A/N: WOW. That is really all I can say. This fic is 2 chapters long, and it already has more reviews than my longest HP one... wow. Have to see if I can find the time to get any done during NaNoWriMo. Because all this encouragement... wow. It really makes me feel all fuzzy inside. I LOVE YOU GUYS :breaks into big soppy sobs:
Review time!
Dragon Rider Taiyo: Manerva...hee hee. But I agree with you. Not enough people have read it, and Artemis and Minerva are just too alike. I hate her.
Catslove17: Yup!
tigster5: Hehe... there's even more fluff coming... soon... :evil cackle:
Simmetra: Yeah, we can blame it all on the magic XD The tartan pyjamas thing is kind of a semi-injoke, a friend of mine and I were thinking about Artemis in lingire, then we started thinking about all the character's pyjamas... apparently, Holly sleeps nude. not in this fanfic, though, that'd just be bizarre.
Lugian-Holly Before Swine: Heh... I've been looking for a way to throw naked!Holly at Artemis for quite some time.
Fiona: Hehe... I want them too. We should raid Butler's pyjama drawer together. Luv you too!
Annie-morphs: Heh... it confused me a little too, but it was all I could think of. Yeah, I love fuzzy completely clean scenes too. They just make you want to squee.
BlueGreenGrey: Mwahaha. Now that would be telling, wouldn't it?
hollybridgetpeppermint: haha... most T-rated fanfics aren't too bad. And I'm not planning any Rocky Horror Picture Show-style orgies, so you should be safe. Mmm... underwater orgy. And yes, I think I will join. Minerva will DIE! Or Eoin will. One or t'other. I really prefer the former, because then there would be no more AF books.
fudgeandbrownies: I will :D thank you!
I rock 5.0: I suppose that's a valid argument, but it's still a pretty cool pairing.
ckontowderdon32: I will... )
midnightwaters: Yeah, I suppose, but he's just... I don't like him. Don't ask me why.
fluffyrachel: haha, love the name! hehe, the pyjamas will rule the world... mwahaha.
Slinky-and-the-BloodyWands: Heh thanks!
anonymous: Hey hey! It's only been a week! I won't be able to post at all next month - be patient! Glad you like it so much though :)
InuhanyouLafiel: Thankya
On with the story! (I've decided to keep up with the tantalising dream sequences; they're so much fun to write.)
italics: Dream sequence from Character POV
'marked italics': Thought from character POV
Normal: Normality from third person POV
When Artemis Lost His Brain - Brainache and Heartache on Day 1.
Artemis woke up the next morning, wondering if last night had happened. He elected to use a different bathroom, before heading down to breakfast, his mind back on the problem of hiding Holly's species. Butler had elected not to mention last night at all, though Artemis was sure he had seen him smiling as he made toast and porridge for breakfast. When Holly finally emerged, she was still in her nightshirt, yawning and stretching.
"Morning, Artemis." She mumbled, slipping into her seat. "Sleep well?" She smiled slightly at him.
Artemis nodded curtly. "Rather well, asides from that... rather strange dream." It was true. Artemis had slept very well when he had finally returned to bed. "You?"
"Yeah, I didn't wake up screaming in the night or anything." She winked, grinning.
Artemis laughed. "That's good. Otherwise I might happen to wake up and think you were in trouble." He grinned right back at her, and felt something spark right between his eyes. He blinked, and was about to say "ouch", when it was followed up by a massive headache that felt like it was splitting his head in half. Artemis groaned, grabbing his head. "Owwww." He moaned.
Butler poked his head out from the kitchen, then dropped the piece of toast he was carrying and crossed the room faster than the average man can blink. "Artemis? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, checking Artemis' vital signs. Nothing seemed to be wrong; just an elevated heart rate.
"Head hurts..." Artemis groaned, trying to control his breathing. Butler went to get some panadol.
Holly dropped out of her seat, reaching up to rub Artemis' back. "What triggered it? Or does this happen all the time?"
"No... felt like something stung my brain..." He managed to say, before the pain took over, and Butler returned with the painkillers.
"Here, Artemis, take this." He held it out, and Artemis managed to swallow. Butler then carried Artemis back to bed, and left him to get better in a quiet environment.
000
I sat up; I was in a field filled with flowers. It was quiet and picturesque; the only sound was the birds chirping, and the bees buzzing around collecting honey. I stood up, stretching my arm muscles, and there she was.
Her almond skin was set off perfectly by the white dress blowing in the breeze; her short auburn hair was moving slightly in the direction of the wind... She was facing away from me, holding a bouquet of flowers. When she spoke, she didn't face me, and it was in a voice filled with longing.
"It's started."
"What has?" I asked, moving towards her slightly. The sun went behind a cloud, and I was chilled by a deep coldness.
"The process. You have to hurry. You will lose it if the prophecy is not fulfilled."
"What prophecy? What will I lose?" I asked, hurrying towards her now.
"You will have to do the rest yourself." She concluded sadly. I grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her around to face me.
There were tears running down Holly Short's cheeks as she kissed me, and ended my dream.
000
Artemis woke up covered in a cold sweat, but at least his headache was gone. He walked shakily to the bathroom, remembering to lock both doors before stumbling into the shower. Once inside, he turned on the water, and washed away the sweat.
Artemis left the shower once he felt awake, and had stopped wobbling. He got dressed, and went back downstairs to find Holly sitting at the table, finishing lunch.
"Artemis!" She cried happily, almost spilling her soup. "Are you feeling better?" She looked at him worriedly, scrutinising to see if he was better.
Artemis smiled weakly. "I'm feeling a better, just a little strange." He sat down in his seat, running a hand through his hair.
Holly punched him on the shoulder. "That's good. It'd kinda stink if you were sick the whole time I was here." She grinned.
Artemis smiled back. "Yeah. Hopefully I won't be sick for the rest of the week..."
000
But they had all forgotten something very important. Artemis' parents were due back any minute, and they still hadn't found a way to hide Holly's ears. Artemis didn't even think of it until he heard the door opening, and his parents calling; "Arty? Are you home? We're back!"
Artemis leapt up, looking around, almost at the point of panicking. "Um... yeah! Just a second!" He looked around the room quickly, spotting a hat. "Put this on over your ears!" He handed it to Holly, who jammed it onto her head just before Angeline entered the dining room.
"Arty! Who's this? A friend of yours from school?"
Artemis shook his head. "This is Holly. She's an old friend, and needed a place to stay for a week. I said she could have the spare room next to mine for awhile."
Mrs. Fowl smiled. "Well that's lovely! It's wonderful to meet you Holly, I'm Artemis' mother."
Holly nodded. "Nice to finally meet you. Artemis speaks of you often." She smiled politely, shaking Angeline's hand.
Angeline beamed. "That's so nice... Arty, your father is putting the twins to bed. They've had a hard day. Why don't you and your friend go out and see the town for a little while? It can't be good for you, being cooped up in here all day."
Artemis nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, mother." He smiled, and obliged when Angeline gestured for him to hug her. Then he and Holly located Butler, and the three of them drove off towards the town.
000
"Ooh! This place is so picturesque!" Holly grinned, looking around. Butler had driven them to a nearby village, with maybe a hundred inhabitants, and plenty of quaint little shops.
Artemis smiled, looking around. "It is, isn't it. I haven't been here in ages... Not since before father disappeared."
"Artemis?" Holly asked, turning to him in a random moment of thought. "Why do you always call them father and mother? It's so emotionless... you might as well be talking about someone you've never met."
Artemis was surprised. "In case you hadn't noticed, emotionless tends to be my style. Besides, 'mum' and 'dad' sound so infantile... that's what the twins call them. And they still call me 'Artyis'."
Holly laughed slightly at the thought of Artemis putting up with being called Artyis. "Well you don't seem all that emotionless anymore... You've changed a lot, even if you haven't noticed. You seem fairly average emotionwise to me." She shrugged, then smirked slightly. "You certainly were emotional enough to watch me sleep for at least half an hour last night... I'm very good at pretending." She placed a hand on her hip, eyeing him, and for the first time Artemis noticed Holly's body. Before he had only seen her in a slinky jumpsuit which was lovely, certainly, but now she looked amazing. She was wearing loose jeans which hugged her hips loosely, and followed the lines of her legs, and a fitted tee shirt with some gnommish text on, which Artemis could translate as 'Haha, you can't read me.'
He smiled slightly. "Nice shirt, by the way. Though I think I can read it."
She grinned sheepishly. "Foaly gave me it... He said it'd be a laugh." She shrugged. "I suppose most people will just think it's a pattern or something."
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Artemis nodded, and gestured to the quaint little street. "So what do you want to do? There's not much here..."
"We could grab some food and have a picnic?" She suggested. "Just nothing dead. Remember that I don't eat animals."
Artemis nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. And nothing dead."
000
Three hours later, Artemis, Holly, and Butler were watching the sun set from a beautiful hill. Holly had insisted on getting a bottle of champagne to celebrate her holiday, and both she and Artemis were tipsy, while Butler had acted the designated driver, and taken the bottle away after they appeared tipsy. Technically, he shouldn't have let Artemis drink, but the boy had seemed determined, so Butler let him be. Just this once couldn't hurt, and, after all, it was a special occasion.
"Here's to holidays!" Holly laughed, toasting Artemis with a glass of juice.
Artemis smiled tipsily, clinking glasses and drinking. The change in him was apparent; he had taken off his suit jacket and tie, and was even wearing a couple of buttons on his shirt loose - he blamed it on the heat. Which was an excuse anyone present could see through - it wasn't as hot as it could get in summer, and even then Artemis always wore his suit, even if he was sweating like crazy.
"Are you two ready to go home yet?" Butler asked, emerging from a small miniature forest nearby, which he had been checking for possible assasins.
"No way, the sun hasn't even set yet." Holly grinned, lurching to her feet. "C'mon Artemis, let's go check that forest thingy out. I'm getting bored sitting here drinking juice." She dragged a laughing Artemis off, and the two of them headed off into the forest. Butler smiled thoughtfully, wondering, not for the first time since Holly had arrived, what was happening between those two.
000
"Hey! You can see the sunset from this clearing!" Holly called. She was sitting on a stump in a small clearing that overlooked the blazing orange sunset.
Artemis stumbled into the clearing. "Hey! You're right!" He grinned. "This is nice!" He sat down on the ground next to Holly's stump and lay back, staring lazily out at the sunset.
"This is really nice, hmmm." Holly smiled, slipping onto the ground and scooting over to Artemis. "Almost romantic." She giggled somewhat nervously.
"Yeah..." Artemis said absently, before it got through to him, and he started thinking. 'Romantic... Is that how I feel about Holly? What DO I think of her? What do I feel?' He struggled with his feelings, but it was just too hard to drop the emotionless shell, especially while drunk, and so he let it go. For now.
000
Butler followed Holly and Artemis into the forest about ten minutes after they did. He knew that his constant presence was probably driving them crazy by now, but he had to be around. That was his job. He entered a clearing overlooking the last flares of sunset to find Holly and Artemis fast asleep, huddled together in a tangle of limbs and clothes. When he gently tried to separate them, they clung tighter, so he gently carried both of them back to the car and, eventually, decided to let them both sleep in Artemis' bed tonight. That shouldn't be too bad, right?
A/N: Yep, there it is, if you're lucky I'll be inspired to do some more before NaNo, it's not toooo far away... but I think I can crap out another chapter by then :D And now I've added tantalising hints and things... yes, I actually have a plot! MWAHA! And here you thought this would just be one of those random fluffy fics. Nuh-uh.
REVIEW! I LOVE YOU ALL!