An Open Window

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl in any way, shape, or form. If I did, there would be Hartemis. Lots of fluffy Hartemis. :)

It is a surprisingly warm day for September, and for the first time since his child hood, Artemis Fowl the II has his window and his door open. This gives a soothing breeze, and a calm atmosphere. It truly is a beautiful day.

Thoughts very similar to these are running through this juvenile genius's mind. He smiles. He had gotten allot of business done that day. He can smell the wonderful lunch his mother is cooking for him. He can hear the twins giggling as they "help" his mom, and Butler whistling down the hall.

Butler is cleaning his gun, I presume.

Artemis leans back in his chair at his desk and takes a deep breath. His raven hair is blowing a little in the wind. All is at peace. There was only one thing missing…

She should be here any moment now…

He hears light taps, foot steps, behind him, coming from seemingly nothing.

Ah, there she is.

Artemis swivels his chair to see a child-like figure leaning against his doorframe, her arms crossed against her chest, and a small backpack is next to her on the floor. She has crazy beautiful hair, like fire springing from her head. The wind blowing it only adds to its fiery look. Her green LEP compliments her chestnut skin, and she grins, which seems to make her glow.

"So how is our birthday boy today?" she asks, her grin growing wider.

I roll my eyes. "Hello Holly. I am doing just fine, thank you." I offer a smile, "What brings you here?"

"Right to the point I see, as usual." Holly states, "You know very well I came for your birthday."

"Ah yes. That pesky day that somehow pops up every year. I can never manage to avoid it. What a useless thing it is."

Holly laughs. "Nope. You will never get away from this day. If you did not have it, though, we would never have met."

Artemis' eyes harden a little, and his smile drops. "It would have been better for you if we had not met."

Holly blinks a couple times, unsure of what to say. "Artemis… It is true that allot has happened between us because of you. You have caused me allot of trouble. You kidnapped me, hurt me, lied to me… Honestly, you gave me some of the worst days of my life…"

Artemis sits stiffly in his chair, and you can see the battle of emotions waging on his face, which seems to have aged a million years with only those few words.

"But… I cannot imagine my life without having met you. You are my best friend Artemis. You are the logic that calms my temper and the ice that cools my heat. You complete me. You are the peanut butter to my jelly."

"The peanut butter to your jelly? An interesting choice of words…" Artemis teases.

"Shut up, I know it is corny…" Holly bites her lip.

"It is. But it is also sweet. Thank you." Artemis smiles, something that has been happening much more frequently since he was brought back from the dead.

"Oh, and I have a present for you." Holly sits down and reaches for her backpack.

She takes out a simple white box with a blue bow on it, and calls him over with her hand. He gets up and sits on the floor next to her. He takes the box and lifts the pristine lid.

"A… cupcake?" Artemis raises an eyebrow.

"Yup. Oh, and I have a candle for it!" Holly, true to her word, brings a candle out of a pocket in her backpack.

"A candle… What are you going to sing 'Happy Birthday'?" Artemis scoffs.

A mischievous grin appears on Holly's face and brings her eyes to life. "Well now that you say it, -"

"No." Artemis cuts her off and frowns, a crease forming between his eyebrows.

"Fine. But…" Holly sticks the candle in the cupcake and brings a lighter out of her pocket. She lights the candle and puts the lighter away. "You have to make a wish and blow it out."

"But I have nothing to wish for." Artemis protests uselessly. He puts his hands in the pockets of his navy suit pants.

"Just think of something, anything." Holly presses him.

Artemis pretends to think for a moment. "Hmm… I know!" he snaps his fingers. "How about you make a wish for me?"

"No, it is your birthday, so you make the wish."

"Holly, really, I have nothing to wish for. Everything I need is right here in my house."

Especially now that you are here.

"Please. It would make me happy if you had a wish come true." Artemis prods, "Besides, there are some wishes that will never come true…"

Holly stares at his sky blue dress shirt, which, she notes, brings out his eyes, and sighs. "Fine. But you have to blow out the candle. And don't think you'll be so lucky next year. No, no, no. Next year you are making your own wish."

Holly closes her eyes and sits there quietly for a moment. "Okay, now blow out the candle." She orders.

"Okay, okay. Here it goes." Artemis takes a ridiculously deep breath, and lets out a little puff that puts out the candle. He grins triumphantly. But the candle flicks back on, and he frowns again before blowing it out once more, only for it to flick back on after a moment. Holly starts chuckling.

"Very funny, Holly. A trick candle, very nice." Artemis half-heartedly tries not to smile, and fails.

Holly laughs while Artemis gets up and grabs a glass of water to douse the candle in. He sits back down and hands the glass to holly. She grabs the candle and drops it in the glass. It gives a satisfying plunk when it hits the water.

"Thank you, Holly." Artemis grabs her hand.

Holly's face heats up a little and she laughs. "It was just a cupcake. It is really nothing to-"

"Holly, I remember." Artemis interrupts for the second time that day.

"Y-you remember? You mean everything?" Holly's eyes widen and she searches his face.

"Yes." He stares right back at her. He scoots closer to her until they are touching. "Every word. Every action. Every feeling. Every kiss. And I just want to thank you for everything you have done for me. For the things you have done, even when I was a criminal. Even when I lied."

Artemis leans in closer and closer. Her breath catches, then her face hardens. "Then you must remember what I said about your elf-kissing days being over."

Artemis stops. "Of course." He moves back away. "Maybe I should have made my wish after all." He smiles a little.

"Like you said Artemis, some wishes can't come true."

"Yeah."

An uncomfortable silence begins between them.

"What did you wish for?" Artemis asks.

Holly laughs. "I can't tell you, otherwise the wish will not come true. That is the law of birthday wishes."

Artemis laughs. "I was not aware there was a rule."

"Artemis! Lunch is ready for you, dear!" Angeline Fowl calls up the stairs with glee.

"Coming moth- Mum!" Artemis shouts back, stumbling as usual on what to call his mother.

"Would you like to spend lunch with me and my family?" Artemis asks Holly. He gets up and offers her his hand.

"A fairy coming down to dinner would be a little odd, don't you think?" Holly raises an eyebrow.

"Actually, no. My parents made me tell my family about my adventures after my moth-Mum was cured of her spelltropy. So they know about you."

"Ah. I will have to let Trouble know about this. I know your family is harmless, that is, if your little brother Myles doesn't end up like you, but the LEP does need to know about this, though."

"Fine. So are you coming to dinner or not?" Artemis twirls his hand a little.

Holly rolls her eyes and gives Artemis a pointed look. He mimics her, looking like an actual teenager for one of the few times in his life. Holly shakes her head and laughs.

"Fine."

A/N Sorry about the ending, I wasn't really sure how to end it... *insert grimace* Thank you so much for reading my first fanfic! I hope you enjoyed it at least somewhat. :) Since this is my first fanfic, I am asking for positive criticism only, please.

Until the next fanfic, whether it is by you or me…

3 Ariadne Fowl