An Easy Deal
Lydia wonders if she's cursed after the luck she's had this week.
Every mission goes awry. It feels like every order she gives is questioned, with sass by those under her command and derision by those above her. She has a headache that her iratze barely dulls for 24 straight hours, though that one may be her own doing - she's barely had time to eat a full meal in days.
And all she can think is the irrational belief that one hug from Maia would cure all of her problems, or at the very least make them bearable.
The only problem is that their relationship is a secret. She can't exactly waltz into werewolf territory without raising suspicions, not when they both agreed that it would be better if no one knew they were together.
Normally this isn’t a problem. One of them would text or call the other, and they’d arrange to meet somewhere neutral and out of sight. Lydia’s been texting Maia for three days now with no reply. It’s making Lydia anxious, and really not helping her overall mood on top of everything else, until she finally caves and brings it up during a debrief with Alec and Isabelle.
“Any word from the werewolves? I feel like things have been quiet from them lately,” she says, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
“Nothing that pertains to us,” Alec says.
“Maia’s recovering from that incident with the rogue fledgling, but I imagine we’ll hear from them regularly again once she’s back. You know the others aren’t as open with regular updates as she is,” Izzy adds.
Lydia feels her heart stutter. “Maia’s hurt?” The question leaves her lips before
“She’ll be fine,” Alec shrugs the question off, already moving on to the next matter of business.
Lydia’s head is lost in a swirl of worry, though. For Maia to be hurt badly enough that she hasn’t reached out at all for days…
The moment she’s free, Lydia finds herself walking out of the Institute and heading… where, exactly? What’s her plan? The truth is that she doesn’t have one. She just needs to see Maia with her own eyes, to know that she’s alright. She doesn’t have a plan, doesn’t have a single objective beyond getting there.
Lydia decides to start with Maia’s apartment. It’s close to the Hunter’s Moon, but she doesn’t think anyone spots her going into the building. She thinks she’s in the clear until she knocks on Maia’s door and Bat answers, immediately tensing at the sight of her.
“Can I help you?” Bat asks, placing himself in the opening of the door blocking the view inside.
“I’m here to see… Miss Roberts,” Lydia says.
Lydia hesitates, but thankfully doesn’t have to answer.
“Lydia?” Maia’s voice sounds from inside. “Let her in.”
Bat steps aside reluctantly, allowing Lydia to step inside to see Maia slowly and carefully propping herself up on the sofa.
“Maia,” Lydia breathes. “I just found out about the attack or I would’ve come sooner.” “I broke my phone, or I would’ve called,” Maia says.
Lydia’s eyes dart over to Bat, who stands to the side with his arms crossed, eyeing the two of them carefully.
Maia reads her hesitation, watches the way Lydia comes so close but stops short of reaching out, though the way Lydia’s hands fidget in front of her speak volumes.
Maia glances from Lydia to Bat, then back to Lydia before standing up and closing the space between them, wrapping her arms around Lydia’s waist as she half-collapses into a hug.
Lydia wraps her arms around Maia’s shoulders, following her lead for a hug that she starts to pull away from after a few seconds only to have Maia pull her back in for a little while longer. It’s not nearly long enough for Lydia’s own liking, but considering the fact that they aren’t alone, she knows it’s far too long.
“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Bat points out.
“It’s okay, we can trust Bat,” Maia whispers in Maia’s ear. “In fact,” she says, pulling back. “You have no idea how much it killed me to not send someone sooner. What do you think about being a little less secret?”
Lydia’s heartbeat quickens. “Are you certain?”
“Unless you don’t want to…”
“No! I do. I absolutely do. I’m here, aren’t I?” And if you weren’t here I would’ve gone to the bar, or the Jade Wolf… whatever it took to see you.”
“Do you, uh, want me to go?” Bat asks, a sheepish smile on his face.
“Yeah. Sorry. Do me a favor and don’t mention this to the other yet, but…” “I got you,” Bat says with a wink. “For what it’s worth, Shadowhunter will be a definite step-up from vampire for the others, so you have that going for you.”
Maia laughs, and Lydia joins her. She knows this isn’t going to be easy, but it’s nice to start with one friendly face on their side.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Lydia says, shaking her head with a smile on her face. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will,” Bat says before disappearing out the front door.
“So. How do you want to do this?” Lydia asks Maia, who shrugs.
“We could just make out in front of everyone every time we see each other until they catch on?” Maia suggests, leaning in to steal a kiss now that they’re alone.
Lydia laughs into the kiss. “Maia, please.”
“Start with the people we trust, and work it out from there. Just promise me we won’t hesitate to show up when we need to, no matter who knows. Deal?”
Lydia, who wanted nothing more than to do just that for days, could not agree faster.
