A/N: Welcome to my innocent 5+1 fic. It's cheesy, fluffy, and just plain OOC - just like any crappy fanfiction. (I gotta say, it's tons of fun to write.) Enjoy!

Chapter One: Inside Your Mind

Artemis woke with a surprisingly good start to his day. The gentle, easy smirk he held as he walked around the manor was a shock to Butler and his brothers. It was so uncharacteristic of Artemis to be smiling, one would think he was a delusional fool.

After all, most genii usually were.

Artemis strolled into the kitchen, a little spring in his step.

"Good morning, Butler."

Butler looked up from the stove to greet Artemis. "Something's gotten you in high spirits," he said.

"Yes, my patent for the solar battery is nearly complete. I only need to finalize the details within the phosphorus coating before I present it to the UN."

He shook his head, too used to the boy's tactics.

"You're not telling me everything, Artemis. Is it something personal?"

"You know me too well, old friend. However, you are correct," he said, smiling as he sat down. He grabbed a cup of steaming earl grey, the scent familiar and comfortable.

"It's Holly, isn't it?" If Artemis didn't know better, he would've spat the tea out. On the surface, his eyes only widened a fraction, but it wasn't unnoticed by Butler.

"Seems like I hit the mark," said Butler, smiling inwardly.

"You never missed anyway, old friend."

" I try, Artemis."

Once Artemis had thanked Butler for the meal, he went into the living room to play with the twins. Myles was trying to emulate his brother, for his wooden blocks transformed into a near-perfect replica of Fowl Manor, albeit without a few details. Beckett, however, was performing a theatrical rendition of Angry Hamster vs. Hungry Troll. His blocks were strewn about, getting smashed together, torn apart, and eaten. Artemis assumed that spit wasn't the only thing covering the blocks.

"Arty!" They shouted, jumping up to give him a heartwarming hug. Beckett displayed remarkable athleticism for his age, launching himself up to Artemis's shoulders.

"Hello Beckett, Myles." He glanced at the chaos around him. "I see you two have been busy with work. Perhaps you two would like to finger paint?"

The twins looked at Artemis and bobbed their heads furiously. After making Beckett put the wooden blocks away, they got the supplies out and poured out the paint and protected the floors with newspapers. Artemis didn't want to underestimate Beckett's power of causing a mess wherever he set foot. The boy was known to track dirt, mud, bodily fluids, and other various substances throughout the manor.

Artemis rolled his sleeves up and was about to begin his project before his fairy communicator rang. There was only one person who called him this way, and needless to say, he couldn't have been happier. Perhaps this was the excitement he felt earlier.

"Just a minute, boys." Beckett took this as an invitation to start painting, though that was the least of Artemis's worries now.

He excused himself out of the room and picked up the call, his palm flat in front of him.

"Arty?" She said.

Artemis smiled at the projection. "It's great to see you, Holly." His eyes crinkled at the corners. He was smiling like an idiot again.

"How have you been? Has anything happened in Haven?"

"Eh, it's been the same as usual. Paperwork, Trouble, annoying recruits. To think that I was a recruit once," she said.

"Well, I'm sure you were just as irritating. It's merely a taste of karma. I've had my fair share of it over the years."

"All bad, I hope," said Holly. All while smiling at him like a fool as well.

And he loved every second of it.

"Your faith in me is astounding, Major Short."

Damn. He felt confident, as if anything couldn't bother him. Karma be damned, it wasn't going to ruin his mood today. Maybe today's the day to confess-

"I have something to tell you," they blurted simultaneously.

"You go first, Holly," he said, ever the gentleman. Though he was still smiling, he felt the corner of his lips pull back slightly.

Holly continued. "Well... there's some urgent police business underground. And you're kind of the only person that can help us."

"Naturally," he said.

"Shut it, mud boy. Trouble's yelling at me to hurry up."

Well, I guess my confession can wait, he thought. "I see."

"Be down at Tara by midnight, and I'll bring you down to Haven. I'll brief you on everything in the shuttle and we'll decide on our plan."

"And you're piloting, I assume?"

"Is that a question, mud boy?"

D'arvit.

A/N: Constructive criticism is encouraged! Feel free to leave any opinions or thoughts as a PM or review. My chapter titles all have a theme, so try and guess where this one came from. This one's pretty easy, though.