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luciehercndale · 8 months

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Happiness Was Itself A Chemical Reaction - Gracetopher

Grace and Christopher are both 22 and they are attending their final year at university in the United States. I don't say what they study, but I figured they'd be interested in chemical engineering!✨ They are trying to complete this experiment they have to show to their class, but they are not in luck. Good for them, they can take a break and go to London through portal to have dinner with some known faces :) This fic is canon divergent so some of the events of Chain of Thorns didn't happen here, including [redacted]'s death. Read on A03 💜

“What do you think of wine, Grace?”

When Christopher asked Grace such a random question, she wasn’t the least bit surprised. It was late morning, the rays of the sun filtered through the high windows and bathed the table with chemicals and beakers in warm colors. Grace loved spending her time working in the lab and devouring science books until she was sick of it (she was never sick of this, if you asked her).

She also developed an unexpected appreciation for the simple things, which were denied to her as she grew up. The things everyone took for granted. Spending more minutes in bed and going through her day at her pace, occasionally taking a morning off to think about what was not adding up to something new she was trying in the lab. Watering her favorite flowers, which she planted herself in the backyard of the Fairchild residence back in Grosvenor Square.

She believed that keeping a little garden would keep her busy and teach her more about nature and science while she wasn’t studying. She thought they could also help with experiments, and she started to keep a diary to annotate their progress as they grew. Just like her.

“Imagine if we could make hair dye or other cosmetics from the petals,” Grace suggested one day to Christopher. He was bent over the table, using the microscope. His glasses were close to falling off his nose, but he didn’t make any move to adjust them.

He observed and took notes, but glanced at Grace when she spoke, her ideas sparked his interest and he needed to put off his work to listen to her. “Hair dye, you say? Cosmetics? Done by using the process followed by Phoenicians?”

She nodded with a sincere smile, and they started discussing whether that could be achieved.

Most of Grace’s days would go on like that. After the invention of fire messages, Kit told her about other projects he had that could benefit the shadow world, but he needed to do some research before he could be sure that he was on the right path. Grace had beamed at the prospect of working on new things, but she had also been thrilled to work on new things together.

Making new discoveries and enriching her science studies were her new life goals. Years prior, she had never thought she would say that, but here she was. She was enormously grateful for Christopher too, whom she thought to be the best person to accompany her in her journey. Grace saw Kit as a professor who knew too much but was too young. Someone who could teach her but who also seemed stimulated by their talks in the lab. But, of course, it wasn’t just that.

Grace enjoyed her time with Kit. It wasn’t just what they worked on in the laboratory that made her happy, it was his presence too. Nothing seemed to truly faze him and she was a little jealous of his positive attitude towards life. And his unpredictability made life with him peculiar to be with. She was always eager to hear what he had to say, and she realized he was too, with her.

Things were evolving, albeit slowly, but she wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere. She never thought she would get where she was and she was happy with the progress she made, but she knew she could do more.

“I want to go to college,” she informed her brother one day.

Jesse raised an eyebrow and grinned. “I’m not surprised. You would do great in college,” he said. “There is money to pay for tuition,” he added, to which Grace nodded. She knew that woman had enough funds that could build a castle, but she also knew that they couldn’t still obtain those yet. The will said Jesse had to be eighteen to access the money, which he would be soon.

“I know. And I wanted to ask you because –” she bit her lip and sighed. “Those are Blackthorn money,” your money, she wanted to add, but recognition in her brother’s eyes told her he understood her concerns. “And you still can’t access them.”

“But I will in a few weeks,” he offered Grace a genuine smile. “Those money are mine as much as they are yours, Gracie,” he replied to her mental question. “You can do whatever you wish. If college is your dream, do not hesitate to take as much as you need.”

Grace’s smile was bright when she went on to tell Christopher about her decision. “You know, we could really use a bigger laboratory and the backing of an academic institution,” he told her, his eyes beaming at her. She could tell he was already starting to plan. “We could have funds and –”

“We have to graduate first,” Grace reminded him. “We’ll be just college students to them, until the end.”

“Yes, of course, but we will still have access to the lab and to ingredients and chemicals we can use for your research,” he winked. “It may even get academic recognition in the mundane world.”

“Kit,” Grace said, her voice low. “Does this mean you’ll be attending with me?”

“Of course,” he told her, his eyes wide and his smile even wider. “I’ve always loved this lab and studying by myself, don’t get me wrong. But getting full access to a variety of books I can borrow freely? And working with my favorite person? Amazing! A dream come true.”

Favorite person? Grace tried not to blush too much, but Kit was gazing at her and she smiled. A dream she never thought would come true.

They had enrolled at a college in the United States, thinking that it would do them well to leave the stale and humid London air for a while. Going abroad scared Grace a little, since she had never traveled by herself. But then she remembered that Christopher would be with her, and she felt safe. She would be able to visit every few months thanks to the portals, and in the meantime, she could exchange fire messages and use the mundane telephone to keep in touch with her brother and her other immediate family.

Grace wasn’t surprised that they had accepted her request to join the university. America was more open to women joining college, and this was another reason why she thought it was better to move overseas to study. She was sure she could have a better experience there, and the experience proved right. She was glad she chose the United States.

That afternoon, she wondered what wine had to do with their experiments, but she was glad for the break. They were studying the distillation process of some chemicals, and they needed to show it to the class, in addition to creating a stable solution that would not explode. This would get them closer to graduation, and they needed for it to go well. Thinking about graduation brought her joy, but she was also frustrated because they still couldn’t achieve their goal. If they’d worked on it for fun, she wouldn’t have minded spending more time on it. But they had a deadline, and they needed to hurry.

“I only tasted it once,” Grace confessed, remembering the moment with a slight shudder. She wondered if Kit caught that. “It had a bitter taste, and I do not wish to drink it again for the time being.”

Christopher raised his eyebrows, nodding. “I understand, that is a fine decision, by the way,” he managed a genuine smile. “I consumed wine on more than one occasion, even though I shouldn’t have, but,” he shrugged. “Fine, I guess, but not my favorite. I do not enjoy alcohol and I suggest people should mind how they consume it.”

“Then why did you taste it?” Grace wondered.

“Because I was curious about how it tasted,” he said, as if he was just talking about a dessert or some food. “And how wine is perfected to become the way it is. Do you know that you also need to do laboratory tests to check the status of the wine?”

“I suppose so,” she arranged her notes in her lap and shrugged. The grandfather clock chimed in to announce the time, and she didn’t continue.

The sound of the wooden device made Grace gaze up at it. Lunch would be served soon, but they wouldn’t eat lunch. Not there, at least. She glanced back at Kit, and noticed him staring intently at her.

“You stopped talking, Grace,” Christopher said quietly. “Perhaps you find the topic of heavy drinks uncomfortable? Because we can talk about something else. For example, do you prefer tea or coffee?”

She laughed softly, and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Old habits die hard. “Certainly, those two can still classify as drinks, don’t they?”

“Of course, they can. Their base is a liquid, and they do satisfy thirstiness,” Kit answered with glee. “But they are no less harmful than an alcoholic drink. Do you know that tea and coffee are stimulants and they can cause severe damage to your body if you have too much?”

“No, I did not. I did not know that,” she told him humbly. “I hope you didn’t try to prove this theory like you did with the wine.”

Christopher made a face. “I love tea and I love tea with lemon tarts, especially those mama makes,” he put his hand in front of his mouth and whispered: “don’t tell aunt Sophie that. She thinks I love hers more, but she doesn’t put enough lemon in them and I want them to taste like lemon, not some washed out version of it.”

Grace giggled, and glanced at the clock again. “Perhaps we should get ready to leave.”

“Oh,” he also gazed at the clock, and then at the window. “Yes, you are right, Grace. I lost track of time talking about wine, and I’m not even inebriated!”

They both laughed and started gathering their things. They had a dinner to attend, and they didn’t want to be late.

They were expected at Christopher’s house that morning. Or night. New York was five hours behind London, and it meant that when they crossed the portal that led to the London Institute, it would be evening in the old country. They would be five hours in the future, and this often fascinated Grace. Did it mean they traveled back in time once they returned? Of this, she wasn’t sure.

“Feels good to be back for a short while,” Christopher said once they found themselves in the basement of the London Institute. He inhaled the air, which Grace found funny. “The air seems cleaner than New York. One time, we should measure both.”

“There’s too much pollution in the States,” Grace nodded. “Perhaps we can do something about it.”

“We will see about that,” he beamed at her, ever excited about the prospect of improving people’s lives.

They climbed the narrow staircase that took them to the main hall. Grace’s heart hammered in her chest once she saw who was waiting for their arrival. Her brother Jesse turned upon hearing their steps on the ancient floors, and his pensive expression suddenly turned into a bright smile.

“Grace,” he muttered affectionately, and Grace couldn’t help but quicken her pace and hurry to him. They hadn’t seen each other for two months because the last time Grace and Kit had visited, Jesse was in Idris for shadowhunter business. “Hello, Christopher,” he said to his cousin. “How have you been? Is New York treating you well? ”

“Good, really good,” she managed a grin. “New York is the same as usual, you should come again sometimes,” she suggested.

“I believe Lucie would have fun with inspiration there. I have lost count on how many murders have happened recently,” Christopher chimed in, and Jesse frowned. “Do you remember, Grace? We helped the police, once, when that fellow student was found dead on the campus.”

Grace shook her head. “It’s not like I keep track,” she glanced at her brother, who was curious and astonished at the same time. “And it was just one time, and it was for a good cause. He died because of a demon attack, but they will never know.”

“Murders on campus because of demons?” Jesse raised an eyebrow. “Sure, that’s probably a topic Lucie would love to hear more about,” he chuckled, and his eyes wandered on the staircase behind them.

“On that note,” Kit said, “where is Lucie? Is she not coming with us?”

“She is coming,” he answered. “She had a last minute urgency,” he offered a smile without disclosing much. “She’ll be here s– oh, there she is.”

They all turned in time to see Lucie coming down the stairs, her hair up and held by a glittering pin on the side of her face. When she saw Grace and Kit, her smile widened, but she still took her time descending the stairs, perhaps because of the emergency her brother had cited as the reason for her delay. Her face was flushed, maybe because she was in a hurry.

“We were about to leave without you,” Christopher said, and Grace didn’t know if he meant it as a joke or not. He seemed serious. She still smiled. “You are late,” he added, and Lucie subtly glanced at her brother and shrugged.

“Alas, it couldn’t be helped,” she replied enthusiastically. “I’m pleased to see you again after two months!” she added, changing the topic. “How are you faring? Is there something interesting happening in the Big Apple?”

“Do you like murder, Lucie?” Christopher wondered.

“Do you mean as a literary topic or literally?” Lucie inquired, and they started walking to the main door. “Tell me more about it.”

Grace and Jesse looked at each other and made a face, then followed after them to the carriage waiting outside.

It was a short ride to Bedford Square, where Christopher’s parents still lived with his younger brother Alexander. They also hadn’t seen their son and Grace for two months, and they were beyond themselves when they finally arrived. It was nice to be back for a short while, and being around some of the people she cared about the most. That night it was just her, Christopher, his parents, her brother Jesse and Lucie, who was now his wife.

“Are you eating well in New York? Because if not, I’m going to come to the college and argue with your principal and his poor meal services,” Cecily threatened. Grace knew that those weren’t empty threats.

“Do not worry, mama. We are eating well. Right, Grace?”

Grace blinked, trying not to betray much emotion. “Yes, don’t worry,” she said politely, but Kit’s mom was still frowning. She probably didn’t buy it, she thought, eyeing her companion, who had moved to talk to his father. And for good reason.

“Tell me the truth, Grace,” Cecily leaned in and lowered her voice, as Christopher laughed at something Gabriel said to little Alexander Lightwood. “I don’t want to pry into your life as you are not children anymore, but you both look like you could use more sleep and better food. I’ve briefly been to the United States, but their food tastes awful.”

Grace smiled at the comment. “It isn’t awful. I would not define it as such, but it isn’t my favorite either. We are eating, if this is what you are worrying about,” she said. She didn’t specify that they mostly survived on dachshund sausages that they could buy from street vendors and other types of takeout food they could eat in the lab.

Cecily didn’t seem convinced, but she let it go, and Grace exhaled a sigh of relief. She wasn’t great with small talk, and she didn’t know how to lie properly. She’d rather not lie, but she believed that white lies were okay. Christopher’s mom was highly inquisitive, and she could smell when someone wasn’t being honest with her. After they moved abroad, she used to come everyday through a portal to check on them because she worried about their wellbeing in New York City too much. At some point, she realized that they wanted their independence and that she needed to let them live their life and be independent, which Grace vastly appreciated.

It was pleasant to know that there was someone other than her brother who also cared about her like that. It had been three years since they moved, and they tried to arrange dinners every few weeks to keep in touch with their families. But that hadn’t been possible in the last two months, because of the workload from the lab that they still needed to complete.

Grace sighed just thinking about it, but she trusted that they could make it in time.

“Do you like lemon tarts, Grace?” uncle Gabriel asked, his hand holding a small tray with Christopher’s favorite treat. She had probably sighed for real and hadn’t noticed it.

“Yes, thanks,” she grabbed one. “Did Aunt Cecily make these?”

“She woke up at dawn to make them perfect,” he took one from the tray and tasted it, making an elated face when he did. “Delicious. My wife is an amazing baker,” she glanced at Cecily, who was deep in conversation with Jesse and Christopher on the sofa. Lucie was beside them but she was silent, every now and then grinning and commenting at something they had said. Little Alex was still there but he was falling asleep on Kit’s arm.

“They are great, you are right,” Grace nodded. “Can we get some to take to New York with us?”

Gabriel’s smile widened. “Cecily prepared a box for you and Kit. It is meant to be a surprise, but it doesn’t matter,” he giggled. “Pretend you are surprised when she gives it to you, please,” he demanded, and it made Grace laugh. Sometimes, uncle Gabriel reminded her so much of Christopher, and it was funny to see where he probably inherited his inability to keep secrets.

“I’ll pretend you never told me, uncle,” she lowered her voice and glanced at the group to see if they’d heard them. They probably didn’t. Someone made a joke and they were laughing out loud.

Gabriel giggled at the sight and excused himself to the kitchen to get the drinks. Grace walked to the group right as Alex was protesting.

“I was sleeping, mama!” He said with annoyance and rubbed his eyes.

“There will be more laughing, my dear,” Cecily said gently to her youngest son. “Perhaps it is time you go to bed? You are tired.”

“No, I want to be with you,” he cried, and held Kit's arm even more tightly. “You will go and I will see you again in two months and I don’t like that!”

“Come, come, Alex,” Kit said. “We will come back soon, and we will play next time. Not tonight. There is not enough time tonight.”

“If you want,” intervened Grace, “we could take you to bed and wait until you fall asleep?”

Alex’s eyes lit up at the proposition. “Yes, please!” he said excitedly, taking Christopher’s hand and dragging him towards Grace. He also took her hand, then turned to the other three. “I’m sorry Lucie, I’m sorry Jesse. You can’t come,” he said fiercely. “And I hope you aren’t jealous. You’ll take me to bed next time, good?”

“No hard feelings, little man,” Jesse said with a grin. Everyone was smiling at Alex’s peculiar personality.

“Yes, have fun with your brother and Grace,” Lucie added, and the kid smiled happily.

They turned towards the staircase and Alex held Grace and Kit’s hands in his. She heard her lab companion say: “Kiddo, do you like murders?” and she rolled her eyes with a grin. She couldn’t expect any less from a boy whose family loved to recount how their ancestor, and Christopher’s very own grandfather, had turned into a worm.

Alexander fell asleep after Christopher started telling him about the last New York serial killer the police were trying to locate. He didn’t even have the time to tell him more, that Alex closed his eyes, his hands still holding theirs, and started snoring peacefully.

“I don’t think he likes murder stories that much,” Kit commented once they left the kid’s room.

“I believe he was just tired,” Grace said. “It is barely afternoon for us, while it is late at night for him.”

He snorted loudly, and stopped at the top of the stairs. “Which reminds me,” he sighed, “we must go back to the laboratory once we cross the portal. I mean, not at the same time, but you understand. We must complete our experiment before next week.”

“We do, and we will,” she said confidently. “But first, we should enjoy more time with our family. We haven’t seen them for weeks and I don’t know you, but I appreciate this break, albeit brief. And the food.”

“The food here is something else,” he confessed. “I trust your confidence, Grace,” he continued with a hopeful smile. “It is a delight working with you,” he added, which made her blush. Before she could reply, though, he went downstairs. Typical Kit behavior.

She didn’t follow, though. Instead, she decided to take that time to use the bathroom. It was enough socializing for the night, and she needed to recollect and refresh herself. Cecily outdid herself with the dinner, and she didn’t think she could accept more cakes even though she wanted to. When she reached the bathroom, the door was shut, which meant someone was inside.

It didn’t take long for the door to open, and a surprised Lucie appeared from the other side. “Grace,” she muttered, her mouth slightly open. “I’m sorry, I must have lounged in the bathroom for too long.”

“It’s okay, it wasn’t so urgent,” she said, eyeing her dress. Lucie often dressed in blue hues, but tonight, she wore a dark pink chiffon dress. There was a stain on the silk part on the bodice, and it stood out. Grace’s eyes lingered too much on it, and she blinked.

Her gaze met Lucie’s, which managed a shy smile before glancing where her sister in law had just been. “By the Angel, I stained my dress,” she sighed, as if she was resigned and she expected for it to happen. She rushed to the sink, and she was about to dab her handkerchief on the stain when Grace took her hand by the wrist and gently stopped her.

“You will ruin it if you put water like that, and it will stain more,” Grace told her quietly. “Let me see if there is baking soda in the kitchen. Wait here,” she ordered, and returned as soon as she could with what she needed.

Lucie was still there, glancing at her reflection in the mirror. Grace had already thought she seemed to glow with a new light, but now, in the small bathroom at the Lightwood’s, she could see it better. She brightened when she realized Grace was there. “Did you find it?” she pleaded, and turned to face her.

Grace put a bit of white powder on the stain and used a wet handkerchief to cover it. “We should wait a few minutes and rinse it off,” she explained. “Baking soda works wonders with stains.”

“I didn’t know about that,” she said. “If it works, I’m taking you out for lunch next time you come here.”

“It will work,” Grace said confidently. “I would like to have lunch with you, but are you sure you will be okay? If you are in the first trimester, this may happen again.”

“I –” Lucie opened her mouth in disbelief. “I am, apparently,” she replied. “How did you know?” she asked, placing a hand on her stomach on instinct. “I’m barely showing.”

Grace looked at Lucie’s belly, which, like she said, didn’t seem any different than the last time they saw each other. “You are glowing,” she said. “You often radiate this energy, but tonight your cheeks almost match your dress,” she raised her eyebrows, tilting her head on the side. “You also declined a drink, which isn’t itself telling. I casually glanced at you while you ate, and you seemed distressed because you have nausea, am I right?”

“I’m quite predictable, aren’t I?” Lucie nodded. “Perhaps the others must’ve caught on too.”

Grace shrugged with a hint of a smile, but didn’t answer. “Let’s see if the stain disappeared,” she said instead, and used the same handkerchief to remove the baking soda. “It’s gone, but you’ll still have to get this dress cleaned as soon as possible or it will leave a halo on the texture.”

“You are a lifesaver, Grace,” Lucie took her hand in hers. “I’m beyond grateful for your assistance. Thank you. Thank you so much!” she said gleefully. “I shall go back to the living room before everyone thinks I fell into the toilet because a sewer monster got me,” she laughed, and Grace laughed with her. Their eyes locked, and Grace realized she wasn’t done. “Please, do not tell a soul. Only Jesse knows,” she spoke rapidly. “We’ve just found out about this and –” she bit her lip and sighed, and Grace noticed her cheeks turned even more pink. “I wanted to be sure that it was real and it wouldn’t be like what happened to mam,” she didn’t elaborate on that, and offered a tight smile. She supposed her mother had lost a child once, and was terrified it could happen to her. “You’re the first to unofficially know.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I’m glad you’re entrusting me with this news, Lucie. And I will keep your secret, don’t worry, ” she admitted. Funny how that was the second time that day that she was promising to keep a secret. Or maybe the third. She smiled to herself. “And –” she stopped, hearing steps coming from the living area. She relaxed when she saw it was her brother Jesse.

“There you are, girls,” he said. “I thought some demon kidnapped you. I was ready to get my gear and my sword.”

Grace made a face, and she exchanged a grin in acknowledgment with Lucie and chuckled. “Being with you is rubbing off on his creativity,” she told her.

“What?” he wondered, but the girls just shrugged.

“Nothing of importance, my darling. I’m going back to the living room before aunt Cecily says I didn’t want to eat the other dessert she made,” Lucie winked at Grace and patted Jesse’s arm. He stared at her until she disappeared at the end of the corridor.

“Lucie told me the good news,” Grace confessed, and Jesse frowned. “She told me no one knows, and I’m going to respect your privacy. Let me congratulate you, since you’re here.”

“Thank you, Grace,” he replied and his eyes lit up. She could tell he was happy and she was too. She only wished for Jesse to be happy and she knew he also wished the same to her. “And I’m glad the cat is out of the bag. I don’t know how long I could’ve kept it from you,” he laughed. “Maybe you figured it all out before she even told you. You are quite perceptive.”

“Maybe,” she shrugged with a knowing smile.

“It feels like yesterday when you told me you wanted to attend college,” he told her after a beat. “And it didn’t surprise me at all. You’ve always been smart, Grace. I’m glad you found something that makes you happy.”

“I am happy,” she said proudly, her voice a little shy. She never thought she would say it out loud a few years ago, but here she was. “Studying in New York makes me happy,” she added, and her brother grinned. “And even though three years flew by, I think I’m just getting started.”

“I think mama’s cake upset Lucie’s stomach,” Kit told Grace after dinner. They ditched Lucie and Jesse’s offer to ride on the carriage back to the London Institute with them, and decided to take a breath of fresh air and walk to Fleet Street.

“Do you believe so?” Grace played clueless. “I found your mother’s cooking agreeable, and so did the other guests.”

“Yes, it was quite okay, considering,” he glanced at her with a genuine smile. “Her face was green when she finished the first course, maybe she is p –”

“I thought you said there was a place you wanted to take me,” her eyes flickered with an idea to divert the conversation. She promised Lucie to keep her secret, after all, and she wanted to end the night in London by doing something else. “Is it still open at this dreadful hour?”

Christopher blinked. “Oh, yes. I completely forgot. I can take you there, but it’s not open.”

“Blimey,” Grace sighed, but at least she has diverted the conversation on to another topic. “Then we could go next time we come to London, if you want?”

“No, tonight will do,” he said confidently. “We can still break in with an open rune, Grace. If you want to. I want to show you this place because it could help us with our research which is due in a few days,” he reminded her.

She pursed her lips. “You are right. Unfortunately, though, we are not thieves. We can’t just break in a mundane place just to use a lab.”

“Of course, we can,” Kit’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s for the sake of science, right?”

“Why can’t we go during the visiting hours?”

“Because there aren’t visiting hours, Grace,” he answered. “We are going to a distillery. Or a winery, if you like.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “That’s why you asked me about wine today?”

“Okay? Just like that?” Christopher demanded. He was beyond excited. “What if I told you it was run by the mob?”

Grace frowned. “What of it?”

“You are so brave,” he grinned. “But no, I was kidding. It is a regular winery owned by regular people. I just wanted to see your reaction.”

“Well, you have seen it. How about you take me there now?”

And that, he did. “We are here,” he said after not much time. Grace realized they reached the Northern entrance to Regent’s Park, which had an eerie atmosphere at that hour of the night.

“I only see the park,” she admitted, but then her eyes adjusted to the dim lights and she made out the outline of a small building, which was right behind the main entrance of the park. “Oh, I see it now.”

“We better prepare,” Christopher said, and Grace saw he drew a night vision rune on his forearm. “Give me your arm,” he demanded once he was done, and he did the same on her wrist. She appreciated the gesture.

“You are talking as if we are going to have to fight, or something,” Grace said, trying to follow Kit as he neared the entrance of the factory. Mad Oak Distillery, that was the name.

“Or something,” he replied with a chuckle. “Quite a riveting name, isn’t it? Unfortunately, I don’t know why they chose it,” he said. “Perhaps there was such a grandiose oak on this soil, and they had to cut down the tree to build their business. They believed they uprooted the whole tree, but the roots were still underground, and they got mad because they lost their body, so to speak.”

“Sounds fair,” Grace commented. “The oak had every right to be mad.”

“You can say it. But,” he continued, his hand pointing at the big text with the name of the factory. “Metropolitan legends say that the wine this factory produces is maddening. As that is displeasing. Insufferable. Vomit inducing –” he looked up and lost himself in his thoughts, “perhaps my parents served that at dinner? That’s probably why, my cousin –”

“Christopher,” Grace put a hand on his arm and managed a smile. “Shall we see it for ourselves?”

“You’re right, we shall,” he agreed with a grin. “Can you draw an open rune, Grace?”

“Right away,” she said. Once she finished, the main doors gave away, and they entered.

It was pitch dark, and they used a witchlight to see where they were going. There was a door in the furthest corner of the room which pointed to the laboratory. Grace knew they were going there without asking Christopher. After all, supposedly, they broke in to witness how a winery worked so they would get help with their project, but with Kit, she never knew what to expect.

They found the laboratory where they tested the wine’s acidity and other stuff. “The taste of wine doesn’t just depend on the quality of the grapes,” Christopher told her as they wandered around and checked some papers the workers left there, “but also from other factors.”

“What do you think is missing from our research? Why won’t that liquid stabilize like wine ferments?” Grace huffed. She was tired, and she didn’t want to hide it. Doing this experiment was taking a toll on her already messed up sleeping schedule. She was frustrated.

“Wine fermentation is one of the oldest chemical reactions used by people,” Christopher said, glancing at some notes on a desk. “This laboratory is such an amazing place, and I thought it would offer some input on how to proceed with our work, but alas, it didn’t.”

“We still have time to mull over it,” Grace considered. She put her hand over Kit’s, still holding some papers, and he looked up.

“Yes, definitely,” he agreed. The moment seemed endless, as neither of them broke eye contact, at a loss for words. “Maybe –” he began, and all of a sudden, lights turned on in the room.

“What is happening?” Grace asked with alarm. “Isn’t it shut down for the night?”

“I forgot,” Christopher shook his head as if he realized he had left the gas open in the kitchen but he didn’t care. “This factory is managed by a vampire named Oak, hence the name. And the wine is actually,” he gazed up at Grace, who frowned. “No, it’s not blood. But it is red as blood because of a peculiar kind of grape they grow in the countryside from where Oak was born centuries ago. I’m sorry but I don’t think we can go look at the barrels underground to tas –”

She didn’t let him finish. Grace grabbed his hand and took him in the adjacent room, and begged him to stay silent. Muffled voices came from the laboratory, and Kit’s mouth gaped open as if to speak, but he did not. Luckily for them, there was an exit door nearby, and they went through it in silence.

Grace exhaled a sigh of relief once outside. “That was close.”

“It was, but I wouldn’t have minded if they found us there.”

“You don’t? They could’ve reported us to the High Warlock of London for trespassing or something,” she said, but she wasn’t sure if that could be possible. She started working on the street that would take them to the London Institute, the Mad Oak several steps behind them.

Kit was laughing softly. “I’m sorry, Grace, I should’ve told you.”

“Told me what?”

“That I knew Oak, the owner. I made business with him at the Shadow Market when I still lived in London full time, and in exchange, he said I could visit his laboratory to get advice on the fermentation process.”

Grace snorted and shook her head, then she started laughing. “And here I thought I would go to vampire jail or that they would bite me out of spite for finding their secrets about winemaking.”

“Don’t worry, they can’t,” Kit said, and he offered her a grin. “And we had a deal, but our time is up, regrettably. He told me I could come here while there was nobody but it looks like the night shift just started.”

“We’ll just have to make do with what we have,” Grace sighed, worn out at this point.

“Which, luckily for us, here I have some notes I got from the laboratory,” Kit showed her the bundle of papers that he had checked out while they were looking around.

“Won’t Oak get… mad?”

“Nah, don’t sound too worried. He made a copy for us,” Christopher said nonchalantly, and Grace scoffed.

It looked like she wasn’t the only one keeping secrets that night.

They arrived at the London Institute in complete silence, and Grace found her brother waiting for them by the Portal downstairs with the boxes (plural) of lemon tarts Cecily baked for them.

“Thanks Jesse, but you could have left them on the floor,” Christopher muttered and grabbed the boxes, nearing the Portal as Grace stopped beside her brother. “Oh, and, since you’re here, do you remember if we drank wine by Mad Oak Distillery by any chance?”

Jesse frowned and thought about it for a few seconds. “Uhm… no? Why is that? Do you want me to get it for you before you leave? I don’t think Will likes that one –”

Grace sighed and turned to Kit, ready to do damage control. He wasn’t letting it go, was he…

“Nothing, nothing,” he quickly said. “Just curious. Well, Grace, I am going. I’ll wait for you on the other side,” he grinned. “And I will see you next time, Jesse. And congratulations! Too bad Lucie is not here…” he waved and crossed the portal, not waiting for an answer.

Grace was baffled. She shot an apologetic look at her brother, but he shook his head. “Don’t worry, I know you kept the secret. He already cornered me after Lucie left the room to inquire about her condition, and I’m sure he understood. Sooner or later, everyone will know anyway,” he shrugged.

She nodded. “We’ll see each other before the baby is born,” Grace promised, and she hoped she wasn’t lying to herself and to Jesse about that. “See you soon,” she managed a smile before disappearing through the portal as well, and returned to her imminent task.

They didn’t go back to the laboratory after coming from London, even though Grace had promised Christopher they would, and she was feeling a bit guilty for losing precious hours. But her body demanded sleep, so she excused herself to bed after crossing safely back to the United States. The following morning, she found Christopher right outside her room, and they went to the laboratory again.

He took the Mad Oak notes with him, and they started dissecting the writing together, discussing options and trying, but failing. Grace's spirits fell and she felt even more exhausted than yesterday after their little adventure at the factory.

“Perhaps we should get a dachshund sausage,” Christopher suggested after lunch hours had greatly passed, but Grace barely shook her head. He had already stopped reading the material, and was massaging his temples. He needed a break.

“Wait, wait, stop,” Grace announced after a while, rereading a piece of the notes and making a few calculations on a blank piece of paper. Kit was intent on watching her as she wrote, and then – “I think I found the problem!” she exclaimed, and showed it to him. “See, maybe it’s this. If we change this and put this other one in its stead –”

Kit nodded and started helping her until they were done processing. Seconds felt eternal as they waited for the concoction to explode… and it didn’t. They’d made it.

“I think we did it, Grace,” he said enthusiastically. “It is stable! It didn’t explode! My glasses are safe,” he joked, and she laughed softly.

“Yes, we did,” she couldn’t believe herself. “We finally did it!”

“Well,” he continued. “Can I hug you, Grace? To celebrate?”

She answered by hugging him. She could feel his own heart racing and she knew hers was the same.

Was that what true happiness feels like?

She loved that sense of finally making it after long hours spent researching for the best outcome. The excitement of finding the missing piece. Grace didn’t know much about her future, but she was positive that she wanted to do this for a long time, with Christopher by her side.

Happiness was itself a chemical reaction. Quite like how they made wine, the taste of happiness didn’t just depend on one element. Happiness could be a place, could be a food, could be a person. Or it could be all those things mixed together, many of those things. More than one place. More than one person. When we are with them, they affect how we feel and send signals throughout our bodies that we are happy. Our heart beats loudly in our chest. Our hands are sweaty. We smile uncontrollably, laugh, and feel giddy.

Happiness was one of the oldest chemical reactions used by people, and it was free. Just like Grace.

Hey readers! Thank you so much for reading <3 Here's some things I wanted to point out:

America allowed women to get into university around 1880's.

I don't think Jesse needed to turn 18 to access Blackthorn money (I believe Tatiana left them A LOT of money) but I wanted to add this modern touch lol

Dachshunds sausages is the name for hot dogs in the XIX century :) they were exported to the US from Germany. I thought that Grace and Kit would be the types to eat street food while they work at the lab, because it's easy to manage.

I apologize if I said something wrong when I talked about what they were doing in the lab and about wine making. I'm not too good with explaining such stuff and I tried to do research, so I hope it wasn't bad.

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