"I know you better than anyone else."
Zack pondered Carmen's words as he sat on the steps of Graceland, absentmindedly fiddling with Ivy's car keys – and wishing she'd let him drive for a change. Why does Carmen seem to take such an interest in me? he wondered. She'd confronted the Zack Attack as a personal challenge, going beyond her normal delight in defeating security systems in her determination to render it useless against her crime sprees. At the time, he'd thought she was merely determined to prove wrong anyone who thought they could trap her using technology that was, he had to admit, inferior to hers. But now he thought that perhaps it was his involvement that had interested her so.
"You look lost in thought, little bro," Ivy said lightly from behind him. She smiled curiously, then sat down next to him. "What's up?"
"Just thinking," he replied, staring at his hands. "Why is it that Carmen takes things so personally when I'm involved?"
Ivy sighed. "You really don't remember?" she murmured. Zack looked at her and saw that her eyes were unfocused, seeming to look beyond him.
"Don't remember what, sis?" he prompted.
Ivy crossed her legs, as if getting comfortable for a long story. "Well – I guess you'll find it out eventually. Carmen's... she's your godmother, Zack." She waited for a response but received only a blank, confused look. A moment later, her brother's face brightened as he broke into a laugh.
"You had me for a second there, Ive! Good one!" he grinned. He watched her face, waiting for her to crack a smile, but when she remained placid and vaguely uncomfortable, he sobered. "You're serious?"
"Yeah."
"Why... why would she be my godmother?" he asked slowly, puzzled.
Ivy looked down at her shoes to give herself time to form her words, then looked back to Zack as she began her story.
Well, you know Mom and Dad always tried to help out younger detectives who needed somewhere to go. Remember how they'd come for dinner or something when we were younger? Carmen was almost out of her teens by then, but they still kind of took her under their wing, since she didn't have much of anyone else, except Suhara, I guess. She was like... I don't know, maybe like a niece to them. One of their favorites. One of mine, too. She was like a playmate for me, as well as an idol.
So when Mom was pregnant with you, she and Dad decided that Carmen would be a great godmother for you since she'd be such a good rolemodel. For both of us, really. Carmen was really flattered. She didn't think she'd ever be asked to be part of a family like that, so she couldn't even speak for a minute. At least, that's what Mom told me once. I was too young to remember that, even if I was there.
Anyway, after you were born, Carmen was around even more than before. She'd babysit us sometimes when Mom and Dad were out. And she was always really proud of how smart you were. She'd play games with you, read to you. She did the same things with me too, but not with quite as much affection, you know?
And then she left Acme. I remember seeing Mom upset, but I didn't understand why until Dad sat down and told me we probably wouldn't see Carmen anymore because she'd decided to leave and started to steal. He said I should remember the good times we'd had, all that kinda stuff they say when someone dies, but I was too young, I guess. I didn't remember enough of the good times; I knew they'd happened, but I couldn't relive them. You were too young to remember all that, I guess. You were only two or so.
She shrugged. "I guess that's all I have to tell you, little bro."
Zack stared back at her. "Ive, why didn't you tell me this before?"
She looked abashed. "I didn't think you'd want to know."
"Of course I'd want to know!" Zack said hotly. Then he had the sensation of a puzzle piece in his mind slipping into place. "Wait. Is that why you have such a grudge against her?"
Ivy flushed and looked down at her knees, too embarrased to look directly at him. "Yeah. It still hurts, you know? I wish she hadn't abandoned us. Me." She sniffled in an unusual show of emotional weakness. "She was my idol. And I thought she was my friend."
Zack laid his hand over his sister's. "Hey, it's not your fault, you now. Carmen had to know she'd be hurting people. She made her choice anyway."
"I know," Ivy murmured. "I just wish things were different." With a wan smile, she looked back over to her brother and draped her arm around his shoulder. "But we've got each other, huh, Zack?"
He grinned. "Yeah, sis. We do."
A/N: I know this story is somewhat anachronistic, as "Hot Ice" specifies that Carmen left Acme just over ten years earlier, which would have made Ivy and Zack eight and four, not six and two, as they are here, and that it's unlikely Zack never wondered why he didn't have a godmother, assuming Ivy did. But addressing those issues would have meant altering a lot of the story's plot, and I decided it wasn't worth it.
Additionally, the title should be styled "Love/Hate" (like the Girls Aloud song, from which I derived the title, though it didn't inspire the story at all), not "Love-Hate," but FFN's strict punctuation filters won't allow the slash. *eyeroll*