After "The Time Paradox". Before our Arty became psycho. And I do not own Artemis Fowl. Nor do I own the title of this fic. (Comes from a Paramore song). I'm not a big A/H shipper, but I was listening to the song mentioned in the previous sentence and this idea struck me. Sorry in advance for my name-dropping habit. l:
The Only Exception
Fowl Manor; Dublin, Ireland
Artemis Fowl did not like the sun today. For starters, it made his forehead glisten with sweat no matter how high the air-conditioning was turned up. Secondly, he, unlike other teenagers, did not like having a tan and preferred to keep his skin pale. Then again, he wasn't most teenagers. Thirdly, he didn't like the sun since it mocked what he felt inside. Lonely, isolated, and bored. He tried occupying himself by hacking into Foaly's various files. None of it interested him. Then he tried playing with his brother, Beckett. He'd lost his energy 30 minutes later after the toddler decided to play American football inside the spacious living room and tackled him to the ground. There was only one person he wanted to be with. And that person was underneath the floor on which he stood on. Or so he thought.
Chute E100; Underneath New York City
As Holly Short rode the magma flare to a port in an abandoned section near the Lower East Side, she half-heartedly listened to Foaly speak about a different species of goblins who were attracted to noise. Haven City usually was a noisy place, but since New York City was a large island, the sensitive-eared goblins could hear taxis honking and people talking from below. And her task today was to get rid of a few of them who decided that forming a clan there was a smart idea. If even one Mud Person saw them, they would be doomed. Of course, in Holly's case, when she'd met and later befriended Artemis Fowl and Butler, they kept the existence of fairies a secret.
Once Holly had reached aboveground, she snatched her fully charged Neutrino 2000 as her LEP helmet spurted information about New York City, in the voice of Lili Frond. The last thing I want to hear is her d'arviting voice in my head, Holly thought as she pressed the mute button. She turned on the tracker system and saw the heat signatures of the goblins. They were 1.6 kilometers northwest behind a New York University building. She wore her Cam Foil and quickly flew over the concrete jungle until she landed near the goblins, who were licking their eyes.
Holly hid behind a trash can, and positioned her Neutrino to knock out two of the five goblins. The goblins instantly saw her and dodged the attack, a surprise since they were known to be extremely dim-witted. They instantly attacked with their fire breath, a variation from regular goblins. Due to Holly's fire-proof suit, the blow didn't affect her. She fired her weapon again and successfully hit three of the goblins. Two more blows and all the green-skinned creatures were out for the next eight hours. She loaded all of them into her Moon Belt and flew back to the port where illegal visitors were sent back. When all the goblins were sent away, Holly realized she had nothing to do for the day. So she decided to pay her friend a visit.
Fowl Manor; Dublin, Ireland
4:30 P.M. (IST)
As if Artemis'wish came true, he could see a shimmer in the air right next to the computer he was sitting in front of.
"What brings you here? Is there an emergency which requires my assistance?" Artemis blankly asked.
"No. Not at all. And you could have greeted me, Arty" Holly answered.
Arty? Artemis was still puzzled by the use of this nickname. Usually, it was saved exclusively for his mother. But lately, Holly had been calling him by this name too. (A/N: Remember, this is after The Time Paradox. Holly just broke into this habit).
"I'm sorry. Hello Holly. How was your day?"
"Fine, thank you for asking. I just knocked out a couple of goblins in New York City"
"New York City. That reminds me. I need to submit my article to Science Weekly magazine to the head office there. It's about my take on the Law of Gravity"
"That's really nice." Holly uninterestingly said, "But can I talk to you?"
"Yes."
"It's about that…thing…that happened when we went back in time"
"I do not understand. There were many things that occurred when we went back in time."
"No I mean what I did right after you were attacked by the gorilla"
"Yes, you healed me. And I thank you for that." Artemis answered, trying to turn the conversation somewhere else.
"I meant when I kissed you!" Holly shouted while staring directly into Artemis' mismatched eyes, then turned beetroot and averted her eyes to the polished floor.
"You told me yourself, 'My elf-kissing days are over'. And I respect your decision" Artemis tried to conclude.
"I know I said that, but I felt that I was lying. And I realized that when I saw how much I missed you"
"I missed you too. But we both clearly know that this affiliation will not work out. You might be discredited by your own people, the people who you risk your life for everyday in your job. And all because of some petty human"
"Have you forgotten? You've risked your life too many times for people too, fairy and human. If they couldn't respect that decision, then they'll surely come begging back to you when the world is in danger, once again. And it almost always is"
"Yes. But do you see how selfish that sounds? Letting the world stay in danger all because of us. It'll be our faults if there is another emergency and nobody saves the day. As it is, I already have a guilty consience. No need to add to it" Artemis said with a smirk.
Holly sighed. Artemis had a well-supported argument. Damn him and his genuisness, if that is a word.
"So you don't want to be together?"
"I don't think I've made myself clear" Artemis said. Then for the next five seconds, he kissed her as if she were a lifeline.
Once they broke apart, he continued. "I was a person who used to think that having friends was a misuse of valuable time. I used to sit in front of the computer everyday doing illegal things which no one would ever find out about. But when I met you and went on these fanatical escapades, I realized that being without other people was such a tedious life. Recently, I haven't been able to sit inside and play around with a computer with the same enjoyment I once had. I longed to be with you doing daring things which man cannot imagine. At least the important part of my wish came true"
Holly's grin was all the response Artemis needed.