Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, Holly Short, or any affiliating characters. Eoin Colfer owns pretty much everything of any importance in this story, at least for now.

Hmm. You know, I've had some interesting -yet always subtle- reviews, which may be hinting that Artemis/Holly may be desirable. folds arms and shakes head at readers Luckily, that was the original plan, and though I could have changed it, this makes things simpler. So now you know that there WILL BE FLUFF, but it won't take over the story, so if you aren't an AH fan, don't worry too much.

Chapter 9 Night-time Delight

Or

Why won't this section end!

Or

The author is REALLY obsessed with cats

And on the above note, I'll start this chapter with a hint of fluff. Just a little, though.

Holly wasn't speaking to him. Now, that was okay, or should have been, yet it frustrated him and he couldn't figure out why. She couldn't tell him what he thought. She couldn't just decide something he did was right or wrong. She couldn't say she understood, not when she didn't seem to have to deal with it. And her indescribable beauty made absolutely no difference to any of these facts, nor his anger at her. Wait... what did he just say?

Shaking his head, Artemis went inside, trying to figure exactly what he had just thought. (don't worry, that won't happen all the time, they WILL act normal mostly)

And, once inside, he found that Holly still wasn't speaking to him, and was sitting on the arm of a chair, eyes closed, acting asleep. By all accounts the others thought she was asleep, but Artemis knew better. It was hard to believe it was only, what, late morning? Artemis took a seat on the sofa, spreading his limbs to see just how much room he could take up. Two cushions on a four seater. Not bad.

"So what happens now?" He asked Foaly, who was still on his computer. The centaur looked up, and shrugged. "We're all going to Haven. I can't think up here, and my lab is way more advanced. We would go tomorrow, but due to Mulch-" At this point the centaur glared at the dwarf, who pretended not to notice. "-it's too sunny, so we'll wait till it gets dark, tomorrow night." Artemis nodded.

"Why tomorrow night?" Another glare passed between centaur and dwarf.

"Let's let Mulch fill this one. Why aren't we going tonight?"

"It's gunna rain." Mulch replied roughly. "I'm not going out in the rain."

"You'll be underground most of the time!"

"Yeah, and the soil will be awful. Moist, good, waterlogged, bad. It's like di-

"We get it!" The others spoke hurriedly, then Foaly changed the subject.

"Yes! And I just found Holly's breed." Holly sat up, but Artemis reached the computer first so got top spot staring at the screen. And Foaly was right. A cat with small spots of dappled brown fur on it's head, and a luxuriously fluffy tail that reached to the base of it's body in a brown tabby pattern, spreading slightly on the rump. "Of course," added Foaly once he was sure they had both looked at the picture. "This one isn't quite the same, but the breed is definately the same." Artemis looked along the text.

"Turkish Van. And this one won... Best in breed, brown tabby and white male." Foaly nodded, scrolling down to other pictures.

"Holly's prettier." Added the centaur, making Artemis and Holly stare at him. He grinned. "Well, I guess only Artemis can really judge that." Twin glares this time. "But I checked out breed specifics, and Holly's a perfect example of Turkish Van...ness."

"Presenting Holly Short, proud winner of the award for 'Perfection in the field of Turkish Vanness'." Announced Holly sarcastically, rolling her huge eyes. Foaly pouted.

"Soo-rrry for not knowing the correct terminology for cat breeds. The point is, you're the classic red example of this breed. And that's the last breed I've looked up." Foaly grinned at Artemis. "I'm afraid I didn't find you, though." He added apologetically. Artemis shrugged, unconcerned, but liking the sound of his own voice, Foaly continued. "Don't worry Artemis, not all is lost. You look like a cross between a bombay and snowshoe, and a few others, actually. But especially those two." Artemis moved towards the touch sensitive mouse-pad thingy (those things on laptops. What are they called?) and tried to find Bombay. "Hey, get off of it, no computers for Artemis." He looked up at the others, who had been absently following the conversation. "For those not paying attention, our Holly is a perfect pure breed, and Artemis is... I really don't know. I'm surprised that not being a pureblood persian hasn't killed you." Flicking his tail, Artemis jumped off the table top.

"I am obsessed with nothing. But were I, it would be money, not bloodlines."

"Which makes you better how?" Said Holly in a dark voice. Artemis was sorely tempted to chant 'you spoke to me, you spoke to me!' in a singsong voice, but only did in his mind. Instead, he replied with:

"My dear Holly, who are you talking too? for obvious reasons, it can't be me." With a small growl, Holly lunged at him from the table and clamped onto his tail before he could dart away. Artemis yelped, and she dragged him backwards a full meter before letting him go. At which point he darted under the chair Butler was sitting on.

"You better run, Fowl!" She shouted at him. Foaly blinked at them.

"Are you two fighting or something? He asked in an amused-cross-worried tone.

"No." They growled together, which just made him laugh.

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Artemis watched the sun set from the windowsill while the others ate. He wasn't hungry, though would drop down for some milk pretty soon. The day had left him pretty relaxed, other than he and Holly still being on stiff terms. Holly herself was curled up on the table, eating her own plate of Halibut croquettes with Hollandaise sauce. Butler had smartly not bothered with a salad for either cats. The sky's natural oil painting reminded Artemis of his old habits, which he knew he would miss very soon, and... mmm, could he...? He darted out of the room, practically unnoticed.

Later that evening the others were retiring, leaving Artemis and Holly to either go to sleep or wander the house for the rest of the night. They both looked alert and active, so Butler resigned himself to clean up duty for any possible mess caused by hyperactive felons... uh, felines.

As Holly still refused to properly speak to Artemis, which was making Foaly giggle uncontrolably. They made a strange pair, sitting side by side and bidding each of the group farewell, while not looking in the other's direction. Though Butler really didn't like it, one of the smaller windows was left open so the two could move in and out.

Still, it made little difference whether they were friendly or not, as he doubted they would have had much of a conversation. He was sure of this when he began darting from room to room, going generally mental. Yay! Tassel! The older chairs were rimmed with golden fabric, and Artemis lost no time in tearing at them playfully and rolling around on his back and batting at them. He couldn't help sighing to himself as he ran from room to room, the world coated in silver moon dust, only visible with his night eyes. Everything was beautiful.

After a few hours, he found Holly in the main hall, examining the morning sky fresco on the ceiling. It was a strange feeling, staring at the dawn, covered in darkness and shadows. She noticed him as soon as he entered, but payed no attention. Equally ignorant, Artemis trotted up to the grand piano in one corner, pouncing onto the black cover.

Carefully, Artemis looked over the shadowed keys, and after a moment, nodded to himself. "Holly," he called. The fairy didn't look around. She had been about to move anyway, but then made it a point to keep staring in the opposite direction. He sighed. "You don't have to say a word, just come over to the piano." Grudgingly, she moved, darting to the piano and leaping neatly onto it. Still, she looked at the fresco, refusing to watch Artemis. He rolled his eyes in return. "That's extremely immature." He muttered, not expecting, rightly, a comeback. "Anyway, I've lost much of my skill, but tell me. Is this any good?" Her curiosity got the better of her, as it always would no matter what species, and Holly turned to watch Artemis, who gingerly stepped onto the piano's keyboard.

The sound was deep, but with surprising speed, Artemis managed to hop from one key to another, creating a surprisingly sweet sound. Holly stared at him in shock.

After about a minute of what was half a melody, half a dance, Artemis jumped back onto the edge of the piano, panting. That had been the single most exhausting experience of his life. Holly still stared at him, which, in the darkness, he misinterpreted.

"Still not talking?" sigh. "A nod for good, a shake for bad." Holly shook her head quickly, which made him sigh in slight disappointment. "Oh well, it seems I've found another skill that I've lost with the accuasition of paws.

"What?!" Spluttered Holly, finally regaining her tongue, "you're kidding, right? That was great! Techniqually not possible, but I'll let you off this time." He looked up at her, smiling slightly.

"Do you think so? Thank you. I've lost enough already, I really didn't want to lose my musical skills." Holly nodded.

"I get that. Was that why you were so morbid at dinner?"

"You noticed that?"

"No. No I didn't." Strict self control kept him from hitting her and saying 'shut the hell up, Holly.' Instead, he managed to twist the words into a simple:

"Touche." But couldn't help batting at her head playfully. Suddenly, his ears perked up, he he sat straight. "Can you hear that?" She could; Holly had sat up straighter, sniffing the air.

"That isn't..." She began, before running towards a window, Artemis chasing after the orange and white blur. He struggled beneath the heavy curtain's that hid the huge, empty hall's french windows, and stared in horror at what he saw. Rain. The gentle rumble of thunder had alerted himself and Holly to it, and now he stared at the sheets that ran down the glass, the sound once masked by the emptiness of the halls, proving that Mulch had useful trait for weather prediction.

Artemis groaned and pressed his head against the glass. Water. His immortal enemy (as opposed to his many, many, mortal enemies). Holly rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad." She grinned -actually grinned! "Rain is wonderful." He replied by shuddering delicately.

"How can you say that? Not to be stereotypical, but... water. Ew."

"Did you just say-"

"Don't even start." That was followed by Artemis batting a paw at her head.

"Hey. You are so going to pay for that, mud boy." Holly made a surprisingly good impression of Artemis's vampire smile -something that only they two could see or appretiate- before lunging at him. Smartly, Artemis ran for cover, leaping away from the edge of the floor-to-ceiling windows and dashing out of the room. Laughing, Holly raced after him.

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YAY! The breeds are written in! I spent ages trying to figure out what would fit who, and just felt like making Artemis a moggie. So, if you have any question about Holly's tempermant or slight ooc-ness, I can blame it on the breed. (I want to avoid ooc-ness, though, so I'll try to keep it from happening)

Good? Bad? Please review and tell me! And sorry this chappie is slightly shorter than the others, I really wanted to move on.