Hi guys. :) There's not much for me to say, so on with the story!

N°1 proudly held aloft a small, box-like thing covered with a piece of cloth. As he strolled through the LEP headquarters with his stumpy tail waving, other officers tried to peer in, wondering what was in it. Does it contain evidence for some revolutionary breakthrough? Or maybe a cure to an illness?they thought.

In all honesty, the truth was much less glamorous than that- which N°1 proved when he pulled off the covering with a flourish in the Ops Booth.

"Ta-Da!" N°1 said proudly.

Holly removed her hands from the back of Foaly's chair and leaned in, frowning. "What exactly is that?"

N°1 frowned, also. "My swear toads, of course! Don't you remember? I told you about them while we were having coffee. Bleep and D'Arvit."

"Oh..." Holly and Foaly said simultaneously. They nodded slowly.

N°1's frown deepened with the lack of positive responses. "Aren't they lovely?" Foaly coughed and ducked his head back down to his computer.

Holly reached over to pat N°1's shoulder, then quickly withdrew when the toads started to bare their teeth and leap up, spewing profanity all the while. "They're absolutely exquisite, N°1."

N°1's expression brightened, satisfied with the compliment to his beloved pets. "Do you have any pets? Bleep and D'Arvit would love some playmates." He patted the toads' cage lovingly, and looked down at his pets.

Holly snorted. "Borrow Artemis any time you want."

Immediately both Foaly and N°1's heads snapped up. "Artemis?" Foaly asked, a sly smile on his face.

N°1 looked flummoxed. "Are you sure you don't mind?" Suddenly, he looked stricken, his eyes widening. "Wait- Artemis is your pet? Does this mean that... you guys have gotten together?'"

Foaly gasped. "Holly!"

"No, it's nothing like that," Holly groaned.

N°1 acted as if he hadn't heard her. "Oh, Holly! I knew it! I always thought you guys would be perfect. I mean, look at all the chemistry!"

Holly sighed. "N°1, there is no chemistry."

Foaly piped in. "What do you mean, there is no chemistry? You guys make the perfect team! And then look at Orion. And that moment passionehe mentioned."

"Foaly!" Holly exclaimed, horrified. "Shush!"

But it was too late. "A moment passione?" N°1 clapped delightedly. "Holly! That is wonderful! See, that proves our point."

"There isn't any point to prove!"

"Holly, my dear," Foaly said, reveling in how agitated his best friend was getting, "Face the facts. We all expected it, so no need to be embarrassed."

N°1 nodded frantically. "But, just so you know, Holly." He leaned in confidingly. "Even if other people disapprove of your relationship with Artemis, Foaly and I will always be your biggest supporters." He bobbed his head again, proud with his heartfelt speech.

Holly slapped her hand to her forehead. "Ugh!" she exclaimed, as she stormed out of the Ops Booth.

Now it was N°1's turn to look agitated. "Oh, no. Was it something I said?"

Foaly shrugged. "It's alright. She gets a little worked up sometimes."

N°1 looked down at his pets. He shoved the box towards Foaly, who leaned back hurriedly. "Should I bring Bleep and D'Arvit over to her? Maybe they could make her feel better."

Foaly looked down at the toads as they began swearing at each other. "You know, N°1. I'm sure she'd appreciate the thought, but maybe we should shelve that idea for later."

"But... she won't stay mad for long, will she?" N°1 inquired worriedly.

Foaly smiled at him cheerily. "Of course not. I told you, she just gets touchy sometimes about her love life."

Holly chose that exact moment to stride back into the room. Her eyes narrowed. "I do not!" She turned on her heels and stomped back out.

Foaly glanced at N°1, then at the door. "Don't mention this to her, but you know what else she gets touchy about?" N°1 shook his head, looking thoroughly mystified.

"Her pets."

"That is a disturbing idea," said Holly. "If you want to perform some useful amphibian-related magic, why don't you do something about the swear toads?"

Swear toads were the result of a college prank during which a group of postgrads had managed to imbue a strain of toads with the power of speech. Bad language only. This had been hilarious for about five minutes, until the toads began multiplying at a ferocious rate and spouting foul epithets at anything that moved, including kindergarten fairies and people's grandmothers.

No1 laughed softly. "I like swear toads," he said. "I have two at home called Bleep and D'Arvit. They are very rude to me, but I know they don't mean it." The little demon took another slurp of coffee. "So, let's talk about your magic problem, Holly."

-The Last Guardian

Hehe. I always thought N°1 would be a fervent supporter of A/H. I don't know why. And the fact that he has swear toads as pets is too cute. xD

Review? :)