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AFTER THEIR DATE night, Hope decided that it was best to not live in the school anymore. Seeing as she was eighteen and about to graduate soon, and since Ryan doesn't go to the school, there was no point in staying there.
So, that is what led to the decision to move into the mansion that her father had made over ten years ago before she was even thought of. She hadn't known about the mansion until Alaric had mentioned it, and she knew it was a sign.
Walking into the mansion, her mouth fell agape and she felt her heart clench at the portraits that were up on the wall of her family, including her father. There was anything of her mother due to them not actually not being a couple or knowing each other that much until New Orleans.
"Is that your father?" Ryan asked as he stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as they stared up at Klaus' portrait. She didn't utter a word, only nodded. "You look almost exactly like him."
"I'm the perfect mixture of them both," she told him in a soft voice.
"You have his eyes," Malia stated as she carried in a bag of clothes that both Lizzie and Josie have gave her.
Hope smiled as she leaned back into Ryan's arms, glancing over at the brunette. "He would've loved you both."
Ryan grinned. "Are you sure?" He tilted his head down towards her and kissed her neck. "I don't think he would like me doing this to you." He started nibbling at her ear which had her giggling. "Or this." He spun her around and pulled her into a kiss.
"Ugh," Malia complained as she shook her head at the couple. "You're both disgustingly cute. It's disturbing."
Hope chuckled as she playfully slapped Ryan's chest and pulled back, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "Come on. Let's go get the rest of the stuff out of the car."
"You mean, all nine things of yours?" Malia teased and smirked as Hope turned to her with an unamused glare. "Hey. I'm not the one who told Alaric to burn all your belongings."
Hope shook her head and then held up a credit card with a grin. "I've never had to use this before, but..." She trialed off and turned to Ryan who was wearing some old clothes that Alaric had left over. "My boyfriend and I are in a dire need of new clothes." She then stuffed the card back in her back pocket and then grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "But first... I want to explore the mansion first. I want to see what my dad was like before he had me."
A FEW HOURS later, Hope was laying on a bed that she was going to share with Ryan. It was her father's old room which had a closet full of his stuff. She had a pile of sketch books in front of her that her father had left behind in the mansion which was full of sketches of Caroline Forbes amongst random people and animals.
She was currently in one of her dad's shirts that reached mid-thigh and Ryan was taking a shower. She looked around the room with tearful eyes, and it wasn't because it was once his room, his house, but because it smelt so much like him. From what she can remember, though. It only made her miss him even more.
"Hey," Ryan said as he came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, showing off his perfectly sculptured abs. "What's wrong?" He asked after seeing her beautiful eyes which were full of tears. "What happened?"
She smiled over at him and caresses a sketch of her father which he must've sketched while looking in the mirror. She sniffled and simply shook her head as he walked over and sat down beside her, and laid a hand over hers. "It's just that... this is the most i've been around things that have reminded me of my dad since he died." She then shook her head again. "I mean... the fact that I barely spent two years with him my whole life, it just sucks, that's all."
"What do you mean?" Ryan asked as he pulled her into him, neither of them caring that he was only in a towel.
Hope sniffled and laid her head on his chest. "My father did something which made him get taken, and my family was desiccated. For five years. I was seven when my mom found him and woke my aunts and uncles. And then the Hollow came and they all had to leave me or else it would start the end of the world. And then like eight years later, I kidnapped my own mother to bring my father home. Everything went down hill after that which resulted in my mother's and father's dead. And my uncle Elijah. Their deaths are on me and I will never forgive myself for that."
"Hey, hey," Ryan whispered and grabbed her face, and kissed away her tears. "You had every reason to do what you did. And, from what you have told me about them, they don't even blame you. You're mother told you to live your best life. You just need to exhale all the terrible stuff that has happened and let it help you with your future. Just continue to leave your life honoring them, and everything will be alright." He was staring into her eyes the whole time to make sure she got the point.
She sniffled and then pulled him into a hug. "Thank you for being there for me no matter what. You're the best thing to ever happen in my life. I'm so glad that I met you."
He grabbed her face and kissed her forehead. "I will always be here for you, and I will always be by your side. You're the best thing that has ever happened in my hundreds years of living, and I will not be letting you go any moment."
Hope couldn't think of anything else to say, so instead of speaking, she pulled him into a kiss. She laid onto her back, allowing him to crawl over her. She grinned up at him and yanked his towel off, and it landed on the floor with a slight thud.
