After a few hours of training, Skulduggery, Valkyrie, and Alice decided to take a break and grab some dinner. Valkyrie invited them over to her parents' house, where they could relax and catch up.
As they sat down at the dinner table, Valkyrie's mother served them a delicious meal. Skulduggery, however, didn't touch his plate.
"Is something wrong?" Valkyrie's mother asked, noticing that Skulduggery wasn't eating.
Skulduggery cleared his throat. "Uh, no. I just...I don't eat. Because, you know, I'm a skeleton."
Valkyrie's mother looked at him in surprise. "Oh, I see. Well, we do have some soup if you'd like."
Skulduggery shook his head. "No, thank you. I'm fine."
The rest of the dinner passed in a comfortable silence, with Skulduggery occasionally making a joke or two. Valkyrie's father seemed to take a liking to him, and they chatted about various topics.
After dinner, they moved to the living room, where they chatted some more. Alice seemed to be enjoying herself, and Skulduggery seemed more relaxed than usual.
As they were about to leave, Valkyrie's mother stopped Skulduggery. "I'm sorry we didn't have anything for you to eat," she said. "We'll make sure to have more options for you next time."
Skulduggery smiled gratefully. "Thank you. But really, it's fine. I'm used to it."
They said their goodbyes and stepped out into the night. Skulduggery looked up at the stars, feeling content. "That was nice," he said.
Valkyrie nodded. "Yeah, it was. My parents really liked you."
Skulduggery chuckled. "I have a way with parents."
They walked back to Skulduggery's car, where Alice was waiting. As they drove back to the training grounds, Skulduggery couldn't help but think that he had found a second family in Valkyrie and her parents.
not part of story
don't ask why skulduggery was offered soup.