Dedicated to Athena Coral Fowl for all of her support :) hope you like a bit of a cheesy, or rather chocolatey, second part!

They should have given it more thought. Butler, I mean. The mess was much worse in the light of day that either Artemis nor Holly had thought. Butler had frowned at Artemis, telling him his sudden chocolatey madness was 'very out of character' as he watched Holly fade, laughing, in the corner of his eye. He'd pay her back for her abandonment.

Butler hadn't listened to a word of how expensive his suit was, as if he didn't really care that this was pure Italian silk, and had merely given him an apron to put on top. Bright yellow was certainly not his colour. Artemis pouted as he looked down at the smiling turtle picture,

"You're lucky you're just an illustration or I would fry you up with shrimp and make a salad dish."

"It's always cute when you damn inanimate objects," came a voice from behind him,

"Very evil super-villain of you."

Artemis turned with the mop in his hands and glared playfully,

"Super-villain's can't hold a grudge like I can."

Holly pulled open the fridge, talking as she searching through its contents,

"Oh come on, it's only a little bit of fun Arty."

Continuing to clean the remains of chocolate icing off the floor, Artemis smiled,

"It was a very…unexpected evening."

He blushed again, he could barely stop thinking about their kiss. They had spent the whole night talking but it was never mentioned again. He was so afraid that she has made a mistake and didn't want to bring it up again. He glanced at her over his shoulder, her slender frame half poking out of the fridge. Seeing her in the light, it was so much clearer now that ever; he was in love with her. At first it had been physical attraction but as their adventures continued he realized that it was so much more.

He leant the mop against the cupboard doors and pulled out a small cloth, beginning to wipe the mess from the tabletop. How does Butler manage this and his training? It's terrible, the smell is so orange I think I'm seeing in citrus.

"Artemis?"

He was lost in his thoughts now, he could barely hear her. The thought of the way she tasted, the way it felt to touch her without her pulling away. Would he ever have that feeling again? He shook his head, physically trying to scatter his thoughts away from her but they kept reassembling like an indestructible atom; an energy that moved from one form to the next in his mind. So utterly unavoidable, so completely immovable and permanent. He scrubbed a dried in piece of chocolate hard, pushing his frustration into the motion as she called to him again.

Hearing her, he turned quickly and saw her standing at the doorway holding a bag. She smiled and pushed the milk she'd taken from the fridge across the tablet to him,

"I figured we owed the twins a new cake."

She emptied the bag of goods onto the table; everything she would need for a new chocolate cake. Not questioning where she had found them, never really having seen the inside of the cupboards himself, he picked up a bowl and read the recipe on the back of the main box;

"Okay, seems simple but them again I have found that Home Economics can surprise you."

Holly nudged him and danced past, already mixing the eggs and flour into a bowl,

"Come on Artemis, is it only in the dead of night I get to see the real you?"

He blushed at thought of their kiss and grabbed a second bowl, mixing the chocolate cake mix altogether,

"I am always me Holly," he said, trying not to meet her eyes.

Leaning in close to him, Holly smiled, her bright eyes shining with the same mischief he had seen in himself last night,

"You can empty in if you want," she whispered with a wink.

"W-wha?" he stuttered his gears jamming before they whirred in his mind,

"Oh yes, dry goes into wet."

Wet. Images of her lips, her tongue, the way she tasted. He shook his head, discarding them again. No, don't think about that. Cooking is a science, you like science, pay attention to the science.

He tipped his mix into hers and she grinned, rolling them over one another as he set up the oven.

It didn't take very long to cook through, being only a small mix, and the room filled with a sweet cocoa smell as Holly pulled open the oven door. She breathed in deep and closed her eyes, slowly licking her lips as if tasting the very air around her.

"Smells great," she said,

"Always loved the smell of chocolate cake."

As she set it on the cooling rack she began to layer it with icing, slowly taking care to cover it all. She hummed as she worked and smiled at his, eyelashes long and deep setting her chocolate and crystal eyes,

"You want a taste?" she said.

Artemis blushed,

"I've had enough cake for today," he replied, composing himself, brushing down his suit again.

Holly leaned in close to him, making sure to press her body tight to his,

"I wasn't talking about the cake, Fowl," she purred.

He blinked in surprise as his lips were attacked by hers and next thing he knew she was on him on the table, the smell of sweetness and chocolate all around them. He could feel himself swelling against her and he moaned in her mouth, hot under the collar and finally truly understanding that old expression. He panted as they pulled apart and she licked his lips, staring into his warm, shy eyes,

"So where do we go from here?" she asked, looking almost afraid compared to her passion a second before.

His heart wouldn't stop pounding, he could hardly breathe now. Go? He had never felt this way before, this painful need, this fire deep in his stomach. He pulled his arms around her, holding her close and kissed her again, softer, full of things he could never say,

"I'll learn Holly," he said gently, breathing on her ear,

"I'll learn how to show you what my head says, what my heart says, if you give me the chance."

She smiled,

"I meant the cake," she laughed and hopped down from the table, reappearing with a thick slice of cake. She fed a little piece from the corner into his mouth and kissed him as he swallowed,

"Just think; if we can make a cake so sweet when we know the recipe, just think of how sweet we can make our lives when we've got nothing at all planned yet?"

His face relaxed and he licked his lip, pulling her into him,

"We can go see the world, Cairo, Hollywood, Venice, eat what we want, see what we want."

Holly smiled and tasted more of the cake,

"Taste the finest chocolate cake life has to offer."

"Sounds like we have made a plan then," he blushed and brought up the courage to kiss her, rolling his tongue so gently around hers, feeling her heart beat with his and from the doorway Butler and Juliet shook their heads as Artemis the second covered Miles' eyes,

"I'll be damned if I'm cleaned up this mess," laughed Juliet and this time she knew her brother would definitely agree.