#might add these on as an extra bonus chapter when done publishing on ao3

[asterkiss]

Keykeeper Deleted Scenes:

Since we're coming to the end of this story, I figured I'd post a handful of alternate/deleted scene from early drafts that I managed to keep hold of. It's mostly Bill and Mabel bickering/flirting in their own way. #4 is pretty fun though :3c

#1 Old draft from Chp 13

The demon was staring at his own reflection with a perturbed look and curl of the lip, a hand touching the side of his face. His gaze in the mirror shifted onto her. She blinked. ‘What?’

‘You humans are ugly.’

‘Gee, thanks.’

‘It's true. You’re a collection of flesh held together in a weird shape, powered by a slab of meat in your brain sending off electric currents.’

‘...I mean, I guess that’s kinda true?’

He dropped his hand, scowling at his own reflection once again before he turned to regard her. She was suddenly aware how close they were, wishing she hadn’t stood next to him. He seemed to only just be aware of their proximity too because in the next moment she noticed his gaze shift.

It was similar to how he’d look at her in the elevator ride. She immediately found herself on alert as she backed away. 

‘Don’t even think about it,’ she warned.

‘Think about what?’

‘Whatever it is you’re thinking,’ she replied hotly. ‘Stop trying to freak me out by staring and touching me, it’s creepy. I’ll punch you again, I mean it.’

He stared at her impassively for a moment before looking away, and the danger she’d felt seemed to fade away. ‘As if I’d wanna touch you. Get off your high horse, kid.’

‘Wha- says the guy who keeps harassing me!’

Bill scowled at her. ‘I’m a demon. It’s what I do.’

‘So you do admit it!’ He kept contradicting himself. 

Bill said nothing, looking annoyed as he remained silent for a moment. After a while he released an aggravated grunt and waved a hand dismissively. ‘Hmph, so what? I’m Bill Cipher, I can do what I want! If I wanna touch you, I’ll touch you.’

‘Excuse me?’ Both her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she pinned him with a look of disbelief. Talk about a petulant child.

‘Ya heard me.’ He reached out an arm towards her, which Mabel quickly batted away before he tried to grab at her with the other. She swatted him away again, scuffling with the demon. As persistent as he seemed however, she didn’t get the same vibes from him as she had in the doorway to the diner, or the elevator. He wasn’t being serious right now, he was just messing. Which meant rather than being concerned or scared, she was just pissed off. It reminded her of when her seven year old cousin kept trying to grab her Robert Patterson posters off the wall every five seconds. So annoying.

A finger jabbed against her cheek before the brunet released a successful “ha!’ and pulled away with his arms thrown in the air. ‘See, I did it! 

Mabel stared at him flatly. ‘You’re a jerk.’

Dropping his hands, he offered her a toothy grin. ‘Save the compliments, Shooting Star.’

#2 Alternate ending to Ch 16 after Angel left Bill

‘Do you trust me?’

The growing aggravation in her eyes was quickly cast aside and replaced by confusion, her eyes flickering across his face. After a moment however the steely gaze returned and she yanked her hand free, holding it protectively against her chest. ‘Why the hell would I?’

‘You’re sayin’ if the ground opened up beneath us, and you were hanging on for dear life, you wouldn’t accept my hand if I could pull you up?’

Mabel regarded him warily, eyes briefly looking at the ground beneath them as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. ‘What kind of weird hypothetical is that?’

‘Cm’on, humour me.’

She met his gaze only for a fraction of a second before she looked away again, looking uncomfortable. ‘If you’re telling me my only two choices were falling to my certain death, or taking your hand then I guess I’d have to take your hand. But I could just as easily say if I had to share my bed with you or a grizzly bear, I’d pick the bear!’

He grinned. ‘But you trust me a little bit then.’

‘Like on a scale of nought to a hundred, it’s a one. I’ve drank milk that has a higher percentage than that.’ She threw her hands up before giving him an exasperated look. ‘Why are you even asking about this? Is this some weird long-con prank?’

‘Nope.’ Oddly, it wasn’t. He just hadn’t been able to get Angel’s words out of his head. So Shooting Star apparently trusted him the tiniest sliver of a bit. And knowing that made him… slightly elated? 

The smile he hadn’t been aware of on his face dropped at this revelation. If he was happy then it should be because he could find a way to take advantage of such a thing to his own benefit.

…But that hadn’t even entered his mind.

Bill frowned. Oh this wasn’t good. It was that damn Angel’s fault, her words had messed with his head! The best thing right now would be to get distance from the kid, but that wasn’t possible right now.

He glanced aside at her as she examined their surroundings, noting how she was chewing her fingernails again which meant she was nervous. 

Yeah, he was too.

Urgh. He wanted to scratch again but that would just hurt.

If only he could squish the brat’s face again, that had been a good stress reliever. But as she said, she wasn’t a stress ball - no matter how warm and squishy her skin felt beneath his hands.

Infact…

>

‘Hey.’

Mabel sighed internally as she looked across towards the demon, anxious about what he’d say next. ‘Yeah?’

He grinned as he held out his hand. 

Mabel stared at his hand expectantly. Then at him. 

‘...Am I meant to do something with this?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, grab it.’

‘What, why?’

‘Just do it.’

‘I don’t want to hold your hand though.’

He frowned. ‘You said you didn’t want me to scratch my arms, so do it.’

‘How does holding hands stop you from scratching your eyes out?’

‘Distraction,’ he replied. ‘The disgustingness of holding your hand will keep my mind occupied.’

‘Do I have to?’

‘Only if you don’t want me to go digging for treasure in my skin.’

Urgh. Mabel didn’t wanna hold his hand. Especially when he’d been acting so weird. It was making her feel weird as well, since she didn’t know what to expect or do in response.

‘Okay, fine.’

He smirked as she slid her hand into his, unable to keep the grimace off her face. His skin was hot to the touch as he squeezed her hand tightly and she purposefully looked away. ‘Can we go now?’ 

‘Sure.’

#3 Deleted scene from Chp 21, set after Angel “died”

Readjusting the fabric wrapped around her injury until she was confident it wouldn’t fall off in five minutes, Mabel stood back up.

‘Done?’ Bill asked.

She nodded. 

‘How’s the pain?’

She paused. There he went again, asking about her wellbeing. She wanted to dismiss it as him goading her, but there was no teasing or mockery in his voice.

There hadn’t been for a while now.

‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ she replied. A second later she added: ‘I’ve been putting up with you this entire time, after all.’

The demon looked surprised by her comment which was odd. ‘What?’ 

He studied her face for a moment before looking aside, shrugging. ‘Just not used to being smiled at like that.’

She froze. Was she smiling? She resisted the urge to raise her hands to her face, instead composing her face to relax. ‘So what? I’m a smiley person.’

‘Really? Coulda fooled me, you’ve been sour faced since I picked you up.’

‘Yeah, because you’ve been keeping me hostage! Nobody would smile in that situation!’

‘You haven’t been a hostage for a while now.’

‘That’s not- I- huh?’ she faltered, stumbling over her words. ‘What does that mean?’

‘Exactly what I said.’

She frowned. ‘You said so yourself, I can’t afford to leave.’

Bill groaned at that. ‘I say a lot of crap then change my mind, I’m my own worst enemy.’ He waved a hand dismissively. ‘Forget that stuff.’

‘Soooo, what? You’re not forcing me to help you anymore?’

Bill blinked at her. ‘....I mean hey, if you wanna keep helping me that’s fine.’

Mabel eyed him suspiciously. ‘All I want is to go home.’

‘And to do that, we need to get the Grimoire. I promise the moment I have it, I’ll get us outta here and you can go back home.’

‘Then what?’ she asked, feeling uncontent. ‘What will you do with the book after that?’

#4 Deleted scene intended to take place after Chp 17 but before they were thrown in jail. Here, Mabel’s memory of her phone conversation with Dipper is instead presented as a dream before I incorporated it into the jail illusion.

Throwing the phone across her room, the brunette grabbed a pillow and with a deep breath slammed her face into it and screamed. 

Meanwhile, Mabel stared at herself from across the room with eyebrows drawn together. ‘I never said that…’ 

Sure they’d said nasty things together, but they’d ended the conversation and agreed they’d talk when they both calmed down. Mabel had been waiting for him to call her like he usually did.

She would never say the kind of mean and ugly things that just played out towards the end. 

‘But you wanted to.’

She flinched at the whisper against her ear, snapping around to come eye to eye with-

‘Gideon?’

But as those pitch black eyes bore holes into her, her initial shock was swiftly eclipsed by a more sinister feeling. She took a step back.

“Gideon” smiled at her. ‘Time’s running out, child.’

She swallowed thickly, feeling suffocated down beneath the heavy pressure it exuded. ‘You…. What do you want? Where is Gideon?’

The Grimoire took a step after her, closing the distance once again. ‘What we want is simple.’

Its face loomed near her own, voidless eyes unblinking as it observed her seriously. 

‘We want you, Mabel Pines.’

Its hands latched onto both sides of her face, nails sinking into her skin as it yanked her closer. She immediately reacted, releasing a yell as she shoved it away and tumbled backwards out of its clutches.

As soon as her back hit the ground, she woke up.

And there she saw another face, captivating blue eyes piercing into her own.

‘Morning, Sleeping Beauty. Have a nice nap?’

She scrambled up to her feet, heart thudding as she looked around wildly. She’d been asleep? What? How?

‘What happened?’

‘You tripped up.’

‘I tripped?’

‘Yep, slammed the ground on your face and passed out for five seconds.’

She frowned, beginning to have the vaguest recollection of falling over. Bill regarded her for a moment before his eyes suddenly focused on her face and he stepped closer. Mabel regarded him warily, raising an eyebrow. ‘What?’ 

‘How did you get those marks?’

‘What marks?’

He frowned, reaching out towards her face. Her stomach flipped at the action and she quickly leaned away, thoughts briefly dashing back to their earlier conversation.

‘Are you saying that you… like me?’

‘Ha, yeah right!’ 

The demon’s eyes narrowed at her reaction, outstretched fingers curling in on themselves as he slowly dropped his arm by his side. Blue eyes flickered over her face in a way she couldn’t discern, and then he said something she didn’t expect.

��Oi, can I touch your face?’

‘Hah?’

His expression pinched. ‘It’s not like I- it’s for a reason, okay!?’

Mabel leaned further away, and that only seemed to make him more annoyed. Meanwhile, she was trying to figure out what the hell was going on with him. ‘What reason?’ 

‘Will you just say yes!’

‘Now you want me to say yes?’ she asked, eyebrows vanishing into her hairline.

He frowned. ‘What does that mean?’

‘Wha- seriously!?’ she asked, in disbelief. ‘You’ve been grabbing and physically harassing me since the moment we got in this place! And now you’re asking for my permission?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why?’ she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. What was he up to?

‘Can’t a guy try to be considerate?’

‘A guy can, sure. But not you.’

He scowled before turning away. ‘Forget this. You’re a brat.’

‘You’re the brat!’ she retorted, glaring at his back. ‘You’re acting like a little kid throwing a tantrum!’

He spun on his heel at that, eyes narrowed and he suddenly looked a lot more intimidating as he stepped towards her. Her anger faltered at the sudden change in mood as he towered over her. A pair of hands grabbed her by the forearms and she released a small “oop” as he jerked her forward so they were nose to nose, forcing her to stand on her tip-toes.

‘Angel.’

She blinked at the random word he spat out. ‘Huh?’

He glared at her a moment longer, and Mabel wasn’t sure what he was looking for in her expression but he clearly didn’t find it as after several moments the anger in his expression seemed to falter. ‘...Shooting Star?’

Mabel stared back at him, utterly lost. ‘What’s wrong with you?’

All at once his ire evaporated from his expression and he cast his eyes aside, muttering something beneath his breath. But then his eyes returned to meet her own, and Mabel saw that tell-tale shift in his gaze again. It wasn’t the one that indicated he was about to lie though. 

So what did it mean he was going to do?

His grip on her arms tightened and Mabel felt her heart picking up as her stomach churned. They were so close she could feel his breath on her face, and she noted how his pupils dilated as she swallowed thickly.

Time to retreat. Time to move away-

‘Can I touch your face?’

She froze at the request, but she wasn’t sure why. He was asking so gently, it was weird. Especially when he was staring at her so intently like that. Was it really him who asked it? She was so caught by his eyes she hadn’t seen his mouth move.

‘Why?’ she asked quietly. There was no way she could just say yes to him. It was Bill! Even when his expression seemed to fall slightly in disappointment. There was absolutely no way she could say yes-

‘Okay, fine.’

-or okay, she had just said that, hadn’t she? 

His gaze lit up before her eyes, an expression she’d only seen when he’d been revelling in terror or destruction beforehand. A set of warm hands suddenly cupped her face and where as she’d expected him to tug on her cheeks in a teasing manner, instead his thumbs brushed across her skin gently.

He leaned closer and her eyes widened. Wait, what was happening? She tried to will her arms to move but they felt like dead weight by her sides and he seemed closer still.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked, forcing the words past the solid lump in her throat. Her voice cut through their moment with Bill halting in place. In this position their lips were scarcely an inch apart, her entire vision taken up by his eyes. There was no way they’d started off this close - he’d definitely moved closer. 

His grip on her face slackened and he pulled away, regarding her tensely before he raised a hand. She noted the blood smeared on his thumb and flinched, raising a hand to her own cheek. Since when had she been bleeding there? Her fingers came across a welted mark on both sides of her face.

-almost like a set of nails had pierced her skin.

She paled.

‘I wouldn’t go to sleep again if I were you.’

She raised her head, meeting Bill’s eyes as he warned her. He seemed… annoyed? She blinked and he turned away from her. 

She dropped her hands from her face, slowly bringing them to cover her chest as she tried to calm her beating heart after what had just transpired.

It was fine. Everything was fine.

He’d just been examining the injuries on her face in his own weird and intrusive way. That was all. 

Nothing more.

….Right?

#5 Alternate Chapter 18 opening which showed exactly how Mabel/Bill ended up getting thrown in “jail” by Buddy Gleeful.

‘This is the one.’

Mabel eyed the blue door. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Yep. Got it on good authority.’

‘And whose authority is that?’ she asked.

He paused, and flashed her a smile. ‘Mine of course.’

Mabel’s eyes narrowed. Liar.

But she was too eager to get out of here to question him. So she reached out and opened the door before them, revealing a clinical-like office space. It didn’t seem much different from the corridors they’d been lost in for the past…. however many hours. Days? It felt like days.

Mabel hesitated on stepping in. The last time she entered a room it didn’t go well.

Bill however seemed to have no such qualms, walking on in and looking around the room so with a hint of uncertainty she followed after him. It looked just like-

‘A waiting room?’ she asked, observing the empty chairs lined around the pristine white room. 

Bill walked up to the reception kiosk, knocking on the frosted glass that separated it from them. A dark shape shifted behind it and a female voice replied. ‘Name?’

‘Bill Cipher.’ He glanced her way. ‘Plus guest.’

‘He’s not seeing any visitors right now.’

‘We’re special.’

‘Uh huh. If you don’t have an appointment then-’

‘Can we make an appointment?’ Mabel asked, popping up beside him. She had no idea who “he” was but oh well.

The shape paused, and she could almost swear it tilted its head. ‘That voice…. are you Mabel Pines?’

‘Um, yes?’

‘Ooh, then in that case go right on it! VIP privileges, and all that.’

Mabel tilted her own head. ‘VIP?’

‘Nice, thanks chick!’ Bill said, taking the chance to open the door beside them. Mabel blinked as Bill gestured for her to follow, walking through the door as he held it open. They went into a smaller office, standing before two chairs and a desk. A larger chair stood on the opposite side, faced away from them with a figure seated on it.

‘...Bill Cipher and Mabel Pines, hm? Tell me, why are you visiting my office?’

Mabel frowned. That voice…

‘We need to find Gideon,’ Bill said.

‘Hah.’ There was a chuckle as the man slowly turned around in his chair, regarding the two of them with a benevolent smile. 

‘Bud Gleeful?’ Mabel said in astonishment.

‘Ah ah, that’s Warden to you two,’ he corrected, sending her a smile though his gaze was stern.

Mabel looked at Bill who didn’t seem surprised. ‘Why is there a warden here?’

Bill looked back at her. ‘It is a prison.’

‘Yeah, but Bud? His dad? Why is he the warden?’

Bill shrugged. ‘Dunno, why is his step-mom the receptionist? Mindscape stuff. Anyway,’ he returned his gaze to Bud. ‘We’re looking for Gideon, current day. Mind showing us the way?’

Bud regarded the two of them as he smoked on a pipe. Since when had he smoked? His gaze switched between the pair of them. ‘I could show you the way, aye…’

Mabel regarded him. ‘I sense a “but” coming.’

Bud chuckled at that. ‘Aye, you’d be right. I’m happy to show the way to innocent folks coming on through this place but, well…’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘You aren’t innocent, hm?’

Bill rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I mean, I might have committed an odd crime or two.’

‘Or a billion?’ Mabel cut in.

Bud leaned back in his chair. ‘I’ll show you the way but first you have to be punished for your wrongdoings. Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time is what I always say! Ha!’

Bill made a face. ‘What kinda punishment we talking about here? We’re on a clock here, pal. Is there any way to speed past this, do like an apology letter? A Youtube streamer video where we cry and shit?’

Bud smiled. ‘This is the Mindscape, after all. You’ll be in and out less than an hour if you do it right’

‘Hmm. Alright, fine. Let’s get to it. Give me the stuff, big daddy.’

‘Big Daddy?’ Mabel repeated, looking at him in disgust.

Bill shrugged.

Bud laughed. ‘You’re funny. But alas, I wasn’t speaking to you when I spoke about wrongdoings.’

Bill paused. ‘Wait…’

Mabel raised an eyebrow. ‘You mean…’

‘Me?’ /  ‘Her?’

‘Why me?’ Mabel cried. ‘He’s way worse than me!’

‘Definitely, I’ve got a billion years of petty crimes and interdimensional felonies on my head.’

‘True,’ Bud replied. ‘But you’re already being punished for your crimes as a demon, are you not? That’s a pretty nasty curse you got there.’

Bill went quiet at that. 

Mabel watched as her companion became subdued, before she scowled at Bud. ‘What exactly are my crimes?’

‘You already know that, dear.’

She frowned. ‘...For what I said to Dipper?’

‘Mighty selfish, aren’t we?’ Bud asked, eyes gleaming.

Mabel felt her heart squeeze painfully, gripping at the chair tightly beneath her.

‘Hey now, that’s bullshit,’ Bill cut in, appearing to have recovered. ‘She might be a brat sometimes, but that ain’t a crime. Trust me, if it was, most of the population would be in prison!’

Bud shrugged. ‘I’m Warden. What I say, goes.’

Bill eyed him suspiciously. ‘Did the Grimoire pay you off somehow? Or are you being controlled by it? What gives here?’

Bud shrugged, leaning back as he resumed his smoking. ‘That’s my condition. If you want me to take you to Gideon, Mabel here has to do her time.’

She frowned.

Bill scoffed. ‘This is obviously a trap! We’re not going to fall for it.’

‘I’ll do it,’ Mabel said.

‘Wait, what?’

She stood up, glowering at Bud. ‘Whatever you wanna throw my way, I’ll take it.’ 

“Time’s running out, child.’”

Mabel wanted to get out of this place. More than ever. If she had to deal with this then so be it.

Bud smiled at her brightly. ‘Good, good! In that case-’

‘Hey, hey, hold your horses!’ BIll spat, standing up. He pinned her with a glare. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

Mabel raised an eyebrow. ‘Trying to get us to Gideon?’

‘This is a trap!’ he hissed, leaning towards her. ‘Who knows what’s gonna happen if you willingly walk right in.’

She paused for a moment before clenching her fists in her hands. ‘So what? You want to find Gideon, right? I’m here offering myself to help us with that.’

His face twisted. ‘You’re no good to me if something happens to you.’ He leaned closer, eyes narrowed. ‘You’re not doing this for the good of Gideon, you’re doing it because you want to get out of here.’

She averted her gaze.

‘So what if she is?’ Bud asked, cutting through their conversation. ‘People can do selfish actions that happen to benefit other people.’

Bill shot him a dark look, he turned to regard Mabel one more time before standing up. ‘Fine, but I’m tagging along with her.’

Bud stared at the demon for a moment before shrugging. ‘Sure, nothing against that.’

‘Sooo…. what happens now?’ Mabel asked.

Bud smiled at her. ‘Now, you do the time.’ Raising his hand, he snapped his fingers. And darkness took hold.

[hotpodsummer]

Welcome to the 2021 Hot Pod Summer Exchange! Hot Pod Summer is a fic exchange challenge focused on Crooked Media podcast hosts, contributors to Crooked Media podcasts, real-life partners of pod hosts, and/or Crooked Media employees.

Rules:

You can nominate anyone who is a Crooked Media podcast host, a contributor to a Crooked Media podcast, any real-life partners of pod hosts, or any Crooked Media employees.

You can request between 3 and 6 relationships, and offer between 4 and 10 relationships.

Your assignment must be a complete textual story (no WIPs, please) of at least 1,500 words.

Your work must be archive locked so only registered users can access it.

How do I get in touch with the mods for this exchange? You can email us at hotpodsummer@gmail.com. 

Schedule

Nominations: April 30th-May 6th, 2021

Sign-ups open: May 7th, 2021 

Sign-ups close: May 16th, 2021 at 11:59PM EDT (what time is that for me?) 

Assignments go out: May 17th, 2021 

Default deadline: July 11th, 2021 at 11:59PM EDT

Assignments due: July 18th, 2021 at 11:59PM EDT (what time is that for me?)

Staggered reveals: July 25th-30th, 2021

Author reveals: August 5th, 2021

FAQ

Nominations

What can I nominate?

You can nominate relationships that include anyone associated with Crooked Media as a podcast host or contributor, a real-life partner of a pod host, or a Crooked Media employee.

A relationship can include two or more people. Please note that romantic relationships are denoted by / and platonic relationships are denoted by &. Thus, if you’d like to see a romantic story between person A and person B, you’d nominate that relationship as A/B. If you wanted to receive purely platonic fic without any romantic components, you’d nominate them as A&B. You can also combine & and / and nominate, for example, A/B & C, in which case A/B would be romantic and C would be a platonic part of the ship.

How do I nominate relationships for this exchange?

Go to the tag set! You're allowed to nominate up to 5 relationships during the nomination phase.

Sign-ups

How do sign-ups work?

On the collection page, find the button that says ‘Sign up’ and follow the prompts. You can request and offer any of the previously nominated relationships (no matter if you nominated them or not). You can request between 3 and 6 relationships for which you’d like to receive fic, and can offer to write between 4 and 10 relationships.

Do I have to write a letter to my author?

No, you do not have to write a letter to your author, though you are absolutely welcome to write a letter with optional details, prompts, or whatever else strikes your fancy. Leaving your author optional details in the sign-up field is not required either, but strongly encouraged. The details are optional, but some authors find it helpful to know what kind of story you’d like to receive, which tropes or prompts you’d really like to see written, or what your Do Not Wants (DNWs) are.

How does matching work?

The Hot Pod Summer exchange matches on relationships. Your assigned recipient will have requested at least one relationship that you offered to write. If you have entered optional details or DNWs in your AO3 sign-up boxes, these may also be taken into account when matching. Once matching is done, you will receive an email with your recipient’s AO3 username and their requests.

Assignments

What are the requirements for the story I’m writing?

Your story must feature at least one of the relationships requested by your recipient. It must also be a complete story (no “I’m posting chapter 1 now and other chapters later”, please!) of at least 1,500 words.

If I offered more than one ship that my recipient requested, which one do I write? If I want to write a ship they requested that I didn’t offer, am I allowed to do that?

As long as your story features at least one of the ships they requested, you’re good. If you offered more than one of their ships, which one you end up writing is totally up to you.

Is my assignment a secret?

Your assignment is a secret until authors are revealed. Please do not discuss the story you’re writing publicly, we all want to be surprised on reveals day. :) If you need to contact your recipient because you have a question about their sign-up or for whatever other reason, please do not contact them directly, even anonymously! Instead, email us at hotpodsummer@gmail.com and we will contact your recipient to ensure anonymity is maintained.

What if I can’t complete my assignment before the deadline?

Please reach out to us. We’re here to help, but we have to know if there’s a problem. We have a default deadline set for a week before assignments are due and while we understand that last-minute things can happen, it would really help mods with planning if we got a heads-up from you a week before your assignment is due if you think you won’t be able to turn in a story -- just hit the ‘default’ button on your My Assignments page if you need to. That way, we can send your assignment to a pinch hitter and ensure your recipient doesn’t go gift-less.

Am I guaranteed to receive a gift?

If you signed up for the exchange and turned in a story, you are guaranteed to receive a gift. If you default and your author does not, you will also receive a gift. If you default and your author defaults as well, you may not receive a gift, depending on availability of pinch hitters.

Can I make a fanmix/video/draw fanart instead of writing a story?

This is a writing exchange, so for your assignment, please stick to writing a story of at least 1,500 words. You’re welcome to add art, music, etc. to the story you wrote, but this is primarily a fanfiction exchange.

Can I write more than one story for my recipient?

Oh my god, you overachiever! :) Yes, you totally can. In that case, you’d post the extra gift as a treat, but you’re of course only asked to write one story.

What is a pinch hitter and how do I become one?

A pinch hitter fills in for somebody else who can’t complete their assignment and writes a story for that person’s recipient. A pinch hitter may be somebody who’s already participating in the exchange, but if you aren’t formally participating in the exchange and would like to pinch hit instead, you’re more than welcome to. If you’d like to pinch hit, please fill out the form any time after sign-ups begin (it will be linked here and/or posted on social media) or email us at hotpodsummer@gmail.com.

Can I write treats?

YES. All requests will be made public after assignments go out and if you’re inspired by one (or more!) requests that aren’t your assignment, you’re welcome to write a little bonus story (=a treat) on top of your assignment for anybody else who signed up for the exchange. You may also write treats if you aren’t officially participating in the exchange. Treats do not have to fulfill the minimum word count and may be multimedia.

How do I find a beta reader for my story?

If you’d like another pair of eyes on your story before you publish it, you can email hotpodsummer@gmail.com. In the email, please tell us: the ship you’re writing, the word count of your story, and what kind of beta you need (for example: SPAG, structure, canon, special knowledge of [certain subject or matter], etc.) and we’ll try our best to connect you with someone to look it over for you, though we can’t guarantee it.

I would like to beta someone else’s story!

Great! Sign up using this form here and if anyone needs a beta, we may contact you with their request.

Posting

How do I post my assignment?

In the top right corner of AO3, where it says “Hi, [your username]”, select “My assignments” from the dropdown menu, find the Hot Pod Summer exchange and click “Fulfill”. You’ll be taken to a form where you can input your story, title, etc. Preview it, make sure it looks how you want it to, and click on Post. Your story will automatically post into the Hod Pod Summer collection as a gift to your recipient. It will remain unrevealed in the collection until an admin reveals it.

Can I edit my story after the deadline?

Yes, you can edit your story until it’s revealed, but please do not upload an unfinished story.

How do I post a treat?

Posting a treat works a little bit differently than posting your assignment. In order to post a treat, you have to visit the Hot Pod Summer collection page (you’re probably on it now if you’re reading this FAQ) and click “Post to collection”. This will take you to a posting form that has the collection name already filled in, so it’ll be posted in the right place. From there, fill in the AO3 name of your treat recipient manually and then input your title, story, etc., preview it to make sure it looks the way you want it to look, and then click on Post.

Story reveals

What are staggered reveals and why are you doing them?

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[alecmagnuslwb]

New Year’s Eve: Chapter Four

Read it all on AO3 or previous ch. 1, 2, 3

One magical night, five intertwining love stories, all culminating at midnight with just maybe some confessions and kisses as the clock strikes.

This chapter: The next two chapters very much go hand in hand, this time we find Maia, who’s very much in love with girlfriend Clary and very much thinking about marrying her in the very near future, helping her spiraling boss Maryse track down the man who’s quite possibly the great love of her life. Problem is she let him slip away without even learning his name last New Year’s Eve.

***

4 P.M., New Year’s Eve

Maryse Trueblood is not a woman to live with regret. She’s sacrificed a lot in her life to get where she is, she’s done it for this publishing company she proudly heads into the future, for her children and for herself. Every mistake has been a learning experience, every misstep a trial to overcome and give her extra strength to push forward. She doesn’t regret. Hell, she doesn’t even regret the years she wasted on Robert, because those lead to this company and her four beautiful, successful children.

She’s felt regret twice, last New Year’s Day and right now, in this moment with four passes to a New Year’s Eve party that a messenger just dropped off. Because it’s four passes she doesn’t know what to do with, two of her children will be there working more than partying, the other two are somewhat hesitantly spending the holiday with their father and that leaves Maryse all alone. And she can’t help but think if she’d just given her name and number to the handsome possible man of her dreams she met last year she’d have someone to spend the evening with.

She has friends, even after the divorce and some of them choosing to follow Robert’s money instead of her, but most of them have children and partners of their own to spend the evening with. It feels a lot like last year except with no work to occupy her for most of the night she’s so much more poignantly aware of it just being her.

She paces the floor of her office in a bit of a hurried panic thinking about the prior New Year’s Eve. The divorce had finally after almost four damn years of heated court battles gone through and she’d worked herself to the bone to ignore the New Year ready to put the messy divorce and the baggage with it firmly behind her. She’d ended up in a random diner after strolling around the city and then quite literally stumbled into a tall handsome man with the widest smile she��d ever seen.

They’d talked quiet and honest for hours about silly things, but also about their kids, the stranger being a single parent as well, but for much longer than she had, before Max had called asking Maryse to come get him from his dads after a major argument broke out. She’d rushed away leaving the handsome stranger who she’d had an inexplicable connection to behind without so much as her name, let alone a way to contact her.

She hadn’t regretted the choice all year, even if she found her mind wander occasionally to warm brown eyes and an unfairly attractive trimmed beard. It hadn’t just been a rush of forgetfulness in some ways not telling the stranger how to find her had been purposeful.

While she and Robert hadn’t been together for years, and the divorce had just been a final seal on a thing that had been no more than an image of happiness for the public eye for damn near a decade, she still inexplicably felt like it was too soon. Robert may have moved on before the word divorce was even thrown into the ring, but Maryse wasn’t ready, or she convinced herself she wasn’t, convinced herself that she had to think about Max first, about the idea of introducing a new man into his life first, he may be nearly eighteen, but he’s still her baby and always her priority.

Of course all that slipped away the next morning when she’d casually mentioned the idea of her dating and her youngest had simply shrugged, “Dad’s a dick, you deserve someone who makes you happy.” He’d said it so easy, with a rare kiss to her cheek and Maryse felt that first twinge of regret, realizing that she may have left the someone who could make her happy alone in a diner with no way of finding her.

And now she’s feeling it again. Her pacing increases her mind racing with ways that she might be able to track down her mystery man, she only knows bare facts, she’s not nearly as technically savvy as she should be and frankly describing him would probably get her nowhere and just make her sound like a lovesick teenager. She’s so in her head she doesn’t even hear her office door open her assistant popping her head in and freezing on the spot when she notices Maryse’s state.

***

Maia packs the last of her things into her backpack ready to head out for the evening. She’s already changed into her glittery dress and dark red tights for the evening’s semi-formal couch surfing plans. She sends a quick text to her girlfriend, Clary, letting her know that she’s about to head out. It’s their second New Year’s together, this time around spending it with Clary’s lovely, welcoming father and Maia can’t help but hope for a lifetime full of New Year’s Eve’s with the gorgeous redhead. Forever and Clary are two words she’s very, very recently been stringing together and she can’t say any part of it sounds bad, a lifetime with Clary Garroway sounds like a dream come true.

She lets out a no doubt dreamy sigh at the thought, smiling brightly as Clary’s response comes through with just a string of varying colored hearts intermingled with x’s and o’s. Her girlfriend is just the cutest person in the world.

She lifts her bag heading to her boss’s glass door the blinds shut. She knocks quietly earning no response, but figuring it’s safe to head in anyways. Despite her formidable appearance, Maryse Trueblood, formerly Lightwood, is actually an incredibly kind woman to work for, she has a fierce, terrifying side, but it’s only saved for those who would question her authority, particularly since she left her husband and took full control of Lightwood Publishing. She’s easily the best boss Maia’s ever had; she likes her so much she didn’t even mind coming in today for a few hours.

She pokes her head in and freezes when she sees Maryse pacing the floor at a concerningly rapid pace. Maryse is a lot of things frazzled which is how she looks now, is not one of those things.

“Maryse,” she says calmly which stops Maryse’s pacing abruptly. She swivels to face Maia as she enters the office fully, shutting the door behind her. “Are you alright?”

Maryse shakes her head way too quickly, “Of course,” she says putting on an epically fake smile. It’s the one Maia’s seen her sport many a times in meetings with ignorant authors or overpaid agents with egos. “You should head out, wouldn’t want to steal anymore of your holiday.”

Maia knows she should go, should take the opportunity to head out, but she looks at Maryse and just can’t leave the woman whose kind of become a pseudo mother figure alone in this state that she’s poorly attempting to conceal.

“You know, whatever it is that’s bothering you,” Maia starts off.

“Nothing’s bothering me,” Maryse interjects, but Maia keeps going. Most bosses would find it insolent, but Maryse has always appreciated and found Maia’s bluntness refreshing telling her often it reminds her of her own children.

“I’m sure I can fix it,” she continues on. “You didn’t get me that world’s best assistant mug for nothing.” She adds on cheekily thinking of the brightly colored mug in the shades of the bi pride flag sitting on her desk that Maryse had gotten her for Christmas last year, she’d also given Maia a $5,000 dollar bonus, but somehow the mug had meant so much more. It was an acceptance and appreciation of her.

Maryse smiles at that, a real smile.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, world’s best assistant,” she says warmly.

Maia just shrugs, “I’m gonna worry about you whether I stay and you tell me or I go. No one should be left alone pacing in their office on New Year’s Eve without at least a chance to vent.”

Maia’s stubborn too, another thing her boss has always seemed to appreciate.

And then at that it’s like the dam breaks. Maryse lets out a fond, annoyed huff and then she’s spilling it all out in a ramble, which is a thing Maia’s never heard Maryse do. She’s telling her about a mystery man who could just be her ideal match she’d met last year that she’d never told anyone about, about the regret she’s feeling and how it’s all just sort of hit her in the last twenty minutes since she received passes to one of the hottest parties in the world.

Eventually she runs out of steam and Maia finds herself asking the dumbest question she could out of all the things she just heard.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you even get passes to the Edom Records New Year’s party?” Maia asks and sort of wants to put the words back in her mouth immediately.

“My almost son-in-law or future son-in-law if he and my son who’s actually catering the event never manage to get their head’s out their asses sent them to me,” Maryse says with a genuine smile seeming to not mind, before divulging back into her pacing. “My daughter is actually performing backup tonight as well.” She adds as forethought like she suddenly remembers the fact as her pacing picks up speed.

For a moment Maia considers going, forcing her boss to the party to see her children and just heading out to the evening she’s been looking forward to, but something in her makes her want to stay. Whether it’s a loyalty to Maryse and or the romantic inside of her that has her saying her next words she’s not sure, but she knows she won’t regret them.

“Maybe I can help you track him down tonight,” she says and Maryse stops pacing again.

“Oh no,” she says stepping to Maia placing her hands on her shoulders in a warm motherly gesture. “I don’t want to ruin your evening on some wild goose chase. There’s no way we’d ever find him, but thank you.”

“I’m a millennial with way too much social media knowledge, you could know he likes turtles and has eyes and there’s a chance I could track him down,” she says with confidence which makes Maryse laugh. “And if all else fails we go over to that diner and maybe he’s there waiting for you to show up.”

Maryse looks skeptical which Maia finds insane. There’s no way Maryse didn’t leave an impact as strongly on her mystery man as he left on her. She’s a gorgeous, well-dressed force of nature with an unexpected wit and softness to her, she bets the guys been pining all year long.

“I don’t know, you’re off the clock and your girlfriend is waiting I can’t ask that of you,” Maryse says dropping her arms.

“You’re not asking,” Maia says standing her ground, refusing to back down on this. “I’m offering, off the clock.”

Maryse lets out a breath eyeing Maia in a stare down that she refuses to break. Eventually Maryse cracks and Maia feels a tiny burst of pride that she’s won this one.

“Fine,” she says as Maia happily claps her hands together dropping her backpack to the floor and already moving to the door to head to her desk and log on to every social media platform she knows. “But,” Maryse says as she follows behind her. “You get these tickets as a payment, take your girlfriend to a free fancy party.”

“I don’t need you to pay me for this,” Maia says as she logs back on to her computer.

Maryse rolls her eyes leaning against Maia’s desk, “Then consider it a thank you and not a payment.”

Maia concedes, knowing that while she won the first battle, Maryse will always win the war especially if Maia tries to turn down those tickets.

“Okay, but you’re keeping one for yourself, just in case.”

Maryse rolls her eyes again but accepts the compromise as Maia begins rattling off a list of questions about Maryse’s mystery man intent to find him somewhere out there. She texts Clary telling her she has some emergency work that might keep her longer than originally planned, assuring that she’ll be there to kiss her at midnight guaranteed.

***

Maryse watches with fondness and a little bit of awe in the way Maia understands how to manage every social media platform so well as she lists off question after question about any tidbit Maryse can provide her with about the man she met that night.

She sends the last straggling messenger in the building to an address Maia gives her with two of the tickets for her girlfriend and girlfriend’s father. She smiles as Maia reads a message on her phone likely from her girlfriend with a lovesick smile on her lips. Oh, to be young and in love. She hopes for Maia’s sake that this young love is a lasting one. She can see how happy Maia’s been in the past year and some change since she met Clary.

She’s grown quite fond of her assistant of three years, has come to think of her as another child in a lot of ways especially since she learned of Maia’s strained relationships with her own parents. She wants only good things for her, and that’s a growing feeling as she watches Maia delay her plans just to try and help Maryse even a little bit.

She answers Maia’s questions easily as her fingers fly over the keyboard logging in to social media sites Maryse has never even heard of. While she hadn’t meant to spill her guts out in a rush to her assistant she finds it nice to finally talk about the encounter and the man who’s not strayed far from her thoughts all year. The inexplicable connection that formed so quickly and the way he seemed just as stunned by how easily they’d connected.

She tells Maia everything she can recall, from his little life tidbits like his profession in the NYPD, which she doesn’t know exactly the nature of, to his appearance:

“Tall, African American with a gorgeous smile and great arms,” she says making Maia waggle her eyebrows.

She even tosses in little things she noticed, quirks and silly things they discussed that didn’t matter, but make up a person as a whole.

“He takes his coffee black, said he loves horror movies with clowns and judging from the four slices he ate in our brief time together I’d say key lime pie is his favorite,” she says and this time Maia gives her a fond, sappy look that has Maryse turning her head with a blush.

Maia scours the internet for almost three hours finding a plethora of men who match some of the aspects, but narrowing it down to a little over half a dozen who hold a few more than the others. Eventually Facebook leads her to three men who match right down to very specific posts about their love for key lime pie, but none of their images match the mystery man Maryse knows or wants to know even better.

Maia let’s out a sigh glancing at the clock in the corner of her screen. Maryse is about to tell her it’s a lost cause, tell her to just go to the party and have a nice night, but Maia has other ideas suddenly standing up from her chair, phone in hand.

“What’d you say the name of the diner was?”

“Rey’s, with an e instead of an a,” Maryse says. “Why?”

“Well,” she starts typing away on her phone likely looking for an address. “It’s nearly nine, and even with the holiday traffic we can probably make it across town by ten or so which is roughly around the time you met last year, so hopefully he’s smittenly waiting around since he’s clearly not spending his time on the internet.”

“Maia,” Maryse starts ready to oppose.

“We’re going,” Maia says as she throws on her coat with a pointed look that reminds Maryse so much of the ones her own children have been throwing in her direction for years when they won’t let something go.

And just like she does so often with her children. Maryse relents.

“If all else fails you’re coming to the party with me, Clary’s dad is an attractive, single dude and I’m sure he’d live up to your mister mystery man,” Maia muses as she grabs her wallet and keys from the desk leaving her backpack behind and pulling Maryse’s coat down from the rack by the door.

She stands behind her practically forcing the coat on, which if Maia were almost anyone else Maryse would be deeply annoyed by the action, before linking their arms together and pulling Maryse out the door and into the chilly cheerful night atmosphere with a smile filled with hope. It gives Maryse hope that maybe, just maybe Maia’s right and her mystery man will be there waiting.

***

When Maia’s phone tells them they have arrived at their destination Maryse’s heart drops into her stomach. Because right there where a small, slightly tacky diner sat just one year ago is an empty sectioned off lot.

The diner is gone and with it her mystery man.

Maia twirls around, mumbling to herself that this can’t be right. That they must have gotten the address wrong or Maryse misremembered the name of the diner.

Maryse reaches out stopping Maia’s twirling and angry typing into her GPS.

“No, this is it,” she says, the words coming out sadder than she had intended. She recalls the little bookstore next door and the bakery with the bright pink awning across the street. It’s all still here, just like it was last year. Everything except the diner.

“What kind of business doesn’t put up a notice online that they’re no longer open,” Maia says frustratedly gesturing wildly at the empty space. “Or that they’re no longer even a building!” she yells actually catching the attention of a few passerby’s that she simply waves off with a growl.  

“Probably the kind that were never very good at that sort of thing in the first place which lead them to going out of business,” Maryse says with a sad smile. She stands there dejectedly looking at the rubble that’s left behind and all that hope that Maia’s bright smile had given just slips away.

***

As Maryse dejectedly sighs at the remnants of the building Maia looks around, just hoping to spot some handsome mystery man waiting around that vaguely fits Maryse’s description, but there’s just the bustle of New Year’s partiers, no stillness, no romantic reunions on the horizon. She does however spot a flash of red hair at a distance that for a brief moment she thinks might be Clary but shoves away the possibility as she feels Maryse move beside. Her attention switches to her boss as she moves to sit down on the curb, head hung low.

She settles beside her on the curb, people shuffling around them and just barely bypassing where they sit. They sit there quietly for a while, nearly an hour, Maia uncertain of what to say.

“Here,” Maryse says eventually reaching into her inside jacket pocket. She pulls out the two remaining party passes and holds them out for Maia to take. “You should go, have fun with your girl, don’t waste your whole night away.”

Maia shakes her head pushing Maryse’s hand with the passes down gently, “I can’t just leave you out here. What if he shows up here looking for you too?”

Maryse smiles at her kindly, “I don’t think so.”

“I mean you said the connection felt mutual so maybe,” Maia starts unwilling to let Maryse just give up like this. She’s never been a big romantic in the past, but Clary has made her one and listening to the way Maryse talked about her mystery man she can’t just let her quit now.

“It’s okay,” Maryse says reaching out a hand to hold Maia’s cheek gently in a tender motherly way. “If fate wants me to find him again then I’ll find him, just not tonight. So, go have fun, dance the rest of your night away and kiss your girlfriend at midnight. Don’t sit on a dirty sidewalk with your boss.”

Her hand drops holding out the two passes again, this time Maia takes them.

“Fine, but you’re coming with me,” Maia says still stubbornly refusing to leave her boss behind. Maryse is quick to shake her head, but Maia persists. “There’s two here passes, plenty for you to come along. Just because you didn’t find Mr. Right tonight doesn’t mean you have to spend New Year’s Eve on a dirty sidewalk alone.”

Maryse smiles at her softly standing up from the curb dusting off the back of her dress before holding out a hand to help Maia up.

“Let’s go then, we already missed a no doubt incredible dinner done by my son,” she says as Maia takes her hand rising from the curb to join her. “Let’s not miss the free drinks too.”

Maia smiles, still feeling a little sad for Maryse, but happy she’s agreed to at least try and have some fun with what remains of the night. As she once again links her arm with Maryse’s she hopes against everything that Maryse is right, that fate can play a hand one day and she’ll find her mystery man even if it isn’t tonight.

***

The walk across town to the Edom records party is quiet. Maia is clearly giving her the space to talk if she wants but letting a comfortable silence wash over them if she doesn’t. She’s grateful for the gesture, it allows her mind to clear and to let the disappointment slide and instead grant her the serenity to feel content. To know that even if she didn’t find the man she’d shared a connection with last year, she’s ready to share a connection like that with someone again. And tonight she can just look forward to the New Year and its new possibilities. Take a bit of her daughters’ beautiful optimism about the holiday to heart.

It’s a long walk to the party, Maryse grateful for her comfortable shoes, but once they arrive they easily slip inside from the south entrance. It’s nearly eleven already, most of the night gone and done, a thing she hopes Maia doesn’t mind.

They enter the main hall through a side door avoiding a dessert delivery that the bouncer tells them might get in their way and Magnus is just closing out one last slow song. A song Maryse has heard a time or two and known exactly who it’s about. The music ends just as a waiter passes them with a tray of champagne that Maia immediately plucks two glasses from handing one to Maryse.

She tosses it back looking across the room and spotting her son bolting out of the door, a few moments pass and suddenly Magnus appears pushing his way through the crowd to seemingly chase after him, gaining everyone’s attention the way he always does. It’s always been one of her favorite things about Magnus, how all eyes are on him but in the time she’s known him his eyes were ever only on Alec.

She smiles hoping they work things out finally. The night may have not gone her way for romance, but she hopes it goes there’s. Maia also scans the room not watching the scene Maryse is, eventually tossing back her champagne as some DJ starts up a round of dance music to fill the space and she lights up with a smile as she points to a redhead in a pale pink dress on the dance floor.

“There’s my girl,” she says fondly. “Come on, let’s dance.” Maia grabs Maryse by the hand pulling her forward before she can protest. They near closer to Clary when she reaches out to someone, she pulls a man towards her his back now covering their view of the redhead.

The man spins her, a laugh that’s deep and rumbling carrying out over the music as they get close enough to hear.

“It’s just like when you were little, still a shrimp,” the man says and Maryse freezes. The voice so achingly familiar that she convinces herself it’s her mind playing tricks on her.

Maia raises an eyebrow turning to look at her when she stops dead in her tracks no doubt about to make some remark about not wanting to dance when the man and Clary turn so he’s facing their way. Then it’s his turn to freeze.

“It’s you,” he says and Maryse widens her eyes in disbelief. The familiarity of his voice not a trick of the mind as the face she’s been imagining for a year stands right before her.

“And it’s you,” she replies unsure of what to say. Maia is looking between them wide eyed seemingly having an internal freak out about this turn of events. What a small world it is that Maryse’s mystery man is she assumes Clary’s dad.

Maia’s likely berating herself for not putting together the pieces. It’s a thing Maryse will have to reassure her about later, but right now she needs to do something she hadn’t done a year ago.

She tosses back her glass of champagne sitting the empty glass on a passing waiter’s tray, the action makes the man chuckle that deep rumbling laugh again. She steps forward letting go of Maia as he does the same to Clary.

“I’m Maryse,” she says holding out a hand that he immediately takes in a soft, but firm hold. “Maryse Trueblood.”

He smiles, that big bright smile she remembers so clearly.

“Luke Garroway.”

***

Maia watches speechless and wide eyed as Maryse and Luke’s eyes meet. It takes her moment, but suddenly the penny drops.

Luke is Maryse’s mystery man. Maia frankly has never felt stupider. The signs and connections all seeming so clear as she watches Maryse hold out a hand and finally introduce herself. She shuffles to stand next to Clary both too transfixed and stunned by the picture before them to even greet one another.

Maryse’s mystery man worked for the NYPD, up until February of this year Luke had been a detective on the force. His description was apt, a picture of Luke should have come to mind as Maryse described her mystery man. The single parent thing, the daughter he adores, even the way he takes his coffee all those facts together without the pressure of social media mining to find an unknown man paint the image of the man she hopes to call her father-in-law someday soon. The key lime pie thing is the only part that doesn’t add up, Luke’s always been a cookie over all dessert’s kind of man, so she doesn’t know where that came from.

Of course it all makes sense now why they had no hits on the social media front, Luke notoriously hates all forms of the internet that dig into someone’s personal life.

“Um, what’s happening?” Clary says pulling Maia out of her thoughts.

“I believe your dad is my boss’s mystery dream man she met last New Year’s Eve,” Maia replies watching as Maryse and Luke shyly speak.

“The diner dame?” Clary exclaims turning to look at Maia who raises an eyebrow in question. “That’s what I’ve been calling her since dad told me about her.” Maia snickers. “It seemed cool at the time, whatever. He swore me to secrecy about it even though he’s been pining all year. I even made him swing by the diner earlier and we saw it was torn down.”

Maia hums, realizing that flash of red hair she spotted may not have been Clary, but Clary had been to the rubble that was Rey’s earlier.

“I wasn’t technically working, I just wanted to save Maryse the embarrassment if tonight didn’t work out. I was trying to help her find her mystery man,” Maia explains. “Which in hindsight probably should have been a lot easier than the research and literal across town searching we’ve been doing all evening.”

“What a small world,” Clary muses as she turns briefly back to them with a soft smile. Her dad’s happiness has always been such a priority for her. Maia hums in agreement pulling Clary’s hand and tilting her head indicating they leave the reunited pair to it.

Clary smiles stepping a few paces away and leaning into Maia to wrap her arms around her neck, Maia’s automatically landing on Clary’s waist.

“I didn’t realize you were such a romantic, helping your boss find true love,” Clary singsongs with a cheeky smile.

Maia rolls her eyes, “It’s entirely your fault. You made me this way.”

Clary snorts her nose scrunching up in that cute way it does sometimes and that Maia is impossibly in love with before leaning in to place a quick sweet kiss on Maia’s lips.

Maia tips their foreheads together sparing a quick glance to the side where Maryse and Luke have moved their way over to a vacant table both grinning from ear to ear. She moves her eyes back to Clary swaying to the music now playing not really dancing in time with it, but enjoying every second of it all the same. She’s so content and happy to have inadvertently helped her boss find her mystery man and warm in the arms of the woman she loves.