ArtemisXHolly. More, um, explict than my usual stuff. Nothing big, just different.

Dark Chocolate

"Holly! Take this up to the mudboy." Foaly was holding what looked like Game Boy Advanced. Holly looked mildly insulted.

"You want me to carry a toy up to Artemis? Since when was I a delivery girl?" She pouted and folded her arms, though Foaly knew full well she wanted to go. This was the surface. Holly would do nearly anything to go flying on the surface.

"Umm, you became a delivery girl since you: one, joined the LEP below me, and two, admitted that going uptown to check on the mudboy wasn't that much of a chore." Holly stalled.

"Uptown? When did you start calling the surface that?" Foal blushed, a rare occurrence, but one that was happening more frequently.

"Caballine uses it. She got me into me habit."

Holly smirked at him, then added, in a singsong voice. "Foa-ly loves Cab-by, he wants to hold her, he wants to kiss, her!"

Again, he blushed, but just held out the game boy. "Go on, outta my sight. This is more for you than me."

"Me? Why?"

"This is a new communicator. Considering how much time you spend talking to your mudboy, you'll no doubt delight in being able to see him too. Tell to keep it by his bed. Then you can bid each other goodnight." Holly gritted her teeth, resisting her two most powerful impulses. The first was to hit Foaly between the eyes. The second was to blush a shade near that of the departed commander. She managed to resist one, so turned away sharply, grabbing a set of wings.

"For that, I'm not putting in an iris cam. You'll have to wait for Artemis to tell you what he found, instead of just seeing it."

"Hey, wait, ah, oh… d'arvit. And Holly; you might want to stay up there for a while. Vinyaya's on a warpath."

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Artemis was sitting calmly in a chair in the den when Holly arrived. He had been relaxed, reading and indulging in a rare delight, some fine Swiss chocolate. Holly always liked to get in herself, so he remained sitting even when he knew she was in the room. Still, when he was sure she was close, he smiled. "Hello, Captain."

Holly fizzled into the spectrum with a grimace. "How did you know I was there?" With the advancement of fairy technology, Artemis had no idea whatsoever. Not that he'd tell her that. So he just chuckled at her annoyed tone. She took a seat beside him. "This is what Foaly got…" She began, rummaging through her bag, when Artemis put a hand up.

"As you've said before, Captain, we never get a chance to hang out. Shall we talk before business?" She smiled at him. She couldn't help it.

"That's not very like you."

He yawned. "It is midnight. I'd rather like some tea and usless gossip before I begin examining what Foal has for me." Holly shrugged happily.

"Doesn't bother me. It's true, we never get to chat." This was said with such a pathetic look that Artemis had to hide his amused smile as he stood.

"What do you like?"

"Oh, nothing. I don't really like tea."

"Alright."

Artemis left the room, and Holly looked over the coffee table. A copy of the Wall Street journal, and - how ironic- a silver platter lay on the mahogany. Leaning closer, Holly saw that the platter was mostly covered in dark shapes, and from the smell coming off them… "I didn't know he liked chocolate that much."

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Of all the drugs in the world, chocolate has to be the oldest, and the most widespread. And since the effects aren't as harsh as most drugs it's considered legal. Almost all people, at one time or another, loved chocolate. The varieties grew so that there was a kind of chocolate to suit every pallet, even the lactous intolerant. This love of chocolate seemed to count double for females.

Holly was not only female, she needed something to help her relax after missions, and from the youngest age, chocolate had always been there. Couldn't stand white, and her father and mother had detested dark, Holly was left with, and therefore adored, milk chocolate. It was one of the few things she could always depend on. It seemed Artemis had a different taste, though the origin was the same.

Speak of the devil. Just thinking his name, the boy returned, holding a mug of steaming tea. He smiled, blushing slightly when he saw her. "Ah, it seems you've found my stash." He murmured, sitting down.

"You don't seem the type." She replied with a chuckle.

"Everyone needs a vice. It's not my fault mine is the same as Opal Kobi's." He pushed the tray towards her. "Please, you're free to have some."

"I don't like dark." She replied, looking back at him. "Well, I've never tried it." She added, turning pink under his stare. Strangely, that made him smile.

"You have to try it." He purred, picking up a peice. "It is the ultimate chocolate." Giving him a strange look, she took the peice from his fingers, and bit into it.

"I probably won't like it, my parents both- oh my... mmm." She sighed in utter bliss at that bite; it was sweet, so sweet, yet the bitter overtones made it difficult to detect, and became a subtle after taste. Creamy, supremely creamy, for a chocoholic such as herself, Holly felt as though she had just reached cocoanic nirvana. A religous moment, it took a minute before her senses returned to her completely.

Looking up, she saw Artemis smiling at her. "What's that look for?" She asked slowly.

"You looked very... delighted... for a moment." He said softly.

"Well, you've convinced me of the good of dark chocolate, Master Fowl." Replied Holly with a slight laugh, droping the rest of the chocolate into her mouth. He, smiling, took a peice himself and bit into it slowly, obviously savouring the flavour. Holly couldn't help staring at him, he looked so enthralled by the bite. He looked up at her beneath long, curled lashes and she felt her breath catch in her throught. To hide it, she reached for a second peice, just as his own hand reached forward and picked up the Lindor ball (sorry. I adore Lindor), holding it teasingly before her.

"That's mean." She stated.

"I am mean," He replied. She couldn't help herself, she reached for it, Artemis pulling back just when she almost got it. Glaring at him, she shifted into a half-crouch, not willing to let the mudboy beat her. He noticed, and smiled widely, balancing the chocolate two inches from his own face. A loaded, though giggling, spring, Holly lunged at him, and though he pulled his hand away quickly, her momentum carried her forward, and missing the chocolate, didn't have time to gasp as their lips met.

It was... unbelieveable. And she had been aiming for the chocolate. The second their lips met, Holly tried to pull away, expected him too, yet her entire being stopped her, and he wrapped his free arm around her waist. She could taste the chocolate on his lips, bittersweet and rich, but it was something else, another taste that could only be uniquely Artemis, that made her moan and wrap her arms around his neck. She didn't know how long it lasted, an enternity in a second, but when they broke apart she could feel the loss, and stared at him.

Flushed and wide eyed, Artemis stared at her, seemingly unable to move. Holly, realising she half sat on his lap -a sign of how dizzy she was not to notice- made to move, when his arm, still around her waist, tightened. Leaning closer to her so that she could feel his warm breath, smell the chocolate, he whispered. "You're not going anywhere," before pulling her back into the kiss.

Later, or simply late, both meanings applied at two in the morning, Holly stood. "I have to go." She whispered to Artemis, against whom she had been curled up. He smiled softly at her and nodded, though took her hand and kissed the finger tips, making her blush.

"I'll see you soon." He said softly. And nodded, a little painfully, before disappearing into the night.

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"Holly, Holly!" Called Lili Frond, who despite it all, really seemed to want to be friends with the other girl. Holly didn't know if she felt the same, considering how stereotypical Lili acted, instead of fighting male opression blah blah blah blah blah... Holly's own mental speech turned to mush when she realised Lili was holding a box of chocolates, causing the redhead to dash over to the blonde. "I've got a secret admirer!" Gushed Lili in obvious delight, ignoring the fact the Holly might have punched her. But instead, due to a recent incident, Holly never felt any jealously or longing when she saw a couple together, or heard Lili talking to any one of the cuter LEP jocks.

No, Holly was purfectly happy to jog upto the girl, and accept the heart-shaped offering. But girls colapsed into 'mmms' at the treat, and sighed.

"Isn't that just the best tasting thing ever?" Moaned Lili, stuffing another into her mouth. Holly thought for a moment, of something utterly dark, but sweet, creamy, simply and unbelieveably good.

"Not quite the best..."

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Mmm. I love chocolate, and Artemis, so in my mind they go together perfectly. 'Course, I hate dark chocolate, but it does suit Arty, so... yeah. R&R hope you liked it!