Before people start freaking out, a warning. This is where the T part comes into play. Dont like, dont read.

Artemis sighed, shaking his head. "Short, don't freak out."

Holly stood up, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "Don't freak out?" She scoffed. "You're asking me to be undressed in another room with you right outside-"

"Actually I will be in the room with you." Artemis sighed as he told her. "There are...Too many things that can be used as a weapon against me in there."

She shook her head, slowly looking up at the man in front of her with a dumbfounded look. "No." She told him plainly. "Why would you even think that I would go along with that?"

Artemis leaned against the counter, looking Holly straight in her eyes with a dead serious look in his. "Because…" He stated, tilting his head. "If you don't, you'll be locked to the cabinet in my office again."

She narrowed her eyes at him, challenging the genius silently. Holly definitely did not want to go back in his office. She started to feel claustrophobic already, thinking about being in that small room again. Holly stared at him for another moment more before sighing and bowing her head, giving in. "Fine." She sighed, snatching the bottles off of the counter. She hopped off the stool and glared at Artemis as she walked to the bathroom across the kitchen. "But you're staying on the entirely opposite side of the room, alright?"

"Agreed." Artemis nodded, leaning on the table and looking her up and down.

Holly rolled her eyes when she saw him. She knew he was just trying to tick her off, and she tried to fend off what came to her mind, but in the end she couldn't. "See? This is why I don't trust you. I can't trust you."

Artemis chuckled, "Have I done anything to you?"

She backed into the bathroom, keeping her eyes straight on Artemis. "Besides locking me to a cabinet, kissing me against my will, tying me up and not letting me go? And the fact that you are looking at me like a hungry animal doesn't help. Hmm, I wonder why I can't trust you."

That made Artemis smirk, "Well it doesn't seem as though you have a choice in the matter at the moment, Short."

"Unbelievable." Holly scoffed, looking away at the mirror.

"Be that as it may," Artemis started, closing the bathroom door behind him and leaning against it with his arms crossed. "You're just stalling, so I suggest that you get in the blithering shower and get this over with quicker."

Holly looked him over, raising an eyebrow at Artemis. Blithering? She thought. That sounded vaguely like Artemis Fowl. More European than New York. "Fine." Holly backed away, stepping over the porcelain rim and clutching the dark curtain hanging above her. "But you stay over there."

Artemis raised his hands in a nonthreatening manner, still leaning against the door. "I won't move." He promised, "Unless, of course-"

"No." Holly cut him off. "No 'unless.' You stay there." She pulled the curtain shut, making a barrier between them.

Artemis saw clothes being thrown out of the side of the shower and out of the way, and the water started. He slowly slid down the door, sitting on the wall with his arm resting on his knee. "So...You're a cop."

He heard a huff from behind the shower curtain. "First of all, I believe that has already been established. And second, you really think that this is a good time to talk?!" She practically hissed her second point.

"Why not?" Artemis shrugged, tilting his head back and resting his head against the door. "Isn't this what you want? To talk and build even more of a rapport with me?" He smirked. "Oh, I get it. It's not fun if I know you're doing your insane psyho-babble to me."

Holly sighed, "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Nothing I won't know when your record gets back to me." Artemis grabbed a bar of soap from under the sink and threw it up in the air, catching it while he thought. "Why did you become a cop in the first place?"

Trust issues flashed through Holly's mind as he reminded her about the record coming in. That concerned her even more, knowing that Artemis' superiors were this mysterious force of...Well, whatever the hell he was. From what she could tell, they had resources that most people on top of the world didn't. "It's a long story." She told him, pausing as she thought about why she became an LEP officer in the first place.

"We have time." Artemis looked over the wrapping, just to do something. He was half paying attention to Holly and half thinking about his work. There were a million things for him to do tomorrow, and everyone was on his back about it.

Holly thought for another moment, staring down the drain blankly. "I had a friend." She started, biting her lip. Holly knew she was lying, and at this point, she didn't care. "He was...The stupidest, most idiotic...Bravest...Smartest person I ever knew."

"Stupid and smart?" Artemis smirked, "That is quite a paradox, Miss Short."

She huffed, "Shut up, Artemis." But Holly was smiling, leaning against the cold tiles next to her. "I failed him, a long time ago. We...Hadn't seen each other in years, and I was the only real friend he had.." Holly trailed off, closing her eyes and sighing. Just talking through all of it was hard.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, "What are you getting at?" His focus turned fully to her, wondering where Holly was going with this.

"He died." Holly breathed after an extremely big breath. "He died alone, and helpless…"

Artemis looked down. "I'm..Terribly sorry, Holly." He put the bar of soap back on the sink, standing up. Something inside of him was pulling at Artemis, and he hated that he couldn't figure out why he was so bothered with it. Usually he was stone-cold about things like this, which he heard a lot more than he wanted. "Did you ever find out what happened?"

"No." Holly shut off the water, a tear dripping down her cheek and mixing with the puddle of water at her feet. All of it disappeared down the drain and Holly held back a soft sniffle, tuning and grabbing a towel to start drying off.

Artemis pursed his lips. "That's why you became an officer."

"Yeah." Holly scoffed, shaking her head. "Sure. Let's go with that." She wrapped the towel around herself, tucking it under her arms to secure it. "I'm guessing you have clothes for me?"

He looked back at the shower, unable to see her still because of the curtain between them. "They are on the back of the toilet." He informed her, knowing she would want some privacy for that. Artemis looked around one final time, making a mental list of everything in the small room that Holly could use to harm him. "I'll give you a minute to get dressed." Artemis said, "After those 60 seconds, I will be forced to assume you are planning something against me and to bust the door down." Artemis opened the bathroom door, taking a step out. "You're time starts now."

Holly rolled her eyes. What did he think, that this was a game?

If he was still Artemis...Of course he did.

Half the time hadn't even passed when Holly opened the bathroom door slowly, fully dressed in the t-shirt and shorts Artemis had given her to wear. The man himself was sitting on a barstool, raising an eyebrow at the door and looking Holly over for a weapon. He nodded the slightest bit when Artemis realized she didn't have anything. "Feel better?"

Holly nodded, running her fingers through her hair to separate it and get the knots out. "Thanks."

Artemis smiled, looking over her hair as her hands went through it. It was a dark burgandy, instead of the flaming red that it was normally. He looked down suddenly, blinking as he trained his thoughts back to her actions and body language instead of how her body looked at the moment. "Put your hands out." He ordered, taking a tie out of his pocket.

Holly looked up at him, frowning. She most definitely did not want to be restrained again, but it wasn't as though she could argue with Artemis. "Why?" She argued, taking a wary step back as she looked Artemis up and down to study his own body language. Was he serious? "You said you weren't going to do this."

He raised an eyebrow at her opposition. She still didn't understand that she didn't have a choice in any of this. "I am exhausted, Short." He sighed, "This is just to make me feel more comfortable. Now, put your hands out in front of you."

Holly closed her eyes and shook her head. "Fine." She conceded, putting her wrists together in front of her. Holly didn't open her eyes when she felt the soft fabric wrap around them, and she winced the slightest bit when Artemis tightened them.

Even if it was the smallest movement Holly could possibly make, Artemis' trained eye still caught it. "Come on." He told her softly, hooking a finger in the tie and leading her into another room.

He guided her to an L shaped, deep red couch in front of a brick fireplace and television in his apartment. A dark brown coffee table that Holly immediately recognized as maple was in front of the couch, and a black carpet covered the floor. Holly sat down on the couch, looking up at Artemis with wide hazel eyes.

"You can sit back." He assured her, sitting on the opposite end of the couch and crossing his arms over his chest, "Relax."

Holly nodded, scooting back silently and leaning into the red upholstery. "Now it's your turn."

"I can never be fully relaxed around you, Holly. You know that."

"I didn't mean to relax." She stated, resting her bound hands into her lap. "I meant...I told you a personal story. You should tell me one."

Artemis pursed his lips and scrunched his eyebrows, confused. "How was I supposed to get that?"

"Just answer the question."

He sighed again, thinking. "I don't...Really have that many stories." He objected, shaking his head. "Not that I can share, at least."

Holly looked at him skeptically. She was trying anything to get something out of the Mud Man to piece together something. "You must have some strange story from your childhood you can tell me."

"That's my point." Artemis leaned forward on his elbows, running a hand through his ebony hair. "I don't remember my childhood."

Holly rolled her eyes. "You don't have to lie, Artemis."

Artemis cocked his head at her, "I'm not." He insisted, "I am serious. I don't remember anything before I was in my teens."

"Isn't that scary?" Holly was working what he said through her head.

He thought for a second before slowly shaking his head again. "Not the way I was brought up after that."

Mysterious… Holly bit her lip, cogs still moving in his head. "Well, I guess that's a story in and of itself."

Artemis smirked gently over at her, sitting back again. "Yeah, I guess so."

Holly looked down and smiled a little before clearing her throat, her hands going up to massage her throat. "Can I have a glass of water?"

"Of course." Artemis nodded, getting up. He straightened out his shirt. "I'll be right back."

As soon as Artemis disappeared around the corner to the next room, Holly sat up and looked around. What was going on? Was he really telling the truth that he didn't remember anything? That would help explain why he went by James instead of Fowl anymore. But how did he forget?

Holly put her head in her hands just as Artemis walked back in, a large glass with water in his hand. "Do you have a headache?"

Her head shot up, but it wasn't as though he could read her thoughts. "Oh! Uh, no." Holly blushed, looking away.

Artemis nodded, "Here." He sat down in front of her on the couch, holding out the glass for Holly. He waited until both of her hands were wrapped around it before letting go.

Holly lifted the glass to her lips and looked up at Artemis while she took a sip. "Thank you." She sighed when she was done, handing back the glass.

Artemis smirked, reaching up and wiping a drop of water from her chin. He looked Holly in the eyes while doing so and only broke it when he turned around to set the glass on the coffee table. "I have a question for you." He stated, glancing back over his shoulder at Holly.

Holly sat back in the corner of the couch, hands back in her lap. "Shoot."

"Can I kiss you?" He asked plainly.

Holly blinked for a second, processing. "Wh-What?"

"I don't know why, but I want to." Artemis looked her over, putting his hands on the couch on each side of her and leaning forward. "And considering I already have without your permission, I do not wish to do that to you again. So," He smirked, whispering. "Can I...Kiss you?"

She glanced up at him, trying to breathe evenly. For a minute she thought Artemis was kidding, but when her eyes looked into his blue ones she could tell he wasn't. "Yes" Holly breathed.

Artemis leaned forward, tilting his head and pressing his lips softly against hers. Holly sighed, her eyes fluttering close. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

A moment later, Artemis pulled away only an inch. He looked at Holly with hooded eyes. He bit his lip while Holly blinked up at him "Wow…"

"Yeah," He breathed, and the next things Holly knew, he was kissing her again. This one was much different, as he kissed her deeper and stronger than the one before.

Holly kissed him back, tilting her head up and leaning into Artemis' body. Her entire body tingled when Artemis reached up and cradled the back of her neck with his hand.

"What are we doing?" Holly gasped for breath when Artemis' lips left hers to trail down her neck. "Oh, Artemis…"

Artemis sat back, smirking as he reached out and ran a hand through Holly's hair. "Come on." He told her, standing up and holding out his hand.

Holly paused for a moment, staring up at Artemis as she thought about what she was just about to do. Slowly, she reached up and took his hand with one of her bound ones and Artemis helped her up. With his other hand, Artemis tilted her head up to him and kissed her deeply, working her lips.

She didn't feel like it was her walking up the stairs, humming her laughter and wrapping her arms around his neck as she walked backwards into his room.

Artemis moaned softly, arms wrapping around her waist as they kissed. He tilted her head back and dipped his tongue into her mouth smoothly. Holly moaned back, her breathing ragged and she yelped as she fell back on the bed, Artemis on top of her.

Holly gasped, her eyes wide and arms raised above her head. "Are you going to untie me now?" She asked, holding out her hands for him.

He smirked, holding up a finger silently to tell her to wait and stood up, walking over to the bedroom door to close and lock it with a key. Artemis held up the key for Holly to see and put it in his bedside table drawer, using a code to lock that as well.

Holly scoffed and shook her head, grinning at Artemis as he turned back to her. "You have trust issues." She laughed and Artemis leaned over her, hands slowly moving up her arms.

"I know." Her breathed against her lips, kissing her passionately.

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