SLIM TO NONE

Viola sat very still, hands folded in her lap. "Okay," she said after several long, tense moments of quiet.

Qwan and No1 exchanged a look. "Vi," the younger warlock started. "This- I mean it must be a shock, you don't have too-"

She shook her head and waved him off, summoning a smile with no small amount of effort. "No, I mean it. Okay. It's…an adjustment. But I'm fine, really."

No1 bit his lip and Qwan frowned. "Viola," he grumbled, looking awkward but determined. "You have to deal with this. It can't be swept under the rug-"

She frowned. "Who said I'm not dealing with it? It's just…not something I'd really given much thought to before." A pause. "This isn't gonna affect anything else is it?" She frowned. "Wait- Liz? Will she-?"

"I don't think she will be affected the same way," Qwan hastened to say. "This…seems to be a result of the magic cocktails you injected in Kols' lab reacting with your natural abilities."

She nodded, and felt a mixture of relief and…something else rising up in her chest, something that was too complicated to address in the moment. "Alright. Good. That's good." She sighed and closed her eyes a moment, then opened them again. "Right. Well, if that's everything-"

"Vi…" No1 started to reach out to touch her hand but she snatched it back.

"I'm alright." She smiled at him, hesitated, then allowed him to take her hand, giving his fingers a quick squeeze before she let go. "Well, as always, it's been a dream, but I should be heading home," she chirped.

"Viola." Qwan was frowning at her, tapping his foot slightly. "Perhaps it would be best if you at least took a few minutes to-"

"I said I'm fine." She beamed at them and gave a little wave as she moved for the door. "See you in two months, yeah? Unless you stop by for a quick visit of course."

They might have said something else, but honestly she was blocking it out at that point. Head slightly lowered, she maneuvered through the halls of the hospital to the waiting room where she'd left her escort.

Truth be told she was already a little on edge just from her surroundings- normally No1 and his mentor would come to the manor, or she'd be able to come to the demon warlocks' place of work, usually a small office. As it happened, No1 was working on his healer training, and it had made more sense to meet in the hospital.

That didn't mean she liked it. The place dragged bad memories to the surface.

"Hey." She forced the thoughts away when she rounded the corner into the waiting room and summoned a quick smile. "I'm cleared- can I just head to the shuttle, then?"

The sprite who'd been assigned to accompany her on this trip- she thought his name was Pix or Chix or something- gave her the green light to head back to the surface. It was always a slower ride than she wanted, and even with the special treatment she and her siblings got from the LEP to get them discretely on and off shuttles she could swear she felt the stares boring into her back through the whole ordeal.

Not to mention she had her newest diagnosis to deal with, circling round and round in her skull. Was it really a diagnosis? More of a supposition, or perhaps simply a fact worth knowing, she supposed.

Whatever it was, it served to keep her distracted enough that the trip home went much quicker than she was used to. Soon enough, she was back in the manor and- as was normally the case when she didn't feel like talking- she quickly squirreled herself away in the library, tucked up on her favorite window seat with a book open in her lap.

xXx

Viola had returned home some three hours ago and he had yet to actually see her. This wasn't entirely unheard of- they were both busy nowadays, but it was the sort of…feeling he got from the situation that made him uncomfortable.

With was quite ridiculous. Artemis did not rely on gut feeling, it just wasn't him. Sure, intuition was really just subconscious manifestation of certain observations, but he only cautiously put any real stock in that.

Still, he found himself walking by the library- where he was sure Viola was hiding- three or four times in rather pointless trips to and from his laboratory.

Finally, he gave up trying to play it off and slipped into the room, finding the young woman where he expected, legs curled up on her favorite window seat, an open book hanging limply from one hand while she stared out the window at the clouded sky.

"Viola?"

She started slightly and glanced over at him, eyes wide, then smiled slightly. "Oh, hey. Sorry, guess I was sort of…out of it."

He nodded and took a few steps toward her. "Mind if I join you?" It was a genuine question- something had happened, that much was obvious, but if she wanted to be alone, he wasn't going to push her.

But she smiled again, eyes soft, and he felt his lips curving slightly in response. "Of course not, c'mere." She scooched to the side slightly and he took the invitation, sliding onto the window seat to sit facing her, their legs sliding to fit easily stacked against each other. It was a well practiced move, and he couldn't help marveling a bit at the easy companionship.

Despite the fact that he and Viola had been together for nearly three years now, every once and a while he would find himself quietly stunned by her mere presence. Not a feeling he often shared, but in moments when their eyes met and he swore he saw a hint of something like wonder, he had the strangest feeling that she sympathized.

"You know I love you, right?"

He blinked, surprised, and tilted his head at her slightly. "I- yes?" He laughed quietly. "What's gotten into you?"

She smiled, eyes distant. "Nothing. I just- nothing."

"Viola." He frowned slightly, leaning forward until he could cup her cheek in his hand. "You're starting to scare me now," he told her, voice low. "What happened? Are you…ill? Is something wrong?" He tried to shove away the steadily rising panic as voicing those thoughts made them suddenly a real possibility.

No one really knew what Viola's powers could do to her. She'd never had a relapse into her condition after the incident at Kols' lab, but that wasn't to say she couldn't. No1 and Qwan had reassured them all that it was highly unlikely, nigh impossible, but that didn't mean something else couldn't go wrong.

Gods, if something happened to her- No. No, he wouldn't even think about it. Almost losing her once had nearly shattered him.

"Oh, sweetheart." She reached up to lay her hand over his, leaning into his touch slightly. She smiled. "No, baby, no. I'm fine, really."

That didn't make him feel a lot better. There were really only three reasons she used pet names like that: she was being sarcastic, she was overtired, or she was trying to hide some other emotion with an overabundance of affection.

"Vi." He smoothed his thumb over her cheek, frowning. "What's wrong?"

She sighed and turned her head to kiss his palm. "I'm not sick or anything, I promise. I'm just…still processing. Give me a little while?"

It went against every fiber of his being, but he nodded with a smile. "Of course. Whatever you need."

She smiled gently and leaned forward. "Thanks." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, then sighed and twisted in his arms so she was leaning back against his chest, tucked between his legs.

She really was a tiny thing, he noticed vaguely as he ran a hand from her shoulder down her arm and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He was hardly a giant, but he supposed he had hit his last growth spurt some months after they'd met, leaving him almost a full head taller than her. It was so strange; she just seemed to take up so much space, bright and alive and just there. In these quiet moments, it always struck him anew how small she really was.

"Mind if I read aloud?"

He smiled against her hair, stroking her arm again. "Of course not, love. What is it today?"

"I was thinking a Sherlock Holmes?"

They settled in, Viola reading softly and Artemis with his arms wrapped gently around her waist, leaning back against the window frame as he closed his eyes and just listened to her voice.

It wasn't until later, when they were curled up in his bed, a tangle of arms and legs and soft breaths, that Artemis felt her shift. She was ready to talk.

"Hey. You awake?"

"Yes."

She let out a long breath, pulling away from him slightly so she could look at him through the dark. He caught the movement of her hand, brushing dark curls out of her face as she leaned up on one elbow, shadows in shadows. "So…about the thing…"

He remained quiet, knowing she just need a few moments to sort her thoughts into words and she didn't actually require his participation in this part of the conversation.

She huffed. "See it's not really- y'know, something I ever thought about before. And it's not something I was planning on thinking about for quite some time. But, well…I mean, I figure you should know. So."

Another little huff, then she cleared her throat. "I- No1 and Qwan think…it's because of what I did in the lab. The artificial magic. It…did something to me. Reacted with my magic, I guess."

Artemis sat up a bit, slowly. "We knew that was a possibility," he murmured. He didn't try to touch her yet, not sure if it would be welcomed or rebuffed.

She shook her head. "Yeah, I know. I just…" Another sigh. "Look, this really doesn't affect our lives right now- maybe ever. It's just sorta fucking me up right now." She drummed her fingers on the mattress and he waited. Finally, she made a small sound in the back of her throat that he couldn't really identify and murmured, "Basically, one of the tests they ran today came up with these results that… Okay, I honestly didn't understand most of the numbers they threw at him, but the gist of it is I probably can't have kids. Chances are, quote, "slim to none"."

Artemis was silent. He felt strangely…off. She was right- it really didn't affect them now, wasn't something he'd given much thought to before, other than perhaps in passing. And even then the thought would be quickly shoved aside to free valuable brain space.

But to be suddenly told that choice had been made for you… He couldn't even imagine how she felt.

"Vi." He reached out to lay his hand over hers gently and heard her breath hitch slightly. She wasn't crying, but he could tell she was dangerously close. "Oh, Vi… I'm sorry, my love." He shifted closer, hesitantly offering, "Can I… Is there anything I can do?"

She gave a watery little chuckle and curled toward him. "Just…hold me?" He could feel her blushing, knew what it took for her to ask that, and nodded, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I love you," he told her quietly, stroking her back. "Whatever you need, I'm here."

Viola gave a shivering little sigh and almost melted into him. "I know," she murmured. "Thank you, Artemis." She tilted her head back to kiss his neck lightly. "I love you too." She let out a long, ragged breath and twisted slightly in his arms to kiss his cheek. "It's probably not the healthiest method of coping," she said softly after a moment, "but I don't want to think about it. Not right now."

She kissed his jaw and almost despite himself he felt a shiver slide down his spine. "Keep me distracted?" Viola whispered, hands sliding down his chest, and he closed his eyes, biting back a small moan.

"Are you sure?" He tilted his head to kiss her temple, then her cheek. Logically, he wasn't opposed to the idea- physical contact could be cathartic and comforting, and if that was what she needed far be it from him to deny her.

Of course, logic aside, he couldn't deny he was…more than unopposed. Enthusiastic might be a little closer to the mark. He almost felt ashamed of himself, with how easily she seemed to spark that heat in him that narrowed his focus to the woman in his arms.

Viola chuckled quietly and kissed the tip of his nose. She shifted so she was more in his lap than not, knees to either side of his hips. "I'm beyond sure," she assured him. He felt her smirk against his skin as she trailed a few kisses down his throat and his breath hitched. "And something tells me you aren't exactly adverse to the idea," she teased, wiggling her hips slightly.

Artemis's fingers dug into her hips and he frowned at her for the small betrayal. "Damnit, Viola, I am trying to look out for you here," he grumbled.

She laughed softly. "Then look out for me, love," she breathed, a whisper away from his lips.

With a low, rumbling sound in his throat that was almost a growl, he closed the miniscule distance between them and crushed his lips to hers, swallowing her small gasp and the following chuckle.

xXx

It didn't take long for them to collapse back onto the bed, heated breaths panted against shivering skin as clothes were stripped and quickly discarded, hands roaming eagerly over what skin was exposed and lips quickly following.

There was nothing gentle between them for this. Lips and tongues fought for dominance, teeth scraped skin, bruises in the shape of fingerprints began to form over flesh, darker marks created where their bodies clashed, locked together. It was new, this form of passion, and Viola found herself pushing pushing pushing to see just how much she could get, how far they would go…

Artemis surged to meet her, throwing all of himself into this new development, and by the time they had finished they were both exhausted, sinking back into the bed completely intertwined and panting desperately, murmured declarations of love fading as sleep claimed them.

A soft stroke over her arm made Viola grumble and curl in on herself, frowning.

A chuckle sounded quietly above her. "Vi. Sweetheart, wake up. We slept in."

"Nooo." She pouted at him, eyes barely open. "Sleep is good. It's beautiful."

Artemis chuckled again and murmured something she didn't quite catch- possible "So are you"- but before she had time to respond he'd leaned over her and buried his face in her neck, nipping and kissing playfully.

And tickling. Viola squeaked and tried to shove him off, laughing. "Alright, alright, I'm up!" she squealed, laughing as she wriggled under him and shoved lightly at his shoulders. "God damnit, get off me," she laughed, squealing again when he blew a sharp breath across now sensitive skin and his fingers danced over her ribs.

"Hmm. No." He did pull back a bit to smirk at her, eyes glinting wickedly. At least he'd stopped tickling her, though his body still trapped hers against the bed. His eyes suddenly softened slightly and he leaned in to kiss her gently.

"Good morning," he murmured as he pulled away.

She smiled, reaching up to cup his cheek. "Morning." She was quiet for a long moment, then laughed and shook her head. Despite everything… "Okay- I know it's cheesy, but…this is a pretty perfect morning."

Hey guys,

Wow. I'm really sorry this has been taking me so long. Again, I'm not abandoning this story, it's just gonna be slow going for a while longer.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed/followed/whatever! Y'all are amazing, thank you for sticking with me!