Christmas Contest

(Yeahhh, it is my second one, but whatever, deal.)

"Holy shit what is that?" Riley asked, gaping at the Christmas tree in the middle of the room with open wonder.

"A Christmas tree you idiot. God." Carolina laughed, leaning on Jeremiah's shoulder. "Come on, tell me what you think!"

"It's amazing." Jeremiah looked up at the incredibly tall tree bathing in it's glory. There were thousands of rainbow lights along with plain ones, sparkle spray, way too fancy ornaments, and silver garlands of sparkly stuffs. "How tall is it?" He asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Sixty six feet on the dot." Riley said dryly. "Her favorite number, dolt."

"Thanks. Why so tall?" Jeremiah asked.

"Now aren't you full of questions today?" Carolina asked, laughing. "I needed more room for decorations. Now lets show it to everyone else!"

A voice came from the doorway. "See it already dear. It's... ah, hard to miss?"

Shiny walked into the room, brushing her long hair. "You really, got creative."

"Thanks." Carolina bowed her head, leaning it on Jeremiah's shoulder.

"Awesome!" A cheerful voice screamed. "I totally blanked on the presents!" Marigold tore into the room and leaped in Riley's arms, to his major surprise. "Hey darlin'."

Riley coughed, gently supporting her weight against his chest.

"Oooh! Awkward!" Sadie said, laughing as she too came in.

"We're being out numbered by girls." Shadow grumbled, glaring pointedly at Marigold, who had just kissed Riley's cheek, turning his pale skin a strange, abnormal, shade of pink.

Holy just sat on the couch, laughing his head off. Silva Judgement walked into the room, Silva trailing after her with Atonica.

"I see someone got a bit... busy." Silva said, grinning at Marigold. Marigold smiled back, her eyes dancing with Christmas cheer.

Atonica swept through the room until she stood with Carolina and Jeremiah.

"It's lovely Carolina. But... were is all the mistletoe?"

"I will tell you when everyone gets here." Carolina grinned at one her best friends, who smiled shyly back.

In the next hour, piles of people arrived. Ami and her son Jondalar, and his best friends, Ryan and Alec all came together. Dressed in their classic gray, they stood out against all the Christmas decorations.

"Wow, now this is new." Ami said, looking up. "Whats that on the top?"

"A really pissed off Angel." Ryan said, squinting. "Now that is new."

Alec and Jondalar simply smiled at eachother.

A rumble in the Earth warned them that Jesse, the third creator, was on his way. He came in too, and he and Jeremiah hugged eachother. For one moment, Carolina couldn't tell the difference between the two. Both had the same striking blue eyes with silver lined irises. She grinned when Jesse gently kissed her cheek.

"Good to see someone taking care of Jeremiah. When are you going to invite me to the wedding?" He teased. Carolina hit him gently.

"You silly goon." She said, giving him a cheeky glare. He laughed before pushing Jeremiah to her.

"Keep her occupied, she has way~ too much energy!" Jesse chuckled before wandering over to Atonica and Silva.

"I do not." Carolina whispered to Jeremiah, "or do I?"

Jeremiah shook his head. "You're just perfect, don't worry about it."

They stood together as Howl Portal opened and Jamie and Jaeza came through. Both were soaked, and covered in snow.

"So sorry, we're a bit late." Jamie said, waving. Carolina gave him a big hug, and then hugged Jaeza. Jaeza waved to Jeremiah, and then she and Jamie joined the crowd.

"Is everyone here yet?" Marigold called. She had effectively tackled Riley, and had him pinned on the couch. He had grungingly given up, and had his arms wrapped around her. The crazy girl was only wearing a thin camisole (low cut) and a mini skirt (as in mini). She was easily tucked under his chin, and he rolled his eyes at Jeremiah and Holy, who both seemed to find it really funny.

"Time to dance!" Carolina cheered, throwing up her chamagne glass, it flashed, and she caught it again.

"Hell yeah!" Everyone cheered as the most famous band walked onto the stage. Man Eating Teeth, the guinea pig band, but this time, they were in their human morphs.

"Lets get this party started, no?" Asked the female lead bard (Singer) Veronica.

Everyone screamed in answer.

"Shall we start slow this night?" Veronica took her microphone, and took the male lead singer, Charlie's, hand. The two began to sing "On Fire". (Note: This band can sing any song better than the original singer peoples.)

Carolina took Jeremiah's hand and they spun onto the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and immediatly, everyone joined them.

Ami swung by them with a young man they had never seen before. Carolina died to ask her who it was, but she was still gazing into Jeremiah's startling eyes.

Nearbye, somehow, by some crazy-ass twist of fate, Marigold had coxed Riley onto the dance floor too. He looked totally out of place, a mentally twisted boy made out of pure evil, dancing with a beautiful young girl who killed people as a flawless assasin for a living. What a crazy pair.

They danced under the stars, and Carolina realized it was all perfect. Finally, maybe she and all her friends, could live in peace. Or so she hoped....

China Figurines

Outside the window, snow fell in a steady sheet that blanketed the street and prevented much travel. Inside the window, an aggravated skull glared at it, as if the heat of his gaze could melt it all away, making the road accessible. He did not own chains for his car, Echo did not own a CAR, period, and it was far too far for either of them to walk. Buses were shut down, subways did not reach far enough anyways... 

And it was Christmas Eve. He wished that he had stayed the night as usual, but her present was at his house, which meant he had to leave anyway...

Sighing, he turned away from the window, and the weather channel on his tiny T.V. caught his attention.

"...And the snow will continue for several days, meaning a very white Christmas..."

Oh, how he hated the world... Skulduggery glared outside again, seriously considering burning all the snow away while he drove. 

bloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseason

Echo was outside, wrapped up in several layers of clothing and making a snow-man like a child. Only she was not a child and Valkyrie, laughing at the sight from across the street as she walked, proved it: Valkyrie was about a head shorter then her at 15. 

"What're you doing?" Valkyrie asked, grinning like a skeleton. 

"Making a snowman. What does it look like?" Echo asked, searching for a good stick for the second arm. 

"It looks like you're looking for spare change."

"Oh, implying I'm a hobo now are we?" the Captain Cleaver grinned anyway. 

"Where's Skulduggery? He would have beaten me for that comment if he was here..." Valkyrie giggled at the thought. 

"I have NO idea. I guess it's something to do with the snow and such." Echo sighed. "And I had the PERFECT present, too..."

"He'll find a way. Trust me, he'll find a WAY." Valkyrie knew how, too...

bloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseason

Skulduggery, finding no other options, asked China for help. 

Now he was sitting on a couch in her library, waiting for the woman to return with a book or something- Skulduggery had no clue what she would have, but it had better be good...

Three stories up, China smiled and waited. 

bloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseason

Eventually Valkyrie walked back to her home three blocks away, leaving Echo with a snow-man she named "Richard the Proud." He was adorned by a Santa hat she found in her closet, sunglasses, a scarf, and some random seashells that were in the hat. 

She stared at him for a few moments, then decided she'd knock him over when he began to melt and went inside. Sighing, she peeled off her jacket and flopped down on her couch, waiting for herself to warm up. 

bloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseason

Two hours later, it was getting dark outside. And Skulduggery decided that he had waited FAR TOO FREAKING LONG. 

Before he could stand up China walked down the hall, smiling pleasantly. "It's ready: Your car has chains on it."

"...It took two hours to just do that?!" He almost shouted at her, but managed to keep his voice calm. 

"No, it was done an hour and a half ago." 

The look he gave her pretty much screamed 'IHATEYOUSOMUCHYOUSTUPIDLITTLETROLLOP" but he did not reply verbally, opting instead to walk to his apartment.

Presents in hand, he ran back out a few minutes later to take the two hour bumpy right to Haggard. 

bloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseasonbloomingoutofseason

Echo found some Christmas decorations and proceeded to randomly deck her halls with flashing lights, holly, and paper chains. In every doorway she hung springs of mistletoe, determined to keep her mind off the waning hour. 

But why wasn't he here? She knew for a fact that China kept chains in her garage- She had made sure of that! 

Maybe he didn't ask China? Maybe he was just making Echo wait to be a bastard? Maybe he was going to wait until tomorrow, so the snow might melt a bit?

Sighing, she barely noticed headlights pulling up outside her home, but she did notice five minutes later when Skulduggery cracked an upstairs window, sneaked up behind her, and lazily looked over her shoulder at a paper chain she was stapling to the wall. 

"Where did you find that?" He asked, making her jump: The stapler dropped two feet before his hand snaked out and grabbed it. 

She whirled around, and his other arm leaned kept him on balance by leaning against the wall. The Captain Cleaver was quite surprised: She had gone from putting bright colored paper on her wall to being trapped between Skulduggery, his arms, and said wall. 

"In a closet."

"Really?"

"It's amazing what you can find when you search." Echo felt her face flush, he was so close...

Skulduggery noticed it at once, internally grinning at her expression. She was cute, especially when surprised... He shook it off mentally, backing up a step from Echo and offering her the stapler. 

Grinning, she took it from him, placing it on a table. "You're such a freak."

...That was news to him. "How so?"

"Look at you! You're a walking skeleton who breaks into people's homes!" Her grin stretched and she laughed. "You shouldn't even need to ask!" And she was gone, walking into another room, all worries removed by his sudden appearance. 

He followed her without commenting, having no good come-back for that one. It didn't help that he agreed with her. 

...And that was a pretty cool tree. She had found tinsel and ornaments as well as paper chains, and the star was off to the side on a table. The christmas lights reflected off it, bright green and red and blue and yellow and- Hey, was that a pink one?

Echo herself was looking over her shoulder at him, bemused by his apparent fascination with the tree. "Don't go all Jack Skellington on me, now." 

"Huh?" Skulduggery gazed at her curiously.

"Nothing." She grinned. 

A/N: ...I think I lost. Badly. (God, this sucks...)

Christmas Contest

The violin music still rang in her ears. Every little thing seemed to remind her of that night, only yesterday. It had seemed to perfect, had seemed impossible for anything to go wrong. But go wrong it had.
She had been at a Christmas party with her boyfriend of two months. They had been waltzing effortlessly together, even though she hadn’t known how before that night, dancing the night away. Laughter surrounded them, and the feeling of Christmas was pervasive throughout the room. During a slow number, he had whispered for her to look up. Doing so, she saw that he had maneuvered them so they were under the mistletoe. She smiled at him, and he kissed her softly on the lips. The moment was perfect, and she would remember it forever. She had though nothing could spoil her mood, but she had been wrong.
Suddenly, she heard a gasp behind her, and, turning around, saw a pretty young girl about her age. Her face was a mask of surprise, and hurt. Her boyfriend sucked in his breath, surprised, and dropped her hands. The strange girl turned, and fled into the crowd. He followed her without an explanation, leaving his girlfriend alone on the dance floor, still standing motionless under the mistletoe.
He had never showed back up that night. She tried to call him, but had gotten no answer. Who was that girl? She stayed up late, waiting for him to call, but not really expecting him to. He had never done anything like this before.
He called the next morning, and apologized for his behavior the night before. He said that she was an old girlfriend, one who he was still friends with. He had hated seeing her hurt, she was like a sister to him, and had gone after her to make sure she was okay. He said that he knew that that was a really terrible explanation, and here she agreed with him. But he sounded so sorry, and had insisted nothing had happened between him and the strange girl. When she asked why he hadn’t picked up his phone, he said that he had forgotten to charge it. He said that he had only stayed with the girl a few minutes, then had gone back to find her, but could not, because she had left.
She accepted his explanation, but was still left with a nagging doubt. She had stayed at the party a good half hour after he had vanished, so she didn’t quite believe that he had only stayed with the girl for a few minutes, he wasn’t that bad at looking. Also, before last night, his phone had always been charged. That didn’t really sound like him. However, she didn’t think she was going to get an explanation, and she did trust him. So she decided to let it go for now.
He showed up at her door two hours later, and, giving her a hug, apologized again. Then, he pulled a bouquet of roses out from behind his back, along with a small box.
“Merry Christmas” he told her, handing her the roses. She smiled at him, delighted, all of her earlier doubts forgotten. Leading her to the couch, he handed her the small box. It looked like a jewelry box, covered in a light blue material. He urged her to open it. Lifting the lid, she saw a beautiful golden locket in the shape of a heart. She gasped, amazed. Slipping her fingernail under the edge, she opened it, and saw a picture of the two of the, holding hands and smiling, against a beautiful sunset.
“It’s beautiful,” she said in amazement. Looking at him, she saw he was nodding in agreement, but he was not looking at the locket. She blushed, and he leaned toward her, and kissed her softly.
“Yes, it is.”

A/N: Yes, I have no names. These are the same characters from Love Story, this is some point while they were dating. Anyone have good name ideas? (Yes, I know… the idea was for it to be happy. That seemed boring. But it ends happy….)

CHRISTMAS CONTEST!!

Okay, today was CHRISTMASSS!! 

So, I dare anyone who wants to, to write a one-shot or a drabble or even a two-shot about Christmas.

It must include:

Presents

Laughing

and

(optional) Mistletoe. 

NOW GET TO IT MY CRAZY LITTLE MUNCHKINS!

POAST LIEK TOAST AND GO!

Note: If it gets too long, you can make it into a seperate post and link it in the comments. ^_^

Love Story Song-fic

Love Story

We were both young, when I first saw you.
I close my eyes and the flashback starts-
I'm standing there, on a balcony in summer air.

She was standing there, staring out over the ocean, thinking. She was fifteen years old, and school has just gotten out. The year had been traumatic for her, her first boyfriend, her first broken heart, her first kiss. But she was ready for a new start. That was what the ocean represented to her, a fresh start, and the future.

I see the lights; see the party, the ball gowns.
I see you make your way through the crowd-
You say hello, little did I know...

She was just standing there, thinking, when a strange guy came up behind her. In a deep, melodic voice, he asked her what she was staring at.

“The future” she responded. She looked up at him to see what he thought of that, and immediately lost her train of thought. He had deep brown eyes, and hair that was just long enough to hang in his eyes. He was looking a little confused, but that just made him more attractive. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles-
And my daddy said "stay away from Juliet"-
And I was crying on the staircase-
begging you please don't go...
And I said...

They had talked for the rest of the night, and he had kissed her softly on the lips when they parted. However, she couldn’t make herself believe that anything would happen between them. Life just didn’t work that way for her. She could hardly believe her ears, when, the next night, the phone rang, and it was him. She was on cloud nine. He snuck her out of the house, and took her out to dinner that night, and the next. This was the happiest she had ever been. Until she was caught sneaking back in, and her dad told her she could never see him again. Oh, how she cried. She couldn’t believe her dad could take him away, he was her whole life. Running to him, she begged him not to leave.

Romeo take me somewhere, we can be alone.
I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess,
It's a love story, baby, just say yes.

She begged him to take her away, to run away with her, to somewhere where no one would ever stop them from being together. He couldn’t bear to see her so unhappy, it was killing him. So he agreed to keep seeing her, even though he was risking her dad’s wrath.

So I sneak out to the garden to see you.
We keep quiet, because we're dead if they knew-
So close your eyes... escape this town for a little while.
Oh, Oh.

That very night, she heard a soft sound on her window, and, opening it, saw him in all his glory waiting for her. He beckoned, and she climbed out her window. Meeting her in the garden, he greeted her with a kiss. Then, holding her tight, he spun her round and round, without a care in the world. He softly whispered, “I love you.”

Romeo save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel.
This love is difficult, but it's real.
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess.
It's a love story, baby, just say yes.
Oh, Oh.

But her dad caught him leaving their property one night, and he kicked him out for good. Her dad made him promise that he would never see his daughter again. However, before he left, he slipped a letter under her window, saying that he would see her soon, and that he loved her, and would love her forever. She believed him, and watched for him eagerly.

I got tired of waiting.
Wondering if you were ever coming around.
My faith in you was fading-
When I met you on the outskirts of town.
And I said...

After a week, however, she wondered if he hadn’t just run away while he could. She cried, wondering if this was the end.

Romeo save me, I've been feeling so alone.
I keep waiting, for you but you never come.
Is this in my head, I don't know what to think-
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said...

Then, one day, she ran into him while walking home. And she asked him where he had been. She said that she’d been so sad, so alone, waiting for him. She asked him if he’d really meant it when he said that he loved her forever. He took her hand, with tears in his eyes, and told her that he’d never meant to let her doubt him. He said that he loved her, that she was his whole world. With that, he knelt to the ground in front of her, and pulled out a ring.

Marry me Juliet, you'll never have to be alone.
I love you, and that's all I really know.
I talked to your dad -- go pick out a white dress
It's a love story, baby just say... yes.

He asked her to marry him, kneeling on the ground before her. He said that he had asked her dad, and he had agreed. She said yes, and they got married a few months later. They lived happily ever after, and it truly was a love story. She never got over just how lucky she was to have him, her own personal angel.

Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh.

A/N: No, this is not about anything, or anyone, in particular. You can make it about who ever you want. This is fiction, and not based off anything, I was bored. Also, this is my first post here, so please don’t say it’s horrible.

Truth or Dare

Garland

Skullduggery looked at Echo through the corner of his eye.

"Ummm... sooo..."

"Mmhmmm?" Echo was impossible to draw out of her books.

"Truth or dare?"

"What? Truth?" Echo looked at the living skeleton with amazement. "You want to play truth or dare?"

"Well yeah. Why else would I ask?" Skullduggery would have blinked at her blankly.

"So, truth then." Echo grinned. "Lets play."

"If... uhhhh... well, y'know."

"What? I can't hear you~" Echo taunted, grinning. Skull sighed. Damn women. He really didn't want to say it.

"If we could do the thing, then would you?"

Echo looked at him like he was crazy.

"What crack are you smoking??" Echo looked flatly amazed.

"Hehehehe... would you?"

Without a moments hesitation-- "Damn straight I would. Now, truth or dare?"

"Hum... dare?"

"It is so time for revenge."

Skulduggery flinched. Scared time has been teh nows.

"I dare you to kiss China Sorrows." Echo looked totally over proud of herself.

"I hate you."

"I know you do. I know you do."

Skull grumbled, trying to find a good excuse.

"I can't kiss her. One, I have no lips, two, I love another."

"Then you'd better get started." Echo grinned again, her smile never leaving her face.

"I'll get you someday." Skulduggery sighed as he left the room, preparing to give a unsuspecting China a rather bony kiss.

___AUTHOR SWITCH___

Volital

Echo grinned, following him out of his apartment and down the hall. She REALLY wanted to see this. Really. 

As luck would have it, he lived on the same street as China's library, so it was a simple matter for her to stalkfollow her favorite skeleton straight to the librarian's house. 

Skulduggery knocked twice, betraying no hint of anticipation or nervousness, while Echo watched discreetly. READ: Echo was leaning against the wall five feet away. 

When China answered the door, Skulduggery leaned forward before she could talk and brushed the teeth-ish part of his skull against her cheek. 

"Hello- What?" China looked at him, confused, and spotted Echo several feet away. 

Skulduggery shushed her. "Don't speak," he whispered with a low voice. Echo stifled a giggle as they both left China standing there in the hallway, very dazed and more then a little wondering.

Skulduggery looked over his shoulder as he walked. "Truth or Dare?" He challenged, a grin in his voice.

Echo puzzled. Dare could prove disastrous, since they were very near several people who's respects she held in high regard. Truth, however, could do almost no wrong... She had gotten over being shy with him almost six months ago. 

"Truth." Smugness hung around her like a cloud.

___Author Switch___

Garland

"No lies."

"Fine."

"How long have you loved me?"

Echo stopped dead. "Say what?!"

Skulduggery felt a creeping feeling of pride. He might have actually bested Echo!

"Ohhh... well, about two thousand, one hundred~" She paused, and then began counting on her fingers. "~and... about forty three years."

Skulduggery walked into a wall. Echo grinned for the hundredth time that half hour.

I must have caused her such unspeakable amounts of agony! He angsted. This is terrible! Skulduggery fought to get back his emotions.

Echo looked back at Skulduggery.

"Alright, your turn bones." She laughed, her eyes sparkling. Skull almost couldn't look away from their glimmer.

"Truth." He said, not wanting to have to kiss anyone random or something again. Not fun.

___Author Switch___

Volital

Echo winced. She had been thinking of a Dare. She paused in the middle of the sidewalk, striking a thinking pose. 

After a second of dramatic thinking, she grinned. "Skulduggery~" She practically sang. 

The Skeleton had an odd urge to run. He loved Echo, he really did, but that did not mean that he had to stick around for her abuse. 

"What would you do if, right now, I told you I stole your jacket and right now you're wearing a fake one?"

Skulduggery just stared at her for a few seconds. "Wha...?" He looked down at his jacket, then at Echo, then back at his jacket. 

Echo tried not to laugh. "Well?" 

"...Is it really...?" He pointed at his jacket. 

Okay, okay, okay, that was PRICELESS. "No! Are you crazy?! I'm not nearly as good a seamstress as Ghastly!" 

"Oh, good." He turned back around, walking into his apartment building with Echo two steps behind him. 

"Normally I would ask that you answer the question, but... That was priceless. So you get off free."

Skulduggery laughed. "Okay then, Truth or Dare?"

Echo grinned. "Dare."

Skulduggery opened the door to his home again, where they sat back down on the couch. 

"I dare you.... to..." He looked around the room, putting his mind to the task. 

Echo waited patiently. 

Skulduggery's skull snapped back to face her. "I dare you to confess your undying love for Springheeled Jack."

"Wha-"

"At the top of your lungs."

"Skul-"

"Through the window." 

"HOLD ON." Echo was an odd shade of pinkish red, and obviously displeased. 

"Yeeees~?" Skulduggery asked, tilting his skull to the side and obviously very pleased with himself. 

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I try not to lie about those sorts of things. I do not love Springheeled Jack, and I don't think I ever will."

"Fine, then. Confess your undying love for someone you do love out the window at the top of your lungs."

Echo couldn't help but grin as she walked to the window. Oh, he expected one thing but he would get another...

She opened it, stuck her head out, flashed a wide grin at the world and shouted.

"I LOVE BILLY-RAY SANGUINE AND ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL! WOOOOOOO!" 

She shut it promptly, turning back to Skulduggery. 

He looked like he had been slapped, tossed into a dumpster, slapped again, and mugged in the last five seconds. 

"Well?~" She asked, grinning. 

"...That... was unexpected." He looked at her seriously. "Do you really love Sanguine?"

"Billy is a popular imaginary name, and Sanguine is a color of red. I used my imagination," Echo grinned as she sat back down. "Soo~ Truth or Dare?" 

Spark

A/N: Follow up to Cold. Because I can't leave angst like that alone. (It can still be regarded as a one-shot, though)

...I find it disturbing that it's easier to write both angst and lulz from Skuluggery's Point of View. 

...Mentions of adult conduct in here. You were warned Austin. 

Sometimes Echo cursed her ability to see something right before her eyes and disregard it as impossible, because usually what she thought she saw was the truth. 

And after a week she had to admit that Skulduggery was really, really down. He didn't talk to her as much, she hadn't been able to make him laugh all week, and started to space out a lot. 

Echo didn't like it. She liked her bone-man happy and well, because there was really nothing much else she could do for him. She liked him laughing. Laughing or angry, because if he was angry it usually meant he cared. 

She did not like this weird neutral-zone. Not at all. 

It was typical if they sat around the house, then more often then not they ended up sitting together. When with other people, they managed to reign it in a bit, but when they were alone often other people could blush: Neither of them really minded being so close, because a) Skulduggery... Yeah..... and b) They were over 2000 years old. You really stop caring about that sort of thing by then. 

Skulduggery was laying on the couch when Echo came over and found it within her rights to make him into her pillow. She ended up laying on his legs and resting her book on his rib-cage, making Skulduggery glance down before resuming his study of the ceiling. A hand came up to toy with her hair, but other then that they didn't talk. 

Skulduggery, for once, wished she would go away and leave him with his thoughts, but that would be cruel. And she was warm. 

Why would she use him as a pillow, he wondered, when he wasn't at all soft? He looked down at her again, reading some recent story by Eoin Colfer with an expression of concentration on her face. Yes, she was lying on his legs, which were made of bone and not much else. In fact, they were made of nothing else. Her head lay a few inches below his own, almost ON the book. 

He didn't have skin, he didn't have muscles, he didn't even have organs to cushion her with. He wondered again WHY she would lay there, and several answers depressed him greatly. 

#1: She was unaware of the discomfort. Unlikely.

#3: She was trying to make him feel better. More likely, but unlikely.

#8: She was right and he was like a portable bag of hot water. That was probably it.

Was he just a heater to her, then? Skulduggery sighed, laying his skull back on the armrest. 

Echo looked up, alarmed by his sigh. "What is it?" She asked, genuinely concerned. 

He shook his skull, not looking at her. "Nothing." 

Echo frowned, closing her book with a finger and crawling up to face her skeleton. He turned his skull to the side, unable to look at her without feeling the crawling of guilt. 

Unexpectedly, Echo wrapped her arms around his 'neck,' burying her face in his collar. "Don't be like this," she whispered. "Don't be distant." 

Alarm shot up his spine as he realized that he must have been acting odd the last week, and for good reason... Echo noticed. Was she crying? He looked down and saw that no, she was not crying, but she obviously wanted to know...

Know what? That he was a coward and couldn't face her about a pretty sensitive subject? That he was guilty that she couldn't have his children? Oh yeah, THAT will go over well. 

Echo's arms tightened slightly, and he realized that she was waiting. He sighed again, wrapping his bone arms around her back, wondering where to start. 

"I... Can't give you half the things I want to." There, woman. Leave me alone now. Pick up your book. 

Echo looked up at him again, and he saw that she had no intention of leaving him alone until she got what she wanted. It would have been much better if he didn't KNOW what she wanted, but he did. 

"...You'd make a good mother, Echo, and I..."

She got it. He could feel that by how her heart, pumping steadily against his ribs, sped up, and how she twitched slightly. 

"I can't..." He looked away in shame. 'Come on, don't make me say it...'

Echo reached up, tilting his head back towards her. He let her. To his surprise he didn't see shock on her face, or even the sadness of being left out there was before. She... was smiling. After a second he could feel the vibrations starting in her chest, before she giggled. "That's IT?" She asked, laughing. 

...She had not been shocked, but poor Skul was. He waited patiently for her to calm down. 

"For a minute, I thought you'd lost your marbles! Let me get this straight." Echo tried to stop smiling, but found she couldn't. "You were all depressed because you couldn't bone me?"

He jumped, sitting up suddenly and looking down at Echo like she was insane. "WHAT?!" Is that all she thought he thought about?

Echo returned to laughing. "Well, that's what it all comes down to, isn't it?" 

Skulduggery stared at her. 

She calmed down after a moment, but still smiling brilliantly, she explained herself. "Skul, I got over my weird longings for children soon after Penelope learned to walk." 

The Detective cocked his head to the side. "...Wha...?" He was still getting over the fact that she mentioned sex as if it was a passing triviality... 

"When she came in and jumped on your bed at three in the morning demanding to play, where do you think she went next after you turned her away?" Echo asked. 

Skulduggery chuckled, still a bit off-balance. 

"Exactly! Kids are nice, I admit, but I like sleeping better." She leaned forward so she was leaning against him, and he realized how she was sitting could not be comfortable: Her legs were straight behind her, over-lapping his, and her torso was nearly vertical. Ouch. 

He laughed at her remark, and with a few deft maneuvers shifted so that he faced forward on the couch instead of reclining and Echo sat sideways on his lap. "And here I thought you always hated Penelope."

Echo looked up at him, surprised. Not at the sudden shift, no, it was actually quite comfortable. She was surprised that he thought she disliked his child. "How so?"

"Eh, no reason." He put his arms around her shoulder, trying to distract her. 

"...How so, Skulduggery?" Echo actually liked that, resting her head upon his shoulder. But she could not be distracted. 

"...I thought you didn't like her because she was Alison's child."

"And I liked her because she was your child, Skul. Stop assuming I angst over everything like you do!" She grinned and he rested his head on hers. 

"I'll try."

"Good man." 

Cold

Snow fell from the sky, making Echo shiver and pull her coat tighter around herself. Looking up, her cheeks pink from the falling ice, she smiled and stepped back before her balance left her. Evidence up that happening several times sparkled on her lawn. Ireland was a good place for snow. 

Grinning like a loon, she spread her arms out, trying to catch some in her gloves before realizing it was cold and wrapping the jacket around herself yet again. Lowering her gaze to the house, she realized that a light was on inside. 

Oops. She ran for the door, hoping to get there before he came downstairs and noticed her absence.

When Skulduggery walked down the stairs he was glad to hear the sounds of Echo moving around in the kitchen: He could not eat, but it showed that she was, in fact, there. As it was, he poked his grinning skull around the corner and was about to ask something but froze. 

Echo. Her cheeks blushing, hair slightly damp, jacket covered in snow down the back, and shivering. 

So much for his question. Gently he retracted his cranium and padded up the steps. His jacket was thrown haphazardly over the chair in the bedroom. 

Echo shivered slightly but grinned. He hated when she was cold, but he didn't have to know- 

She stood straight after looking in one of the bottom cupboards for her cereal, turning suddenly. The Captain Cleaver found herself nose to nose with a certain skeleton. 

She stepped back involuntarily and found herself against a counter. "Umm... I can explain?" She asked, not quite sure why she was being so defensive.

Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Is there something that needs explaining?" He asked, sounding confused. In one of his hands he held his jacket, and Echo's eyes widened. 

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked, deflecting the pointless question.

"No, but... As long as you are going somewhere, I would prefer you do it without sneezing all over everything." He gestured towards her inferior winter gear, the fact that it was still wet from her making snow-angels at an ungodly hour of the morning, and looked expectant. 

Echo giggled. That was the closest she had ever heard him getting to admitting he didn't want her to get sick. "It's my stuff, I can sneeze on it if I want." She heaved herself onto the counter, setting the cereal box on her knees and leaning over it like it was a shield. She didn't want to admit that there was pressure building in her nose, and that her head felt funny...

"Oh, really? Fine then, get a cold." He turned and took a step. 

Echo sneezed and he froze as if he had been stung. 

There was silence for a moment, and Echo hid behind her shield of Frosted Flakes while he turned around and took the two steps back towards her. Her eyes gazed at his eye-sockets like a frightened deer but he couldn't see anything else. 

There was a little more silence before Skulduggery sighed and removed the box from his view, placing the back of his hand on Echo's aching head. He couldn't feel textures unless it was moving, but he could feel the cold... and heat. There was quite a bit of it. Odd, since she was just outside in the snow from the looks of it. He gazed at her steadily. 

"I thought you said I could get a cold..." Echo complained after a second of him just looking at her like she was an idiot. 

"That was a rhetorical statement," the skeleton stated as he lifted her off the counter like a child. 

Echo still had the box of cereal in one hand and she gazed at it in mourning. Skulduggery probably wouldn't stand for her eating anything cold... 

But twenty minutes later, bundled up in Skulduggery's jacket, reclining in bed and listening to the Nightmare before Christmas sound-track, she had to admit being sick had it's benefits. Especially the fact that below she was being cooked breakfast by a Skeleton while up here she could twiddle her thumbs and sleep. 

When Skulduggery came back up with her breakfast Echo was fast asleep yet again, curled on her side and hugging a pillow. 

...God, this woman could be INSANE. 

Struggling to hold back a huffish sigh, he walked back down the stairs and put the plate of pancakes and bacon under a large bowl so they could stay warm. 

A moment later he was back upstairs, sitting in the chair in her room and wondering what exactly to do next.

Let's see, she's asleep, she's warm, there's no way in hell he's going to read her a story and she couldn't exactly eat while unconscious... 

His gaze wandered the room, landing on one of her walls. Huh, he had never really noticed this, even though he slept here now. It was usually dark.

The painting was on the wall the door was in, so he couldn't see it unless he was fully inside. Her bed was also placed so he couldn't see it, even sitting up, unless he turned around. No wonder. 

The background was dark, with bright sparks here and there he presumed were stars. It was directly on the wall, which he discovered after going and touching it. 

It was a row of people, back to back, heads tilted forward. They were lined vertically, and she probably had to get a ladder to do the top couple:

The very top one was of himself. Both of him-selves. On the right was his usual skeleton form, looking down at him while in one hand he held a flame. On the left was his old human form, who held a candle. Hmm. So he DID have black hair- it was hard to remember since he didn't see it all that often. Mirrors weren't common yet back then. 

The next down was Echo and Alison, both smiling. Echo looked uncertain while Alison grinned happily, her blond hair over one shoulder while Echo and herself leaned against each-other. Echo's own hair was free. 

He got the significance: Alison was on the left, closer to "Apollo," his human self. This had been painted when Echo still didn't know for sure what was going on between then, hence her uncertainty. 

But the next one down... Valkyrie and Penelope were back to back. Now that he thought about it, they looked almost the same, right down to the dark hair and eyes. 

But Penelope was the daughter of Alison and Apollo, while he obviously couldn't give Echo a child. 

So why was Valkyrie there, then? To signify that Echo thought of her like a daughter? No, couldn't be... 

...And if this was painted before Valkyrie met Echo, why was Valkyrie in the picture? Was it possible he had never noticed it before because it hadn't BEEN there before? 

Then why was Echo uncertain? He thought about it, and was sure there was no way Echo could have created something like this in the odd time between their reunion and Nameless's demise, but since then they had been pretty sure...

Unsure about Valkyrie, perhaps?

...Or was Valkyrie filling up empty space?

Oh, Echo! He glanced at her sleeping form, then back at Val. It was true! Had to be! While the rest of them had realistic expressions Valkyrie was smiling... almost cheesily. 

His heart dropped to his stomach, and a sudden chill took over him, even though he had no heart and no skin to be goose-bumped. He knew he could never give Echo children... But it was another thing entirely for her to pretty much acknowledge that. 

His skull drooped and he looked at Echo again... He felt cold and it was nothing to do with the snow outside (her heater was very good). With a heavy chest he sat next to her on the bed, reaching out and touching her hair. 

Echo stirred and he whispered, "It's okay, go back to sleep," even though it was not okay. She didn't have to wake up for it though. 

...Skuduggery rarely felt sorrow or remorse, and even more rarely had that weird urge to cry even though he couldn't. Echo, so sweet and kind, would make a very good mother. He was sure of it! But she could never mother children of her own unless she found someone else...

No! Skulduggery felt like slapping himself. He's known this for several centuries: If he fell in love, he couldn't have offspring. Just because he wanted Echo to have children didn't mean he had to shove her to someone else! 

That chased the chill from him, though he was still not warm. Sighing, he lay on the bed next to her, occupied by his heavy thoughts.

A/N: I feel like slapping myself now, thanks. It started out as crack and fluff and then by the end I had to make myself depressed... >.<>

Plot-Bunnies: *munch on bancakes*

(See word of the week.)