"Go home before you do something you can't come back from" Ryan warns her
"And what if I don't want to go home"
Ryan turns back to look at her "I don't believe that's the reason you don't want to go home" he replies
"Oh really? enlighten me then" she challenges
"You're scared" he says
Hope laughs "Scared? of what? I'm the tribrid nothing can hurt me and nothing scares me"
Ryan shakes his head "That's not true something does scare you. You're scared to let people in and you're scared to lose anyone else you love" he says
Hope rolls her eyes and scoffs "You don't know anything Ryan"
"Your just as screwed up as I am Hope. Do you remember when I said that to you at Christmas I meant it . You and I are so much alike, we think its easier not to feel or let anyone close that way you can't get hurt"
"I'm not in the mood to go through memory lane right now" she says bored but Ryan can tell he was stirring something in her.
Ryan chuckles and shakes his head before looking back at her "Speaking of memories do you want to know what my favorite memory is?"
"No not really, see you around Clarkey" she says as she turns around and begins to make her way back to the car
"It was the comfort spell" he suddenly replies and watches as she freezes and then turns around to face him.
"What?" she asks confused
He makes his way down the steps of the front porch and begins to make his way to her.
"The comfort spell you did when we were in the darkness" he continues "I shared with you my fear of my father and rather than make some smart remark you did that spell" he finishes and is now standing right in front of her
"Why are you telling me this?" she asks as if bored
"Because that is my favorite memory of you, here I was the evil agent Clarke the guy who you thought of as a villain was showing you weakness and rather than laugh or make fun you showed me compassion.
Hope stays silent but Ryan knows she is listening.
"In all my centuries of living no one has ever shown me that much kindness."
"That girl is dead" she simply replies
"I don't believe that I know somewhere inside that girl is there, the girl who wouldn't let her friends hurt me because she made me a promise, the girl who saved my life more than once, the girl who I..." he cuts himself off when he realized what he was about to say.
"girl who you what? she asks curiously
Ryan looks up at her "the girl who Im in love with "
Hope rolls her eyes "yea right"
"It's not a trick Hope, I'm not sure when it happened or how it happened but I fell in love with you Hope Mikaelson. You were unlike anyone I have ever met before you are powerful and vulnerable and you are the first person in my many years who actually made me feel alive. So believe me or not but it won't change the way I feel about you" he says as he closes the space between them. Hope sees no fear in his eyes and all she sees in his eyes is desire and passion.
Neither of them were sure who initiated the kiss but suddenly they both were involved in a heavy lip lock.
She is on her tiptoes to get her arms around his neck and keep him close
And suddenly just like that all those emotions that Hope held deep inside were unleashed. All the pain she was holding and the guilt but all those emotions were nothing compared to how loved and safe she felt in Ryan's arms.
She had no idea where these feelings came from. She had always seen Ryan as Landon's half brother who had done a lot of bad things to people including to Hope and her friends. But there was also a part of her that always felt she felt connected to Ryan. He was right when he said they were alike, they were both screwed up but together they simply fit. It felt like all their lives there was a piece of the puzzle missing but when they are together it's like they finally found it.
She's not sure how long it last but eventually they both release for air.
Hope had not realized she had been crying to she felt Ryan using his thumb to wipe them away
"Come on I'm not that bad a kisser" he teases
Through tears she lets out a half hearted laugh before breaking down in Ryan's arms
It all comes back to her
All the cruel things she did and said
She turned her back on her aunt Bex, the woman who risked her life to protect her as a baby and even as an adult continued to look out for her.
She remembers the look in her aunts face when she returns the necklace she gave her
And then there was Alaric
She feels sick just thinking about what she did to the man who was the closest thing she had to a father now.
"Shh, it okay Hope" Ryan says as he holds her and caresses her head as she continues to cry
"Ryan everyone is going to hate me"
"You're friends will never hate you Hope, they may be hurt and angry but with time they will forgive you" he tries to assure her.
"I can't face them Ryan" she tells him
"What if you didn't have to face them alone?'" he offers
"Are you offering to come with me?" she asks a bit hopeful "But what about your job, your life here"
"I'm pretty sure you took care of all that" he replies with a smirk
"Ryan I am so sorry for this whole day" she tells him feeling completely guilty for all the trouble she caused Ryan
"Don't be you were right this wasn't the life I wanted"
Hope looks at him confused "I thought you wanted a normal life, with a family and a perfect wife" she says the last word with a bit of annoyance.
Ryan smirks "I did but I realized today you were right I don't want to be Ryan but I also don't want to go back to being full agent Clarke but both are a part of who I am. I also can't run away from my past and I can't hide my past from the person I see myself having a future with."
"And would that person be Trudy?" she asks trying to sound casually but Ryan can hear the jealousy in' her voice.
He smirks "what do you think?" he asks as he leans in and kisses her passionately.
Hope breaks the kiss but keeps their foreheads together "Thank you for bringing me back"
"I'll always bring you back from the darkness just like you always will for me" Ryan assures her.
"I will, we will always be each other's light guiding us out of the darkness"
He leans down and kisses her again
When they break apart Hope looks up at him and sighs "I think it's time to face the music and head home"
Ryan caresses her cheek as he asks "are you ready?"
"I don't think I'll ever be ready but as long as you're with me I can handle anything" she gets on her tip toes and pecks his lips. "What do you say? One more road trip for old time sakes" she teases
Ryan laughs
"Not the last but the first of hopefully many,"
"I'd like that "
"Where you lead I follow, but this time I drive because you drive like a crazy person"
Hope giggles as she hands him the keys
He opens the passenger's seat for her and heads over to the driver's seat and starts the car.
For the first few minutes they drive in silence but Ryan suddenly looks over and grabs her hand and doesn't let go the rest of the way.