Last time on Blind Hope

Dorian gently placed Hope under the covers and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you in the morning, sweet." A tear ran down his cheek, and he went to the couch, curling uncomfortably. How much longer would he have to sleep on a couch? "I'm too big for this."

~~~~~~~~~~

Hope woke up to blackness. Like always, her breath caught in her throat, panicked. It was worse this morning. She felt empty. Sad. Scared. Hurt. The smells around her were familiar, but she had nothing to ground her. Normally, she would sleep with Vivian or her stuffed bear from when Bruce had been a good father. "Dory?" She could smell him. Why wasn't he with her? "Dory?" Her hands clutched the sheets, and she whimpered. "Dory?!"

Dorian leapt from the couch, tumbling over his own feet. "I'm here, sweet! I'm here!" He rushed to her bedside and pulled her to him. "Is something wrong? What's wrong!? Is it me? I didn't mean to make your ears bleed. I won't ever shout around you again." Hope giggled into his chest. She inclined her head and kissed whatever was available to her. It was his chin. Dorian relaxed.

"Good morning, mi amore." She pulled away, feeling much better. Red wasn't talking to her, but Hope knew she'd come around. Red had went too far, and until she apologized, Hope wasn't going to address her. No, Red would have to come to her first. Hope blushed suddenly realizing that nothing was under the shirt. She focused on Dorian, unknowingly staring intensely at his chin. "Did you change me?"

"Wh-what?"

"Did you like it?" Dorian's whole face turned red at the thought. Hope giggled, sensing his embarrassment. "I wish I could see you flush. I bet it be cute."

"Nothing about me is cute, sweet." He chuckled and helped her from the bed. "Cora, my sister, made sure your clothes were washed. Why don't we go shopping for new clothes?" Hope nodded and sighed. She hated going shopping. She couldn't see the clothes, and she had an intense fear of someone dressing her to look ridiculous. Not that she would know. "You don't like that?" Hope caught a bit of hurt in his voice and smiled up at him.

"I would love to do anything with you." Dorian's heart melted. This would be the best shopping trip ever. Of her life. Of his life. IT WOULD BE EPIC.

It was not epic. Hope's sense were overwhelmed by the mall. She now knows why Vivian had kept her away from crowded places. She missed Vivian intensely. The mind-link hadn't worked in a while. She assumed it was because Vivian and Blake had mated. Regardless, the mall was too much. But she could feel Dorian's excitement and played along. She went to all the stores. Tried all the clothes. Ate all the food. She had rejected several things based on feel, and soon Dorian walked into stores asking for cashmere and silk. They felt the best on her skin. Dorian purred a lot. She wasn't sure what that was about. And at the end of the shopping trip, she felt generally exhausted and had a major headache. But she kept smiling. Because this made Dorian happy, and that made Hope happy.

"Luna Queen!" Cora said happily when Hope and Dorian returned. "Do you remember me? I'm Cora, the sister." Hope nodded, not wanting to deal with people, but not wanting to be rude either.

"Yes, I recognize your smell." More people started to approach. They carried bags and introduced themselves. Dorian's aura was proud as a peacock so Hope ignored her general feelings of being overwhelmed. She smiled, nodded, took note of everyone, and let Dorian lead her back to their quarters.

"You are tired." It wasn't a question, so Hope simply smiled in apology. "It was a long day; I'm sure." Hope nodded and plopped down on the sofa, placing her arm over her eyes.

"The mall is... exhausting. I'm glad we're done." Dorian sat down beside her with a smile on his face. She had weathered and endured the day well. He was proud of her. Not once did her composure slip, but at the same time, it worried him.

"You know you can tell me if I'm overdoing it or if you need a break." He gently rubbed his hand down her face, mesmerized by the smooth, fair skin. "My sweet..."

"I know, mi amore. I know." Hope leaned into his touch, but jerked away when a loud vibration shook her. "Oh!" She yelped and looked around.

"Stupid phone." Dorian growled angrily, snapping into his phone, "What?!" He rolled his eyes. "Fine. How did you even get this number, woman!? It's private." He placed the phone next to Hope's ear, and she took it from him.

"Um, yes?" Excited whisper yells from the other end of the phone had Hope jerking to attention, her eyes shinning. "Vivian! Oh, it's so good to hear your voice! How has it been, Luna!?" Hope nodded along, listening carefully to Vivian spill the tea. "That's wonderful. Uh huh. Really? Oh, that's nice! HOW DARE HE. Do you want me to hit him!? Aw, that's so sweet..." Dorian slumped down on the couch, muttering.

"Coulda had a moment there."

"Oh, I'm fine, Viv. Nothing terribly newsworthy happened." Hope was lying. It was painstakingly obvious. She was a horrible liar. "No, really. Everything's fine. But get this, Dorian turned down my advances." Vivian burst into laughter on the other end of the phone. Dorian turned his head away from Hope, hearing the laughter.

"How was I suppose to know she was serious?" His whole face was red. "It was her wolf. I didn't know. I didn't want to cross a line. It's not fair. So datgum sexy..."

"There's no reason for you to come out here now, Viv. I'm fine, really. Besides, we'll see each other in a couple weeks. No, I can't say why. Just check the mail, okay?" Vivian and Hope talked for a few more minutes before Hope handed the phone back to Dorian. Vivian was still on the other side, laughing. Dorian hung up without bothering to speak to her.

"I don't like Vivian." Hope giggled, lying down, placing her hand on his lap.

"She grows on people."

"Like a fungi. Not always good." Hope sighed, as Dorian began to gently stroke her hair.

"Give her a chance, mi amore. She's practically my sister." Dorian snorted, but didn't say anything. He was simply jealous of Vivian. She knew Hope like the back of her hand and had even been in the same bed. Dorian's eyes widened.

"Will I have to sleep on the couch again?" Hope sat up in confusion.

"I never made you sleep on the couch to start with." Dorian gasped and turned red. How was he failing so badly at this?