Chapter 49

Sensitivities Part 1

A/N:

Just two things. I know a bunch of you are confused about where in the series this story occurs. It's after TTP but like TAC never happened. So, at this point Arty's about 19 in post TTP years but 16 in normal times.

Okay, this is the second day in Haven. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it...

RECAP:

And then I woke up. It was quite a dream, even for me. As much as I hate to admit it, I've been having a lot of dreams about Arty over the last few months. It's so annoying. It doesn't mean anything, right? Yet at the same time, this is the first dream where I initiated the touching and the emotional closeness. Usually, dream Arty is the one to kiss me, hold me, and tell me that he loved me. What does this mean? Ugh, dreams. Who do they have to be so confusing?

I hate to admit it, but I'm not going to figure this out tonight. There's no way, I'm running on almost no energy, and I have to get up early. In a few hours rather. I'm going to go to bed. Again.

Good-night. Until next time.

-Holly.

Holly's POV:

"Ugh," I groaned as I'd dragged my body to the kitchen. "Coffee."

"Isn't good for you," Artemis chuckled from the kitchen table.

"Not now," I moaned. Frond knows that I am no good in the morning without my boost. If I didn't have it, I'd probably spend an hour bumping into walls.

He chuckled again as I struggled to pour a cup of coffee into my mug. "Nice to see that you're such a ray of sunshine in the morning," he chuckled.

Luckily for him, I had managed to swallow a few sips of coffee. Basically meaning that I didn't bite his head off. "Yes, I try to brighten the world with my happy, sparkling disposition..."

Then, I really looked at him for the first time. And I wasn't sure whether to laugh or faint in shock. I chose the lesser of two evils as the giggles burst out of my mouth. "What are you doing up so early and why are you wearing pajamas?" I asked. Hmm, well my dream was obviously wrong. His pajamas were not crimson like my subconscious had suggested. No, they were a deep blue instead. The color really brought out the color in both of his eyes.

"Holly, I'm always up this early," he smiled. "I usually have places to go, people to see, and..." he began but I cut him off.

"And things to steal."

"Those days are behind me." And surprisingly he didn't sound the least bit wistful. Another sign that he really has changed for the better. "As you know, I am completely legitimate now. Well, except for a few deals concerning multi-millionaire tycoons."

I laughed again. It's funny how he always seems to forget those guys. "That still doesn't explain why you're still in your pj's."

"I did get up this morning with the intention of getting dressed. However, I went into what I assumed was your bathroom and it turned out to be an indoor gym."

"You do know what they say about assuming, don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose that I've been made into quite an ass," he replied stiffly. Anyone with common sense could tell that he did not like to think of himself like that. Of course, I would expect a genius to be turned off by the idea of being an ass.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," I apologized earnestly.

"And I accept." Of course he would. Arty cannot stay mad at me or Juliet. Obviously, it must be a female thing. "Now where is your bathroom, if you don't mind?"

"Come on," I sighed, shaking my head. I grabbed my human-sized towel from the pantry and lead him back down the hall. I stopped right out side of his room. "You should probably get out some boxers."

He nodded. His face almost as red as his favorite pair. Nevertheless, he went into the room and quickly pulled a pair of black boxers from the dresser. He was looking around and I guessed what he was looking for. Not that it was that hard. Maybe it came from spending times with genii all of the time. "Just go out of that door. Straight back and while you're doing that, I'll find you some clothes to wear." I winced at how much like a mother that made me sound, but what else could I really do?

"Hopefully, nothing too horrible," he winced. Frond. You would think that I was going to dress him in clown clothes and parade him up and down the street.

"Trust me. It won't be. Besides, it'll help you fit in better."

"Yes, a five foot, seven human. I'm guaranteed to fit in."

"Oh, shut up," I said, slapping him gently on the arm. At least I thought it was gentle until I noticed that he was rubbing his arm.

He gathered his things and walked out of the door while I quickly chose his outfit of the day. IT was perfect if I do say so myself. As soon as I had finished, Arty burst through the door. "Holly, you are aware that, that door leads to your back yard?" he demanded, his skin bright red. I felt bad, but I was just trying not to laugh.

"Well, I do live here don't I?" As if I would never have seen my back yard before. "Yes, I know that it leads outside."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and glared at me. "You told me that it led to the bathroom." Oh misunderstanding. Ugh, of course, this would be one of the few things that the genius didn't know about fairy culture. I suppose it's my duty to explain it to him.

"Here, I'll show you," I sighed. I led him through the back door that he had courteously closed before his tirade. We stepped out into the day-light glow from the strips on the cavern roof. We walked over to what resembled the human's large coy pond. "As you know, most animals won't excrete waste in their own homes. Fairies are the same."

"Yes of course." I could tell that he was quickly absorbing all that I was saying and adding more to it. "No indoor toilets. So, where exactly do you use the facilities?"

I pointed over to the beige shed that sat under a tree in the corner of my yard. "It has a type of smart wafer technology that serves to break down all waste that goes into it."

"All very wonderful, but it does not seem large enough to hold a shower cubicle."

I know he doesn't know all of our culture, but at that point, I had to look at him like he was crazy. I pointed to the 'coy' pond beneath us. "That's the shower for you," I explained.

"Hurkk," he choked out. Deja vu. Now if only No. 1 was here and Arty and I were about to strip down. Well, one of us was. I guess that 's close enough.

"Hurkk is not a word. Unless you meant hark , which means to remember something from the past. Which isn't really very relevant. Or perhaps you were speaking Dutch, and then hurk would translate as squat which means squat to me."

His jaw clenched, and he obviously wanted to say something. Whatever it was, he swallowed down and asked "I am supposed to shower outside?"

"Basically yes," I nodded. "I have an inside shower, but it's fairy-sized. Sorry." One of the drawbacks of being human in Haven. Nothing was big enough to fit you, and I'd imagine that it sucked.

"Fine," he said, rationally. "How exactly does this work and what prevents your neighbors from looking in?"

"The high fence and a sense of common courtesy?" It was meant to be a statement, but came out more like a question. No, to a human it would see unreasonable. But to fairies, it was somewhat comfortable. Yes, we had our notions of privacy but at the same time we knew that nature was more important.

"Lovely," he replied in a tone that didn't quite seem to agree with his words.

"Hey, don't knock those things. They're actually really important to fairy cultures," I lectured. "Arty, I promise that no one will be watching you."

His brow raised. "And how can you assure that?"

"there are no vouyers in the neighborhood. Seriously it's either this or don't shower for ten days."

Arty is a genius, so he was in no way irrational. As was seen in his open, acknowledging choice. "Show me how this device works."

"Gladly," I grinned, pulling the remote from a rock around the shower pond.

"Push the large button in the center to turn the water on and off. The blue side button is colder and the red side is side arrow allows you to move around in your chosen temperature range. The up and down buttons determine the feel of the flow of the water. And there's a rack for you to place your underwear and towel"

HE nodded, taking all of this in. "Holly?" he said when he say that I was still standing there.

"What now?"

"If you don't mind, I need you to leave so that I can remove my clothing," he mumbled embarrassedly. Though his humiliation was nothing at all compared to mine.

"Oh." I blushed, my cheeks red with the though of Artemis without any clothes on. "I'll be inside." And with that, I turned and ran back into the house. I'm not completely sure, but I think I heard a small chuckle behind me. I ignore d it and went to get my own shower. Preferably a cold one.

Ten minutes later, I was clean and fresh. Now, all I had to do was find something to wear. True to her word, Juliet had laid out all of my clothes and labeled them with sticky notes. Though she probably would have done it anyway...

Today's outfit was a pair of black skinny jeans, and a red tube top with a black rose on the base. Juliet had included a sensible pair of red converse also with matching black roses. Couple that with one red and one black beaded bracelet on my right wrist. Juliet had also gotten me a pair of black hoop clip-on earring. I glanced from them to myself and back to them. Finally, I made the choice to just leave them off since I don't really like earrings. But then, I saw Juliet's face in my head. Ugh, she even has the pout in my imagination. I sighed as I clipped the earrings to my ear, vowing to take them off as soon as I possible could do so without feeling guilty.

"Arty?" I called. "Are you dressed yet?"

He didn't answer. I'm sure that the was probably still sulking about his outfit. I rolled my eyes, knocking on his closed door. "Come in," he said I entered and was surprised by what I was seeing. He was actually wearing the clothes that I had chosen without a real argument. Well, that's an hour that I won't have to waste now.

I have to admit, Artemis looked pretty good. He had on a pair of black jeans that were skinny, but not too skinny. His shirt was a red t-shirt with a black abstract design and a slight v-neck. His converse were red with another black type of design. Then I had added some black studded wrist-bands. Surprisingly, he was actually wearing them. His black hair, flopping into his face just a bit, and glistening because it was still wet from the shower.

In other words, he looked like a teenaged girl's fantasy come alive. That must be a first for him. "Well, you look nice," I commented trying not to stare anymore than what was strictly proper. It was not working very well.

"As do you," he smiled as he looked me up and down. And I couldn't even be mad since I had just done the same thing to him. And was still doing the same thing to him.

"Jeans look good on you." A bit of an understatement. I almost wish Juliet was here to see this, it would do her some good. Perhaps it was just the strangeness of the whole situation. Or maybe not... I don't know.

"They're... different," he commented. I felt like laughing. Different? From a suit? Really?

"Definitely. But they're not all bad are they?"

"No, the fit is not nearly as atrocious as I had thought that it would be," he smirked as he watched my face fall.

"Gee, thanks for your confidence in my abilities," I teased. "Your faith is inspiring."

"Thank you," he smirked even more if that was possible. Though I suppose almost anything is possible for a genius of his caliber. "Though, I do wonder how you got my sizes."

Now it was my turn to blush. "Well... ummm. I had Juliet look through the clothes that you already had." Well, that didn't sound like a stalker at all. Thankfully, Arty isn't the type to think of me like that. Ahhh, you have to love him. As a friend, of course.

"Clever, but how did you manage to keep her quiet?" Arty had a point. It's almost impossible for Juliet to keep anything to herself. Correction. It is impossible.

"I told her that it'd be funny to trick you for once." I had to grin at the grimace that had made its way across Arty's face. Amazing. "C'mon we'll go for breakfast."

"Oh, you're not going to cook?" he asked in a seemingly innocent manner. 'Seemingly' being the key word there. Anyone who knew Artemis Fowl would never accuse him of being innocent. And I definitely knew him. Or rather, I think I do because how well do we really know anyone.

"I wouldn't want you to slice your finger off, so I'll play it safe and take you out." For breakfast. As friends.

"Why, thank you, Holly."

"Oh just come on." Honestly, why are all of my friends so... smart-mouthed? Perhaps it's time to invest time in finding some new ones.

"Since we are going out, do you think that my appearance is appropriate?"

I sighed in exasperation. Honestly, that boy is more appearance obsessed than any girl (except Lili) that I know. "Arty, I promise that you really do look fine in those jeans."

"I was not referring to any clothing. Rather I was referring to my physical, human body."

Oh well, I felt a bit stupid. Correction, very stupid. Though to be fair anyone could and probably would have made that mistake too. "Oh yeah, sorry," I mumbled. "Well, you can always just use this." And I pulled a masculine ring out of my back pocket. (No, I was not going to propose.) It had a somewhat rectangular shape with a large circle front. There was the large 'diamond' in the center and five smaller ones scattered around the perimeter.

"The morpho-ring. Unfortunately, I haven't uploaded a previous form." Of course, he would know all about the ring. He's a hacker and proud of it. And there's nothing that neither Foaly nor I can do about it. Not that we would want to.

"I've already taken care of it." Because that's me. One step ahead all of the time.

He raised one of his perfectly arched eyebrows and just stared at me. After a few seconds, I was feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. "What?" I demanded.

"Forgive me, but it would be disappointing if I found out that you had programmed a displeasing form for me." I hate to admit it, but I probably would do it to him. Just as a joke of , yes he had a right to be worried, but I actually hadn't even considered that at the time.

"It sounds like me, but I really didn't do anything that bad," I admitted.

He sighed again, and slipped the ring onto his finger. Surprisingly, it fit. Though, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Foaly knew Arty's exact finger, waist, and hip size like he knew mine. Not that I told him. No, he was just an incredibly nosy hacker who loved knowing everything.

Arty pressed the center button and his form began to shimmer. His body bubbled somewhat and I watched his body shrink in on itself. At 3'5 he still towered above me and over the fairy average of 3'1, but his height was a lot more manageable than his usual extra two feet. His pointed ears and slightly darkened skin marked him for an elf. For the moment at least. "Impressive," Artemis muttered, looking down at himself. "You know it goes deeper than just a physical transformation. It actually-" he began and I knew that I had to cut him off before he got into a full-swing lecture. At that point, there was just not stopping him.

"Arty, I don't care about the science behind it. I just care that it works."

"Of course you don't," he sighed probably wishing that Foaly was here so they could weep salty tears over the ring for a few hours while talking in scientific Jargon. "I'll just have to wait to converse with Foaly." Correct.

I nodded in agreement, struck by how much he looked like himself. My design was intended to actually look like a shrunken down, pointy-eared version of himself. And that's what I got, though it was weirdly unexpected to have Arty nearly at eye level.

"Shall we go?" I asked.

"I'm ready when you are," he smirked and flashed his a pair of pearly white fangs. Okay, so... maybe I had changed his appearance a bit for my own entertainment. Well, at least he didn't seem to mind them that much. Besides, it's not like I had given him red eyes to match.

"Then let's go. I'm starving." And with that, we left the house. Thankfully, today was sunny and the weather was nice. Not too warm and not too cold. Perfect. The two of us walked down the street relatively close and no one gave us a second glance. We were just a part of the crowd for once.

"Where are we going?" he asked after a while.

"Just around the next corner to a place that I love," I smiled. He smiled back shyly as if he didn't know how to act. It was strange for Arty, more like how you would expect normal teen to smile. I glanced at him quizzically, but before I could ask, we had arrived at the Rainforest Café.

Artemis looked up at the building. He probably didn't think very much of it. To be honest, the building is not much to look at. It was low, squat and made of brown bricks. The windows were large and sparkling. It seemed like the casual place that one would go to for a first date. Which is probably why it was one of my favorite restaurants.

"Come on," I said grabbing Arty's hand and dragging him inside.

"Hey Holly," called a voice from behind the counter.

"Hi Pansy, is Poppy here today?"

"No, she doesn't have to work today," she pouted for about half of a second. Pansy really hated working without her sister. According to her, it wasn't very fun. "Well, who's that?" Her grin stretched like a cat that had just spotted a particularly fat, juicy bird.

I glanced around and noticed that Artemis and I were still holding hands. I internally sighed. Fate seemed to want to embarrass me as much as it possibly could. "Artemis, this is my other friend, Pansy. Pansy, this is Artemis."

Arty stepped forward as a gentle man should, gently releasing my hand to shake hers. "Strong grip," she nodded like he had passed some sort of test.

"Well, let me lead you to your table," she grinned, her large hazel eyes flushing mischievously. "Your usual table, Holly?"

"Yes please," I smiled. Pansy flipped her long chestnut hair over her shoulder and led us to the table. She sat the two of us down with Arty right across from me. We were taken to the booth in the very back, facing the rest of the room. To most people, this would be the worst table, but it was my absolute favorite place because you could see everything from there.

"Here are your menus," Pansy grinned, setting them in front of us. "Though, I'm sure that I know what you'll order."

"Well, look at the menu," I ordered.

Artemis complied. Then, he glanced up at the clock on the wall, "Hmm, I think breakfast is over."

I glanced back. "You're right." As if he ever wasn't. "So, lunch then?"

He smirked in that annoying way of his. "Ah, right as usual."

"Just shut up and order." Well, when I asked for this vacation, I knew it was going to be a long, exasperating one.

He chuckled, but looked down at his menu, displaying his pointed ears. I know it was wrong, but I really wanted to go and squeeze them tightly just to see if they felt as good as they looked. Yes, I knew what it would do to him, but that didn't stop my hands from wanting to. Really wanting to. I shook my head slightly to clear it and forced myself to look down at the menu instead. Yes, I knew exactly what I wanted, but I couldn't look back up. Not yet.

"Hey, are you guys ready to order?" Whew, thank Frond for little Pansy Thrush.

"I am." I nodded. "I'll have the pasta dish of the day with red sauce and a glass of water, please?"

"Of course," She nodded jotting it down. "And what about you?" She gushed turning to Arty. Frond, it was like She was a different person. Though I suppose that's how you get tips in this business.

"I'll have what she's have what she's having with a glass of Earl Grey tea."

"Of course," She stammered as She turned and walked away. "As soon as She was sure that Artemis' attention was otherwise occupied, She gave me a rather obvious thumb's up.

"So, I'm a 'thumb's up'?" he asked with a smirk.

"And how did you see that?" I wondered, amazed at how he had managed to see what was going on behind him. Yes, he was good, but not that good.

"My perirhinal vision is greatly expanded in this form. It's relatively easy for me to see what's happening."

"Oh," I muttered, wondering what else was expanded for him in that form. No pun intended in any way, shape or form.

"Speaking of this body, why on earth did you decide to give me fangs?"

His tone. It was so... hilarious. I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing, loud enough to be just a bit annoying. The few other patrons of The café turned to stare at me and they probably thought that I had finally gone insane. "Stop laughing like a hyena," he chastised. "And answer my question."

I managed to stifle my giggles just enough to answer his question. "I did it for my own entertainment," I admitted. "You know how everyone thinks of you as a vampire."

A while back, Arty's signature smirk became known as The 'vampire smirk'. It all started with some human girl calling him a vampire after reading some book about pale, sparkly skinned, morose vampires. We found out about it courtesy of Foaly and it had became a running joke. The worst (or best, depending on your point of view) part is that it's true. Artemis does seem otherworldly, like a vampire. In fact, if you didn't know him, then you may actually be a little afraid of him.

"Oh, don't be mad," I smirked. "Just don't be glad that I didn't give you red eyes too."

He looked ready to say something that was going to be less than kind, but Pansy appeared with our plates of food. "Bon appetite," She smiled as She did The unexpected. She put a small vase with a red rose inside of it in front of us on The table. I stared at her incredulously, but She just grinned like this didn't mean anything. Like She always did this. Yeah right...

She winked mischievously at me and sashayed back to her post at The door. "She's charming," he said, and surprisingly he didn't sound as sarcastic as he probably meant to.

"Subtlety and tact are not her strong points."

"Obviously."

I grinned and we continued talking and eating until there was nothing left. Pansy must have been watching us like a hawk because She came over as soon as Arty put his fork down. "Here's your bill," She said. Artemis reached into his pocket, but I stopped him before he could bring his wallet out.

"No, your money's no good here," I informed him, pulling my own wallet out of my purse.

"Holly, I am going to pay for The meal." That was Arty putting his foot down. Well, he was insane if he thought that I would be that easy to intimidate.

"No way, I invited you, remember?"

"Yes, and you've already done more than enough by doing that. Let me take care of The bill and The gratuity." G

"No." I stood firm, refusing to let him sway me. "You're my guest. Would you really want to violate The spirit of hospitality?"

He had been about to make a comment, but stopped with his mouth still open. He was such a well-bred gentleman that violating The 'spirit of hospitality' would not sit well with him. In fact, it would make him seem rude and ungrateful. "Regardless. If your persist in being stubborn then at least let me pay half of The bill and The gratuity."

"No," I admonished. "I'll take The whole bill and I suppose you can leave a tip." Though if I had it my way, then I would also leave The tip. After all, I had invited him, it was just wrong for him to pay. Note to self: Goal of The trip- Make Arty forget himself for just a while.

"Holly," he argued. "As a gentleman, I wouldn't feel right about leaving you with The bill."

"Well, as a lady of The twenty-first century, I say: get over it."

"I am not saying that I agree, but if I do then I propose that I pay for our next two meals," he said and I could tell that he was getting ready to submit. Submission used to be a word that had no meaning to Artemis Fowl II. However, since he had developed a conscious, he had become much easier to deal with. In fact, he listens to me and does quite a bit of what I say. Of course, he's still his usual independent, self-sufficient self. So, he has to argue before any real conclusion can be made.

"We'll negotiate," I smirked, confident that I would win.

"Of course," he sighed in submission. Well, that's one for me, but it's compared to about fifty for Arty.

"Thank you," I grinned, pulling The money out of my wallet. I quickly counted out The money and handed it to The smirking Pansy. Arty pulled out his wallet and gave her a healthy tip. So healthy that it was equal to The bill.

"Th..th..thank you," She stammered, stumbling back to her post.

"Let's go," I giggled, standing up and adjusting my shirt.

"And where are we going?" he asked as we made our way out to The restaurant and into The afternoon 'sun'.

"I'm going to take you site-seeing." One of The joys of Haven. Seeing as most of our capitol comes from tourists, we have quite a few things to see.

"Be more specific please. Where are we going?" he demanded, politely. Ah Arty, he always has to be in control of everything. Maybe one of our stops should be to Dr. Argon's clinic. Though his hatred for not knowing things is exactly why I intentionally leave out information.

"A place."

"What 'place'?"

"An interesting one," I teased.

"Holly!"

I giggled at Artemis' 'angry' and supposedly 'scary' face. Ha, only to someone who doesn't know him would feel The least bit threatened by that false scowl. In fact, it was cuter than frightening. Ehhem, buy cute I meant funny. Because there's nothing cute about Artemis. Not like that anyway.

"Oh fine. Spoilsport," I chastised. "We're going to The Fountain of Youth." One for me. Fifty-one for Artemis.

"The Fountain of Youth?" he asked in both amazement and surprise. "The same Fountain of youth that Ponce De Leon searched for?"

"Well, yes," I nodded. "Though he was way off-base in his search. A few thousand miles below ground, to be specific."

I led Artemis through The relatively busy streets towards The Fountain of Youth. After about fifteen minutes of walking, we came into view of The fountain. The Fountain of Youth. It was both as grand as one would imagine and not as grand as one would imagine.

It was large even by Artemis' standards. Huge and pure gold with braided golden fringe around every edge. Each portion of The fountain was adorned with beautiful pictures of ancient scenes. There were The sparkling pictures of nature in all of its splendor and fairy legends of The past, some of which had been long forgotten and could only be made up while staring at The fountain.

Though, we had no real sunlight under The ground, The fountain still found some way to glow and glitter, flashing and winking across The pavement. It seemed almost like an old friend, welcoming us home after a long trip. Even from here, my elfin ears could pick up a muted roar from The gushing, clear water that pooled in The basin of The fountain.

"It's beautiful," Artemis marveled. Beautiful. So very rarely did that word pass from his lips, that it felt like a warm caress. He wasn't talking to me, but it somehow felt like he was. And The very idea made me feel... tingly. Very tingly.

"Yes, it is," I agreed, glancing up at him. "Very beautiful."

"Can we get closer?" he asked, his eyes focusing on The sight in front of him.

"Of course," I smiled, pushing him through The crowd to The front of The throng.

"I'm guessing that this marvel was already below The earth before Ponce De Leon's time."

"Yes, actually. The whole 'Fountain of Youth' thing came from a human of The time period overhearing two moronic pixies planning their vacation."

"Fairies let to The rumor. It all makes perfect sense. The rumor caused The humans to try to search for one of The few things that they didn't have. Immortality."

"Yes, though immortality cannot be reached. Not by anyone." And for once, I could actually follow an 'intellectual' conversation with Artemis. I suppose I was getting smarter...

"Of course not," he agreed. "Which makes me think that perhaps The 'Fountain of Youth' is a misnomer."

I smirked. I can see why Artemis and Foaly love to lecture so much. There's something about explaining what you know to someone who doesn't know it. "Actually it's not."

"How so?" he asked, his miss matched eyes alight with curiosity.

"While The fountain does not allow for immortality, it does have healing and magical properties which help The People to look younger and has been known to reverse The signs of aging."

"Extraordinary," Arty commented. "And this is a naturally occurring phenomena?"

"Amazing."

"Would you like to actually feel The water?"

"Fairies allow civilians to touch historic property?"

I rolled my eyes. What? Did he think that we just sat and looked at it from a mile away? "Of course, they're here to enjoy. What's The point of a monument that you can't get close enough to see?"

"They're harder to steal," he chuckled. Ah, his dry humor. No one else was quite like him.

I rolled my eyes again. Something tells me that I'm going to be doing that a lot while he's here. "Oh come on," I grinned, dragging him forward to The very edge of The fountain. I tried to put his hand out, but he didn't budge. "Oh, just stick your hand in," I fussed. he complied with a slight sigh, bringing The total of Holly two. Artemis a lot more.

The water. It's like no other. It's cooler than expected and felt almost like liquid silver. It wound through my open fingers and seemed to cling to them before threading The rest of The way through The spaces. As it did, I felt strength flow into my hand and a bit of my magic restored.

"Amazing," Artemis remarked. "My hand feels much stronger."

"Obviously, that's what it's supposed to do," I smiled. "Would you like some of The water to study?" Frond knows that Artemis would absolutely love to try to find out what makes it so powerful. And knowing him, he would probably succeed.

He raised his brows. "Don't tell me that you carry bottles around with you for just this purpose."

"Don't be stupid," I giggled. Stupid and Artemis in The same sentence? Not likely. "No Arty, I don't. We'll buy some at The gift shop."

"Gift shop?"

"Yes. The majority of Haven's capitol comes from tourism. So, of course we have a gift shop."

"Very well. Lead on."

I was still smiling slightly as I led him to The rather high red-brick building located on The side of The square. It was crowded, but we managed to squeeze inside to The display of what looked like little crystal bottles. In reality, The bottles were made of an unbreakable polymer with The look and feel of real crystal. Something that I had picked up from Foaly.

I grabbed four bottles off of The shelf and waded through The crowd to pay at The long counter. Surprisingly, Arty managed to stay right behind me, so I didn't have to go looking for him. Fifteen minutes later, I had paid and we were standing on The sidewalk right outside of The shop.

"Where to next, tour guide extra ordinaire?" he asked, his sarcasm obvious to anyone who knew him.

"Hmm," I said grabbing his arm and looking at his watch. I wasn't really shocked at what I'd done. No, I was more surprised by how natural and easy it felt. It was like... breathing. Relaxing, carefree, comforting, necessary, and leading to a sense of relief. "Three O'clock. I have another place that I want to take you before we go home."

"I'd be glad to follow you if I could have my arm back," he chuckled.

I blushed profusely as I realized that his arm was still in my grip. "Sorry," I muttered, releasing him.

"It's quite all right," he smirked, blushing a bit.

"Okay, I'm ready to go," I replied, trying to cover my embarrassment.

Artemis nodded, surveying me with unfathomable eyes. I said nothing as we kept walking at a brisk pace. Twenty minutes later, we were standing in front of a very large, black wrought iron gate. "The artificial weather park," Arty read from The sign. Gee, a genius can read. Great to know.

"Yes, it's really fun," I told him with a grin. That was one of The places that I had spent my childhood. When my mother was alive, She would take me there to play. Those were some of The best days of my life.

"Though, it doesn't seem that either of us have brought any type of weather appropriate clothes with us."

I had to giggle at Arty, and The things that he worried about. Even though he may not love The clothes, he still worried about messing them up. "You don't need them, silly. Trust me."

"I obviously do. Perhaps I am insane after all." Insane? Never Artemis.

"Hah. There's no 'perhaps' about it. You are insane."

"Charming," he commented as we sashayed inside.

"Quite. C'mon let's start in The snow park."

Artemis looked at me like he was sure that I had finally lost my mind. "Snow? Holly, I am not in The appropriate snow attire."

"Chill," I replied, soothingly. "I told you that it's under control."

He looked me over carefully. It was good to know that he really trusted me and my decisions. Well, this should make today all The more fun for The both of us.

We headed down a curving lane that was surrounded by trees. We continued down a hill and through trees that seemed to get smaller and less leafy as we went forward. Finally we came upon another gate. However, this one was of a white metal and had The word 'winter wonder land' around The top of it. Even from here one could feel cold air blowing into our faces, and raising goose bumps on our exposed skin.

"So, I assume that we are entering this 'winter wonder land'." The way he grimaced when he said it made me want to laugh and muss his hair.

"That was The plan," I tittered.

"I don't have a coat and neither do you," he reminded me yet again. Frond, he has never been this repetitive before.

"We'll see about that. Just trust me," I pleaded, poking my bottom lip out and putting on The puppy dog eyes.

He sighed deeply, but followed me inside of The gate. A gust of cold air blew, blowing my hair out around me. I didn't stop to talk as I grabbed a black coat off of The rack next to The gate and tossed it to Arty. He struggled to put it on as I grabbed one and pulled it on.

Then, I grabbed two scarves and two hats off of The same rack. I threw a white scarf around my neck and put The matching beret on my head, immediately enjoying The warmth that The items provided me.

Next, I went over to Arty who, thankfully, had managed to put his coat on. "C'mere," I said. I pulled him close and wrapped The scarf tightly about his neck. I reached up to put The hat on his head, but realized that I was still too short. I stood on my toes, but couldn't quite reach. Ugh, I was about to start jumping, but Arty beat me to it.

One moment, I was standing with my feet on The ground and The next thing that I knew, Arty had me around The waist and I was in The air. Wow, I 'm not heavy, but I never thought that Arty was strong enough to hold me up. Hmm, apparently he had been working out a little. And with that thought, I put The hat on his head and tried to refrain from punching him. "Put me down," I tried to sound angry, but it came out as more of a giggle.

"If you wish," he said, gently setting me down. "Though I had only meant to assist you."

"You meant to scare me," I corrected.

"And I succeeded," he smirked. "Now, what are we going to do?"

"Well, I have an idea." I grinned being clever, bending down and picking up a hunk of snow.

He realized what I was doing and I tried to quell me with his signature glare. "Holly, you cannot be serious."

I hefted The perfectly round snowball that I had packed. I tossed it gently into The air and caught it, going back and forth. "Deadly," I said with a straight face. Then, I lobbed The ball, and it made direct impact with his face. Score! Exactly what I wanted to happen.

"Oooof," he grunted on impact. "Holly."

"Yeees?" I gasped out through my giggles.

"You do realize that this means war, don't you?" he inquired, his voice taking on that deadly calm that he always acquired right before he deployed a plan to save us all.

"Bring it on," I grinned, whipping my long hair out of my eyes and wishing that I had brought a hair elastic with me.

Artemis leant down to pick up some snow, but Frond knows that I'm faster than him. I grabbed a hunk, formed it into a ball and hit him with it. It was definitely a war, and so far I was winning with my large barrage of snowballs.

Arty managed to finish his small pile of snowballs and hit me. His aim was far off from my face, but he did hit me on The arm and in The chest. However, his third, forth, and fifth shot did make contact with my face. It didn't really hurt, but I was surprised. Artemis couldn't hit The broad side of a barn.

Oh there was no way that I was going to let that slide. I took off running towards him, and tackled him. He teetered for a few seconds, due to The fact heat he was heavier that me by quite a bit. Thankfully, I had power and momentum behind me, and was a be to knock him to The ground. Unfortunately we started rolling. Straight down a hill. In The snow. I was giggling as we rolled and surprisingly even Artemis was chuckling. (Who was this guy and what has he done with my friend?) After what seemed like an eternity, we reached The bottom. So, I ended up sprawled out on my back a little away from Arty with our bodies lying right next to The gate.

"Hahaha," I giggled. "That was fun."

"Surprisingly, I agree," he said.

I had to laugh more at that. He actually agreed that something other than quantum physics was fun? It's a miracle. "I'm happy about that. So, should we just lie here?"

"We'll get sick," he replied, but made no move to get up.

"Probably," I admitted, but didn't even try to get up.

The two of us just laid in silence for about five minutes. Artemis sighed loudly, but made The first move by standing up. He stood over me and offered a hand to help me up. "Wait a second," I said before proceeding to make a snow angel. "Now we can go." I grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull me up. I hopped over to him, careful not to step on my angel.

"Necessary, wasn't it?"

"Of course," I chuckled. "It was fun. You should loosen up more."

"Holly, I am not nearly as uptight as you think," he defended himself. I snorted to myself. Since The first day that I had known him, he had been a very... stuffy type of guy. If you listened to Doodah, it was because he had a stick stuck where The 'sun don't shine'.

"Prove it," I challenged.

"How?"

"Like this," I grinned, and pulled him down into The snow.

"Holly, what on earth are you doing?" he demanded in outrage. Well, it may not have been on his list of plans for today, but it wouldn't kill him.

"Shh, make a snow angel."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then, I'll just tackle you to The ground again." He looked at me, and knew that I was telling him The honest to Frond truth. He sighed, and began to wave his arms and legs awkwardly. It was seeing a sick elf having a seizure, and it made me want to laugh but I couldn't because I knew that he was trying. I laid back down and did The same, though I'd like to think that my angel was a lot more graceful.

"Finished," I grinned, proudly sitting up on The ground.

"Finally," Arty murmured, doing The same.

I stood up once again, being careful to not ruin The angel. Then I went to help him up. Surprisingly, he had already managed to stagger to his feet and had only somewhat marred his imprint. "Where are we of f to no?" he asked, his hair covered in snow, The wet strands falling into his eyes.

"You'll see," I grinned, dragging him to The gate. "Here take off your coat, scarf, and hat and put it on The rack."

We both sacrificed The warmth of The coat and hurriedly hung them up. Then, we stepped out into another area. "Welcome to early fall," I read off of The small plaque. Though I knew where everything was from after spending so much time here.

I glanced over at Arty. He was still shaking from The winter , he was cold. I just wanted to go, and throw my arms around him, but I knew that he wouldn't like it. "Come on," I giggled. "Let's get you warmed up."

"I'm quite warm," he protested. I rolled my eyes. Men, they hate to do anything that won't let them appear super 'macho'.

"Well, I'm freezing," I lied. "Let's go to sit on that bench."

"If you're that cold..." he submitted. Also know as... he's freezing and wants to warm up. I rolled my eyes again and we went to The beautiful black, wrought iron bench. I sat down on one end and he sat on The other.

"Do I stink or something?" I asked, delicately sniffing The air around me.

"Hmmm?" he murmured, enjoying The slight 'sunshine' on his face.

"I must smell if you're sitting that far away from me," I pouted.

He looked at me with a look that I don't quite know how to describe. "Of course not," he murmured, turning around to focus The full force of his mismatched eyes on me.

"Then why did you choose to sit all The way over there away from me?"

"I seem to recall that The last time that I got close to you, you pulled me down to The ground."

Well, I suppose I do remember that. Not that it should influence Arty. "Well, if I say that I'm sorry will you scoot over?"

"Perhaps... if you mean it."

"Sorry, I can only offer you an apology. I can't promise that I'll mean it," I smiled as innocently as I could.

"I suppose that'll have to do," he murmured as he sidled over to me. "Happy now?"

"Yes. Very."

"The foliage here is very nice," Artemis began by way of conversation. Ah well, at least he tries. Though it's no wonder that he has problems with girls his own age if this is how he handles those situations. No... he's probably worse then.

"Yes, it is," I said glancing up at The high oak trees. The leaves of bright orange, red, and yellow that are expected of this season.

"Have you warmed up?" I asked, still looking at The sun.

"I was not cold," he lied. Maybe it was his lying getting worse or maybe it was me.. getting better at knowing when he was lying. Either way, we were really getting to know each other better.

"Oh please, Arty. Your system's fairy for The moment. I know from experience how cold cuts through your body," I lectured. "Don't pretend for me."

"Heaven forbid." He was about to say something else, but he was quick to cut himself off.

"What were you going to say?"

"Nothing," he answered a bit too quickly even for himself.

"You can't lie to me. Just tell me."

He sighed in defeat. " I never pretend for you," he murmured and a blush sprang to his face. I blushed too. He said that he didn't have to pretend for me. Could I really be seeing The real Arty? Has I really peeled through all of The cryptic layers? There was no way that it was possible. He was too deep, and too complicated. But that wasn't strictly true. Arty had changed and was a much more open individual. Maybe he really wasn't acting anymore.

"I don't pretend for you either," I told him. "I never have been able to." I grinned up a t him. He cracked a smile at me, and I felt that he may have wanted to say something else. He seemed to be warring with himself. However, I decided to spare him some discomfort. "Why don't we move on?"

He smiled gratefully and we stood, turning and walking towards The next part of The park. As we rounded The corner to The next gate, I turned looking at The bench that held things that Artemis wouldn't or rather couldn't say.

"Rainy meadow?" he inquired, looking up at his sign. "I'll infer that it's raining on The other side of that gate."

"And you'd be correct."

"I'll also infer that there's proper rain equipment inside."

"And you'd be correct again," I nodded. Though I didn't tell him that we would not be using it. No, that was a secret that I would be keeping for The next few minutes.

"Shall we?" He pushed open The gate.

"We shall," I said entering before him.

As The name implied, it was raining. Actually raining. Probably The wrong word. No, I think I'd use The word 'pouring'. He drops were large and cool, but thankfully not sharp.

The familiar rack was sitting under on of he large, dripping trees that was situated right next to The gate. Arty was making his way towards it, but I had other plans. "No, come on," I begged.

"I will as soon as I get us The proper attire."

"No, we're already wet. let's just... have fun," I suggested, grabbing his hand.

"Holly!" he yelled, angrily. I just laughed and clutched his hand.

"C'mon!" I screamed back, taking off running and jumping. Arty was behind me struggling to keep up with me. HE had The luck of having longer legs, but I was The physically fit one. If I was meaner then, I would have sped up, but being as nice as I am, I did The were still running, but at least I wasn't dragging him along anymore. Now, we were almost running abreast.

The wind was on my face, and The rain soaking my hair and clothes. The water was cold, but it felt so good that I couldn't restrain The giggle that poured from my lips. I turned my head to look at Artemis. He was looking like he was enjoying himself. Though, he wasn't laughing yet. "Aaaartemis," I giggled when I jumped into a puddle, splashing The two of us.

"Holly,"he groaned, but I'm sure that I heard a sigh chuckle in his voice.

We continued running, with me giggling like a child and Artemis laughing occasionally. To be honest, I was surprised that he was able to keep up with this pace at all. I suppose, he really had been training his body. About time, he started. Because if I had to save his butt one more time because of his lack of physical prowess...

The two of us ran through one last, puddle before reaching The gate that led out of there. I was still laughing when I pushed it open and stepped into The next portion of The park.

"Wasn't that fun?" I asked, glancing at Arty, which just served to make me laugh even more. His black hair clung to his face and hung into his eyes, giving him The look of a drowned puppy. Said eyes were sparkling and bright. His cheeks stained red. His chest heaved as he struggled to get his breathing under control. Of course, that drew attention to how The water made his clothes cling to his body. His shirt had already been tight, but all of a sudden it was almost too clingy. Definitely too clingy.

"I refuse to answer," he panted.

"Maybe we should take a seat?" I suggested teasingly. "We wouldn't want you to keel over."

"Very funny. Where are we now?"

"The summer lands," I told him, getting a flash of how my mom used to tell me about life and men in here. It would be The best part of my day, and then She would buy me ice cream after that. "Come on. We should sit down and we'll get dry in no time."

Artemis had finally stopped gasping for air. Well, at least he wasn't going to die. "If you insist."

I led him down The 'sunny' lane that was lined with leafy, green trees. We sat down under my favorite, ancient oak that provides shade from the heat, but also allows The sunlight to cascade down through The openings in The tree's boughs. I plopped down in The thick grass, enjoying The scents that flowed around me. "What are you waiting for?" I asked, patting The ground beside me.

He stared at The ground, probably not wanting to sully his clothes. After a minute or so, he seemed to decide that it would be okay for him to sit. "Glad you decided to join me," I grinned.

"As if I had a choice," he chuckled.

I scooted a little closer, not wanting him to ever feel like that. Frond knows I went through enough of that in my teen years. "You always have a choice."

"I know that, but at times it doesn't feel like it," he sighed. A sigh. Such The typical teenaged response. Something had to be wrong with him.

"What's wrong, Artemis?" I demanded worriedly. He definitely seemed... sad. And there's nothing more that I hate to see than a sad man.

"Nothing is wrong, Holly." He continued making eye contact The entire time. Artemis... he can be so difficult. He always seems so honest, but can definitely lie when he wants and needs to. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to tell when he's lying at a time like this. The best thing to do is to bluff him out, though I'm sure that he can see right through it.

"Don't lie to me?" I hesitated unsure of how to phrase my next thought. "You're... you're not being bullied are you?" Ugh, bullies. They're some of The worst people in The world. They pick on people who are physically or emotionally weaker than them and chip away at their self-confidence. It's despicable and shows what type of person those morons really are. Oh, and if someone was going to bother Arty, they were going to have to deal with me.

ARTEMIS stared at me for a second before starting to chuckle. It wasn't his usual, hollow 'I'm-lying' chuckle. No, this was his real 'this-is-hilariously-funny' deep (nonexistent) belly laugh. "No, Holly. I assure you that I am not dealing with a bullying problem."

I looked at him skeptically. He couldn't be serious. Arty's The type of guy that you really just want to punch most of The time. That was when he was being nice, but when he wasn't...well he was impossible to say The least."You mean to say that you've never dealt with bullying?"

"A few times, of course, but I am quite able to handle myself."

Handle himself. He's scrawny to say The least and probably weighs 120 pounds when wet. Yes, I can see him holding his own. Though I suppose as a genius with a mountainous body guard, there's not much that you have to do. "What do you mean by that?" I asked, unsure.

"I'm The richest, smartest person in my school. I can deal with juvenile bullies quite easily. Besides, I am intelligent enough to know that their words mean absolutely nothing."

"I wish I had been that smart when people bullied me," I reflected. Frond knows that I had never handled things like that very well, and to be fair I probably would never do so.

"Forgive me, but I find it hard to believe that you were ever bullied by anyone." He had a point, but that's because he only saw me now. Thank Frond, he couldn't see me in Middle school.

"I was The only female in LEP training. They used me as The damsel in distress for every exercise. Basically, I was everybody's verbal punching bag."

"I am sorry. I had no idea," he apologized, scooting over so much that his thighs were now touching mine. And it didn't bother me. I didn't feel The need move away. If anything, I wanted to get closer.

"No don't worry. I'm over it," I smiled. And I was. "I passed most of those stuck up men in The ranks, and they're now my subordinates."

"Justice is always cold," he commented dryly.

"Don't I know it?" I chuckled. "But back to your little problem. Are you bored again?" Shortly after our return from The past, Artemis suffered from extreme boredom. He threw himself into science to have something to do, and nothing that anyone did had any effect. Thankfully, after a while, he found other things to occupy his time. One of those things happened to be talking to me.

"Of course I am. School is not challenging, but I would not expect it to be. My family is wonderfully normal. So, I wouldn't call it 'bored' per se."

"You know what you need?"

"No, tell me what I need," he replied sarcastically.

"You need a girlfriend," I giggled, taking savage joy in The face that he made as soon as his brain understood what my mouth had said.

"Hng," he choked out and I'm sure that if he had been drinking something then it would have been spewed out of his mouth. He took a deep breath and managed to find his voice. "I beg your pardon."

"You need a girlfriend," I repeated slowly. "I'm sure Minerva is available." No, I didn't want him to like that...or rather her if I have to be polite. Never. However, I did want to see how he really felt for her and this was one of The only ways that I could think of to do so.

"She doesn't make it a secret, does She?" he chortled. "But rest assured, I'm not at all interested in her. She's not my type."

I felt my curiosity peak. "Then what is your type?" I asked, trying to keep The vital interest out of my voice and failing miserably at it.

He leaned in close so that his lips were very close to mine. I could feel his intake of breath and knew that he was about to whisper something important. But someone haaaad to interrupt. "You two are sooo cute," a shrill feminine voice squealed, unnecessarily loud.

Artemis and I turned to face The thin pixie woman that was standing in front of us. Her professional clothes and tight chignon hair-due showed that She was probably walking through after work. "Oh no ma'am," I protested as nicely as I possibly could. Which wasn't very. "We're not a couple."

The lady chuckled, smoothing an imaginary wrinkle from her perfect outfit. "Oh pish-posh. I was young once too. I remember sneaking out here and sitting under this very tree with a young man of my own," She replied nostalgically.

"Yes ma'am, but we're just friends, right?" I asked, jabbing Arty in The side.

"Yes, we're just friends," he grunted. Oops, maybe I hit him a little too hard. Note to self: work on that. Ugh, Butler's going to kill me when he sees Arty's new collection of bruises.

"That may be true for now, but trust me, I know from experience. Don't wait until it's too late to find out how you feel for each other," She advised.

"Yes ma'am," I agreed, though I have absolutely no plans to develop any feelings for Arty ever.

She sighed deeply. "I know this'll go in one ear and out of The other, but you'll find out for yourselves eventually." Her darkened face brightened up again. "Oh, listen at me, sounding just like an old woman," She chided herself. "I would love it if you'd do me one favor?"

Of course, I was a bit wary. I didn't know this woman, but on The other hand, fairies are notoriously trusting of each other. Besides, my solider senses at The base of my skull weren't going off yet. "What kind of favor?"

"Let me take your photo? I'd like to give The two of your something."

I thought about it for a moment. What could She do with a photo. It really wasn't very serious, besides this would be a great source of hilarity later. "All right," I finally agreed.

"Good now. Get closer and put your arms around each other." Artemis sighed and scooted even closer. He draped his arm around my shoulders and held my hand with his head leant in close. "Good. Now smile, please." She may have said 'please', but I'm sure that She would not have taken no for an answer.

We complied grinning at The camera that She had pulled from around her neck. "On The count of three," She beamed. "One...two...three." And The camera's flash blinded me for a second. "There perfect. If you'll give me your address then I'll send it to you."

I sighed and quickly wrote it down for her. Now before you get antsy about me giving my address out let me say this. I didn't giver her my address. I gave her my work office address. She can still send it to me, but that way She won't know where I live. "Okay, it'll be there by tomorrow or The day after," She beamed. "I hope you two have a great rest of The day."

"You too," Arty and I said together. She smiled one final time before walking off, her heels scrunching in The gravel.

"Well, that was different," I muttered. Never had I been approached by a stranger telling how great I was for my best friend.

"Very," he agreed, and I couldn't help but feel that a shrug was empt by The lofty tone of his voice.

"What were we talking about again?"

"I believe it was your need of a boyfriend," he chuckled.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Somehow, I don't think that's what we were talking about." Ah, it was just like Arty to change The subject. After all, it had been getting somewhat awkward.

"It is now." And he was right. With such a simple maneuver he had managed to change The subject. Ugh, I wish I could do something like that.

"Good point."

"Aren't all of mine?" he preened. Nice to know that he is so humble.

"You'd like to think so," I smirked. I loved spending time with Arty, and one of The main reasons was because I was one of The only people who could bring his ego down to a tolerable level.

"Regardless. You do need a boyfriend," he continued. "I do believe that Trouble would not mind The honor and prestige of The job."

"Trouble? No thank you," I shuddered. Ugh, this was just payback because of what I said about Minerva. Nice to know that he didn't fight below The belt. "He's my commanding officer and..." I began.

"And not your type," he finished.

"Definitely not.

"Then what is your type?" he demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know? To be honest, I would like to know too. Frond knows I haven't dated enough to know. I had never found 'my special type' of guy in The throng of guys that had showed attraction. Though to be fair, most of those guys operated under the sign of 'see boobs will drool.'

"Yes," he answered shortly.

"Well, seeing as you never told me yours, I'd say that we were even."

Artemis thought for a moment before answering. "Agreed."

"Hmm," I murmured glancing back at the 'sun. It was so... warm. I could just lie down and sleep. My head unwillingly leaned down into the crook of Artemis's shoulder. I tried in vain to battle my heavy lids. "Artemis," I slurred, probably sounding like I was more drunk that tired.

"Shh Holly, I'll be here when you wake up," he promised. I tried to tell him that I wasn't tired, but it came out too garbled to be understood. I wanted to try again, but his shoulder was just too comfy.

A/N:

Whoo-hoo! Another Chapter down. I'm so sorry, but I can't update all that often with my AP classes, band stuff, and lack of working computer. So, be patient, I haven't abandoned anything, and don't plan on it.

Okay, so I hoped you enjoyed that one. I plan on updating soon. Note that this is my main focus at the moment and that I have a ton of stuff all ready written for it. Yes, the Haven parts are almost done at the moment.

So, yeah, thanks to all of my reviewers and people who added me or this story to favorites. I love you guys. Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;)

Remember: Reviews = happy camper. Happy camper = quicker updates. Quicker updates = you reading more. It's a cycle. Keep it going!