recklessthings | ☾ hope mikaelson

There's about five minutes in the morning, between starting to come out of sleep and waking up fully and having the weight of the world crash down on her where Hope likes to linger as long as she can. It's not a delusion that her life is perfect - it's been long enough now that her parents are still dead and she still continues to make a bigger and bigger mess of her life. But for a moment, the rest of the world isn't lying in wait, setting her up for her next bit of Hope Mikaelson heroics.

Still, on this particular morning, as she's coming out of a somewhat-blissful night's sleep and starts to become aware of the world around her, she turns to find a familiar blond sitting at the foot of her bed. She then proceeds to jump ten feet in the air, before she closes her eyes and flops back against the bed.

"Oh, my God, Lizzie. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to wake up, duh."

Lizzie says it in a matter of fact tone, like it's not totally weird that she's been sitting here on Hope's bed, waiting for the other witch to wake up. But hey, she waited and she likes to think that's progress over demanding Hope wake up right away.

It is, in an odd way. It's not progress Hope is sure she's fond of, but it's progress all the same.

Hope grumbles as she flops back against the pillow, rubbing at her eyes as she tries to banish the remnants of sleep. She did not get a whole lot of it, but she also doubts that Lizzie's going to let her get anymore until she gets what she came for.

"I meant why are you here, waiting for me to wake up?"

"I need your help, duh."

Which is not exactly very forthcoming, is it.

"Josie's been....really down lately and I wanted to do something special for her. I need help with that."

"So you need me to bake."

That's usually the translation when Lizzie needs her help cheering up Josie, and Hope doesn't usually mind. She just wishes that Lizzie had waited until she was ready for the world, rather than forcing the issue.

"I think we might need to think bigger."

As much as baking has helped in the past...Lizzie isn't sure it's enough this time. And it's not like she's apologizing this time, she just wants her sister to feel better, and who better to brainstorm with than Hope?

"Why does that scare me."

Possibly because when it comes to Lizzie, something bigger doesn't always guarantee better. It can be dramatic and potentially include tons of glitter, but better? Debatable.

"Are you sure going big is a good idea?"

"Of course it is. It's what I would want."

Never mind that what Lizzie wants and what her sister might want are often two....very different things. She's still figuring that out, okay.

"That's funny. I thought this was an apology for Josie." Hope is not-so-subtly going to try and drive that point home. It might go over Lizzie's head, but she can at least say she tried to advocate for Josie's wishes.

"It is!" She protests...and then sighs. "Okay, so what would you suggest we do?"

Because this is a team effort whether you want it to be or not, Mikaelson.

Team effort is fine. She just wants to make sure it's a team effort that's effective, because the sooner peace is achieved in Twin Land, the more likely it is Hope won't have to wake up to more scenarios like this one.

For another couple weeks at least.

"First things first: what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!"

Lizzie's voice is a mixture of exasperation and frustration.

"I've just noticed...she's been more down lately. Is it so hard to believe I'd do something nice for my sister without ulterior motives?"

"Honestly? Sometimes."

She takes a deep breath, and tries to get herself back on Lizzie's side again. It's early, she's cranky, that's not Lizzie's fault.

It's kind of Lizzie's fault.

But that's not important. Lizzie is trying to turn over a new leaf, and Hope needs to recognize that she's trying. "Sorry. Let's start over. What did you have in mind for Josie? If I'm not baking, how big are we going?"

It is kinda Lizzie's fault, but at least she woke up Hope with good intentions?

For as much as that counts.

"I don't know. I know what I would want isn't the same as what she might want...but it's not like she just says what she wants. I just want to surprise her. Make her feel special, for once."

"It doesn't have to be a big dramatic spectacle. I do think baked goods isn't a bad place to start, though." She goes to swing her legs out of bed, stretching out the kinks of sleep as she heads towards her closet. "But maybe just ... let her take the lead for once. Whether that's picking the movie or deciding what you do. That's all she really wants."

"Well, I won't say no to some baking help." Since Hope is getting up, she assumes that means she's going to help. "It'd be easier if she just told me that." Lizzie has trouble sometimes....realizing when Josie secretly wants something different -- she's trying to be better at asking...but it's been a work in progress.

Hope sighs softly, before turning to face her. "It's not really a matter of her asking. Because sure, she could ask and you could let her have it and it would be nice. But sometimes ... she shouldn't have to ask. If you want to make her feel special, sometimes you should ask first."

She disappears behind the changing screen and starts swapping out of her pajamas. "It shows you're actually thinking about her."

"Right. I need to ask first."

And maybe that seems simple or straight forward -- but for Lizzie it wasn't. She struggled with this stuff, even now, so having someone put it out for her plainly helps. Hope doesn't tipetoe around her like other people sometimes too, and it's one of the things she likes about her.

"So first baked goods, then asking if there's anything else she wants or needs."

"Perfect. That sounds like a plan."

She emerges from the changing screen, dressed for a day in the kitchen, before facing her with a small smile.

"So what am I baking?"

"Cupcakes? I thought maybe we could decorate them. She enjoys that kinda stuff."

Make them all fun and decorative.

"Cupcakes it is. Do you want a mix of flavors or just one? I think we have enough here for straight vanilla, but if you want more than that we might have to make a store run."

She pauses as she considers. "Though we should probably do that anyway if you want toppings."

"A store run is definitely in order. I was thinking maybe we could get a little decorative with them, and that we'll need supplies for."

Plus, other flavors. Josie deserves more than vanilla.

"Okay. Let's do this."

And off they will go to the store, to return with piles of sweet, sugary goodness. When they return, Hope heads straight to the kitchen to get to work, parsing out the ingredients they need for the various flavors.

"If you start breaking up the chocolate and portioning out the other ingredients, I'll get started on mixing.

"Sounds good."

Honestly, Lizzie enjoys breaking apart the chocolate, there's something satisfying about the way it snaps and breaks. Like it's okay to break something for once.

"It goes in the double boiler, right?"

"Yep. But keep it on low so that it melts evenly and doesn't burn." Melting chocolate is tricky, but she has a feeling that Lizzie can handle it, provided she doesn't get impatient or distracted.

"Let me know if you need help."

"Stirring helps with it not burning, right?"

It seems simple enough....but patience is not always Lizzie's strong point, so it's anyone's guess how it'll actually go.

She nods. "And it'll help you be able to tell when everything's melted. If it seems like it's mostly melted, take it off the heat and just stir to keep it smooth."

"Seems simple enough."

And yet, she does get distracted, and almost burns the chocolate, only getting it off the burner just in time, stirring frantically, trying to smooth it out.

Hope's nose twitches when she smells the chocolate getting close, but by the time she turns around Lizzie's already taken care of it. She raises an eyebrow, before smirking slightly.

"You okay?"

Lizzie is a little huffy and worked up but she takes a deep breath before nodding.

"Totally. Everything is totally going as planned."

"Okay. I'm almost ready for that, let me just finish mixing a few more things."

She turns back to the mixer and finishes whipping the ingredients together, before looking back at Lizzie.

"Unless you want to switch jobs?"

"Maybe switching is a good idea."

She seems to be botching this part up, and it seems important.

Hope nods, before going to reach for the spoon from Lizzie, before nodding her towards the mixer sitting on the counter. "All you have to do is mix. Keep going until it looks super smooth."

"I think that I can manage." She makes her way to the mixer, looking at it for a moment. And then she turns it on....but way too high so some of the batter ends up spraying on her face and in her hair.

Hope can't help it. She laughs. She doubles over and turns away, so that she's not laughing directly in Lizzie's face, but that doesn't change the fact that the other witch can probably still hear her.

"I'm sorry," she manages to gasp as she recovers. "I'm sorry but your face was priceless."

☾ hope mikaelson | legacies

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