You Called, I Answered (Salvatore Shield)

1.14 | Clarity

The door opens to the hotel room as Josie sits on the couch, leg bouncing anxiously, hands together almost as if praying for some sort of relief, and eyes threatening to overflow with tears.

She still remains in her attire from the club.
Dress, heels, jewelry, and even the knife and thigh holster.

She couldn't bring herself to even prepare for bed with the stress of Hope being out on a spontaneous solo field mission and with herself being completely in the dark about it all.

Her movements pause as her head turns toward the noise, finally laying her eyes upon the person she'd been thinking about all night, ever since she was dragged away from the club, dragged away from Hope.

And there she stands, still in her suit and heels (which Josie wonders how the hell she was able to tolerate for so long), hair more tussled than before, a barely noticeable scratch across her cheek has almost completely healed, a weary look in her eyes, two glasses in one hand, and a bottle in the other as she kicks the door lightly to shut it behind her.

Hope's shoulders sink a little, relaxing a bit more now after a long night.

And in lieu of addressing the events of the night and the clear tension in the air, she simply sighs and says, "You never got to finish your drink."

Josie's lips part, but she can't force any words to come out, as Hope approaches.

She sets the glasses on the table before making an effort to take off her coat and unbuttoning another button on her shirt.

Then she sits beside Josie on the couch.

As nonchalant as ever.

Josie is nearly dumbfounded, so many conflicting emotions all at once.

There's obvious relief.
But there's also anger, betrayal, sadness, and disappointment.

And it pisses her off that Hope still looks incredibly attractive.

It's entirely distracting.

Hope opens up the bottle of wine and pours them each a glass.

And Josie thinks it's absurd, the simplicity of the entire interaction.

Does Hope really think Josie can just brush over the night's events?
How Hope has purposefully left her in the dark?
Left her scared to death of what could've happened to Hope in that facility?
The fact that Hope completely disregarded her pleas for them to just return to the safety of their hotel room, together?

When Hope sets the bottle down on the tabletop and picks up their glasses, handing one over to Josie, the brunette accepts it, but she lets out a small humorless scoff and shakes her head slightly.

Before Hope gets the chance to say another word, to share a toast or cheers of any sort, Josie takes her glass, eyeing the auburnette over the rim with slightly narrowed eyes as she downs the drink.

Then she takes her empty glass and sets it back on the tabletop with a small thud before standing to her feet and walking away, over to the nightstand.

Hope can only let out a small sigh, knowing she fucked up, knowing she hurt Josie.

"Josie..."

Josie doesn't turn to face her, she only begins to take her earrings out, tossing them onto the nightstand.

Without turning back around, she recalls their conversation earlier, "You said you'd be by my side the entire night... And yet, for the past 4 hours, I've been sitting here, wondering if you'd make it back here safely, wondering if something might've happened to you out there at the facility..."

"Jo—"

"And I begged you to just come back here, be with me...and instead you went completely rogue, shut off your comms, and you put yourself in unimaginable danger, all for some strangers—"

Hope softly interjects, "They needed me—"

"So do we, Hope!" Josie finally turns around to face the Tribrid, still teary-eyed.
And they both know, what she means to say is 'so do I.'

Hope pauses, her gaze softening further, her voice remains gentle, "We knew the risks when we agreed to the Shield Initiative, Jo..."

Josie shakes her head.

She's not willing to accept that, at any moment, Hope could just nonchalantly put her life on the line for everyone, even complete strangers.

And she knows how selfish that may be, but she can't help it.

Hope continues, "You knew my mission when you decided to join me—"

"Then let me go with you to the facility! You don't have to get Roman to drag me away to safety at the first sign of danger. Do you not trust me?"

Hope sighs softly, "That wasn't personal, Jo—"

Josie scoffs under her breath, "Wasn't personal..."

They've pretty much established that their entire relationship has become far more personal than professional.

That much is obvious.

And Hope knows that as well as Josie.

Hope's reasoning was personal because she cares about Josie.

Hope cautions the brunette gently, "This isn't the right business to be making friends, Josie—"

"I don't want to be your friend, Hope!"
She wants to be far more than that, but she can't exactly admit that right now.
"...We're supposed to be partners in this, at least for tonight..."

"Your safety is my number one priority—"

"And what about your safety? Did you completely disregard that? When you were engaging in conversation with a potential threat, encountering a demigod and federal agents, alone, putting a huge fucking target on your back—"

Hope's tone grows slightly more argumentative,
"I was careful—"

Josie shakes her head, "You're going to get yourself killed, Hope!"

"Then let me die!"

The direction of the conversation put Hope back into a headspace she had long parted with, since before her father sacrificed himself for her, when she would've done anything for a moment with him and the rest of her family, despite the risks, just as she'd do anything to protect Josie and the entirety of the human and supernatural races, despite the risks.

Josie's gaze softens, and she begins to argue,
"Hope—"

But Hope interrupts, "No Josie, if I die, I come back to life. But if you get hurt..."

That fear of loss. The fear of it being at all her fault.
The incessant need for Hope to save everyone...

Josie sees it so clearly now.

Hope sighs, lowering her head and voice, "I just want to protect you."

Josie's entire demeanor shifts, much more gentle and understanding now.

And Hope's response is all the clarity she needs.

This is personal.

She makes her way over to the couch, taking her seat by Hope once again.

Josie challenges much more calmly and tenderly, "What if I need more than your protection, Hope?"

Hope finally looks to her side to meet Josie's gaze, finding that clarity in her eyes.

Josie needs more than protection.
She needs assurance that Hope is safe.
She needs open communication and trust.
She needs a partnership.
She needs Hope.

Josie's voice is nearly a whisper as she admits,
"What if, right now...I need all of you?"

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To be continued... ;)

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