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namtanfilm · 7 years ago

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maia roberts and the soviet space dogs — a simonmaiajace story. (ao3 link).

happy birthday popa @madzie-bane i hope you like this very long, very rushed crack-fic. sending you starpup vibes, ily have a good one!!!

MAIA. It started out as a joke. A few posts shitting on the soviet space program; nothing that would stick. Except...it sort of did. Somewhere in between one of her history classes and her journey through wikipedia’s soviet space dogs pages, it stopped being a joke. Jokes became heated rants: three notes became three-hundred.

‘’Dogs!’’ She had exclaimed to Luke. ‘’They sent dogs to space. Sweet, innocent, blindly-trusting and blissfully unaware dogs!’’

Maia’s furious arm movements more than almost spilled out Luke’s coffee, and eventually he put it down; giving up on trying to drink it. ‘’What kind of monsters do that?’’

‘’I don’t know Maia, but I really don’t think spilling my coffee is going to bring them back.’’

No - Maia knows she can’t bring the dogs back. Laika died 60 years ago, a few years old and scared and alone, and every other dog who has ever been to space is dead now too, maybe a few off-springs are still out there. But it isn’t fair. They were just harmless, sweet dogs who trusted their trainers. And then they sent them into space to die.

Maia closes her eyes. She has to do something.

So...she did. The joke of a tumblr blog she made titled laikanthrope became the new home of her rants - instead of taking them at the breakfast table with Luke - and an audience of activists and other anger-filled young adults came about.

laikanthrope: the only somewhat happy thing i can draw from all the dead space dogs, is the fact that they’re all up there together...giving the paw to every scientist and employee at the soviet space program who betrayed their trust...you’re doing great up there pups i love you

‘’Keep em’ coming.’’

Maia stares at the man in front of her, squinting. ‘’You know that’s only a thing they say in movies, right? I’m not actually allowed to keep serving you if you’re too drunk.’’

He’s blonde, clothed in a leather jacket that looks too warm for the bar, and his eyes don’t share the same color. He’s cute, by Maia’s definition, asshole cute.

He’s also annoying, something Maia has come to know about him in the limited time he’s been sitting on the bar stool. In the last thirty minutes, he has informed her that his mother is a bit of a bitch; that his brother needs to get laid, that his father just packed up the last bit of his stuff and left - for good, he had informed her that his mother had told him, but he himself wasn’t so sure - and that his boyfriend is currently avoiding him in favour of a homework session.

And he’s drunk. And a day drinker.

Maia has a limited amount of patience for day drinkers.

‘’Rude,’’ he huffs. ‘’Is that one of the requirements to work here?’’

Maia nods. ‘’Yes, I didn’t get the job till I had passed a rudeness test actually.’’

‘’I’m sure that must have been a real challenge for you.’’

‘’If that’s your attempt at flattery,’’ she says, leaning against the back shelf, gracefully scooping the towel out of the glass she’s been cleaning. ‘’I’d seriously suggest you try again.’’

‘’Eh,’’ he shrugs, downing the last bit of his vodka. ‘’Maybe some other time.’’

With astonishment and exhaustion, Maia watches him get out of the bar stool and stumble his way across the floor, in the direction of the bathroom. Maia mourns the perfectly clean bathroom stalls in the men’s room, and fishes out her phone to text Meliorn the good news.

maiarobrts: gift for you melly, blond dude with heterochromia puking in the men’s room

meliornelms: where do i return it

maiarobrts: nice try, got it on sale, no returns

Twenty-six minutes and seven seconds later, the blond boy comes staggering out of the bathroom, face wet and shirt half stained with water. Meliorn sends her a death-challenging glare before he opens the door to the men’s room, and Maia watches with amusement as the blond boy returns to his bar stool.

‘’You don’t by any chance have a phone I can borrow? I think I flushed mine down the toilet.’’

SIMON. The Cold War, Simon had concluded with the little information he had gathered in the past thirty minutes, very cold indeed. Not only was that the only thing that had stuck after the forty three articles he had read; it was also completely useless and unrelated to his paper.

The United States and the Soviet Union were at each other’s throats after the second world war; he remembers that much from high school. Political differences. The fall of the Berlin Wall. Pepperoni Pizza.

Simon blinks, throws his head in his hands and sighs. It’s definitely been too long since he’s eaten, and Jace’s mom always tells him that studying is useless on an empty stomach. Now that he’s thinking about it, Maryse’s enchiladas sounds utterly delicious right now, as does his mom’s chocolate cake. Both of which are things that he can’t have at this very moment. All he has is a luke-warm bottle of water and a blueberry energy bar from two weeks ago, resting somewhere at the bottom of his backpack.

College is rough.

The corner of the library he’s sitting in is quiet, nothing but the clicking of computer keyboards sounding in the distance. Usually, Simon gets all his work done when he sits in the library, but today his concentration is elsewhere. Actually, it’s not with him at all. In fact, Simon is pretty sure it packed its bags earlier and up and left.

Concentration, motivation. It’s all the same, Simon thinks, scrolling down the google page. Five facts you didn’t know about JFK during the Cold War. Scroll. JFK and America’s role in the Cold War. Scroll. Random Kennedy facts. Simon hovers over the link, before sighing and clicking. ‘’Let’s see what you have, JFK,’’ He mumbles.

‘’DID YOU KNOW: During the Cold War, JFK was gifted one puppy from the Soviet space dog Strelka’s first puppy litter. The puppy later went on to have puppies with JFK’s own dog. JFK nicknamed these dogs pupniks, a word play of the name of the ship that carried the dog Laika, first dog sent into orbit, Sputnik 2.’’

Pupniks. A smile spreads on Simon’s lips.

Simon recalls learning about Laika in school, how she was the first of many brave dogs sent into orbit, and how she was the first step towards human space travel. Back then, the thought of a dog in space seemed magical; space seemed magical. But now Simon just thinks it sounds sad, and terrifying.

Outer space is, in the words of NASA, like, really, really big.

Dogs shouldn’t be in big, scary space all alone. That is inhumane.

A quick google search tells Simon that Laika died under six hours after take-off, and that she barely even made it into orbit before passing from overheating and stress. Simon blinks. They didn’t teach him this in seventh grade science.

Moments later, after several failed attempts at calling up Jace to complain about the sheer inhumanity of the Russians during the 1950s, Simon finds himself scrolling through the soviet space dog tag on tumblr.

laikanthrope: i understand that what the soviet space program did when they sent dogs into orbit was for the greater good of humanity, and that it helped get us to the point of space travel, doesn’t mean i have to accept or be cool with it. the lives of those dogs deserved to be prioritized. space was not safe for them. they were terrified

Simon’s fingers quickly move across the keyboard as he types out the message.

capmurica: i just spent an hour reading about the space dogs instead of studying and i am, outraged. i hope russia feels guilty

laikanthrope: i’m so sorry you had to endure such pain at such a bad time. russia better feel guilty, i’ve cried too many tears about this for them not to be

capmurica: this is outrageous. who condoned this????

laikanthrope: i don’t know, all i know is that they were evil

capmurica: laika deserved better than this. who sends dogs to space?????!

laikanthrope: they all deserved better...rip those poor wonderful angels...humanity didn’t deserve you

capmurica: i am crying

laikanthrope: i’m sorry, we can cry together

laikanthrope: i’m maia btw

capmurica: thank you, comforting to know i’m not alone

capmurica: simon! wish we’d met under less sad circumstances

laikanthrope: what can you do

‘’Pst,’’ Jace calls, ‘’Simon.’’

Simon glances up from his phone screen. ‘’Huh?’’

‘’Put the phone down. We have customers, remember?’’

‘’Oh,’’ Simon says, ‘’yes. Right.’’

He slides the iPhone into his back pocket, and heads for the registry.

All week, he’s been messaging Maia from the space dog blog. Mostly, they’ve just been sending each other different articles from the last five years, involving results from recent studies and long, in-depth interviews with people who worked for the Soviet space program at the time.

It’s interesting. Far too interesting than his school work, or work, and as it seems - more interesting than Jace.

(Okay, that is not entirely true. He definitely wasn’t thinking about the space dogs last night).

Jace is still the most distracting thing in Simon’s life, but the space dogs articles have a way of getting to his head at night, and the injustice tears at him like the claws of those dogs when they wanted out of their pod.

Simon shakes his head. Coffee. Make coffee. You can make coffee. Laika probably never got to smell the scent of coffee…

‘’Hi! Welcome to Java Jace, how can I help you?’’

The girl in front of him cracks a half-smile. ‘’Just two black coffees to go, please.’’

Dark curls dance around her shoulders as she moves her head to glance around her surroundings, while the pulled-up hem of her shirt falls back down to her wrist. ‘’Two black coffees, coming right up.’’

Here is the thing about working in a coffee shop: it doesn’t really take a lot of effort. He makes coffee everyday, talks to customers, whips out a few jokes here and there. Out of all the major things in Simon’s life, Java Jace is probably the least challenging one. He doesn’t mind doing extra complicated orders or making ten cups of coffee with different creamers, just because an intern is doing a coffee run - because it’s, in a very odd way, fun.

It fulfills this strange aesthetic - brewing coffee all day, eavesdropping on people’s conversations about their friends getting married, or their chemistry professor being a dick all semester. Even the rude customers, or the not-so-nice ones that drop by every now and then and drink their coffee in the corner while they furiously type out words on their laptops.

Sure - washing dirty coffee mugs and plates isn’t exactly Simon’s idea of a fun time, but it’s a small price to pay for the enjoyment every other aspect of the job brings him. Jace, on the other hand, feels differently.

To Jace, the job that is so conveniently named after him due to it being a Lightwood-owned business, is hell on earth. Even when the customers are nice and tip him for his flirting (that Simon totally doesn’t mind, not even a little tiny bit), he still reeks of boredom and dis-encouraging energy.

(Simon once told him that; Jace told him to never say those words again. Simon told him the same thing again three minutes later).

Simon enjoys his job; Jace hates it. So it is a strange occurrence that Jace isn’t the one deeply inside his phone, instead of present by the counter - even more so that it’s Simon in his place, and not Duncan or Raj. Not that Simon imagines Jace thinks much of it; it’s still turning his mind around that the reason for all this, is a collection of stupid decisions made by a Soviet space program over 60 years ago.

(Jace asked him yesterday if it was someone else. It would have been easier if it was someone else).

MAIA. ‘’What about this one? It’s pink!’’

Maia glances at the photo. Nasa’s logo, Laika drawn in the middle. Aline is right; it is pink, but Maia feels like she’s seen the same drawing five hundred times, all in different kinds of pastels. ‘’Eh,’’ Maia shrugs, ‘’it’s not very original.’’

Aline pouts. ‘’It really is not my fault that you are picky, Maia.’’

Maia smiles up at her. ‘’No, I believe that blame does not lie on you.’’

‘’Speaking of which,’’ Aline says, ‘’how is the cop dad?’’

Rolling her eyes, Maia turns around to lie on her back. ‘’Wouldn’t you like to know?’’

‘’Yes, I would actually. I haven’t seen him in ages, is he good? Still a cop?’’

Maia licks her lips. ‘’Still a cop, yes.’’

Aline stares at her for a moment, before she sighs and throws a pillow her way. ‘’I’m still a lesbian, worry not,’’ she tells her best friend, ‘’dumbass.’’

Since the day Maia moved to Brooklyn to live with Luke and met Aline outside the chinese restaurant down the street of their house, the pair have been inseparable. Correction: when Maia crashed into Aline, who was carrying two boxes of newly delivered plates, outside of her family’s restaurant, they were forced to help each other with both of their messes and became sort-of friends in the process. Maia didn’t like Aline at first; too much of everything, especially energetic in the morning. But Aline knew exactly how to find the person in Maia that would like her, and by the end of their junior year, Maia couldn’t imagine her life without Aline.

‘’Oh so I’m the dumbass?’’ Maia throws the pillow back at her, and braces for the return.

Aline nods. ‘’If you think I’d go hetero for you dad, yeah. I mean, he’s good looking and all, but definitely not my type.’’

‘’Uh,’’ Maia says, ‘’wrong answer.

The pillow lands across the room, instead of where Aline aimed it; at Maia on the floor.

‘’And,’’ she sighs, ‘’he’s your dad, of course. But I thought it was self-explanatory that I wouldn’t do any parent of yours, regardless. Guess I was wrong about you, Roberts.’’

Maia sticks her tongue out at her. ‘’Guess you were.’’

capmurica: how does this sound; two space dog enthusiasts looking for third member of their rebellion gang

Maia smiles. She’s been talking to this Simon guy for a week now, and it’s been the most fun she’s had with her space dog blog in months. He’s funny, and he has some expert ideas on how to cope with the overwhelming sadness that comes with browsing Laika articles. Just yesterday, he suggested she bake a space dog cake, in Laika’s honor. (Except he called it cakeniks, and told her to email a picture of it to NASA instead of eating it).

laikanthrope: good, needs some work though. it needs to be catchy

capmurica: i don’t think i can make it rhyme in a way that makes sense...what about a song?

laikanthrope: you mean, make a video?

capmurica: yeah! what’s better than a space dog rebellion theme song?

laikanthrope: well, pizza makes the list but other than that…

capmurica: not what i meant m

laikanthrope: must have missed the point, my apologies

capmurica: you’re forgiven...for now

capmurica: but ok, question

capmurica: what would a space dog rebellion even entail

capmurica: i mean, it isn’t much of a cause to fight for anymore, since it happened over 60 years ago and i don’t think they’re still sending dogs to space

laikanthrope: i don’t know...we could cater it towards wanting a genuine, major apology?

capmurica: that seems very far fetched, but also not an unreasonable request

capmurica: #justiceforthespacedogs

laikanthrope: #laikadeservedbetter

‘’Hey,’’ Aline says, tearing Maia out of her thoughts. She looks away from the screen and up at her best friend. Aline’s laptop is closed in front of her, and Maia suddenly feels bad for not noticing she was packing up. ‘’Do you mind if I stay here tonight?’’

Maia raises an eyebrow. ‘’Yeah, I mean, sure, you can stay as long as you want. But,’’ she says, biting her bottom lip, ‘’I have to work tonight.’’

‘’That’s okay!’’ Aline smiles. ‘’I can come with, annoy you till you ban me to a corner of the bar.’’

‘’You’re not that annoying,’’ Maia tells her.

‘’And you,’’ Aline says, ‘’are a terrible liar.’’

capmurica: is it totally pouring by you? brooklyn is like, one big water park today, i sat in class completely soaked today

Brooklyn? Maia didn’t know Simon was from Brooklyn. There is a lot she doesn’t know about Simon, of course, but if he lives in Brooklyn...he’s close.

laikanthrope: it hasn’t stopped since this morning

capmurica: same here! where are you, if i’m allowed to ask?

laikanthrope: brooklyn, actually. i guess we have a lot of things in common

capmurica: no way! for real? that’s crazy

laikanthrope: well, it is a small world

capmurica: can’t argue with that!

laikanthrope: hey, i have to get ready for work. talk to you later?

capmurica: oh yeah, yeah sure! enjoy work

laikanthrope: you’re crazy

There are a few things Maia only sees once or twice in a blue moon; her dad dancing is one of them, and so is seeing her adoptive mother, who lives across the country. But the strangest rarity, is seeing Aline drunk.

Even when they were college freshmen, Aline rarely swallowed any drops of alcohol. And if she did, it was when she mistakenly sipped from Maia’s cups instead of her own. Aline Penhallow doesn’t do extremely drunk; she hates the way alcohol makes her feel, and she can’t stand the taste.

Except...now she’s dancing by the pool table, post-whiskey shots and swinging her hips to the music; seemingly not giving a damn about the headache she will have in the morning, or the rules of tomorrow.

It’s new, and strange, and kind of wonderful to see a smile so big on Aline’s lips.

‘’Who’s your friend?’’

Meliorn weighs himself onto the bar stool, folding his arms together over the counter, his chin plopped on top, looking up at Maia. He points to the vodka bottle behind her, and winks at her with tired eyes.

Maia nods; smirking. ‘’Her name is Aline,’’ Maia says, placing the glass in front of him. She fills up the glass half full, before moving it two centimeters towards him with her fingers.

‘’College friends?’’ Meliorn wonders, before drowning half the glass.

Maia shakes her head. ‘’High school. We met the year I moved here.’’

‘’Huh,’’ he mumbles. ‘’good friends? Girlfriends?’’

Smiling, Maia mumbles a low no. ‘’It’s not that she’s a girl, I couldn’t care less, I just - she’s my best friend, I don’t like her like that.’’

Meliorn smiles at her, nodding. ‘’I get it. I have a few of those. Sure they’re attractive, but they’re my friends. I could never date them.’’

‘’Are you talking about Raphael? Because you could date him. I know a boy in love when I see one, Elms.’’

‘’You know, it really is not fair that you’re so good at hiding your crushes. Will I ever get the opportunity to tease you about love?’’ He wonders, swallowing the last of his drink.

Maia shrugs. ‘’Hard to tell.’’

When the bell rings, Maia looks up, expecting a new group of college bachelors wanting a clan of jello shots. (Finals week is near, and every campus bar in the area is crowded with people wanting to make the best of their last few weeks of freedom, before potentially dying while cramming for exams). Instead - much to Meliorn’s dismay - it’s the blond day drinker from last week, and a brown haired boy in a denim jacket.

‘’I am not cleaning up after him again,’’ Meliorn mumbles, shaking his head.

Maia rolls her eyes. ‘’Hey, flushed-phone-down-the-toilet-guy. Over here.’’

The brunette with him looks mortified, and Maia holds down the pressing need to laugh. Furrowed brows, brown eyes wide and mouth half open; the blond just looks at him and shrugs.

‘’Sorry about that,’’ he says, ‘’I’m not the most functioning when hammered.’’

‘’No,’’ Meliorn says, ‘’that is for sure. A tip, buddy? Stick to water tonight.’’

He disappears behind the bar before Maia manages to tell him that advising potentially paying customers not to buy anything, doesn’t get up their tips very much. ‘’Ignore him,’’ she says instead. ‘’He’s just pissy about his job.’’

‘’Hey,’’ the brunette says, ‘’if I was cleaning puked-down toilets for a living, I too would be pissy.’’

Maia smiles. ‘’Someone has to do that too.’’

When Maia checks her phone later that night, she has three unread texts from Simon.

capmurica: hey, so, this is werid and random and i know we’ve only known each other for like, a week but, i was wondering if we could maybe meet?

capmurica: i get it if you don’t want to!! totally fine

capmurica: i was just thinking, if you did want to, i’m totally down, and my boyfriend keeps asking who i’m texting all the time so i thought maybe, if you’re cool, it’d be nice to put a face to the name anyways just let me know

SIMON. Okay - so maybe texting Maia so late at night about meeting wasn’t such a great idea, but Simon had done it. Jace had asked about it, and Simon felt a gut-wrenching guilt sneak up on him when all he could say was that it was some girl he met online. A friend.

He did it. Done.

And Maia had said yes. She had even asked if she could bring a friend.

Everything is fine. Maia is fine, Jace is fine, Maia’s friend is fine. But Simon is still pacing down the hallway of his apartment building, biting on the inside of his bottom lip, his thoughts rapidly racing through his head.

He had called Clary earlier, trying to talk it out but only ending in having to hang up because all he did was ramble. And now he can’t stand still.

‘’Simon,’’ Jace calls behind him. ‘’Hey.’’

‘’This is a bad idea. Do you think it’s a bad idea? I feel like it’s a bad idea.’’

Jace’s hand cups Simon’s cheeks, and Jace keeps them there, steadily. ‘’Simon,’’ he says, ‘’please calm down. It’s not a bad idea. A bit sudden, but not a bad idea.’’

Simon lets out a deep breath, and leans his head into Jace’s right palm. ‘’I just,’’ Simon says, ‘’what if she’s a serial killer? I mean, that would be a very tragic way to go.’’

Jace rolls his eyes, and leans in to kiss Simon’s forehead. ‘’I don’t think she’s a serial killer, Simon. Besides, it would be cooler than dying of old age.’’

Simon shakes his head furiously. ‘’No. No. Absolutely not. There is nothing cool about being murdered by a serial killer Jace, what’s wrong with you?’’

Jace laughs, and Simon feels his heart racing. Sometimes, when they’re sharing these moments, it dawns on Simon exactly why he fell in love with him. It’s not just the laugh that sounds heaven-sent, or the reassuring shoulder squeezes that say ‘’hey, you’re safe, it’s fine’’, it’s much more than that.

It’s Jace. Everything that he is, everything that he does.

‘’Please don’t attract a serial killer,’’ Simon mumbles.

Jace looks at him. ‘’I’ll try.’’

laikanthrope: hey! we’re here, aline ordered too much coffee for her own good. i hope you like caffeine!

capmurica: like? i’d marry it if possible

The Sweet Planet smells different than Java Jace.

Whereas Java Jace smells of burnt coffee and caramel, the Sweet Planet reeks of fresh bagels and a sweeter coffee smell. Unlike Java Jace, it isn’t just forty couches pushed into one room; vintage couches and polished tables, spread evenly across the venue; clean windows that aren’t in a dire need of a serious wash, and the additional smell of the baked goods coming from the kitchen.

Then again, the Sweet Planet pays their employees more and don’t make them work from four in the morning. (At least, not their baristas. Simon figures the chefs never sleep).

‘’Jace,’’ Alec calls. Tall, and dressed in his work uniform, he greets them both with a slight smile. ‘’Simon,’’ he nods.

‘’Hey Alec,’’ Simon says.

Java Jace was left in Jace’s name after his birth parents passed, and his grandmother had expressed no interest in running their going-nowhere business. But Jace was ten when they died, and Imogen didn’t have the heart to sell the only thing he had left from his parents. So, when he was adopted by the Lightwoods, she took it upon herself to make Java Jace her life’s work for her grandson; even if he barely knew who she was at the time.

Alec was offered a job there when he was fifteen, but declined respectfully when the Sweet Planet wanted him instead. Simon understood it - Java Jace is a family thing, and Alec loves his brother to pieces, but it doesn’t pay nearly enough to put Alec through college. Imogen spent three very long months being visibly upset over the matter, before Jace promised her he would come work with her part-time, if only to shut her up.

Imogen was pleased, Jace was not. Years later, Jace is still a barista at Java Jace, and Alec still at the Sweet Planet.

‘’No work today?’’ Alec wonders.

Jace shakes his head. ‘’I told you that when I left this morning. Tuesdays off, remember? Or are you getting old?’’

‘’Ha-ha,’’ Alec replies, rolling his eyes. ‘’Give it a few years, you’ll catch up to me in no time.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Jace says. ‘’ ‘Cause you’re immortal.’’

Alec nods. ‘’Exactly that.’’

A hand touches Simon’s shoulder, and he spins around; almost tripping in the process. The bartender girl from last night stands before him, with a shy smile on her lips. ‘’Oh,’’ she says, ‘’sorry, I thought maybe, wait...Are you Simon?’’

Simon swallows. ‘’Uh - yeah. I am. Lewis. Simon Lewis.’’

The smile on her mouth grows into a grin. ‘’It is a small world indeed. I’m Maia! Roberts.’’

Jace hovers over Simon’s shoulder, and yells something about laundry to Alec before he disappears. ‘’Did you find her? Oh - wait, I know you! You’re the mean bartender.’’

Simon just stares at the two of them, eyes wide open, mouth slightly pulled up in a smile.

‘’I prefer Maia,’’ she says, ‘’but I’ll take it.’’

Another girl appears by her side, grinning from ear to ear. ‘’Hello! Are these the guys we’re meeting? I’m Aline, Maia’s friend. It’s so nice to meet you both. I would say I’ve heard a lot about you, but Maia doesn’t talk about anything do you know-’’ ‘’Aline,’’ Maia begs, ‘’please.’’

They huddle around the corner table Aline and Maia had occupied upon their arrival, and the immediate awkwardness quickly dissolves into natural conversation about absolutely nothing, and everything in its entirety.

capmurica: discussing the injustice of space dogs with good friends over hot cups of coffee rb if you agree

MAIA. Maia thinks she’s going crazy.

It’s been three weeks since she met Simon and Jace - his apparently not alcoholic boyfriend - and ever since, her life has been a collection of a thousand messy thoughts. Granted - not because of Jace and Simon, well, a little bit because of Simon.

In their living room, on the wall above the fireplace, there is this old picture from Clary’s first year in high school; she’s smiling into the camera, with a boy on her side. His hair is brown, and his eyes the very same shade of dark, and he has his arms wrapped around her, grinning.

Maia has never noticed it much; it’s been there since before she moved in, and after Clary and Jocelyn left. Maia and Clary aren’t very close, nor were they back then, so if Maia ever wondered who the boy was, she never cared enough to ask. But ever since meeting Simon three weeks ago, the picture has almost been screaming at her.

Because here is the thing: the boy in the picture looks terrifyingly a lot like Simon.

She could ask Luke; Luke probably knows who the boy is. He’s known Clary all her life, ever since her biological father bailed on Jocelyn while she was pregnant with her, Luke has been there. If he was someone important to Clary, Luke should know who he is.

They’re watching TV together; it’s friday, a storm is blowing up outside in the cold November weather, and they just shared a large pepperoni pizza. They do this most Fridays, unless Maia has to work or Luke suddenly gets called in to work on a case.

Recently, it’s been both.

‘’What’s on your mind, kiddo?’’

Maia looks at her father; she’s curled up in the corner of the couch, covered in a sea of blankets and pillow. She flashes him a tired smile; nothing, she says.

‘’I don’t buy that for one second,’’ Luke tells her, reaching for the remote to turn the TV volume down. ‘’What’s the tea?’’

Maia chuckles. ‘’Did you just ask for the tea?’’

‘’I’m a cop, I have to keep up with the times when I work with younger witnesses. Hey! Don’t laugh at your dad. That’s not nice.’’

Smiles turns to laughter, and low laughter turns to loud tears of joy. ‘’It’s nothing,’’ Maia mumbles, ‘’I just, I met someone recently. A friend. And, I feel like I’ve seen him before.’’

‘’Well,’’ Luke says, ‘’is he from Brooklyn? It’s very possible you might have seen him around.’’

‘’No, I mean he is, but it’s not that.’’ Maia glances at the picture; it must have been taken in August, just before school started. The sun is shining in it, and behind them the trees are green and growing. It was taken in their backyard; Maia recognizes the bench.

‘’That picture,’’ Maia says, pointing.

‘’Hm?’’ Luke says. ‘’The one of Clary and Simon?’’

Maia’s eyes widen. ‘’Is that his name?’’

Confused, Luke looks at his daughter. ‘’Yeah, Simon Lewis. He’s been Clary’s best friend since kindergarten.’’

Maia doesn’t respond, she just sits there, tugging at the hem of her shirt.

‘’Maia? Are you okay?’’ Luke asks, concern growing in his eyes.

Maia is up on her feet, halfway out the room, nodding. ‘’Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I just uh, remembered I had homework plans with Aline. Catch you later?’’

She doesn’t wait for an answer before she rushes into her room. Her fingers fly across her phone screen, desperately pulling up Simon’s number.

maiarobrts: hey, can we meet up?

slewis: hey! yeah, sure, we kind of have guests but you can come over if you want. is everything okay?

Everything is okay. Simon knowing Clary isn’t a big deal, Maia just...feels left out. And a bit stupid.

maiarobrts: i’ll be there in twenty

The Lewis house is bigger than Maia had imagined - walls, filled with pictures and various decorations. Bookshelves full of books, old, new; photo-books, war history, anything, it seems like.

Elaine leads her into the living room, where Jace, Simon and a few others she doesn’t recognize are spread out on the floor, all eyes glued to the TV screen. Elaine clears her throat; the dark haired girl lets out a yelp, Simon almost loses the popcorn bowl and everyone else turns around.

‘’Simon,’’ Elaine smiles, ‘’company.’’

‘’Maia!’’ Simon exclaims. ‘’Hey.’’

‘’Everybody,’’ he says, once he gets to his feet, ‘’this is Maia. Maia, this is everybody.’’

Maia steps further into the room. ‘’Does everybody have a name or do you just prefer number one and two?’’ She asks, a small smile tugging on her lips.

The dark haired girl - the only other girl in the room - gets to her feet and appears in front of her. ‘’She’s funny. I like her,’’ she says, offering her hand for Maia to shake. ‘’I’m Isabelle, but most people call me Izzy.’’

The two remaining guys introduces themselves as Alec and Magnus, and after thirty minutes of spending time with them, Maia quickly realizes that they’re a couple. A movie continues playing, but few pay enough attention to the screen to know what’s going on. They’re all too busy talking; about school, the plans of tomorrow, everything that isn’t Star Wars, seemingly.

‘’Did you read the article I sent you?’’ Simon asks, sitting down beside her.

Maia angles her body so that she’s facing him. ‘’The one with all the songs inspired by Laika?’’

Simon nods. ‘’Yes,’’ she says, ‘’and I listened to all of them on repeat all night. You really couldn’t find a better hour to send me that?’’

‘’I’M SORRY OKAY! I didn’t think you’d be awake to see it that late. You know, it really isn’t my fault that your sleeping schedule is messed up, just saying.’’

Maia throws her head back, laughing. ‘’Not yet. But keep this up and it might just become your problem.’’

Simon pouts. ‘’Rude.’’

‘’You know me,’’ Maia laughs.

laikanthrope: goodnight laika. i hope the storm isn’t keeping you awake. i love u

SIMON. Early mornings and sunlight should not be allowed to exist at the same time, Simon decides, as he’s reaching for his ringing phone in the early hours of the morning.

The caller ID can be the same, Simon just wants the damn phone to stop ringing immediately so he can go back to sleep.

With a sleep-ridden voice and tired eyes, he puts the phone to his ear. ‘’Hello?’’

‘’Simon!’’

Simon pauses, slowly opening his eyes. ‘’Maia?’’

‘’Do you remember that e-mail I sent to the old project leader at the Soviet space program? The one who approved all the dogs being sent into orbit?’’

‘’The Ivan guy?’’

‘’Yeah, him. He sort of e-mailed me back last night. He attached an audio file - I’m guessing it’s either him yelling angrily in russian, or an apology.’’

Simon is wide awake now, sitting upright in his bed. ‘’What do you mean you’re guessing? Have you not listened to it yet?!’’

‘’I was going to wait for you!’’

‘’No need!’’ Simon places his phone on his dresser, speaker on. ‘’I will be there as soon as I can.’’

Before he hangs up, Maia hears the mumbles of Simon’s voice yelling out for coffee and simultaneously waking Jace up in the background. ‘’Si, what the hell?’’

Thirty minutes, two coffee cups and one annoyed boyfriend later, Simon dials Maia’s number.

Half way there, Simon had realized that he didn’t actually know where there was. He knew Maia didn’t live far from campus, but he had never bothered to ask for an address. Now, it seems kind of crucial.

‘’Hey Maia, I um, sort of forgot I don’t have your address,’’ he murmurs into the phone in a hushed voice; not wanting Jace to hear him admit to it. He usually isn’t this forgetful, but it’s six in the morning, and even though Jace doesn’t agree with him, Simon feels like it should be law that he can’t be mean to him this early.

On the other end of the line, Maia laughs. ‘’I know. Are you at the station?’’

‘’Just outside, yes.’’

‘’It’s just 100 meters up, then to the right. You’ll recognize the door.’’

And he does. Because it’s Clary’s door. Or, the door to what used to be her house, before she moved to California. ‘’Why are we at Clary’s?’’ Jace wonders from behind him, taking the words directly out of Simon’s mouth.

‘’I don’t know,’’ Simon says, staring up at the door, ‘’but this is the only door near and I don’t-’’ ‘’Hey, Maia!’’

Standing in the doorway, Maia is wearing pink PJ pants with tiny pandas printed on them, and a t-shirt that Simon is sure is three sizes too big. Shyly, she smiles. ‘’Morning.’’

‘’I assume you know where everything is,’’ Maia says, when she closes the door behind them. ‘’Dad- uh, Luke, is in the kitchen making breakfast, if you’re interested.’’

Jace folds his arms over his chest. ‘’As hungry as I am, and as wonderful as that coffee smells,’’ He says, ‘’I’m sort of more interested in why you’re calling Luke dad.’’

‘’Adoption papers,’’ Maia snaps back immediately, not giving the question time to linger.

Simon remembers Maia being adopted being mentioned in passing; a thoughtless statement, one that no one thought to ask about. Perhaps no one expected her father to be someone they all knew very well. Simon didn’t expect it at least, and he doubts Jace did either.

Jace rolls his eyes. ‘’Yeah, thanks.’’

Maia smiles at him, nose crinkling. ‘’So, breakfast or should we just go listen to the potential Russian yelling at us?’’

Maia’s room is the one next to Clary’s - the one Simon always thought was empty, that turned out to be just a bedroom, the same size as Clary’s. In every other aspect, it doesn’t look anything like Clary’s. Every wall has a bookshelf on it, and they’re all full of classics and old books Simon doesn’t recognize.

All the pictures are of her and Luke, or Aline, or her co-workers at the bar. And it’s clean; Clary’s room was never clean. Clothes were always all over the floor, and the window rarely open. The air inside Maia’s room is fresh, and the clothing bin has actual clothes in it.

‘’What else did the email say?’’ Simon wonders.

Maia shrugs. ‘’Not much. It was an automated email; apparently, they get many of these.’’

‘’Here,’’ she says, and then she looks at Simon. He has that look in his eyes; the one that says now or never, the one that makes you feel like you’re ready for anything. ‘’Moment of truth.’’

laikanthrope: i got an email from russia today. figured everyone else could use the comfort. link.

MAIA. ‘’Are you done with space dogs now?’’

Maia sighs. ‘’Aline, I’m at work.’’

‘’Still,’’ Aline pouts.

Maia lets the wash cloth in her hands fall onto the counter, and meets Aline’s eyes. ‘’One can never be done with space dogs, Aline, that’s impossible. But it’s been so long, it’s just...time.’’

‘’That’s what I told myself before I came out to my mother,’’ Aline says, ‘’spoiler alert: it wasn’t.’’

‘’Wouldn’t you maybe say the two situations share a significant amount of differences?’’ Maia asks.

Aline ponders it for a minute, biting her bottom lip. ‘’Suppose I would, it still doesn’t change anything. Either it is time, or it isn’t. And I,’’ she points to herself, ‘’do not believe it is time for you to give up space dogs.’’

‘’Hey Aline?’’

‘’Yeah?’’

‘’Do you remember that time, a month ago when I told you you weren’t that annoying?’’

Aline nods.

‘’I take that back.’’

‘’Why are you so mean?’’ Aline wines. ‘’Did you swallow five bitter pills this morning?’’

‘’Probably,’’ Meliorn chimes in, dropping the empty wash bucket on the ground. ‘’That, or she skipped the coffee.’’

Coffee isn’t the problem; the lack of sleep is. Finals are just about over, and Christmas is right around the corner, and sleep is the last thing on Maia’s mind when she still has a long list of remaining Christmas gifts to buy.

And then there is the Jace and Simon thing...which is weird. The whole situation strikes her as strange, and she isn’t entirely sure what to do about it.

After she told them about her adoption, and her life before, she quickly detected a change in their relationship. It was subtle; a mere shift in the air, nothing but a breath of something else. And yet...Maia can’t shake the feeling that something is different.

laikanthrope: merry almost christmas! especially to the pups

When Simon invited her to the Lightwoods’ annual Christmas party, Maia didn’t expect everything to be so...traditional. The big, green tree full of christmas lights and too many ornaments, the perfectly wrapped gifts and those that were big and bulky; the many cookies in different shapes and sizes. Especially not when it was Simon who invited her.

It’s over now, and Maia’s sitting on the couch, in the low light of the sparkling tree, listening to the sweet melodies coming from the stereo. She closes her eyes. and leans her head back.

Clary sits down beside her. ‘’You know,’’ Maia murmurs, ‘’if I knew this is where you go every year, I might actually have come with you earlier.’’

Clary chuckles. ‘’You never asked.’’

‘’True,’’ Maia says, ‘’but still. I can’t believe I missed out on this for years.’’

‘’There are many things you wouldn’t believe about the world, aren’t there?’’

Maia meets her eyes, blue and vibrant, smiling at her slightly. Maia squints at her. ‘’You know something.’’

Clary shakes her head. ‘’No,’’ she says, ‘’I’m just musing.’’

They sit in silence for a while; listening to the remains of the party, devouring their own thoughts. She danced with them both tonight; Simon first, then Jace, and then they all three danced together and laughed into each other’s arms.

For the first time in a very long time, Maia felt like everything was right. Because it was - it was so utterly right, and Maia doesn’t want to feel wrong again, when she knows right exists there, just beneath her nose.

After dinner, they ended up in a corner, all three soaked in wine and good food, too caught up in the moment to care. Simon looked at Jace for a very long time, as if words weren’t good enough, and that looks were the only thing that could convey the words he wanted to say. At first, Maia thought she was witnessing a confession of love moment - but then Jace started talking, and words became meaningless, and then they made sense again, and Maia felt numb.

‘’This may be the alcohol talking, but we both want you to know that,’’ Simon stops, unsure of where to go next. ‘’We like you. Collectively. That’s sort of weird, we know. (...).’’ Jace falls into a long speech, but Maia has long tuned out.

‘’You don’t know,’’ Maia says, ‘’but I do.’’

‘’You do?’’

Slurring her words, Maia nods. ‘’Question is, do we know the same thing? Probably not. But that’s the beauty of it, I won’t remember this conversation tomorrow morning, but I will still know. That’s both wonderful, and utter crap.’’

‘’Wow,’’ Clary laughs. ‘’Drunk Maia is on fire.’’

‘’No, I’m smoke.’’

laikanthrope: im drunk and i lovvveeee you laika merry christmas happy new years

JACE. ‘’I like what you’ve done with the place.’’

‘’Maia,’’ Jace smiles. Simon let’s out a shaky sigh.

‘’Hey,’’ she says, relief sounding in her voice.

January marks itself outside the window of Java Jace; snow covers the ground everywhere, a layer of white lighting up the whole of the city. The inside is lit up by new dimmed lights, and a wooden wall, draped in a mustard yellow.

‘’The chairs don’t make that sound anymore,’’ Maia muses, smiling. ‘’And I like the walls. Refreshing.’’

‘’Courtesy of Simon,’’ Jace nods towards his boyfriend. ‘’He’s the brain behind the change.’’

A rosy red color spreads itself to the apples of Simon’s cheeks, and Jace recognizes the wholesome feeling in his chest as nothing but utter happiness.

‘’So,’’ Maia says. ‘’I need a favour. I know this is challenging for the both of you, but I’m going to need you to not talk for a minute, okay?’’

‘’We can do that,’’ Simon says. ‘’I’m very good at shutting up. Being quiet is like, one of my top five qualities and-’’ ‘’Right, sorry. Go on.’’

Maia chuckles. ‘’I uh, I’ve been thinking about the party. And about what you said. And...I like you too. And it is a bit weird, because I don’t know what this all means, I wish I did, and I’ve never been in something like this before but I...would like to try. If that’s something you would like too.’’

‘’You can talk now,’’ Maia mumbles in one breath, smiling slightly.

They both look at her, gratefulness written in their eyes, happiness carved into their faces.

It’s Simon who talks first, sharing a nervous look with Jace. ‘’I just wanted to apologize, for, you know, springing that on you so suddenly. We shouldn’t have done that.’’

‘’No,’’ Maia agrees, ‘’you shouldn’t have. But you did, and I’m glad.’’

‘’Really?’’ Simon frowns. ‘’Because I would be pissed, I think.’’

‘’I was at first, but I was also drunk, and when I woke up, I was mostly just confused. It wasn’t cool of you to drop it like that, but maybe it was for the best.’’

Jace shakes his head. ‘’The world worked in our favour for once.’’

‘’The world is always working in our favour, we’re just choosing other paths.’’

And there, in the cold snowy weather, within the warm walls of Java Jace, something clicked. Maia didn’t know what; Jace didn’t know why, and Simon didn’t know how, but in that moment, they knew it would work.

laikanthrope: space pup vibes

capmurica: definitely space pup vibes

jclights: the what now

again, happy birthday and i am so sorry for this mess i hope you liked it!!!!