Hope and Josie jump out of bed, with Hope putting on a t-shirt, some sweatpants, and shoes and Josie slipping into a coat and shoes before being practically dragged out of the house by a very excited Hope.
Josie can't help the laugh that tumbles from her lips as Hope opens her door for her, "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," Hope grins before closing the door behind her wife, then going to the driver's side to get in.
Josie's smile never fades, loving the spontaneity and Hope's excitement, "We're in our pajamas, Hope. It's nearly midnight." She feels like a little kid again, staying out past curfew and getting into trouble.
"I know, it's fun. Don't worry, I'll protect you from any monsters lurking around," Hope grins teasingly, lacing her fingers in Josie's before bringing Josie's hand to her lips and leaving a kiss to the back.
A blush dusts Josie's cheeks at the gesture, watching as Hope puts the car in drive and takes off towards their destination.
When they get close, Hope glances over toward Josie, "Close your eyes."
Josie raises an eyebrow at the Tribrid, but she complies, closing her eyes with a small smile playing at her lips. Her anticipation builds as the car eventually comes to a stop, "Hope, where are we?"
Hope rolls her eyes at her wife's impatience, "Just keep your eyes closed."
Hope turns off the engine and steps out of the car, making the brunette furrow her eyebrows in confusion, though she keeps her eyes shut, "Uh, Hope?...Hope?"
Suddenly she hears her own door open, along with Hope's voice near her ear as the Tribrid reaches over to unfasten her seatbelt, "I'm right here, love."
Josie can feel goosebumps rising across her skin at the proximity, her other 4 senses seemingly heightened with her sight eliminated. She feels Hope gently take her hands, guiding her out of the car.
Josie can hear the sound of gentle waves crashing rhythmically nearby, indicating that they are close to the shoreline.
Hope keeps her hand securly in Josie's, leading her a short distance on foot until the sounds of the waves grow a little bit louder. Josie can feel the cool night air against her face, and the scent of the sea fills her senses.
Until Hope suddenly stops her in her tracks, placing a hand on her waist from behind. "Okay, you can open your eyes now," Hope says with a hint of nervousness and excitement in her tone.
Josie does as instructed, and as her eyes flutter open, she finds herself standing at the edge of a fairly rocky shore, facing an old, abandoned lighthouse. The moon casts a soft glow on the weathered structure, giving it an almost mystical appearance.
Hope begins making her way toward the stairs, "Come on, the view's better from the top."
"What?" Josie's eyes widened, "We can't go up there!"
"Sure we can," Hope says dismissively.
"But, isn't that, like, trespassing or something?" Josie says worriedly.
Hope turns around to face her again, a small smile forming on her lips as she steps closer, her hand gently caressing Josie's cheek, "You trust me?"
Josie's eyes soften as she looks into Hope's ocean blue orbs, her worry easing away at the tenderness in her gaze. She nods, her voice filled with trust, "Always."
Hope's smile grows, and she leans in, pressing a gentle kiss to Josie's lips before pulling back, "Good."
With that, Hope swoops Josie up and into her arms, carrying her bridal-style towards the stairs.
The brunette lets out a gasp at the change, "Hope!"
"I never said it was a good idea to trust me," Hope teases, carrying Josie effortlessly up the worn stairs of the abandoned lighthouse.
Reaching the top, Hope carefully sets Josie down, watching Josie's wide smile turn into a look of awe as she looks out over the riggidy railing. The panoramic view of the coastline beneath the crescent moon is breathtaking. The rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below creates a soothing, gentle melody.
"This is incredible, Hope," Josie says, awe-struck.
"Yeah," Hope brings herself to sit, legs dangling over the edge as she takes in the familiar view, "It's peaceful up here." Josie walks over to join Hope, sitting with Hope's assistance. "I've only been here a few times since the crash," Hope says, a sudden vulnerability to her demeanor as she looks out at the shoreline. "It's the closest I can get to flying."
Josie looks over at Hope with a soft gaze, "You'll get there one day, Hope. Look at all the progress you've made so far." Hope nods, glancing down to her hand as Josie slips their fingers together. The brunette asks, curious, "Am I the first person you've brought up here?"
"No," Hope says simply, turning to see the offended look on Josie's face, making the auburnette chuckle lightly, "The first was Raf."
"Oh," Josie scolds herself for getting jealous over such a thing.
Hope grins knowingly before adding, "He only came up here to get me down."
Josie chuckles at that piece of information. "Well, I'm honored to be your second choice," she says half jokingly.
Hope shakes her head with a grin on her lips as she turns to face her wife, "You could never be second choice, Josie."
Josie searches Hope's expression, trying to find any indication that she's lying, but she doesn't find any. There's a sincerity to her tone and expression, and Josie can tell she means what she said. Josie can't help but blush at the words, her heart skipping a beat, especially with the way Hope looks at her now, as if she's the greatest person to ever live, the greatest thing she's ever known.
Josie tries to fight the urge to fall into that feeling, she really does. But, ultimately, she can't fight it. Not with Hope.
She glances downward at Hope's pair of inviting lips, and like a magnet, she's drawn in, leaning closer before their lips collide in a slow but searing kiss.
As the kiss intensifies, Josie feels that familiar heat ignite in her stomach, a tingling feeling traveling up her spine and reaching the ends of every nerve. She lets out a soft moan when she parts her lips, allowing Hope's tongue to collide with her own in a battle for dominance, which Josie submits to quickly.
Josie pulls away when air becomes a necessity, and when Hope opens her eyes, Josie could almost swear she sees a flicker of gold in her orbs. It goes as fast as it comes, but it's a reminder that Hope's trapped wolf wants out. With a newfound determination, Josie breathlessly utters, "Take me home?" She cups Hope's cheek before adding in a seductive whisper, "And take me to bed."
And just like that, that same fleck of gold returns, swimming in the sea of blue in Hope's irises before fading again, and with that, Hope gives her a nod. The auburnette stands to her feet before picking Josie up and carrying her down the stairs the same way they came up.
She gets Josie into the passenger side of the car before going over toward the driver's side and getting in herself. Hope drives them home with increased difficulty though, as Josie seems to have made a habit of leaning over the console to steal kisses and teasing touches.
"Babe," Hope grins as Josie places a kiss at the corner of her lips, "I'm never gonna get us home if you keep kissing me like that and touching me like—"
"Like this?" Josie whispers as her nails skate up Hope's thigh over her sweats, before going higher, beneath Hope's shirt and scratching her nails lightly across her abs, "Or like this?"
"We're being followed," Hope says abruptly as her eyes glance for about the hundredth time in the rearview mirror.
Josie furrows her eyebrows, sitting up suddenly, "What?"
"That car behind us," Hope tells her, and Josie turns back to look, "It's been behind us since we left the lighthouse."
"They could just be going to the same area as us," Josie says.
But Hope shakes her head, "I've taken four right turns just to see if they would follow. They did."
Josie glances back again. The car is a safe distance away but still in sight. She doesn't know why anyone would want to follow them.
Except... "Alaric," Josie spits out the name like it's poison.
Hope glances in her direction with disbelief written in her expression, "You really think he'd follow us?"
"No," Josie rolls her eyes, "He'd get someone else to do his dirty work."
"How do you want me to handle this, love?"
Josie glances out her side view mirror, "Just keep driving home. I have an idea."
Hope is hesitant, but she does as Josie said anyway.
When they reach their cozy beach house a few short minutes later, Hope turns off the engine of the car before exiting and making her way over toward Josie's door, noticing the same car parked not too far away with the headlights turned off now.
She helps the brunette out and is about to escort her in the house, but Josie stops her by tugging lightly on their joined hands, "Wait."
She leans against the side of the car and wraps an arm around Hope's neck to pull her closer. Hope places her hands on Josie's hips naturally, and Josie pulls her in for a lingering kiss.
"We're being watched right?" Josie says in a hushed tone against Hope's lips, her fingertips running through Hope's auburn hair, adding suggestively, "So let's give them something to report back to Alaric."
To emphasize her point, she leaves another kiss to Hope's lips, which Hope returns as she utters, "You know, I'd rather not think about your father while I'm kissing you."
Josie chuckles softly, "Then think about this..." She brings their lips back together heatedly, tugging Hope's bottom lip between her teeth before kissing her again, and dragging one hand from Hope's hair, down her chest, her stomach, and scratching at the waistband of her sweatpants.
And that's all the teasing Hope thinks she can take tonight. She groans lowly before hoisting Josie up by her rear, pinning her back against the car as Josie's legs wrap securely around her hips.
Josie moans into the kiss, using her legs to pull Hope impossibly closer. The Tribrid releases a near-growl at the added pressure between her hips, igniting a fire of arousal and excitement in the pit of Josie's stomach.
Josie thinks the person in the car has gotten enough of the show by now, so she separates their lips breathlessly. "I don't think—fuck," a helpless moan tumbles from her lips as Hope tugs on her hair to tilt her head to the side, giving herself enough room to attach her lips to Josie's neck. Josie places a hand to Hope's chest, making Hope lean away just enough to bring their gaze together, both breathless and worked up. Josie takes her lip between her teeth briefly before whispering seductively, "I don't think they need to see what happens next..."
Hope's eyes flash that same gold, and in an instant, her lips are attacking Josie's once again, turning to carry her up the porch steps and to their front door, surprisingly getting the key in the door fairly easily despite her current distractions.
When they get inside, Hope tosses her keys to the table before pinning her wife against the door. When Josie breaks away for air, Hope uses that as an opportunity to move her kisses along Josie's jaw and down her neck. It all happens so quickly.
And before they know it, "Are you two seriously about to have sex at 2 o'clock in the morning?"
Josie practically jumps out of her skin, and if it weren't for Hope's hold on her she probably would've fallen to the floor.
Hope only deflates, letting out an audible, frustrated sigh as she releases Josie and runs a hand through her hair, "Yes, we were, but something tells me now that isn't gonna happen."
"Lizzie! What the hell?!" Josie says breathlessly still, from their kissing and from being scared half to death.
Lizzie shrugs from her place next to MG on the couch, "We came home earlier to see if you wanted to watch a movie with us, but then you were both MIA."
"You want us to watch a movie at 2 o'clock in the morning?" Josie says in disbelief. But Lizzie nods in confirmation.
Josie looks to Hope, silently asking if they should. Hope knows Josie loves spending time with Lizzie, and they haven't really had the chance to do anything together recently.
So, Hope lets out a small sigh, "Fine. But I'm gonna need to take 5 first."
While Lizzie and Josie furrow their eyebrows in confusion, MG nods knowingly. "You gonna go...?," he makes a gesture with his hand near his lap.
"Yep," Hope replies as she's already heading towards their bathroom.
"Put up a privacy spell! I don't want to hear any of that," Lizzie yells after her.
"Already on it!"
Josie watches Hope's retreating figure, feeling bad about Hope having to relieve herself.
Josie decides she should probably change her underwear too before they lay down to watch a movie, "I'll be right back."
Lizzie surprisingly doesn't say any sarcastic remarks, so Josie makes her way into the bedroom, going toward her dresser to pick out new panties. She pauses when she looks at the backside of the closed bathroom door. She walks over, contemplating a thought as she puts her fist up to knock, but then she retracts her hand. She figures they may get interrupted again if she were to join Hope, so she opts to quickly change and make her way back to the living room, getting comfortable on the smaller couch with a warm blanket wrapped around her.
As promised, Hope joins them all in the room a few minutes later, the only evidence of her time in private being the light dust of pink on her cheeks. The Tribrid picks Josie up effortlessly, laying down on the couch and laying Josie on top of her.
Josie gives her a sweet kiss on the cheek before whispering, "I'll make it up to you, I promise."
Hope turns her head to look at her, brushing a strand of hair out of the way, "I'm not mad, love. But if you want to make it up to me, I'm definitely not gonna say no," she smirks suggestively, making Josie blush under her gaze.
Josie whispers sincerely, "Thank you for tonight. It really was perfect."
Hope nods in agreement, but that soon turns into a playful eye roll when Lizzie interrupts again, "Shh, the movie's starting."
Josie hardly even hears her, too caught up in Hope at the moment, just looking into the eyes that have begun to feel like home to her. Josie feels something shift within herself at that moment. She doesn't know exactly what it is, but she doesn't want it to stop. She leans in, gently capturing Hope's lips in her own. It's brief, but it carries so much weight and emotion. Even Hope can feel it.
Even Lizzie and MG can feel it, as the two share a knowing glance.
They're in love.