#jamaia

[yearningforunity]

An evening of reggae music with drummers at the Seastar Inn in Negril, Jamaica.

Piotr Redlinski for The New York Times

[diaryofcarte]

driving past nov 2021 portland, jamaica

[kwesiabbensettsgallery]

"Deh Two Ah Dem" ArtPrints Link in Profile . Photographed in #Jamaia https://www.instagram.com/p/CCQnxqjhVlW/?igshid=1mljci5ihvcq2

[rctribvtn]

the reveal || jace & maia

also known as, the one where maia tells jace she’s pregnant and they have an actual, adult, conversation. 

@weremaiia

maia wiped her hands off for the tenth time since she got out of the cab in front of jace's building. she felt a little sick to her stomach but she coped that to being nerves, not morning sickness. she didn't have any idea how she was going to tell him but he deserved to know face to face, not over texting or from anyone else. they had gotten themselves into this mess together. she lifted her hand to knock once she was in front of his door. she was feeling better today than she was all week so at least there was that. putting her hand down to her side, she took a deep breath, waiting for the other to open the door.

Jace had just kicked raphael out of the dorm room a few minutes earlier. he'd figured that whatever maia had to say probably didn't need to have an audience. while he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, he had an idea. he'd been on the other end of a 'we need to talk' conversations more than he could count, and he knew how this was going to go. it really shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did but he'd been on edge ever since she'd brought it up. while he'd vowed that he wasn't going to get attached again, wouldn't repeat the ​mistakes​ he'd made the last time, he'd ended up there all the same. the only person he could be irritated with was himself for being ignorant enough to assume the same patterns wouldn't derive the same results. so it was a pang of impending doom that he swung the door open, waving her in. he wasn't sure what to say but the air felt too thick in the room, suffocating as he moved towards the mini fridge. "want something to drink? we've got - well, not much, but there's usually red bull."

maia glanced around the small room. she had been in there several times but right now, it felt a little off. she honestly didn't know how to bring any of this up but she knew that she needed to do it. for the sake of all of them. she didn't want to do it alone but she would if jace was going to deny both of them. she shook her head as she stood near the door as it closed behind her. "i don't think i'm supposed to be drinking those but thanks."

Jace raised his eyebrows. "no one's supposed to drink them, they're terrible for you." he pointed out, abandoning the drinks as he settled down on the edge of his bed. the fact that she was hovering towards the door was a cause for concern but - like every other emotion he'd had the displeasure of experiencing - he ignored it. "so, what's up? you said we needed to talk."

maia swallowed heavily as she glanced around the room. god how on earth was she going to do that. "that's not what i meant. it's too much caffeine. it's not good for me right now." listening to him speak, she felt bad for making this so awkward. or at least it was awkward for her. it was all a mess she was trying to figure out. "yes, we do. i just don't know how to say it."

Jace grew more apprehensive with every vague thing that maia said. if she was trying to seem mysterious, or keep him on his toes, it was working. "okay," he replied after a moment's pause. "whatever it is, just come out and say it. rip off the band-aid."

maia nodded, lifting her hands to wring in front of her body. "so, you know i went to the clinic the other day. i don't have the flu or anything like that. it's part of all of this."

Jace stiffened. was she about to tell him that she had cancer? she ​had​ said that she wasn't dying, but that wasn't really something you could spring on someone over the phone. especially via text message. he leaned back against the wall as he motioned for her to continue, figuring it probably wasn't wise to start jumping to conclusions without all the facts.

maia had to take a few breaths to keep her nerves down but she figured she needed to rip it off like jace had said. "i'm pregnant."

Jace of all the things he'd been expecting her to say, ​that​ hadn't been it. maybe he should have seen the signs, but two and two together, but he hadn't. it was a blindside. "you're pregnant." he parroted, the words sounding foreign on his tongue. "and it's mine." it was a statement not a question - he knew maia, they wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't.

maia nodded slowly. "yeah, it is." she lifted her hands to wave him off. "but it's fine. i can do it myself. i don't have a family or anything like that to help me and i'm probably going to lose my job because i doubt victor wants a pregnant girl working at his bar but it's fine. i'll figure it out."

Jace was still shocked, but the shock was undercut by a need to fix things - in whatever way he could - as he shook his head. "woah, back up. you're not doing this alone. ​we'll​ figure it out. victor's a dick but he can't legally get rid of you. my mom's a lawyer - we can shove half a dozen lawsuits up his ass if he even tries. it's discrimination."

maia was feeling a lot of things at the moment. she hadn't expect jace to say any of that. she was expecting the opposite, actually. she shook her head, though. she wanted to make sure he wasn't just saying it to make her feel better. "well, victor isn't exactly a logical person. i wouldn't put it past him." she dropped her hand to rest on her stomach, a new thing she had picked up the last few days. the need to protect the baby inside of her. "are you sure, jace? i can do it alone. i'm tough."

Jace scoffed. "he's not, but i'm serious - threaten him with a lawsuit and he'll back down. he's a moron but he's not dumb enough to go toe to toe with maryse lightwood." he had to smile at that, the corners of his mouth twisting up into a smirk. maryse would have him buried in paperwork before the day was out if he even ​thought​ about trying to take advantage of maia. he wouldn't stand a chance. he watched as her hand moved to curve along her stomach, blinking a couple times as reality started to sink in. he was good in a crisis, always looking to find solutions before panicking, but when a solution was found... all that was left to do was panic. shit. "trust me, i know that." he reminded her, slightly dazed. "and i know i'm not your favorite person but," he swallowed thickly, "i'm not walking out on this baby. that's not who i am."

maia had always known that deep down, jace was a pretty good guy. he had a tough guy and fuck boy facade but she found that it was just a cover up for his bullshit. "i doubt he would be that stupid. maryse can be pretty scary, i've heard." she smiled, glancing over at the blonde. she was happy that the weight was lifted off her shoulders but she didn't know what to do now. "sometimes i even enjoy hanging out with you. i'd rather work with you than gretel any day." she let herself smile over at him. "you're not that bad." with a long exhale, she took a step closer to him. "thank you."

Jace had to laugh at that, a wry smile on his face. "that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said about me. a collection of nice things. which is weird," he added, "considering you should probably be pretty pissed at me right now." he moved over so that she could sit down beside him on the bed if she wanted to, legs shifting to make room. "for the record, you're not so bad either. especially when you stopped kicking me out of bed in the middle of the night." he rolled his eyes, albeit fondly. "seriously, i live across town. it was a pain in the ass."

maia rolled her eyes as she moved to take a seat on jace's bed. it was all very familiar for her. the bed wasn't the best but it was a bed none the less. "shut up. i say nice things about you all the time. you just never listen. i even defended you one time at magnus'." she shook her head. "i'm not mad at you. i mean, i was a little but i was irresponsible as well." she let her hands rest in her lap as she glanced over to him. "i didn't want you to think that you were welcome or anything. also, i didn't know you enjoyed cuddling so much. you're just a big softy, lightwood."

Jace knew that he had a reputation. he'd been perfecting it ever since he'd been old enough to realize that it was ​smarter​ to let people believe what you wanted to believe, rather than risking them seeing what was really there. maybe he'd learned that from his father - the man had been convincing, after all, hadn't he? even now, after all this time, jace struggled to correlate the man who'd raised him with the terrorist who'd turned against his country. while he hated thinking he was anything like valentine, there was no denying he'd grown used to hiding parts of himself away - only letting people he ​trusted​ get anywhere near him. he'd tried that with maia but he'd slipped up here and there and it wasn't that much of a surprise that she'd noticed. "you're stroking my ego, i hope you know that." he commented with a laugh. "not that i'm complaining - i just know you hate doing it." and while he was half tempted to deny her accusations, he decided against it, shrugging instead. "softy is a stretch. i'm - it comes from being a lightwood. you've met my sister, and maryse is the same way. it's survival of the fittest, you adapt to survive." he snorted. "a lesson alec has yet to learn. when you give in and stop fighting it, it's not ​that​ bad."

maia had closed herself off from feelings or anything serious when she ran away from her family several years ago. she could take care of herself and she found a way to live without them. she didn't want them around her ever again and she would go to great lengths to make that possible. there was no way she was telling them about this baby. not when she was almost happy. she rolled her eyes at jace. "you love it. i hate it. it works out perfectly for both of us." she rolled his eyes, lifting a hand to push him away. "shut up. you're a softy that likes to cuddle and have morning sex and protects your baby's mother." that was going to take some time to get used to but she wasn't upset that jace was the dad. it could be worse, really. the father could have pushed her away and called her names but this one was raised a little better and she was grateful for it.

Jace made sure to lean away from her line of fire as she swatted at him, laughing again as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. maybe he should have been more terrified than he was, or had a more explosive reaction, but truth be told he wasn't unhappy. sure, he'd assumed that when he ​did​ start a family of his own the circumstances would be different, but he'd always wanted a big family. the lightwood's had given that to him, showed him what love was supposed to be like, and he'd always known that he'd do his best to ensure that any child he ever had would never grow up the same way he had. he'd learn from valentine's failures and be a better man than he'd ever been. "everyone likes morning sex." he protested, "and looking out for you doesn't make me soft. just protective." despite his words he hesitated only momentarily before letting his hand rest above her stomach, flat now but wouldn't be for much longer. it was almost surreal. "all jokes aside, we've got a lot of stuff to figure out." he added after a moment. "and i've got, uh, probably a few things i need to get sorted out." he frowned. "time to be an adult, i guess."

maia jumped a little as she felt his hand touch her stomach. it was crazy to think that in a few months, she would be a bit bigger. she was pretty thin now but that was going to change. she hadn't dreamt of starting a family at her age but things happen and you have to be an adult and accept them. be responsible. she was sure they would figure it all out. lifting her hand a bit, maia touched jace's, letting a smile cross her face. "morning sex is the best. i'll give you that but it also means a lot more than people want.

maia "we'll figure it out. we'll come up with this whole plan once the shock wears off. then we get to tell the rest of our friends. that'll be fun. and your mother."

Jace turned a sickly shade of white at the thought of telling maryse. telling alec and izzy was one thing, but that... that was something else altogether. "well, i know she won't kill me." he replied with a shake of his head. "though, when she finds out i haven't been going to class all semester," he winced, "she might change her mind." it was a secret he hadn't told anyone, save raphael, mostly because he hadn't been sure what to do. but now he needed to make adult decisions, take control of his life and decide - one way or the other - what he was going to do. ultimately he'd known this was coming, he'd just been afraid to face reality. he couldn't do that anymore. "wait," he paused, "does magnus know?" it was like a light switch had been flipped. "that punch makes a lot more sense now.."

maia rolled her eyes. "i doubt she would kill you. she's your mother. doesn't she want what's best for you guys?" maia let her head fall to the side as she listened to him speak again. "whoa, what? you aren't in school right now?" she shook her head a bit. "you're kind of a mess right now. are you sure this is going to help that crazy life of yours?" maia had taken simon along to the clinic with her so he knew and magnus had figured it out when she was acting weird the other day. she told him she could handle it, though. "what? magnus punched you? i told him i could deal with it myself."

Jace nodded. "we had a deal - i had it coming." he wasn't mad about getting punched, though he had been surprised that magnus had such a mean right hook. he hadn't even seen it coming, had been cradling his jaw in his hand before he'd even realized someone had hit him. either his instincts were off, or magnus was just that good. he was leaning towards the latter. "i got into the police academy in january." he admitted. "i figured out what i wanted to do awhile ago, but there's wait lists, applications," he waved a hand dismissively. "i didn't think i'd get in this fast. but then it happened, and," he shrugged, "i didn't want to give up my job at the bar, or move out of the dorms, so i just... didn't drop out." he winced. it sounded worse when he said it out loud - made even worse given that he'd been lying about it for three months. "i know it was stupid, trust me, but... yeah, it's my mess to clean up. don't worry, it's not ​that​ bad."

maia wished she knew all about jace's predicament a long time ago because things would have probably been much different. "that explains a lot of things. your lateness all the time. being distracted. i think it's great but you could have told me. or anyone." she shook her head. she wasn't sure when she started caring about jace but she didn't hate it either. she needed to know these things now. they were having a baby. as for magnus, that was another thing. she would have to talk to him later. "he still shouldn't have hit you for me. it's not like you broke my heart or anything."

Jace could understand where maia was coming from, he knew full well that she didn't need anyone to fight her battles for her, but it was hard to explain. "seriously, don't worry about it. if he'd knocked up alec, i would have done the same thing." she was right about all of the excuses he'd made, but at the same time it was all directly related to choices. he could have chosen to tell her the truth, tell everyone the truth, but he hadn't. it had seemed easier that way. "someone did know. but i asked them not to say anything, that i'd do it on my own time. and i always figured i would, the timing was just never right."

maia nodded. she understood why jace did what he did but he and magnus didn't have to fight over her honor or whatever. "i get it, really. but you didn't hurt me or anything so it wasn't necessary and your face is a mess." she sighed. she was glad that jace wasn't going to run for the hills. she enjoyed spending time with him and bantering or having sex. whatever they were doing now. dare she say that she liked him, no way. she glanced down at their hands before looking into his eyes. "you don't have to explain. whomever it is is a really good friend because i don't think anyone knows." she smiled for real this time. she hated the way he made her feel sometimes.

[injamaica]

Brimmer Hall Estate Plantation Tour, St Mary, Jamaica

[cheapcrbn]

Looking like gold, as usual Jamaica.