Archive of Our Own

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing and buzzing. I wonder who could possibly decide it would be a good idea to call anybody so early in the morning until I register what day it is and read the caller ID. “Aspen, hey!” I exclaim, almost flying over to my closet for a change of clothes. I put my phone on speaker as I quickly switch out my pajamas for a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

“Mer, where are you? Did you promise to look after Ivy for the day or did I imagine it?”

“No, no, you’re right. I'll be there in a few minutes, tops. I overslept, I’m sorry.”

In the background of the call, I can hear Ivy yelling. “Is it America?!” Aspen's voice is muffled as he turns to her and confirms that yes, it's America he's calling. “Yay!”

“Please hurry,” Aspen says, sounding desperate. “She’s driving me insane.”

“I guess I’ll just take my time and enjoy the scenery on the way over.”

“Mer!”

I laugh. By now I’ve almost finished grabbing everything I think I’d need. “I’m sorry, I know you’ve got work to do. I’ll be over soon so just wait, okay?” I hang up and rush down to the kitchen to have breakfast as quickly as I can. After wolfing down a cookie (the closest and fastest thing to eat I could find), I'm almost out the door when my phone starts buzzing again. “Hello?” I say without looking at the screen. It's probably Aspen again, calling impatiently because Ivy's driving him nuts.

“Hello, my dear.”

I feel myself beginning to blush furiously and quicken my pace. “Maxon, I told you not to call me that.”

“You can't stop me.” He laughs, and I roll my eyes. “Anyways, I was wondering if you'd want to hang out today.”

“I can't. I promised Aspen I'd babysit his sister today.”

“Oh, come on. Can't you just leave the kid alone or get Aspen to it?”

“No, it's not negotiable. He's busy and I'm not. If you really want to hang out today, you'll have to come with me.”

“What? No! I'm not sharing you with some kid!”

“Oh, don’t be like that. Ivy's a sweet girl. She won't cause you any problems.”

“I'm not worried about whether the kid will annoy me or not. I just want to be with you .”

“Then come babysit her with me.”

After a pause, he huffs in defeat. “Okay, fine. I'll babysit with you. Where do the Legers live?”

I give him their address. “I'll see you there.”

I get to Aspen's place in no time, and when he opens the door a little girl comes flying at me. “America!” she squeals.

“Hey, Ivy.” I ruffle her hair gently. “How's my favourite Leger?”

Aspen coughs loudly, but he's smiling. “You gonna be okay with her, Mer?”

“Yeah, of course. Don't you have work to go to?”

He adjusts the messenger bag on his shoulder. “Sadly, the gas station awaits.”

“America, who's that?” Ivy asks. I turn around to see Maxon standing in the driveway. He gives a reluctant little wave.

“That's my friend Maxon. He'll be with us today.” I turn to Aspen. “I hope that's fine with you.”

“I don't mind. I just need someone to make sure she doesn't tear the house apart while we're all gone. Don't know why I offered to take this extra shift, but money's money, right?”

“Right.” I give him a quick hug as he steps out the door. “Have fun.”

“As much fun as someone can have working in a gas station,” he snorts. “I'll see you guys in a few hours.”

After Aspen's gone and Ivy rushes back inside, Maxon is still standing in the driveway. “You can come in, you know,” I call to him.

He fidgets nervously. “Am I…allowed to?”

“Of course. Aspen gave you the OK.”

Still hesitantly, he shuffles up the driveway and into the house. Inside, we find Ivy sitting on the couch. The TV is on, playing a cartoon I don't recognize. I sit down beside her, trying to make sense of the show. I must have come in too late to understand the plot. “What show is this?”

Ivy shrugs. “I don’t know; I just found it.”

I feel the couch sink a little as Maxon sits with us. “Hi,” he says tentatively to Ivy.

She turns her attention to him. “Hi Maxon! Are you friends with Aspen too?”

I exchange a glance with him and watch as he says, “Yeah, you could say that.” Maxon’s always felt weird around Aspen, considering I used to date him. He’s still my best friend even though we’ve broken up, but I guess it must be some manly instinct or something that Maxon believes he still has to be in constant competition with him.

Ivy cocks her little head. “Then how come Aspen’s never talked about you?”

“I just know him from school. We’re not really friends.”

“Huh.” Ivy turns back to the TV, quickly immersed in the cartoon’s universe. Hoping she won’t move on to something else around the house, I go into the kitchen to help myself to more food after my quick breakfast. Maxon follows me like a lost puppy.

“Enjoying yourself?” I ask him, taking out some leftover pizza I found and sticking a slice in the microwave. I come over so often that I could be a Leger myself, so they let me take whatever from their kitchen whenever I’m here.

“I guess she’s a nice enough kid.” He pauses for a beat before adding, “It’s just so weird being here. I never thought I’d go to the house of my girlfriend’s ex.”

“Look, no matter what your manly brain tells you, Aspen doesn’t hate you. Not anymore, at least.”

“How do you know that?”

“He’s moved on already. He’s got his own someone else.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. He wants to surprise me when they make it official or something.”

“Maybe he’s lying to you.”

“I’ve seen him, okay?” I take the slice out of the microwave and bite into it. “He seems pretty into this new girl, and it’s something you can’t exactly fake.”

Maxon stands quietly as I chew on my pizza, perhaps digesting what I just told him. We stand in silence as I finish my slice, until Ivy wanders into the kitchen, complaining, “America, I’m bored.” I can hear that the TV is still on outside. “I wanna go out somewhere.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“How about the zoo?” Maxon suggests.

Her eyes light up. “The zoo!” she cries. “Let’s go!” To my surprise, she grabs Maxon’s arm and starts dragging him out of the kitchen. I can see he’s just as surprised as I am as he lets Ivy lead him to the door. I go around the house, making sure everything’s been turned off before joining them on the front porch to lock the door. Ivy’s practically bouncing with excitement. “America hurry up!”

I laugh. “Okay, let’s go.” I take her hand, and the three of us take the short walk to the zoo. Soon we’re inside, and I tighten my grip on Ivy’s to make sure she doesn’t go running off. I promised Aspen I’d look after her, and I don’t want to lose her. She leads me from animal to animal, squealing excitedly each time.

“Look, America!” Ivy says, pointing at the red panda in front of us. “Isn’t his tail fluffy?”

“Yes, Ivy, it’s very fluffy.”

“Hey, America,” Maxon says, coming up behind me and putting a hand on my waist. “Did you know that red pandas—”

“What is that!” Ivy drags me over to a collection of giant salamanders as I gently explain what they are to her. She mispronounces the name so many times I start laughing.

“What’s so funny about giant salamanders?” Maxon says. “They’re the second-largest amphibian living in the world. Bet you didn’t know that.”

“That’s nice,” I tell him distractedly as I follow Ivy to see some leopards. It starts to get tiring, following a hyperactive five-year-old, but finally we reach a small playground. Ivy rushes off when she sees one of her friends, and I collapse on a bench while calling after her, “Behave, okay?”

Maxon sits beside me, rubbing my back. “Why won’t you pay attention to me?” he grumbles quietly.

“Don’t tell me I have to babysit you too,” I answer jokingly. He mutters something else, and that’s when I realise why he’s been grumpy all morning. “Oh my god, are you jealous of a five-year-old?”

“Jealous? Of Ivy? Of course not.” I continue staring at him until he gives in. “Okay, maybe a little. I just hate that I have to compete for your attention.”

I start laughing. “I’m not choosing Ivy over you. She’s my responsibility for today. I have a feeling that you’re going to be my responsibility for quite a long time.”

His hand leaves my back as he feigns hurt. “Are you saying that I’m as unruly as a five-year-old?” he gasps, his hand over his heart.

“Maybe,” I say as innocently as possible.

He pulls me closer and plants a kiss on my forehead. “Then I’m going to make your life as hard as possible, my dear.”

Ivy comes running back to us. “I’m hungry!” she cries.

We find a small pizza parlour near the playground and sit down. There's so much energy balled up in her tiny body, she can't even sit still. "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" she chants.

"Ivy, shush!" Maxon says.

To my surprise, she becomes quiet. She doesn't usually do what she's told; even Aspen and I have to spend some time to coax her into stopping.

"You are a child whisperer ," I murmur into his ear.

"A skill I'm sure will be useful in our future," he says so quietly I almost miss it. Almost.

The pizza arrives as quickly as it is consumed, and soon the three of us are back outside. My phone starts buzzing; it's a call from Aspen. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mer. How's Ivy been treating you? Not being too annoying?"

"She hasn't tried to rip the house apart, if that's what you mean."

"She's that well-behaved?"

"It's more like we brought her to the zoo at Maxon's suggestion and her excited request."

"Oh man, I wish I could be there with you guys."

"How is the gas station anyways?"

"The good news is I'll be off my shift soon. The bad news is that 'soon' isn't for another couple of hours."

I laugh. "I probably shouldn't distract you from your work then."

"Please do. It's so boring over here."

" Aspen . Get back to work."

“Yes, m'lady."

"Don't call me that!"

"Of course, Lady America." He hangs up before I can protest further.

"Who was that?" Maxon asks.

"Just Aspen acting like an idiot."

I was so engrossed in our conversation that I hadn't noticed Ivy rushing towards the penguins directly in someone's path. She lets out a little “oof!” as she crashes into the startled woman, and I rush up to pull her away. “I am so sorry,” I apologize profusely.

The woman chuckles. “It's okay. Kids, am I right?” Her gaze moves over to Ivy, who has rushed over to look at the penguins with Maxon. She lets out a loud squeal of delight. “You have a wonderfully happy family, miss,” the woman adds before walking away – I don't even have the time to tell her that Ivy isn't even my daughter.

I join Ivy and Maxon at the penguin exhibit, turning over what the woman had said in my mind.

~*~

It's six when Ivy finally decides she wants to go home. When we get the door open, the rest of the Leger kids are crowded around the TV. "Guess where we've been!" she says excitedly to her siblings. She drags Maxon with her, probably to introduce him to the others.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd ever come back." Aspen comes out of the kitchen, his sleeves rolled up; it must be his turn to make dinner tonight.

"Do you want me to help?"

"Nah, I've got all the help I need." Confused, I stare at the rest of the Legers in the living room, counting them off in my mind. Beckner, Kamber, Celia, Reed, Jemmy, Ivy…. No one's missing. Aspen laughs when he sees where my gaze has gone. "Come with me. I want you to meet someone."

In the kitchen, a girl stands over the stove. Her blond hair is twisted up into a messy bun, and she continues to stir without noticing our presence. "Lucy?"

She turns around, startled. Her eyes are wide when she sees me, but soften when they land on Aspen. "America, this is Lucy, my girlfriend."

"Hi," I say, and she smiles sheepishly back. Aspen joins her at the stove, and already I can see how happy they are, happier than Aspen and I could ever have been.

"You gonna join us for dinner?" he asks.

"I can't. Kenna's coming over."

"Well, say hello to her and her pregnant belly for me. What about Astra and James?"

"She's coming, but he has to work late tonight."

"Is Kota going to be there?"

I roll my eyes. "When has Kota ever come to visit?"

"Hm, that's true."

Maxon shows up at the kitchen door then, finally free from Ivy. "Hey, Aspen."

"Hey, Maxon."

"Who's this?"

"Lucy, my girlfriend." She turns around in surprise at the sound of her name. "Lucy, this is Maxon." She smiles shyly in his direction and turns back to the stove.

He looks at me and I smirk. Told you so.

"Well, I'm gonna head back home. Say hi to your mom for me, okay? And it was nice to meet you, Lucy."

"You, too," she mumbles, taking a small taste of whatever she and Aspen are making.

"Goodnight, Mer," Aspen calls as we leave the kitchen. "'Night, Maxon."

In the living room, the rest of the Legers say their goodbyes. "It's not like I'm leaving forever." I laugh.

"Yeah, but we're gonna miss you all the same," Jemmy, the youngest boy, pipes up. He leans closer to me conspiratorially. "Lucy's kind of weird."

"She's just shy, that's all," Celia says, silencing her brother.

Maxon's waiting by the door. "America, are you coming?"

"Yeah." I rush over to the door and wave to everyone one last time.

"Bye Maxon! Bye America!" Ivy calls as the door is closed.

“That was nice, wasn't it?” I ask Maxon once we leave the driveway.

A smile crosses his face. “I guess so. Ivy's a nice kid.” A comfortable silence fills the space between us.

“Hey, you remember that woman she bumped into at the zoo?”

“Yeah, why?”

“She said we looked like ‘wonderfully happy family’. Funny, right?”

To my surprise, Maxon doesn't laugh. Instead he turns around and grasps my hand in his, stopping us in the middle of the sidewalk. “I think we would too, someday.”

I look at him curiously. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying maybe someday, you and I could get married and have kids of our own.”

I suck in a breath and try to imagine it. What would it be like to marry Maxon, to have kids with him? It’s a nice thought. He tips my chin up so that my gaze meets his. “I love you, America Singer.”

"And I love you, Maxon Schreave."