in which we write the obligatory denouement to a never-ending story

'Tacit' means 'understood without being openly expressed'. Watching from afar one might assume they were exchanging I love you's, sappy stock-words to that effect. But in reality?

"Till next I climb your hair, Rapunzel."

"Go back to the Pole, Rudolph. And stay there."

Of course, he means he likes working out the knots in her hair, the same way he coaxes a smile from her — gently, gingerly. And she's probably thinking about that day in the rain, sopping wet with burning cheeks and a fluttering heart. Or of the way Wally's lips tend to taste like apple sauce and lemonade, two things she's somehow always associated with summertime and happiness.

About that. Suffice it to say that every time Artemis hears Robin cracking his "fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth" joke, she can't help but think, oh, yes. Every time this hugely unfair but completely enjoyable disparity evinces itself, she... doesn't think much at all.

Just that if this were a rabbit hole, she'd fall, gladly, to get lost in Wonderland all over again.

Still, she remembers to roll her eyes when he jokes that there's 20 milliamperes of current racing through him — the level at which your muscles contract and you just can't let go.

Someday they'll grow up, start telling more than trivial lies. When the bickering gets old, they'll recall the days they built blanket forts and stayed up way too late. Because when someone special comes along, you don't wait for an 'I love you'. You decode every little gesture; you give her a Valentine saying:

x = 16 sin3 t

y = 13 cos t – 5 cos (2t) – 2 cos (3t) – cos (4t)

because its graph is heart-shaped.

And when you touch, you mentally count the Fibonacci sequence — because that's about as never-ending as you'd like this all to be.

'Kismet' means 'fate; destiny'. Turkish. Now, go look up nerdy things and trawl through the wonderful collection of fluff that's showing up on here. Oh, and for all your awesomeness(es?), expect a V-Day treat on Fill In The Blanks soon. Artemis's response to Wally's heart-shaped graph. Sorta.

m.e.