The creaking of a window long resigned to being shut and locked and a crystal voice woke Artemis from his sleep. At first, he thought it might be the fractured remnants of a dream still hovering about his mind and it struggled to detangle itself from his subconscious, but when it didn't cease, Artemis slid from under his mink blankets and padded across his room, opening his door a fraction.

The voice was singing. Obviously whoever this was had no regard for stealth. How they had navigated the Manor's alarm systems was a matter that would have to be dealt with.

Artemis pressed down on the concealed button built into the ring he wore in his index finger, keeping his thumb depressed for three seconds. That would trigger a signal to Butler to attend to Artemis's location. Artemis waited for his bodyguard to appear, but when he did not, a prickle of worry worked its way into Artemis's throat.

Had this thief disengaged Butler? Torn, Artemis hovered in his doorway, before deciding he was wasting precious moments in which the intruder could be preparing to access the Manor's wireless network and siphon his patents. He had only finished the Micro-Edec the night before. Damned if someone was going to waltz into the Manor and steal it from him while he lingered in his bedroom, indecisive.

Thunder crashed overhead, disguising Artemis's footsteps as he approached the room he had heard the song trickle from. The lightning's echo cleared and he could hear their voice again. Alto, singing a melody obviously more suited to a soprano register. But pretty nonetheless.

Artemis opened the door a little to peer through. A flash of red hair and a grey flight suit forced him to roll his eyes. Pushing the door open, Artemis stood in the frame, leaning against it, his arms crossed loosely, smirking at the elf. She had yet to notice him.

'---Can't go on! Everything I had is gone, stormy weather…' She spun around to see him standing there and gaped a little.

'Artemis!' she exclaimed, flinging her arms around him. 'It's brilliant to see you.' She paused, stepping away, abruptly all business. 'Now, if you'd just hand it over, maybe we can conduct some civilised conversation before I have to head back.'

'Happy birthday, incidentally,' Artemis intoned as he crossed to the safe behind Holly and entered the code that would unlock the system. She made a face at him. 'How did you know it was in here?'

'The magic you stole from us set it off like a beacon.' She looked smug.

Artemis hit enter, then frowned at the keypad of the safe. 'This is odd. It does not appear to be opening.'

'Haha, Artemis, just open it before I have to incapacitate you.' She blinked once and realisation re-arranged her features from irritation to sheepishness. 'Oh!' Holly bent down to retrieve her helmet from where she had dropped it on the floor, and fiddled with a discrete panel. It beeped three times. 'Try again,' she advised. 'Foaly put a scrambling device in the helmet so I could get past the alarm systems.'

'I will have to see to that,' Artemis replied, re-entering the code. He pulled open the re-enforced door and withdrew a small green velvet bag. Carefully, he unstrung the bag and tipped two small stone objects into his hand.

Holly smirked. 'Ley-stones. Mined from the ley-lines of Tara. Tricky, but not nearly enough.'

'Only one of them is a ley-stone,' Artemis informed her, indicting the larger of the two stones. 'The other is your birthday present.'

Holly took the smaller of the two, a pearly white tear-drop, and twisted it between her fingers. 'A moonstone.' She looked up at him, puzzled. 'How--?'

'Legally.' She glared at him. 'Honestly,' he clarified, remembering that she knew about his recent twisting of Irish law that allowed him to facilitate a number of questionable schemes.

'It's beautiful,' Holly whispered, curling her fingers over it almost possessively. Her face softened as she looked at him again. 'Thank you, Artemis. This means a lot. Especially since no one underground even remembered… 'Cept Foaly,' she amended.

'I would sing you the traditional song, but I doubt my singing voice is as astounding as yours,' he said, grinning a little. Holly flushed red and put one palm over her mouth.

'You heard that? Egh.'

Artemis hooked his fingers through hers and pulled her hand away from her face. 'Now, don't do that.'

'I don't like people hearing me sing,' she grumbled.

Artemis laughed. 'Do you like to sing?'

She shrugged, non-committal, then nodded slightly.

'Then you should not repress it. Repression of aspects of self leads to an unhealthy habit of doing so, which can progress to severe psychological stunting.'

Holly fixed him with an odd look, as if she was trying to ascertain his degree of sincerity. 'That's ironic, coming from you.'

'Excuse me?' Artemis stressed the second syllable as he had heard Juliet do. Holly collapsed into a fit of laughter.

'You're lecturing me about repression?' Artemis had to admit Holly was quite possible the least repressed person he knew. Butler and Juliet were trained to estrange their emotions. Artemis had spent his whole life trying to avoid them. But here this elf was doubled over in hysteria… and still managing to look courageous and beautiful.

Artemis straightened his features deliberately, attempting to mask the effect that thought had on him. He did believe Holly was brave, yes, and pretty. But he should not be thinking that while simply observing her. Those words were for deeper moments. But he could not keep them out of his head. Which was unfortunate because words were leading to actions.

'You're repressing something right now,' Holly accused him, jabbing her finger into his chest. The contact would have made Artemis jump, had he not such a tight rein on himself.

The room they were standing in was the Japanese lounge. Holly, with a dismissive wave of her hand crossed the room to perch on the edge of the low, cushioned (though backless) cedar bench. She had sat in the centre of it, so Artemis chose to stand rather than upset symmetry. Or, because he did not want to lead himself into temptation. One of the two.

Holly looked up at him. 'You're still doing it. Hypocrite.'

'Your singing would not cause irreparable damage to anything or anyone. What I am repressing may.'

Holly rolled her eyes at his defence. 'How long have you been harbouring the urge to damage me then?'

'Not you.' Artemis fought the urge to sigh.

'Oh, so you want to wreck some Oriental furniture?' she asked, her voice twisting with sarcasm.

'Perhaps it would cause irreparable damage to our friendship?' Artemis suggested lightly.

Holly smiled a little now. 'You've already kidnapped me. I don't think anything could put much of a strain on our friendship, Artemis.' Her smile changed a little, less laughter more imploring. 'Please?'

He took a deep breath. 'You must not, if I do this, hold it against me, or even act as if it ever happened.'

Holly's brow crinkled. 'You're beginning to worry me, Arty. Do it before I change my mind.'

Artemis knelt in front of her, able now to stare perfectly levelly into her eyes. Had that eye been so blue when I owned it? Very carefully, he took her pointed chin between the crook of his index finger and thumb. She had to know now. Gently, he ran his other hand through her hair and around to the back of her neck, resting it there, applying the slightest pressure. Why wasn't she turning away—

She leaned into him as he leaned into her, and instead of brushing lips lightly as Artemis had intended, they were kissing intimately. Far more intimately that Artemis intended, far less than he wanted. Balanced on that precarious consideration, he slipped his arms down to be around her waist as she moved hers to link around his neck. Sometime, they stopped kissing and she laid her cheek to his chest.

'Artemis, I would really like to hold this against you,' she murmured. 'Because if I don't you might not do it again.'

Artemis smiled into her hair, breathing in her smell. 'If I'm allowed to hold it against you…'