Chapter Text
The story of soulmates was as old as time.
They were nothing more than bedtime stories told to wide-eyed children. The western countries had their beliefs, and other countries had theirs. They intersected at times, but each held their own views. The two stories, know primarily in the states, belonged in a more religious category.
The Christian story begins with Adam and Eve and ends in a spiteful god condemning them to walk the earth apart, in search of the other. But while this god was an angry god, he was also a forgiving one. He sent them in opposite directions, tearing the memories of the other from their minds, but not before bestowing them with words embedded into their skin. He told them the next time they met, they'd know they had found each other by the words written on them.
The Greek story begins with humans born with two faces, four arms, four legs, and ends with a spiteful god, Zeus, condemning them to walk the earth apart, in search of the other. See, Zeus saw how powerful the humans had become, so he split them into two, and in doing so, granted them the possibility of finding the other. He gave them words, tattooed into their skin. He told them they would know they had found their other half from their first words to each other.
Josie called bullshit on both stories.
But that isn't to say that she didn't believe in some omniscient being creating soulmates, because she did, in some manner.
There were only stories, no evidence, and as an aspiring scientist, Josie wanted evidence, but alas, she was stuck making her best hypothesis of the creation of soulmates.
She figured some witch cursed ― yes, cursed ― people with the words of someone they would bond quickly with.
Of course, that didn't explain the biological connection shared by soulmates that had been studied by actual scientists since the beginning of life itself.
Perhaps it was not the most opportune time to think of soulmates while tucked into Hope's shoulder as the redhead let out little puffs of air as she slept.
Josie did not know why she was Hope's soulmate. She didn't understand why fate paired her with someone so unattainable, but the beating of Josie's heart in sync with Hope's, the siphon's clammy hands, and the twisty, floaty feeling in her stomach every time she was in the tribrid's presence was a well researched and diagnosable feeling that she did know.
Love.
(Or, maybe more appropriately: love?
Maybe she didn't know.
She'd never been in love. She didn't know how she was supposed to know.)
It felt too soon, and did she really know Hope well enough to be in love with her? Josie felt something pretty akin to the four-letter word. Maybe it was just a heavy dose of infatuation, maybe she was confusing love with wanting, but she felt something much more profound than any surface-level emotion.
Josie knew the feeling was connected to Hope being her soulmate. Her heartbeat matched Hope's. That wasn't a random occurrence. Josie didn't have the vocabulary to explain her feelings, but her heart seemed to be revealing a lot.
She didn't have any past relationships to compare the feeling to, but she had always surmised that she'd know she was love when she felt like melting into the other person.
And honestly? That's all Josie really wanted to do. Melt into Hope's arms and be held and told she was loved. Hope was warm and steady and dependable and she smelled of oak and honey and spices and herbs and Josie just wanted―
"Hey," a scratchy voice interrupted her thoughts. "What time is it?" Hope asked, squinting her eyes open as she adjusted to the light.
Josie moved away from Hope and to the edge of the bed, kicking herself for snuggling into her to begin with. She was supposed to be distancing herself from the redhead, and sleeping in the same bed together was two steps backward. Why did she keep doing this to herself?
"You have twenty minutes before your training session," Josie replied softly after glancing at the time on her phone.
Hope groaned, her arm shifting to cover her eyes. "Fuck."
Fuck indeed, Josie thought. The husky voice and the vast expanse of skin that was on display from the tribrid's shirt rising were not helping Josie's decision to put some boundaries in place. In fact, they almost convinced her to drop the whole 'we're only ever going to be friends' thought process.
But as Josie set her phone back down, her eyes fell on her own wrist, and she knew it wouldn't be fair to herself, or Hope, to allow their friendship boundaries to become so muddled. She needed to go back to sleeping in her own room. Or at least stop pressing herself against Hope every chance she found herself even remotely in the other girl's presence.
Josie decided she would make amends with Lizzie, not just to sleep in her own room, but because it was the right thing to do, regardless of how she felt about their fight.
"I'll be done around noon if you want to do a study lunch date? We can go over some of the basics of worldless magic," Hope suggested as she slid past Josie and began getting clothes out of her dresser.
She tried not to think of Hope's word choice. Date. That was something people said all the time. No need to read into it, right?
"Okay, um, I'm gonna go while you," Josie cleared her throat as Hope pulled her shirt off, unaware of Josie's eyes on her, "get ready."
Hope turned, a puzzled expression on her face. Josie had seen her naked after she shifted from her wolf form, so Hope didn't think it was a big deal for Josie to see her in a bra. Rather than have an uncomfortable conversation, the tribrid just shrugged, a small smile on her face as she watched Josie drag her eyes away.
"Okay, bye." Josie bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to distract herself from the heat spreading across her cheeks in the form of a blush.
"See you at twelve," Hope called out as Josie gave her an awkward half-wave before leaving, the door closing behind her with a soft click.
Josie sighed, trying not to pout as she dragged herself to Lizzie's ― their ― room. She figured she better knock, considering she'd spent over a month sleeping in Hope's room.
Oh god.
Josie groaned, her forehead falling against the door as she realized how long she'd actually been staying with Hope. She couldn't believe it had been so long. It had started after Lizzie had stolen Hope's clothes and had become something more regular after Josie's explosive fight with the blonde. It'd been well over a month, and as Josie thought of trying to sleep alone in her bed, the pout she'd been suppressing found its way on her face. She huffed before pulling her head away from the door. She shuffled nervously before raising her hand and rapping against the door, hoping Lizzie would be in an approachable mood.
The door opened.
"Hey."
Lizzie frowned and crossed her arms.
"I came to apologize for the lab incident. It's overdue, but I think we both can recognize we've made major mistakes."
Lizzie remained silent.
Josie continued, "I know you don't like Hope and you're upset that I'm friends with her-"
"Are you though?" she broke her silence, her eyes flashing.
"Am I what?"
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Friends. Are your friends? Because from what I've seen and from what other students have been gossiping about, you're a little more than just friends."
Josie fought a blush. "We aren't dating, Lizzie. I don't think she even likes girls." She quickly added, "And it's not like we're soulmates or anything."
Lizzie eyed her for a few seconds before sighing and opening the door in invitation. Josie entered hesitantly, scanning the room for any changes. Surprisingly, her side had been left alone. Josie sat on the edge of her bed. She looked down and crossed her ankles as she picked at her nails.
Lizzie cleared her throat and sat next to her sister. "I was jealous. I guess I still am, but I'm working through it or whatever," she said, nervousness present in her inflection. "You took to her so quickly and I just didn't get it. I still don't because she literally is the reason dad never spent time with us-"
"She's not the reason, Lizzie. Dad is the reason. You need to stop blaming Hope for dad's choices. It's not her fault he doesn't want to be around us."
Lizzie glared at her. "What is that supposed to mean? Dad loves us."
"Sure, but he's never around. If he wanted to make things work, he would." Josie admitted. She frequently thought about Alaric's lack of presence in their lives. She figured it revolved around bio mom. Maybe they looked too much like Jo or maybe he didn't like the reminder of crazy uncle Kai. Whatever it was, Josie had long given up on getting her dad's attention and love.
Lizzie had not. Her efforts seemed to double now that they were at the school.
The blonde huffed, unwilling to accept Josie's words.
"Look, I know it's hard for you. It's hard for me too," Josie whispered, her hand seeking her sister's. "Hope is really thoughtful and she challenges me with my magic and with school and just being a well-rounded person. She's important to me. So are you. I don't want you two to be enemies."
Lizzie squeezed her sister's hand and glanced up, a look of understanding in her eyes. "I don't get it, I don't get her, but I can try to tolerate her."
Josie bit her lip and nodded, realizing this was the best outcome for the time being. She let go of her sister's hand and enveloped her in a hug, sighing in relief at the familiarity of Lizzie. The blonde hums before pulling away and grabbing her sister's hands. "Now that we're all good, I have to tell you about this boy," Lizzie went on to talk about some football player in her maths class.
(They were anything but good.
They both knew they needed to talk about what happened in the lab.
Yet Lizzie kept talking, and Josie stayed silent.)
Josie felt the secret of her soulmate grow as she remained listening. She'd never kept such a secret before. It was easier when the two were fighting, but here her sister was, spilling the tea about every little detail in her life. And Josie couldn't be honest about the one thing that occupied most of her thoughts.
She smiled through the conversation, nodding her head at all the right moments. She tried not to think of how she felt like she was betraying her sister.
(And maybe if she focused on herself, she would've realized how she was betraying herself by keeping such a secret.)
///
Josie's anxiety was reaching its tipping point. She had so much energy and thinking of being around Hope was killing her. She couldn't do it. She needed to cancel.
She found Hope sitting alone at a bench just outside of the school. Josie couldn't help but smile at the sight of the tribrid's puzzled expression as she did her homework.
Hope looked up, a bright smiling forming on her face as she saw Josie. "Hey, perfect timing. You're saving me from calculus."
Josie shook her head and sat across from her friend. "I actually came to let you know I don't think I can practice with you today."
Hope's face fell. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine. I just can't really concentrate today. Too much energy, I guess." Josie shrugged in an attempt to downplay her awkwardness.
"Oh. Well, I need a training buddy today. Sparing is the best ways to burn off energy. Well, maybe second, if you know what I mean," she said with a wink, and god Josie knew exactly what she meant, and fuck, she was too tongue-tied to respond.
"You're even dressed for it," Hope said with a smile, her eyes dragging over Josie's body.
"These leggings are a little too fancy for me to be rolling around on a mat," Josie stumbled over her words, trying to get out of spending time with Hope.
"I'll take it easy on you. Besides, I've seen you throw a pretty mean right hook. You're capable of handling your own."
Josie smiled at the compliment before remembering why she was talking to Hope to begin with. "I'm sorry, Hope. I'm just not feeling up for it."
The tribrid must not have been convinced. "You said you needed to burn off some energy. And, honestly, I could use the company." She regarded Josie for a second before she added, "You can say no. I just figured some time together might be nice. Just to get our minds off of everything."
Josie agreed before she could stop herself.
The next hour is excruciating for Josie because, of course, Hope has to correct Josie's stance at every move. This leads to Hope positioning herself behind Josie in order to help her with her posture. It doesn't help that Hope looked like sex on a freaking stick, with her hair pulled into a messy bun, a shirt cut low enough to show an obscene amount of her sports bra, and leggings that should be illegal for being so damn tight.
And sure, Josie shouldn't have been staring, but can you blame the girl?
"You seem distracted, Jo."
"Just a lot on my mind."
Hope frowned as her fingers gripped Josie's forearm in order to adjust her stance. "I hope you're not agonizing over the monster?"
Sure, let's go with that. "It's just a lot to work through. We don't need to talk about it."
Hope considered Josie for a moment before taking a step away. "Try that blocking technique again."
Josie did as she was told, trying not to think about Hope pinning her on the mat and staring down at her with her golden tinted eyes.
Alright so she totally thought about it. But at least she tried not to.