can you blame me for wanting a little bit more?

Always and Forever

Hope wakes up to the feeling of a feather-like touch on her back. She can feel Josie tracing a pattern on her shoulder-blade, and the auburn haired girl immediately knows what got her girlfriend's attention. Hope opens her eyes, and they immediately fall on the clock on her nightstand.

9:00AM

The Mikaelson girl sighs, and the touch stops. Hope takes it as her cue to turn around and face her soulmate. When she does so, she's met with a sight that makes her smile fondly. Josie has a sheepish smile on, and her cheeks have a light pink color. The tribrid lazily wraps her arm around her girlfriend's waist and pulls her close. She doesn't hesitate to bury her face in Josie's neck to take her scent in. Feeling the brunette so close to her is calming, and her scent is almost driving Hope insane. They stay like this for a while, Hope holding Josie close, and Josie letting her fingers wander all over Hope's back. The tribrid pulls away first, but only because she wants to see Josie's face. When they're finally looking each other in the eyes, the Saltzman girl quickly leans in and leaves a kiss on Hope's nose, making her giggle.

"Hi, love." Hope finally says.

"Hi." Josie says, her voice coming out shyly.

"Do you like my birthmark?"

There's a teasing tone to Hope's voice, and added to her question, it makes Josie blush again.

"It got me curious."

Hope hums. "It means I'm from the Crescent Wolf Pack."

Josie smiles and nods. "It's beautiful."

Hope smiles back. "Thank you."

The tribrid lifts her hand and gently starts playing with her girlfriend's brown locks. Josie's hair is soft under Hope's touch, and the feeling makes both girls smile softly as they look into each other's eyes.

"So..." Hope says, her voice so quiet that Josie almost misses it.

"So?" The Saltzman girl tries to encourage Hope to keep talking.

The Mikaelson girl swallows the lump in her throat, and she breaks eye contact while doing so. When she looks back into her favorite brown eyes, she sees a little bit of worry in them, so she quickly decides to just say the words she's been dying to say.

"You remember." Hope blurts out, unable to hide the emotion in her voice.

Josie takes a moment to answer. She looks at Hope and sees just how affected her soulmate was by her loss of memories. The Saltzman girl thinks of what she finally remembered the night before as a warm feeling settles in her chest. As gently as she can, the brunette reaches for the tribrid's hand. Josie places their palms flat against each other, and when their eyes meet, she intertwines their fingers.

"Yes, I remember everything."

Hope's smile is almost blinding. She quickly leans in and leaves a peck on Josie's lips. The brunette giggles and leans in to get a proper kiss from her soulmate, but just as their lips are about to touch, there's a loud knock on the door. They jump apart from the sudden interruption. Then, Hope groans loudly and turns to lay on her back, not facing Josie anymore.

"Who is it?" Hope calls out.

"It's Lizzie." The blonde answers, her tone of voice betraying her annoyance. "Is my sister with you?"

The auburn haired girl looks at the brunette laying next to her. Josie's cheeks are pink, and she's tightly holding the sheets over her body. Hope can't help but smile fondly at the way her girlfriend seems to be shy all of a sudden.

"Yeah, she's here."

"Good, you have 15 minutes to join us in mom and dad's office."

"What?" Hope says. "Why?"