Chapter 124

"Hey Val," Nadia smiled when Valkyrie finally found her just coming in from the back door.

"Hey," Valkyrie replied quietly, taking the stack of perfectly folded, cold but dry laundry from Nadia's arms. "How was your day?"

"Fine, I mean, you've only been gone for four hours," Nadia shrugged, going through the kitchen without looking over at the breakfast bar where Saracen and Erskine were sitting despondently. Valkyrie didn't acknowledge them either – it had only been a few hours of punishment for them so far, so it was acceptable. "I got the rest of your washing done, and my own. I hope you don't mind, I put our clothes in the machine together. I don't know, I thought it might be weird to put our clothes together but we didn't have enough separately for a wash. I hope that's okay."

"It's fine baby," Valkyrie said, sneaking a kiss onto her cheek without dropping anything. "Anything exciting happen?"

Nadia shook her head. "No. Should it have?"

"No," Valkyrie nodded. "It feels really strange in the house now you know. I mean, it's lovely that you're here and I wanted that for ages to be fair, even if it was just visits or temporary or whatever. But there's just all this tension in the air."

Nadia hummed. "It's been empty for the most part. Before you woke up, I mean."

Valkyrie shook her head. "Whack."

"Whack?" Nadia smirked

Valkyrie grinned. "I'm amazing." That was received with an eyeroll, and then they were in the bedroom and Valkyrie placed the clean clothes on the end of the bed. After watching Nadia split the clothes into their own piles, Valkyrie had a sudden thought and sat on the bed. "Wait."

"Hmm?" Nadia wondered.

"Where are your clothes?"

"They're right here."

"I mean where's all your stuff? Are you living out a suitcase?" Valkyrie asked, looking around stupidly. She couldn't see one in her room.

"I moved it into Tanith's old room across the hall when you could come home from Kenspeckle's a few days ago. Tanith called him and told him you're back to normal by the way. You have to go in for a check-up but he said to tell you it'd only be half an hour at most so you have to do it."

Valkyrie grimaced, not feeling like going to the doctors but also not wanting to search for Skulduggery more and recognising that a doctor's visit extended her time not searching. "I'll go later. But I was just thinking – well, if you're okay with it, you could just move all your clothes into my wardrobe and we could, like, share."

Valkyrie knew she was putting on puppy eyes, but Nadia looked conflicted and wasn't quite looking at Valkyrie's incredibly convincing face which was unfortunate for Nadia because Valkyrie knew it was adorable. After giving her a few minutes to think about it, Valkyrie reached out and gently took Nadia's hand. Smiling, Nadia sat onto the bed and squeezed Valkyrie's hand.

"I don't know if there's room," Nadia said uncertainly.

"I don't mind moving some stuff. I did a massive clear out with Erskine a while ago, but I could do with another. I don't wear over half of what I have you know," Valkyrie said quietly with a little joking in her voice to make it a little sincere so that it wouldn't seem as if she was pushing Nadia into it, but not so much that Nadia didn't think Valkyrie was serious. Nadia bit her lip in thought. "I guess it must be a bit quick for you. I mean, yesterday I needed help doing normal things and you were helping me put my clothes on, but I have no clue what happened these last couple of weeks. It just feels like one moment I was at the Sanctuary, then there were a few little flashes like I was going in and out of consciousness, and then I woke up in the front door. To me, this is kind of what I had been hoping for for a little while."

Nadia squeezed her hand again. "It's okay. Actually, it's not that I don't want to, it feels kind of… exciting to think of our stuff all together," Nadia admitted quietly and Valkyrie felt the timid tone to her voice. "I think it's just that putting our stuff together is a very adult thing, very permanent. And I like that. But it's also a bit frightening."

Valkyrie shuffled closed on the bed and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders. "You don't need to be frightened. I mean, we have each other don't we? I know things have been crazy, especially for you, but we will make all this work. If we share a bed, or even just the wardrobe, we'd still be exactly what we are. You can still do everything you want. And if you don't do any of those things, that's okay too. I mean, we're sixteen and seventeen right now. And god, it's so close to us being seventeen and eighteen. But aside from that, we have such long lives and I really love you Nadia. Like, a lot. We don't have to do anything until we're ready. Just like with other… things."

Nadia smirked slyly. "You mean sex?"

"Err, actually," Valkyrie said in a mock-stuck up voice, "what we did was only fingering. Get it right. But yes, I do mean sex."

Nadia snorted a laugh and Valkyrie grinned and kissed Nadia's neck. "I guess I can move my stuff in. Honestly, I don't even mind if all my stuff is in here because it just feels so weird being in the other room. This whole house feels disjointed. At least you're here in your room."

"What do you mean? Don't you like the house?" Valkyrie asked, standing up with a little jump to help move Nadia's suitcase.

"It's not that," Nadia said slowly.

"Tell me."

Naida sighed. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your house is old. Parts of it are lived in and happy, but most of it feels like it's been here too long and just needs a bit of help. A stilt or something."

"Have you been reading poetry?" Valkyrie teased, picking up the suitcase with the lip open and letting Nadia put her dozen or so products into the bag. "I've never really seen it that way."

"Yeah, but you've lived here since you were a little kid. You wouldn't see it like I do," Nadia pointed out.

"So does it need a paint job?"

Nadia just shrugged. "I don't know. I was just saying how I felt, not that it needed anything done to it. Anyway, I thought your dream was to build your own house?"

"I have a perfectly good foundation for that right here," Valkyrie pointed out. "If I ever wanted to redo the place, I'd make the front really pretty with stone and whitewash and all that crap I don't know about, knock everything down internally and redo the lot. Maybe I'd make the house smaller, or I could add another wing if I was feeling fancy. But this plot of land is pretty cool. I like the outside of American houses, do you know what I mean? With the rock and the siding?"

"Isn't there a deadly maze under this house?"

"That's been filled up with cement and most of the creatures and weird plants were killed. It's not safe, but it's inaccessible. And anyway, I thought you liked scary animals."

"I like kittens, not beasts," Nadia told her, opening one of Valkyrie drawers now they were back in the room. "And in my dream house, I want watercolour wallpaper. Purple, gold, pink, lilac, all pastel-y colours all mixed about and printed on wallpaper. I'd want white wainscoting and in the squares, I want the wallpaper. All the rest of the room would be white. And I wouldn't want carpet anywhere in the house, other than rugs of course. Your house is really weird because some of the rooms are carpet, some are tile, some are wood, and that's just the bedrooms on this floor."

"How do you know what flooring my brothers have, hmm?" Valkyrie teased, listening to Nadia's vision.

"Shush. I'd want chandeliers and crystals and sparkly things, but nothing tacky or over the top. One of my, I think, eighth cousins, has rhinestones and chandeliers and candles and glass and mirrors absolutely everywhere and it doesn't look good because it's just so much. I want a subtle, modern type of look."

"I'd rather chic over modern," Valkyrie put in.

"Yeah, a modern, chic house. I guess watercolour wallpaper doesn't fit in that?"

"I think the wainscoting isn't modern is it? Isn't modern all sleek lines and nothing else? I think that's like fancy farmhouse or something along those lines."

"I don't know. It's my vision, I can be hypocritical if I want," Nadia sniffed, standing back to let Valkyrie begin taking the drawers out of her built in so she could throw all the clothes in a pile on the floor by the second built in. After emptying the entire chest of drawers, she smiled at Nadia.

"This one's yours."

"Thanks," Nadia smiled and kissed Valkyrie's cheek. "You know what else I really want?"

"A dog?"

"No, not a dog! I want a round dining room table. And a room with a wallpapered ceiling that looks like a galaxy."

"Okay, that sounds pretty cool," Valkyrie conceded as they both began to sort out their own chests of drawers. It would take Valkyrie a lot longer since she had to eventually get rid of half of her folded clothes, but that was the pains of loving someone she supposed. "So, we want wainscoting on the walls, a watercolour bedroom, modern cross chic cross whatever the fuck else we decide, redo the front to look pretty. Anything else?"

"A kitten. A grey, ragdoll one," Nadia nodded to herself. "I'd call it Pearl after my imaginary cat friend from when I was a kid."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes and began arguing with Nadia, in good nature of course, that dogs were far superior to cats for over an hour before she'd finally finished her clothes purge and had successfully merged her two drawers into one. She had more to go through in the wardrobe, but since Nadia's stomach had rumbled and it was five o'clock and so late enough to think about dinner, Valkyrie stood and dusted herself off.

"You know, I bought you something while I was out," Valkyrie smiled, going to the bag in the corner.

"Oh? What for?" Nadia asked, already smiling.

"For being with me when I wasn't myself," Valkyrie said quietly, standing close to the shorter girl and holding the palm-sized box between them. Nadia bit her lip. "It's not much, but I thought you'd like it."

With barely concealed excitement, Nadia took the box and opened it, putting a hand over her mouth when she saw the thin, beautiful bracelet within. It was the thinnest, golden metal, incredibly delicate looking and the perfect complimentary colour to Nadia's skin. "Oh, baby, it's amazing," Nadia whispered, putting the chain out. "It's so gorgeous."

"It's not as beautiful as you," Valkyrie smiled, happy to see Nadia grin and roll her eyes. "Here, I'll put it on you."

In just a moment, Valkyrie had the bracelet on Nadia's wrist. "Thank you, Val. I love it." Nadia leaned in and kissed Valkyrie before hugging her. "Thank you so so much!"

"It's alright. I mean, you did look after me for weeks, you kind of deserve it!" Valkyrie laughed, spinning Nadia around. "I'm glad you like it anyway. Do you want to get dinner now?"

Nadia nodded and, hand in hand, they went down the stairs like little sweethearts, smiling shyly and almost giddy with their relationship. For a moment, Valkyrie felt it sink in quite how lucky she was to have someone that loved her and cared for her and wanted to be with her. For some reason, it really struck her how incredible it was that such an intelligent, gorgeous, generous, wonderful young woman could want to be with her. It filled her heart up and Valkyrie felt as if nothing could make that go away.

Except for when they got in the kitchen and her brothers were there and Nadia's smile mysteriously vanished.

Like a whip, Valkyrie snapped her head up to glare at them, knowing it was their fault for Nadia becoming upset. If they hadn't been dick wads these last few weeks, this wouldn't be a problem but ohhh no!

After a moment, she forced that expression to disappear and smiled at Nadia's ducked head, pulling her into the room. One day they'd redo this kitchen and it would be big and beautiful and open and far better than the narrow space it currently was that made her have to stand so close to her brothers. It had literally just been renovated but that wasn't the point.

Fortunately for Valkyrie, Nadia perked up when the suggestion of chicken nuggets was brought up, so Valkyrie got out the rarely used fryer for some chips while Nadia heated the oven. It didn't take many silent looks before they had decided on the full meal and had it on. Since Anton, their grocery shopper, knew they wouldn't all cook, they always had frozen vegetables in the freezer, so some of that was in a bowl waiting to be nuked in the microwave, nuggets were in the oven, and the oil was heating in the deep fryer.

"There," Valkyrie nodded, hands on hips. "Do we have any sauces?"

"Err," Nadia murmured, looking in their oversized fridge. "Yes. Actually, I think you have every sauce."

"Good, that's grand," Valkyrie nodded.

With nothing else to do, she leaned against the counter and looked at Nadia rather than the opposite direction where Erskine, Saracen and now also Dexter was sitting quietly like naughty children that didn't often get told off and had finally been punished by their parents.

Nadia didn't look particularly comfortable. Probably because she could see Valkyrie's brothers over Valkyrie's shoulder. After a moment of thinking she'd wait it out, Valkyrie heart sank. She had to talk to them.

"So," Valkyrie started immediately realising how awkward she sounded. "What's been done today?"

Her brothers looked up at her from their seats and Valkyrie felt Nadia stand on her other side. They all shrugged and looked despondent.

"Come on guys, I didn't get mad at you for you to just act like that. Talk to me," Valkyrie tried. A moment of silence and then Valkyrie realised Dexter had started to cry and her heart tripped. She felt her own tears come to her eyes and all the anger that had surfaced while she was out dissipated, and she felt bad. Saracen leaned into his brother-boyfriend, as if that wasn't strange to think, and kept his own head down and Erskine just looked as if all the life had been sucked out of him.

God, this just wasn't right to Valkyrie. These were her favourite people, her family.

Nadia gave Valkyrie a small push and that was all it took for Valkyrie to run over and pull Dexter into her arms. He immediately wrapped his arms around Valkyrie and held on tightly, only standing when he almost fell out his chair trying to hold onto her. Together, they cried and felt really awful, and one by one, Saracen joined them, then Erskine, and when Erskine and Dexter held and arm open each, Nadia jumped into the middle of the crying fest and sobbed with the family. All around, Valkyrie heard the sniffing and the boys saying how sorry they were to Nadia and Nadia's sniffles of forgiveness.

"I love you," Erskine wept at one point, gripping onto Valkyrie's shirt tightly. "I love you so much. Please don't hate me."

Valkyrie wasn't sure which one of her, Nadia or the other men grabbed him and held him the tightest, but they all hugged him tightly and he got a turn in the middle. After a long time, they pulled away to see each other's tear-stained faces.

"I love you guys," Valkyrie whispered, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.

"We love you too," Dexter sniffed, kissing her forehead and then wrapping Nadia in a hug. "I'm so sorry Nadia. I didn't realise what I was doing and I just messed up so badly. I wanted to blame anyone and I just took out my anger on you. You didn't deserve that."

Nadia could only nod because it looked as if Dexter was blocking her airways, but the point was put across. Saracen was on the other side of the kitchen finishing cooking the girl's dinner to hide away from further emotions and as an apology, but Valkyrie could see how badly this was affecting him. Erskine was holding Valkyrie's hand and when Dexter let her go, he switched out for Nadia, hugging her tightly before holding her hand instead. He was obviously having one of his childish episodes where he needed to hold onto others, but Nadia didn't look as if she minded and that just filled Valkyrie's heart even more. Not only would Nadia look after Valkyrie, but she was willing to forgive the people that made her life so hard these last few weeks and even comfort one of the people that made her cry herself to sleep for days at a time.

Valkyrie made a vow to herself to learn to be as forgiving and smart as Nadia. If she could be as half as amazing as her girlfriend, she'd surely be a saint.

I enjoyed this one! I hope you did too :)

Also, writing brother-boyfriend really is weird. I know there's context and all with it being brothers-in-arms but still. Glad no one saw it over my shoulder haha!