Skulduggery Pleasant - one shots and imagines

As the world caves in

Valkyrie looked at him, vision blurring from unshed tears. "Do you have a backup plan?"

Skulduggery looked ahead, hesitating before responding. "I'm afraid not."

Tears started to silently stream down her face. She reached out to her side and grabbed Skulduggery's gloved hand. She grasped it with all the strength she had left. Skulduggery replied with as much force. "We're going to die, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are."

She forced down a sob. "I'm sorry you're going to die at my side."

Skulduggery looked at her and tilted his head and Valkyrie knew he would be smiling if he could. "There's no place I'd rather be."

"Until the end?"

Skulduggery squeezed her hand. "Until the end."

She wished that Skulduggery had a face. She wanted to see all the emotions he was feeling through his eyes. She wanted to find out if his emotions mirrored her own and she wanted to take off his glove and hold a hand of flesh and blood. To hold warmth instead of hard bone. But most of all she wanted to press her lips to his own and believe that everything will be alright. 

Her heart ached with such terrible force. She couldn't give a damn about the world now, she just didn't want to leave him. She pictured another world. One where all their enemies were defeated, and Ghastly and Saracen and Anton were still alive. A world where Valkyrie had a chance to tell Skulduggery how she feels about him, a world where her and everyone she loved were safe. A world of peace. 

So when the world started burning and people started screaming and she was thinking about all the things she would never get to say, she never once dared to look away from him.

She didn't know what life was like after death, but she hoped with all her heart that she was with Skulduggery. Because if she was with him, she could live with everything else.