WHO: Clary Fray and Sue Storm WHERE:Heading to Izzy and Johnny’s WHEN: Before Clary/Jace bodyswap WHAT: A chance meeting WARNINGS: Nonw1 STATUS: log; completed - matchup!
This wasn’t a training day, but Clary found herself with an excess of energy upon waking up that she knew only a good, hard session of hitting someone else - and being hit - could ease. Since Jace had an early shift and had already done his own training for the day, she stopped by Isabelle’s to see if she was in. If she was, great; if not, Clary would have to go to the gym and take out her energy on the punching bag.
She was just on her way when she spotted a familiar face heading to the same place: Johnny’s sister Sue.
“Hey,” she greeted when they reached each other. They hadn’t talked much, but Clary had liked the other woman when they had talked. She was much less gregarious than Johnny, which was just as well. Two Johnnys in the family probably would’ve driven their parents to an early grave.
***
Sue was usually up early, especially now that she had Archie as a ward. She liked making sure he had a full breakfast and then it meant she could sometimes go hang out with either Johnny or Izzy, or both, before her shift at the Genealogy Shop. The flexible hours were a good thing, although Archie didn't really need looking after in the most typical sense. She was worried though, and it helped having someone to help her talk it through. That was more Izzy than Johnny, though, because as much as she loved her brother, he was not the gushy, feely, serious talk type.
On her way over, she realized someone was behind her and turned to see Clary headed the same way. "Morning! Going to see if Izzy's up?" she asked with a grin, pausing to let the younger woman catch up the few steps they were distanced by.
***
“It’s daylight, so I’m pretty sure she’s up,” Clary said wryly. Shadowhunters were not known for sleeping in - even Izzy, who was prone to stay up late. “But I wanted to see if she was home, yeah. Are you looking for Johnny?”
Clary figured that was the likeliest possibility, since they were siblings, but it was possible Sue had come for Isabelle as well. The two seemed to get along really well.
***
"Either or," Sue replied with a fond smile. "I adore Izzy. My brother's a great guy, but he's changed a lot since he's been here." Sue was so proud of him for that, and very happy that she was still older than him despite the disparity in time for them. He deserved all the happiness in the world, and Izzy was perfect for the man he'd become.
"I come by every couple of days, just to say hello. Johnny and I used to live together, when I come from, so it's taking some adjusting." Of course, they'd had to live together because of the accident, and then because it was just safer that way, but she'd gotten used to it all the same and missed having Johnny around. Having Archie live with her was great, but she still missed her brother, and it definitely wasn't the same dynamic between her and the two men.
***
“Yeah, he's definitely calmed down a lot,” Clary agreed with a grin. “But Izzy’s pretty good at keeping him in line.”
As they headed up the door, Clary looked over at Sue. “And how about you? How are you doing?”
***
"How long have you been here?" Sue asked, curious. From the way she spoke, it seemed like Clary had been in town just as long as Johnny had. "She's good for him, and he loves her. I didn't think I'd ever see my brother in love." It was a good look on him, that was for sure.
"Oh, I'm doing alright. I took in a ward a little while ago, Archie. He's a good kid and I'm just helping him settle and find his place here." It gave her purpose, helping the teenager, so it was a bit selfish. "He got stuck with a family in town who were...less than hospitable. I'm glad it all worked out, you know?"
***
“Long enough to finish high school and get a job,” Clary said ruefully. She wasn’t sure how long, exactly, that was. Events all mushed together in her mind. She’d heard her mom and Luke talking about this happening as they got older. Clary hoped this wasn’t a result of her getting older. She wasn’t even twenty yet!
“I heard there are a bunch of families in town who aren’t very nice to their charges,” she said. “Makes me wonder why they even volunteered to take them in at all. Nice of you to take him in, though.”
***
"Sounds like a long time to me," Sue replied. "Do you miss it? Your home?" Maybe it was a bit taboo to ask that, but she was always curious. Sue missed her life, but she didn't quite miss being the Invisible Woman. Her powers weren't needed here though, thankfully, so she got to have a mostly normal life.
"I did, too. That was why I volunteered to become a guardian in the first place. Maybe it's a lot like it is in my world, where sometimes people volunteer to take kids in just for the money. It's not ideal, not by a long shot, but it happens a lot more than people realize, I think." It was terrible, sad to say.
***
“That’s just awful,” Clary said, shaking her head. She knew people did that kind of thing in her world too, and she didn’t approve of it any more than she did here. “I’m glad there are people like you too.”
She'd been lucky in that she'd been able to stay with people she knew, but not everyone was like that.
“I miss my mom and my stepdad, who are at home,” she continued. “But do I miss home?” She shook her head decisively. “Between the demons and the would-be world conquerors and the hell dimensions, I’m way happier here. Jace is having trouble adjusting, though. He’s ever really known our world, so he has no idea what to do with himself when he doesn’t have to be fighting for the fate of the world every day.”
***
"Hopefully it makes a difference," Sue replied, brushing off the compliment. She was just being a decent human being and it was sad that others couldn't, but she could only do so much. Helping Archie through adjusting to Madison was her contribution.
"I find I'm missing the people too, more than the place. I know I shouldn't be too surprised by that, what with home being where the heart is and all." It got a bit lonely at times, although she didn't say that to Clary. "I know izzy is helping Jace as best she can. He'll come around." Sue was sure about that.
***
“Yeah, I know he will,” Clary said with confidence. Most people didn't understand Jace or didn't see past the admittedly annoying snark he put between himself and the world, but Clary knew of the great heart underneath, and she loved him for it.
“He's already come a long way. I think being here gives us all a chance to change for the better.”
***
Sue hadn't really interacted much with Jace, but knowing that he was so important to Izzy - and understanding that brother/sister relationship - she was more than willing to forgive any snark. Johnny was her brother, after all. It seemed like Clary and Jace were pretty close, and that certainly helped things.
"It's a fresh start, that's for sure. I hope that everything works out for all of you as well as it's worked out for Izzy and Johnny," Sue replied honestly. She wished that for everyone, and was sad to see when it clearly wasn't working out. "There's a good number of people here that you and Izzy know, right? From your world?"
***
Clary nodded, smiling as she thought of the others from her world. “There’s Simon - he’s my best friend and future parabatai. And then there are three people - Tessa, Jem and Will - from an earlier time in our history. Tessa and Will are actually Jace’s ancestors.”
Getting to know Will had made Clary a believer in attitude being a matter of genetics.
***
Sue furrowed her brow at the the unfamiliar word. "What is a parabatai?" She did remember Jem though, since she'd ended up with his Runes on her body during that brief time when everyone's powers had been a bit scrambled. Izzy had been an invaluable resource then, and it had brought them a bit closer together.
"That must be interesting for Jace, to have his ancestors here." Sometimes that helped, other times it didn't. There was a part of her that wouldn't mind having her parents here, but they'd been gone for so long that it was no longer a gut wrenching pain. It would have been worse if her brother hadn't been in town.
***
“Interesting is one way to put it,” Clary said, laughing at the thought. “They’re so similar, they don’t know what to do with one another. You should see them interact at the next gathering.”
She thought about how to describe the concept of a parabatai. “It’s...kind of hard to get unless you’ve seen it or have one yourself. It’s like...a partner, but with a super strong bond with each other. You can give and take strength from each other, you can sometimes feel what they’re feeling, and the runes they draw for you are stronger than any other rune you can draw for yourself or have others draw for you. It’s like...finding the other half of you.”
***
Sue grinned. "I'll have to keep an eye out," she replied, already looking forward to whatever the next gathering was going to be. It seemed like there was always something going on and she loved that about Madison Valley. Things were rarely ever boring.
"That sounds like an extremely strong bond," she commented. "And it's something that's predetermined?" Sue was always trying to learn about Izzy's world because she meant so much to Johnny. If it wasn't for the fact that her brother just wasn't the marrying type, she would've guessed that they'd be getting ready to tie the knot sometime soon. She just didn't want to pester anyone too much.
***
Clary shook her head. “It’s just a formal...deepening of a bond you’ve already developed,” she explained. “Like me and Simon, we’ve been best friends since we were six. I can’t imagine anyone I’d want at my back more than him. And Jace has Alec - they were like brothers, before they took the bond. And Jem and Will, too. They grew up in the same Institute and were best friends. Not everyone has a parabatai. A lot of Shadowhunters go at it alone - like Izzy.”
***
Sue nodded in understanding. It was fascinating in a way she hadn't ever thought she was going to ever encounter, so she wanted to soak up as much of it as possible. She may not ever actually need that knowledge, but in Madison Valley, things were incredibly unpredictable. It couldn't hurt too much to know a little more about Izzy's world.
They arrived at Johnny and Izzy's building and Sue held the door open for the other woman. "That makes sense," she replied, about the definition of what a parabatai was and how it related to the people in Madison Valley so far. "And that's just for Shadowhunters? The others in your world wouldn't have one?" She let Clary take the lead as the headed for the stairs.
***
“No, it’s a Shadowhunter thing,” Clary said. She waited for Sue to come through the door as well before heading up the stairs. “There’s a whole ritual and set of runes for it and everything.”
They reached Johnny and Izzy’s place, and Clary tilted her head at the door. “Think they’re in?”
***
Sue could understand that, so she let it all percolate for a little bit as they walked up the stairs to her brother's place. "It's about 50/50 most days," she replied with a shrug.
"Guess we'll just have to knock and see." Sue grinned as she knocked on the door, wondering how the rest of her morning was going to go.