When You Remember Me
By: AmayaNightReign (Bethany Adkins)
Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl, all names, characters, and media © Eoin Colfer 2001-2005. I gain nothing beyond enjoyment from writing this story.
Author's note: More or less just a very bittersweet idea for the very last chapter of Artemis Fowl ever. … Yeah I hate me too. Stop looking at me like that! The title was inspired by a Carrie Underwood song but this is not a songfic so fanfictionnet can stay off my back.
When You Remember Me
The embers had cooled and the ice bergs had reared their nasty heads and had at last melted from Artemis Fowl and Holly Short's most recent adventure, the adventure that history would record as their last adventure together.
This is the account of the very last conversation, the very last encounter, Artemis Fowl and Holly Short ever had that is on record:
Artemis, Holly, Mulch, Butler and Juliet were all celebrating their recent victory. Artemis was picking at a piece of cake, debating whether or not he could possibly eat such a thing and just in general deep thought. Juliet and Mulch were arguing and Butler was laughing at them, picking at his own piece of cake. Holly, however, was not her usual bubbly self, and she of course was not eating a piece of human-made cake. Instead she just sat there staring at the group, her eyes somewhere between paying perfect attention and being completely glazed over. No one noticed except Artemis but he wasn't exactly sure how to go about bringing it up without either getting punched or making her feel awkward. After a brief moment's consideration he decided that he definitely wanted neither.
Finally Juliet noticed that Holly had been very quiet for the last fifteen minutes or so and looked over at her. "What's wrong fairy girl?"
Holly stirred herself from her mind and made eye contact with Juliet. "It's… nothing," Holly paused for a moment, "I think I need some air."
"If you say so…"
Holly got up and walked out onto a large balcony, overlooking the grounds, that was generally used for semiformal entertaining by Artemis's parents.
Artemis stared after her for several minutes, the others noticed but no one made mention of it. Artemis was always staring at something thoughtfully and they were all under the impression that the boy had taken a fancy to the fairy, a rather particular one, in recent times. And though it was highly unusual for a sixteen year old boy to be smitten with an eighty-five year old elf, Artemis was a highly unusual sixteen year old boy anyway.
The wind of the Irish countryside blew through Holly's hair, against her skin, into her nose. The air was sweet at Fowl Manor. It was so big that almost none of the pollutants from what little there were in the larger part of Dublin made it there. And Dublin itself was nothing compared to the monstrosity that humanity had made of most of the earth.
Holly had grown to like it here. The cool, clear, fresh air of the surface had grown addictive. Especially with Julius gone this place felt like the most familiar place she had left. But it shouldn't be like this…
Holly's mind was spinning with questions, questions for herself, for Artemis, for Julius, for the gods that be, for nearly everything she knew.
She and Artemis had made incredible leaps and bounds in their level of cooperation and understanding, as had she and Mulch since they had been working together. But it was different with Artemis. Something had changed between them and it made Holly feel very unsettled. She had grown to… like the Mud Boy.
She's always liked him in some form she supposed but it was so strange now. When she looked at him she didn't see a snot-nosed little mud weasel anymore. When she looked at him she saw him for what she had always known him to be, a neat, clean, highly intelligent person; for some reason that scared her. There was a certain level of disdain that any sane person needed to hold for Artemis Fowl the Second.
She heard the latch of the French doors open and the sound of an Armani loafer touch down. She turned around quickly as though she were a child with its hand caught in the cookie jar. "Artemis," she scolded, "You scared me."
Artemis ignored her, a smug grin forming on his face as he walked across the balcony to the edge near where Holly was standing. "Nice night isn't it?"
Holly leaned her back against the wrought iron railing and looked over at him half glaringly, "Yes… it is."
The evening mist began to settle over the grasses, through the trees and gardens. There was a long moment of silence that seemed to pass tangibly between the two, as Artemis faced the open horizon and Holly faced the wall. She looked intently at his profile from the corner of her eye. In the moonlight his skin looked like polished ivory, or like a vampire, Holly wasn't sure which, nor did she bother pondering it. His lips were slightly fuller than the average male's but were still thin enough to perfectly mimic a vampire when he gave that infuriating and bone chilling smile. His eyes were a haunting, deep blue, like the ocean, above them his thin, perfectly groomed black eyebrows. Above one of his eyes Holly noticed a tiny, barely noticeable scar that she'd never noticed before. But then, that wasn't surprising since she'd never taken to studying the boy and it was only then that she began to wonder why she was studying him now.
Then she realized, with a crushing realization that mimicked a landslide, what her heart had known before her brain ever began to process it. She was looking at him, memorizing him, casting his features in stone in some deep recess of her consciousness, preparing to say goodbye. Goodbye for, truly, the last time.
She stared for a moment longer, until she felt a burning feeling form behind her eyes. She looked through the French doors long enough to collect herself, long enough to concentrate on the perfectly happy image of Butler, Juliet and Mulch at the table. She forced the burning feeling back down where it came from and then cast her eyes back toward Artemis, looking this time directly at him.
"Artemis?"
"Yes?" He looked at her.
"I… have to talk to you about something."
"Yes?" he asked again.
Holly opened her mouth to speak but had to look away, down at the floor before she could get a sound to come.
"I'm afraid that…"
"What is it Holly?" Artemis asked, his patience wearing slightly.
Holly cleared her throat. 'Stop it you gibbering idiot,' she thought. 'It has to be done so do it already.'
One more moments pause and just as Artemis opened his mouth to urge her yet again she began to speak, "I'm afraid that this will be the last time you and I ever see each other."
Artemis nearly laughed, "How many times have you thought that it would be the last time you'd see me now?"
"Artemis… I'm serious this time. This time it's not because of my obligation to the LEP or a mind wipe or anything like that. It's just… I think it's best… it's time you and I both moved on."
"Moved on from what? Having excursions in saving life as we know it?"
Holly rounded on him, her voice reaching a tone and pitch that only one person ever brought out of her, "Artemis, don't play dumb."
Artemis really was dumbfounded. "Don't play dumb about what?"
"This," Holly growled, "Us…"
"Yes, very nice recital of English pronouns, but what exactly is the subject matter here?"
"Artemis! You're being ridiculous or there's absolutely no way you're as smart as you lead everyone to believe. The dynamic in this… relationship of ours… has changed very much."
"Your point is?"
Holly took a deep breath. She had to bite several bullets in sequence so the sooner she started biting the sooner it'd be over. She looked him square in the eye and spoke as emphatically and confidently as she could. "Artemis. I don't look at you the way I used to anymore. I think about you… far too much. When I hear your voice I actually long to hear it again, your eyes are like they're constantly mesmerizing me, your body looks flawless to me, and I feel absolutely no contempt for you at all anymore and am positively sure that I would die for you!"
Artemis stared at her in blank surprise. She just stared right back with the intensity of flames.
After a moment she looked at the floor and crossed her arms, "And if you ask me that's definitely not healthy."
Artemis blinked. "So… you… are… attracted to me in some way and ergo you want to never see me again?"
"Basically."
"Why?" Artemis looked almost disappointed, though he tried to hide it.
"Because, Artemis." Holly walked away from the railing and paced back and forth from it, halfway to the door and back. "Being around you and feeling like this makes me feel like a complete idiot and I can't help anyone like this and it's not like we're the only two people who could do what we do…"
"Holly… I… really don't mind it."
"I know! That's the point. The fact that you don't mind it is why it makes this impossible."
"What 'this'?"
"Our… partnership."
"Hermione and Ron-"
"Artemis Fowl references a children's book…? Now…?"
"It's not exactly a children's book…and it's a series…" Artemis said peevishly.
Holly looked into Artemis's eyes and faced him squarely. She reached out and tenderly touched his arm. He looked at her hand, then back into her eyes, a bit confused.
"Artemis-." She sniffed a little, a single tear falling down her cheek. She looked into his eyes again, her eyes brimming with a myriad more. "When you remember all we've been through… all we did for our respective peoples…and for the people we love… I want you to remember that if you never do anything else worthwhile it all your life that those things you can be proud of."
She rubbed down his arm with her hand, stroking it a few times, memorizing the feel of his skin, and finally gripping his hand tightly. "Thank you… if not for you I… wouldn't be half the person I am now. Even if through pain at times you made me grow more than anyone else I can think of. And I'm…sorry that I have to do this… but this has to be goodbye. There's a thousand things that you can do… that I'm sure you're meant to achieve, but you can't do that when you're tied down to a world that is only fantasy for the rest of humankind. Just promise me… that you won't let us…me… this… hold you back."
Artemis gripped her hand to, intertwining her fingers with his. "Holly-," he said pleadingly.
"Artemis, don't." She touched her other hand to his lips and they both closed their eyes for a brief moment.
Holly opened hers first and swallowed hard. She pulled her hand away and leaned up, even though she did have to tip to pretty much as much as she could, and kissed him squarely on the lips, her lips lingering there tenderly.
He opened his eyes like he'd just been struck by lightning. And the likelihood of this happening to him yesterday or any other time in his past would have been about the same likelihood of him being struck by lightning. But today things were different. He decided to return her kiss, because it felt right and it just might make her decide to stay.
Holly deepened the kiss, pouring four and a half years worth of frustration, worry, anger, fear, passion and love into one moment in time that would be immortalized in both their memories forever.
Though she didn't want to there came a time when she knew she had to pull away and so she did. She looked into his eyes for a moment in silence and they both absently fiddled with the other's fingers.
"Promise?" Holly asked.
"I-… I promise."
"Thank you." Holly smiled.
"Do you really have to go?" Artemis asked, his eyes looking like the little boy that in a different time, a different place, a different life, he might have been.
Holly looked down sadly, "I don't want to but…y-yes…"
Artemis, on impulse, took Holly into his arms and hugged her more tightly than he'd ever hugged anyone. He felt tears coming down like a flood, suddenly and without warning. "Thank you…so…so much."
Holly hugged him back but couldn't think of anything to say so instead after several long moments she merely let go of him, looked into his eyes one more time and said, "Goodbye…"
With that she turned away, put up her magical shield, and as she faded into a merely indistinct shape of stars she whispered, "I love you, Artemis Fowl."
Artemis heard her open the gate on the side of the balcony and walk lightly down the steps, but just barely, since she didn't have a set of wings with her. And he was glad she didn't. "I love you too," he said. And he was never sure if she had heard him say it. But he determined that he would keep his promise.
A/N: Did they ever have another encounter that whoever the mystery writer was didn't know about? Or was that truly the end of the Artemis Fowl and Holly Short duo forever? Or did my story utterly suck? You decide. If I get the inspiration I might write a follow up but as it stands now this is a one shot. Do you, my readers, think it should stay that way?
dodges tomatoes, pies, acorns, neutrinos and various other projectiles I know… it was way too sappy. Review anyway…please?
By the way Agi, that Ron/Hermione reference was done with you in mind! And Darla and Agi… I promise I'll catch up on my reading soon.