can you blame me for wanting a little bit more?

Teddy bear

Hope is the first one to show up for their training session the day after the movie night. She's anxious to see Josie again, but at the same time she's dying to. Hope waits for Dr. Saltzman and Josie to show up, and when 10 minutes pass without them showing up, she starts to get worried. 

Just as she's about to leave the dock and go find them, Alaric joggs to her. 

"I'm sorry for making you wait Hope. I was with the twins."

"The twins? Is Josie okay?" Hope quickly asks.

Alaric smiles and shakes his head. "The twins are okay. Josie's just really exhausted. Physically, emotionally and psychologically. She asked us for space, so Lizzie and I decided that they're gonna room separately for a while."

Hope frowns. She can't help but think that it sounds nothing like Josie. At the same time, guilt slowly starts to eat up the tribrid. This is all her fault. She needs to do something and make this right. 

"Dr. Saltzman, would you mind if I skip this session?" Hope asks, already reaching for her bag.

Alaric sighs. "Hope, Josie wants space."

"Then she'll tell me herself." 

She walks away from him, not wasting any more time. Hope quickly stops by her room. There, she leaves her bag, but she doesn't take the time to change out of her training clothes. She does grab a little something for Josie though, she really hopes the younger girl will appreciate it. Then, she's out of her room and walking to Josie's room. She hesitates for around five or ten minutes before actually knocking on the door. For the first minute or two, she just stands in front of the door. Then she raises her fist, ready to knock, only to give up. She leans against the wall next to Josie's door, beating herself up and trying to gather the courage to actually knock on the door. 

She's about to actually go and knock when the door suddenly opens. Hope quickly hides her gift behind her back as Josie walks out of the door. The brunette stands frozen when she sees Hope leaning on the wall near her door.

"Josie…" Hope straightens up. "Hi."

"Hope, hi." Josie's voice sounds small. "W-What are you doing here?"

"You didn't come to our training session, and your dad told me… you asked for space." 

"Yeah." Josie pauses and closes the door of her room. "It counts for you too."

Hope's stops breathing for a second. The pain caused by Josie's words is sharp, unexpected. Hope's hold on the teddy bear tightens. 

"What's wrong? What did I do? I thought we were fine after the whole… me showing myself as a wolf."

Some students get out of a room and walk past them, leaving both girls tense. 

"I was heading to the kitchens, so…" Josie says as she tries walking by Hope.

Hope gently grabs Josie's wrist, keeping her from walking away.

"Please." The desperation in her own voice takes Hope by surprise.

Josie looks down at where Hope's hand is holding her wrist, and it slowly goes up, only to stop at Hope's collarbone. The tribrid frowns and her eyes follow Josie's, curious as to why the younger girl stopped there. Then she understands. She's still in her training tank top. Her soul mark is almost fully visible. 

"You're the one who always says that those marks mean something. You want me to believe it? Then don't push me away."

Josie's eyes lift to meet Hope's, and then it's as if time stops. Hope's hand moves from Josie's wrist and to her waist. For a moment, Josie wonders what exactly is happening. 

"I haven't seen yours. Would you show me?"

Hope doesn't even know what she's doing. The only thing she knows is she can't let her relationship with Josie go where it was about to go. And she needs to see Josie's mark. She needs to see the only thing that ties them together. Except those growing feelings she gets more and more often. 

Josie swallows with difficulty. "I'll show you… But I'm really hungry now."

"Okay. Tell me what you want and I'll get it for you."

"Hope, you don't need to do that. I can go to the kitchen myself."

"You need space, right? So stay in your room, and I'll get you some food." Hope suddenly thinks about the surprise she still has in her hand. "Here, I got this for you."

Josie smiles for the first time today. "You got me a teddy bear?"

"Uh, yeah. It's a long story, and I'll tell you later if you want. So, what do you wanna eat?"

Josie tells Hope what she'd like to eat, and then Hope is gone. It doesn't take her more than ten minutes to go to the kitchen, gather the food and come back to Josie's room. This time, Hope doesn't hesitate before knocking.

"Come in." Josie calls from inside the room.

Hope comes inside, sharing a smile with Josie as she comes in. She sets the food on Josie's desk, and the brunette comes to sit down to eat. 

"I hope I got everything you wanted." Hope nervously says.

"You got everything, and more." Josie says. "Sit down with me?"

Hope does just as Josie asks. The brunette doesn't waste any time to start eating. Hope silently watches her, trying to see if Josie is still feeling down.

"Tell me the story of the teddy bear."

"My mom used to get me a teddy bear whenever I was sick or hurt. One everytime she left me here after one of my visits home. I have tons of them in my New Orleans home, and some here too. The one I gave you is my favorite."

"Your favorite? You should keep it then."

"No. It's okay, I want you to have it."

Josie forces a smile and nods. "Why is it your favorite?"

"I got it on my first day here. It kept me company ever since."

"You won't have it to keep you company anymore if you give it to me."

"But I have you now. I don't need it as much as I used to." 

Josie avoids Hope's eyes. "Do you mean that? 'Cause I thought you didn't want me. I thought you didn't want anything to do with the soulmate thing."

"Josie… I'm sorry for what I said. I don't want to hurt you any more than I already did." Hope reaches for Josie's hand. "I want to try. I can't promise you anything. I want to at least be your friend, okay?"

"Having you as a friend is all I'm asking for." Josie says, tugging on Hope's hand to get her closer. "I'll never ask you for something else. Just to have you as someone that's close to me. I-I need you to be close to me."

Hope smiles a little smile, and then her mind shifts to something else.

"You said you'd show me your mark."

"Oh, yeah." 

Josie stands up, still holding Hope's hand in her's. She walks until they're both standing in the center of the room, and then she stops. Josie looks Hope in the eyes for a moment, and then her eyes drop. Slowly, she lifts her shirt, exposing her left hip to Hope. As soon as Hope's eyes catch sight of her name on Josie's skin, they turn gold. It's only for a second, but Josie catches it. Before the tribrid can stop herself, she raises a hand and lets her thumb touch the tattooed skin. 

"Hope…"

The Mikaelson girl gently places her hand on Josie's bare hip and brings her closer. She brings her other arm around Josie's waist, and the embrace feels right. The Saltzman girl shivers as she feels Hope's hand on her skin, and she has a hard time believing this is happening. Hope is holding her close, and it doesn't look like she's gonna let go soon. 

"No pushing each other away anymore, okay?" Hope says in Josie's ear, her voice shaking.

"Okay."