175EPILOGUE
"Vi? Viola! Oh…"
The two broke apart, turning toward the voice. Despite his best intentions, Artemis found he was quite incapable of actually removing his arms from around Viola's waist. She didn't seemed to mind; her own hands still rested on his shoulders as she twisted to give her sister a sheepish smile.
"Um. Hey, Lizzie…"
Liz stared at them, lips parted slightly in surprise. Her eyes progressively grew rounder as seconds ticked by. Artemis and Viola remained frozen. No one seemed quite sure what to do or say.
Finally, Lizzie cleared her throat and said, "Well. It seems you two are in the middle of something, so I'll just- I'll be going. Yeah." She took a few steps backward, sliding out of the doorway until she disappeared.
Before Viola or Artemis could react, she popped her head back around the doorframe. "Just to be clear-" she pointed at Viola- "You remember everything, yes?"
Viola nodded silently. Artemis tightened his arms slightly around her.
"Right. Very good, then." Lizze gave them a bright smile and disappeared down the hallway again.
A few seconds later, they heard her voice echoing back through the manor.
"WhoooooooHOOOOOOO! YES!"
Viola looked up at him, eyes wide and lips curving into a rather resigned smile. Then she started laughing, gales of mirth shaking her whole body, and he joined in. She wrapped her arms more tightly around his neck and arched her back as she laughed.
"She- hahaha- she seems almost more- ahaha- happy than I am," she panted after a moment, eyes sparkling up at him familiarly.
He smiled at her, wordless. She was so beautiful. He reached up one hand to skim his fingers along her cheek, brushing a few curls behind her ear. A hint of red rose to her skin and she glanced down, lashes shading her cheeks. "What?" she muttered, looking back up at him.
He shook his head. "Nothing." He stroked her cheek again, reveling in the feeling of her skin, in the fact he could touch her again.
She mock frowned at him, lower lip pouting slightly. "There's something. You've got that far-away-musing look."
He quirked an eyebrow. "What look?"
She waved a hand airily. "You know, that look…" She trailed off, scrunching her nose. "Well, apparently I can't explain it properly. But trust me, there's a look-" He cut her off with a kiss, tilting her chin back and twinning his fingers through her hair. She was startled, but kissed him back easily, her slight frame melting into him when he tilted his head to deepen the contact.
They broke apart and she blinked. "I love you," he said, smiling at her softly.
Her cheeks were flushed and she shifted embarrassedly. "I love you." She bit her lip and gave him a shy grin. "Sorry, guess I'm really not used to that."
He chuckled. "Neither am I," he murmured, resting his forehead against hers. "Though I believe I'm willing to practice."
Her smile could have lit up a clouded night. "You'd better be," she whispered, rocking onto her toes to brush her lips against his.
"Oh my God!"
They both jumped in surprise, leaping away from each other. Once again, they turned to face the doorway with flaming cheeks.
Sam and Connor stood there, the latter grinning from ear to ear, the former looking rather lost. "Yes!" Connor punched the air and whooped, then dashed away down the hall.
Sam looked up them and shrugged sheepishly. "Lizzie said we should check on you- we didn't- ah, sorry. Carry on." He too beat a hasty retreat, face red.
Viola and Artemis slowly looked at each other. The girl scowled. "Either we need to go face the music, or that door is getting locked."
He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck a bit awkwardly. "Yes, Mother and the others should be back any minute. Perhaps we should go tell them. That is, if your siblings haven't already."
She rolled her eyes as they walked into the hallway. "To be honest, I'm surprised Lizzie hasn't shouted it through a megaphone by now," she grumbled.
Artemis smiled. He couldn't seem to stop doing that. Truthfully, if Liz did find a megaphone somewhere he thought she might have to fight him for it. He wasn't usually one for exuberant displays of emotion, but damn if he didn't want to shout this from the rooftops.
They reached the stairs and Viola glanced at him. "You've got that look again," she teased, bumping him with her shoulder."
"Do I?" He didn't much care. For once, everything seemed to have fallen perfectly into place. For a moment, they simply stood there, looking at each other.
"We're hooome!" Beckett tearing into the manor.
"Hey, boys. Hello, darling." His father greeting his mother.
"Jules, Angeline, you'll never believe-!" And that was Liz.
Viola groaned, closing her eyes and sighing dramatically. "And so it begins," she muttered. Then she gave him a playful grin, holding out her hand. "Shall we?"
He took it, lacing their fingers together and rising her hand to his lips to place a soft kiss on the ring that glinted on her finger. "Yes, I believe we shall."
When she smiled at him again, then started down the stairs, pulling him after her, he couldn't help thinking that she was right. And so it begins.
He couldn't imagine a better beginning.
Okay...there was really no purpose to this epilogue, other than that I wanted to get those reactions in :P
So it's done! Like, officially now, haha. However, I still feel that there is more to tell in Viola and Artemis's story, soooooo...
Duh da da DA! I will be writing (what looks like) not one, not two, but THREE sequels to Strange Duet! Well, more like two and a half, actually, but oh well. The first one will be titled "Strange Happenings", and it will chronicle the next (roughly) twenty or so years of our lovable misfits' lives.
HOWEVER: I don't want people to get the wrong idea- Strange Happenings is more of a bridge TO the sequel than a sequel itself, so it will mostly consist of fluffy one-shots that deal with these characters and are all interconnected in some way or another. If that doesn't interest you, I'm sorry but you'll probably have to wait a while before I get to the actual sequel (to be called "Strange Creatures"...hope that gets you thinking!)
So there it is. I hope most of you will stay with me, and I hope not to disappoint your expectations. Thank you so much to every single person who reviewed, followed, or PM'd and made my day. I love you all!