Heart To Heart

The rest of the ride to the lake house is uneventful, mostly because Hope falls asleep within a couple of minutes. Hope pulls her knees to her chest and pushes her head to the side until it presses snugly against Josie's neck, then follows the action by almost immediately snoring.

And then the world is Josie's.

Josie always tries to make sure she stays up longer than Hope. When Hope is unconscious, she presses against Josie without adding a comment about how totally straight she is. When Hope is snuggled up and silent like this, Josie can stare openly at the nearly perfect details on Hope's face (Hope has always had good bone structure). When Hope is sleeping, Josie can lace their fingers together with ease and let herself believe that they are something more than what they claim to be.

In short: Josie has gotten herself into some deep shit. Hope is one of those girls that drives Josie mad and continues to give Josie pangs of insanity for years. Literal years. When she had first gained a crush on Hope, she had barely been a teenager. It had faded, of course. Long enough for her to meet Penelope, fall in love with Penelope, and then fall out of love with Penelope.

Faded didn't mean it was gone. Her crush never really disappeared. There would always be the odd moment throughout the years (when Josie was single, of course) where she would shift a little closer to Hope or think about what it would be like to kiss her. If Hope had asked Josie out at any time in Josie's entire life, excluding the Penelope period and her toddler years, Josie would have said yes.

So, when their little arrangement starts, Josie's usually hidden feelings jump to the very front of her mind and take over her life. Her crush goes from dull and barely-there to suddenly being the thing she thinks about more than half of the time.

Josie drops her hand near her side and slides her fingers between Hope's, smiling softly to herself when Hope simply hums and holds Josie tighter. She's fucked and she knows it. Except, she doesn't really know it because Hope being so desperate that she has to bend her over in a gas station and Hope dragging her out late at night for a picnic by the lake and Hope holding her hand right now are all things that suggest that Josie might have a shot.

She can't get her hopes up, though. No pun intended.

The truck turns and they're heading up the long road that leads to the lake house all of sudden. It feels as if Josie has just time travelled or something with how fast they seemed to get there. She's kind of annoyed actually, because her living in her head for most of the ride prevented her from fully enjoying getting to hold Hope's hand.

She wants to stay in the back of the truck forever and play pretend. It's like when she was a child and she would play with these tiny toy dragons. Josie had been obsessed with them and every evening it was a struggle to drag her away from the toys, because she had this clear fantasy of them flying high in the sky with fire shooting from their mouths instead of gliding through the air in her room, led by younger Josie's chubby hand.

At some point, Josie had successfully cast a spell on the dragons that allowed them to breathe fire without melting the plastic. Of course, the fire could still burn other things and Alaric had confiscated the toys pretty quickly after Lizzie saw one and started screaming.

Josie wonders if that is what would happen with her and Hope. Maybe that's how this all ends, Josie will go too far at some point and someone will get burned and the universe will drag Hope away from her.

"We're here!" Lizzie announces from the front seat, loud enough to make Josie jolt and simultaneously wake Hope.

"Jesus, okay." Hope mutters, her voice laced with sleep and her face scrunched in an absolutely adorable way. "Now I know both the Saltzman twins are screamers."

Josie's blush reaches her forehead and her toes.

Hope yawns and stretches casually after that little comment, looking smug and cute from her nap and also somehow very hot. Where there is an adorable kitten (technically, wolf) yawn, there is also the blatant way Hope's breasts stretch out her clothing. It's all very distracting.

She's not even a little annoyed that Hope said that within earshot of Lizzie and MG.

Josie already spilled the beans to Lizzie back when this all started, because she needed to tell someone about all of her crush drama and the confusion and just… Hope. Then, she had told MG because he was usually around them and speaking in code about Hope in front of him got tiring quick. She's not sure if Hope told anyone else about their arrangement, but if she did Josie guesses that's fair, considering Josie already told two people.

"Oh my god. If you don't stop talking about Green Lantern, I'm going to punch you." Lizzie groans, shutting the car door behind her.

The thing is, none of her words hold any trace of their usual malice and she's smiling small, while her face is blocked by the vehicle. On the other side of the truck, MG is in a similar position, except his grin is large and not hidden. It's almost a fond situation.

"Hit me then, Saltzman." MG replies, thinking that he is safe with Lizzie on the other side of the truck. Lizzie shoots Josie a look and Josie leans over, smacking him on the arm immediately.

MG groans but the whole ordeal makes Hope laugh, so high-pitched and free that it almost sounds like a giggle. So yeah, hitting MG is worth it for Hope.

After that, they all get to work. By that, Josie means that she takes her own bag while Lizzie runs into the house with none of her stuff and Hope starts to actually unload the truck with help from MG. It's just easier to let the supernatural beings with super strength and speed take care of the bags. They pretty much move it all in a matter of minutes.

The house is two stories and relatively large. It's covered in different plants, from the bright grass on the lawn to the long vines growing up the sides of the building. Of course, the stretch of the lake in front of the house is the main thing that Josie looks at. It looks beautiful with the light hitting it. The sun shines and the lake shines back, making Josie squint - but that doesn't stop her from staring at the water, like an idiot.

It's just such a nice sight that it's calming, somehow. Josie hasn't even stepped into the house and she already doesn't want to leave, especially if Hope is going to be here.

About a half hour later, Lizzie leaves the house in a skimpy, bright yellow bikini with the intent of swimming in the lake. About a minute or two after that, MG joins her in his boardshorts with a few towels and some extra protective sunscreen. That leaves Hope and Josie alone.

Since there are only three bedrooms in the house, Hope and Josie are sharing one while Lizzie and MG both get their own. Maybe it would have been more sensible to have Josie and Lizzie room together since they are siblings, but no one is really complaining about the room arrangements.

Especially not Josie, who is currently splayed out on the bed like a lazy starfish. Her legs are parted in what probably seems like some sort of invitation - and maybe it is. She can never get tired of Hope touching her. Besides, she thinks Hope is thinking the same thing, based on the suggestive glance Josie receives from her when they hear the door shut behind MG downstairs.

Hope doesn't touch the bed, but she simply lingers near it, not really doing anything except tilting her head left and right for a bit. It takes Josie a second to realize that Hope is probably listening to her sister and MG in the water outside. She waits patiently (patiently but, not really, because her fingers are dancing across her waistband and she feels minutes away from giving Hope a show) for Hope to be done.

Eventually, Hope's knees hit the end of the mattress and her hands rest on either side of Josie's legs. She begins to climb up Josie's body this way, in a slow and sultry movement that seems borderline predatory. Josie sinks further into the pillows, feeling like prey and already getting a little wet from it.

"Are you sore from earlier?" Hope asks. She drops her head and nuzzles the side of her face into Josie's soft thigh for a moment before continuing her slow climb.

"N-no." Josie replies, stumbling over the word as Hope presses a gentle kiss to the top of her clothed mound. "Just a little sensitive."

Hope hums and simply keeps sliding up Josie's body at this deliberately incredibly slow pace. Josie drags her hand downward and presses her fingers against her slit through the shorts and the panties. Her knuckles brush against Hope's body every time she moves her fingers and that just makes it so much hotter. Hope looks down for a second, watching Josie play with herself through the material.

She looks back up eventually, having paused her climbing.

"I brought the strap-on." Hope says bluntly.

"Oh." Josie can't help but moan quietly at that, her hips rocking up so the whole back of her hand and wrist collides with Hope's body. Hope grinds down in response, driving Josie's fingers roughly down onto her slit.

Hope tilts her head, looking smug and so sexy above her. "Do you want me to go get it?"

Josie nods quicker than she'd like to admit and Hope grins, jumping off the bed once she gets done presses a chaste kiss to Josie's forehead. At first, Josie watches Hope scramble over to her suitcase and start unpacking to find it, but the position where she has to lift her head is uncomfortable so she returns to her initial starfish pose.

She waits long enough that she memorizes the dull pattern of the ceiling. It sounds like there's a bit of a struggle going on a few feet from the bed, but Josie doesn't budge to see what it is. Sometime soon, she feels some small fabric get thrown at her. Once she realizes it's Hope's underwear, Josie sits up on the bed and gets a good look at Hope.

And fuck, Hope has always been this insane mix of cute and gorgeous and hot, but this is a totally new level. Hope is standing there, completely naked except for the harness on her hips and the toy jutting from between her legs - and it looks so much bigger now that Hope is actually wearing it. Josie has to fight back the desperate whine that threatens to come up her throat at the sight of it.

"I've been thinking about fucking you the whole drive here." Hope admits, still standing by the bed but not getting on it.

Josie quirks an eyebrow up at her. "You were asleep."

"I dreamed about you." Hope shrugs, admitting it casually like it isn't some totally sexy, intimate thing.

Josie raises her hand and beckons Hope to her. She rarely gives orders. In fact, it's more of a request than a command, but Hope climbs onto the bed willingly. One second, all Josie sees is the alluring swing of Hope's full breasts, followed by the striking blue in Hope's eyes, and then finally Josie sees comforting black as Hope kisses her.

It feels amazing and different and new and somehow familiar at the same time. This is something they've done a hundred times before, but this time the joining of their lips is more like a claim than a desperate press of mouths between two teenagers. Hope's tongue is strong and sure as it touches Josie's, and Josie fucking loves it. Hope makes her dizzy in the best possible ways.

She feels Hope's hands slide down her body and bunch up the fabric of her shirt. Josie gasps into the kiss when Hope grips it and then rips it so the fabric splits down the middle, leaving Josie's body exposed.

"Sorry." Hope says, not sounding apologetic at all. "We have limited time, right?"

"Right." Josie confirms, but even as she says this, she knows that it wouldn't matter if they had the rest of their lives to fuck. Either way, that was still one of the hottest actions ever.

They keep on kissing. Josie can't help but hold Hope's breasts in her unworthy hands and start to play with them - they're kind of perfect, not that she's going to tell Hope that. They spill out like a bowl filled with too much cream around Josie's hands, and the pale to tan contrast of their skin always makes them look even more beautiful. Not that Josie can see any of that right now, because she's leaning up and is busying herself with kissing Hope back.

Hope is touching her too, touching everywhere she can get like they've never done this before and Hope hasn't already memorized Josie's body. Josie isn't complaining. She moans when Hope's hands scratch along her sides, grins when Hope strips everything off her body, and arches up into Hope's skilled fingers when Hope starts to play with her nipples.

Josie is sopping wet and trembling by the time Hope decides to lean forward a bit and press the tip to Josie's entrance, holding it there.

"Fuck." Josie breathes, looking down at it. "It's really big."

"Mhm." Hope hums, the tiny smile returning to her face as she grips the base of it and drags the tip along Josie's slit, coming up to tease her clit relentlessly.

That whine that had been building in Josie's throat for a while comes now, escaping her mouth in a high-pitched, needy way. Hope must love it, because her eyes flash gold before she drops her head to Josie's collarbone and starts to push into her.

It's a bit of a stretch, but not as much as it would be if Josie hadn't been touched earlier or a few minutes ago. Josie loves this moment - loves everything from the tiny ache between her thighs to the way she can actually look Hope in the eyes from this position, and she definitely doesn't mind how Hope leans up and holds Josie's legs open with her hands.

Hope's eyes never return back to their normal blue color, but they also don't reach the full goldish yellow they usually are. Josie notices Hope glancing around the room a little oddly, refusing to make eye contact and looking tense. Which is weird, because Hope's usual state during sex is this perfect mix of relaxed and dominant.

Josie drags her hand up Hope's arm and cups her jaw, catching her attention.

"Hey, baby." Josie breaths, reveling in the way Hope's eyes fall shut at the nickname like she simply can't help it. "You okay?"

"Yeah I- yeah, I am. Sorry." Hope says, nodding mostly to herself.

Josie thinks about it for a second before she figures out the problem and moves her hand to the nape of Hope's neck, anchoring her body down and heavier on top of her. "You can let go, you know that. It's okay. I want you to fuck me."

Hope literally growls at the words, and it comes low and predatory against Josie's skin. It makes Josie throb, clenching around the toy. Hope grabs Josie's hands in her own and places them above her head, pressing them into the mattress. Josie can finally look into Hope's eyes properly and it makes her understand.

She understands everything, somehow. She sees herself how Hope sees her. She sees the love and the need and every part of her understands that Hope is hers and she is Hope's, no exceptions.

Besides that rush of emotion, Josie can also feel Hope's shift in confidence when she pulls back a bit and then sinks into Josie all at once, starting to fuck her deep and hard the way Josie asked her to. Josie makes the loudest, dirtiest noise that she's ever made in her entire life while Hope keeps on snapping her hips forward.

Hope still has her hands trapped above her head, so all Josie can do is squirm and whimper and beg and moan - god, does she moan.

"Shh, sweetheart." Hope says, right up against her ear. The pet name only makes Josie louder. "Everyone's gonna know how needy you're being."

For whatever reason, that thought just makes Josie even more aroused - which is odd, because she thought she had hit peak arousal long ago. Josie finds herself grinding down to meet Hope's thrusts, trying to get as much of her as she can take. Hope definitely notices Josie's new enthusiasm, because she shifts around until she's holding both of Josie's wrists in one hand while her other hand snakes down to tease Josie's clit.

"Maybe you want them to hear? Want everyone to know you're mine?" Hope asks, pressing two of her fingers firmly up against the hard nub.

"Oh, fuck- Hope." Josie moans and gushes around the toy, her orgasm taking her by surprise.

'Oh fuck- Hope' is right, because Hope keeps on fucking her through the aftershocks and doesn't stop, even as Josie starts to claw at her back. Hope's eyes are perfect and golden and see nothing but Josie. Josie wraps her legs around Hope's waist and tugs her in close, wanting Hope pressed as close as she can get.

Hope hits a spot inside that makes Josie whine and dig her nails into Hope's back probably a little too hard. It feels so good, Josie's a mess. She swears she might cry. All she can focus on is the feeling of Hope against and in her. Hope keeps on pounding (no other word could describe it correctly) into her while she rubs Josie's clit with abandon.

"I'm yours, I'm yours, I'm yours." Josie repeats, over and over because that is suddenly the only thing that fills her mind.

Hope drops her head to Josie's collarbone again, as she's been doing quite a lot today, and then she opens her mouth and starts kissing the skin. It's just a rough press of tongue and teeth for a second - something Josie is totally used to - before Hope digs her teeth into the softest part she can find and fucking bites her.

That, surprisingly, makes Josie cum again. Maybe that shouldn't be a big shock, but it is to Josie. The real surprise here is that Hope cums right along with her, bucking forward into Josie and making these low, feral sounds that make Josie want to beg to be fucked for the rest of eternity.

Eventually they both still, so all that can be heard is the sound of their ragged breathing. As usual, Hope gets ahold of herself first and tries to sit up but Josie keeps on clinging to her, silently asking Hope to stay buried inside. Hope complies without question. She drops to her elbows and kisses over the bite mark repeatedly, every peck from her lips feeling like an unneeded apology.

Josie trails her hand up Hope's back to the short, curly hairs on the back of her neck and tangles her fingers in the strands. She massages Hope while she tries to get her breathing together and pulls her closer, so they're breast to breast, and hip to hip, and heart to heart.

"I love you." Josie says, while she's still breathless and crazy because she can't fucking help it.

A beat passes.

That's it. She's gone too far. Josie shuts her eyes, feeling her heart thud heavily - she's ready to be the one getting burned.

"I love you, too."