Hmm?" He started nibbling at her clavicle. She closed her eyes and smiled slightly. It felt good. He licked her from ear to her elbow and blew on it. She shivered and gave a soft moan. It was good to finally relax. Even if it seemed fake relaxation. They were going to be busy fighting. They needed this.

"When…when did you first realize that I wasn't just a…partner to you?"

He paused in thought. "I suppose it was when you left. All the times before that, I was able to convince myself that our bond was from partnership. However, when you left, I felt a part of my mind went with you." He kissed her from her inner thigh to her lips.

They parted. He breathed. "I couldn't think. I wasn't as efficient. I was constantly cranky. I took only the cases that genuinely interested me, or if Erskine ordered me to. It was when you called me that I realized I loved you."

Valkyrie smiled. "I'm a faster learner than you. I knew I loved you the minute I broke up with Fletcher." She pulled him to her and kissed him. They set a lazy pace. She nibbled his lips and kissed him passionately. She missed this. They needed this moment of stress relief.

When they parted, Skulduggery blinked. "What?"

She laughed. Quickly, she hooked her leg and flipped their positions. She started tracing his muscles lightly with her fingernails. He writhed under her touch and hissed out in breath.

"Stop it!"

She smiled innocently. "Stop what? Don't you like it?"

He looked at her and then smiled. "You've caused a problem."

Valkyrie looked below her. "Oh my…" She widened her dark eyes and smiled sweetly. "Oops."

Skulduggery rolled his eyes. "I've trained you how to be a problem solver, haven't I?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He smirked. "Well then, kiss it and make it better."

She chuckled. "How about I just draw you a nice cold shower instead?" She moved to get off of him, but he grabbed her and pushed her back onto the bed.

The rest is personal.

Poor Ghastly.

The next morning

Tanith entered the kitchen. "Hey everyone! How was yo-"

She got no further. Ghastly grabbed her, wrapped his arms around her slim waist, and bent her backwards. The kiss her gave her was the kiss of the century. Skulduggery boggled. Dexter gave a wolf whistle. Saracen blinked and then stared slack jaw at Anton, who only gave a small smile.

Ghastly broke the kiss. He helped an unsteady Tanith upright again and then huffed. "I am never going to have a shift outside those two's door again!"

Valkyrie blinked. Her eyes grew wide, and her skin became deep red. Skulduggery started laughing. Dexter snickered and started cracking sex jokes and innuendoes and generally acting like a male soldier.

She hit him with a spatula. Everything became less…crass when Sparrows entered the room with Saracen quietly following her inside the kitchen. Sparrows' eyes narrowed.

"I've missed something?" Saracen looked around after she said that and then nodded.

"Yeah, what'd we miss?"

Valkyrie smiled and straightened her coffee cup and leaned into Skulduggery's side. "What makes you say that?"

"Dexter is holding a spatula and is nursing a fresh black eye. Tanith is flushed and so are you." Sparrows said nonchalantly.

Saracen took over. "Ghastly is, for once in his celibate life, is eyeing Tanith hungrily, plus he has lipstick on his lips. And Anton is actually smirking."

Sparrows nodded. "Not to mention that no one has taken a bite of their food yet, meaning talking and/or staring has been the predominant event while we were absent."

Valkyrie sighed. "That is it! Skulduggery Pleasant, that is the last time you are teaching her English. She is learning far too many vocabulary words!"

Sparrows smirked.

Tanith gasped. "She's even developing his smirk!"

Skulduggery looked proud of his accomplishments.