Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cath looked down. Then at the back of the box. Then down again. This couldn't be right. This wasn't right. There was no way that this could be right. She texted Wren. '911. Our room. ASAP.' Pressing send, she leaned her head against the cinder-block wall. This had to be a mistake.

Wren came flying into the room moments later; after their fight last year, Wren was always around Cath, just like old times when they were all each other needed. “What's wrong?” she asked, her eyes darting around the room like she expected a burglar or somebody, anybody else in the room with Cath. Cath simply held out the small object in her hand. A pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test.

“Holy shit, Cath, what did you do?” Wren asked, her voice dropping as her eyes met her sister's. There were unshed tears lingering in the corners of Cath's eyes; Wren was surprised that they hadn't yet spilled over.

“It can't be right, right? We used protection...God, Wren, what am I gonna do?” Cath asked, the tears starting to fall.

“You're going to have to talk to Levi. And dad. And whatever you decide to do, I'm here for you,” Wren replied in her I'm the Sensible One tone. And for once, Cath was glad that she did.

“Will you be here when I talk to him? Please?” Cath hated pleading, but she felt like she had to plead with her sister, to get her to stay and have the talk that she didn't even know HOW to have.

“Of course,” Wren answered simply, grabbing Cath's hand. 'Can you stop by my room after class?'

The reply was instant: 'Of course. Last class of the day and no work, see you soon.' Cath exhaled the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She couldn't think of a reason that Levi would say no to coming over, but a voice in her head still insisted that he wasn't. “He'll be here after class,” she relayed. Wren squeezed her hand reassuringly; Levi's class got out in ten minutes.

He didn't even knock when he arrived, just walked right in like he owned the place. He had a way of doing that, of swaggering into a room without even realizing he was doing it. “What's up?” he asked, folding his lanky body into Cath's desk chair. He was smiling at the pair of them, even though they weren't smiling back.

Wordlessly, Cath passed the test to Levi. “It's...I'm...” she choked out before words and courage failed her.

“Pregnant.” The word was like a blow, coming out in a short burst, so permanent. So...final.

Cath nodded helplessly, her head back on the cinder block wall. “Are you going to step up?” Wren questioned, her tone businesslike.

“Step up? You mean care for my child?” Levi queried back, arching an eyebrow and running a hand through his blond hair.

“That's exactly what I mean,” Wren challenged.

“Of course I'm going to care for my child. What kind of asshole do you think I am?”

“Can both of you just shut up for two minutes?” Cath interjected, tears streaming down her face. “Wren was right to question you, but you didn't have to get so defensive. And you could have been nicer, Wren.” The words came in one breath, tumbling over each other in the rush to get them all out before she lost her nerve. “Plus, I don't even know if I'm going to raise it or give it up,” she continued, her voice markedly smaller.

“Whatever you decide, I'm right by your side,” Wren reassured her, squeezing her hand one more time.

“And if you keep it, I'd like to help raise it. It's only right,” Levi pitched in, his ever-present smile gone, replaced by seriousness.

“Thank you. Both of you. I just have to tell dad....” Another tear rolled down Cath's face, and she swiped at it angrily.

“We're going home this weekend, we can do it then,” Wren answered quickly.

“Do you want me there?” Levi asked gently.

“Honestly, our dad might kill you,” Wren teased, elbowing him gently.

“Please be there....” Cath knew she sounded like a small child, but right now she didn't care. Her world had been turned upside down by two pink lines. She had the right to be needy and clingy and all the things she usually hated being.

Wren held her as she collapsed onto her twin, Levi moving to her other side, wrapping one long around her. “I'll be there.” It was a promise, Cath knew. And she knew Levi always kept his promises.

Chapter Text

They arrived early Saturday morning, all three somehow squeezed in Levi's truck. Cath had tried to joke that at least they wouldn't need the heat this way; Levi made a show of rolling his eyes and Wren managed a smirk. It was more than Cath was used to, having two people indulge her rather than one.

Arthur Avery was standing over the kitchen sink, looking into the backyard when the trio arrived. “Hey dad,” Wren said, setting her and Cath's bags on the couch. The walls were organized, she noticed as her eyes did their customary roam around the living room. Organized was good. Organized wasn't manic.

“Girls! And...” her dad began, looking helplessly from one twin to the other, trying to pull a name out.

“Levi. We've met, once,” Levi took the plunge.

“Right! Levi!” Arthur replied, eyes lighting up as recognition dawned. Levi smiled easily back at him; but then again, Levi smiled easily at EVERYTHING. And everyone. Wren commented that they were the oddest couple she'd ever seen—Levi always smiling and Cath always looking down. Wren had nudged her shoulder then, to let Cath know that she didn't mean it, not really.

“Dad, sit down,” Wren said now, taking control of the situation. Wren was always taking control of situations. Their dad did as he was told, his fingers tapping nervously on the table. Almost too nervously. Wren nodded slightly at Cath, and Cath cleared her throat. She hadn't planned out what she was going to say to him. It wasn't like she could say 'Hey dad, we're home for the weekend, and by the way, I'm pregnant and have no idea what I'm going to do,'. Arthur looked from one twin to the other.

“Is one of you pregnant? Are you both pregnant? Are you gay? Are you going to be the non-musical version of Tegan and Sara?” he queried.

“I'm...” words failed Cath, not for the first time.

“We're going to have a baby, sir,” Levi offered, his smile gone, his serious face on once more.

“At least it's not both of you,” their dad tried to make a joke, but his smile didn't meet his eyes. Wren nodded only slightly, her gaze on the floor. “It's not both of you, right?” her dad asked again, more pointedly this time.

“I'm not pregnant, dad. There's never a chance of me being pregnant. We don't have to do this right now.” Wren's voice was small, and she was staring hard at the floor, like she was hoping it would swallow her right up.

“We do now. What is it, Wren?” All traces of mania were gone from their dad. He had on his Presentation Look. Professional. Serious.

“I....I broke up with Jandro.” The news came as a shock to all of them. Whenever Cath had asked about him, Wren simply said he was studying, or at FarmHouse.

“What happened?” It wasn't a question as much as a demand. Cath.

“I just....I realized that I don't....we want different things,” Wren mumbled, more to the floor or herself than to anyone in particular.

“I thought you got along,” Arthur interjected, raising his eyebrows. His Presentation Look was gone, and their always-on-the-edge-of-mania dad was back.

“We do. I just....my tastes have changed.” More muttering. Wren was still willing the floor to open up and eat her.

“What? Are you suddenly gay now?” Cath asked sarcastically, like there was never a possibility of Wren being gay. For her part, Wren just stared down at the floor; Cath could see tears forming at the corner of her sister's eyes. “Oh my god, Wren,” she tried to correct herself, but Wren only shook her head.

“I don't want to talk about it. You're pregnant. This is about you, not me,” she replied, her voice thick.

“It doesn't have to be about one or the other,” Levi observed quietly, the first time he'd spoken since telling Arthur that Cath was pregnant.

Arthur was bobbing his head, and Cath knew that he was trying to process everything that had happened in the last ten minutes. Wren hugged her arms around herself, as if trying to reassure herself that everything was okay. Cath moved towards her, and Wren let her. Wren let Cath pull her into herself, and the two heads met in the middle. “I'm sorry.” Cath's voice was barely above a whisper, but she knew Wren heard it by the way her head moved. Wren sniffled and looked back up at her dad, his eyes bright.

“A baby. And a girl who likes girls. What a night,” he simply said. The twins glanced at each other; it'd been so long since their father had been manic. They weren't sure what would reel him back in if babies and coming out didn't do it.

“Taco truck?” Cath offered, and she could see her dad starting to come back. Not not-manic, but definitely not-manic enough for now. Arthur nodded once, allowing himself to be led out of the house. Wren took the lead, and Levi brought up the rear as the quartet headed towards downtown Omaha.

Chapter Text

“What happened to Reagan?” Arthur asked over tacos. The four of them were huddled around the kitchen table that sometimes felt too small for just the three of them. Cath looked up from her carnitas.

“She got offered a single and jumped on it. They hadn't processed Wren's housing stuff, so it was easy to get her as my roommate,” Cath shrugged.

“Ah,” Arthur replied sagely, going back to his own food.

The rest of dinner was a quiet affair; it seemed as though no one knew what to say. Even Levi was quiet, Cath noticed. Finally, all that was left of dinner was the empty grease paper wrappers. Cath gathered them all and threw them away before going upstairs with Levi and Wren.

“You were quiet tonight,” Levi observed cocking an eyebrow at Cath. They were on her bed; Simon Snow stuff was still around, just not as much. Cath said that it was like a part of her died when the last book came out, and Wren said that she couldn't bear all the Simon Snow anymore; it didn't feel right.

“What am I supposed to say after I tell my dad I'm pregnant and Wren tells him she's gay on the same night?” Cath shot back, more defensively than intended. “I'm sorry,” she continued, seeing the hurt in his eyes. She sighed and leaned against her pillows. This was hard. Relationships were hard. No one had ever told her that relationships were hard.

“It's okay,” Levi reassured her; his Levi smile was back in place, and his eyes were twinkling. He pulled her to him gently, and she let her head rest on his strong chest, his heartbeat comforting.

“What time are we heading back tomorrow?” Wren asked from her identical bed across the room. She was on her phone, the slightest hint of a smile on her lips. Cath narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“Around 11. Why?” she challenged.

“Just curious,” came the reply. When Cath looked back over, Wren was texting furiously.

The next morning came too early for Cath. Her back hurt and she was still tired. Her bed wasn't as comfortable as she remembered it, but that could also have something to do with the fact that Levi was in her bed as well, his lanky body taking up most of the space.

“What time are you leaving?” Arthur asked as Cath made breakfast (omelets, Wren and Levi's favorite).

“Around 11,” Wren answered. She was practically bouncing. Cath had never seen her so excited to go back to campus.

“What are you so excited for?” she asked, flipping an omelet. Levi was in the kitchen with her, listening to a lecture and leaning against a counter. He leaned in a way that should be illegal. Maybe it was illegal.

“I just want to get a jump on homework,” Wren shrugged. She shrugged a lot lately. It wasn't that she was keeping secrets, exactly...they'd gotten over that last year. And she would tell Cath if it was Laura she was texting.

Breakfast was louder than dinner had been before; their dad seemed to be in better spirits, knowing that both his girls were okay. “Do you have a doctor?” he asked now, addressing Cath.

Cath, for her part, turned red. “No. I was going to find one in Lincoln. It's too far to find one in Omaha. Plus, it'd probably be cheaper in Lincoln,” she said around a mouthful of omelet.

“I thought maybe....maybe you could move back home? I know you were thinking about it last year,” her dad said. Wren's head jerked up, curious eyes meeting Cath's gaze.

“I didn't know that,” she said.

“You were at a point that you wouldn't have cared,” Cath shrugged. Wren knew it was useless to argue, especially at eight in the morning.

“With all due respect, sir, I think it best if Cather comes back to Lincoln. That way I can help out in any way I can. And she's right; Omaha is a far drive, especially when she goes into labor,” Levi interjected. The way he said Cather now was so unlike every other time he used her full name that Cath jerked her head up in response.

Arthur nodded gamely, for the most part. “What about school?” he asked.

“I'm still going. Professor Piper is excited about me being in her advanced fiction writing class. And I have some classes with Wren. I just....I don't want to stop now,” Cath explained, not mentioning that she hadn't yet talked to her professors about being pregnant. She could imagine Professor Piper's reaction though; the small woman would be excited yet concerned, as she seemed to be with anything regarding Cath.

“If that's what you want,” her dad replied, finishing his omelet.

“It is.” The finality in Cath's voice surprised even her. She knew that she was going to keep going to school, but she hadn't expected herself to feel so strongly about it. 'It's good that I'm not still roommates with Reagan,she'd have a field day' she thought to herself, finishing her own omelet.

Two hours later, the three of them were crammed in Levi's truck, clean clothes in the back, along with the homework that didn't get done that weekend. Wren asked to be dropped off at the student union, and Levi was happy to oblige.

Chapter Text

Glancing sideways at Cath, Levi headed towards Pound Hall. “Move in with me,” he said as the truck rolled to a stop.

“I'm not a sophomore yet. I can't. And besides, what will Wren do?” Cath shot back, her eyes widening.

“I'm sure Wren can fend for herself,” Levi said knowingly, leaving the sophomore part out.

“She can, yeah, but I can't move out of the dorms. I'm still a freshman.”

“You're a freshman for another what, three months?” he queried, arching an eyebrow.

Cath shrugged in response. “What about your roommates?”

“We can get our own place. Wren, too, if she wants. But I have a feeling that she'll be just fine here,” Levi said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

“I don't have a job....” Cath's lower lip began to tremble. She clenched her fists, willing the tears not to fall. Not here, not now.

“We'll manage. I make pretty decent money, and the ranch provides good income, too,” Levi shrugged. “Think about it, okay?” he asked, and Cath, lost in his eyes, was surprised to find herself nodding along with him.

“Okay. See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

Wren didn't come home that night. Cath knew that she wasn't out partying—it seemed like the hospital really had scared her. Still, she wished that her sister was there, to talk things out with, to be the voice of reason that Cath so desperately wanted.

Chapter Text

Wren didn’t return to the room until after her and Cath’s first class together. She still looked giddy, Cath noticed. Maybe too giddy. Back in the privacy of their room, sh eutrned to her twin. “Alright, what’s up with you? You’re never this excited to be back on campus,” she said, hoping her tone came off as playfully demanding rather than just demanding. Wren rolled her eyes and hopped on her bed. “I am just excited to be back,” she said, her smile widening as her phone chirped. Cath sighed dramatically. “Fine. Don’t tell me,” she said, lounging on her own bed. “I won’t tell you my secret, either.”

“Your pregnancy isn’t exactly a secret,” Wren reminded her twin.

“I can have more than one secret, you know,” Cath said. Wren looked from her phone at that.

“What’s your secret?” she asked guardedly (there was no way that Cath knew about Reagan...was there?)

“Not until you tell me yours.”

“Do I have to?” It was more of a whine than a question. Cath simply nodded her head.

“Fine. Reagan and I are...talking.”

Cath didn’t know what to say. It was all she could do to keep her mouth from dropping open. She hadn’t seen THAT coming. “Wha—H—WHAT?!” she asked. It felt like she was trying to process too much at once.

“Since the end of last year, actually,” Wren replied, searching her sister’s face for some kind of reaction other than shock.

“So THAT’S what Levi meant,” Cath mused to herself.

“Are you...mad?” Wren asked uncertainly.

“Why would I be mad? I’m just...surprised. Reagan doesn’t really seem your type.”

“But she’s...I don’t know. But there’s something about her,” Wren tried to explain. “Now it’s your turn. Spill.”

“Levi asked me to move in with him.” The words rushed out of her mouth, tumbling over each other before they could be taken back.

“He asked you to WHAT?” Wren put her phone down, full attention on her sister. “What are you going to say? You can’t move for another three months, and then what am I gonna do?”

“I haven’t given him an answer yet. He said that you’re more than welcome to come with and get a place, the three of us—four if he can talk Reagan into it. And if she goes, then you’ll probably go,” Cath rationalized.

Wren sent a quick text to Reagan: ‘We need to talk. Come to my room. Bring Levi.’

‘Be right there,’ was the instant reply.