About an hour later, Josie lies beside a sleeping Lizzie in the guest room of the Mikaelson Manor.
She hasn't had such luck in slipping into the peaceful abyss. Instead, she's wide awake, mind running like a freight train, staring up at a dark ceiling.
And she hates the fact that the one person who helps her relax is also the one person who she shouldn't want to be near right now, but she does. She wants the comfort and security that only comes with Hope's presence, her voice, her touch.
When several minutes go by, tossing and turning yet still finding no comfort, she groans softly and gets up from the bed. She exits the room and walks a little ways down the hall, seeing Hope's bedroom door is wide open, and a small light shines within. Hope must also be awake.
Josie gets close enough to the opened door to see Hope sitting up in bed, back leaning against the headboard and a book in her hands.
A collection of Shakespearean plays to be more specific.
Hope reads though Act 3 of Hamlet, trying to clear her own mind.
She reads over Hamlet's words to Ophelia:
"God has given you one face,
and you make yourself another."
A constant battle exists between these two halves of identity—who we truly are and who we pretend to be. And that battle is one which cannot be won.
Just as people say there are two sides to every story, there are also two sides to every individual. One which is revealed to the outside world, and another which is kept hidden inside.
This duality is governed by the equilibrium of light and darkness. Every person has the capacity for both good and evil, but some cheat the governing system, blurring the lines of morality. These individuals hold the highest power.
The Mikaelson's have certainly made a habit of blurring that moral dividing line. They sometimes do questionable things, but with honorable intentions.
Hope's family originally changed her identity to protect her, alone. But now, she continues to make that sacrifice of identity for something much bigger than herself; she does it for the people she loves, to protect them from the truth, to protect them from becoming yet another casualty of her existence.
But things are different now. Her enemies are using her loved ones as tools and weapons against her, trying to sway her to reveal the truth.
The danger of the known and the unknown are equal now, so is it really necessary for her to remain in the shadows?
But, if she chooses to step into the light, the supernatural world will erupt into chaos, her family's enemies will seek revenge on her, she will have to overcome her defensive habits of secrecy.
Maybe Josie was right, her dilution of the truth is compulsive now, she doesn't even have full control over her own truth.
What would Hope do if the little control that keeps her sane suddenly slips through her own fingers and into the hands of the supernatural community? All of her intentions and order would be rendered useless. The outcome would be unpredictable, but the one sure product of unveiling the truth would be devastation in its wake.
Hope's thoughts are suddenly disrupted by a soft knock. She looks over, surprised to see a hesitant Josie standing in her doorway, even more surprised that Josie wears her t-shirt still, but she doesn't address that,
"Hey, sorry, I saw that your light was on..."
Hope furrows her eyebrows, "No, it's—it's fine..." Hope's words fade as she sits up more and waits for Josie to voice what it is she wants or needs.
"I, um—I couldn't fall asleep...Do you mind if I lay with you?"
Hope opens her mouth to respond, but Josie mistakenly thinks she may decline, so she explains further, "Just until I get relaxed enough to fall asleep? Then I can go back to bed with Lizzie? You're the only person who calms me when my mind won't slow down."
Hope can't help the small smile that forms on her lips as she nods her head, "Of course you can, Jo. Stay as long as you need."
Josie let's out a quiet sigh of relief as she walks over to her side of the bed. Hope scoots over from the middle so Josie will have plenty of room to herself, but that doesn't keep Josie from getting a little closer to Hope than she probably should right now. But she's seeking out comfort, so it's okay, right?
"Do you want me to turn the light out for you?"
Josie lays on her side against the pillows before shaking her head, "No, it's okay. You can keep reading."
Hope nods and leans back against a couple of pillows, opening her book back up to continue her reading. After a few seconds, Josie hesitantly scoots closer to Hope, her front mere inches from Hope's side. She leans her head against Hope's shoulder, seeking out even the most minimal contact, "Is this okay?"
"Mhm."
After a few more seconds, Josie glances her eyes at the book in Hope's hands and asks yet another question, "What are you reading?"
Hope glances down at Josie, raising an eyebrow at her, "Hamlet."
"Hm," Hope turns back to the play, reading only a few lines before Josie's voice sounds again, "I didn't know you liked Shakespeare."
"Yeah, my father kept a collection of his plays, so I've been reading them since I was little."
Josie nods into Hope's shoulder, shuffling a little closer into her side as Hope's attention is drawn back toward her reading. When Hope doesn't object, Josie let's her head move from Hope's shoulder to her chest, getting comfortable in their close proximity, as her body presses firmly into Hope's side. She thinks back to Hope's photo album, "You were a cute baby."
She can feel Hope's eyes turn downward to her in amusement, "I'm the Tribrid. I am not 'cute', Josette."
Josie chuckles lightly, "So sorry to offend you, but you are cute."
Hope shakes her head, "You aren't actually sorry, are you?"
"Nope." When Hope lets out a laugh, Josie can't help but smile widely.
After a moment of silence, Hope offers up her own question, "So you did look through the photo album, then?"
Josie absentmindedly runs her fingertips up and down along the smooth skin and toned muscles of Hope's arm, "Mhm," Josie hesitates before stating her observation, "...There's no photos from after your father passed."
Hope shakes her head, looking at the words on her page, but no longer reading them, "The last photo was taken at our last meal together, the night he sacrificed himself to save me."
Josie glances up at Hope, seeing a trace of guilt in her eyes.
Hope continues, setting her book down on her nightstand and turning her full attention to Josie, "I never thanked you for helping him save me, Jo. You saved my life on the night you and Lizzie siphoned the Hollow from me. You two gave me a second chance. I hate that I couldn't take full advantage of it. I feel like I wasted that second chance, by continuing to live a life of secrecy, trapped in a false reality."
Josie sits up in her spot, still pressed into Hope, turning her body to face Hope directly, "You didn't have a choice though. I can understand that much...Why do you carry so much guilt over things you've had no control over?"
Hope sighs, leaning back against the headboard once again, "Guilt is a compelling affliction. I've tried to turn my back on it, but then it only sneaks up behind me and eats me alive...I think some people struggle to understand their own guilt, unwilling or unable to recognize the role they play in creating it. Others run away from their guilt, diminishing their conscience until there's simply no conscience left at all. But somewhere along the way, I started facing my guilt head-on. I feed off of it at much as it eats away at me. I need it... For me, guilt is one of the few lanterns that still light my path. It pushes me everyday to try and be better than the day before, to make up for my mistakes, to be worth the sacrifices everyone has made for me to live."
"You are worth it, Hope. Your family adores you, everyone at the school looks up to you, and I—"
Hope looks deeply into Josie's eyes, not really knowing exactly where Josie stands since she knows her true identity. But there are some things Josie is still certain of, "Hope, I love you. And you are good. You have a heart of gold and so much love to pour into the world. Even after everything you've had to endure throughout your life, all of the dangers and losses you've suffered, you still continue to dedicate yourself to everyone else, living in secret so the people you love don't get hurt."
As a tear slips from Hope's eye, Josie reaches out to wipe it from her cheek, allowing her hand to rest there. They're enraptured in that moment until Hope slowly nods, "I love you too, Jo."
Josie smiles as she runs her fingers through the auburn hair framing Hope's face, the only thoughts running through her mind being about leaning in just a bit more to kiss Hope's perfectly shaped lips.
When Hope sees Josie's eyes dart down, it takes all of her own restraint to once again stop herself from completing the action Josie thinks of.
Instead, she clears her throat softly, looking over to the clock on her beside table, reading that the time is already 3:47 in the morning, "We should probably try to relax if you're gonna get any sleep tonight..." Hope looks back to Josie, who looks like she's about to completely disregard her words, so Hope moves to lay down on her back.
Josie takes the hint and reluctantly gives up her pursuit to violate the boundaries they'd set earlier in the night. But she sort of crosses the boundary still, as she chooses to lay with Hope on her side of the bed instead of the open side. She presses her front down onto Hope's, nuzzling into her neck, freely wrapping an arm around her waist, and entangling their legs. Surprisingly, Hope doesn't stop her, even running fingers soothingly through Josie's hair, resting her other hand on the back of Josie's thigh.
Josie has to fight the urge push her leg up further between Hope's legs, but somehow she's able to restrain herself from the action.
After just a short moment, she hears Hope sigh in content, before hesitantly whispering to Josie, "You should probably know that I'll be leaving town in a couple of days. I'm going back to New Orleans."
"What?" Josie's upper body shoots up quickly, but her legs continue to straddle Hope's thigh, "No you don't need to leave, Hope. I want you to stay. No matter if you're a Marshall or a Mikaelson, you still have a place here, and you belong here."
Josie's words are rambled, slightly panicked, and she's confused when Hope raises an eyebrow at her.
"...I meant for spring break, Jo."
Josie's mouth gapes, internally facepalming herself, "Oh."
Hope tries to conceal a laugh, as she explains her reason for leaving, "Bex asked me to be her maid of honor, so I'm going to New Orleans to help her with more wedding planning."
When Josie nods in understanding, Hope reaches out to take her hands, pulling her lightly to lay back down, "Come here."
Josie allows herself to fall back into her previous position with Hope. The only difference being that Josie doesn't stop herself from letting her hand rest underneath the material of Hope's shirt, fingertips brushing against the muscles there. She even leaves a quick peck on Hope's cheek before nuzzling into her neck.
And to Josie's surprise, Hope still doesn't object, most likely because it's Josie who is making the decision to test boundaries.
When Hope turns out the light and begins to run fingers through Josie's hair, resting her other hand once again on the back of Josie's thigh, Josie really tests how far Hope will let her go. She adjusts her lower body, causing Hope's hand to trail indecently high, resting partially against the lace of her underwear.
Josie notices Hope's breath hitch, her restraint wavering, and her fingertips press into Josie before relaxing again, but they don't move from their place.
Josie smiles at the minor success before closing her eyes and allowing herself to focus on Hope's fingers in her hair, the hand on her rear, and her own fingertips on Hope's abdominal muscles, trailing back and forth between dangerously low and indecently high, bordering Hope's most sensitive areas.
At some point, despite Josie's intentions to leave as soon as she felt at all tired, the combination of these feelings allows the both of them to drift off into a peaceful sleep together.
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Note: How are we feeling, y'all? Everyone good? Sending tons of love your way, and thank you again for reading! More to come soon!