Title: Crocodiles, Birds and Library Cards

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, including this summer guilty pleasure of a show.

Pairing: Maggie and Jasper (Adorable Geek Couple for the win!)

Spoilers: Up to 1x03

Note: So I'm home for the summer and bored and babysitting and ranting to my little siblings about how Cartoon Network should, y'know, play cartoons and then they got me to watch this and I couldn't help, but write a oneshot.

Summary: They still argue a lot, but instead of requiring e-apologies and groveling (he spell checks every time now) Jasper lets her win while verbally sparring as long as Maggie promises he's the only guy with a card to her library. Jaggie

Crocodiles, Birds and Library Cards

There's supposed to be this line that separates friendship and rivalry like the inevitable way oil separates from water. She's always been more of a rival than a friend and, most of the time, when it comes to school projects and competitions, whether they're working together or against each other, at least they know where they stand – on one side of the line or the other. However, then there are these other moments, moments both of them to this day try to deny.

Secretly, he thinks she might actually be smarter than him (oh, what that confession would do to her ego) and while he doesn't hesitate to call a number of girls "hot," even in her presence, it's her face that comes to mind at the thought of the world's most perfect female specimen, a beauty that can't be captured by any of hundreds of words and synonyms he's memorized in preparing for standardize testing.

Maybe he scowls when they both know she's right and he puts up an even greater fight because, truthfully, he's never been so better matched in his life. It scares him, the power she has and the power she could have over him. She scares him, but even frightening is this exhilarating feeling that shoots through him when they're lost in an argument. This feeling, in some bizarre alternate universe could be something akin to butterflies, but, no, he doesn't let his mind wander that far.

After all, he's Jasper Bartlett. He has his father to make proud and Yale to impress and he just doesn't do silly, trivial things like a crush. (And even if there was the faint chance that he'd waste precious study time on imagining a 'happily ever after' it wouldn't be with her, Maggie Winnock, the one girl who, when he mustered the audacity to ask her out, broke his heart for the first time).

She can be so damn stubborn sometimes it's infuriating. Still, in the end, they forego the green toilet seat even though he fought so hard for it that he forgot why they were even fighting in the first place. When she smiles in triumph, Jasper only rolls his eyes and says nothing because damn it, she has a really nice smile and he hopes she thinks his face is red because of the rage he supposedly silently harbors for her and not…something else.

Jasper absolutely hates how he's starting to feel those so-called 'butterflies' even when they aren't arguing. He feels it when her hand covers his and they press on that button to hopefully launch the rocket. The earth shakes beneath him and his heart is going berserk in his chest and he can't bring himself to think of the Russians chasing them or the landing coordinates for the rocket. All he sees is her brown eyes and how they shine and that secret smile of satisfaction on her lips. It's all he can think about, even now, all the time.

Jasper steps back and takes a look at the bigger picture. He ignores their little battles (ones he often finds himself losing) and focuses on the war at hand. He can't help, but think, damn, the scales might be tipping and none of it looks to be in his favor.

…

Jasper's getting good at reading Henry. His fair-headed cousin may not be an open book, but when one corner of his lips tug back and his eyes soften, Jasper knows to keep his guard up. He knows Henry's about to strike up a conversation that they've had in the past and each time Jasper had simply scowled and said he didn't want to hear it. He still doesn't. There's a 50% chance Maggie is going to be the main focus and a 50% chance they're about to do something that's either illegal or generally frowned down upon by the general public.

Honestly, Jasper prays it's the latter.

"I still don't understand the dynamic," Henry says. "You and Maggie…"

"Hate each other," Jasper easily finishes. "End of story."

"You looked pretty agreeable when it came to launching that rocket."

"It was a high stress situation with those Russian Scar Face wannabes chasing us and all," Jasper logically explains. "Look, Maggie and me, we're just far too similar not to hate each other, you know? There can only be one champion in academia and I'm doing everything in my power so it's not Maggie Winnock and vise versa."

"But—"

"For the love of Sputnik, man, can we just drop it?"

"Alright," Henry says, "man."

Jasper breaks out his textbooks and his cue cards and goes into his studying bubble while Henry sits and pretends to meditate. Henry's still trying to figure out this Western World and what exactly 'normal' teenage interaction is. The more he observes Jasper and Maggie, the more confused he gets and is almost ready to conclude that when it comes to those two it just isn't normal.

When they start bickering, Henry can't help, but look away knowingly and smile a little because sometimes (more like most of the time) it's so obvious.

It's the way they're working over a microscope and Jasper says there's something odd about the sample, almost extraterrestrial even, and Maggie just makes a quip about his Justin Bieber (Henry will ask Jasper who that is at dinner later and Jasper just shakes his head) haircut obscuring his vision. She'll reach up and hesitate just a moment before she smoothes her fingers through his bangs, pushing them to the side and away from his eyes.

And even if moments like that aren't total, dead giveaways, it's the way he looks at her when she's concentrating really hard on something she really is passionate about. There's this completely uncharacteristic gentleness to him when he watches her like maybe he'd even defy his father a million times if only she asked.

Then there's the way she looks at him sometimes, her usually hard brown eyes, for once not trying to memorize or decode, but just stealing glances. In turn, it allows particularly observant viewers to see that maybe hidden beneath all that knowledge and pedantic diction, Maggie really just is a little girl with normal feelings and emotions.

"So Jasper, do you know much about symbiosis?" Henry asks curiously.

"It's the cooperation between two organisms, usually two animals, in some cases, an animal and a plant, that uphold a more or less intimate relationship that benefits both of them," Jasper replies, almost automatically, like he had just read it off the pages of a book and not the top of his head. Pausing a moment in his work, Jasper looks up at his cousin, curiously, cautiously. "Why?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking about the time I spent in Egypt," Henry explains. "See, there are these Egyptian Plover birds that prey on parasites that feed on crocodiles. Really nasty stuff and they can do some real harm to the crocodiles. They have this sort of symbiotic relationship where the crocodile openly invites the bird to hunt the parasites, even going so far as to allow the bird entrance into its mouth. It doesn't only give the bird a ready source of nutrients, but genuine safety seeing as few predators date strike at such proximity."

Jasper groans. "Henry, dude, please tell me you didn't compare me and Maggie to crocodiles and birds."

"You said it, not me, dude," Henry says, sounding as socially awkward as ever. He flashes his cousin a grin before grabbing his bongos and sneaking out the window, onto the roof.

Jasper sighs, trying to refocus on the math homework in front of him.

He manages to forget entirely about Henry's failed comparison until they're sitting at lunch one day and he randomly bursts out with his story about the Egyptian Plover birds and the crocodile (this time in even greater detail). Henry says it like he's frickin' Jane Goodall observing gorillas, like this isn't going to make things awkward at all. Jasper chokes on his drink and erupts in these monstrous coughs, Maggie slides lower into her chair, choosing silence and Henry innocently blinks back at the two.

Jasper's mortified and, God, how is he supposed to face her now? But then he does and the coughing stops and it's still silent and the way he's staring probably isn't helping much, but, could it be?

Is Maggie blushing?

Hmm, who would have thought?

…

They start to avoid one another after that. She throws herself into her work in the museum and he starts actually attending marching band practice as much as it pains his eardrums and (nonexistent) reputation to do so. They're both suddenly too busy to eat lunch together or check out the latest artifact to tickle Henry's intrigue.

It's all starting to annoy Henry who in turn purposefully annoys both of them every chance he gets. Instead of pulling out some other wacky allusion to the animal kingdom, Henry lays it out straight for the "you like him/her, she/he likes you so deal with it. The other day, I was bored and alone for lunch and I found this hidden staircase in the east wing of the school..." He even pulls out the "your bickering reminds me of my parents and they've been married forever," just for good measure.

Still, stubborn as always, Jasper and Maggie just lie, lie, lie and deny, deny, deny.

When ranting doesn't work, then begins Henry's scheming to get them together. He isn't doing it alone either (like Jasper doesn't hear him on the phone with Whitney when Henry thinks he's asleep; they only share a room). It's a real pain in the ass and why can't they talk about, oh, I don't know, their own long, distance mess of a non-relationship instead of spending an hour every night discussing the massive case of denial that is the Jasper-and-Maggie-rivalry-friendship-relationship-thing?

As hard as it is to ignore Henry when he's on a mission, they both continue to avoid those twin voices in the back of both their heads, insisting, get over yourself, you miss him/her.

…

There's a midterm coming up and a review is going on in class, but if asked, Jasper can't tell you a thing about what's to be expected about the exam because Maggie is missing. Her seat, right upfront is empty, and Jasper for the life of him can't get over how odd it is not to see her hand shoot up in the air to answer every question, not even sparing a moment of thought about how the slackers in the back are giggling and making rude comments beneath their jealous breaths.

In all the time he's known her, Maggie has never once missed a day of school. It'd probably take a dozen of her father's men just to keep her from marching off to school even with a fever of 101 and a nasty cough. Maggie couldn't let anything, let alone the flu, keep her from her precious Perfect Attendance Award. Plus, Jasper knows she isn't sick because he saw her earlier today (when she came in his direction he so subtly dashed into the nearest classroom and shut the door behind him). So where is she now?

He waits until the bell rings and the class is dismissed because, after all, he is still Jasper and dramatically busting out of class just isn't his style (his dad would probably hear about it and he wouldn't hear the end of it from his dad). His search for Maggie begins in the museum (duh) and meanwhile he's dialing her number just to be sent to voicemail every single time. He stops himself after about the seventh time (six missed calls past desperate).

When he finally finds her, tucked away in the corner of the museum, behind temporary wall, in a new exhibit opening this coming weekend, she's crying like he's never seen a girl cry before. She's on her knees, arms wrapped around shoulders, the minimal makeup she wears smudged, mixed with the tears that drip down her cheeks.

Jasper's taken aback because he's never seen her like this, not even after the disaster that was their rocket project. He's completely thrown off because (it's only then he realizes) she's like his center of gravity and seeing her like this, so broken, so un-Maggie, there's nothing keeping him grounded.

"Maggie," he says her name, sounding all frantic, and his voice might have even cracked towards the end, but neither of them can hear much besides her sobs and the accelerated beating of his heart. "Maggie, what happened?"

She looks torn to shreds and he knows this is the part where he's supposed to comfort her, but damn, while he was busy memorizing Latin root words and the square roots of ridiculously big numbers, Jasper had little time for social interaction with girls, specifically how to deal with crying girls. Shit, now he knows how Henry must feel on a daily basis.

"Maggie, you need to talk to me," he says. She only shakes her head from side to side and cries even harder.

The hairs on the back of his neck bristle at the agonizing sounds she's making and Jasper mentally debates whether or not he should just jet out of there right now and save both of them the embarrassment. He's about to take a step backward, but then he realizes that she never actually told him to get lost. That has to count for something, right?

"Maggie, please," he nearly begs. His jaw clenches and he hides a wince because, what the hell is he doing? This isn't them. This isn't how they work. Seriously, when did Maggie, sufferable and infuriating Maggie, become the one person that could make him care so much?

When she yet again refuses to respond, Jasper wavers for only a moment before he ends up on the ground, right beside her. Maggie leans into his chest and her tears soak into the material of his shirt, but all Jasper can really think of is how warm she feels in his arms. She's shaking and he doesn't know what to do, but hold her closer.

"Go away, Jasper." She enunciates every syllable, expressing this fury that freaks him the fuck out, but her fingers are tangled in the fabric of his sleeves at his shoulders, clutching on to him as if her life depended on it. A whimper slips free from her lips and he brings his hand to the back of her head, smoothing down her dark, silky strands.

"We both know you don't mean that," he can't help, but point out. They're Maggie and Jasper, constantly trapped in an ongoing argument. Really, Jasper isn't too sure they know any other form of communication.

"I don't want you to see me like this," she whispers softly, softer than he ever imagined possible, especially coming from Maggie. She sniffles and shifts in his arms, not letting go even for a second. "I look like a peasant waiting in line at the guillotine."

Jasper laughs quietly and before he can catch himself, mutters, "Yeah, that's pretty accurate."

A sharp gasp pierces the air and, oh fuck, there it is. Being Jasper, of course he messes things up. Her fingers untangle from his shirt and Maggie quickly pulls away from him. For a split second there, he sees the guarded Maggie, the one that's easy to deal with because he just knows her that well. She looks beyond pissed and betrayed and, Christ, Jasper has no earthly idea what to do now.

"Dude, I was kidding," he says.

"Well, quit it. 'Bad sense of humor' isn't going to look one bit impressive on a college application," she orders. "And, again, don't call me dude."

It's her defense mechanism, all glares and rambles, and it makes Jasper smile just a little bit. When he reaches out and his long arm curls around her shoulders she doesn't fight him, she doesn't protest. She just presses her face into the crook of his neck as a hiccup sends a tremor through his entire body.

"You were wrong, y'know?" Jasper says. He falters for only a moment and he feels the words catch in his throat, but somehow he's able to force them out. "You…you look beautiful…even with the smudged mascara."

"Nice try," she says quickly. "I'm not wearing any mascara."

"I think you're missing my point, Maggie," he argues.

"Stop it," she whispers weakly. Maggie brings her hand up to his chest, but she can't bring herself to shove him away. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Being so sweet to me," Maggie huffs, almost like she's angry that he found her at her lowest and isn't trying to push her down even more. She takes a moment to compose herself before going on. "You being a jerk and an idiot and a boy, that I can deal with, but this…"

"Why are you down here, Maggie?" he asks, saving her from continuing. He's looking at her like he's trying to figure her out with a single look. Henry always says the eyes are the window to the soul or some mumbo-jumbo like that. All Jasper sees is a lot of brown.

She shrugs and her eyes fall to her hands. "Girls can be cruel."

Jasper has always wondered. He has his own set of bullies, constantly teasing him, mocking him and shoving him in the halls, all jealous of his nearly perfect test scores and his less than cool extra curricular activities (marching band), but for Maggie, it must be different, harder even. Jasper has seen Mean Girls (pshh, who hasn't?) and he can only imagine what it must be for her, someone who cares about school and doesn't hesitate to show it.

"There was a little incident in the girls' bathroom this morning. Stupid things were said. Whatever. I try not to let it get to me, but this time…I don't know. For some reason it really hit home hard." Maggie laughs bitterly. "You said it yourself. No one wants a card to this library."

"That's not true," he disagrees. "I know tons of guys—"

"Name one," she cuts him off, challengingly.

With his fingers beneath her chin, he forces eye contact and boldly, hoarsely, says, "Me."

Maggie tugs her face away from his hold and lets her head fall to his shoulder. She doesn't say anything and Jasper swallows hard because this feels all too familiar, just like the first time he asked her out just to be crushed. Still, she doesn't move from his arms and he takes that as a good thing. He swears he saw her blush again, but he won't mention it because he really doesn't want to get hit right now.

"We're missing sixth period," Maggie says quietly. A part of her expects him to shoot up, panic, (because she's more than a little positive he too hasn't purposefully ditched a class in his life) and an even bigger part of her is shell-shocked when all he does is shrug his shoulders.

"Oh well," Jasper says, but it really sounds like you're worth it.

"You at least took notes for Morneau's midterm, right?"

"Nope," he says carelessly. "I was more than a little distracted. I guess we're just going to have to depend on Henry."

Maggie groans and buries her face in his chest. "God help us."

Jasper laughs and he finds it a little cute that she's being dramatic. Moreau can be a bit of a hardass, but she did kill the SAT and he does have that perfect study system. They could probably ace the exam easy and missing two classes out of their entire high school careers won't kill either of them. So instead of scrambling to their feet and rushing off, they simply sit, enjoying each other's presence and not fighting, probably for the first time ever.

"So who's the Egyptian Plover bird and who's the crocodile?" she suddenly asks. Her head is resting against his chest and the tears have already dried on her cheeks. He's leaning comfortably against the back wall, his hand at her back, twirling a lock of her straight, dark hair around his finger.

Jasper pauses a moment and he feels idiotic for actually giving such a silly question actual thought. Then again, she already knows he's a complete dork and, well, asking such a lame question makes her a bit of a dork too so they're kind of even. He's still a little shocked that she opened up to him instead of completely locking him out or biting his head right of. And right there, he has his answer.

Jasper sighs. "You're the crocodile and I'm the bird."

A smile breaks out across Maggie's face and she sits up a little taller. "I thought so."

Maggie looks up at him and Jasper gets that feeling in the pit of his stomach, those damn butterfly-feeling-things that makes his throat go dry and his heart hammer in his chest. He suddenly finds himself leaning closer, eyes on her pink little mouth and he has this nagging feeling that he's going to mess this up and she's still sort of vulnerable and whatever so he stops himself and instead whispers that he still thinks she secretly loves his Justin Bieber haircut.

Maggie laughs and this time she actually does hit him and everything just feels so right. Jasper pulls his arms tighter around her, finally certain he doesn't really minds giving this entire war to her, blurring the line between friends and rivals and turning it into something more, fully giving into this bizarre connection they have just so long as she keeps smiling at him like this.

Their little shared moment of weakness doesn't really change anything, but kind of does all at the same time. Henry's smile is a tad bit smugger, but no one points that out. They still argue a lot, but instead of requiring e-apologies and groveling (he spell checks every time now) Jasper lets her win while verbally sparring as long as Maggie promises he's the only guy with a card to her library.

Fini