Book: Artemis Fowl

Pairing: Artemis/Holly

Genre: Romance/Drama

Rating: K+

Breaking the Rules

It had taken the Fowl family a little bit of getting used to—particularly for Angeline Fowl, Artemis Fowl II's mother—but after the first ten times that Holly Short had just suddenly and seemingly magically appeared either at their front door or someone else on the estate, they no longer jumped in surprise or squawked in fear. Myles and Beckett had been the quickest to adapt thanks to their little escapades as Berserker hosts. Angeline, even though she had known about the People for quite some time, had still had to train herself not to shout when Holly materialized seemingly out of thin air.

While her sudden visits were startling, they all rather liked the elf; the first time the family had officially met her had been when the day trotted up the hill with a newly resurrected Artemis riding on a centaur's back. The sight had distressed them for more reasons than one—wasn't Artemis dead? What was he doing riding on a mythical creature's back? Who was that small woman?—but they had known that everything was alright, as Butler had been smiling at Holly's side as she had recounted fantastic tales that Artemis Fowl I and Angeline couldn't even begin to dream of.

That had been about six years ago.

The Fowls had since come to terms with Artemis's magical exploits, and while they set Angeline worrying that her boy would one day not return—as she had found out just exactly how many times he had either died or come close to dying—she knew that it was something special to him, something she could not take away.

Even she—or perhaps only she—was able to tell just how much these fantastic creatures had changed Artemis's life. He had been a brilliant boy, but so, so lonely. It was only logical that such an enigma among humans was able to find comfort in the arms of fairies, particularly the arms of one spirited elf…

Angeline Fowl smiled as the pad of small feet on carpet caught her attention. She was reclining in a chair, enjoying some peacefulness as her youngest sons—now ten years old—were training Butler in his dojo. Both were determined to not end up like Artemis with an amazing lack of any physical ability (though he had been slowly improving himself), and while Beckett was splendid when it came to jumping, running, and climbing, Myles fell painfully short in the athletic department.

As such, the house was pleasantly quiet, the patriarch of the family away on some business trip that he promised wouldn't last more than a few days, and Angeline could hear the breathing of a mouse or the walking of tiny elf feet.

Putting down the book she had been reading, she picked up the tea Artemis had so thoughtfully brewed for her and took a sip. A smile spread across her face as she looked at her half-open door.

To Artemis, there was no woman but Holly. He had arranged the world into two categories when it came to who he was interested in: Holly and not-Holly. He had laughed it off whenever she had approached him about it or tried to get him to date some friend's daughter—he was twenty-one for god's sake!—and Angeline had eventually figured out that the only way her son would ever come to terms with his feelings was if he figured them out for himself.

For once I am the smart one, Angeline thought to herself with a smile. Though I suppose I do have an advantage when it comes to affairs of the heart.

Setting her tea cup back on the table next to her, she picked up her book once again, though she found herself unable to read another line as she was too excited. Dropping the large novel in her lap, she clasped her hands together and leaned forward, a pensive look on her face.

I hate waiting and I fear I shall have to wait a long time before this night is over. She shook her head and sighed. My son may be a genius of the brain, but certainly is a fool when it comes to his own heart.

Artemis was waiting for Holly in his room, just like he'd said in the message he had sent her. Still, she'd taken a few detours on the way up, stopping by to say hello to Butler in the dojo and being attack-hugged by Beckett who had finally outgrown her and then crushed in a mighty bear hug by Butler. His eyes had been shining, and something in his demeanor told her that that night was different. She hadn't bothered to ask him, as she figured that Artemis was more than likely the source of the former bodyguard's good mood.

Myles had been a bit more polite and restrained in his greeting than his twin and master, and had dipped his head while saying, "It is good to see you again, Ms. Short."

Holly had long ago given up trying to tell him to call her Holly—"Ms. Short" was a bit too formal for her liking—and had simply praised him on having a lick of decency about him that his brother hadn't had in his younger days. This seemed to delight Myles and frustrate Artemis.

"I wasn't that bad," he would say whenever she complimented Myles's behavior.

"You kidnapped me," she would remind him, glaring at him out of the corner of her. "And drugged me."

"It's a good thing I did," Artemis would sniff, clearly ashamed at his actions but unable to let himself lose face. "Otherwise the world would have ended several times over by now."

Funny, how far we've come, Holly thought to herself as she pushed open the large door. From enemies, to frenemies, to friends, to best friends, to…whatever we are now.

"Artemis?" she called out as she stepped inside.

Artemis jumped, straightening his back and running a pale hand across his suit as she walked across the great expanse towards him. He was sitting in a comfortable looking office chair, though he looked anything but comfortable. There were bags under his eyes and it looked like he had not slept in days.

"There is such a thing as knocking you know," he said, slightly perturbed. He was on edge—for he had indeed not been sleeping—and had had one too many shots of espresso.

Holly ignored him as she climbed into the chair opposing his that he had had custom built for her. "You look like hell."

Artemis let out a breath, his face screwed up in a grimace. "I know."

Holly felt worry chew at her gut. Artemis was big on appearances and rarely let himself go. If something was bothering him…

"Is…something wrong, Artemis?" she asked as she settled herself onto her chair. "What's going on? Your message said it was urgent and I—"

"I'm twenty-one, Holly," he cut her off, his piercing eyes boring into hers. There was a hint of anxiety in the twin blue orbs, the lines that creased his face making him appear as if he was in his thirties instead of his early twenties.

Holly blinked, confused. "Twenty-one?" Of course she knew his age, but why was he bringing it up?

Artemis nodded. "I am twenty-four chronologically by this world's standards, and technically this body that I inhabit is not even seven years old, but officially I am twenty-one."

Holly could follow him that far. "I know…"

The young man sighed and ran a hand through his striking black hair. Besides from his weary state and the obvious changes brought on by adulthood, Artemis was still very much the same person in appearance as he had been all those years ago. Perhaps he was a bit taller now and had begun to develop muscle tone, but he was still pale, still rail thin, and still had hair as black as night.

Ironically, even though he had been brought back by Foaly by use of a clone and had both his blue human eyes, once he had regained control of his faculties he had demanded that the hazel eye of Holly's he had once had be returned to him. This had shocked them all, especially Holly who had felt a bit guilty since her fairy eye had been what had trapped and killed him in the first place, but Artemis had turned to her with a smile on his face and said that it was her eye that completed him, and without her, he was empty.

Foaly had harrumphed and rolled his eyes, and Artemis had blushed at the passion in his words, causing Holly to do the same.

It was then that the elf and Mud Boy had realized just how much they truly completed each other, and that things would never be the same between them again.

Foaly had been unwilling or unable—no one could tell which—to help.

"I brought you back from the dead," he'd pointed out. "And broke a thousand fairy and moral laws in the process."

Luckily, Nº1 had been able to help Artemis with that particular matter, and now he was back to the way he claimed he should be.

"Artemis…" Holly reached a hand towards him, concerned. "I don't understand what you're trying to say."

Artemis leaned forward in the chair, muttering to himself, his words Holly was just barely able to hear. "Blast it," he was saying. "Mother is probably sitting in her study, laughing to herself. Butler, too."

"Laughing at you about what, Artemis?" Holly was really bamboozled now.

Artemis glanced up at her, misery etched into his sharp features.

"Holly," he said slowly, his brow furrowing as if he was in great pain. "We've…known each other for a long time, haven't we?"

Holly nodded. "Nine years. More like twelve, if you count the time we were missing in this world."

The genius, former criminal smiled weakly. "Yes. A long time, indeed." The smile vanished, and his mismatched eyes trained intently on her, almost as if he was looking into her soul. "In all that time, there has never been anyone else for me."

"What about Butler?" Holly blurted out, not understanding where he was going. "He has been there for you. And Mulch, too. Sometimes."

Artemis winced. "That's not what I…" He wagged his head and moaned. "I really am no good at this."

"Good at what,Artemis? You're not making any sense, as usual. I'm not in your head; care to fill me in?"

The young man looked at the fairy in an offended manner, almost as if he had been insulted. "That's what I've been trying to do!"

"Well you're not doing a very good job at it!" Holly barked, starting to get irritated. "First, you call me up here out of the blue with the message that something 'life changing' is about to take place and you need me to be there for you, and now that I'm here you're just stuttering about like a fool!"

She softened as his face crumbled, and she leaned forward in her seat, lovingly brushing his cheek. "It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with you, Arty," she said tenderly. "But…you have a life here and I have a life there, and—"

"Marry me."

Holly nearly choked. "What?"

Artemis swallowed hard, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. The trepidation that had been cut into him moments before was gone, replaced by the courage Holly had only seen in him when he went at an impossible task.

"Marry me."

Holly fell back in her chair. The world felt as if it had been ripped out from under her. "Marry you?"

"Yes."

She sucked in a deep breath and then exhaled, her eyes—one blue and one hazel—wide. "Artemis, we just can't—"

"Yes, actually we can," Artemis interjected before she could talk herself out of something she might possibly want. "We've already broken every law known to man, fairy, and nature. I don't see what's one more."

Holly shook her head, her heart pounding inside her small chest. Marry Artemis Fowl? Her best friend? A Mud Man? "Artemis…"

"Holly," he said, leaning forward in his chair and taking her small hands in his large ones. "Think about this for a moment. You brought me back from the dead. I am still a criminal of sorts, and I delight in breaking laws. You are a LEP, but you're a cowboy cop to put it mildly. You obey the laws and rules except when they're stupid and in the way of doing what's right. So tell me that this isn't right and I'll let you go and never mention it again. We can go back to how we always were and forget this ordeal ever happened. Just tell me that it's wrong."

He was pleading with her, which was something she was not used to. Her hands felt warm and safe in his, and she couldn't help the color that crept into her cheeks. She looked down, away from his painfully honest eyes, unable to look at him.

He wasn't telling her to marry him, he wasn't trying to bribe or trick her. He was asking her to look inside, to dig deeply and discover what he already knew. They had been through so much, survived so many odds and vanquished so many foes…They had each other's eye for god's sake.

How long has it been since I stopped dating? Holly wondered to herself as she sat there, gazing at the ornate rug that decorated Artemis's floor. How long has it been since I…?

She'd gone on a few dates with Trouble, but that had been years ago, before Artemis's death and resurrection. She realized with a start that she hadn't seen anyone since the incidents that she had dubbed "The Last Guardian" and that she probably never would.

But he's a Mud Man and I'm a fairy. It can't possibly work…can it?

She looked back up at Artemis, her bichromatic eyes finding his. Her gut was twisted up with some weird emotion she didn't recognize, and there was a vice at her throat that kept her from speaking.

"What about my work?" she finally managed to squeak out. "And the People? I can't just leave them."

"You won't have to," he assured her.

"What about kids?" she asked next.

"Foaly, Nº1, and I will figure that out," he said with a touch of pride. "I am a genius after all, and those two can help." He raised his left eyebrow. "So you want kids…?"

Holly blushed a violent red. "No. Yes. Maybe. I'm just trying to think of what's best for you."

"Best for me?" Artemis frowned. "Holly…This isn't about me. This is about you and what you want. Trust me; I've thought this through on my end for months. I've just been trying to figure out how to ask you."

"So then you're prepared to go your entire life without having children?"

"I don't think that it will come to that, but, yes."

"And you will respect what I do and my duty to my People?"

"I wouldn't have you be any other way."

Holly paused as the urge to cry suddenly overtook her.

Every emotion she'd ever felt for him—anger, confusion, love, sadness, longing, friendship, grief—came surging forth from the depths of her mind and threatened to overwhelm her. She crouched over in the chair she sat in, fighting back sobs.

"Holly?"

Artemis's voice was ringed with concern and Holly wanted to punch him for it. She hadn't allowed herself to cry all those years ago when he had died. She hadn't believed him able to be gone because he was Artemis Fowl and Artemis Fowl didn't die. She hadn't been able to let go or say goodbye because he was just as much a part of her as she was of him.

Their bond wasn't something that one just forgot or laid aside. It wasn't something that could be defeated by death or time, and no matter how hard and long Holly wished that things would be normal, they never would be and she was fine with that.

What they were and what they had would never be wrong. Fairies and humans in the long forgotten past had romanced each other; if anything was wrong, it was perhaps the time period that the two had been born in for love was never wrong.

"Holly, I'm really sorry," Artemis apologized as he caught a glimpse of a tear falling from her face and soaking into her uniform. "I never thought that—"

"Yes."

"Pardon?"

Holly's shoulders shook with laughter and crying.

This was always right, always where I belonged.

She looked up at him again, her eyes bright with tears of joy. His hands—which had been gripping her shoulders gently in concern—found their way back to her tiny ones.

"I said yes, Artemis Fowl II. I will marry you."

Artemis suddenly found himself thrown back in his chair, Holly having jumped up and into him with a fierce hug.

"Yes," she said again, her voice full of determination. "I will marry you."

Artemis's face relaxed and he suddenly felt drowsy, the anxiety he'd felt the last few days evaporating like the morning dew.

His mother was right—there had never been anyone for him but Holly. He had tried to get in touch with females his age, but no one had ever quite set well in his mind. He always ended up comparing them to Holly and finding faults with them where there were none, and he had logically concluded that Holly was his one and only.

To him, the world consisted of two types of people: Holly and not-Holly.

And he was fine with that.