A/N: Second and last part of my "Sixty years" series. Dedicated to my family. I'll miss you.

Disclaimer: My name's not Eoin Colfer, so I apparently don't own Artemis Fowl.

Sixty years with him

It had been sixty years. Sixty years with him. Sixty years of living with the mudmen. Sixty years of separation from her people. Sixty years of being in love. Sixty years of happiness.

Sixty years first had seemed so long, an endless life. Sixty years in reality only meant such a short time… And the end of their time together was quickly approaching. But she had been happy. For sixty years…

Why was she thinking of this now? Holly sat in the brightly illuminated ballroom of Fowl Manor, deep in thought. Although all was certainly true, she didn't want to think about it. Just ignoring the simple fact they were old, at least he was old, was better.

"What are you thinking?" a well-known voice asked behind her. Holly turned around to face Artemis. She smirked. "Nothing…" That wasn't strictly true. Nothing he'd want to talk about was far more likely. Trying to hide her depressing thoughts from him, she smiled tenderly up at him.
"Just about you and me. About the sixty years we spent together."

Sixty years. Exactly sixty years. Sixty years and five hours. They had married sixty years ago. Today's celebration at Fowl Manor was due to that event that finally sealed their happiness.
When Holly first had got to know the man who should, almost ten years later, become her husband, he'd been eleven years of age and an insufferable prat. Actually he had kidnapped her then. But afterwards, as he got older and they met more often, the elf had begun to like the mudboy genius she spent so much time with. She couldn't remember when she had fallen in love for it was rather a growing caring than love at the beginning. Nevertheless, Holly loved Artemis. And Artemis loved Holly. One thing led to another; they got married after three years of dating and being a couple. Sixty years later, here she was. Who'd have thought she'd end up in love with Artemis of all people? Given that Artemis was rather nice, clever and handsome, not to mention rich, he still had treated her pretty badly by kidnapping her in the first place. Well, you didn't plan falling in love, did you?

Holly subconsciously smiled. Then she woke from her trance. Looking at her husband's slightly worried face, her smile brightened and he, though startled at first, smiled back. Then she turned to see what was happening around them.
Apparently everyone was leaving. There was Juliet, arm in arm with her husband. There were their children, already grown up, with their families. There were Artemis' twin brothers and their girlfriends. There was Minerva Paradizo, who had been friends with them for a long time. There was every person she liked, every person she had wanted to celebrate their wedding anniversary with. Of course Artemis Senior and Angeline, as well as Butler, were long dead. But the mourning was long over. Holly straightened and waved goodbye to her friends, her family.

The night was slowly claiming the beautiful landscape surrounding Fowl Manor. The green hills were turning darker in the fainting light and the shadows were growing deeper. From the window of the ballroom, Holly and Artemis looked at the peaceful scenery below them. When the night had finally settled, Holly sighed. Smiling, she gently kissed Artemis. He put his arms around her and led her to the dance-floor.

Spinning around graciously, Holly and Artemis forgot time, forgot the earth beneath their feet, forgot the people they liked, forgot everything. Everything but each other. They seemed to lose themselves in the eyes of each other. And if an unexpected visitor had arrived at that moment, he would have caught a glimpse of what they had been once when they were young and strong and beautiful. They had been passionately in love then. They still were.
The earth stopped moving, time stopped passing only for the dancing couple. Nothing mattered then. It was a timeless moment. It was the essence of their love that was displayed there. It was the essence of every true love. It was what all people secretly longed for, even if they didn't know it. It was pure happiness. It was pure love. It was paradise, finally returning to earth.
They danced on until the next day was dawning and pale light spread on the wooden floor. To them, it had only been a minute. But in reality, it were many hours they spent dancing and looking at each other.

When Holly awoke in the afternoon, she couldn't help thinking it had been worth the sacrifice. She hadn't seen her people for a long time, but who really was left down there? Julius Root was dead, Foaly totally absorbed in his marriage to Caballine and Mulch busy earning his reputation as a famous thief. Holly herself had had more than half a century of being with Artemis. But in spite of her happiness she knew it couldn't last much longer. He was getting old. She knew, soon she would be mourning for him. The elf sighed. She was still young, he was old. That didn't really matter though. They had been happy. And Holly wouldn't have wanted to miss a single minute of it.
Yes, it had been better this way.

A/N: Yeah I know, pretty fluffy. Still, please review and tell me if you like it!

Special thanks to my reviewers from the first part of "Sixty years": ilex-ferox, AiEdogawaIsaBellaCullen, .x.BadWolfRose.x., holiday55, DarkestLittleSecret. You made my day!