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It started out with a few whines in the floorboard. Hope didn’t think too much of it, after all, they did live in an old mansion. It was only after she finished her afternoon painting session and turned off her loud music when her ears perked up at the sound of something or someone trampling its way through their basement. Knowing that Freya and Keelin had taken Nik out for an afternoon picnic, the only possibility was that there was an intruder in the house.
Hope, being Hope, grabbed a knife from the kitchen island and slowly creeped her way down into the dark basement. As she reached the bottom step, the intruder knocked something over and caused her to freeze where she was. After a moment of recollection, she took a deep breath, flicked the light switch on, and jumped out of her hiding spot ready to confront the burglar. Instead of a person, what she was met with was a pair of guilty puppy eyes and a knocked over lamp. As her eyes scanned over the dog, it sprang towards her in bounding steps that were almost like jumps. Hope’s heart broke at how malnourished it looked with its ribs practically sticking out of its body. She precariously lowered herself to the ground and started petting the dog.
“What’s a little dog like you doing in such a big basement?” Hope murmured in astonishment.
The puppy whined as Hope wrapped a blanket around it and lifted it off the ground. After searching for the closest Vet clinic to their house, she grabbed her keys and set off with her newfound companion. She was a little heavy on the pedal from the fear that the puppy would pee in her car. She didn’t want to deal with the smell of dog piss for a week.
As they walked into the Vet clinic, she was greeted by a pair of familiar eyes.
“Hi, how may I- Hope?”
“Josie? I didn’t know you worked here,” Hope said.
Josie eyed the bundled dog in her arms and raised her eyebrows.
“And I didn’t know you had a dog,”
“I don’t have a dog,” Hope looked down at the puppy and smiled, “But I found this little rascal scurrying around my basement, and he looks kind of malnourished,”
After Josie squeezed them in for an appointment with the Vet, Hope quietly sat down in the waiting room with the puppy in her arms. The puppy looked at her expectantly and she couldn’t help but feel as if they were meant to be. She had been feeling rather lonely lately, maybe getting a dog would motivate her to go outside more. She didn’t have a chance to get lost in her thoughts as she felt Josie staring at her over the service counter.
She looked away shyly and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear self-consciously as Hope stared back at her.
Hope looked around the empty clinic before she looked up once again and opened her mouth.
“You haven’t answered my texts,”
“I’ve been busy,” Josie responded.
Hope observed the blush that made its way onto Josie’s cheeks. She thought about replying but was called into the back by the Veterinarian.
She watched as Dr. Castleman did a check-up on her still unnamed puppy. She informed Hope that he was mildly underweight and recommended some extra nutrients. Afterwards, she tested him for both heartworms and rabies. Hope felt relieved when both tests came back negative, she wasn’t sure how happy Freya would be if she had to pay for treatments.
After the Veterinarian informed her that they were all good to go, she sent Hope back to the front desk to make a micro-chipping appointment.
Hope was quiet as Josie typed on her computer. She rocked back and forth on her heels just trying to muster up the courage to say what was on the tip of her tongue. She was about to when Josie looked up at her and smiled shyly.
“My shift ended 5 minutes ago, do you want to get out of here?” Josie asked.
“Me?” Hope stammered.
“No, the other Hope Mikaelson who’s standing in this room,” Josie teased.
“Um, sure, do you want to come over and help me name him?” Hope gestured to the restless puppy in her arms.
The drive back home was filled with awkward silence. Her puppy had taken quite a liking to Josie as it nestled it’s way into her lap. Despite that, the tension still hung heavy in the air as Hope quietly pursed her lips and focused on the road.
It was Josie who broke the silence first.
“I’m really glad that we’re hanging out again Hope,” She smiled softly as she ran her fingers through the puppy’s fur.
Maybe it was the way Josie looked so soft sitting there with a puppy or the intoxicating effects of her smile but Hope found herself intertwining their fingers together over the console.
Josie doesn’t pull away and Hope's too afraid to look over to gage her reaction. The rest of the drive home was quiet and Hope tried her best not to think about how soft Josie’s hand felt against her own.
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They bounced names back and forth until eventually he curled up in Hope’s lap and fell asleep. That’s when Hope looked down, softly stroking his fur and smiled.
“Milo Mikaelson,” She muttered.
Josie smiled, “Milo it is,”
Hope gently set Milo down on her bed and looked at Josie, “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“As long as I get to pick,”
They ended up sprawled out on the floor for 30 minutes before Josie finally picked a movie. Hope groaned when she pulled up Princess Bride on the television and Josie rolled her eyes.
“Who knew Hope Mikaelson was this grumpy,”
“I’m not grumpy,” Hope grumbled, “I’m just sleepy, motherhood is hard,”
Josie looked at her softly for a moment before scooting towards Hope and grabbing a blanket.
“Come here then,” She said shyly and Hope found herself melting into Josie’s side a moment later.
“I’m sorry that I stood you up on our first date,” Hope said, her voice muffled by Josie’s shoulder.
Josie hummed and for a few moments Hope thought that she wasn’t going to reply.
“I was more angry at my dad for the utter disregard he had for your safety,”
“It wasn’t completely his fault, the safety of the school depended on us,”
Hope felt Josie’s hold on her tighten around her waist, “You can’t always play hero alone, I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt,”
Hope doesn’t reply, she just nuzzled further into Josie’s side and breathed in her warmth. She wasn’t even paying attention to the movie but she felt safe. She had always felt safe with Josie, even when they weren’t on the best terms. Josie was always a guiding force, the most selfless person that the young tribrid had ever met. And so she closed her eyes and basked in the safety that she had found.
That’s how Freya and Keelin found them. Wrapped up in a blanket with the end credits of the Princess Bride playing. Hope’s face is nuzzled into the crook of Josie’s neck and the young witch with her arms wrapped tightly around the waist of the tribrid.
Keeling smiled proudly at her niece while Freya called Alaric on the phone to ask if Josie could stay over. They had agreed that it was way too late for Hope to drive Josie back to their dorms and since it was the weekend Hope was staying at their house anyways. She found it ridiculous that Alaric never let the girls leave campus unless it was for work.
______
And when she woke up to the sound of familiar voices and the smell of food, Hope untangled herself from their cocoon of warmth and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
She gently shook Josie’s sleeping figure, “Josie, we fell asleep,” she said urgently.
Josie, in her disorientation, shook her head and burrowed her head into Hope’s lap. Hope looked down at the sleepy girl, wondering how long it’s been since she’s gotten a good night’s sleep with everything going on in the school.
Her eyes snapped up as Freya entered the living room with a smile on her face.
“Time for dinner girls, we made meatballs,”
At the mention of dinner Josie shot up almost hitting Hope’s jaw on the way up.
“Did you say it’s dinner time?” She frantically looked around for her phone, her dad was going to kill her.
Freya laughed and handed her the phone that had fallen onto the other side of the floor during their nap, “I already called your father he said that you could stay for the night,”
Hope watched in amusement as Josie’s shoulders visibly relaxed.
“You know I don’t know the extent of the situation over there, I just wished he asked our family for more help,” Freya admitted and Josie sighed.
“He only ever asks for Hope’s help and it makes me so frustrated,” She admitted, Hope looked over adoringly. She found Josie’s protectiveness very attractive.
Dinner goes by smoothly and Josie found herself reminiscing on how long it’s been since her family has had a normal dinner like this. Maybe it was the way that Freya and Keelin genuinely wanted to know more about her and how she was doing. Or the way that Hope was being so gentle with feeding Nik. Maybe even the way that Freya embraced Milo with her whole heart. But her heart felt more content then it had in months.
And when she falls asleep in Hope’s arms once again that night with Milo at their feet?
That was just the cherry on top.
She had nothing figured out, but this was enough for the moment.