The Sparrow Flies North for the Summer (Valduggery)

Finally

"So, do you want to talk about it?" He asked as they waited for the sun to come up. They'd sat together all through the night, neither wanting to let go of the other.

She shook her head, sighing.
"Not really, if that's okay. It was just so..."

"I understand."

They sat, watching the the sky lighten.

"Talk."

"Sorry?" He looked down at her, to see her eyes shut tight.

"Just talk about anything, distract me... please, Skul."

"Okay." He paused. Then, "when did we start calling each other 'Val' and 'Skul'? I don't recall ever agreeing to have my beautiful name shortened..."

She shivered. She was falling back into her panicked state.

"You know the man at the petrol station was incredibly rude? I asked him for some petrol, and he looked up at me -he was very short- and said what I thought was "Howya," to which I replied, "I'm fine thank you, now about the petrol..."

"But again he said "Howya," so I said, "Still fine, but I do need to get back to my friend-" at which point he interrupted and shouted "Jesus! How bloody tall are ya?!" And it turns out he wasn't saying "Howya," he was saying "How high, or tall, are you," shortened to "Height'ya?" And I mean really! Why would he want to know how tall I was? And why didn't he just ask?"

But his prattling wasn't working- she was slipping, gasping against the iron bars around her chest.

"No, Val, come on, don't give in, you're safe, remember? It's me, I'm not going to let anything hurt you-"

She cried against him.

"No, Val..." he was desperate. She needed distracting- what could he do?

And then he had an idea.

He looked down at her, shaking, quaking, confused.

Maybe... maybe talking wasn't the answer?

Gulping, he pressed the sigils on his collarbone, his face flowing into existence.

"Val..."

He leaned in.

***

She wasn't with Skulduggery. She was alone in the car, she was watching it run, she was closing her eyes, she was screaming, crying, she was...

Reality had faded, the nightmare taking over. It played again, and again. It was on a loop; as it ended, it started again. Again
And again.
And again.

She was losing it.
She was scared. Lost.

She was slipping into insanity, she was fading, she was-

Warm.
Safe.
Comforted.

Something was wrong. Or right.

She couldn't tell.

But it was happening.

What was it? It was soft, and nice... it didn't belong in the field, in the car, in the night...

She surfaced from her nightmare. She came back to the real world. To her body, her heart, her life.
To her mouth being pressed by another.

Her eyes snapped open in shock. She gasped.

He was kissing her.
He was kissing her.

He drew back, blushing slightly.