A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first attempt (though second uploaded) at fanfiction and it has received awesome reviews over in DeviantArt by equally awesome people. If you'd like to know how to find it PM me and I'll give you the link though the content here is the same. Please be kind, review and all that jazz if you'd like but if you wouldn't that's completely fine. So without further adieu…

Chapter 1

…

Holly was tired so she decided to take a hot bath. She ran the tap and stepped in, she thought she'd be simply laying there soaking her long used bones, but instead her mind began to wander, Opal's escape, the adventure she'd just been on, Jayjay, finding him, the kiss.

No, she thought, it was a mistake; I'll never be so foolish again.

"Hmm" she sighed, but her mind again started to stray, the softness of his lips, the longing in his movements, the spark surrounding the contact, the love in his eyes.

Wait Holly thought,

Love, I saw love? Hmm, yes …I did, didn't I?

As soon as this realisation was recognised Holly was almost ready to jump out of the bath and fly straight to the surface, Artemis was already forgiven.

No! She thought, no, no, no, no, no! It's not right, it's, it's WRONG! I can't love him it's …well…it's forbidden. How cliché, Artemis would respect the irony. Grrr, no, why am I thinking of him, I can't ,I shouldn't, but I am, and I don't care what anyone thinks, I don't care whatever happens, as long as I'm with him!

And with that Holly leapt from the bathtub and padded herself dry. She grabbed her uniform from its' rack, and fled from the house, straight to Foaly's OP room.

…

"Foaly!" Holly cried into the void "Foaly! Get me a shuttle to Tara. NOW!"

"OK, Mrs 'break-the-centaur's-eardrums, I'm getting you one right now." Foaly said with a sharp click of a button. "Why are you so urgent to get to the surface, you were just up there an hour ago."

Holly came running up to him so fast they almost collided as she stopped, and when she did Foaly held her by the shoulders so he could see her face and try to read the answer there. It was as red as Commander Root's after hearing Foaly hearing him admit his 'techie stuff' was good. Oh … Commander thought Foaly, who had recently been going to therapy over the incident, however if you asked him he would undoubtedly deny it.

"Wha… hurmph" Holly coughed "Umm … what did … you say?" she finally spluttered out as she was trying to catch her breath. Foaly was quite shocked when he saw Holly, you never usually saw Captain Short out of breath, she was one of the fittest officers in the field. "Ahhh, I asked why you, Ms Short are in such a rush, I was about to send up a team of recons to search for Koboi." He spat the last word, regaining his composure. And even though it seemed impossible considering her current colour, Holly just went from tomato, to full blown beetroot.

She and Julius could be related! Thought Foaly briefly, before Holly half-answered him.

"Well, arrh ,psht, umm … you know, recon and, arrrhm … stuff." She spluttered again.

Not like Holly at all. Foaly thought, but she's a great officer and I trust her.

"OK Holls, up you go" he said before considering a moment, obviously not taking his hands off Holly's shoulders, or else she would have sprinted to the docks, both to escape answering any further questions, and to get to her destination. "But you owe me an answer later OK?"

Darn it. Stupid Foaly, making me announce me love for the Mud Boy, MY Mud Boy… her mind wandered for what seemed the thousandth time today. Mud Boy! Artemis. Yes! Got to get to him.

"Of course Foaly, but later, I really need to get up there!" Holly said, almost bouncing on the spot.

"OK"

Yes! Holly thought

…

"Ready." Holly said for the fourth time "Can we go already?"

"Yes, now." Said Foaly on the other end, still wondering about Holly's rush.

...

Phew, Artemis thought, glad that's over. I can't believe Mother took it so coolly; then again I left out some of the details, like Mulch Diggums, the wickedness of my younger self, Holly's kiss. Hmm, he thought, I wonder, no, he reminded himself, just puberty. But even as he took a well deserved shower, Artemis could not help but think of it, thinking about the passion, the intensity, the feelings he had felt, happiness, security, love.

What! Love? Artemis thought No, it can't be could it? … Oh my, but it is, I'm in love with Holly!

Just then Holly burst through his bedroom window, only intensifying the feelings he had just realised he had. Luckily he had gotten pants on while thinking.

"Holly?" he said cautiously, trying not to let the overwhelming affection seep into his voice.

"Arty!" Holly called with surprising enthusiasm,

They must have found Opal. Artemis thought glumly, banishing the thought of Holly being happy to see him from his mind. And even more unexpectedly as the joy in her voice, Holly ran into Artemis's bathroom, only to just as quickly cover her eyes, blush, and blurt out a long and un-legible apology for 'storming in like that'.

"It's OK," Artemis said quickly, blushing to, and then walking past Holly to his room and pulling on a striped blue, button-up shirt, to match his grey pants.

"So, umm, why did you come?" Artemis enquired "To see me?" he blurted "or to inform me of something." He corrected, trying to stay professional.

"Umm, I, er" squeaked Holly, her voice higher with every word. Holly knew she had to do this, she absolutely kill herself if she didn't get her feelings out in the open... preferably without Foaly knowing she thought, while sneakily switching off visual and audio communications, he could e-mail her if he was worried. After a long and necessary breath Holly preached to the world. "Artemis, I don't know how, or why, or when this started but..." she chewed her lip for a second, considering the consequences of fleeing now. C'mon, you can do it. "Arty I'm in love with you." She blurted out. "Oh" she moaned soon after, she hadn't considered how utterly embarrassing and awkward those words would be. Even more so if he didn't feel the same way about her. "I, just ... I" she squeaked, her voice rising in pitch, almost reaching hysteria. "I'm sorry if you don't feel the same. I've obviously ruined any chance of us having a normal friendship, not that we were ever normal, but, but, I, kinda." She realised she was ranting, but she couldn't help it, elves were very emotional and she just had to tell him she was wrong, they could work it out. Somehow?

...

"But you said, and I quote 'your elf-kissing days are over'"

"Oh Arty, juvenile little Arty" Holly said in a mocking tone, "You really know nothing about women. When we say it's over, it's never over." she said with an impious smile." "Look, I'm sorry. I can understand why you would lie to me. You were afraid I wouldn't help. You did it out of love. I get that. I would have done anything for my mother, so it's reasonable you would to." "I just want you to know, I forgive you, can you accept it? Can we still be something?"

"Holly you don't know how I've been longing for you to say that"

"Then that's all I need" said Holly. Artemis wondered what she could possibly mean. But as Holly leaned closer all thoughts left Artemis's complex brain. All, but one,

I love her.

…

Artemis spoke "Holly you don't know how I've been longing for you to say that" And the it was too late for any rational thought the way Artemis looked in those clothes, the way he had said the very words she had hoped to hear. She had to try it, what she'd been longing to. She had to kiss him. She moved slowly towards him, cautioning and simultaneously calling him, with her eyes. Then there lips met, it was like a fireworks display on their mouths. Holly groaned, deepening the kiss. At first Artemis was allured, and then when the soft skin of Holly's mouth, touched his own, he was shocked. But soon a party popper blew in his head, and when she groaned, pushing into him, the single popper turned into a giant Chinese cracker. He moved his hands to the small of her back, just as she lifted her arms to drape over his shoulders. But then as he arched her closer to him, she entangled her fingers in his hair. It was Artemis this time who moaned, forcing them closer still. As he did this, the two lost their balance, stumbling to Artemis's luxurious bed, covered in white sheets, with appropriate red velvet quilt.

…

Holly went down first, landing on her back, Artemis immediately following, as the pair where intricately intertwined, knocking the wind from her and forcing her to take a long ragged breath. Artemis's lips had moulded themselves to Holly's, and as she took her jagged breath, due to his hormonal state Artemis's body would not let his lips leave any part of Holly's skin. He trailed a line of kisses down her neck, causing a spike in her breathing and forcing a shudder of pleasure to rupture down her spine. Holly grabbed Artemis by the face forcing his lips back to hers. They continued like this for a number of minutes before Artemis had to break away to quench the thirst of his oxygen deprived lungs. Just as he was about to go in for more of this wonderful drug he had come across, Artemis's brain kicked in.

Do you really want this? … Yes, he thought guiltily, he did want it, more than anything. But does she? His rapidly growing noble side asked. To answer this question; he looked into Holly's mix matched eyes. They were full of love and adoration, as well as impatience.

Very well he thought she does.

So Artemis reattached his lips with hers, unintentionally forcing her mouth open in the process. The freshness of her aroma, the smoothness of her skin, the warmth radiating off her, they all overwhelmed his senses and he breathed in deeply, trying to calm his eager body.

...