A/N: I don't own Valkyrie, Anton, Skulduggery or Ghastly.

Anton released me, only to gaze at me adoringly. "Thank you, Valkyrie. That was- Amazing." He said, then smiled warmly as we got dinner into the oven. I turned to him.

"There's no need to thank me, Anton. I do care about you." I said and he nodded, smiling carefully. It occurred to me he'd never gotten to kiss anyone before. But that sounded stupid, he was handsome, and charming and built like a god.

Anton sighed softly, then spoke. "It was kind of you, decent, even. Thank you." He said, and I realized he didn't think it had meant anything to me.

"Anton!" I said, gathering him in a tight hug. He started slightly, then relaxed. "Anton, please. You know I care about you, that I love you. What's wrong?" I asked. He looked at me uncertainly.

"Then, you liked it?" He asked and I nodded. He smiled faintly then drew me closer, barely brushing his lips to mine. I closed my eyes, making sure to kiss back just as tenderly. Anton shivered, but kept his hand gently cupped behind my head, and only released me when a male voice cleared itself.

Ghastly stood in the doorway and cocked a fatherly brow at me. Now I was in for it. "You hurt him and I'll kill you." He said gruffly. Then, "Tea, sweetheart?" As if he hadn't just threatened to kill me. I nodded and watched Anton's increasingly mystified look.

"I haven't always been such a stellar girlfriend in the past." I said, looking down and running my hand through my hair.

"But the past is the past, and people change." Anton said kindly. I looked up in surprise, watching him help Ghastly with the tea like any good host. It was like the frightened man of thirty seconds ago was gone.

Skulduggery had come into the kitchen for me shortly after and invited me for a walk on the beach. Anton promised to hold our tea for us and I hoped as we left a lecture wasn't coming. I had my shoulders drawn in tight as we reached the beach, but dad patted them soothingly. "We're all a little protective of Anton, Val. As you can imagine he's not too popular with the ladies."

"What? Why?" I asked, startled.

"You do remember his Gist, don't you?" Dad asked, stopping to stare at me worriedly.

"Yeah, so what's the big deal?" I asked. "Don't tell me women are so superficial that-" I trailed off with a wince. That would have been me, exactly, a few years ago.

"Indeed. Poor Anton feels like a man half of the time and a monster the other half. Any prior relationships haven't even been relationships. Val, I think you're the first woman he's ever kissed." He said, awe creeping into his voice. "The poor man." He teased and I punched him in the arm. Hard.

"Ow! Hitting your poor father that way! I suppose you'll hit him again when you know he and your mother were borrowing your magic mirror."

"But it only works for me." I said, confused.

"No, Val, you made it to only work for skeletons. Worked just fine for me." He said, gleefully. "And before you get angry, it's a father's privilege to keep an eye on his daughter. I wanted you both safe."

"Thank you."

"Really?" He peered at me uncertainly.

"Yes, thanks. For keeping an eye on me and telling me about Anton. It's just weird. As happy as I am and as much as I love him I'm scared too."

"Mm. More like terrified. Runs in the family when we realize we're in love. Really in love and not just having fun." He said, looping an arm around my shoulder as we started back. He also advised me to give Anton space for a while, since Ghastly and the other men would be no doubt reassuring him I liked him.

So I went back to our room and found Abby watching TV. She grinned hugely at me and I knew she knew. "So you asked him if he's taking me to live in a castle, huh?" I asked going over to tickle her. She giggled and wriggled free.

"Yep!" She said, crawling out of reach. I shook my head and smiled at her. "How else was I supposed to know?" She asked and I knew she'd be a great detective some day if she wanted to.

"True. Just no more questions for a while, OK? Anton's a little shy sometimes. You don't have to ignore him or anything but-" I trailed off and shrugged.

"But girls were mean to him? Mom told me. Well, she told dad, but I was listening in." Abby admitted.

"You better be careful you don't get caught." I said with a yawn, the went over to my bed just to close my eyes. I opened them seemingly seconds later to find Abby curled up beside me and hear a knock on our door.

"Abby? Valkyrie? Dinner!" Mom called cheerfully.

"OK, Mom, just a sec!" I called back. We brushed our hair hurriedly in the mirror and washed our faces then met mom in the hall. She smiled at me then shooed Abby along.

"So, he has kissed you. Good. You care about him?" She asked.

"Yes, I do. Whatever happened to him, Mom?"

"That's for him to tell you, dear. Just be patient and let him come to you now." She advised and I didn't have long to wait. Anton seated Abby and myself to either side of him at dinner, dividing his attention between us and his other guests.

"Are you enjoying your stay, Abby?" He asked and she nodded, telling him all about the Midnight Hotel and all the secret nooks and crannies she'd found. Anton smiled and I could tell he really enjoyed seeing someone else appreciate the hotel as much as he did. When she asked if the bookshelf in the common room opened a secret door he smiled thoughtfully. "Yes, but only if you read every book first." He said, teasing, and she grinned in reply.

"You do like the roast chicken, Valkyrie?" He asked, turning to me.

"Perfect. It was nice of you to go to the trouble." I said. I'd vaguely mentioned roast chicken in the store and Anton had insisted we'd try out a recipe he had. So he was a chef as well. Another point in his favor. "I really love the garlic vegetables too." I said, and he nodded, pleased.

The whole meal, in fact, had been perfect. Anton took pride in the hotel and although he could be sarcastic with people he didn't like he was very warm and tender with most people. It was easy to forget he was the deadliest fighter at the table. As fast as dad and stronger than any of us. But his strength only made him more tender, and I had to smile as he gently fussed over Abby. He'd make a good father. I thought, getting ahead of myself.

After dinner there was tea and coffee in the common room, the adults gathering in clusters to talk. Anton sat with me and Abby on one of the sofas, smiling as she settled in with a book she'd chosen. Every so often he'd help her with a hard word, but encouraged her to figure out the meaning from the sentence it was used in. So he was a good tutor too.

When she got sleepy I escorted her back to our room, then made sure she got ready for bed. I went back out to the common room, but Anton was missing. I was disappointed, but happy to join mom and dad. They smiled approvingly at me. "You look beat." Dad said. "Of course you also pitched in all day long, took a walk on the beach and made dinner. Why not go to bed yourself? Maybe we'll do something all nice and family-centered tomorrow if you aren't off sparking." He teased gently.

I nodded and went to our room and got ready for bed. I was asleep almost the instant my head hit the pillow and didn't get up until I heard a familiar knock on the door in the morning. "Abby? Valkyrie? Breakfast at your leisure in the dining room." Anton called in and I called back a sleepy thank you.

After breakfast Anton has disappeared on hotel business and since we all had evening chores we decided to drive into town and explore the small souvenir shops. As we poked around I thought about Anton and really hoped we'd be more than a summer romance.

Aww, Val is being sweet for once. I think they make a cute couple.