Chapter Text
"Are you sure you're all packed?"
"Yeah."
"You have enough warm clothes?"
"Yep."
"And all your books and things?"
"Yes, Angeline."
"And enough underwear-?"
"Angeline!" Viola half laughed, half yelped.
"What?" Artemis's mother folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. "It's important!"
"Yes, I know," Viola replied, zipping the last of no less than four suitcases. "I'm packed, Angeline, I swear...and we're still going to go through this again tomorrow morning," she added under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" She flashed her brightest smile. Then she brushed her hair out of her face--she had to use both hands, her ponytail was not behaving--and sighed. "That's that, then," she murmured, worrying her lower lip as she looked over her now distinctly empty room.
"Oh, I still can't believe you're leaving."
Viola looked over at Angeline. She smiled and waved her hand. "I mean, I believe you're leaving, it just feels strange. You're part of our family now, it seems odd that you're going away."
Viola swallowed hard past the lump in her throat and moved into the older woman's embrace. "I'll be back soon," she said with only slightly forced cheer, not sure if it was for her benefit or Angeline's. "As often as I can, I promise."
Her foster mother laughed, stroking her hair as she pulled away. "Yes, of course. Even if you tried to stay away, your siblings would drag you back here before long." She laughed too, nodding in agreement. "Well, go on, then," Angeline said after a moment, shooing her toward the door. "You don't leave until the morning; go spend some time with the others, maybe go for a ride. Go on, scoot!"
Chuckling and nodding, Viola slipped out into the hallway and made her way downstairs, shooting Lizzie a quick text as she did. The familiar walk to the stable was a blur and soon enough she was in the stall with Shatan. He lipped at her pockets, searching for treats, which of course she obliged with a carrot and some apple slices.
"Hey, Vi, what's up?"
She turned to see her sister leaning on the bottom door of the stall. "What's up," she replied, "is you grabbing Dream's saddle and getting your ass in it."
The younger girl groaned theatrically and Viola shot her a look. "Oi, I'm not gonna be able to give you lessons at university, we're making the most of it while I'm still here."
Lizzie opened her mouth as if to give a sharp retort, then suddenly shut it again. An odd look came over her face and she nodded. "Yeah…yeah okay. There's some extra breeches in the tack room right?"
Viola blinked, a little surprised by the sudden change. "Um, yeah." Then, as her sister was leaving, she felt the melancholy, the worry, the looming loneliness in the air she stirred. Oh. I'm an idiot, she realized, hands stilling against the red stallion's neck. She chewed her lip, debating whether or not to go after the other girl.
"She's gonna miss you."
"Christ!" She yelped and Shatan snorted, ears flattening at the young man who had just shimmered into the visible spectrum in the stable aisle. She glowered. "Really, Sam, what the bloody hell?"
He shrugged. "I was gonna give you both a scare, then things got all heavy."
Viola shook her head at him. "You should know better. If you spook my horse I'm not responsible for your broken bones."
Sam half smiled. "Yeah, I know. Another reason I was rethinking my original plan." He sidled up to the stall door, giving Shatan a wary look. After a moment he mumbled. "We really are gonna miss you, you know."
"Stop that." She gestured at him with the curry comb she had grabbed before getting into the stall. "If you all get emotional, I'll get emotional, and then it'll just be a big old mess. Besides, it's not like I'm leaving for good."
"Right." The smile her brother gave her was only slightly forced. Before either of them could say anything else Liz reappeared, now properly attired for riding.
"Oh, hey, Sam." She smiled. "Vi drag you into a lesson too?"
Sam chuckled. "No way. In fact, I may just go grab Connor so we can have a good laugh."
Lizzie glared and called him a few names that made Viola grin despite herself.
A few hours and a shower later, Viola tripped her way lightly across the foyer, barefoot and humming softly. She was quite pleased with herself- she'd managed to get all three of her siblings on a horse, and Sam and Liz were coming along alright. Didn't flop around as much as they used to anyway.
"You seem cheerful."
She spun on her toe to see Artemis standing in the doorway to the parlor, arms folded over his chest and smiling slightly. She smiled in return, making her way toward him. "Do I?" she asked coyly. "Must be the light."
He rolled his eyes, chuckling as he looped his arms around her waist. "Must be." He dropped a kiss to her forehead, thumbs rubbing softly and rhythmically against her sides, a habit he'd developed--she wasn't sure when--that she rather liked. "How are you feeling?" he asked after a moment, winter eyes searching her face.
Her stomach tightened with sudden anxiety. She smiled. "Fine. Good."
Artemis sighed. "I may not to be able to read emotion the way you do, but I know you're lying."
She made a face at him. "Alright, yes. I'm…nervous, I guess. I shouldn't be--I mean, with everything I've gone through this should be easy, right? It's just…" she trailed off, frowning and biting at her lip.
Artemis's long fingers slid under her chin, tilting her head up so he could meet her eyes. "Just what?"
She didn't want to tell him. It was silly, and childish. But she knew that look, and she knew he wouldn't let it go. "I'm gonna miss them. Sam and Liz and Connor. It makes us anxious, being apart after...after what happened." That wasn't all of it and he knew it. And she knew that he knew it. So she sighed and gave in. "And I-- we--well we haven't been...it seems like we've been together since--"
Thank God he understood, she didn't want to actually have to say it out loud. "Oh." His thumbs stilled against her sides. Then his embrace tightened, pulling her against his chest. "Yes. I suppose it will be…strange to be apart, after spending so much time together…" Softly, hesitantly, his head came down to rest on hers.
"It's stupid," she muttered into his chest. "I mean, of course I'll miss you, but it's not like I'll even be that far away, and I'll come home all the time--" She was suddenly cut off by his lips pressing firmly against hers.
"I'll miss you too," he whispered when he pulled back for a breath. His mouth was still just above hers, his bottom lip brushing her top with every word. She shivered. "I've been trying not to think about it actually." His fingers wrapped in the hem of his shirt as she pressed herself closer to him. "I understand what you mean…it feels childish, but..."
Now it was her turn to silence him with a kiss. She slanted her bottom lip across his, suddenly hungry for warmth, for touch. "You know," she whispered when they broke apart, breathing suddenly a bit ragged, "I've just got an idea that doesn't seem the least bit childish to me…"
He claimed her mouth again, twisting his fingers in her hair, nails scratching at her scalp. She leaned up onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing flush against him. Her hands moved to roam over his back, questing for every touch she could get. He tilted his head, lips parting against hers. She could feel every line of his body against hers, vaguely noting that their chronic practice bouts were doing wonders for the muscles in his chest. Not that she really would have cared either way, but that solidness was awfully tempting--
"Bonjour! Surprised to see m--?"
Artemis and Viola jumped apart as though someone had stuck a live wire between them. Panting and rather ravished-looking, Viola turned to face the door that had been thrown open to see Butler and an unfamiliar young woman standing just inside the foyer. The huge manservant seemed to be trying not to laugh while the stranger was staring at them, mouth agape.
Her face felt very, very red.
Artemis cleared his throat. She glanced at him and saw he was at least as red as she felt. "What a…lovely surprise, Minerva."
Artemis
Well. This was unexpected.
To her credit, the young Frenchwoman hid her surprise quickly. She cleared her throat and looked away. "Well. Ah, I had some business in the country and thought I'd pop by. But now I'm thinking perhaps I should have called first."
"Ahm…Please, why don't you come have a seat?" Artemis tried to transition the conversation, stepping aside and gesturing toward the parlor. "I'll just let Mother know you're here, and I'm sure we can get you some refreshments-"
"Oh, I'll get her," Viola spoke up suddenly. Her face had faded from crimson to a rosy pink, but she was quite obviously not looking directly at anyone. "I have to- um- get- get something from my room anyway, so… Yeah, I'll be right back." She hurried toward the stairs, paused briefly to give Minerva a nod and a "Nice to meet you, heard a lot about you" before practically fleeing to the second floor.
For a long, uncomfortable moment there was silence. Surprisingly, it was broken by Butler, who rumbled, "Why don't I go and get you something to drink Minerva?"
"Oh, just water would be lovely," the young woman replied, smiling prettily as she glided into the parlor. Artemis caught his bodyguard's eye as she passed and mouthed, What do I do?
The huge Eurasian man just shrugged, obviously suppressing a smile, before making his way toward the kitchen, whistling.
Whistling.
Logically Artemis knew it was only several minutes that he and Minerva waited in the parlor, making small talk--and trying to forget the past ten minutes or so had ever happened, at least on his part--until Angeline came gracefully to the rescue, exclaiming how nice it was to see the girl and wouldn't she like some tea.
It felt like an eternity.
He was sure there must have been other points in his life when he felt more uncomfortable, but he was hard pressed to think of them. So when Viola came in a few minutes after his mother, arms raised slightly toward her middle as was her habit when she was feeling uncomfortable, a strange combination of relief and dread filled his chest.
"Oh, hello again," Minerva said brightly, smiling at her.
And just like that, she was Viola Summers: socialite extraordinaire. "Hello," she said, beaming. She moved toward Minerva, extending her hand, "Sorry, I didn't properly introduce myself before. I'm Viola."
"Minerva." They shook, and for some reason Artemis felt his breathing even out. Viola made her way over to him, perching on the arm of the chair he was using as she usually did.
"So, what brings you here again?" she asked, carefully polite. Artemis glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. To someone who didn't know her better, her discomfort would be undetectable; but he saw her fingers drumming against her lap, her spine to straight, eyes wary and watchful.
Minerva began explaining what exactly had brought her and her father to the country. Artemis found himself not paying attention, preoccupied with Viola. She was fidgeting, which wasn't like her. Without thinking he reached out to touch her arm softly, raising a questioning eyebrow. She blinked, then smiled at him, shaking her head very slightly.
"Well, ahem…how long have you two known each other exactly?"
They both started and looked back to Minerva. Artemis ignored the way his mother smirked at him and answered, "A little over a year. Why?"
The young woman smiled. "It just seems like much longer, that's all. You two are very…" She arched an eyebrow. "Compatible." Her eyes sparkled meaningfully.
He felt his face go red and heard Butler, who had just come in, repress a chuckle.
Viola on the other hand seemed to have quite gotten over her earlier embarrassment. She leaned closer to him, sliding her hand over his shoulder. He froze, looking up at her sidelong. She was…smirking. "Yes," she said cheerfully, "we are."
Before he time to decide how he felt about that particular comment, they were interrupted by a soft, "Mow-wow?"
Viola laughed as Twyla jumped up onto Artemis's lap and settled in, purring. He stroked her absently and the purring increased.
Minerva blinked. "I didn't know you kept a cat," she commented.
Artemis snorted. "I think it would be more accurate to say she keeps us," he muttered, chucking Twyla under the chin. She continued to purr away, now kneading at his lap.
"So Angeline tells me you're off to university in the morning," Minerva said to Viola with a smile, switching the topic.
The other young woman nodded, expression closing off, becoming defensive. "Yes."
"What will you be studying?" Minerva asked, apparently oblivious to the other girl's discomfort. Maybe it just wasn't as obvious to other people.
"Veterinary medicine," Viola replied, relaxing slightly, "with a minor in music composition and performance."
Minerva's eyebrows went up. "Oh? Interesting combination."
Viola smiled, and the tension evaporated. The two young women chatted for a while longer, Artemis and his mother occasionally drawn into the conversation. Every once in a while another member of the household would drift into the parlor to say their hellos or introduce themselves, and the time began to pass so quickly that Artemis was almost surprised when Minerva rose and said, "Well, it was lovely seeing you all, but I should be getting back to the hotel."
"I'll walk you out," he offered, standing.
Minerva nodded with a smile, taking Viola's hand to shake as she passed her and saying, "Wonderful meeting you."
Viola smiled, but he noticed it was a little forced. "Likewise."
Artemis found her later in the ballroom, picking out nonsense tunes on the piano. Without preamble, he sat on the bench beside her and asked, "You alright?"
"Hm?" She looked up, eyes vague and distracted. "What? Oh, yes I'm fine."
He pursed his lips, unconvinced, and corrected her B flat scale. She blinked, seeming to come out of a daydream, and looked at his fingers over hers. "Oh. Thanks." She sighed and murmured, "She's very nice. Minerva."
Artemis stared at her. Was it possible…?
"Are…you jealous?" he asked, slightly incredulous.
Clang!
"What?! No, of course not, that would be idiotic," Viola protested, slamming the lid of the piano shut. Then she sighed, shoulders slumping, and muttered. "Maybe a little. It's stupid, I know--but she's smart, and all sophisticated, and pretty…"
He blinked, entirely unsure how to react. Then she added, not looking at him:
"You had a crush on her."
He said the first thing that came to mind. "I was fourteen. I also had a bit of a crush on Holly, if you'll recall."
She smiled. It was small, but it was a smile. "Yeah. You sure know how to pick 'em," she teased, bumping his shoulder lightly. Then she looked up at him with a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I think I'm just frazzled today."
He felt a little off balance, but assured her, "It's fine." Sometimes her moods changed so fast it made him dizzy. He wondered how she would react when she found out…
She chuckled at him and kissed his cheek, then jumped up and moved toward the door. "I'm going to the kennels, let the dogs know I'll be gone for a while. Want to come?"
He looked at her, bright and alive and changeable, and smiled. "Of course."
Viola
The next day was a blur of moving bags and tearful goodbyes and hugs and kisses and car rides, of teasing comments from Butler and Juliet, the twins making even more of a ruckus than usual, Angeline fussing over her, Artemis Senior kissing her forehead, of one last embrace from a boy with winter eyes and a murmured encouragement in her ear.
Then she was alone, standing in a small dorm room, looking dazedly around. She sat on her bed and sighed, a few paper packets clutched in her hand. She wasn't entirely sure where she'd gotten them, she thought they mostly contained orientation information.
One of the papers had her course list. She shuffled around until she found it, Artemis's sort of odd goodbye circling around in her head: See you sooner than you think.
Then her eyes lit on her last class of the week and her jaw dropped open. "That little--!"
Mammalian Anatomy, 3:00-4:30 PM, taught by guest lecturer Artemis Fowl II.