Title: A Christmas Incident
Title: A Christmas Incident
Author: Annie-morphs
Rating: K/PG
Genre(s): General/Romance
Summary: Holly, Root, Mulch, Foaly, and Trouble are all going to spend their Christmas week with Artemis Fowl and the Butler siblings. Who knows what will come from intertwining the People with Mud Men during the holiday?
Warning(s): There may be OOC ahead, please beware of this. Also, there may be cheesiness here and there.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, they all belong to Eoin Colfer.
Notes: A little fluffy scene in this one, hope you enjoy!
Chapter Summary: What type of man is it when our little group decides to build a snowman?
A Christmas Incident
Chapter Ten: Snow, Ice, Fur, and Mud Men
Previously:
...Juliet declared,"Now that the inside is finished, let's work on decorating the outside."...
..."The manor has four walls." Juliet continued,"And we have four groups. Each group will take one wall. Let's mess the groups up a bit though. Just for fun. Holly with Mulch."...
..."If you're really this desperate, I'll have to say..." Artemis stopped, suddenly realizing that," I can't answer you're question, to tell you the truth. Yes, I have feelings for Captain Short, but I can't quite determine if they mean anything. Therefore, it might give you a completely wrong idea if I were to answer you right at this moment."...
...The smile broke through to him. Trouble whispered, almost to himself,"I...like you."...
...As Holly worked, she kicked herself mentally each time her mind wandered off to Artemis. We can say that she ended up very, very, very mentally bruised by the time they were done.
"Alright! We're done!" Juliet announced once the group had regathered. "But before we head inside, let's make snowmen."
"Snowmen?" Root questioned.
"Yep. Men made out of snow." The blonde grinned.
Foaly muttered,"Mud Men are very strange. Creating Ice Men?"
Juliet insisted,"It's fun once you try it! Okay, we can use Angeline's and Artemis Senior's scarves. And I think we have a bunch of buttons somewhere around the manor. Angeline said she used to collect them. I'll go find them. In the meantime, you guys gather twigs and make the three sections of the snowman."
Trouble thought of something. "How about we make one gigantic snowman? Won't it take less time than making a bunch of snowman all around?"
Juliet was delighted by the idea. "Ooh! Awesome plan!"
Trouble beamed.
Holly, being female and accustomed to things like these, sensed a strange air between them. There was something familiar about it, like she experienced it before herself with someone else. But she couldn't pin-point what it was exactly.
The captain glanced around to see if anyone else noticed the strange feeling. No such luck. She flicked her gaze back to Trouble and Juliet. They were still smiling at each other. Something was definitely up.
Juliet said,"Okie dokie then, start making the gigantic snowman! It would be great if we could build it out in the front, but then Foaly won't be able to participate. So we'll have to settle with the other three walls. Pick whichever." The blonde disappeared inside to find the scarfs and buttons.
Trouble got creative. It seems that Juliet likes fun, creative guys. "Okay, let's find the window where the living room is. That way, it'll be like a snowman is looking in on us when we're at the fireplace."
Holly commented,"Interesting. I think it was mine and Mulch's wall that we could see the living room from."
Captain Kelp nodded. "Good. Let's head over there. Umm...let's see...Butler, do you mind working on the bottom ball of the snowman by yourself until Juliet comes back?"
Butler grunted, "I can live with that."
"Nice. Foaly, Mulch you guys form the middle ball of the snowman. Holly and Artemis will take the head snowball. And Root and I will find the branches."
"Understood." Everyone nodded.
"Remember to make everything very big!"
The group scattered to do their jobs.
Trouble and Root headed for the trees which they had hid behind yesterday while the rest of them followed Holly and Mulch to the right wall. They started working on packing large snowballs.
Holly rolled a snowball that had an eight-inch diameter. "Artemis, are you going to help this time or not?"
The genius remarked from the side,"Be sure to pack the snow tightly. It would be dreadful if the head were to fall apart as soon as it settles on its middle."
Holly growled as she paused to pat the snow firmly. "I know that, Fowl." She hustled the ball over to the boy. "Your turn. I did more than half of it. Roll is until it's at least 13 inches in diameter."
Artemis scowled at the thought of physical labor, then began rolling the ball awkwardly.
After several moment of watching Artemis's feet slip several times, Holly glanced at everyone else.
Juliet had returned with a very large pile of snow clothing. On top of the pile was a lidless jar filled with buttons and a carrot poked out of it. Root and Trouble stood by a messily dumped pile of branches. Foaly and Mulch were working on rolling a medium sized snowball. Butler was already done. His snowball must have been at least 25 inches in diameter.
Mulch and Foaly finished not soon after. Holly sighed in annoyance at Artemis's slow progress. The ball had only grown two inches. Holly shouldered Artemis aside.
Artemis laid in an indignified heap as Holly finished packing the ball. He sat up and glared. "That was rather rude."
Holly retorted,"Learn to hurry things up a little bit! You take forever to do every single thing. It's pitiful! We would have been up until midnight at your pace."
"Physical activity is not my criteria." Artemis replied coldly. "If you need help with things concerning intelligence, I'd be glad to help. If it's anything like today, never as for my assitance."
Holly's eyes blazed. "Well, maybe you should help yourself by using the gym."
"There is no need for that. Butler can handle physical jobs for me."
"You make him sound like something to be used!" Holly shouted,"Why can't you realize that he won't be with you forever? Espeically not if you keep forcing him to do stuff for you! You need to learn, Fowl, to not use people for your own needs. There will be a time when all you have is yourself. What will you do then?"
Artemis recoiled and fell silent.
Juliet jumped in. "Hey, hey! This is suppose to be fun. Not something to turn into an argument!"
Holly ignored her. "We're done." She pointed at the ball of snow she just recently finished then, as if to blame it for the argument, she said heatedly,"Let's get this thing finished."
Everyone observing frowned at her blazing attitude. Artemis always seemed to do that to Holly – make her angrier than she ever gets at her other friends. She gets emotional when it comes to Artemis.
Butler noticed that same with Artemis. Sometimes the boy would be warm, but other times he would be colder than ever before. All this change always happened when Holly was around.
They have that unique affect with each other. Maybe it's good, maybe it's bad. Maybe it means that they're just more open with each other. Butler personally thought it was healthy for a boy like Artemis.
Holly wheeled the ball of snow, trying to ignore the eyes of her friends. She could feel them digging a hole in her back.
With everyone gathered close to the living room window, Buter rolled his snowball a foot in front of the window. Foaly placed his own medium-sized ball on top steadily.
Now it was Holly's turn. She hoisted her ball of snow to follow Foaly's. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't reach. Holly complained. "It's too tall!"
Juliet shook her head. "You just need some help."
Trouble pitched in with Juliet. "Hey, Artemis! Come. Holly needs your help."
Artemis halted. All eyes watched him expectantly. A dreadful feeling washed over Holly. She couldn't believe she would need his help so soon after she had yelled at him! Plus, it was obvious that no one else would be lending her a helping hand.
Artemis sighed, defeated by the fact that he had no choice. Taking the snowball from Holly's hands, he heaved it up. Surprisingly, he couldn't reach either. Realizing what was next, he groaned inwardly. Just my luck.
The boy genius turned to Holly. "Come here."
She eyed him strangely while she walked forward.
"Take the ball," instructed Artemis.
Questioning silently to herself, Holly accepted the snowball from Artemis's hands.
The boy took a shakey breath before he stopped breathing altogether. He placed two hands on Holly's waist, squeezing his eyes shut, waiting...waiting...waiting for the punch or slap to come.
It didn't come. The only response was just a sharp intake of air from the elfin girl.
Artemis released a sigh of relief, opened his eyes, and untensed.
Holly felt her feet float off the ground as Artemis lifted her up.
Everyone watching didn't dare to say a word. There was a possibilty that he might drop her if they did say anything. Those two were in their own little world right now.
Holly rested the snowball on top of the medium sized ball. She positioned it perfectly on top so that it wouldn't roll off. For some odd reason, she was taking her time.
As soon as she was done, Artemis replaced her back on the ground and removed his hands. Holly instantly missed the warmth they had brought and she discovered the reason why she had taken her time up there. She wiped her mind quickly. But then she found herself missing the close presence that had been behind her.
Artemis had backed a few feet away, suddenly finding a strong, new interest in his snowshoes. He wasn't meeting anyone's eyes.
Juliet started snickering, then she used an on-stage whisper. "Cuuute!" She started laughing out loud.
Holly immediately massacared her with a deadly look.
"Well, that was nice." Foaly risked.
Holly growled. "Shut up! This doesn't go anywhere, you got it? Or I'll hunt you down, one by one."
"No need for threats, my captain. Your cute, little secret is safe with us." Juliet put on a comically too straight face. "Now, time for the finishing touches." She lifted the carrot out of the jar and reached in. She counted ten buttons then replaced the carrot.
"The eyes..." Juliet said as she placed two buttons on the snowman's head.
"Mouth..." She placed five buttons in an arch below the eyes.
"And the cute, little buttons for our cute, tall snowman." The blonde stuck three buttons going downwards on the middle snowball.
She turned to Butler and Trouble,"Do the honors." Juliet handed Butler a scarf and gave Trouble a carrot.
Trouble sent her a funny look. "What's the carrot for? An early Christmas present?"
Juliet giggled. "No, Trubs! It's the nose. Just stick it right there." She pointed to the center of the smallest snowball.
In the background, Foaly whispered to Mulch,"Did Juliet just call Trouble 'Trubs'?"
Mulch blinked. "I think so? And he didn't mind. Holy Frond. What's going on?"
Foaly shrugged.
Once Trouble was done, Butler stepped up and wrapped the plaid, blue and green patterned scarf around the snowman's non-existing neck.
Juliet cheered. "Very nicely done! But...what else is missing?" She gazed quizzically at the snowman before bursting out shouting,"Oh! The arms! How could I forget? Commander, can you bring me two twigs? Make sure they look like arms."
Root gave a grunt and did what she asked. He arrived with two thin branches that were shaped like Y's. The commander held them out for her.
Juliet shook her head. "No, no. You put them on. You didn't get to do anything yet."
Commander Root blinked. "Me? That's ridiculous! It's just branches."
Juliet pouted. "They're arms! Just put them on the sides."
Root mumbled something, then stuck the two twigs in. The outside ends went downwards.
"Noo!" Juliet cried in horror. "Not like that! It's so boring! Do it like..." She turned the ends up towards the sky. "This!"
She grinned at her piece of art. "Much better. Now it's more 'yay!!' instead of 'ugh'."
Mulch commented,"Looks a bit bald."
"Says the furball." Juliet placed her hands on her hips and rounded up on the dwarf. "What can we do? Stick some hairs all over it? It'll be a fur man instead of a snowman."
Mulch groaned. "Not exactly what I meant. I was talking about the head. It's bald. Maybe a hat will do?"
"Oh." Juliet said. "So that's what it's missing." She flipped through the bundle of clothes where she got the snowman's scarf from. She emerged with a snow hat that matched the snowman's scarf.
The blond plopped it on the snowman's head and brushed her hands together. "There. It's done."
"Can we go inside now?" Mulch eyed the setting sun catiously.
"Hmm...wait." Juliet wondered,"How 'bout a picture? Now...where's my camera? Foaly, Mulch can you come inside and help me find it?"
"Do you have any clue where it is?" Foaly asked.
"Nope." Juliet answered. "That's why I need help. It can be anywhere."
The three of them turn tailed and headed for the back door. Foaly targetted the living room. Mulch went to the dining room and kitchen after evading Juliet's protests. The Mud Maid climbed the stairs to the second floor and searched for her camera.
Author's Note: And there's another chapter! Please review and get yourself on my insiperers list:
Bored2Deth
hollyjayne
melissa
holiday55
Reli Lightwing
TheQueenOfMischief
Ame no Iro
Outlawxx13
XXArtemisFowlXX
delilah
bluesparks (have fun on your trip! :D)
alm
AirDragon717
layla