Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 103: Anniversary pt. 3

Those who cling to the past are condemned to relive it. But those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

When they arrive back home, the couple make their way inside, and Josie is immediately hit with the scent of a freshly cleaned home. The lights are lowly illuminating the main living area, showing just how spotless it is. "Wow."

Hope knows Josie likes cleaning, but she thought it might be nice for Josie to just be able to relax for once. "Don't worry, I did leave one thing for you to do," she picks up a single book from the table, holding it up for Josie to see, "I couldn't figure out where this goes."

Josie chuckles before stepping closer to take a look. She takes the book in her own hands, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, "How'd this get down here?" She says mostly to herself, before looking up at Hope, "It goes in the spare room. I'll take it." She walks past Hope, but stops in her tracks just a few steps away.

She turns around and approaches Hope from behind, caressing her bicep gently as she leans around to leave a sweet kiss to the Tribrid's cheek, whispering gratefully when she pulls away, "Thank you."

She never sees the soft smile on Hope's lips as she makes her way up the stairs toward the guest room.

But her eyes widen when she enters the guest room. Or, at least, what was the guest room.

It's been completely redesigned. There's two cribs, a baby changing station, a rocking chair, all new furniture, and beautiful neutral decorations. A nursery.

"Do you like it?" Josie suddenly hears Hope ask softly from the doorway. She hadn't even noticed Hope followed her upstairs.

Josie turns to face her, though her eyes can't help but continue to scan the room, her vision a bit blurred by welling tears in her eyes, "Did you do all of this?"

Hope shrugs nonchalantly, "I wanted to surprise you."

Josie is definitely surprised, "It's perfect, Hope." She can't seem to wipe the smile from her lips.

And neither can Hope as she finally shifts her weight from leaning on the doorway to enter the room with Josie, brushing back a few strands of hair framing Josie's face as she approaches, and letting her hand rest low on her cheek as she did before. "Happy anniversary, Jo."

Hope gently wipes away the single tear of happiness that streams down Josie's cheek, letting her thumb linger on the soft skin only millimeters from the corner of her lips, her eyes lingering on the natural pout of her full and inviting lips. And she finally caves to the desire she's had since she picked Josie up earlier, leaning in to finally capture Josie's lips in her own. She feels Josie leaning in as well, and their lips finally ghost each other, brushing like a feather.

But Josie suddenly lets out a gasp, leaning away when she remembers something, "Wait, hold that thought, I'll be right back." She's out of the room before Hope even gets the chance to respond, left standing alone. Until Josie returns a few moments later, with a wide, yet slightly nervous, smile on her lips as she bashfully approaches her fiancé again, holding something behind her back, "I got you something too."

Hope furrows her eyebrows as Josie pulls a wrapped gift from behind her back, handing it over.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Josie," Hope begins skeptically unwrapping the gift.

"I wanted to. I actually had this planned before the whole...accident," Josie explains, not knowing how this version of Hope, the one without memories from her childhood or their early relationship, would react to the gift. But it's significant to Josie, and she knows that it would've been significant to Hope too, had the accident not happened.