Archive of Our Own

White hadn’t been affected by the heat, despite the fact that there was a severe heat warning in their area. Not even when Blue had texted in their group chat reminding everyone to hydrate and to come and see them if they were feeling off. Heat exhaustion? Well, White didn’t feel exhausted, so that had nothing to do with them.

…oh yeah. They have a partner. 

White’s mind snapped to Green. They lived in a dinky farm house without air conditioning, right in the middle of the heat. With several children, too, who would all be buzzing around like charged atoms and whining about how hot they are. Green lived in the kind of conditions where one small button press or hand movement wouldn’t make things go away, and they were undeniably living in the consequences. 

They first thought about this when they and Green had called in the evening, after a long day in the sun for the latter. Green had sounded entirely drained, murmuring slightly into their pillow as if the sun had completely melted them throughout the hours.

“It was horrible.” They had complained, as White hummed like they could even slightly empathise, “It feels like the sun is out for me with a vengeance. And I didn’t even do anything.”

“Well, there was that one time you cheated on me.” White mentioned, failing to add the in my dream part. They had told this story with an annoyed pout enough times that Green already knows what they are talking about. 

“White!” They perked up, whining pitchily like an animal who had their tail stepped on, “I would never do that.”

“That’s what they all say.” White teased with finality, soon realising that Green had probably had enough for the day, “Climate change, though… whoof. A toughie.”

“I had to spend most of my day showering my siblings down with a garden hose.” Green said, thumping back down onto their pillow.

“The garden hose? Isn’t that for gardening?” Dual purpose? What was that? All their gardening supplies had been left outside for the gardener to take care of, so White hadn’t never touched it. If they were hot, they showered in their actual shower, rather than the makeshift version outside.

“It’s the only real option that we’ve got.” Green responded, “Besides, we’re green. We’re kinda like plants. 

“It is?” White blinked, adjusting in their seat, “You don’t have… a pool that they can swim in, or something?”

“Nope.” Green answered, popping their P, “I don’t know where we’d even put a pool.”

“Really? Did your land not come with a built-in pool?” Somehow White didn’t realise the absurdity of that statement. They were just starting to properly realise the monetary gap between their household and Green’s, but once in a while encountered topics that they just hadn’t really thought about. Like the fact that most people do not just have an in-ground pool in their garden.

“Uh… no, it didn’t.” They answered awkwardly, “Why? Did yours?”

“Of course it did.” White answered, “It’s about… 20 by 40 metres? That’s about what you expect for a house the size of mine. I would have thought that you at least had a smaller one.”

“It doesn’t really work like that.” Right. Well. That answers that question, “First you need to buy a pool, then you need to fill it with water– so much water. Like, six baths worth of water. Oh– but if I’m spraying them with water every day, then that might add up… should I get a pool?”

“I could buy you a–”

“--I don’t need you to buy me a pool.” Green quickly intercepted, “I was just thinking about it.”

“...Kay.” White trailed off, trying not to pry on the matter. It sounded like a simple solution to them, but they did remember the whole ‘not to spend money on Green when they didn’t want them to’ thing, and they were trying their best to at least somewhat respect that. Even so, “Well, you’re more than welcome to use my pool… if you wanted to.” 

White wasn’t able to tell why Green was silent– over the phone, that is. Green had this habit of moving around whenever they could, typically bouncing on their feet when they were nervous or wiggling their hands when they were happy. With the obvious barrier, they weren’t able to see what Green was doing (if they were doing anything, half sludge bean that they were becoming), and hence didn’t know if that was also something they shouldn’t have said.

…look, they were learning, okay? It’s a process. 

“I’m kinda more of a package deal.” Green responded after a few moments, “I’d so– so love to. But I don’t want to leave my little siblings out in the heat. It feels like leaving a dog in a car.”

White does not have a dog, so that analysis is all but lost on them. They also did not have any siblings to understand the feeling of one getting something while the others didn’t. Was that supposed to be a bad feeling? Why? Different people got different things, that was just the way life was. 

White took their own moment to themselves, contemplative as they weighed out options in their mind. They wanted Green to come over. They wanted Green to float around on one of their floaties with them, drink champagne that their attendants brought out– and maybe seeing Green in whatever undeniably dorky swim suit that they possessed would leave a good memory to remember the day by. But they knew nothing about Green’s siblings– what they were like, how old they were, so they had no clue what inviting them along would bring about. 

It was a very complicated dispute.

“How many siblings do you have?” White finally came out with. The least that they could do is try.

“Oh! Six.”

.

White was completely thrown for a loop there, stammering as their words failed to come out, “Six?”

“But only three of them are on the farm right now. One of them got a full scholarship for a community college and has a dorm room up there, and the other two have moved out into their own places and have their own lives.” Green continued as though the explanation made the six siblings thing any better, “I’m the third oldest. So I’m kinda like the Wednesday of the family.”

Wednesday. That didn’t sound right. 

White hated Wednesdays. Because Wednesday was the hump day that just about no one enjoyed, and White considered themselves to be no different in the matter. The pinnacle day for work stress.

But White loved Green. In fact, they made their (albeit minute to begin with) problems completely disappear with their presence. 

Also, wasn’t Wednesday meant to be the sad day? What was it– ‘Wednesday’s child is full of woe?’. Long gone were the days that their senior attendant would read them poems before bed, but it went something like that. Yet was the least woeful person that White had ever met.

So why would they be Wednesday? They were a lot more like the high-stress high-reward Friday, Or maybe a bumbling yet restful Saturday.

“Just… because of age order. You know? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday–” Green continued speaking. White realised that they had perhaps been mulling on that idea for a little too long, “-I just think it’s kinda fun to think of it like that.”

“Yeah. I guess it is.” White mused absently, “So… the other three.”

“All younger!” Green chirped, and the way that they sounded so happy to be asked warmed White’s heart a little, “My parents had a gap between when they had my oldest younger sibling and when they had the other three. So they’re all still pretty young. But I promise you, you would love them if you got to meet them. They’re the sweetest things ever.”

“So they’re kids kids. Right.” White pressed their lips together. That fact definitely didn’t help with anything. But these were Green’s siblings, which made it at least somewhat different, “Uh… you know what? You can bring them, too. But they’ll have to bring their own toys, I don’t have anything like that.”

“Really? Do you mean it?” Green exclaimed happily, sounding reinvigorated, “That’s great! Thank you! I’ll– text you if I plan on stopping by!”

…Why did that make White feel good?

They had been taught that caring for people was a weakness. If they cared for any of their peers, then their peers would overtake them and not treat them the same way. And if their parents had cared for them, then they would have grown up into a soft touch that doesn’t know how to lead a group. 

They were taught that it was wrong to care for people as much as Green cared for people. Maybe it was different when it came to family or adjacent, though that wasn’t something White had been taught. So how were they supposed to know? And yet, despite all that, they were starting to realise that doing nice things for Green, for other people– even if it didn’t serve to benefit themselves at all… gave them this pleasant feeling deep inside.

And they wanted to savour it, even if they were sure that things were meant to be different. That they were meant to have an equally if not more rich partner, and live in a loveless marriage bound by convenience. Green was different- Green was pure, the embodiment of a love given and received, and something that felt right even if it was in the wrong place. 

Maybe the rules could be bent if it came to them. And their younger siblings. 

…it was only three kids. White could handle three kids in their house! Even if they were energetic and unpredictable and—

They might have to brace themselves. Just a bit.

White just wasn’t used to all of this. They didn’t have the same tightly-knit, nurturing family that Green did. They didn’t know how people in structures like Green’s acted, and how they should act in turn. One wrong move could potentially mess everything up– and their relationship was another one of the few things that couldn’t just be ‘fixed’.

Maybe that was why they were so worked up in the first place. Someone else will do it, someone else will fix that. But that logic didn’t work for White’s relationship with Green, something that they had entirely independently. It was a lot more stress than anything else that they typically manage.

White didn’t want to lose this. Lose Green. But everything they knew… wouldn’t help them here. And that was horrifying.

Not to mention… they’re not particularly good with children. They held a couple babies at their meet and greets, but they never spent any prolonged time with them. They didn’t know how to interact with them, as fragile and sensitive as they have heard that they are.

But there they were… trying anyway because they wanted Green’s family to like them.

Green’s family came over two days later. Green had given White a heads up the day before, which White had forwarded to make sure that they had enough food going around for that many people. The chef seemed a little surprised that White even had so many people attending in the first place, but one flustered look had them shutting their mouth at risk of losing their job.

“Okay… you need to be on your best behaviour, guys.” When White got close enough, they were able to hear Green’s voice through the door, “White is really particular about their stuff. So try not to move anything around, and please- please don’t break anything.”

A chorus of booming children’s voices sounded, all overlapping each other with their (what White made out to be) affirmations. A few moments later, Green knocked on the door, which White opened nonchalantly after puffing their chest out and pumping themselves up a couple times. 

“Hey… funny seeing you here.” White leaned their body against the door frame, eyeing Green as they put on their most flirtatious voice.  But before Green had been able to respond, a child ran right underneath White’s legs into the house and almost knocked them off their balance, “Woah–!”

“It’s massive in here!” They exclaimed, “Wait-! What it I get lost?”

“Sorry.” Green giggled. They patted the head of another, slightly older child, who came into the premises shortly after. They looked around the place as if they were in a museum, which sort of reminded White of Green the first time that they had come over. But they were related after all, “You can try that again, if you want. They were just really excited to go in a pool.”

“The moments gone.” White deadpanned. They looked behind them, noticing that there were only two children inside, “I thought you said you had three siblings at home?”

“I do. Say hi.” Green stepped aside to reveal the youngest child of the bunch, who was nervously clinging onto Green’s leg.

The child reached back over to grab the bottom of Green’s swimming trunks, peering up at White, “Hi…”

Okay. Okay. White could do this. White could handle a child.

White knelt down, offering a slightly awkward smile, “Hey there.”

“...” The child continued to stare at White for several long moments before raising their head to their eldest sibling, “Why are they looking at me like that?”

White bristled internally. Children that age do seem to have a habit of brutally being honest, but White had never heard someone put their behaviour that bluntly before. They thought they were being nice!

“They’re just trying to be friendly.” Green assured, rubbing the back of the child’s head. The child nodded, still, holding onto Green as they stepped into the house.

“What are these?” The oldest one asked, while looking at two candlesticks that were sitting on one of White’s glass tables, “They kinda look like drum sticks.”

“They’re candle sticks.” White corrected, standing behind them, “They were imported from Germany. As you do.”

“...There’s no candles in them, though.” The child tipped the candle stick towards them and peeked into the top, which was in fact empty.

“Not everywhere makes candles that will fit.” White commented, begrudgingly. Anyway, they were mostly decorative. White uses different candles for trying to set the mood. 

“What if you got a regular candle, cut it down into the right shape, and then used all the scraps to make another candle?” The child asked.

White blinked, “I don’t think that would work.”

“Maybe we should just see if we can find a candle that fits.” Green lightly tipped the candle back into place, as the oldest child nodded with purpose. Thank God– White was nervous the stick was going to end up toppling over, and that would spiral out of control.

But, wow. Green was a lot better with the kids than White thought they could be. 

All of the family members had already arrived in their swimming costumes, which made finding a time and a place to get them changed in and out go clothes a lot easier. Even so, the children hadn’t been in and out when it came to getting them into the pool. They were arguing before White had even been able to guide them out.

“Green!” The middle whined, pointing at the eldest, “Tell them that Mom said I could use the toy!”

“I carried it!” The older argued back, holding the toy out of the middle’s reach, “I should get to play with it.”

“I need to pee.” The youngest mentioned.

“Okay. Okay.” Green held their hands out, “How about you share? One of you can get it for– 15 minutes, then the other one gets it for 15 minutes, and you keep swapping?”

“That’s not enough time!” Came from the middle.

“But how do we decide which one’s first?” The oldest asked. 

“GREEN I NEED TO PEE.” The youngest child exclaimed.

“Woah! Alright.” Green picked the small child up, flashing a smile at White, “I’m gunna– yeah.”

“...yeah.” White cleared their throat nervously, “Just don’t make a mess.”

“We’re getting good at not doing that!” Green looked to the child for confirmation, but they were just squirming around, “Can you– bring the other two out? I’ve got this one.”

“Oh… yeah.” White swallowed. “Can do.”

Green brisked down the hallway with the child, leaving White with the two older kids. Within moments, both of their attention had turned to them.

Oh, no.

“Who should get the toy first?” The older one demanded.

How should they know?

The kids are looking at them like they are demanding for them to solve a conflict they know nothing about. Oh, kids and their small bladders— Green!! Come back here!!

“Who does it belong to?” White asked awkwardly. Both kids went silent, which indicated the toy was probably bought by their parents for sharing, “Whoof… okay. I guess… whoever carried it?”

The middle child sighed as the oldest stuck their tongue out at them. White stood there momentarily before guiding the children down the hallway through to the sliding glass door, leading out to the pool. 

The oldest child had ended up grabbing onto their arm, their hard earned toy in the other hand.. 

…touching. Skin. 

“Friendly…” White commented tensely, tugging the door open. The two rascals jumped out before them, bee-lining it to the pool. 

White’s inflatable lounger floated around in the middle of the pool. White had to crouch down and reach their hand in to pull it closer to the other side. But as they did so, the kids went cannonballing into the pool, splashing flecks of water onto them.

White sighed and grit their teeth. It wasn’t like they could help it, so they didn’t let themselves say anything about it as aggravating as it was. They just clambered onto their lounger when it got close enough, leaning down onto the indented cushion. 

The splashing didn’t stop, which was to be expected for children who did not have the most refined motor skills. But White soon realised that the plashing was becoming intentional, when the middle child was swimming over to them.

“When are you and Green gonna get married?” They asked, their little hands grabbing onto the end of their lounger.

“What?” White spluttered, sitting up a bit, “Where did you get that idea from?”

“If you get married, I want life insurance.” They told them. 

Okay. That didn’t help at all. 

White squinted, “How do you know what life insurance is?”

The child stopped, evidently thinking about it, “...I don’t.”

“So then how do you know you want life insurance?” White prompted.

“Dad said if you get married, you’ll give Green life insurance.” Sure, they supposed. But did Green… not have life insurance? “So when you do, we can try and get it, too.”

“I’ll… try to see what I can do?” White answered, still sounding a little dazed by this whole conversation. First of all, who was suggesting that White and Green were going to get married? And why weren’t they ensured?

“Okay!” They swam away, then came back a few moments later, “What’s life insurance?”

“Something I really hope you won’t have to need if you don’t have it in the first place.” They responded.

Green soon arrived with the youngest child, padding alongside them. Green helped them down the steps and into the shallow end of the pool, where they instructed them to stay. The oldest child offered to stay there and play with them, sharing their toy. And with that handled, Green swam over to the lounger, floating alongside it.

“You good up there?” They asked, “I hope my siblings didn’t give you a hard time.”

“They keep splashing.” White mentioned, a little disgruntled, “It’s getting water all over me.”

“So then take off your clothes.” Green answered like it was obvious.

“Green!” White gasped, “Not in front of the children! Even I have standa–”

“--Pervert!” Green pushed the lounger away, causing it to donk against the end of the pool and knock them around like a sausage, “I just meant that– if you took off your expensive clothes, you might care a lot less about whether it gets wet or not.”

“Yeah, and I bet you care a whole lot about whether I’m wet or no–”

“--not in front of the kids!” Green yelped, glancing over at the children. None of them seem to have taken a particular interest in what they were talking about. 

“Either way, I don’t think it gets a whole lot cheaper than this.” White answered. How else would people know that they have money, if it wasn’t for the tiny little emblem that most people probably don’t recognise on their shirt? “Maybe I can just– take this off.”

They pulled off their shirt and left it on the side of the pool.

Green grinned, “Nice.”

“Oh, but I’m the pervert.” White grumbled. 

“I think saying nice to my partner is a lot less perverted than whatever you were talking about.” Green argued, resting their chin on the end of the lounger.

“I think there’s some room up here.” White mentioned, shifting on the lounger. The arm rests- with circular indents for placing glasses- would make it a little difficult for two people to comfortably fit on the lounger, but they wanted to at least extend the offer. 

“Nah, I’m okay down here. The water’s nice and cold.” Green responded, doing a little spin in the water.

“Ah.” White laid back down, “Suit yourself, then.”

The pair watched the three children explore the pool, frequently interacting with one another. A beat passed. 

“This really isn’t how I expected my day to go.” White stated.

Green glanced over, “It’s okay if you don’t want this.” 

“This?” White echoed.

“You know. Being close with my family.” They continued, “All of my siblings… they mean a lot to me. They’ve always been with me, no matter what happened, and they make me smile even on the hard days. That’s where I am. But if you don’t feel ready for a big commitment like that, then I get it.”

“It’s not… that.” White tilted their head away, suddenly finding the door particularly interesting, “I just don’t know what to do around kids. They’re not like… small adults. They do completely different things that I have no clue how to respond to. How should I know who gets the toy?”

“You don’t, really. You just have to find a way to keep them both happy.” Green mused, “And they are. They’re still sharing even though they’re supposed to be taking turns. They’re really great kids.”

“I guess they are…” Most of their expectations have actually not been met with these kids today. Keyword most, “Just seems like a lot of getting used to.”

One of White’s attendants emerged from inside, carrying a tray with drinks and snacks on them. There were two tall glasses and three party cups (which White didn’t usually possess, but didn’t have anything plastic that children may not drop and shatter) and fruits and crackers along the perimeter. 

Green’s party bounded over to the refreshments, with the eldest tugging the lounger along with them. 

White propped themselves up as a glass was brought into their hands. Green placed their cup down at the end of the pool, being very careful to make sure that it wasn’t close enough to the end to potentially fall in. All the worst things seemed to happen to them no matter how much they tried to avoid it– it was a habit at this point.

When they turned back around, they were holding a bunch of grapes they’d stolen, holding them up in a way that seemed like they were extending them to White.

“You want a grape?” They inquired, fingers already raring to pry one off.

“Usually someone else offers me grapes.” White responded, tinged with amusement, “But I suppose if that’s what you want, then I’ll take a grape.”

“Say ahh!” Green instructed, to which White didn’t, but opened their mouth anyway. Green popped the grape in, and White nodded tightly in approval whilst chewing and swallowing. 

This process repeated a couple times, before Green had fed them enough to earn a couple grapes themselves, and eventually placed the half-eaten bunch back down on the tray. 

“You sure you don’t wanna come in?” Green crooned, sounding like a siren trying to tempt White.

“...i don’t really ‘do’ that.” They stated. Green pursed their lips together, observing them quietly. That’s not the look they want to see.

“Is it because you can’t swim?” That was a little more on the nose than White thought it would be, though Green has always been introspective. They seemed to be able to figure out things about them that White was sure was discrete, but maybe they were just a lot more open with their emotions than they thought they were. Was that a good or a bad thing?

“Can’t swim?” White scoffed, resting their hand on their chest, “Of course I can–”

White paused as their confident expression fell from their face.

“...okay. I never learned.” They admitted after a beat, “But why would I need to? Splashing around in a pool isn’t exactly refined.”

“I don’t care.” They sounded completely unbothered, unperturbed by ‘rich people’ customs, “Come on. Come down here. I’ll be here so you don’t drown.”

“...”

The pretentious part of them still told them that it wasn’t a particularly appealing idea– their grace was meant to decorate the side of the pool, not be washed away in it.

…but then there was Green.

“If anything happens to me, I’m blaming you.” White slowly swung their legs over the end of the lounger. Water began to lap over their feet, rippling as Green drifted a little further out and extended their arms. 

Open arms welcoming them– they shimmied further to the edge, breathing out slowly. Then they lowered themselves down into the water, with Green’s calloused hands quickly meeting and wrapping around their waist.

There was no ground underneath them. Absolutely nothing for more than a meter. They immediately felt like they were sinking, though they technically were.

“Green–” They whined, wrapping their arms firmly around their partner’s neck, “Green Green Green Green Greenie–” 

“--I’ve got you!” Green assured, as White continued to needily whine, “Just kick your legs.” 

White kicked their legs out, bobbing up and down.

“Is– Is this swimming?” They asked, finally meeting Green’s eyes.

“Something like it?” Green giggled.

Eventually White began to settle down, and they were able to keep themselves afloat, though still predominantly using Green as a makeshift float. Green didn’t seem to take much of an issue with this as they contently held their partner to their body.

“Okay, it is kind of nice in here.” As much as they hated to admit that they were wrong, they couldn’t help but say. It was a lot easier to do so with Green than with other people, who didn’t gloat in their face and talk something about ‘finally’. They thought quite frequently about how patient Green can be, and smiled discreetly against their shoulder, “But I’m not getting my hair wet.”

“Maybe we should get you one of those swim caps.” Their sentimentality is met with tease.

“No!” White shrieked, offended, “I’m not putting one of those things on!”

“Okay, okay!” Green held up one hand, the other still around White, “I’m glad you like it.”

White raised their head, showing their smile to Green. Green smiled back at the sight of it, and gently pressed their lips against White’s. 

White had kissed back, but then pulled away when they heard giggling, disoriented.

They glanced over to see that all three of Green’s siblings were watching them, snickering between themselves. The younger and the middle have their arms around each other, paused play-fight. 

“...oof.” White grimaced as they turned their head away.

“Don’t hurt each other!” Green told the older two, who clambered off each other, “I don’t know how I’d tell Mom and Dad that you drowned in my partner’s pool…”

“And you don’t even have life insurance.” White watched as Green suddenly looked horrified, side eyeing them at their comment.

“They told you about the life insurance thing, didn’t they?” They asked, their voice minutely shaking.

(Apparently, before they had left, Green’s dad had stopped them. 

Green’s dad had always been a bit of a jokester, making impulsive comments that tended to catch their nervous child off guard, and that morning had been no exception to that rule.

“Green, you’re our best shot at getting rich.” They said, placing one of their hands on Green’s shoulder, “You gotta make sure this goes well.”

“Yep! Yeah…” Green gulped, their voice cracking.

“And, you know, when the two of you get married, and they start paying for your life insurance, you gotta see if you can hook the family up.” They urged, giving their child a little tussle, “I’ll even cook up an old person cough if you need me to.” 

“I don’t think that’s really necessary?” Green smiled nervously, “Any way… I don’t know if that’ll… happen any time soon.”

White supposed that explained a lot.)

At the end of the day, White dismissed their guests at the door. The children had tracked some water through the house as their bare feet pattered along, old towels draped over their shoulders to dry their bodies off. White pointed the staff to the puddles and sent them to subtly clean them up, continuing to follow along with their partner.

“Um… thank you.” The smallest one had said to them. White looked down with a confused look on their face. They hadn’t done anything, “For… for letting us go in the pool. And… and for taking care of Green.”

“Huh.” White revelled, then blinked, “It’s okay. The least I could do, really.” 

“Mm…” The child quickly turned and left, their little legs moving fast to try and keep up with their siblings. 

“I’ll call you when I get home.” Green said, planting a kiss onto their partner’s head, “Thanks for everything.”

“It’s… okay.” White responded, one of their hands rubbing up their arm, “Bye.”

Green waved, hopping off the patio and retreating down the long walkway. White watched at the doorway for a little longer, watching the youngest child start talking to Green. So they must just be particularly shy. Right.

The house was quiet, now.

White still didn’t know what they thought about children. They said weird things White had no clue how to respond to, but this was never something that White experienced in their own life. It probably would be a lot easier (and a little more pleasant) if the kids were older, but… the atmosphere that the family had– the affection, the gentle consideration, was something that White still found themselves oddly appealed by. 

They were fine on their own. Something about money being able to buy people happiness. And still, the door had been opened to another life, another love, and White wasn’t sure if they immediately wanted to close it.

The toy that the children had brought over was left on the side of the pool.

Looked like those kids were going to be coming back sooner than they thought. Maybe White could try and get used to them.