Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Viola had never really liked school. She tolerated it, chatted with classmates, pretended to pay attention in class, easily aced any exam she was given, but she found nothing to enjoy it the experience. At least, not until recently, at St. Bartleby's. Though, to be perfectly honest, "school" wasn't really what she was enjoying.

"Do you even know what class you're in?"

The voice was cool and clipped with a Dublin lilt and a teasing undertone she doubted anyone but herself or a few select others would have been able to detect. She leaned further back in her chair, keeping her eyes closed, and grinned in the direction of the voice. "Biology, yeah? Or chemistry? Some science."

Artemis, probably still sitting at the desk behind her even though their class had been dismissed a full minute ago, snorted derisively at her. "You're hopeless," he informed her.

Her grin widened. "I know." She opened her eyes, twisting to face him and straddling her chair. "Don't pretend you don't love it."

He rolled his eyes at her but smiled. Then he stood, adjusting the strap of his bag. "Come on, then. We told Connor and Liz we'd meet them for lunch."

She sighed and let her shoulders slump. "Can't we wait just a few more minutes? I love my sister dearly, but if I have to hear her complaining anymore today…" She trailed off and throttled the air in front of her.

Artemis chuckled, now standing next to her chair. "It can't be that bad."

"You want to bet?" Viola asked acidly, twisting her upper body to grab her own bag off her desk. "You'd think she and Sam have been separated for months the way she goes on. It's only been a week! And it's not as though he doesn't drive down to see her every other day."

"True," the boy said calmly, waiting for her to organize her belongings and stand, "but that is still quite an adjustment from seeing each other all day, every day. And--" he added, raising an eyebrow. "I think you are using this irritation to mask the fact that you also miss Sam."

Viola pulled a face at him as they walked toward the door. "Well, aren't you clever," she muttered.

"Yes, actually."

She tried to scowl at him, but the way her lips were twitching up into a smile ruined it. "Cheeky," she told him, bumping into him lightly.

He gave her a charming smirk that made her breath flutter and her heart melt. "Don't pretend you don't love it."

She laughed, shaking her head as they made their way to the school cafeteria. "Why do I put up with you?" she bemoaned teasingly, casting her eyes heavenward.

"Because no one else would put up with you," he answered promptly.

Viola was actually stunned for a moment. She quirked an eyebrow at him, lips curving up at the corners. "Impressively quick on the uptake," she praised as they found a table far from the chatter of the rest of their classmates. "Well done. Looks like I'm rubbing off on you."

"God help us all." The new voice was accompanied by the scraping sound of a chair being yanked out as the newcomer plopped himself into it.

"No one asked you're opinion, Connor," Viola told her brother primly. Then she frowned at him and reached for the blond mop on top of his head. "Jesus, do you even own a comb?" she demanded, trying to sort the mess out.

Her brother tucked away from her ministrations, grumbling, "Yes, Mum. Could you just leave it?"

"Oh dear, seems I've come in at a bad moment." Viola didn't even bother to greet Lizzie as her sister took a seat, too busy trying to clamber after Connor while he attempted to escape her fingers. "Do I even want context?" she asked, to no one in particular, apparently.

"I'm not sure if context even helps, with your siblings," Artemis responded, fondly exasperated.

Liz laughed. "Yeah, that's probably true."

Connor made a noise of supreme frustration and Viola backed off, raising her hands peaceably. "Fine, fine, I give up. Look like an un-groomed slacker for all I care." She turned back to the table and saw that her siblings had grabbed enough food for all four of them. "Thanks, guys," she said before tucking in. Whatever else could be said about the snooty private school, the food was at least pretty good.

Connor and Lizzie immediately started chatting, the girl's cheerful nature and her brother's wry humor drawing Artemis into the conversation. Viola watched them with a small smile. Who would have thought, when she first met the boy at the start of term, that they would end up here?

"Vi? Earth to Vi."

She blinked and refocused on her sister, who was frowning at her. She offered a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I totally spaced. What is it?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes and gave a dramatic sigh. "I swear, I don't know how you function as a proper human being sometimes," she muttered.

"I have several theories on that, actually," Artemis put in casually. Viola glowered at him and mouthed, Traitor. He simply smiled innocently, an expression he'd been getting much better at in the past few weeks.

Connor and Liz chuckled and Viola switched her glare to them. "Anyway," she said pointedly to her sister. "You were saying?"

"I was asking Arty if he wouldn't mind pulling some strings to see if we could get home this weekend," Liz replied. Viola had to bite back a grin at the expression on Artemis's face when she used the nickname. "But only if we all want to go." Her exasperated frustration with Viola was gone now, replaced with a pleading tone and puppy eyes.

Now it was Viola's turn to sigh and roll her eyes. "Oh, fine," she conceded, as though it were a huge sacrifice. "I suppose if you must-"

"Oh, yay! Thank you!" the other girl practically vaulted across the table to throw her arms around her neck. Viola laughed, ignoring the other students who turned to stare at the commotion.

"Jeeze, calm down," she chuckled, pushing Liz back into her place. Her sister bounced excitedly in her seat, beaming.

"I don't want to make a habit of this, just so we're clear," Artemis put in gently, raising his eyebrows.

"Yessir!" Lizzie gave him a jaunty mock salute and a cheeky grin. He rolled his eyes, and once again Viola found herself smiling.

Artemis

As had been happening, the rest of the day's classes seemed to simultaneously fly and drag by. It was a bizarre sort of torture, attention so focused on when class would end that he didn't even notice it passing. Of course, this phenomenon arouse from the fact that he didn't share any afternoon classes with Viola--a fact he had resolutely ignored until the day before when Connor pointed it out with a smug grin during their last class of the day.

So he determined to actually pay attention when he took his seat beside Viola's brother and prepared to listen to the advanced calculus lecture.

Which he knew already, of course. But he was going to pay attention anyway.

Hm. Seemed it had only been three minutes since the professor had entered the room.

Wait no, twenty-nine. How had that happened?

Oh, that was actually a good point. He knew Connor was bright, but his questions were proving he could be incredibly shrewd. Who knew? Well, now he knew they were both paying attention.

"And that concludes our lesson for the day--"

Wait, what? He blinked and looked around to see his classmates crowding toward the door. He glanced to the side and was met with Connor's smug grin. He narrowed his eyes.

"Daydreaming?" the other boy asked before he could open his mouth.

"No," Artemis replied resolutely, standing and grabbing his bag. Connor chuckled and rose as well.

"Hey, no judgement…Thinking about a girl?"

Artemis turned to glare at him and he laughed. "Boy, you are so smitten it's making me ill."

His glare intensified. "I am not smitten. I do not do smitten."

"Sure you don't," Connor laughed as they entered the hallway.

"He doesn't what?"

They both turned to see Viola pushing herself off the opposite wall- which she must have been leaning against. She walked toward them with a smile and Artemis felt his lips curving in response. Then he felt Connor's smirk boring a hole into the side of his head and tried to force the smile away. "Nothing," he responded calmly.

"I'm just giving your boyfriend a hard time, as is my familial duty," Connor said with a cheeky grin.

Viola chuckled and Artemis glared at her, muttering, "Traitor."

She beamed up at him as they began to walk down the hall toward the courtyard. "Turn-about is fair play," she said in a sing-song voice. Then she leaned around him slightly to address her brother, "Oh, and by the way, I'm not covering your butt when he decides to get back at you."

Artemis laughed and Connor whined about a lack of sibling loyalty. They stepped out into the chill January air and Viola shivered. Unconsciously, Artemis looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. She smiled up at him.

Connor made a soft gagging noise and Artemis felt his face go red. Both he and Viola looked at the other boy, who rolled his eyes at them. "I'm gonna grab Liz and head to the dorms, she said she wanted some help with maths. You two continue being sickeningly adorable." He waved and loped off across the courtyard.

Viola shook her head with a wry smile. "And that's as subtle as he gets," she said with a chuckle, looking back up at Artemis. "He wasn't giving you too hard a time, was he?" She started walking again.

"No," Artemis said with a small smile as he followed.

"Oh good." She sat on the edge of an empty fountain and grinned at him. "Not that I was gonna do anything about it, but--"

He sat next to her and bumped her shoulder with his, making her sway and grip the lip of the fountain for support, laughing lightly. "How do I put up with you?" he grumbled, though he had to work to keep the smile off his face.

"Because you love me?" she suggested, eyes dancing as she leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek.

He felt his face heat and looked away, giving a muffled murmur in response. Viola laughed again and leaned back, tilting her face to the sky. "I know we've only been gone a week, but it'll be good to go home." She smiled at him softly. "It's really sweet of you to humor Liz like this, thanks."

He shrugged, just a bit distracted by the way the pale summer sunlight highlighted the ivory column of her throat. "Of course. It's not as though it's any real trouble, anyway."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Just take the complement, would you?" she mock scolded, shoving at him lightly.

He gave a half smile. "I'm afraid that's a concept I'm not entirely familiar with."

Viola sat up straighter and pursed her lips. "Oi, I don't like it when you talk like that--"

"Hey, Sommers!"

They both started in surprise and twisted to see two of their classmates approaching across the empty courtyard. Both were boys, and the one who had called gave Viola a wave and a grin. He had sandy blond hair and brown eyes that he couldn't seem to remove from the girl as he and his companion- a redhead with more freckles than not- came toward them.

Viola frowned slightly in confusion as they stopped in front of them. "Um, hi…Shannon, right? We have Lit together."

The blond nodded, still grinning at her. For some reason, Artemis found his eyes narrowing at the other boy. He was familiar in a vague sort of way, as were most of his classmates. "Yeah," he said, evidently unaware of Artemis's presence.

She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. When he didn't (his eyes lingering on her in a way that made Artemis's teeth clench), she cleared her throat and said, "Ah, did you need something?" She looked over to Artemis pointedly. "We were just talking, actually-"

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," the boy--Shannon--said, then continued without a pause, "But see, Michael and I have a bet going on, and we need you to help us settle it." He indicated the boy with him, who was now grinning as well.

He didn't know why, but Artemis did not like where this was going. Viola--evidently of a similar mindset--was now frowning at the other two boys. "Look, I really don't have time for this," she said, voice clipped and short.

"It'll just take a moment," Michael cut in, smirking. "See, this is actually a debate among our mates, you know? What with you being new, and showing up with these sibs of yours out of the blue, there's bound to be rumors." He spread his hands. "We just want to know the truth."

"So," his friend jumped in. "Exactly how rich does a guy have to be before you'll shack up with him? I mean, you've got Fowl, here--"

Artemis leapt to his feet, rage burning in his chest, but Viola grabbed his wrist and held him back. "It's not worth it," she murmured, anger plain in her eyes though she tried to hide it. "C'mon, Artemis--"

"Now hang on a second." Shannon cut her off, stepping in front of her to block her path. Without making the conscious decision to move, Artemis was between them. Irrational anger churned in his stomach and he glared at the other boy, who was of a height with him so their gaze's met on the same level.

"I believe," he said softly, voice icy, "that you should back away. Sir."

For a moment Shannon seemed startled. Then that damned smirk was back in place. "Or what?"

"Honestly. I thought Butler taught you better than that."

Artemis hissed in a breath as Viola tugged on the bandage she was wrapping around his hand. "Well, it could have been worse."

She glared at him and gave the bandage a vicious yank that made him wince. "Idiot," she muttered. "You've probably broken a knuckle. God, I can't believe you just…" she trailed off, shaking her head.

He couldn't believe it either, really. If he was being honest, the incident was rather a blur. However, the ache in his hand seemed to confirm that he had, in fact, punched his classmate Shannon on the jaw. Which Michael apparently took offense to, though when he tried to react Viola kneed him hard enough in the groin to have him join his friend on the ground. Then she had grabbed his arm and pulled him after her to the infirmary.

"We should have just walked away. Why didn't you just walk away?" Her movements stilled, loosely grasping his hand between hers.

"I don't know," Artemis lied, bowing his head slightly to fix his gaze on his knees. He was embarrassed to have lost control in such a way.

Viola sighed. "You--" She stopped and was silent for so long that he looked up at her. She was biting her lip, gaze fixed on his hand in hers. "You were an idiot," she said finally, and he winced again. He really was. "But thank you."

He blinked and looked up again to see her now smiling gently. "What?"

Her smile widened. "I do not in any way condone you punching random jackasses for their jackassery…but I know you wouldn't have done it if he hadn't said that stuff about me. So thank you." She leaned forward and kissed him softly.

He kissed her back, more on reflex than anything else. When she pulled away, her smile had turned mischievous. She began to giggle, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What?" he demanded.

She shook her head, laughing outright now. "God, you are in so much trouble when we get home."

Chapter Text

Artemis hit the ground with a muffled thump and felt the air whoosh out of his lungs.

"Not bad," Viola commented blithely, perched over him with her hands on his chest and her knees to either side of his waist. She grinned devilishly, "But not quite good enough."

He glared at her. Damn, she wasn't even breathing too hard. "Alright, you win." Again. "Mind letting me up now?"

She laughed and rolled off, then bounced to her feet with that grin still firmly in place. She stood over him with her hands on her hips, eyes glinting merrily. Artemis grumbled as he got to his feet, swiping at the sweat on his brow. "Show off," he told her, glowering.

Viola laughed, grabbing the towel she'd tossed into the corner of the dojo a few bouts ago to dab at the perspiration clinging to her chest and neck. "Hey, you agreed to this," she reminded him cheekily.

He rolled his eyes at her. Yes, after the rather…unfortunate incident several weeks prior wherein he'd struck one of their classmates and broken a knuckle, Butler had declared that his increased defense training was of no use if he didn't have regular sparing practice to accustom him to actual combat. Looking back on it, it was almost disturbing how readily Viola had agreed to the idea.

"Here." He was snapped back to the present by Viola throwing a bottle of water at him. He caught it on reflex, snatching it a moment before it connected with the side of his face. Then he paused, blinking. Well.

Viola raised an eyebrow and gave him a half smirk. "Well your reaction time is improving, if nothing else," she noted.

Artemis took a gulp of water. "If I didn't know any better," he began casually, "I'd say you sounded almost impressed."

Her other eyebrow crept up to join its twin, but he knew he was right. He didn't know if it was his increase in training since his last confrontation with Opal or the regular practice Viola provided or some combination of the two factors, but even he could tell his skill was proving. He felt fairly confident that he could hold his own now in a fight.

Unfortunately, Viola could do much more than that.

"Alright." She took another swig from her own bottle, then tossed it and the towel to the side again. Her lips curved up tauntingly and she slid gracefully into a fighting stance. "Again."

He sighed.

Of the many words that Artemis had before applied to Viola--irritating, klutzy, charming, witty, loud, damaged, selfless, brash, reckless, beautiful, to name a few-- he found he had one more to add to the list: merciless.

"Come on, Arty," the girl teased, dancing lithely around him with an infuriating smirk. "You're thinking too much. Focus less on where I'm going to be and more where I am. You aren't a sniper, you're hand fighting. Get in the moment!" Her fist lashed out and caught his ribs. He knew she was holding back, but the blow was still hard enough to bruise. And hurt like a son of a--

"Too slow!"

He whirled around and just barely managed to duck the punch that came at his head, before realizing (a fraction of a second too late) that the strike was a feint used to cause a distraction. Viola's foot snapped out and she hooked his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor for the umpteenth time that day. Before she could completely immobilize him, however, he rolled to the left and somehow managed to get back to his feet without "clambering".

Viola nodded approvingly, hands up in a guard position. "Not bad."

Artemis didn't waste time responding, instead jabbing forward, under her guard, and forcing her to skitter back--and tangle her foot in the towel she had discarded earlier. Her eyes widened as she realized his trick and he couldn't help smirking, just a little, before stepping firmly onto the cloth and yanking it out from under her.

The girl staggered and dropped, trying to twist to break her fall with her hands and push herself back up but unable to right herself quickly enough. Artemis stood over her, panting, as she lay on the ground looking up at him. He felt absurdly triumphant.

"Not bad," Viola said again, breathing just a little ragged. "But--"

He knew what was going to happen and instant before it did and mentally kicked himself. Of course. Because it's never that easy.

Viola's legs locked around his and brought him down yet again. In an instant she was crouched over him, pinning his wrists above his head and giving him that completely infuriating smirk. She tutted at him, eyes sparkling wickedly. "Never assume your opponent is defeated."

Damn her.

Viola

All in all, Viola found she was feeling rather cocky by the time dinner rolled around. True, it wasn't like she'd gone toe-to-toe with one of the Butler siblings, but Artemis was actually growing into a decent opponent. And she'd still managed to utterly trounce him.

…Okay. Maybe she could stand to be a little less pleased with herself for beating her boyfriend in endless sparring matches.

There is definitely something wrong with me, she thought as she took her usual place between Connor and Liz, across from Artemis. She smiled and chatted as the meal meandered on, a small part of her mind sitting back and wondering at the beautiful simplicity of the whole scene. A few months ago, she would have thought participating in a family dinner was just as likely for her as riding a unicorn into Narnia, whereupon she would undergo a quest to take the One Ring to Hogwarts. Yet, here she was.

It was nice.

After the meal, the members of the household dispersed to pursue their own preferred activities. Sam and Liz wandered off somewhere--she didn't want to think about that, those two acted like they'd been apart for months when in actuality she and her student-aged siblings were at the manor most weekends, now. She, Artemis, and Connor found themselves in one of the smaller parlors--as seemed to be becoming a habit--reading quietly or playing with Beckett when the boy meandered in to demand their attention.

"I swear," Artemis muttered, shaking his head as Juliet came to cart the child away for bedtime, with much protesting and negotiation that eventually culminated in her requiring Connor's assistance. "In a way he can be scarier than Myles."

Viola laughed, leaning against his legs as she closed her book (The Amber Spyglass, tonight). She looked up at the armchair he was lounging in and grinned. "I dunno. Still think you might be scariest, far as the Fowl boys are concerned."

He mock glared at her over his own book. "I don't think I appreciate that, coming from you," he drawled.

She frowned, sitting up a bit straighter, and crossed her arms in a dramatic huff. "I don't think I like what you're insinuating," she said primly, turning her nose up at him. "I am a perfect lady. I am not in the least bit scary."

Artemis snorted.

"Oi!" She slapped lightly at his leg. "You could at least pretend to agree with me."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." He cleared his throat and sat up straight, placing his book to the side. "Do forgive me, my most noble and elegant lady," he said in a clipped, regal tone, laying a hand over his heart. Those sinfully blue eyes glinted down at her merrily.

She nodded sharply and proclaimed. "Much better."

Artemis laughed, then leaned down to press a quick kiss to her lips. She couldn't stop the small sigh of contentment that escaped her, and felt him smile against her mouth. He kissed her again, tilting his head slightly, and her eyes fluttered closed.

After a very enjoyable minute or two, she murmured, "We really should get to bed soon."

"Well, that's rather forward of you. But if you insist-"

Viola broke away, startled laughter bursting from her in a combination of shock and amusement. Usually she was the one making obvious innuendos. Perhaps she was rubbing off on him--it was not an entirely unpleasant thought, albeit maybe a terrifying one. "No, I don't think there's time for that," she said with a smirk and a playful wink. "We've got to be rested for training tomorrow."

Artemis groaned, and she laughed.

"Be aware of your surroundings."

Thud.

"Not that aware- I'm over here, not across the room!"

Thump.

"You're technique is flawless. Worry less about that and more about your actual attacker!"

Thwack.

"Honestly, you just need to get out of your own head. I know the idea is foreign to you-"

Wisssh.

She blinked, actually a bit surprised, then turned to face her opponent, who had somehow managed to dodge around her kick and end up behind her. She smiled. "Much better." Then she darted in and snaked his legs out from under him, sending them both to the floor with a crash!

"But you relaxed too much once it looked like you'd got away," she said, sitting back so she was crouched over his chest, which was rising and falling much more rapidly than usually. If she was being honest, she felt a bit winded herself. That alone was sign of the boy's growing skill. But of courses she'd never actually tell him that. Instead she rolled her eyes heavenward and said with a long-suffering sigh, "How many times do I have to tell you, Arty--"

Before she could finish Artemis suddenly bucked beneath her, throwing her to the side. Before she had time to process what was happening, she was flat on her back with her wrists pinned above her head, staring up into icy eyes.

Artemis smirked, his grip on her wrists firm but not harsh. "Never assume your opponent is defeated," he murmured, breath ghosting across her skin. She shivered, though her body actually felt overheated. Very overheated.

"That's cheating." Her voice came out much more breathy than she intended.

"Mm." He quirked an eyebrow. She knew he could read her reactions like an open book. And the fact that he was pretty much laying on top of her was not helping matters. "I prefer to call it…creative problem solving." His voice dropped a little lower. Her shiver turned into a shudder, and he smirked.

Well. He wasn't the only one who could read reactions. And she had the benefit of being an empath. She could feel his adrenaline as clearly as her own, if she reached for it, could feel the satisfaction and triumph of his victory…and feel his heart beat stutter when she sucked in a breath and her chest brushed against his. If she reached again, not further but deeper, she could feel desire, tightly coiled and held in check, but burning like and inferno in his core. No, her core- damnit, when had it gotten so hot in here?

Eyes of eyes with a fire lit behind them stared down at her and suddenly to needed to be closer. Arching her back she strained up against his hold, but he pulled back just enough to deny her, smirking when she growled in frustration. "I believe first," he said, voice now a rough purr that sent every nerve ending in her body zinging, "a recognition is in order."

She glared at him but he simply smiled back. Damn him and his arrogant little smiles and those positively irritatingly blue eyes and the way his hair was mussed and looking like--oh, to hell with it.

"Fine," she admitted. "You win."

Chapter Text

It started out with an innocent question: "So, what are you getting her for Valentine's Day?"

Artemis paused in his tinkering to look at the communicator that lay on his desk. "Come again?"

Holy's exasperated sigh came crackling out of the speakers he had modified so he could hear his fairy friends through the clinkings and occasional soft pops of his more hands-on experiments. "Valentine's Day, Arty? A pretty common human custom isn't it?"

Oh. Oh yes. "Well. I suppose the fourteenth is soon…" he mused, eyes dropping to the pair of LEP goggles (nicked from Foaly's office, with some assistance from Mulch, the last time he'd been underground) he was currently trying to outfit into less conspicuous glasses.

"Um, it's tomorrow, Artemis," Holly said. Her tone with a mixture of weary affection and utter exasperation. "Gods, you haven't even thought about it, have you? Boy, I'm not even human and I knew this was coming up!"

"Alright, I get it," Artemis muttered testily.

"Well, you could always do last minute chocolates and flowers," the elf mused, wicked teasing in her voice. Artemis glowered at the communicator. "But I'm not sure if that's going to cut it--"

"How are you and Commander Kelp doing, by the way?"Artemis cut across her pointedly.

That shut her up fairly quickly.

Viola

"Vi? You decent?"

Viola rolled off her bed, yawning and shaking messy chocolate curls out of her eyes. "Yeah, come on in," she called to her door, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back.

Her oldest brother opened the door a crack and slipped into her room, looking suspiciously furtive. Then Sam's eyes landed on her and he gave a short snort of laughter. "Please tell me you were taking a nap and that you didn't just get up."

She glowered at him, crossing her arms over her pajama top defensively. It was a Saturday, what did he want from her? "Shut up," she grumbled, then cut across his chuckling with, "What do you need?"

Suddenly the awkwardness was back. Sam shuffled his feet and she could have sworn his cheeks got a little red. "Well, um, actually," he hedged, very decidedly not making eye contact with her. Viola waited, eyebrows creeping higher the longer it took him to actually say something. "I wanted your advice about something," he mumbled eventually, definitely blushing now.

Viola blinked, rather taken aback. Of her three siblings, Sam had always been the one who seemed to need her the least--or at least not in the capacity the Liz and Connor did. Maybe it was due to the fact that he was actually a year her senior, or maybe it was just his personality. Either way, this was unexpected. "Oh, uh, sure. Shoot," she said, sinking back onto her bed and patting the rumpled covers in invitation.

Sam warily sat next to her, broad shoulders hunched awkwardly as he tried to make himself smaller, something he did when he was feeling uncomfortable. "It's-- ah…about Liz," he said eventually. His cheeks were positively flaming now.

Oh Christ. Viola help up her hands, scooting a bit further away. "Ok, Sam, look. You're my brother and I love you, but it is far too soon after waking up for me to think about you two and- and- and whatever it is the two of you do, so I'm sorry but--"

"What--? No, no!" Sam cut across her emphatically, waving his hands back and forth. He was so agitated the tips of his fingers started to vibrate out of the visible spectrum. "God, Viola, that's not--why in hell would I come to you for that?!"

Now Viola was blushing too. She really didn't want to think about this. "I don't know, I just assumed--I just woke up, ok?"

"Anyway." He was giving her a dirty look. Oh well, at least he wasn't too embarrassed to talk anymore. "I was going to ask if you thought she'd like to--I dunno, go to town or something tomorrow?"

Viola quirked an eyebrow. "Uh…yeah, she probably would. What's the occasion?"

Sam stared at her like she was a complete simpleton. "Well…it is Valentine's Day, and since we've never really been able to do anything before, I thought--"

"Oh, shit!" She sprang to her feet, eyes wide. "That's tomorrow?!"

Sam, who had been gaping at her in surprise, now started to smirk. "Yeah. You didn't remember?" Her panicked expression must have been answer enough, because he started to laugh. "Oh, Lord, Vi!" He stood, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, sis. This made me feel a lot better." He swaggered out of her room, still laughing as she slammed the door behind him with a growled, "Jackass!"

Artemis

The rest of February thirteenth passed rather uneventfully. Artemis kept running over his conversation with Holly in his mind, but as the day wore on it faded further and further from his thoughts.

Viola, as was becoming her habit on weekends, slept until noon. When Artemis abandoned his project to grab something to eat, he noticed Sam exiting his sister's room laughing while Viola muttered curses at him from the other side of the door. He quirked a questioning eyebrow at the older boy, but Sam just waved it off, still chuckling.

"I just pissed her off, it's nothing new," he said with a grin as he headed off down the hallway.

Hm. Artemis eyed the closed door warily. He'd considered going in to wake the girl--if she wasn't up already--to force her to actually come feed herself, but if she'd just had a bit of a row with her brother…he thought perhaps avoidance might be his best course of action.

Before he could escape--er, leave--however, Viola's door opened and she stomped out into the hall. "Oh." She drew up short when she saw him, the scowl on her face melting into a tiny smile. "Um, hey. Good morning. Or, well, afternoon," she amended with a sheepish laugh.

"Afternoon," he said with a smile of his own, his trepidation disappearing without a trace. Evidently whatever Sam had done wasn't serious, because the customary bounce was quite present in her step when she walked to his side. He nodded down the hallway. "I was just going to get something to eat. Join me?" He offered his arm.

Viola laughed lightly and took it. "Why, I'd be honored, your lordship," she said, slipping heavily into her native Welsh accent. Artemis flushed slightly, realizing how archaic the gesture was. She must have noticed, because she laughed again and rocked onto her toes to kiss his cheek. "I'm just teasing, Arty. The old-fashioned gentleman thing is sweet."

Artemis's blush only worsened and he shot her a dour look. Her response was to laugh harder.

Connor was, as seemed to be becoming habit, in the kitchen. He turned with a start when Viola knocked on the doorframe, a dusting of flour in his blond hair and a smudge of something pastel yellow on his cheek. "Oh, hey," he said with a smile when he realized who it was. "I see Sleeping Beauty's finally up." Viola rolled her eyes as she moved to kiss his cheek. "Any help from Prince Charming?" her brother asked with a mischievous grin.

Artemis, who had moved to take an apple from the bowl of fruit on the nearest counter, coughed uncomfortable. Viola cuffed her brother lightly and playfully warned, "Be nice."

"Aw, why are you the only one who gets to tease him?" Connor complained, unable to keep the laugh from his tone.

"What are you making, Connor?" Artemis cut in quickly, not sure he really wanted to hear Viola's response to that.

"Cupcakes," the boy responded, turning back to his task, which Artemis could now make out consisted of a cupcake tin and several different bowls of a colorful substance he assumed was icing.

"What for?" Viola questioned, peering around her brother to get a better look. Suddenly she started to giggle, and Artemis saw the tips of her brother's ears go red. "Aw, that's a sweet idea, babe," she said, kissing Connor's cheek before she turned to dig something out of the refrigerator.

"It's not sweet. It's friendly," the boy shot back instantly. "Just friendly." Curious, Artemis drew closer and was just able to make out the tops of several pink and yellow cupcakes, each with a tiny white heart in the center. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Someone special in mind?" he asked casually. Connor shot him a glare and he smirked. Two could play this game.

"Riley," Viola answered before he brother could.

"Not just Riley," Connor protested quickly. "I'm going to the House tomorrow and I thought I'd bring them something."

Artemis blinked, slightly surprised. He'd known that Connor, as well as Viola and her other siblings, had been given permission to visit the makeshift foster home on the other side of Dublin where Kols' ex-junkies were temporarily living, dubbed simply "the House". He'd gone himself a few times, usually with Holly or No.1 on their routine, LEP mandated checkups. He hadn't realized Connor was such a frequent visitor.

Though if Viola was correct in her "Riley" assumption, he supposed that might explain it.

"Well, tell Laura and Rina I said hi," Viola said with a smile. "And Riles too, of course."

Connor grunted an affirmative, then made sure they'd both taken enough food for a suitable lunch before shooing them out of the kitchen.

Viola

Viola didn't think about the fast approaching holiday again until late that night, when she was almost asleep. And of course, by that point all she really thought about was the existence of Valentine's Day, its imminence, and then a string of colorful language in two dozen or so languages. And then she was asleep.

"So…you're just going to wing it?"

Viola looked over her shoulder at Liz, who was currently perched on her bed, hugging on of her sister's pillows and looking a bit skeptical. "Yes. Yes I am."

Lizzie shrugged. "Well, I suppose you've got to at this point. Just…don't you think he's going to have something nice planned? The Fowls don't do things half-assed."

Viola dropped her head into her hands, groaning. "I know, I know." She made a noise of supreme frustration and flopped backwards onto her bed, feeling her sister bounce slightly and hearing her yelp of surprise. "I just suck at this stuff, Liz, you know I do."

"Yeah," Liz agreed easily, patting her head. "Well, no point putting it off. C'mon, help me pick out what I'm wearing into town."

Artemis

"Your father and I are going to a show and then dinner."

"Yes, Mother."

"Juliet has the boys, she's taking them to Phoenix Park and then probably out for sweets."

"Yes, Mother."

"Connor's already left, he said he'd be back before nine. Sam and Elizabeth should be leaving any minute now."

"Yes, Mother."

"So that means it's just you, Butler, and Viola here for the rest of the day."

"Actually, I insisted Butler take the day off. It took some convincing, but with all the LEP surveillance around he eventually acquiesced. I believe he was planning to visit family."

"Oh, alright then. So it's just you and Viola."

"Yes, Mother."

"Alone. All day."

"Yes, Mother."

"Just the two of you."

"Mother."

Angeline raised her hands in placation. "Alright, alright. I'm a parent, it's my job to worry about two teenagers alone together."

His face was burning. "Well, good-bye then, hope you have a wonderful time. Oh, and please remind Father that sometime this week we really should talk about marketing for the new--"

"Arty." His mother placed her hands on his shoulders. "Honestly, sometimes I wish I had to worry about the two of you being alone. You are going to spend the day with a girl you are mad for and not think or talk about business. Understood?"

He opened his mouth, then sighed and closed it. "Yes, Mother."

"Marvelous." She leaned forward to kiss his forehead, then whirled through the foyer to the door, calling back, "Love you, darling," over her shoulder.

No sooner had she left when Viola came in, looking around curiously. "I thought I heard Angeline. She's just left?"

Artemis nodded. He couldn't help the portion of his brain that just sat back and admired how beautiful she was in worn out jeans and a simple cotton t-shirt. "Yes. As she made sure to clarify for me several times, it's just the two of us."

Viola quirked an eyebrow. "Right." Silence descended for a few moments. Then: "Um, Artemis? Do I have something on my face?"

"Hm? Oh, no, of course not, why?"

"Well, you're staring."

He was. Oh, he was. He hurriedly looked away, hoping the heat in his cheeks wasn't obvious. "My apologies."

Viola gave a teasing groan, walking to his side. "Lord, all that needed was a "Miss Sommers" at the end. Why're you so on edge?"

"I'm not," he denied immediately, studiously ignoring how his skin started to tingle just from her nearness.

Silence again.

More silence.

Even more silence.

Oh, Damnit all, what am I supposed to say?! Artemis glanced at Viola out of the corner of his eye. She was chewing her lip, apparently fascinated by the left hand wall.

And…silence.

"Look, Artemis--"

"Viola--"

They both stopped, waiting for the other to proceed. Blue eyes met brown and a very small smile started to creep its way across Viola's face. "Alright. Me first?" she suggested, eyes starting to twinkle.

Artemis couldn't help smiling in return. "Please." He gestured for her to speak.

With a sigh, she brushed a handful of dark curls away from her face and said bluntly, "I hate this holiday."

"Oh, thank God." The words left his mouth quite against his conscious permission and Viola's gaze snapped to him, taken aback. "I've had no bloody idea how to handle this," he admitted in a rush.

Viola's cautious smile transformed into a blinding grin. "Me neither. I mean, what's the point? Why do people have to get all couple-y just because it's February fourteenth?"

His own smile broadened. "Exactly. The story of St. Valentine isn't even historically accurate, it makes no sense."

Viola laughed. "Of course you would know that." Before he could respond, she grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. "Want to go for a ride?" she asked, smiling up at him.

"That," he said, impulsively bringing her hand up to press a feather light kiss to her fingers, "Sounds like an excellent idea."

Chapter Text

It really was a perfect day for a picnic. In a rare display, the sky was nearly cloudless and sunny, the grass was almost completely dry from the previous day's typical rain, and Viola just couldn't help the smile that seemed to have taken up residence on her face.

Artemis did not seem to share her cheery attitude.

"C'mon," she coaxed, looping her arm around his and smiling up at him. "You haven't seen Holly and Foaly weeks, aren't you even a little bit happy?"

"Of course I'm happy," the boy responded, though the scowl his features had set in was at odds with his words. Viola sighed and rolled her eyes, tugging him toward the door that led out into the Fowl Manor gardens.

"Why don't we try a smile then?" she teased, reaching pinch at his cheeks. He batted her hand away, still scowling, though now the sour expression was accompanied by a distinct flush.

"I just don't see why I cannot wear my usual attire," he muttered, voice clipped with irritation.

They had reached the door. Viola swung around in front of him and planted her fists on her hips, saying with mostly-joking severity, "Because it is almost May, and for once this bloody freezing island has decided to bless us with warmth, and your mother and I agreed you would not be in a suit for a casual picnic."

He frowned at her. "Yes, yes, you and mother decided. Why is it I have no say in the matter?"

She gave him an angelic smile. "Because you know better than to get into an argument you can't win." She chuckled when he grumbled something about being a world-class debater and gave him yet another look up and down. She couldn't help herself. Angeline had sent her in to fetch her tardy son almost fifteen minutes ago, and every few seconds Viola found herself appraising Artemis's new wardrobe.

He must have noticed, because he crossed his arms huffily over his t-shirted chest. Viola could still make out most of the word Randomosity splattered across it and had to bite her lip to keep from bursting into laughter. She knew for Artemis that was bad enough, and the loosely fitting blue jeans were simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

"What?" Artemis snapped at her peevishly after a moment.

She grinned. "You know, I really do love the dapper-gentleman, slacks-and-blazer thing, but I have to say…this is a nice change." His blush deepened and her grin widened. "Just one thing needs fixing." She took a step toward him, ignoring his mutterings of just how much in this particular situation needed "fixing", and reached up to run her hands through his hair.

Artemis froze under her touch, surprised. "What are you--?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm mussing you up a bit. Perfectly combed hair looks out of place with this particular ensemble." He tried to duck away from her but she latched one hand onto his shoulder in a vice-like grip, holding him in place while she finished her styling work with the other. "Oh, don't be such a baby," she said, then rocked back onto her heels, letting her other hand drop to his free shoulder. "There." She beamed at him. "Someone might almost mistake you for a normal teenager now."

He glowered, eyes icy slits. A soft tingle ran down her spine and quite without her permission her breath hitched. Annoyed Artemis was always fun, but with the new clothes and his hair--she could still feel the softness between her fingers--tossed in all directions like…whoa.

Either her best idea or her worst. Jury was still out.

"What?" Artemis demanded, and she realized she'd been staring.

"Nothing." She shook her head, letting her hands fall to her sides. Then she smiled again, bumping open the door with her hip. "Come on, everyone's waiting."

"Everyone" on this particular day included the entirety of the Fowl family and the Butler siblings, Holly Short of the LEP, Foaly the centaur as well as his wife and two children--one who seemed to be about four in human terms and another that Caballine still held--the demon warlock No.1, and the rather dubious person of Mulch Diggums. The little demon's mentor and Holly's sometimes-boyfriend had also been invited (the latter at Angeline's insistence of politeness), but their jobs had apparently prevented them from attending.

Viola collapsed onto one of the three large blankets that were being used, spread out over the grass just at the entrance to the gardens. Lizzie shuffled over to give her room, curling more securely into Sam's arm.

"Well, now there's something I've never seen before," Mulch said, chuckling, the instant Artemis came into view. The eldest Fowl brother shot him a glare but otherwise did not respond as he seated himself between Viola and the twins.

"Be nice. I just got him out here, we don't want to scare him off," Viola said, reaching for one of the sandwiches Connor held out to her. There were a few soft chuckles and Artemis switched his glare to her, which she returned with a look of perfect innocence.

"Have I told you lately how much I love having you around?" Holly said, leaning forward to pat Viola's hand. The girls grinned at each other.

"Mum, can we go play?" Beckett asked, bouncing up and down where he sat and cutting off any retort Artemis might have made.

"Alright, but stay close," Angeline replied with a smile, ruffling his curls. He grinned and shot to his feet, yanking his twin up by the arm before bounding across the blankets to ask of Foaly's oldest child, "Do you wanna come too?"

The young centaur boy looked up at his mother with wide, pleading eyes. Caballine laughed and nodded, and in a flash all three were racing off to play some sort of chase game, Myles looking not quite as thrilled as the other two.

Viola watched them out of the corner of her eye as she chatted with the others gathered around the blankets. She had never met Caballine before that morning, but she found she was both witty and perceptive, and made wonderful conversation. While she wasn't nearly as close with the fairy members of their party as she was with the humans, she thought she might like to be, someday.

And of course, it was impossible not to be charmed by No.1. The little demon had abandoned food in favor of delighting the children with conjured pictures made of blue sparks, harmless little snatches of magic that had even the centaur--no stranger to such things--entranced.

"Lucky we both had a day off," Holly was saying when she tuned back into conversation. "Honestly, this is probably the most I've seen of you in a month." She was talking to Foaly.

"I'm telling you, the two of you need to go into private business," Mulch said around a mouthful of...something. She thought she'd rather not know exactly what.

"Is it really so busy underground?" Artemis Senior asked, leaning back to stretch his legs out. Viola saw her Artemis's eyes dart to the concealed prosthetic then away, a habit she'd noticed he had, as though he was on hyper alert for any sign of discomfort from his father.

"Nothing intense, not since the--ahem. Incident. But there's always something going on," the elf said, hesitating only slightly when referencing the series of events that had led to the death of Viola's eternal nightmare. She felt a little awkward at the mention of it, worried about how she would react--

Wait. About how she would react?

"Try one of these, Liz dear, they're delicious," Angeline said smoothly into the silence, holding out a tray of colorful pastries that Viola believed were Caballine's contribution. Lizzie took one and she felt a flash of pride.

Hold on. That definitely wasn't from her.

The comfortable chatter faded to the background of Viola's attention as she tried to focus herself, to remove herself from foreign emotions and feel solely her own. This was weird. Since her first real conscious experimentation with her empathetic powers back in Kols' lab she'd had a few incidents of sort of sensing the emotions--almost the atmosphere--of the people around her, but it had never been so difficult to distinguish herself from the outside sources.

The feel of sunlight on her skin, so different from the artificial lights of Haven.

No. No, that wasn't her.

Content. Perhaps a little hovering; the boys needed constant watching after all.

Still no. Angeline or maybe Juliet.

Wondering, disbelieving that this could be happening, something so normal as a picnic.

Connor. Well, she could agree with him, but that still wasn't her. Damnit, why was this so hard?! Her breathing started to become shallower and she clenched her eyes shut, trying to eliminate her external senses. Shut it out, shut it out. Think about you. Listen to your heart. She tried, reaching deep inside herself, through the twisting vines of magic to the burning-bright core that was Viola--

"Vi?"

She gasped softly, eyes snapping open at the soft touch on her hand. She twisted to see Artemis watching her, brow furrowed slightly. Even without the indicator, she would have been able to feel his concern. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

She forced a smile and tried to calm her breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Laughing at the funny human twins. Hungry, maybe there was a sandwich left. Peaceful in the sun's rays. Excited to see everyone together. Amused by the children's reaction to magic. "I think I…" she trailed off as she clambered to her feet, resisting the urge to clamp her hands over her ears (not that it would have helped anyway). Artemis looked up at her, surprised, concern sliding into full blown worry. "I just, um- I need a walk," she mumbled, trying for another smile. By the look on his face, it wasn't very convincing.

She could deal with that later. Right now she just had to get away, had to put some distance between her and all this…feeling. She walked briskly around the outer edge of their little picnic circle, smiling and waving when a few of the others spoke up at her abrupt exit, and vanished into the gardens.

Artemis

Artemis watched Viola retreat with a frown. Something wasn't right.

"Well, are you going after her?"

He blinked and looked to see Sam watching him with raised eyebrows. His frown deepened. "Should I? She may truly just need a moment alone."

Connor shrugged. "She might. And in that case better you go than one of us."

Artemis looked between the siblings. "I'm afraid I don't follow your logic."

"She less likely to flip out on you than on her brothers or sister," Holly put in. When he gave her a questioning look she shrugged and grinned. "I mean, at this point in the relationship anyway."

He flushed slightly, as he did most every time someone referred to him and Viola as a "relationship" (not an inaccurate term, but something about it still seemed alien to him). "Right." He rose to his feet. "I suppose I should…" he trailed off awkwardly and moved toward the gardens.

"Tell her to hurry back before we eat all the dessert," Juliet called after him. He smiled slightly and shook his head, before turning a corner and blocking the picnic from view.

It wasn't hard to find her. She was sitting on a marble bench that overlooked a bed of rose bushes and a small fountain, her back toward the path. He approached slowly, almost cautiously, as though trying not to startle a wild animal.

She was hunched over, shoulders tensed, and though she was facing mostly away from him he could see that her arms were wrapped around her front. "Viola?" he murmured, moving closer.

She didn't seemed to hear him. He took another step, close enough to slide onto the bench next to her now. "Vi?" he tried again, reaching to touch her shoulder. She flinched slightly but otherwise didn't react. His eyes dropped and his breath caught for a moment. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her right wrist, pulling it away from her body and breaking the death grip her left hand had on it. Thin lines of blood welled into fingernail-crescent cuts just above her scar.

Finally she seemed to snap out of her daze. She blinked her eyes open and looked at him blearily, but didn't move to pull away. He shifted closer. "What's the matter?" he asked softly.

She didn't respond for a moment and he waited patiently. Eventually, she mumbled, "It was…I could feel it all of the sudden. All of it. I don't know…it's never been like that before, not since I was a little girl. I just…I had to get away from everyone. But it didn't help, not really, and then it started hurting and…" She bit her lip, brows drawing together.

Gently, Artemis tucked her right hand against his chest, using his other hand to cover the scar on her wrist. She shivered slightly, eyes still fuzzy as she stared up at him. Then she gave a soft sigh and her head fell forward onto his shoulder. "Sorry," she practically whispered. "I can't…it's still there, everywhere, and there's too much."

This was worrying. While he and No.1, and Viola herself of course, had been doing research on empathetic magic recently, none of them were by any means experts. The power was unpredictable at the best of times, and the People had no record of a human empath. Perhaps what Viola was feeling was normal.

Or perhaps it wasn't. Either way, in that moment there was really nothing he could do, and he hated it. Not knowing what else to do, he tilted his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She shuddered slightly, then stilled against him. Then, in a rapid burst of movement, she snapped her head up and pressed her lips against his.

He froze, startled, but reciprocated easily, letting his hands trail down to her waist as he felt hers come up to wrap around his neck. After several incredibly pleasant moments, he moved to pull away.

"No." One of her hands fisted in his hair, not painful but spastic, as though she'd done it on impulse. He met her eyes and saw that they were just a bit clearer than before. "It...it helps," she rasped out, fingers flexing against his skin and sending goosebumps spreading from her touch. "It's…grounding me. Please."

Well. It was hardly an arduous task. He dipped his head to kiss her again and she practically melted into him, swinging one of her legs over the bench to hook it over his hip. His breath hitched at the unexpected move, but he didn't have a lot of time to process it because Viola's lips had parted against his and her tongue flicked out and dear God why didn't they just spend all their time doing this?

"Mrrow?"

Artemis and Viola abruptly broke apart and stared at each other. Then their eyes traveled down toward the small noise.

"Oh!" Viola gasped, and a smile tweaked at her lips.

The kitten that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere tilted its head at them, large amber eyes staring at them out of a calico face. It sat in the middle of the path, just staring at them, before it opened its little pink mouth and said again: "Mrrow?"

Viola started to giggle. She looked back at Artemis, biting her lip. "She, um…she wants to know why I'm whispering in your mouth."

Artemis groaned and let his head drop onto her shoulder. "Of course she does," he muttered while Viola's giggles turned into full blown laughter. "It really isn't that funny," he protested, though he could feel a smile working its way across his face despite himself.

"It really is," Viola contradicted, beginning to disentangle herself. He let her, ignoring the little voice in his head that protested this course of action, and stood before holding out a hand to help her to her feet. "Well, now," she said, glancing down at the kitten, who was still watching them. "What do we do with you?" She knelt and held out a hand. Instantly, the little creature started rubbing her face against the girl's fingers, purring.

Artemis sighed, rolled his eyes, and then knelt next to her. "She's rather small," he noted, frowning slightly.

Viola raised an eyebrow. "Well, she's a baby, Arty. They tend to be."

He glowered at her. "I'm aware, thank you. I meant she looks too young to be away from her mother."

Viola bit her lip, now scratching the kitten's back. "You're right. And she's too young for me to have a clear conversation with her- well, as clear as cats ever get... Something about lost, lonely, hungry… Here." Before he could say anything, she'd lifted the tiny animal and plopped her into his arms. Both he and the kitten were startled by the action, and blinked at her. "I'm gonna check the hedges, see if I can find Mama Cat or her littermates." Her mouth twisted slightly and she muttered, "Though I doubt I will." She stood and he scrambled to his feet.

"Hold on." he reached out to grab her arm, cradling the kitten in the crook of his other elbow, and forced her to meet his eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

She smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright now." When he continued to stare at her she sighed. "I'll talk to No.1 about it, ok? Maybe he or Qwan will be able to help if it happens again. Although…" Her smile turned wicked and her eyes danced. She stepped into him and put her mouth next to his ear. He shivered as her breath brushed his skin. "I think I rather like your cure."

Oh, well that just wasn't fair. He twisted and caught her lips, sinking the fingers of his free hand into her hair. She rocked onto her toes to return the kiss, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Rrow-wow!"

"Oops!" Viola jumped back with a laugh. "Sorry, little one," she told the disgruntled kitten they had inadvertently been crushing. She scratched her ears, then leaned up to peck Artemis lightly on the cheek. "I'll be right back," she said cheerfully, and practically skipped off toward the hedges.

Artemis stared after her for a moment, then sighed and looked at the kitten. She looked back. He wasn't quite sure how such a small creature managed it, but she seemed entirely unimpressed with him. "Don't give me that look," he said sternly. "What is it you want?"

The kitten suddenly rubbed her head against his arm and started purring. Hesitantly, he maneuvered her so she was better cradled against his chest and scratched lightly under her chin. Her purring doubled in strength and she settled into his arms, evidently content to stay there for the foreseeable future.

Viola was back soon enough, saying she hadn't been able to find any sign of other cats, that the kitten had probably wandered onto the property after being separated from her family, and just look how cute she was and wasn't it charming how she had fallen asleep in his arms like that and they must have room for one more, right?

Artemis just shook his head in resignation. It seemed as though the manor would take in another stray.

Chapter Text

Scotland was having an unusually hot week.

Which, as it turned out, suited their purposes perfectly.

"You know, I like this place much better in summer," Connor said happily. Artemis looked up from his book to find the other boy standing beside him, dripping wet and grinning. He gave a small smile of agreement and looked out over Loch Ness.

"Yes. And when we aren't tracking down maniacal elves," he commented dryly, watching Lizzie coax his brothers into the ankle-deep water that lapped at the shore. Well, coax Myles--Beckett she had to restrain from leaping from the rocks into the water.

Connor made a noise of agreement and dropped into the folding chair next to him. After a moment he chuckled, shaking his head. "I still can't believe your folks can afford something like this." At Artemis's raised eyebrow he rolled his eyes and said, "You know what I mean."

Artemis supposed the other boy did have a point. Not many families were able to spend a summer vacation in this particular venue, especially not in a rented house with a stretch of private access to the loch.

"C'mon, Sam, aren't you getting in?" That was Liz. Having successfully gotten the twins into the water, she seemed determined to work on the rest of the household. While he admired her lightheartedness, Artemis for one had no intention of joining her. Warm for Scotland it may be, but that water was still far too cold for his tastes.

"Not even if you paid me," Sam replied to his girlfriend lazily, toasting her with some sort of soft drink from where he sat on a picnic bench with Juliet and Artemis's parents.

Lizzie stuck her tongue out at him. "Boring! Connor got in!"

"Connor was born to this climate," Sam retorted easily.

The girl sighed, but evidently gave up and moved on. "Vi!" she called, waving to her sister, who was currently curled up next to Artemis in the shade. "Don't leave me alone out here with these urchins." She was referring, of course, to Beckett, who had begun to climb her like a blond monkey.

Viola laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe later, Liz, I'm napping."

"Like he…eck you are," her sister protested, eyes flicking toward the boys as she changed her curse midsentence. "Get in here!"

"She won't let up until you do," Connor commented quietly.

Viola sighed. "Yeah, I know." She stood up. "Alright, you win," she called to Liz, who pumped her fist into the air and did a splashing victory dance. Viola chuckled and rolled her eyes, fingers tugging at the laces of the sheer black, robe-like garment she wore over her swimsuit. "You sure you're not getting in?" she asked Artemis, jerking her head toward her sister and his brothers, who now seemed to have started an all-out water war.

"Tempting as it may be," he replied, eyeing them warily, "No."

"Suit yourself," she trilled, shrugging out of her cover up. It pooled around her bare feet and she stepped daintily over it, picking her way across the pebbly shore to the water's edge.

For a frozen moment Artemis just stared. Then he hurriedly buried his face in his book, hoping Connor wouldn't notice his suddenly burning face. That--that just shouldn't be allowed.

He heard Viola laugh and glanced up to see Beckett had sprung from Lizzie's back to the other girl's arms, making her stumble into the water. She balanced the boy on her hip and he wrapped his legs around her waist, one heel catching at the bottoms of her wine red bikini--really, how was that fair?

"Did you really see a water horse here?" he asked, blue eyes large and shinning.

Viola laughed. "I've told you a thousand times!" she exclaimed, tossing her now damp curls over one shoulder. The motion drew Artemis's attention to her back, and he was unreasonably grateful for his gaze to be directed somewhere more decent than where it had been lingering…although considering the sheer lack of coverage on her body, her back really wasn't too much better... Suddenly his rambling thoughts stopped short. He realized he was staring, again, though for an entirely different reason, and glanced down at his book, brows drawing together.

He remembered those scars, though he'd never actually seen them clearly before. He remembered the feel of them under his fingertips, remembered tracing softly over bare skin, remembered hearing her voice come crackling through a discarded comm unit: "For carving into my back…over and over!"

Of course he'd known the scars were there, knew roughly how she got them, but he'd never asked, never wanted to dredge up those memories. And it wasn't as though he frequently saw her with her shirt off. Just that once actually…pity…no, focus damnit!.

He was suddenly, irrationally angry. Angry with a dead man--well, elf. If there was any sort of hell, Kols would be burning it for several eternities. If whoever was in charge of that sort of thing didn't make it happen, he would.

"What is she doing now?"

He came back to his surroundings at the deep, rumbling voice suddenly present over his shoulder. He glanced up at Butler, actually a bit surprised it had taken the big man so long to put in an appearance. Though he supposed if anyone really needed a good lie-in it was his bodyguard, and he was glad Juliet had someone convinced him to take one. Then what the man had actually said registered and he followed his gaze to the water.

Becket, Myles, and Lizzie sat perched on a few flat rocks that jutted out into the loch. Viola appeared to have waded out into waist deep water, where she currently had her head stuck into the water as though she was doing some bizarre, aquatic version of a Downward Facing Dog pose.

"That…" he said slowly, blinking in bewilderment, "is an excellent question."

Connor, who had flopped onto his back and closed his eyes, cracked an eye open to see what the fuss was about. When he did, he suddenly shot upright. "Um…" He sounded…nervous? "Was Beckett talking to her about the water horses again?"

Artemis's eyes widened fractionally. "You don't think--"

"I most certainly do think," Butler put in. Then he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose and muttered something that sounded like "One normal day. Just one."

Before any of them had time to react further, Loch Ness began to roil. Artemis's parents, Sam, and Juliet all jumped to their feet, starting toward the three clustered at the water's edge. Lizzie had grabbed the twins' arms and was backpedaling sharply. Artemis, Connor, and Butler all moved forward as well. Sure the water horses weren't dangerous, but they were big and Artemis wasn't sure how close to the water he was comfortable with his family being.

Viola, of course, hadn't moved.

"Vi!" he called, hoping she could hear him under the water. Her siblings and his mother added calls of their own. When she didn't respond, he tried again, a bit more impatient. "Viola!"

She went under.

"Not again," Lizzie groaned as Becket gasped, eyes wide.

And the loch exploded.

Perhaps "exploded" was a bit too harsh a term. But the entirety of the Fowl household was drenched by the sudden surfacing of the water horse who had come to answer Viola's call, the girl in question grinning cheekily from her back as the creature hauled itself half onto the shore.

"Hey, all, meet Aleya," she said cheerfully, patting the shining, mottled neck of her mount. The water horse blew through her nose contentedly, huge black eyes looking around at them with undeniable intelligence. Artemis suddenly remembered Viola saying something about how a water horse's mind worked differently than other animals. "She heard me and was nice enough to drop by and say hello." A bit behind them, in deeper water, a much smaller head popped above the surface and gave a low, moaning croak that made Viola turn to greet the newcomer with a chuckle. "I know, I haven't forgotten you," she said lightly. Then she turned to address the humans again. "That's Ka'an, her calf."

Stunned silence reigned. Then, warily, Connor took a step forward. "The one who hurt his tail the last time we were here, right?" he asked, eyes flicking wonderingly over the massive creature before him.

Aleya made a few clicking sounds and dipped her head low to better eye the two-legged creatures that were slowly overcoming their shock and approaching. "Yeah, and she wants to say thanks again for us calling in the LEP to help," Viola translated, sliding down to land thigh deep in the water before moving to the animal's head.

Artemis looked back and forth between the two, a sudden though occurring. "Wait a moment," he said, moving forward. He felt Butler tense beside him, decades of a bodyguard's caution kicking in. "You didn't need to tell her what he asked," he said. He was almost close enough to touch the creature now. She was just staring at him with limpid eyes. "Can they…understand us?"

Viola's eyes were shinning. "Sort of," she said excitedly. Her hand stroked lightly down Aleya's neck and the great creature crooned happily. "They can get a general sense of things, like 'hurt' or 'safety', people and places, time--but it's not like the way other animals learn human speech, it's like they can just get pictures from words, the way humans learn language. Artemis, it's amazing! Do all magical creatures' minds work like this?"

He couldn't help smiling at her babbling, unmitigated joy. "I'm afraid I really wouldn't know," he said, shaking his head. "You'd have to ask No.1 perhaps. Although, considering how often he and Qwan have mentioned your uniqueness, it may be entirely possible that you are the only person who could know something like that."

"We'll have to tell them about this the next time he comes for a checkup then," Lizzie said, referring to the Council-mandated monitoring of Viola and her siblings' powers. She was a step or two closer to the water horse than Artemis himself, and she shot her sister a suddenly shy look, hands fluttering in the animal's direction. "Could I…?"

In response, Viola just smiled and Aleya lowered her head further, pressing her nose into the girl's open palm. Lizzie drew in a sharp breath, eyes round and wondering. The water horse closed her eyes and fluted a breath through her nostrils. Lizzie giggled delightedly, hesitantly stroking the animal's muzzle.

And that was the point of no return. Beckett and Myles were captivated, as was Connor though he tried to play it off, and even Artemis's mother couldn't stop smiling when the smaller Ka'an worked up the courage to approach the shore and splashed playfully at her feet. His father laughed, eyes sparkling almost in disbelief, and then it was impossible to keep anyone from the water. Even Sam, who had refused to wear a swimsuit that day, was up to his knees in the loch, rubbing the calf's belly when Ka'an did an awkward barrel roll and twisted his neck to look up at them.

Artemis, who had been standing next to Viola while she chatted, starry-eyed, about convincing Foaly to let her use the LEP database to research magical creatures (he'd suggested hacking but she'd shot the idea down with "And what would he do in revenge this time? More spy-bugs? Do we really want that?"), suddenly found himself standing waist deep in the water next to Aleya, alone.

"Come on, big bear." He looked up to see Viola had grabbed one of Butler's massive hands in both of her own and was tugging him toward the water. "Lighten up for one day, we're on vacation!"

"It's my job to have my guard up," he replied stoically, though he did take a reluctant step closer.

Viola rolled her eyes. "Please. These animals have avoided detection for several thousand years, do you really think they'd let that slip up now just because I called them over? We're the only humans within twenty miles of this place!"

Eventually she got his feet in the water. He looked warily over the water horses, but Artemis saw a flicker of a smile when Ka'an began a splashing game with Myles and Beckett.

Viola returned to his side, looking quite pleased with herself. Artemis chuckled, shaking his head. She turned to look at him and demanded, "What?"

"You," he replied, looping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him. She froze for a moment with surprise, then relaxed, pressing the damp skin of her back to his chest. "It's just so easy for you to cause a scene, isn't it?" he teased.

She mock scowled at him over her shoulder. "Word is you've caused quite a few scenes yourself, in your day," she drawled, then sighed dramatically. "I guess you're just losing your edge. Your unpredictability."

An idea seized him and he glanced around to be sure no one was paying too close attention. Then he dipped his head so his mouth was next to her ear and asked softly, "Am I?" He was rewarded with her shiver, and he pressed the advantage, ducking to kiss the nape of her neck. His lips trailed down, brushing against the edge of one of the scars that latticed her back.

Viola stiffened, though the tension he felt from her wasn't defensive so much as…excited. Her hand fluttered, making a motion as though to reach around and grab at him, but she seemed to pull herself together, dropping her arms and stepping away.

"You," she said softly, not looking at him, "are a very dangerous man, Master Fowl."

Viola

Viola couldn't sleep that night. Her brain just wouldn't calm down.

First was worry. Ever since the picnic incident she'd gone to bed every night and woken up every morning worrying about her powers. They'd discussed the incident with Qwan, but the demon warlock hadn't really had any advice.

"It's possible that Viola--well, for lack of a better term, "unlocking" her early memories of her mother allowed previously suppressed aspects of her power to surface," No.1 had relayed after a few days of research. Comforting in that it meant there probably wasn't anything wrong. Unfortunate in that it meant no one could predict when something similar might happen again.

So she'd been keeping a tight rein on the tendrils of power that curled through her choice, only allowing it to reach out from herself when she communed with animals. Her conversation with Aleya and her calf that day had been the most she'd allowed her power to be free in weeks.

And then of course there were the more mundane worries: was Shatan behaving himself at home? Were Angeline's house sitters remembering to give the dogs in the kennel the appropriate amount of attention? Was Twyla, the kitten that had adopted Artemis, adjusting alright without anyone in the manor?

She sighed and rolled over in her bed, glancing at her phone screen. 1:43. She growled and buried her head in her pillow. This was ridiculous.

Because it wasn't just worry keeping her awake. She could still feel that kiss on the back of her neck, a burning brand against her skin. Remembering the look in Artemis's eyes--like fire trapped behind a wall of ice--sent a tingle down her spine and made her shudder.

Viola gritted her teeth, rolling onto her back to glare at the dark ceiling. For a moment, she debated knocking at the room next to hers to see if Lizzie was awake and would keep her company. But that was no good; even if she woke her sister up, the younger girl was too nice to complain, and then they'd both be losing sleep pointlessly.

Finally, she sat up in bed, irritable and too hot. Silently as she could, she slipped to the door of her room and out into the hallway, tiptoeing toward the stairs on the pads of her bare feet. The house they were renting was four stories, counting the renovated basement. She, Lizzie, and Artemis's parents were on the top floor while the boys, Butler, and Juliet were on the second. This meant that she had to painstakingly creep past almost every room in the house before she made it to the front door, wincing every time a floorboard creaked or she bumped into something in the darkness.

Finally, she made it onto the porch. She didn't think she'd woken anyone, or if she had they must have immediately gone back to sleep. Letting out a sharp breath, she tripped lightly down the steps onto the pebbly ground and picked her way to the edge of the loch.

It may have been warm for Scotland, but the night air was still chilly. Perfect. Viola settled herself onto a large, flat topped rock, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.

The water was dark and placid, the reflection of the cloudless sky above so clear it seemed as if she could reach out and cup the stars in her hands. She smiled slightly, letting herself relax.

Magic sparked to life in her chest, feeling her iron control start to slip. She let out a barely perceptible sigh and it rippled away from her, that "something special" sense ghosting over the shore and the water, feeling the life in each blade of grass and the cautious animals of the night.

She smiled. Perhaps a benefit to her constant hyper vigilance in regards to her powers was that she was starting to understand them better. Slowly, painfully slowly, her control over who and what she could feel was growing. It was still mostly trial and error, but it was something.

"Diolch y sêr ar gyfer gwyrthiau bychain," she murmured softly in her native Welsh.

"I don't really think the stars have anything to do with it."

Viola started violently, twisting around to see who had approached. Damnit, she had been so content to just let her power wander that she hadn't actually been paying attention to it. "I swear to God, Artemis," she muttered as the boy settled himself beside her, "one of these days I'm going to get you a bell." She sighed and ran a hand through her curls, then glowered at him sideways. "What are you doing out here anyway? It's late."

"Early, actually. And I could say the same to you." When she continued to stare at him, unimpressed, he shrugged and added, "I couldn't sleep. I saw you from the window and thought we could revel in our insomnia together."

Viola rolled her eyes, but she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's far too early in the morning for words like "revel". Revel is a lively word reserved for daylight hours."

She felt his chuckle as much as heard it. Then they lapsed into silence. Normally, she liked the fact that she didn't need to talk with Artemis. Being in each other's company was easy and comfortable. But tonight it made her…anxious. No, that wasn't quite right, but it was something like it that set her stomach fluttering and brought heat rising to every inch of her skin.

"Are you alright?"

The question was almost whispered, but she flinched as though he'd shouted. How could he always tell? "Fine," she answered blithely. Then she realized that really wasn't going to cut it and amended, "A little stressed I suppose."

"Your powers?" He looked down at her, one side of his face lit by moonlight, the other cast in shadow. She nodded reluctantly. "Has something happened?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Actually, I think my control is getting better. It's just…" She trailed off, looking out over the starry water, then sighed. "I can't help wondering if this is what it's going to be like for the rest of my life, you know? Constantly afraid that if my control slips even a little I'll just--I'll go mad or something."

For a long moment, Artemis sat in silence. Then he offered quietly, "Well, you'd be in good company."

She looked at him, a little surprised, and saw his tiny smile. "Genius and madness often go hand in hand after all," he murmured, smile widening.

Viola felt some of her tension ease and she laughed. "Well, well, someone's feeling confident."

He shrugged, adopting the lofty demeanor that people who didn't know him thought was just the way he was. "Confidence has nothing to do with it. I'm just stating a fact."

Viola rolled her eyes, bumping his shoulder with hers. "You're insufferable sometimes, you know that?" she grumbled, but her lips twitched in a smile.

Icy eyes glinted down at her. "And why is that?" he asked softly, reaching up to brush a curl behind her ear.

She shivered, and it had nothing to do with the night air. "You're arrogant," she offered.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "True."

Her breath hitched. "You're far too self-assured, even when you shouldn't be," she added, finding that it was quite impossible for her to care about how breathy her voice suddenly sounded.

He kissed her forehead. "Usually, yes."

One of her hands fisted in the fabric of his shirt. "You're annoyingly competitive."

He chuckled against the skin of her shoulder. "Only sometimes." His lips moved to her neck.

She leaned into him, tilting her head back. "Smug," she rasped out. "You can be so damned smug." Since when was he the one who could make her lose her head while keeping his cool?

"Again, true," he said. His lips were right by her ear, breath ghosting over her skin. "But tell me honestly." He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes and she saw that he hadn't kept his cool, not really. She could read it in his face. "Would you love me otherwise?"

Honestly...probably not. It was his flaws that made him who he was, just as her scars defined her. She knew he could see her answer in her eyes, so she didn't bother vocalizing it. Instead she opted to lunge forward and capture his mouth, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to hold him against her.

He responded fiercely, burying his fingers in her hair and tilting her head back to offer a better angle. She gasped and he moved her bodily onto his lap. The pent up tension that had been building inside her since he'd kissed her scar--so softly, how could a kiss go from that to this?--seemed to crackle between them like electricity.

Her magic flared, curling inside and around her, tying them together with invisible threads. The heat in her skin seemed to double as a desire that was not entirely her own flowed through the link. She bit down on a moan and channeled the heat into the kiss, feeling him shudder against her as his grip tightened.

She wasn't cold anymore.

Chapter Text

"Boo!"

"Christ!" Lizzie jumped and spun around, glaring. Her eyes, heavily lined in sparkling blue, narrowed at her boyfriend where he stood chortling in the doorway. "Not funny, Sam," she grumbled, turning back to what she had been doing (sorting different stacks of treats into small baggies).

"It was a little funny," Viola piped up from her place sorting candy. Her sister glared at her and she shrugged, grinning. "Sorry, love."

"Aw, c'mon," Sam said, crossing to Lizzie's side and throwing an arm around her shoulders. "You gotta expect this kinda stuff around Halloween."

"Yeah, from Beckett maybe, not you," she shot back, but she was smiling a little. Viola couldn't help the soft smile that spread across her face watching them. "What are you supposed to be anyway?" Liz demanded suddenly, taking a step back and gesturing at the taller boy. Her kinky-curly hair- usually bound close to her head in a myriad of braids--bounced loosely against her shoulders.

"I'm in double costume." He smirked and stretched his arms over his head lazily. He wore a simple white button-up and khakis, a pair of fake glasses hooked onto the collar of his shirt. "I'm Superman when he's not Superman," he said smugly.

Viola quirked an eyebrow. "So, Clark Kent? Really?" She sighed with exaggerated disappointment, shaking her head. Of course her brother picked the costume he thought would require the least amount of effort.

"Don't give me that, you should see your own boyfriend," he retorted, which made her wonder. Then he continued with, "And what is this--this sparkling explosion?" indicating Lizzie's costume.

"I'm a fairy," the girl proclaimed proudly, giving a quick twirl in her gold and blue confection of a dress, showing the glittering wings that Viola had helped her fasten to the back. She winked. "All irony intended."

Sam laughed. "Man, I can't wait until Holly sees you."

"Until I see who?" As if by magic, the elf appeared in the doorway. Immediately her eyes fastened on Liz and she groaned. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is…"

Viola giggled. "Sorry, can't do that."

Holly groaned again, even more dramatically, but her eyes sparkled with good humor. Shaking her head she said, "Come on, Madam Fowl wants you guys in the parlor. Something about a family photo…"

Viola and Sam groaned and Lizzie clapped her hands, grinning, as they followed the minute officer from the room.

"So I already know who Sam is," Holly said cheerfully as they walked. The boy gave a theatrical bow and the three girls snorted. "And I unfortunately know what you're supposed to be--" she rolled her eyes at Liz, who blew her a kiss-- "And you are…" she trailed off, eyeing Viola's costume, eventually finishing with, "Oddly traditional."

Viola shrugged, grinning. "Nothing wrong with a little tradition, occasionally. Besides, I like witches." She swished the ragged skirt of her black dress and robes. It wasn't nearly as elaborate as Liz's puffy ball gown, but there was lace along the collar and trailing sleeves, and of course a tall, pointy hat perched jauntily atop the mass of curls she hadn't even bothered to try to tame.

"What did Connor go with?" the elf asked as they reached the stairs. "I haven't really seen him today, just for a minute when I was bringing the kids in."

"He and Riley did a couple's costume," Lizzie giggled delightedly.

Holly raised an eyebrow and Viola supplied, "They're Burt and Ernie."

When the elf showed a lack of comprehension, Sam and Liz launched into a lengthy explanation of Sesame Street that Viola largely tune out. Her focus was drawn back to the conversation however when she heard Sam changing the subject.

"Why does Angeline want a family picture now, anyway?" he asked. "I thought family wasn't getting here until later tonight."

Viola winced slightly at the reminder. The day had been so much fun, what with Riley and some other kids from the House coming over with Holly, who happened to have the day off, as an escort to help decorate the manor for the Halloween party their foster family was hosting, that she'd almost completely forgotten her anxiety.

Liz picked up on her unease immediately. "Stop worrying!" she berated kindly, touching her arm lightly.

They were outside the door to the parlor. Holly paused, looking back and forth between them. "Why are you worrying?"

Sam snorted. "Because it's Meet the Parents: Extended Edition. She's afraid Artemis's family won't like her."

"I'm not--!" Viola started to protest hotly, then stopped, because honestly…he was right.

Holly was looking at her sympathetically. "Vi, they'll love you. And even if they didn't, so what? You're not dating them." Viola nodded, biting her lip, and she continued, "These people are barely involved with life here, from what Artemis has told me, it's not as though they'll be around much.

She nodded again. Artemis had said as much himself, when his irritatingly astute observations had deduced the fact that she was nervous a few days before. Still… She shook herself out her of her funk, forcing a smile. "Yeah. Yeah, it'll be fine. C'mon, we shouldn't keep Angeline waiting."

The lady of her house got her photo, but it was a process. Evidently Viola, Sam, and Liz had taken so long to gather that the twins had run off somewhere, Juliet hot on their heels. By the time they returned (Viola couldn't help melting a little at the tiny Thor and Einstein, then giggling at Juliet's rather revealing "Arabian princess" getup, about which her brother didn't look too happy), Riley and a few of his housemates had wandered out of the room and had to be wrangled back. Then Angeline was fussing at her husband's costume (a pirate, his prosthetic leg had been replaced with a wooden peg for the occasion), which took another five or six minutes. Finally everyone was assembled and properly dressed.

Well, almost everyone.

"Where is my eldest?" Angeline demanded, fisting her hands on her hips. Her beautifully embroidered skirt- Viola thought she was supposed to be some queen or another--swished as she spun, searching the room for Artemis to no avail.

"Probably hiding," Connor offered honestly. Viola glanced over to where he sat on one of the couches, sandwiched between Riley and Zara, another girl from the House. She noticed his and Riley's fingers were laced together, resting between their legs, and smiled slightly.

"Mrrow? Mow-wow!"

Viola laughed, swooping to grab the small cat and lifting her to her chest, kissing the top of her calico head. Twyla protested that she was too old to be treated as a kitten anymore, she was almost as big as a grown cat now! But settled easily enough into the girl's arms. "He's coming," Viola told the others, stroking the cat's ears. She began to purr. "He was cooped up in his office, like usual. She had to meow outside the door for a full ten minutes before he opened it, then--" she paused while Twyla mewed a bit, then continued her translation. "He…no, Twy, humans don't have a word for that. Well, I'm sorry, I didn't invent the language!... Anyway, he's coming," she finished helplessly.

Some of the House kids were giving her odd (or awed) looks, but the Fowl household was used to it. Angeline grumbled and rolled her eyes, but before she could give a full-voiced complaint, her erstwhile son appeared in the doorway, apologizing.

"Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time."

"I swear, you're either absurdly prompt or so lost in your own world a hundred years could go by," Holly sighed, shaking her head at her friend. He made a face at her.

Angeline did not look the least bit mollified. "Where is your costume?" she demanded abruptly.

Viola bit down on a smile, and noticed Juliet doing the same. This was going to be good.

Artemis frowned slightly at his mother. "I'm not wearing a costume," he said, glancing down at his usual button up and slacks, complete with shiny black shoes.

"I see that," he mother replied dryly. "My question is as to why that is."

The eldest Fowl boy visibly shrunk under the force of his mother's agitation. "Ah..."

Viola rolled her eyes. He'd promised to figure something out the day before. Of course he hadn't bothered. If it was world-saving or personal-project related, other objectives just seemed to lose significance to him. She walked forward, cradling Twyla in one arm and reaching up with the other hand to transfer her overly dramatic hat from her head to his. "There!" she proclaimed, then shifted Twyla into his arms. The cat only gave a minor protest before climbing to her favorite perch--curled around the young man's neck--and went back to her purring.

Viola grinned. "Perfect." She took his arm and towed him toward the group. "Ready!" she chirped.

Angeline sighed, but evidently this whole adventure was becoming too much for her. She arranged the occupants of the room by height, clustering the Fowl household toward the middle of the group, making sure Riley stood next to Connor, giving Butler a firm "No" when he offered to take the picture instead of be in it. Viola couldn't really blame him. The bear costume may have been her idea, but she knew he would get her back eventually. Still--totally worth it.

Holly protested being dragged into the group photo, but Angeline shushed her with, "You're practically family, now get over here!"

Finally, they were all arranged to Madam Fowl's liking. The timed camera glared at them all imperiously. Three…two…one…flash!

"Alright, alright, everyone start gathering your things," Holly called to the House dwellers as the group began to disperse, giggling and groaning in turns. The kids made the rounds, shaking hands and passing hugs.

"I wish you could stay longer," Artemis murmured, bending to embrace his friend.

Holly smiled tiredly. "Me too. But I'm on duty tomorrow and I've got to get these trouble makers back home."

"Oi!" Riley protested laughingly. Viola noted, pleased, that he was still holding Connor's hand. There was a happy glow in his eyes she never would have imagined the broken boy she met in Kols' lab could possess. It made her heart constrict.

"You know who you are," Holly shot back, eyes dancing. Then she turned to Viola for a hug.

Or at least, that's what Viola thought she was going for, until she reached into the bag she had slung over her shoulder in preparation to leave and handed her a…a VHS?

"Foaly found it, don't ask me how," she said. Her expression was suddenly unreadable. Viola reached out cautiously, nervous now. What was it? Why did Foaly want her to have it?

"Ah, thanks," she muttered, bemused. Holly nodded, mouth smiling and eyes serious, and hugged her around the middle.

The strange gift was put from her mind until they had escorted their guests to the door. When they were piled into Holly's rental car (specially modified so she could reach the pedals), and the household had waved them off, the group dispersed to spend their last few hours before the party. Viola returned to the parlor, having the vague sense that Artemis- Twyla still wrapped around his neck- was following her. She didn't have to ask him to, and she didn't have to tell him his presence was an odd comfort. Not to mention he was probably as curious as she was.

She picked up the inconspicuous black box and turned it over in her hands, examining it curiously. There was a label on one side, white paper started to dull to cream with age, curling up at the edges. She turned the box to read it properly.

And her heart stopped.

Artemis

"Vi?" Artemis asked quietly, concerned. She had tensed up. He could practically feel the shock radiating from her as he stepped closer. Around his neck, Twyla's fur began to stand on end. "What is it?"

"It's--" Her voice choked off, squeaky. She cleared her throat and tried again. "It's...i-it's…" She turned to him, eyes wide, face pale with shock. She shook her head, evidently giving up on vocalization, and handed him the VHS. Her hands were shaking.

He took the oblong object from her, at the same time reaching out to lay his other hand on her shoulder comfortingly. She twitched slightly at the touch, but otherwise didn't move. He looked down at the tape.

Siobhan dancing, O'Collin's 198…

The rest of the year was smudged, but he understood the gist. He looked up at Viola, who still stood frozen and pale, as if she'd seen a ghost. "Your mother…" It wasn't a question, but it was stated with a kind of softness.

She nodded shakily, eyes very round. "I don't know how… I didn't even know there was anything left…" Her eyes started to shimmer with the threat of tears and she blinked rapidly. Artemis held out the tape to her wordlessly, and she took it.

"Do you...? Can I--?" He didn't know what to say. Of course, that was when he suddenly remembered he still had that ridiculous hat on and yanked it off, tossing it to the side.

Viola's lips twitched in what might have been the beginning of a smile. "I think--um… I'm going to--to put this away. I can't..." She swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut. "I just can't right now."

He nodded. "Alright."

She gave him a real smile this time, leaning forward to kiss his cheek before walking past him out the door, the recorded memory of her mother clutched to her chest.

Viola was distant for the rest of the evening. In a way, Lizzie commented to him at one point, they were lucky she was having such a reaction to Foaly's gift; it kept her from being nervous around the copious amounts of relatives arriving at the manor.

Artemis disagreed. Viola wasn't being much of anything, let alone nervous, and that was a much bigger problem. Rarely was the young woman so quiet. She spent a majority of her time sitting in a corner, looking thoughtfully out of the window or gazing at the pattern on the rug as though it held the secrets to life's greatest mysteries.

He couldn't blame here. Holly had dropped quite a bomb on her. Still, he was worried. Around nine o'clock, when the twins were being coaxed to bed, he managed to find her on a second floor balcony, perched on the ledge with her knees drawn up to her chest. He shivered in the brisk autumn wind and noticed she'd left her shoes by the door to the terrace.

"Hello," he said quietly, coming to lean on the railing next to her.

She smiled softly, eyes very far away. "Hey." She looked out over the grounds again, dusky and gray-green. Silence fell. Artemis watched her out of the corner of his eye, uncertain as to what he should do.

"Did I ever tell you she was a dancer?"

The question was so suddenly interjected into that silence that he started slightly. She still wasn't looking at him, but the query was clearly posed to no one else. He shook his head. "No, you didn't."

Viola nodded. A tiny smile quirked at her lips. "She wasn't exactly well known, it's not like it was really her job. She just did it because she loved it. Ever since she was a kid, she told me. I used to watch her practice, when I was little, I thought it was some kind of magic. It didn't make sense to me that a body could move like that, effortless." She trailed off and rested her chin on her knees.

He reached out and brushed is fingers over the back of her hand, not sure what else he could do. Apparently that was enough, because she looked up at him and smiled, eyes seeming present for the first time since she'd handed him the tape. "Sorry I'm so out of it," she murmured, flipping her hand over to squeeze his fingers.

He shook his head, relieved that she was starting to act more like herself. "You don't have to apologize. It was quite a shock."

She nodded, glancing back out over the grounds. Then she swung her legs down to the stone of the terrace, shivering as bare skin hit cold stone. "I'm freezing," she said, eyes suddenly wide, with the air of someone discovering a hereto unknown sensation.

Artemis laughed, shaking his head. "Of course you are," he scolded gently, nodding toward her shoes.

She gave a sheepish smiled. "Oh, yeah." She collected them and slipped them on as she followed him back into the manor. "Is Angeline mad at me for missing most of this party?" she asked, wincing guiltily.

Artemis shook his head. "Of course not, she understands." He almost unconsciously reached for her hand, interlocking their fingers. "Most everyone is leaving now, do you want to wait it out up here?"

She looked up at him, eyes shining gratefully. "Have I mentioned lately that you're wonderful?" she asked, smiling and squeezing his hand.

His stomach flipped rather agreeably. "No." He dipped to kiss her forehead. "But I do rather assume."

She laughed and shoved at his chest lightly. "Not to mention humble," she teased.

It was almost midnight by the time everything had calmed down enough to address the VHS Viola had recovered from her room. She was perched on the edge of Artemis's desk, turning it over and over in her hands. He tapped away at his keyboard, running and rerunning the same program in an effort to appear as though he was doing something other than watching the girl warily out of the corner of his eye.

Suddenly she let out a breath that was halfway between a sigh and an exasperated huff. "Does anyone even have the correct device to play this sort of thing anymore?" she demanded abruptly of no one in particular, waving the tape above her head.

Not sure if she was genuinely asking or just frustrated, Artemis ventured cautiously, "I have…a prototype of the C-Cube that would probably work…"

She twisted her head to look at him and said nothing. After a few moments of silent, unsure eye contact, he tried again. "Should I get it…?"

The air left her body in a sharp huh. "Yeah. I mean, yes please. If you don't mind…"

Digging up the device took some time, so it was nearly one in the morning when they managed to set it on top of the tape, Viola now huddled next to him on the arm of the chair--she refused to actually sit, practically buzzing with anxious energy. The rest of the household was in bed, or at least in their rooms. He'd passed a very sleepy Lizzie in the hallway during his search for the cube prototype who'd expressed concern but was brushed off by her sister, who told the younger girl to get to bed.

"Are you sure you want me…here?" Artemis asked quietly, poised to play the tape. "This seems very personal."

Viola shook her head. "No, no I…want you to stay. I don't know if I can...if I can manage on my own."

He nodded, heart breaking for her a little, and hit play.

The tiny screen on the cube flickered to life. The image of a woman came into focus, dressed in traditional step dancing attire, fair skinned and fair haired, but wearing a face he knew so well. Emerald and sapphire ribbons were woven through her braided strawberry blond locks, and when she snapped her left hand into position above her head he could the glint of a distinctive metal band on her ring finger.

Viola sucked in a sharp breath beside him. Her left hand started to move toward her right arm and he tensed out of habit, ready to pull her hand away from her scar. But it was her mother's ring her fingers sought out, twisting the Claddagh around and around almost ritualistically.

Artemis almost said something, but then the music started and Siobhan began to dance and words failed him. It was very similar to the feeling induced when her daughter sang, as though the woman was sweeping you into a world created solely by that music. In a lot of ways it was a traditional, rather stiff reel, but she made it look effortless. And the dance was infused with steps of her own, leaps and twirls that were more reminiscent of ballet or ballroom dancing, a style that was completely unique.

She was breathtaking.

The video was approximately twelve minutes long. At the end of it, Siobhan smiled directly at the camera and blew a kiss. Logically Artemis knew it must have been Garret Sayer holding the camera, it was him she was smiling at, but he couldn't help feel that, just a little bit, it was meant for her daughter so many years later. He twisted to look at the girl in question.

She was crying. Not the broken, terrified sobbing he'd only briefly seen before, but silent tears that streaked down her cheeks endlessly. And she was smiling.

Much later, close to three in the morning, Viola and Artemis climbed into his bed in wordless agreement. The girl was asleep almost instantly, and he could feel himself following close behind. Sleepy and feeling a little bold, he reached out and drew her against him, loving the way her hair brushed against his cheek. She still smelled of the bread and wine that had spent the last two hours hunting up and arranging on the dining room table as a traditional Samhain offering to the spirits of their loved ones.

"Artemis?"

Apparently she wasn't asleep after all. "Yes?"

She snuggled closer, if that was possible. "I kinda look like her, don't I? I never really thought about it before…"

His heart squeezed and he kissed the top of her head. "Yes. She's beautiful."

Her breath blew gently across his neck as she chuckled sleepily. "Flirt."

He smiled. "Good night, Vi."

Chapter Text

Nine ingredients. Ten steps. How hard could it be?

"Note to self: I really need to stop saying that," Viola mumbled, looking around at the crime scene that had once been the Fowl Manor kitchen.

"What…the hell…happened?"

Oh shit. She bit her lip guiltily and turned slowly toward the door. Artemis stood just inside the room, staring around with wide, disbelieving eyes at the bag of flour that seemed to have exploded on the counter, the half dozen cracked eggs leaking on the table, the bags and cartons and shakers of sugar scattered about haphazardly (she hadn't been quite sure which one she was supposed to use), the half dozen baking pans and twice as many bowls left lying around with food residue caked to their interiors. He shook his head.

"I was gone for fifteen minutes." His tone implied an air of utter bewilderment.

Which of course immediately put her on the defensive. "Hey, it's not that bad!" He quirked an eyebrow and she flushed. "…Okay, it's bad. But the cookies are in the oven and all that's left is clean up, so why don't you get off the Judgement Train and help me out, yeah?"

He sighed and shook his head but ventured further into the kitchen cautiously. "I still don't know why you insisted on this," he muttered, starting to run some water to rinse out her discarded dishes. Then his brow furrowed and he glanced over at her. "Judgement Train?"

"Shut up," she mumbled, starting in on the pans next to him. "And I wanted to do this 'cause I thought it would be a nice surprise when everyone gets home." The rest of the household had taken a day trip into Dublin. Artemis had wanted to remain in the manor to work on his current project--some program or another she couldn't understand for the life of her--and she had been working with Shatan. Of course, that still gave them several hours before the others got home, and she'd thought a little baking might pass the time.

"And you wanted to prove Connor wrong," Artemis added casually, not looking at her. She glowered.

"Fine," she admitted peevishly. "Maybe I did, a little. Just because he's some Gordon Ramsey clone doesn't mean he's the only one who can cook!"

Artemis shot her a puzzled glance, moving to put the rinsed dishes in the washer. "Who?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Telly, Arty, ever heard of it? You should take a break from your geniusing sometime and try it out."

He continued starting at her in befuddlement. "I do not believe that is a word."

"Gah!" Viola threw her hands in the air, moving to tow the garbage bin to the counter and scoop up some of the spilled flour. "Boy, I love you, but sometimes you are infuriating."

"I fail to see how television is a relevant aspect of my life," he pointed out calmly.

His calm was inexplicably irritating to her in that moment, making her want to argue. And, because she was feeling peevish and thwarted and not at all in the mood to be dealing with his calm, cool self, she snapped away from her task with the force of a gunshot and gestured widely. "You know, you really should--!" Then she stopped, flour covered hands flying toward her mouth. "Oops…"

Artemis slowly opened his eyes, blinking away the white powder she had inadvertently tossed all over him in her over exuberance. Viola choked back a laugh, suddenly feeling much better. "Oh-- um, sorry, I didn't mean to…" Chuckles were shaking her shoulders. She couldn't help herself. "Ahahaha! R-really, I'm-- hahaha-- I'm sorry, I--Oh God your face! Ahahahaha!"

Her laughter was cut suddenly short when something sweet and powdery hit her in the face, filling her mouth. She spluttered and blinked, causing sugar to rain onto the floor. She met Artemis's gaze incredulously.

He was smirking. "Oops."

An evil smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. "Oh, it's on, rich boy." Quick as a flash, her hand darted out and grabbed a handful of cinnamon, which she lobbed at him almost gracefully.

This time anticipating the attack, he turned, letting his should take most of the spice as opposed to his face. She saw his hand move toward the counter and ducked toward the table instinctively.

She wasn't quite fast enough. A clump of something that was probably baking soda--it certainly smelled like it--hit her in the back. She gave a soft shriek of protest and popped up, grabbing another handful of flour to toss.

Artemis blocked her arm, reaching for the same ingredient, and gave her an immensely satisfied smirk, which looked admittedly out of place with his flour covered face and hair, before simply scooping the stuff up and all over the top of her head.

Viola lips formed a brief "O" of shock; but she quickly recovered, reaching around behind her boyfriend to swipe a fingerful of the butter she'd left on the counter, which she smeared triumphantly down his nose. 

His eyes narrowed and she grinned. "You will regret that," he promised ominously.

"Oh, will I?" she started to taunt, but at that moment he upended the bottle of vanilla over her head. She sucked in a sharp breath of surprise, nearly smothering herself in the sickly sweet scent.

She glared. He smiled.

This. Meant. War.

Roughly half an hour, a handful of shrieks, a quarter gallon of spilled milk, copious amounts of flour and sugar flying through the air, four almost-concussions, and one nearly burned batch of cookies later, Viola and Artemis finally finished cleaning up the kitchen. And she decided she really needed a shower.

Even though it took her an inordinate amount of time to get all the particles out of her hair, and she thought she'd probably smell like vanilla for days, she couldn't seem to stop smiling. It was so rare to get Artemis to act like that; she couldn't help appreciating the little moments.

"Can you find the time to let your lover love you," she sang to herself, admitting defeat to the scent of vanilla after her fourth lather-rinse-repeat and bumping open the door of the shower with her hip. She continued singing softly under her breath, still smiling, as she wrapped a towel around herself. "The hardest parts you'll get through, and in the end you'll have your best friend."

She peeked around the door--silly, she realized once she remembered there was no one home, but a habit from growing up with a brother who could turn invisible--and stepped lightly out into the hallway.

The bathroom she'd taken to using was only a few doors down from her room, barely enough time to get through the chorus: "Love like this may come once, baby it's fate...Like a soulmate he's your penguin. Baby it's fate, baby it's fate, not luck."

She nodded her head from side to side, swaying slightly to the music in her head, dallying outside her door. She hummed the next few bars, spotty on the lyrics at this point in the song. She happened to glance over her shoulder and noticed Artemis had left his door open a crack. The words suddenly returned to her and she whisper-sang, "His arrow's aiming for you…" She took an unconscious step toward the door. "And he's the one that you…were born to love…"

She was at the door now, one hand moving to simultaneously knock and push it open, the other clutching the towel to her chest.

"Yes?" Artemis looked up at the door swung open, shoeless, shirt unbuttoned and untucked, hair damp from his own evidently recent shower. Their eyes locked.

A rtemis

Viola stood in his doorway wearing nothing but a bath towel. Her eyes seemed unusually large in her fair face, dark hair tumbled around her shoulders, just starting to dry enough to curl back up. There was in inexplicable something on her face that made his voice trail off, his throat constricting around any words he might have uttered.

She took a step toward him, soft but not hesitant, and he mirrored the movement, going off some unspoken cue he wasn't sure how he understood. In less than a breath they were close enough to feel each other's body heat. Still following that strange new instinct, he reached up to cup her face in his hands, kissing her gently.

She responded with a near shocking amount of enthusiasm, one hand fisting in the collar of his shirt, pulling it sharply away from his skin, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. He tangled his fingers in her hair, his other hand skimming across the skin between her shoulder blades. She shuddered and he kissed her harder, pulling her against him almost roughly.

Somehow they had managed to move themselves to the middle of the room. The door was closed, though he had no memory of how that had occurred. And he didn't really care. Because Viola had wrapped her arm around his shoulders and was kissing his neck, heart racing against his chest, the faint scent of vanilla still clinging to her hair and skin. Her fingers pulled insistently at his shirt and he twisted out of it. In doing so, the backs of his legs bumped up against the side of the bed. How had the ended up there?

Viola's lips moved to the hollow of his throat, then dipped lower. He sucked in a sharp breath, grabbing her waist and spinning, lifting her onto the bed. She made a soft humming noise deep in her throat, arms twining around him, nails scratching lightly at his back. The towel was left on the floor.

"Vi--" Somehow he found the mind space to bother panting out her name between desperate, hungry kisses. "What is...Are you--?" He wasn't sure what it was he was trying to ask, but he felt he should be asking something.

Apparently Viola disagreed. She shut him up with a searing kiss, hands skimming down his stomach to rest at the hem of his pants. He shivered. "Just for a little while," she whispered against his skin, "Don't think. Just do what feels right."

His next kiss was practically an attack, pushing her down onto the bed, her skin like a furnace against his. The rest of his clothes quickly joined her towel on the floor.

Viola

She'd never really given it any thought, what this particular moment in her life might be like. Sure she'd thought about it, she wasn't a robot, but it had seemed like such a distant event, a milestone she'd eventually pass one way or another. And she'd always had so many other things to worry about; daydreaming about boys was hardly on her list of priorities.

Still, even if she'd been the kind of girl to fantasize about this sort of thing, she could never have imagined what it would really be like. What he would be like. Heat on her skin and peppermint on her tongue and ice blue eyes burning at her like twin stars…

"Artemis."

Artemis

It may have crossed his mind once or twice, but he'd never really dwelled on it: what it would be, who she would be, any of it. A simple necessary passage in life, nothing more. The way people romanticized it had seemed absurd to him. The idea of two people being one, even for an instant, was so illogical it evoked an instinctive reaction of condescension. All pretty thoughts aside, physics simply wouldn't allow it.

And then there was her, the walking mess of contradictions. The girl who seemed to laugh in the face of natural laws, vulnerable and offering all that she was. Whispered declarations and honey on his lips and deep, dark eyes that pulled him in until he was drowning…

"Viola."

After, quiet wrapped around them like a blanket. Not silence, just a nice sort of quiet, filled with soft breathing and sheets rustling and hearts beating. Artemis just stared at her, running his thumb gently along her cheek, then splaying his fingers to cup the side of her face.

"I love you," he said quietly as she tilted her face into his touch, eyes fluttering closed.

She smiled. "I love you." She kissed his palm, shifting to wrap her arms around his waist. He let his arm fall across her back, and she nuzzled her head into the hollow where his neck met his shoulder. She exhaled in a contented sigh. "I'm never leaving this spot."

"That's hardly practical," he murmured, stroking her hair. "Though I concur with the sentiment."

He felt more than heard her soft laugh, and then she mumbled something that sounded like, "Only you..." Then she let out another sigh, this was tinged with something like wistfulness. "I suppose we'll have to be presentable soon, though. The others won't be gone for more than another hour or so."

Being reminded of the existence of other people was rather like being woken with a bucket of cold water. "Ah. Yes, I suppose you're right."

The lapsed into quiet again. Viola began tracing patterns on his chest. "Well…" she said slowly, "that still leaves us with a whole hour."

He felt his heartbeat pick up speed. "Yes. Yes it does."

She tilted her head back to give him a wicked smile, then pushed herself up for a searing kiss.

And Artemis decided his next project should be getting ahold of a time-stop.

Chapter Text

As usual, Christmas at Fowl Manor was a splendid affair. There were lights and trees and ribbons and mistletoe, and many, many people. Christmas Eve Angeline decided that all of the people at the House should come celebrate the holidays, and of course they needed an LEP escort; Holly even convinced Trouble to come with her. Foaly and his family made an appearance, and No.1 managed to get the day off from Qwan. Even Mulch turned up, and ate nearly as much as Viola and her siblings combined. It was almost three full days of existing in a dreamlike state of what Sam grudgingly dubbed "festive cheer".

Then, of course, reality set in. It started with sniffle from Beckett. A sniffle his brother quickly picked up. From there, the sniffle spread to Angeline, Artemis Senior, Elizabeth, and Connor, and it grew from a sniffle to a full blown cold. The cold hopped onto Juliet, Artemis, Sam, and--after one hell of a fight involving a rigorous health regime--Butler. Within a week every person at the manor was in bed with a fever and a cough, at the very least.

Every person except one.

"It's just not fair," Lizzie complained thickly through a stuffy nose when Viola gently scooted a bowl of soup onto her bedside table. "I've never seen you sick, it's like you have a superpower immune system."

Viola smiled and brushed her wiry curls off her forehead. "Nope, no superpowers. Just a touch of magic." Lizzie stuck her tongue out at her and she returned the gesture. "I know it sucks, babe. Just try to sleep it off, yeah?" Her sister mumbled an agreement as she left her room, balancing a tray with two more lunched on her arm.

With no small amount of trepidation, she made her way to the master bedroom. Granted, it was the second day in a row she'd done this, but there was still something strange about caring for Artemis's parents, even in such a small way. Her knock at the door was barely even strong enough to qualify as "hesitant".

"Come in, dear." She slipped inside and couldn't help smiling at the sight that greeted her. Angeline and Artemis Senior sat propped up in bed, the twins snuggled between them--Myles was fiddling with some gadget or another while Beckett seemed to be grumbling about being kept inside.

"You giving your parents a hard time?" she asked, mock frowning at him as she approached and laid the tray on the bedside table.

Immediately he turned into a sick little blond cherub. "No," he said, coughing pitifully and looking up at her with big blue eyes.

She rolled her eyes and tousled his hair. "Ham," she accused fondly, dropping a kiss on the top of his head.

Artemis Senior shook his head, but he was smiling. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked his son teasingly. "And you," he added, grabbing Myles before the boy could sneak off the bed.

Angeline smiled at Viola as the boys began protesting loudly and their father spoke over them. "He hates being cooped up like this. Wants to be back to his experiments." She gave a half amused, half exasperated sigh.

Viola echoed the sound and muttered, "I wonder where he gets that from…"

Artemis

A cure for the common cold. That would be his next project. No one had ever had any success before but, well…that was sort of his MO, wasn't it?

Artemis sat at his desk, a box of tissues--nearly emptied--within easy reach, determinedly pulling up articles from any medical archive he could get his digital hands on, including some fairy databases.

A sadly familiar and by now completely infuriating tickle preceded the sneeze by several seconds. It actually propelled his chair backward slightly, so when the knock came at the door to his office his voice as thick and irritated when he snapped, "Come in, then."

The door opened just wide enough for Viola to slip through. She leaned against the wall, hands crossing over her chest. "I'm giving you a free pass on that one because you're sick," she said coolly, raising an eyebrow.

He winced internally and mumbled. "Sorry. I'm just frustrated--"

She gave a small smile, expression warming instantly. "I know. Like I said, free pass." She crossed to his chair, mouth hardening into her "determined" expression. "But I am just a wee bit displeased that you decided to come work in here when you know you're supposed to be resting. In bed." She flashed a smile that was made of rainbows and sugar and pure terror.

"I feel fine," Artemis protested, waving her off. "It's just a cold, I--" A fit of coughing cut him off, doubling him over in his chair.

Slender hands grasped his shoulders, pulling him out of the chair and into a familiar embrace--though admittedly Viola was acting more as a crutch than anything else, her small, solid presence the only thing keeping him upright. She muttered something about men being stubborn goats in Cantonese. "Come on, you great daft genius. Bed."

He tried to protest, he really did, but he somehow found himself nodding and allowing her to lead him out into the hallway. Somehow they arrived at his room and she steered him toward the bed, where he collapsed gratefully. The world was starting to tilt a bit, and was his window open? That was quite a chill.

Graceful, cool fingers pressed against his forehead, then he heard some quiet swearing in half a dozen languages. "Wonderful. You've managed to make your fever spike again."

He squinted, trying to bring the shimmery image that kept threatening to split into two Violas into focus. "It's nothing serious…I just need some…rest."

"I know you do, you poauau moron," Viola muttered, fisting her hands on her hips.

Moron? That wasn't something he could ever recall being accused of. "I beg your pardon?" His voice somehow wasn't as strong as he intended. "And that insult was rather redundant."

He thought he heard her laugh, though there was a tinge of resignation to the sound. "Go to sleep, Arty. I'll go fetch you something to eat, yeah?"

"Wait a moment." His eyes were already drifting closed. Damn, why was it the moment he lay down he was suddenly exhausted? "Really, Viola, you don't have to--"

A feather light touch brushed his hair away from his forehead. "I know I don't have to," she said softly. Blearily, he focused on those warm eyes glinting at him. "I want to." She leaned down and kissed his cheek, then straightened up and moved toward the door again. "And if you aren't asleep when I get back here, I will be very cross."

The door shut behind her with a very final click.

It wasn't the young woman's threats that sent him quickly to sleep. He was positive. Well, 99.99999% positive, approximately. He simply recognized that he needed rest. Either way, when he next opened his eyes there was a tray with food on the desk in his room, and Viola was asleep in the armchair by his window, curled up like a cat. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, a little surprised by how much better he felt. And whatever she'd brought smelled amazing.

Futilely attempting to straighten some of the wrinkles in his shirt--he really shouldn't get into the habit of sleeping fully clothed--he cautiously rose from the bed, half expecting a wave of dizziness to hit him.

Other than a moment of lightheadedness, he felt fine. Hungry, though, which he took as a good sign. He hadn't been properly hungry in days. He crossed to Viola's tray and picked up the first thing his eyes lit on: an apple, as it happened. Then he turned to give the girl his attention, moving forward to wake her.

Then he hesitated. She looked so peaceful, curled in on herself with an open book under one of her limp hands. Then Artemis took a closer look and his brow furrowed. There were dark bags under her eyes, and her skin was a shade or two paler than usual.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Silly girl," he whispered, pulling one of the blankets from his bed and laying it over her. She'd been so worried about taking care of everyone else she hadn't stopped to take care of herself.

"Ah 'eard thad." The muffled, sleepy mumble drew a smile to his lips. "Hypocrite…"

Still smiling, he let his hand rest gently on the top of her head for a moment. "Fair enough," he conceded, stroking her hair. "But now it is my turn to tell you that you need to rest."

"I am resting." She blinked up at him, eyes still blurry with sleep.

He shook his head and chuckled in a fondly frustrated sort of way. "Come on, why don't you lay on the bed so you can sleep properly?"

"M'kay." Without preamble, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him pull her to her feet and into an embrace. A flash of heat ran through him and for a moment he simply held her, drinking in the feeling of her pressed against him. Then he mentally shook himself and shuffled them both toward the bed.

Viola made a sleepy murmuring sound as she settled into the mattress. Artemis sat next to her, leaning back onto the pillows and closing his eyes. Perhaps he would sleep for just a few more moments…

When he opened his eyes he had his arms around Viola, his face tucked into the crook of her neck and shoulder. One of her hands was resting on his upper arm, the other curled between their chests. Somehow their legs had ended up tangled together, and he couldn't see a way of undoing them without waking her.

Which, he realized, he was perfectly content with. His fingers splayed against her back, pressing her closer. She moved subtly in her sleep, the hand trapped between them reflexively grabbing at his shirt.

"Wha' time issit?" So she wasn't asleep after all. He twisted his head toward the window.

"I'm not sure, probably early afternoon, judging by the angle of the sunlight," he told her, then turned back to hide his head against her shoulder again. "Don't care."

She chuckled softly, and the hand on his arm moved up to comb through his hair. "We haven't been asleep that long then…" He could feel her breath as she exhaled. "How're you feeling?"

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Mother hen." He kissed her neck. "I'm fine."

"Mhm." She didn't sound entirely convinced, but she didn't press it. Taking the small victory, he pushed himself up onto one elbow, dipping his head to kiss her cheek--then pulled sharply back with a frustrated sigh.

"What?" Viola pushed herself up to match him, brow furrowed slightly. "Something wrong?"

His lips quirked into a resigned half smile. "I don't want to get you sick."

"Oh." She mirrored his sigh, chewing her lip. "Right." There was moment of silence, then she looked up at him through her lashes. "God, the minute you know you aren't contagious--"

He laughed, reaching to press to fingers against her lips. "Don't. Please."

Her eyes sparkled at him. "Yeah, alright." She flopped onto her back with a sharp exhale. "So…" She rolled onto her side, pursing her lips. "I don't have to get dinner ready for another couple hours…what do you wanna do?"

He blinked. Well, he knew what he wanted to do…

Viola must have read his thoughts on his face, because she chuckled. "Alright, I'll pick then. Maybe we could watch a film? What's your favorite when you're sick?"

He shook his head. "I don't believe I have a favorite, regardless of my state of health."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't." She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, then suddenly her eyes lit up. "Okay, then let's watch something you haven't seen."

He arched an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I like that look…"

She laughed. "You are going to love it."

Viola

Roughly three hours later, Viola was feeling very proud of herself. They'd managed to get through the first three episodes of Firefly--of course with deep discussion after each one. To be honest, she'd expected him to humor her for the first one and then do his "I'm not annoyed but I'm uninterested and I'm a genius so you're definitely going to notice" thing. But to her surprise, he actually seemed to enjoy it. Of course he pointed out every plot hole and inaccuracy, but it was still fun.

She smiled to herself as she loaded up the trays to deliver dinner. She'd already gotten to her siblings--somehow they'd all wound up in Sam's room, cuddled together on the bed with Lizzie in the middle--and all the Fowls. Just the Butler siblings left, then she was really needing a shower.

It really was lucky, when she thought about it, how rarely she got sick (her condition after 'the incident" notwithstanding). Okay, so she wasn't thrilled to be acting as nursemaid for the whole house, but it could be worse. All things considered, maybe colds were so bad-

"Ah-choo!"

She froze halfway down the hallway. "Chúa chết tiệt!"

"I told you, I'm f…fi…ah-choo!"

"Uh huh, you're swell." Connor flicker her lightly on the forehead. "Lay down, Vi, you need your rest."

Grumbling, she obliged. One day. One day, and suddenly everyone else was chipper and healthy while she could barely get out of bed for longer than twenty minutes. Her siblings were sort of temporarily camped in her room, and while she loved them all dearly she was barely functioning enough to appreciate their presence. She couldn't breath and her head hurt and she was sneezing or coughing every two minutes.

This sucked.

"Afternoon, sweetheart." Angeline suddenly swept into the room, Beckett and Myles right behind her. She settled herself into the plushy chair next to Viola's bed and smiled when the boys jumped right up onto it.

"Oof." She groaned but smiled as they swarmed over her. "Aren't you worried about getting sick again?" she asked lightly, grabbing Beckett as he tried to climb her headboard.

"No," Myles responded calmly. "It's very likely you are affected by the same cold virus that infected us, which means it's already passed through our immune system, so we have a reduced chance of being infected a second time."

Viola rolled her eyes and grabbed at the boy, pulling him into a tight hug. "Then I guess I can to this!" she exclaimed, planting a theatrical kiss on his cheek.

"Ick!" Beckett yelped, laughing and pointing at his twin, who was squirming desperately in Viola's grasp.

"Don't think you're getting away," she said suddenly, releasing Myles and snatching up his brother to give him the same treatment.

A deep rumble of a chuckle drew her attention to the door, where Butler was standing with Artemis. "You seem energetic," the huge bodyguard commented. His charge smiled as they entered the room.

Viola rolled her eyes, for what felt like the umpteenth time. "Like I keep telling everyone, I am fine--" A fit of coughing cut her off. When she managed to open her eyes again, everyone seemed to have been magnetized toward the bed, leaning toward her to some degree or another.

Small hands patted her back and shoulders. "Here." Beckett pressed a wrapped throat lozenge into her hand. She smiled at him.

"Thanks, sweetling." She looked up and around at the ever increasing occupancy of her room. "Really, guys, it's just a cold. I'll be alright."

"I'm gonna get you some soup," Lizzie declared, standing.

"I'll help--you don't know anything about spices," Connor said, following her toward the door.

"I'll grab you another blanket," Sam added, dropping a quick kiss to her forehead before he left.

"Why don't the boys and I get some books for you? I don't want you walking down to the library like this, and I know you will once you get bored." And just as suddenly as they appeared Angeline and her younger sons were gone.

Viola blinked. Then looked at Artemis and Butler, now the only other people in the room. "What…just…?"

"Happened?" Butler supplied, grinning.

Artemis chuckled and settled himself on the edge of her bed. "I believe Juliet is squeezing some orange juice, if you wanted to know. And Father called to check on your condition."

"Oh, and here." Butler suddenly moved forward, offering her a thermos that smelled strongly of ginger and lemon.

A sudden warmth rose up in her chest as she accepted it. She placed the tea on her bedside table and pushed herself into a sitting position. "I love you guys," she said, throwing one arm around Artemis's neck and reaching for Butler with the other.

They both grumbled and blustered, but submitted to the hug. She smiled.

Yeah. Colds weren't so bad after all.

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.

Chapter Text

"I don't understand how a term that is meant to indicate running a ridiculous distance in as short a time as possible has come to mean…this."

"Shut up and watch the movie," Connor said, swatting at Artemis with a grin.

"I still can't believe you've never seen these," Viola chuckled, settling in next to him on the couch that had been moved into her small dorm just for this purpose.

He shrugged, slipping his arm around her waist to pull her against his side. "I've read the books. I've never felt the need to see the films."

Liz groaned, rolling her eyes and bumping his shoulder from where she sat on his other side. "Yes, yes, the book is always better. But these are cinematic masterpieces, you have to watch them!"

Artemis wrinkled his nose at his foster sister, bumping her back so she giggled and fell across Sam's lap. "I'm sitting here, aren't I?"

"Alright, alright, all of you stop being adorable and shut up," Connor grumbled, slotting himself into place on Viola's other side.

"You're just sore 'cause Riley couldn't make it," Lizzie teased.

"Hey now, film's starting," Viola interjected, cutting off an argument before it could begin. Artemis looked down at her, smiling softly, and spontaneously bent to kiss her temple.

"Isn't there some rule about teachers dating students?" Sam piped up with a smirk as the music for the title menu began to play.

"I'm not officially a teacher, just a guest lecturer," Artemis replied with a smirk. Viola grumbled something in Swahili under her breath and his smirk widened. She was still a little peeved with him for that particular surprise. "Speaking of," he said teasingly, "don't you have an essay due tomorrow?"

She glowered at him. "It's done," she said primly. Then she added, "Now, it's my birthday and we will have no talk of school, or work, or whatever. We are going to sit and watch these films and have fun."

"Here, here," Connor agreed, and pressed "Play".

"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air…"

"Oohhh, I hate this part." Liz turned her face into Sam's chest. He laughed, rubbing her shoulders.

"You've seen this a thousand times!" he teased. "Besides, you know he's not really--"

"But Frodo's face!" she protested.

"You shall not pass!"

"Aw, baby." Viola put her hand to her heart, leaning against Artemis's side. He quirked an eyebrow at her, but he wasn't going to argue. "I mean, look at Elijah Wood! How can you not love those eyes?"

Connor snorted. "We all know how you feel about blue eyes, Vi."

Artemis choked on a laugh while Viola blushed and glowered at Connor, kicking him halfheartedly.

"They took the little ones…"

Lizzie was sniffling again. Artemis shook his head at her, a little baffled--then realized that Viola was biting her lip, eyes a little too bright. "Are you crying?" he asked incredulously.

"No!" She protested, glaring at him. "But I mean…come on! Poor Boromir…"

Sam shrugged. "He was played by Sean Bean, even if you didn't read the books you had to know he was a goner."

"Shh!" Liz hissed, waving her hand at him as on screen Aragorn held the dying Captain of Gondor. "Ah, the bromance," she sniffed dramatically.

Artemis frowned in confusion and glanced down at Viola, murmuring, "Bromance?"

She chuckled. "Basically two guys that are a couple in every way except a sexual one." Then she gave him a sly look. "So, you and Butler."

He scowled and she laughed.

"Okay. Next movie, or presents?" Connor asked as the credits started to roll.

"I said no presents!" Viola exclaimed, folding her arms. Her brother snorted.

"Yeah, like we were gonna listen to you." Lizzie laughed and Viola stuck her tongue out at her childishly. Artemis chuckled, letting his thumb stroke her side as he pulled her back against him.

"Let's watch the next one," she said, settling into the curve of his body. Sam chuckled as Liz got up to put the movie in.

"You're going to have to teach us how you get her to calm down so quick," he said to Artemis, throwing him a wink.

Artemis chuckled softly, but he stopped quickly when Connor muttered something about doubting that Liz would appreciate Sam "calming down" Viola the way he suspected Artemis did. He flushed, focusing on the television screen.

"Two can play that game," Viola warned her brother, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "And Riley and I have gotten pretty close lately."

The other boy went a little red and cleared his throat. "Right. Let's watch the movie."

They wound up watching all three films before Viola's siblings finally wore her down to accepting presents. It was late--or rather early, Artemis realized as he checked his phone and discovered it was 1:43 in the morning.

She smiled and laughed and thanked them all, and no one commented on the fact that Artemis hadn't brought her anything. They sat around the small dorm, draped over the couch or perched on the bed, and talked and joked around until almost three A.M. Though he didn't participate in conversation much, mostly sat and observed, Artemis found he was enjoying himself immensely. It was easy, and a little different, and nice.

Finally, Viola's siblings declared they were going back to the hotel they were staying at near campus. No one even mentioned the idea of Artemis going with them. He followed Viola to the door and bid them all goodbye.

"Drive safe!" she called after them, lingering in the doorway. Sam waved in acknowledgement as they got into the car he'd borrowed from the manor and drove away.

Viola closed the door and turned right into his arms, hugging him around the waist. "So what'd you think of the marathon?" she asked, looking up at him with her eyes sparkling.

He smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "It found it quite enjoyable, actually," he admitted.

She grinned. "Told you it'd be fun." She snuggled closer, letting her head rest on his shoulder. "Best birthday ever, by the way. Thanks."

"I really didn't do any--" His voice cut off into a sharp breath as her lips brushed his neck. "You know," he murmured as she kissed her way up to his jaw, "I still haven't given you your present."

He felt her lips curve into a smile against his skin. "For once I thought you'd actually listened to me." Her hands smoothed over his shoulders and then down his back, nails pressing lightly through his shirt.

He chuckled, tugging her closer. "Never," he teased, tilting his head to catch her mouth.

She hummed into the kiss, leaning onto her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I think…that present…can wait…" She punctuated each short phrase with another kiss. Heat began building his chest and his hands slid to her hips, crushing her against him.

"Well, if you're sure…" He turned his face away and she growled. "Hm, I don't know, I think perhaps--"

Viola pressed him back against the wall, wrapping her fingers in the collar of his shirt so she could tug him down and kiss him fiercely. "You. Bed. Now."

He found he wasn't all that invested in arguing.

Sometime later, wrapped up in the sheets and each other, Artemis was suddenly drawn from near-sleep by Viola's sleepy voice.

"Hey. You awake?"

He nuzzled into the back of her neck, drawing her closer against his chest. "I certainly am now."

She giggled quietly and murmured, "Sorry," sounding entirely unapologetic. "I was just thinking… Do you think Angeline and Arty Senior would be willing to give up some land on the estate?"

He frowned slightly, not entirely sure how he felt about his father being referred to as Arty Senior. "I…suppose it would depend on the purpose."

"I was thinking about a clinic, and a shelter. Both. In one building."

He leaned up to arch over her and see her face. "A veterinary clinic?"

Viola nodded and turned onto her back to better look at him. "Mhm. I mean, I'm learning a lot here, but it seems kinda pointless if I can't actually make a difference with it, you know? And, well, I figured: there's plenty of space…so why not?"

Artemis smiled and dipped to kiss her cheek. "I think it's a wonderful idea. You should talk to them."

She frowned a bit. "You, um… Would you mind coming with me, when I do? Might help make my case a bit."

His eyes softened a bit and he settled down behind her again, pulling her back to his chest. "Whenever you need me, Vi. Always."

She chuckled quietly and accused, "Cheesy." But he could hear the smile in her voice.

Chapter Text

It wasn't like she wasn't used to change. Most of her life had been one plot twist after another, but for some reason this had unsettled her.

Viola sighed, settling herself on the grass, a book open in her lap and a single lily gripped lightly in her hand. She glanced up. It was such a lovely day, the sky azure blue and nearly cloudless, but still chilly, considering it was still February. She sighed and tugged her coat a little tighter around her body.

"Hi," she murmured after a long moment, leaning forward to lay the lily on the ground. "I know I haven't visited much…okay, ever. But it was hard, you know?" She huffed out a breath and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. "I mean, first I was just trying to get by, then there was Kols, then…it's just been a kinda hectic decade or so," she muttered with a wry chuckle.

Silence for a few moments, and Viola just stared straight ahead. "God, I feel stupid," she muttered, fingers drumming against the cover of the book. "I'm talking to a rock."

The headstone stared back at her, impassive, her parents' names looking oddly foreboding etched into the stone like that. Yet another sigh and she leaned back on her palms. "Da, bear with me for a mo," she murmured after a few moments. "I just--I gotta talk to Mum."

She closed her eyes. "I get when I was little, why you couldn't tell me… But now I just--I have so many questions about this--this thing inside me. What I can do with it." A small sigh and she let her head fall forward. "I know wishing isn't gonna do me any good...but I wish I could talk to you, could figure this out."

Research just wasn't cutting it, much to Artemis's frustration. There was simply too little known about people like her and her siblings, humans with magic. It had been so long since the People had come into contact with them, they were widely regarded as simple myths.

Viola huffed out another breath and gave the headstone an almost accusing look. "I wasn't really for this idea, y'know. Lizzie and Angeline thought it would be good for me. I mean, I guess it is, it's just…everything's changing, and I wish talking to a rock made me feel better about it, but it really doesn't."

Another sigh, this one almost defeated, and her shoulders slumped. "Sam and Liz are moving. I couldn't expect them to stay forever, but…I sort of did."

She laughed at herself and shook her head. "I'm happy for them, I really am. And it's not like we'll never see them, but I'm going to miss them." A very small smile tugged at her lips. "You'd like Sam, Da. He's always looking out for the rest of us. He's been talking about looking for more of us. Magic users. We can't be the only ones, right? And No.1, when I told him about what I remembered about you Mum, he said if it is genetic that may be something to help us find the others…"

Her smile grew a bit, eyes going distant. "They're so ready to do this. Liz and Sam, I mean. God, all they want is to help kids like us. It's almost surreal, seeing how much they've grown up. Well, we've all grown up I guess. Even me."

She heard a few hesitant, crunching footsteps behind her and swiped at her eyes, not quite realizing she'd been crying until that moment. "Do we need to leave?"

"No, no, that's not… I wasn't trying to--to rush you." She chuckled; it was always funny to hear Artemis stumble in his speech, it was just so unlike him.

"You're not. I'm almost done." She twisted to look at him and patted the ground beside her. "Could you…stay a minute?"

"Ah. Of course." A little awkwardly, he lowered himself to sit beside her, his shoulder pressing against hers gently. They were both quiet for a moment, then the young man nodded to the headstone. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Sayer."

Viola laughed quietly and twisted to kiss his cheek. "Always so polite," she teased quietly, taking his hand. "Mum, Da, this is Artemis."

She was crying again, but she didn't mind so much this time, still smiling. "I think you'd really like him."

The next few weeks were a bit of a blur, and before she knew it Viola was bidding two of her siblings goodbye in the middle of the drive up to the manor.

"And you're going to call every day."

"C'mon, Connor, we can't call every--"

"Liz!"

The young woman chuckled and clapped a hand over her boyfriend's mouth. "Yeah, sweetie. Every day. Promise."

Connor and Liz wrapped their arms around each other and Sam met Viola's eyes with an exasperated kind of affection. "It's not like we'll never see you again. We're not even going that far, especially not with the connections you lot have." He waved a hand to indicate the Fowls that had gathered to say goodbye.

Viola glowered at him and slapped his arm. "Just shut up and hug me, jackass."

He chuckled and swept her up in tight bear hug. "Gonna miss you," she muttered almost petulantly.

He huffed a laugh. "Me too, sis."

More hugs and kisses were exchanged, then before she felt she really knew what was happening, it was over and she was in the library, curled up on a window seat watching the rain spatter against the glass.

No more crying. It really wasn't something to be sad about anyway, it was just…change. Different.

"Well, this is the perfect picture of morose."

Viola started and glanced around to see Angeline approaching, a small, sympathetic smile on her lips. She gave her a crooked smile in return and shook her head. "Nah, I'm just…doing some more research," she defended halfheartedly.

Her foster mother huffed and took a seat beside her, forcing her to scooch over a bit. Angeline was kind of like that--the epitome of grace and elegance while she forced you to bend to her will, but for some reason you were never all that upset about it.

"You lot and your research," she murmured, tone teasing but eyes concerned. "Finding anything?"

Viola sighed and shook her head. "Nothing. Always nothing," she muttered, scrubbing her hand down her face. "I just- I wish Mum had kept a diary or something. I know how silly that sounds, and it's pointless to go wishing--"

"It's not silly." Angeline smoothed some of the curls that had fallen in her face back and smiled kindly. "Sweetheart, it's human. You want answers about yourself, about what's happening to you. It's perfectly normal to "go wishing"."

She smiled a bit and nodded, but she didn't say anything.

"It also helps to have something to distract you from Sam and Lizzie moving, huh?"

Viola flickered her eyes up, surprised she was that transparent. Then she smirked wryly. "I know the Fowls are supposed to be the evil geniuses, but I swear Artemis gets observation from you."

Angeline chuckled and pulled her into a quick hug. "Of course he does. He gets all his best qualities from me." Both women laughed a bit and the elder stood, dipping to press a quick kiss on the top of Viola's forehead. "Try not to overwork yourself, alright?"

She nodded, already her eyes flicking back to her research. Angeline sighed and patted her hair, then turned to leave. "Dinner's in an hour. Try to remember to eat something, will you?"

"Of course."

Chapter Text

"…mis."

He frowned at the screen in front of him, that damned blinking cursor, like it was mocking him.

"A…mis."

He bit back a growl and rubbed at his temples. When had he gotten like this? It was ridiculous. He used to be able to go days without sleep, working on projects, plots, plans, inventions. Now it was barely an all-nighter and here he was with a near non-functional brain.

He blamed Viola. Damned girl made sure he took care of himself more than his mother did, and suddenly his body actually required it. Was it probably healthier? Well, yes, of course, but that didn't mean he had to like it!

"Artemis!"

"What?!" He whirled, startled, to find Butler standing in the door to his office, shoulders shaking with quiet laughter.

"I've been calling you for nearly a minute. Something on your mind?" The big man's voice was even, deceptively so. He was definitely needling him.

Artemis growled at him--a habit he'd actually picked up from the bodyguard himself--and turned back to his computer monitor. "Forgive me, I am a bit distracted," he muttered in a lackluster apology.

"Mrrow? Mow-wow-wow."

Butler stood aside to let Twyla twine around his legs and into the room, making a beeline for Artemis to bat at his leg twice before jumping up into his lap and settling there with a contented purr.

He sighed and rubbed his temple with one hand while he scratched the cat's ears with the other. Butler chuckled again; Viola may have been the one who could actually speak to animals, but Twyla had quite plainly chosen Artemis as he preferred servant.

He supposed it made sense. Though she loved all four-legged creatures, Viola really tended to be more of a dog person. He supposed he'd always been partial to cats himself.

"Artemis."

He started again and glanced back. "Sorry, old friend. I'm not sure what's wrong with me today."

Butler shook his head with a crooked smile. "I am. You're nineteen and you're in love. It's enough to make anyone a bit distracted."

Artemis had to resist the urge to snap at him again, favoring a glower instead. "I see no reason why that should have any relevance. I have been with Viola for two years now, her mere presence in my life should have no effect on my mental faculties."

"True. But this is the first time she's really gone away for a weekend. God's sake, you were her teacher all last semester, you two have hardly gone a day without seeing each other."

He grunted and refocused his attention on the cat in his lap.

"Not to mention she's with Holly and Juliet."

Another grunt.

"And your mother. They must be having all sorts of conversations--"

"Did you need something, or are you simply here to torment me?" Artemis demanded exasperatedly.

"Yes, actually. I promised Vi I would make sure you practiced hand-to-hand while she's away."

He groaned and dropped his head onto his keyboard. He could have sworn Twyla gave a coughing meow that was almost a laugh.

Viola

Viola most decidedly had not wanted to do this. But turning down Angeline Fowl when she put on her it-would-just-mean-so-much-to-me face was damn near impossible, especially when paired with Juliet's deadly puppy eyes.

They'd even managed to rope Holly into this ill thought out spa day. For the life of her Viola couldn't figure out how Caballine had managed to wriggle out of it.

"Well, she is looking after the little ones," Holly pointed out when the young woman grumbled this under her breath.

Viola scoffed. "If kids would get me out of this, I'd almost consider it," she muttered.

The elf laughed. "Gods, if Artemis heard you say that he'd go into shock."

Viola laughed too, though the chuckles turned into a choking sound when Angeline tossed from her side of the warm, scented tub, "Don't get my hopes up now. You're still too young, but I'll start harping on you for grandchildren soon enough."

Viola went beat red and ducked under the water while Juliet and Holly burst into laughter. "I hate you all," she groaned, covering her face with her hands when she surfaced.

Fortunately- on unfortunately, she honestly wasn't sure yet- that was when the slim sprite who'd been assigned to "take care of" them for the weekend appeared and informed them that their rooms were ready for their massages. Even Holly seemed slightly excited by the idea, so Viola shoved down the sudden panic that rose in her throat and forced a smile as she trailed after the others.

The room she was led to was scented with lavender and chamomile, dimly lit with the soft, only slightly mechanical sounds of rain and waves ebbing in the background.

She hated every inch of it. She was hardly on the table for a moment when the very polite elf assigned to give her massage touched her shoulders lightly and she bolted up, eyes wide with panic.

"I- I'm sorry, no." She stammered out, clutching a towel around her body and backing toward the far wall like a caged animal. The woman looked startled, but quickly schooled her features into a passive, calm mask.

"Please, miss, I understand this may be uncomfortable if you've never been to a Haven spa, but if you'd just relax--"

"No," Viola repeated, angry now. God, why on earth had she agreed this? She took a breath and tried again, "No, thank you. I'm sorry, I'll give you an extra tip, I just can't, alright?"

Something in her voice much have reached the elf because she nodded slowly. Viola gritted her teeth. The Fowls and their associates were sort of minor celebrities in Haven by now, despite the fact that the People seemed to be quite divided on how to treat magically-gifted humans and the people who vouched for them.

Nonetheless, she knew the elf knew who she was, had probably seen the same damn video that every adult in Haven seemed to somehow have access to. God, someone had even leaked more of the mad doctor's "documentation" of his experiments some months ago. LEP still hadn't tracked them down and there was only so much Foaly could do to suppress the information.

So was it surprising to the masseuse that Viola was squeamish about a stranger's touch? Probably not.

"Er--look, thanks. I'll just…wait in the quiet room," she muttered, bolting for the door. She paused and tossed over her shoulder, "Look, if the others I'm with ask- just don't tell them about this, alright?"

The rest of the afternoon was blessedly uneventful. Viola was a bit more subdued than normal, but thankfully the others either didn't notice or chose not to comment. Holly expressed her regret at not being able to return to the manor with them, but she was on duty the next day, so they bid her goodbye before being escorted out of Haven.

Viola was growing ever more used to the trip. It wasn't as though they took it often, but often enough that by now she felt fairly comfortable in the more trafficked part of the city. Despite the fact that it was underground and had her claustrophobia clawing at her rib cage every so often, she found Haven to usually be a fairly pleasant to place to visit- just not this weekend.

So it was with great relief that she skipped out of the car Butler had picked them up in and practically dashed up the steps to the manor door. She nearly bowled Artemis Senior over, sparing a quick apology to her foster father as he chuckled and righted her before moving forward to greet his wife.

Then she was out through the kitchens--her preferred way out of the manor when she was attempting to be subtle--and making a beeline for the stables.

Shatan must've heard her coming, because his head was peering over his stall door when she entered the barn. She felt most of her tension drain out of her and nearly slumped in relief, a small smile tugging her lips up at the corners.

"Hey, lad." She moved toward her horse and stroked his neck, closing her eyes as he nuzzled her cheek and lipped her nose fondly. "Missed you," she murmured, scratching the base of his forelock.

"I don't suppose I get my own greeting?"

She laughed and turned to see Artemis leaning against the wall. She'd heard footsteps and assumed them to be his, but they'd been together long enough by now that he knew when she just needed a moment, and she knew he wouldn't be offended if she ignored him for a moment.

Smiling, she pulled away from the stallion with another pat to his neck and moved toward Artemis with her hand held out. He took it and pulled her into a gently hug.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course, I'm fine." She chuckled and nuzzled into his neck. "Worried I spent two days dishing about you with the girls?"

"Viola." She couldn't see his face, but she could imagine the furrow between his brows, the tight lines of disapproval around his mouth. "I happen to be rather adept at detecting a lie from someone I hardly know, let alone someone I've spent nearly every waking moment with for the last two years." He hugged her a little tighter. "What is wrong?"

She huffed out a breath. "I hate that about you sometimes," she grumbled.

"No you don't. Now talk to me."

"Fine." Another huff and she pulled back enough to see his face, though she left her arms around his neck loosely. "Just...I had a bit of a moment, if you will. Minor panic attack. I'm fine," she hastened to add when his icy eyes widened, then flashed angrily. "It's a me thing, Arty. I just--had a bit of an issue. No one hurt me or anything, I just couldn't…" She gestured vaguely.

Much as she hated to admit it, sometimes she really was glad her boyfriend was a genius. He raised an eyebrow. "Your back. Someone touched your back?"

She nodded and closed her eyes with a sigh, then shrugged and tried for an awkward laugh. "Well, you know me. I'm not really touchy-feely with strangers on my best day."

"Viola." He stroked her cheek, then let his fingers trail to her chin so he could tilt her head up and peck her lips. His arms were around her again in a heartbeat and she felt her whole body melt into his with a soft sigh.

"I didn't tell your mother," she mumbled. "Didn't want her fretting."

He huffed and muttered something that might have been, "silly girl", but didn't argue the point with her, for which she was grateful.

Eventually they broke apart. He smiled that small smile she'd come to realize was really just for her and her heart fluttered the way it had the first time she'd made him laugh.

"What do you say to a ride?"

She beamed at him. "Hell yes."

They were late for dinner, their ride taking longer than expected, not to mention having to clean up afterward, but Angeline only gave them a halfhearted reprimand for it before everyone tucked in. A meal prepared by Connor and Butler, though the bodyguard claimed her brother had been mostly responsible, to his embarrassed delight.

Her eyes flicked once or twice to the seats that normally would have been filled by Liz and Sam. Despite the months her siblings had been living on their own, Viola was still getting used to the reduced number around the table.

She gave herself a mental shake. She was being ridiculous, they still saw each other plenty. Lizzie and Sam mostly split their time between London and Belfast- a bit of a trek, but not impossible, particularly not for people like the Fowls.

Yeah, living in such wealth definitely had its advantages.

After dinner, Viola was up late with the boys. They insisted that they were too old to be read bedtime stories now--and God help her they were right, where had the little twins clinging to her legs gone?--so instead she stayed up talking with them, Artemis settled in one of his preferred armchairs, reading, while Rosie (who had been retired from the kennels after her last littler of pups to live in the house) flopped contentedly between Viola, Myles, and Beckett so they could all pet her absently.

Artemis kept tossing the occasional glance her way, but she decided not to pay it much mind. He got that way sometimes, watching her as though she was a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out. It never usually came to anything, so she'd learned not to point it out or press him about it.

It wasn't until she retired to bed that she realized it might not have been nothing. Despite the fact that every adult in the manor knew Viola spent more of her nights in Artemis's room than her own, they all pretended not to notice, so when slender fingers circled her wrist and she was pulled rather pointedly toward his door instead of hers, she actually glanced around to see if anyone would notice. "Um, Artemis--"

"Relax." His voice had dipped low, sending a shiver down his spine and sparking a fire in her chest. Was he doing that on purpose? "Trust me, Vi, alright?"

She nodded slowly as he pulled her into the room and shut the door, then led her to the bed with a gentle hand on the small of her back. She sat on the edge of the mattress, then he urged her to turn over and stretch out on her stomach.

She complied, confused but willing enough. "What exactly are you planning here, rich boy?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow over her shoulder.

Her chuckled and rolled his eyes as he settled beside her. "Back to that moniker are we?" His fingers brushed her shoulders, then moved down, thumbs circling with a gentle pressure. "I just thought…well, seeing as your weekend wasn't as relaxing as one would hope, I thought perhaps I could make it up to you."

Her eyes widened a bit and she twisted to look at him. His eyes were fixed on her back, a very faint blush dusting his pale features.

A smile broke out across her face and she leaned up to kiss him, slow and soft. "You are wonderful, do you know that?"

"Well, I am fairly unique." He brushed the compliment aside, but she saw the way his eyes lit up for a moment and the small smile, her smile, that twitched at his lips.

Suddenly feeling better than she had in days, Viola relaxed onto her stomach and allowed him to return to work. "Remind me to return the favor later," she practically purred as he worked tension from her shoulders. "God, you're good at this."

"I'm good at a lot of things," he pointed out without a shred of irony. She chuckled and he added, "And if you returned the favor that would rather defeat the purpose, no?"

She rolled her eyes but decided not to argue with that, for now at least. It was much easier to focus on the way his hands passed over her back and shoulders, moving ever lower. A soft, pleased moan slipped passed her lips and she felt him pause, then continue working.

When his hands moved south and she suddenly started tingling under his touch, she bit her lip to hold in another small sound. "Artemis." Her voice was breathy. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I, um…look, I really appreciate this, but if you want to- I mean you might want to stop if you don't-"

He laughed, a dark, dangerous sound that crawled under her skin in a delicious sort of way and made her shiver agreeably. "Vi, I have each and every one of your reactions memorized. Do you honestly think I can't tell what you want?"

She twisted to scowl at him, face hot. "Was this your plan all along?"

He smirked and darted in to kiss her. "No, but I'll admit it was a byproduct I considered and deemed…satisfactory."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah baby, talk dirty to me."

He chuckled, but before he could retort she had wrapped her arms around him and dragged him down into a kiss.

Heat flashed through her and she gasped. That wasn't her--well, it was her, but it wasn't what she was feeling.

Her walls were down, her magic curling out from her in questing tendrils, feeding off of Artemis's emotions and sensations and heightening her own. It was something that had only happened once or twice before, and she'd quickly been able to get it back under control.

But now- now, she wasn't sure she wanted to. She wanted to share the feeling, not repress it. She'd done it before, hadn't she? Years ago, they'd been in each other's heads. Sure, they'd never been able to repeat the feat without No.1 there to act as a conduit, but…

She took a breath as he tilted his head to kiss a line from her jaw down her neck and reached, giving her magic the free rein it constantly seemed to be vying for.

Artemis gasped and jerked up at the same time her eyes went wide and her breath caught in her throat. They stared at each other, wide eyed and panting.

"That was--"

"You just--"

They stared a moment longer and she saw the realization dawn. She smiled sheepishly, still flushed and wanting but holding herself back. "I, um…wanted to try. If you don't like it--"

He practically pounced on her, pushing her back onto the bed with a soft squeak that turned into a laugh. "I liked it," he purred against her throat as he moved to settle his body over hers, hands flitting to her clothes. "I liked it very much."

She grinned. "Good." Again the walls came down, and it was like they melded into one. Touch and heat and passion bubbling up and flowing between them as though they were a river joined at a single source. They gasped in unison, arms and legs tangling together as clothes were tossed to the floor.

Unbidden, words she had heard or read somewhere years ago flitted into her head. I read once that the ancient Egyptians had fifty words for sand, and the Inuit had a hundred words for snow. I wish I had a thousand words for love…

A thousand words for love. She smiled, lips curving against Artemis's skin. Maybe she could manage that. "I love you."

He murmured a reply against her neck, then her lips. Viola whispered again, "Aishiteru."

He lifted his head to meet her eyes. "J'taime."

Good. He was willing to play along. Feeling as though her skin couldn't contain all of him, all of them, she rolled them over to perch atop as they fell into a familiar yet somehow fascinatingly new rhythm. "Te amo, mi amor."

Looking down at him, she didn't think she'd ever seen anything more beautiful. She kissed him almost against her own will, swallowing his declaration of, "Ta gra agam ort."

Maybe they really could get to a thousand. She wouldn't know, she lost count somewhere in the high sixties, and by then pretty much all mental function was a joke.

She collapsed next to him and curled into the crook of his arm. As her eyes began to drift closed, the rest of that quote swam foggily through her mind.

I wish I had a thousand words for love…but all that comes to mind is the way you move against me when you sleep, and there are no words for that.

Artemis shifted slightly, pulling her closer and wrapping his other arm around her waist. She smiled.

Artemis

The image of No.1 and his mentor tilted their heads almost in unison on Artemis's monitor. He sighed and shrugged, spreading his hands.

"I know how it sounds, but it happened. Viola was able to…extend her power somehow. It was as though I became an empath, save for the fact that I was only tuned into her rather than the world around us."

Qwan pursed his lips, evidently deep in thought. "I've never heard of something like that," he muttered eventually. Then he dragged a hand over his head and added ruefully, "Then again, I've never heard of a lot of things about empaths."

No.1 nodded, arms crossed and brow furrowed. "Could you give us more information?" he piped up. "What were the circumstances? The location? Anything?"

Artemis valiantly fought a blush and cleared his throat. "Well, ah--"

He heard the sound of running water come to a stop from the bathroom that connected to his room, then a soft rustling before the door was nudged open and Viola tripped lightly into the room. Evidently not noticing his conversation, she slipped over to him and bent to kiss his cheek.

"Morning." Her eyes flicked up and finally seemed to register the demons on the screen. "Oh." Her cheeks colored prettily but she smiled. "Hey, guys. Ah, good morning to you too."

The demons exchanged a look, then arched their brows at Artemis almost in unison. "I see," Qwan rumbled on a chuckle.

"Ahem. Well, we can…talk later." Without waiting for a response Artemis cut the connection.

Chapter Text

Viola sat very still, hands folded in her lap. "Okay," she said after several long, tense moments of quiet.

Qwan and No.1 exchanged a look. "Vi," the younger warlock started. "This--I mean it must be a shock, you don't have to--"

She shook her head and waved him off, summoning a smile with no small amount of effort. "No, I mean it. Okay. It's…an adjustment. But I'm fine, really."

No.1 bit his lip and Qwan frowned. "Viola," he grumbled, looking awkward but determined. "You have to deal with this. It can't be swept under the rug--"

She frowned. "Who said I'm not dealing with it? It's just…not something I'd really given much thought to before." A pause. "This isn't gonna affect anything else is it?" She frowned. "Wait. Liz? Will she--?"

"I don't think she will be affected the same way," Qwan hastened to say. "This…seems to be a result of the magic cocktails you injected in Kols' lab reacting with your natural abilities."

She nodded, and felt a mixture of relief and…something else rising up in her chest, something that was too complicated to address in the moment. "Alright. Good. That's good." She sighed and closed her eyes a moment, then opened them again. "Right. Well, if that's everything-"

"Vi…" No.1 started to reach out to touch her hand but she snatched it back.

"I'm alright." She smiled at him, hesitated, then allowed him to take her hand, giving his fingers a quick squeeze before she let go. "Well, as always, it's been a dream, but I should be heading home," she chirped.

"Viola." Qwan was frowning at her, tapping his foot slightly. "Perhaps it would be best if you at least took a few minutes to-"

"I said I'm fine." She beamed at them and gave a little wave as she moved for the door. "See you in two months, yeah? Unless you stop by for a quick visit of course."

They might have said something else, but honestly she was blocking it out at that point. Head slightly lowered, she maneuvered through the halls of the hospital to the waiting room where she'd left her escort.

Truth be told she was already a little on edge just from her surroundings--normally No.1 and his mentor would come to the manor, or she'd be able to come to the demon warlocks' place of work, usually a small office. As it happened, No.1 was working on his healer training, and it had made more sense to meet in the hospital.

That didn't mean she liked it. The place dragged bad memories to the surface.

"Hey." She forced the thoughts away when she rounded the corner into the waiting room and summoned a quick smile. "I'm cleared--can I just head to the shuttle, then?"

The sprite who'd been assigned to accompany her on this trip--she thought his name was Pix or Chix or something--gave her the green light to head back to the surface. It was always a slower ride than she wanted, and even with the special treatment she and her siblings got from the LEP to get them discretely on and off shuttles she could swear she felt the stares boring into her back through the whole ordeal.

Not to mention she had her newest diagnosis to deal with, circling round and round in her skull. Was it really a diagnosis? More of a supposition, or perhaps simply a fact worth knowing, she supposed.

Whatever it was, it served to keep her distracted enough that the trip home went much quicker than she was used to. Soon enough, she was back in the manor and, as was normally the case when she didn't feel like talking, she quickly squirreled herself away in the library, tucked up on her favorite window seat with a book open in her lap.

Artemis

Viola had returned home some three hours ago and he had yet to actually see her. This wasn't entirely unheard of--they were both busy nowadays, but it was the sort of…feeling he got from the situation that made him uncomfortable.

With was quite ridiculous. Artemis did not rely on gut feeling, it just wasn't him. Sure, intuition was really just subconscious manifestation of certain observations, but he only cautiously put any real stock in that.

Still, he found himself walking by the library, where he was sure Viola was hiding, three or four times in rather pointless trips to and from his laboratory.

Finally, he gave up trying to play it off and slipped into the room, finding the young woman where he expected, legs curled up on her favorite window seat, an open book hanging limply from one hand while she stared out the window at the clouded sky.

"Viola?"

She started slightly and glanced over at him, eyes wide, then smiled slightly. "Oh, hey. Sorry, guess I was sort of…out of it."

He nodded and took a few steps toward her. "Mind if I join you?" It was a genuine question; something had happened, that much was obvious, but if she wanted to be alone, he wasn't going to push her.

But she smiled again, eyes soft, and he felt his lips curving slightly in response. "Of course not, c'mere." She scooched to the side slightly and he took the invitation, sliding onto the window seat to sit facing her, their legs sliding to fit easily stacked against each other. It was a well practiced move, and he couldn't help marveling a bit at the easy companionship.

Despite the fact that he and Viola had been together for nearly three years now, every once and a while he would find himself quietly stunned by her mere presence. Not a feeling he often shared, but in moments when their eyes met and he swore he saw a hint of something like wonder, he had the strangest feeling that she sympathized.

"You know I love you, right?"

He blinked, surprised, and tilted his head at her slightly. "I...yes?" He laughed quietly. "What's gotten into you?"

She smiled, eyes distant. "Nothing. I just--nothing."

"Viola." He frowned slightly, leaning forward until he could cup her cheek in his hand. "You're starting to scare me now," he told her, voice low. "What happened? Are you…ill? Is something wrong?" He tried to shove away the steadily rising panic as voicing those thoughts made them suddenly a real possibility. No one really knew what Viola's powers could do to her. She'd never had a relapse into her condition after the incident at Kols' lab, but that wasn't to say she couldn't. No.1 and Qwan had reassured them all that it was highly unlikely, nigh impossible, but that didn't mean something else couldn't go wrong.

Gods, if something happened to her--No. No, he wouldn't even think about it. Almost losing her once had nearly shattered him.

"Oh, sweetheart." She reached up to lay her hand over his, leaning into his touch slightly. She smiled. "No, baby, no. I'm fine, really."

That didn't make him feel a lot better. There were really only three reasons she used pet names like that: she was being sarcastic, she was overtired, or she was trying to hide some other emotion with an overabundance of affection.

"Vi." He smoothed his thumb over her cheek, frowning. "What's wrong?"

She sighed and turned her head to kiss his palm. "I'm not sick or anything, I promise. I'm just…still processing. Give me a little while?"

It went against every fiber of his being, but he nodded with a smile. "Of course. Whatever you need."

She smiled gently and leaned forward. "Thanks." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, then sighed and twisted in his arms so she was leaning back against his chest, tucked between his legs.

She really was a tiny thing, he noticed vaguely as he ran a hand from her shoulder down her arm and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He was hardly a giant, but he supposed he had hit his last growth spurt some months after they'd met, leaving him almost a full head taller than her. It was so strange; she just seemed to take up so much space, bright and alive and just there. In these quiet moments, it always struck him anew how small she really was.

"Mind if I read aloud?"

He smiled against her hair, stroking her arm again. "Of course not, love. What is it today?"

"I was thinking a Sherlock Holmes?"

They settled in, Viola reading softly and Artemis with his arms wrapped gently around her waist, leaning back against the window frame as he closed his eyes and just listened to her voice.

It wasn't until later, when they were curled up in his bed, a tangle of arms and legs and soft breaths, that Artemis felt her shift. She was ready to talk.

"Hey. You awake?"

"Yes."

She let out a long breath, pulling away from him slightly so she could look at him through the dark. He caught the movement of her hand, brushing dark curls out of her face as she leaned up on one elbow, shadows in shadows. "So…about the thing…"

He remained quiet, knowing she just need a few moments to sort her thoughts into words and she didn't actually require his participation in this part of the conversation.

She huffed. "See it's not really-- y'know, something I ever thought about before. And it's not something I was planning on thinking about for quite some time. But, well…I mean, I figure you should know. So."

Another little huff, then she cleared her throat. "I--No.1 and Qwan think…it's because of what I did in the lab. The artificial magic. It…did something to me. Reacted with my magic, I guess."

Artemis sat up a bit, slowly. "We knew that was a possibility," he murmured. He didn't try to touch her yet, not sure if it would be welcomed or rebuffed.

She shook her head. "Yeah, I know. I just…" Another sigh. "Look, this really doesn't affect our lives right now--maybe ever. It's just sorta fucking me up right now." She drummed her fingers on the mattress and he waited. Finally, she made a small sound in the back of her throat that he couldn't really identify and murmured, "Basically, one of the tests they ran today came up with these results that… Okay, I honestly didn't understand most of the numbers they threw at him, but the gist of it is I probably can't have kids. Chances are, quote, "slim to none"."

Artemis was silent. He felt strangely…off. She was right: it really didn't affect them now, wasn't something he'd given much thought to before, other than perhaps in passing. And even then the thought would be quickly shoved aside to free valuable brain space.

But to be suddenly told that choice had been made for you… He couldn't even imagine how she felt.

"Vi." He reached out to lay his hand over hers gently and heard her breath hitch slightly. She wasn't crying, but he could tell she was dangerously close. "Oh, Vi… I'm sorry, my love." He shifted closer, hesitantly offering, "Can I… Is there anything I can do?"

She gave a watery little chuckle and curled toward him. "Just…hold me?" He could feel her blushing, knew what it took for her to ask that, and nodded, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I love you," he told her quietly, stroking her back. "Whatever you need, I'm here."

Viola gave a shivering little sigh and almost melted into him. "I know," she murmured. "Thank you, Artemis." She tilted her head back to kiss his neck lightly. "I love you too." She let out a long, ragged breath and twisted slightly in his arms to kiss his cheek. "It's probably not the healthiest method of coping," she said softly after a moment, "but I don't want to think about it. Not right now."

She kissed his jaw and almost despite himself he felt a shiver slide down his spine. "Keep me distracted?" Viola whispered, hands sliding down his chest, and he closed his eyes, biting back a small moan.

"Are you sure?" He tilted his head to kiss her temple, then her cheek. Logically, he wasn't opposed to the idea; physical contact could be cathartic and comforting, and if that was what she needed far be it from him to deny her.

Of course, logic aside, he couldn't deny he was…more than unopposed. Enthusiastic might be a little closer to the mark. He almost felt ashamed of himself, with how easily she seemed to spark that heat in him that narrowed his focus to the woman in his arms.

Viola chuckled quietly and kissed the tip of his nose. She shifted so she was more in his lap than not, knees to either side of his hips. "I'm beyond sure," she assured him. He felt her smirk against his skin as she trailed a few kisses down his throat and his breath hitched. "And something tells me you aren't exactly adverse to the idea," she teased, wiggling her hips slightly.

Artemis's fingers dug into her hips and he frowned at her for the small betrayal. "Damnit, Viola, I am trying to look out for you here," he grumbled.

She laughed softly. "Then look out for me, love," she breathed, a whisper away from his lips.

With a low, rumbling sound in his throat that was almost a growl, he closed the minuscule distance between them and crushed his lips to hers, swallowing her small gasp and the following chuckle.

Viola

It didn't take long for them to collapse back onto the bed, heated breaths panted against shivering skin as clothes were stripped and quickly discarded, hands roaming eagerly over what skin was exposed and lips quickly following.

There was nothing gentle between them for this. Lips and tongues fought for dominance, teeth scraped skin, bruises in the shape of fingerprints began to form over flesh, darker marks created where their bodies clashed, locked together. It was new, this form of passion, and Viola found herself pushing pushing pushing to see just how much she could get, how far they would go…

Artemis surged to meet her, throwing all of himself into this new development, and by the time they had finished they were both exhausted, sinking back into the bed completely intertwined and panting desperately, murmured declarations of love fading as sleep claimed them.

A soft stroke over her arm made Viola grumble and curl in on herself, frowning.

A chuckle sounded quietly above her. "Vi. Sweetheart, wake up. We slept in."

"Nooo." She pouted at him, eyes barely open. "Sleep is good. It's beautiful."

Artemis chuckled again and murmured something she didn't quite catch--possibly "So are you"--but before she had time to respond he'd leaned over her and buried his face in her neck, nipping and kissing playfully.

And tickling. Viola squeaked and tried to shove him off, laughing. "Alright, alright, I'm up!" she squealed, laughing as she wriggled under him and shoved lightly at his shoulders. "Goddamnit, get off me," she laughed, squealing again when he blew a sharp breath across now sensitive skin and his fingers danced over her ribs.

"Hmm. No." He did pull back a bit to smirk at her, eyes glinting wickedly. At least he'd stopped tickling her, though his body still trapped hers against the bed. His eyes suddenly softened slightly and he leaned in to kiss her gently.

"Good morning," he murmured as he pulled away.

She smiled, reaching up to cup his cheek. "Morning." She was quiet for a long moment, then laughed and shook her head. Despite everything… "Okay. I know it's cheesy, but…this is a pretty perfect morning."

Chapter Text

"You look beautiful."

Her cheeks colored slightly and she gave him an almost shy look, an expression that seemed completely out of place for her, but he supposed it was understandable.

"Thanks. I, ah… Wow. I think I'm nervous," she chuckled, shaking her head slightly and giving him a bemused sort of smile.

Artemis smiled and took a step toward her, then hesitated. "I suppose I should wait until after the festivities to hug you. I don't want to muss your dress."

Holly grinned and moved in to wrapped her arm around his waist, but not before giving him a light punch on the arm. "Oh, shut up. Not like a hug is gonna hurt anything."

He chuckled a bit and hugged her back gently, tilting his head at her when they broke apart. "I'm, ah… I wanted to say--That is…" He swallowed and frowned. Why on Earth couldn't he come up with any appropriate words?

Thankfully, his best friend knew what he was trying to say, as always. Her eyes softened a bit and she took his hand, giving his fingers a little squeeze. "I love you too, Arty."

He relaxed a bit, giving her hand a squeeze in return before breaking the grip. "I'm so happy for you, Holly." His smile turned into more of a smirk. "And you have a small army prepared to make his life hell if he hurts you."

She laughed and slapped at his arm lightly. "Would you stop? I thought you two have been getting along lately!"

He shrugged, unrepentant and grinning. "We have. That doesn't mean I can't be protective."

Holly groaned dramatically just as there was a small knock on the door. "Hello?"

"Come on in, Vi," the elf called, still shaking her head at Artemis with her nose slightly crinkled. Viola poked her head into the room and her eyes flickered between them as a small smile curved her lips.

"Oh my God, Holly. You look so lovely."

Holly actually blushed again, but she didn't stop smiling. It was apparently contagious, as Viola's lips curved up and her eyes sparkled in that way they did when she couldn't stop herself from smiling. She moved forward and bent slightly to give Holly a hug, obviously taking care not to wrinkle the soft green and gold dress that sheathed the elf's form. "I'm so happy for you," she murmured when the two women broke apart, holding her hands gently.

Holly positively beamed and Artemis chuckled quietly, leaning back on his heels slightly as he watched them. He'd never actually expected the two of them to get along quite so well when they'd first met--and God knew sometimes their whispers and giggling almost made him wish they didn't--but he couldn't help being a little pleased.

It was nice to see two of the people he cared about most in the world so obviously care for each other…

"Well, Arty and I should probably get out of here, ceremony will be starting soon." Viola's voice brought him back to the present and he nodded, giving Holly one more quick hug before he offered his arm to Viola and steered them both from the room.

"I can't believe she's actually getting married," the young woman murmured as they made their way back down toward the hall where the ceremony would take place.

"Oh?" Artemis quirked an eyebrow at her. "Is it so strange? It's something people do, isn't it?"

Viola crinkled her nose at him and rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. It's just so…real."

"Ah yes. That certainly clarifies things. Thank you," he drawled wryly, earning a slight jab from her elbow that made him chuckle and wince.

"Oh, shove off. C'mon let's take our places."

He followed her to the spot in the crowd where his parents, the Butlers, and Connor waited for them. Liz and Sam had been unable to attend, though they'd sent their love along with the Fowl household, and his brothers were off for their first "real" year of school, as Beckett put it.

"Hello, dears," Angeline murmured as they approached, smiling and seemingly automatically reaching out to fix her son's tie before an identical look of fond exasperation from both Artemis Senior and Junior made her pause, then withdraw her hand a little sheepishly. "You found her then?"

Viola nodded with a quick smile, reaching up without looking to adjust Artemis's tie herself. He repressed a sigh, closing his eyes a moment as he could feel Connor smirking. "Yeah. I think things'll be starting soon, but I've never exactly been to a fairy wedding," she replied softly.

Artemis placed a hand on the small of her back and flicked his eyes toward the hall they'd just come from, where the crowd of gathered people was parting as though on some silent cue, the soft murmurings dying down.

Holly emerged slowly, and for perhaps only the second time since he'd known her, there was a small hitch of hesitation to her step, just a fraction of her being less assured than she always seemed.

He saw the moment her eyes locked with her waiting groom, and that slight nervousness melted away.

The ceremony was beautiful. He'd of course read up on what to expect, but No.1 had truly outdone himself with the soft little flourishes of magic that accented the arbor Holly and Trouble stood beneath, a glow of sunlight shining on the wedding party even so deep in Haven.

There was a strange ache in his chest as the wedding began to draw to a close, a slight hitch in his throat that made him cough quietly and blink a few times to clear his suddenly misty vision. He felt Viola shift beside him and winced internally, prepared for a whispered, affectionate taunt.

To his surprise, she simply slipped her hand into his, twining their fingers together and leaning against his side. When he glanced down at her, he saw she was crying silently, grinning through the tears.

Impulsively, he leaned in to kiss her temple, and she squeezed his hand in response.

The reception was simultaneously exactly what he'd expected while taking him completely by surprise- which he supposed he'd come to expect from Holly Short. Dancing and music and magic abounded, and he knew he wasn't the only one who couldn't stop watching the way the bride laughed and twirled easily through the guests, so obviously joyful and surprisingly serene.

When Viola started to go a little heavy on the elven wine though, he thought perhaps it might be time to step in. If he didn't, it wouldn't be long before she'd be trying to convince him to dance.

Lord have mercy.

Eventually, their little party of seven knew they had to return to the surface.

"Thank you so much for coming," Holy murmured as he hugged her goodbye, squeezing him tight.

"Of course, you don't have to thank me for that," he chuckled, giving her a quick peck on the cheek as he pulled away.

She grinned crookedly at him. "Nah, I do. I couldn't have gotten married without my best friend here, could I?"

Later, he would swear that the little cough that caught in his throat was a result of some unseen puff of dust or something similar. He was certainly not getting choked up.

Holly bid goodbye to the others and Trouble shook hands, apparently unable to stop smiling, and the humans were ushered onto a leisure shuttle heading for the surface.

Viola practically sprawled across Artemis's lap in the shuttle, the wine she'd drunk evidently leaving her a little lethargic. "Y'know somethin'?"

His lips quirked up on one side as he looked down at her and stroked a dark curl off her cheek. "I know a lot of things. What are you referring to specifically?"

"Ass." She swatted at him sleepily and he caught her hand with a quiet laugh, lacing their fingers together. "Anyway, I was thinking… We should do something like that. Something…grown up."

He blinked. His stomach seemed to turn inside out for a moment, then far too quickly righted itself. "Ah--grown up…how, exactly?" She was suggesting what it sounded like she was suggesting, was she?

"Well, I mean--I'm twenty fucking years old--"

"Language, darling."

"Sorry, Angeline." Viola blushed prettily and gave his mother a wide-eyed, innocent stare before looking back up at him and mouthing "oops". He repressed a chortle and shot Angeline a quick, knowing look.

It was interesting being one of two mostly sober people. Well, aside from Butler, but the man never drank.

"I mean…" Viola had lowered her voice slightly, and he tipped his head down toward her. "I am twenty years old. And people are--are moving, and working, and living, and getting married, and I keep thinking…I need to do something, y'know?"

"Okay," Artemis murmured slowly. "What exactly are you thinking?"

She gave him a very serious stare, a look that normally made his heart skip a beat, but as it was--with her hair mussed up on one side and her eyes bright and tipsy--just had him suppressing another laugh. "I am…working on that part."

Viola

"A preserve?"

She nodded, folding her hands on the desk in front of her as she met bright blue eyes with as firm a look as she could manage. "Yes, sir. A preserve."

Artemis Senior leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. His lips twitched up a bit at the corners. "Viola, I really don't see why we couldn't just have this conversation over lunch," he pointed out, a laugh in his voice.

She settled herself in her chair a little more and offered a crooked smile of her own. "No, we couldn't. I'm not your foster daughter right now, I'm someone coming to you with a business proposition. I think it's important we keep the two separate."

The head of the Fowl household shook his eyes with a quiet chuckle, but there was a glint in his eye she was rather familiar with. "Artemis has been coaching you a bit?"

She waved a hand airily, but the wry smirk probably answered that for him. "That's neither here nor there. So. About this proposal."

"Yes." Suddenly the man was all business. "I must admit, I do rather like the idea. And you're right, there is plenty of land available for such a project on the estate. What I question--" he tilted his head just slightly to the side-- "is if you truly have the ability to do all that you plan with this. What with the clinic opening up, and you've been talking about adding a rescue shelter onto it… Will you have the time to commit to running a nature preserve?"

Viola nodded firmly. She'd been putting a lot of thought into this, ever since Holly's wedding some four months before. Longer than that, really; it just wasn't until the wedding that she'd actually thought of it as a real possibility.

"I already almost have my undergraduate degree," she said, quick and businesslike. "Once that is completed, I can put perhaps a full year of my wholehearted effort into this project before I attempt to earn my veterinary degree. And I have no problem delegating managerial positions once the preserve is mostly on track." A spark lit up in her chest and she leaned forward, just a bit. "Artemis, Sir, think of what we could do with this. So many creatures are in danger of disappearing forever--you and your son both have expressed to me in the past that you wished there was more you could do than donating to foundations."

Excitement trembled in her tone and she had to actually exert a small amount of willpower to keep her emotions from spilling over and possibly affecting him. "We could be a foundation--we could be more than that. With a little magic and a little know-how, maybe we could reintroduce species most of the world may have thought extinct. Wolves in Ireland again, can you imagine?"

For a few moments her foster father was silent. Then he smiled, just a bit, and gave her a single, slow nod. "Well. I like to think I know better than to go up against an empath in negotiations. Particularly one so hellbent on getting what she wants." He extended a hand. "I believe we have a deal, Miss Sommers."

They shook.