AN: Hey, guys :) Hopefully you're all still interested in road-trip fics, because uh, this is one lmao As the SUMMARY says, this is a sequel to the fic I posted last week: "I should go, it's getting late (But I'ma keep on dancing 'till I feel okay)" And much like with that one, this is basically an excuse to have Cheryl and Toni have a bunch of different conversations, but this time in a bunch of different places. I'm hesitant to call these vignettes because (a) idk how long each chapter will end up being & (b) there will be some plot at some point. ANYWAY. Hope you all enjoy xx

It takes them about 5 hours to get to New York City.

And despite being in what is probably the physical prime of her life, Cheryl is sore.

Fuck me, she thinks as they unload their saddle bags and head back above ground to the hotel.

She just barely catches Toni's smug grin as they begin to walk and she swears she would forcefully kiss it off her face if she wasn't so damn tired.

"I'm surprised," Toni begins to say when they're finally on the elevator up to their room. "I would have imagined the Blossoms would own a place here."

"We used to. But after the drug business, the building was seized."

"Building, huh?" Toni whistles in appreciation.

Cheryl just hums in response as she slouches against the shorter girl, tucking her head in the space between Toni's neck and shoulder. Toni chuckles.

"Don't say it," Cheryl whines.

"Wasn't going to," and although Cheryl has her eyes closed, she can still picture the shit-eating grin on her girlfriend's face.

It's sickening how much she doesn't mind it.

Regardless, as soon as the two walk in through the door, Cheryl drops her bags and makes a bee-line for the bed and collapses on it.

They spend the next two days in their room, watching movies, ordering room service, and allowing Cheryl to rest up.

Cheryl would be upset at such a basic start to their epic road trip if Toni didn't look so excited every time the food she ordered came up.

(Cheryl can tell that the other girl is trying to play it cool, but her eyes give her away. Oh how they shine, Cheryl thinks.)

(Cheryl's heart also aches at the simple things that Toni finds excitement in – things Cheryl had long held as givens rather that luxuries. Privilege. A word Cheryl has always been acquainted with, but one that holds a much deeper significance to her now – a fact that she's a little embarrassed to admit.)

(She's thankful Toni is nothing if not patient and forgiving.)

(She's also thankful that her fucking inheritance has cleared.)

It's the morning of their third day when things finally get going. Cheryl lays in their bed, her hair strewn across the pillows, as Toni stands over her on the bed, feet planted on either side of her body.

The camera's shutter a sound that Cheryl is becoming intimately familiar with.

"Beautiful," Toni whispers.

And Cheryl can't help but blush.

"Are you done 'taking advantage of the morning light' yet?" Cheryl says, teasing Toni's reasoning for pulling out her camera and capturing her.

"Just about," Toni replies as she takes one final picture.

She then promptly lowers herself to sit on Cheryl's hips, Cheryl moving to take a hold of her's.

(The intimacy of it all not lost on Cheryl, as she savors the moment for a beat.)

"So, I was thinking," Cheryl begins. "We could go to Times Square today and hang out, then come back and get ready for the show."

"You finally gonna tell me which play it is?" Toni asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Wicked. It's a musical from the perspective of –"

"The Wicked Witch of the West."

Cheryl raises an eyebrow at Toni's confident answer.

"What?" Toni asks. "I know my musicals."

"I'm just...a little surprised."

"Cheryl, I was literally in the school musical this year."

"Yes, but…" Cheryl trails off.

(And if her mind flashes briefly to Midge, to what went down, well Cheryl just ignores it.)

"But?"

"Well, not to sound too conceited, but I figured you just merely auditioned so that you would be able to spend more time with moi," Cheryl recovers.

Toni laughs and Cheryl can't help but smile at the sound.

"That was certainly a bonus. But I actually enjoy musical theatre, as shocking as it might sound. Me and Fangs used to make Sweets watch Grease with us all the damn time. It's the only one he liked. Well, that and West Side Story. Anyway, we almost broke Mamá's VCR with how much we would rewind it."

"That...actually makes a lot of sense," Cheryl concedes. "Let me guess, you were all T-Birds?"

"Hell yeah. Used to get into arguments about which one of us was Danny Zuko."

Cheryl laughs loudly at that. "Who would win?"

"Me, of course. Sweet Pea would be Kenickie."

"And Fangs?"

"Sandy."

Cheryl giggles at the image.

"Don't tell anybody, but we would also take turns being the Pink Ladies. Sweet Pea would be Rizzo, Fangs Marty, and me Frenchie."

"Of course. The pink hair."

"Of course."

"And here I mistook you for Cha-Cha."

At this Toni rolls her eyes, leans over Cheryl's body to set her camera on the nightstand, before capturing Cheryl's lips with her own.

They spend the afternoon walking around Times Square. They stop by the Red Steps, so that Toni can take pictures of Cheryl on them.

"You're going to run out of film," Cheryl softly reprimands. "And when you go to develop them, it'll all be pictures of me. Not that I'm not a worthy subject, but."

Toni just chuckles at her. "It's fine. I brought enough. And in any case, we can just stop and buy some more. Now let me look at you, baby."

Cheryl just shakes her head and poses for another picture.

"Come here," Cheryl then calls to her.

Toni dutifully walks over and sits next to her. Cheryl pulls out her phone and sets up the camera for them to take a selfie.

"You've got all these pictures of me that God only knows when you'll get to develop, but no pictures of us. How am I supposed to rub it in the faces of everyone back home if I don't post anything on social media?"

"'Cause that's the main purpose of this trip, huh?" Toni teases. "To let everyone know how good you've got it?"

"How good we've got it, T.T."

Toni just rolls her eyes and lets Cheryl take the picture. Just as Cheryl goes to take another, Toni presses a kiss to Cheryl's cheek. Cheryl looks over both pictures and feels herself get inexplicably emotional.

Something so silly as couples pictures in one of the most cliché spots in the world and yet…

(Perhaps Toni isn't the only one finding joy in the simple things.)

"Excuse me," Cheryl then hears Toni say to the couple sitting next to them. "Do you mind taking a picture of me & my girl?"

The couple happily obliges.

And as Cheryl stands with Toni's arm wrapped around her waist, Cheryl feels even more emotional at the thought that Toni is proud enough to have her on her arm to ask complete strangers to take pictures of them.

Toni thanks the couple as they hand her Cheryl's phone back and the two look over the picture. Cheryl's brows furrow and she tries hard not to let her complaints show on her face, but the picture is off-center and a little blurry and dear lord have these people never taken a photograph before? Cheryl thinks. Are they not embarrassed to shoot such a travesty in the presence of such a gifted artist as Toni?

Before Cheryl can even see if they can maybe find someone else to take a better picture, Toni softly speaks.

"It's perfect," she says. The softest look in her eyes.

Cheryl snaps her mouth shut.

She looks over the picture again before looking back to Toni.

A beat passes.

"Yeah, it is," Cheryl whispers.

She's seen the musical before.

It's a treasured memory from her childhood.

(One of only a few that exist, if she's honest.)

She remembers that her parents were out at a charity banquet and Nana Blossom had decided to take them to see the play. They weren't old enough to really understand everything, but she remembers feeling enraptured at the sights and sounds before her. Her love for the performing arts born right then and there.

(She remembers looking over to her right during intermission and seeing Jason staring straight at her. A soft smile on his face.

She remembers asking him if he liked it.

She remembers his answer like it was yesterday.

I like watching you like it.

Cheryl was a little confused at the sentiment, but somehow still knew that it was important.)

(And as she sees the look on Toni's face as the story unfolds on stage, she finally understands what Jason meant.)

Later that night, as they lay in bed watching some random movie, Toni begins to hum. It takes Cheryl a second to place which song Toni has stuck in her head. She laughs once she catches it.

"What?" Toni asks with a smile.

"Really? 'What Is This Feeling'?"

"Can you blame me? It's basically our story," Toni smirks.

"Is it now?" Cheryl asks arching an eyebrow.

Toni just playfully shrugs. "What was it? There's a strange exhilaration. In such total detestation."

"Hmm." Cheryl ponders. "Guess that makes you Glinda," she concludes.

"Uh, no. The pink is great and all, but I'm definitely the Elphaba between us two."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night babe," Cheryl smirks.

(And if inside Cheryl thinks about how much she identified with the character, well.)

(After losing JJ, her reputation was all she had. And Cheryl knew she had to live up to it. Even if that meant being the villain of the story.)

(At least being the villain meant that she mattered.)

Toni just rolls her eyes before she rolls herself on top of Cheryl.

"T.T.!" Cheryl laughs as she's squished, all thoughts of those gloomy times vanishing.

"Hush. Cuddle me."

Cheryl just giggles at her antics, before complying.

(Cheryl sometimes feels so silly at feeling so giddy at these acts of affection that Toni showers her in. She greedily takes them in and wonders if Toni realizes how much they mean to her.)

(A little while later, Toni begins to hum another song. Once Cheryl places it, her arms tighten around Toni.)

(Perhaps these moments mean just as much to Toni too, Cheryl considers.)

(She joins in on the humming.)

(Every moment
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And make up for lost time)

They head to see the Statue of Liberty the next day. Toni taking pictures on the ferry ride over.

As they stand by the base of it, Toni begins to recite the Statue's message.

From memory.

"Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door," she quotes.

Cheryl glances back up at the towering statue and swallows.

(Privilege.)

On their last day in the city, they head over to Coney Island.

Cheryl's never been.

"Seriously? Never?" Toni asks surprised.

"Have you?"

"Yeah. Once," Toni states pensively as the two walk around the boardwalk. They head over to the beach, taking off their shoes to walk in the sand. Cheryl lets Toni take her time in opening up.

"Sweet Pea's older brother, Beanstalk, brought us," she finally says.

"Beanstalk? Seriously?" Cheryl asks incredulously.

Toni just shrugs and laughs, "Yeah. You can just imagine how tall that guy was. Almost 7 feet, I swear. We used to joke he was both the giant and the beanstalk."

Cheryl giggles at that.

"Anyway, he brought us down here one day. It was...so out of the blue. I remember Sweet Pea just knocking on my uncle's trailer, all loud and excited. My uncle wasn't around, so I just went along with him. We, uh, got in Beanstalk's truck, me, Fangs & Sweets, and just drove and drove. I remember that he paid for everything. Like, everything. Food, rides, snacks, souvenirs. I had never seen anyone spend that much cash," Toni reminisces.

"What happened?" Cheryl asks softly, feeling there's more to the story.

"When we got back to Riverdale, Sheriff Keller was waiting for him. He was arrested. Apparently, the money had been stolen. He knew they were going to arrest him, so he wanted to give Sweet Pea the best goodbye possible."

"Where is he now?"

"Serving time in Shankshaw."

"When does he get out?"

Toni shakes her head softly, "Cheryl, guys like that don't get out. And even if they're released? They never do."

Cheryl stays quiet as they walk back over to the boardwalk to put their shoes back on. As they do, Cheryl can't help but ask, "Who did he steal from?"

Toni takes a deep breath, before answering.

"Your father."

Cheryl feels like she just took a punch to the gut. She tries, desperately, to not let it show on her face, but as soon as Toni takes a hold of her hand and the two lock eyes, Cheryl knows it's futile.

(Cheryl thinks back to her promise to do right by the Serpents.)

"I'm sorry," Cheryl says.

Toni gives her a ghost of a smile. "Come on, let's go hit the rides."

And if Toni holds on to her hand a little tighter as they walk around, Cheryl understands.

(Cheryl thinks back to those words from the Statue. Wonders about the meaning of atonement.)

(Wonders if Toni is still waiting for someone to lift their lamp up for the Serpents.)

They leave the Wonder Wheel for last, so that it's already dark out. The entire structure light up in the night sky.

It's beautiful, Cheryl thinks.

As they climb on, Toni comments, "How very Love, Simon of us."

Cheryl can't help but smile, her eyes crinkling at the edges, from how wide it is.

Her heart beating loudly in her chest.

(The giddiness. The excitement. Cheryl hopes it never goes away.)

"I have a confession," Cheryl states as they begin moving, biting her lip to contain her smile.

"Yeah?"

"I….count that as our first date. In my mind."

(Cheryl thinks back to how giddy she had been that night, as she laid in bed. Thinks back to how lovely she had felt Toni had been and to how...cathartic her confession had felt. How safe and comfortable she had immediately felt in her presence; how nice it had felt to have someone...care.

Even if only a little.
Even if only for just a moment.

Cheryl just knew, in her Blossom blood, as they sat at Pop's, that this was someone she could trust. So she opened up to this stranger, this rough-and-tumble girl, who had actually, beneath her leather armor, been kind and sweet and warm.)

(And everything Cheryl had always wanted.)

(Toni will always catch her.)

Toni chuckles, "So do I."

As they continue climbing, a thought comes to Cheryl's mind regarding that fateful night.

"Why did you come up to me at the Bijou? I mean, I had already blown up at you once that day. Why tempt fate a second time?"

Toni shrugs as she looks over at the view in front of them.

"I could tell, earlier, that something was up with you. I wasn't, uh, sure of what it was, but…" she trails off. "Plus, I thought you were super hot and totally crazy and like, no straight girl uses the word Sapphic," she chuckles. "You intrigued me, Blossom. What can I say?"

"Hot and crazy? So you knew you were tempting fate," Cheryl playfully fires back.

"I mean, I'd had to have been blind to not see how gorgeous you are. Hell, why did you think I was so okay with you just jacking my spot at the drag race?"

"Are you saying my devastating looks disarmed you?" Cheryl smirks.

"Definitely. Hot girl swoops in, you let her do her thing," the two laugh. "And well, no sane chick would call someone up just to shit on their relationship when they have no stake in the game."

"You were impressed," Cheryl hums.

"Very much so," Toni says looking over at Cheryl. "So yeah, we could say I was tempting fate but… I don't see it like that."

"Oh?"

"It was more like….answering its call."

Cheryl feels tears spring to her eyes and her throat tighten in emotion.

The idea that Toni thinks of them like this…..

It's a lot.

(It's everything.)

"Are you saying we were fated to be? Written in the stars?" she says playfully, trying to get herself back to a less emotional state.

At this Toni smirks and stands in their little passenger car.

"Toni!" Cheryl shouts, laughing.

"Two households, both completely different in dignity," Toni reworks the quote, laughing along. "In fair Riverdale, where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to a new type of mutiny," at this she smiles at Cheryl. "One of no more blood. No more madness. No more horror."

Cheryl rolls her eyes at Toni quoting her back to herself. She reaches forward and manages to pull Toni back into her seat.

(And if she's touched that Toni remembers her words, well…)

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross'd lovers...start their lives," she softly concludes.

(Cheryl tries her damn hardest not to swoon.)

(She fails miserably.)

"We're at the top," Toni points out, eyes locked with Cheryl's.

"Uh-huh," Cheryl states, unable to look away.

"It's a beautiful view."

"It is."

They kiss.

(Cheryl misses the view and they have to go for another loop.)

(Neither of them particularly mind.)

On their way out, they stop by a booth and purchase four matching I LOVE NY t-shirts. As they're walking away, Toni pauses and asks, "Should we have gotten six?"

Cheryl laughs all the way back to their hotel.

The ride to Philadelphia is not only significantly shorter, but also much smoother.

Toni seems impressed when they park at how Cheryl has been managing her bike.

"Told you I was a fast learner," Cheryl can't help but boast.

"Yeah, yeah," Toni responds, shaking her head good-naturedly.

"And she's been taking her medication without a problem? Good. Well, keep up the good work Sandra and I'll be checking up again in a few days' time. Toodles!"

"Nana Blossom doing alright?" Toni asks from where she lays on their bed, eyes on her own phone as she holds it by its pop-socket, spinning it in place.

"It appears so. Sandra had glowing recommendations, so I expected nothing less. Consider me pleased."

A beat passes.

"For now."

Toni only hums in response and Cheryl sighs.

"Did you….manage to find out how your grandfather is doing?" Cheryl softly asks, taking a seat beside her.

(From what Cheryl has gathered, Toni and her grandfather only really interact for holidays and emergencies. However, that didn't used to stop the girl from checking up on him from time to time. Being so far away from Riverdale though, Toni can't just pop by his trailer with whatever new excuse she has.)

(Cheryl can tell, as well, that it hurts Toni to not have the kind of relationship with him that would result in a simple phone call not being a big deal. That it bothers her that instead she has to resort to texting Sweet Pea to get any sort of status update.)

"Yeah, he's alright."

"Good," Cheryl softly responds.

When no more is said on the subject, Cheryl decides to just power through the mood. She won't let anything stop them from having the best trip of their lives.

"Well then," she begins standing up and clapping her hands together, "We have a full day ahead of us. What do you want to do first?"

"I honestly think I might have to break up with you now."

"Seriously, Toni? Over a movie?" Cheryl asks, eyebrow raised, as she takes a step forward.

"A movie?! Cheryl, it's Rocky. A seminal classic. Which, apparently, you've never seen!" Toni says appalled.

"Yes, well. My tastes in films is a bit more…"

"Bougie?" Toni snarks.

Cheryl just rolls her eyes as she takes another step forward.

"Regardless, this movie cannot possibly be so good as to excuse this ridiculous line," Cheryl states as she gestures to the long line they are in, waiting for their turn – Toni's turn – to take a picture with the statue.

"Hey, you said I could pick what we did first."

"Yes, and when you suggested we go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I was under the impression it would be to go to the museum, not to an adjacent statue."

"Which we will, as soon as I get my picture," Toni states with finality.

Cheryl rolls her eyes, but it's nothing if not fondly. These aren't exactly the kind of things she expected to find out about Toni, but somehow, knowing these little things? They fill Cheryl up inside just as much as knowing about the bigger stuff.

(You've got it bad, Cheryl thinks to herself.)

And well, Toni's ridiculous fighting stance as she poses with the statue makes it all worth it.

"Nice, babe. Definitely going up on my Instagram," Toni says with a dorky smile as she uploads it.

(And if Cheryl records how goofy Toni is acting as she then takes the steps up the museum in slow motion, belting out the movie's song – which even Cheryl has heard – well, Cheryl's just humoring her, okay? Her own giggles are involuntary.)

It's not the actual sound of Toni's camera going off just a few feet away that surprises her. The sound all too familiar now after their days in New York City. But rather, it's the fact that upon turning to look at what piece has captured Toni's attention, she instead finds the camera pointed at her.

(Cheryl wonders if perhaps that should not have been surprising either, given Toni's track record in the last leg of their trip.)

"What are you doing?" Cheryl asks with a smile.

"Photographing the art," Toni cheekily responds.

Cheryl rolls her eyes, even as she blushes. She turns back to look at the work in front of her when she feels Toni step up behind her. The other girl wraps her arms around Cheryl's waist, pressing her lips to Cheryl's shoulder blade as she glances over to see what artwork has caught Cheryl's attention.

"That's the one you have in your room, right? Your reproduction?"

Cheryl turns halfway in her arms, in order to lock eyes with the other girl. "How did you know?" she asks, not particularly surprised that Toni remembers the painting, but rather that she's aware that the replica was done by Cheryl's own hands.

"I, uh, may have snooped one time while you were in the shower."

"Seriously?" Cheryl scoffs with a grin.

"Yeah well, I figured if anyone in Riverdale would have an original Van Gogh it would be the Blossoms. Imagine my surprise when I peeked at the signature at the bottom, only to find your name there."

Cheryl hums in response, turning back to look at the painting.

"You ever think about doing it professionally?"

"Hmm?"

"Painting, Cheryl. You're very talented."

(Cheryl feels herself fill up with pride at Toni's praise. Cheryl has only seen a handful of Toni's serious work, as Toni is seemingly more comfortable just showing her the pictures she takes of them for fun. Still, what little Cheryl has seen, mostly the landscape around Riverdale, has been breathtaking. She considers Toni an incredibly gifted artist, therefore her compliments? They aren't just the gushing of a girlfriend to Cheryl. No, they are the appreciation of a qualified eye. And that? That means more to Cheryl than Toni can possibly imagine.)

(Cheryl remembers when she and Jason first started art classes. How Jason found it tedious and boring and would complain. How their parents considered switching out that activity for another, until Jason saw how devastated Cheryl was at the idea and took it back. Told their parents he was up for the challenge.

He was not. His work was awful.

But, he came to every lesson with Cheryl, without fail.

Up until his death.)

(Cheryl hadn't gone back to the classes after, but had continued on her own in the privacy of their home.)

Cheryl just shakes her head, "I couldn't. Painting is...sort of an escape for me. To monetize that would rob me of its enjoyment. Truly."

"I get that," Toni comments.

"How about you?"

"What about me?"

"Your photography is stunning, Toni. Have you considered a career in it?"

"I'd like to spend the rest of my life not starving to death," Toni jokes. "The only photographers that don't go hungry are in the big leagues and I'm, uh, nowhere near that talented."

At that Cheryl breaks Toni's embrace.

"I would beg to differ."

"I appreciate it, but...I'm probably going to look into something practical. Something that pays rent, you know?"

(Privilege.)

Cheryl nods softly in understanding.

(Cheryl begins to wonder if practical isn't code for Riverdale. Thinks about what it would mean for them to be split apart by distance.)

(Her heart aches.)

Toni takes a hold of her hand to lead her over to another part of the exhibit.

(Cheryl squeezes her hand tighter.)

(Toni doesn't complain.)

"Thank you," Cheryl whispers as they walk out of one of the rooms, a while later.

The two have been walking around the museum now for about an hour and a half and, despite the fact that there's still so much left to see, Toni has yet to lose interest or get antsy. It's not that Cheryl expected Toni to want to bail out early, but still. It's a nice confirmation for Cheryl to have. That this is also something that they can...share.

"For what?" Toni asks as the two step over to admire another work of art.

"For this, for today."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. It's...It means a lot."

Toni raises an eyebrow at that, seemingly aware that there's more to Cheryl's gratitude than just enjoying their day out.

And well….there is.

Cheryl blushes a bit as she tries to explain, "It's silly, but… When I used to think about ideal dates with a future partner, this was one of them. Going to a museum and just walking around appreciating the artwork...Together."

"Yeah?" Toni softly asks.

"I used to imagine that the only way that would be a possibility would be to date someone of higher stock and breeding. Someone raised in the kind of environment that would have instilled in them an appreciation for the arts from an early age."

"So, a rich kid from the City?" Toni asks.

(And if Cheryl gets glimpses of a certain cretin, she shoves those memories far, far away.)

"Mhm," she replies.

"A boy?" Toni teases.

"But of course," Cheryl says with a roll of her eyes.

"So, uh, definitely not some trailer trash girl with pink hair, huh?"

And although Cheryl can still hear the teasing in Toni's voice, her heart clenches at the description she uses for herself.

(And if guilt churns in her stomach at the fact that Cheryl would have used that descriptor herself not too long ago too, well. She just swallows it down.)

"Please don't refer to yourself as that, T.T."

"I'm not ashamed of where I come from, Cheryl."

"I know. I just...don't think of you as that."

(The unspoken anymore weighing heavily in Cheryl's mind.)

"So what do you think of me as?" Toni challenges, eyebrow raised.

"Like I said earlier, an artist."

At this Toni playfully rolls her eyes, to which Cheryl decides to power through. Intent on getting her praise across.

(Cheryl basks in compliments. Boasts and gloats. Toni is confident and takes in compliments good-naturedly, but still. Cheryl sometimes feels as if she's just humoring people. As if she doesn't get it. Cheryl isn't calling her talented to be cute, but because it's factual.)

"A peer. An equal," Cheryl continues, hoping Toni gets it. "I think of you as someone who continually surprises and impresses me. Every single day. And as someone whose company I not only crave, but whose insight I….value. Tremendously."

(Cheryl knows it's her own responsibility to get educated, that it's not Toni's job to teach her about everything Cheryl's privilege has shielded her from. However, that doesn't change the fact that Cheryl cares deeply about Toni's opinions on things. That Cheryl wants to do better, be better...for her.)

(And for herself, too.)

(Perhaps being the villain isn't all it's cracked up to be, she considers.)

Toni looks away, slightly bashful. Cheryl's words seemingly having her desired impact. Cheryl reaches over to take a hold of Toni's hands, a fond look in her eyes.

(And if Cheryl feels herself fall even harder at how modest and humble Toni is, well.)

(She no longer wants the rich white boy from the City, someone to whom Cheryl's only value would have lied in her being an aesthetically pleasing accessory. No. She wants...more. Someone she can call a true partner.)

(She wants….Toni.)

A beat passes.

Cheryl moves on, trying to make Toni comfortable again.

"Despite your somewhat questionable interests at times," Cheryl playfully teases.

Toni laughs. "What can I say? I am large, I contain multitudes," she says with a cheeky grin before continuing. "Well, I uh, think you're pretty cool too," Toni replies with a playful smirk as she pulls on Cheryl's hands to bring her in closer, not hesitating to then reach over to grasp her hips. Cheryl rolls her eyes, but doesn't stop the shorter girl from connecting their lips. Cheryl wraps her arms around Toni's neck as the two deepen their kiss.

Up until a throat clearing from behind them brings them back to reality.

"Sorry," Toni says, without an ounce of sincerity, to the security guard. Cheryl barely manages to muffle her laughter.

The two walk out of that room, hand in hand.

"You know, I'm also really into true crime," Toni comments a little while later as they continue to walk around. A playful smile on her lips.

"Somehow that...does not surprise me," Cheryl replies.

Toni laughs.

(More little things.)

Toni continues, "Yeah. I even tried helping out Jughead and Betty with the whole Black Hood thing once upon a time."

"How did that go?" Cheryl asks with a raised eyebrow.

"About as well as you can imagine," Toni snorts.

"Any chance it had anything to do with you trying to steal her boyfriend?" Cheryl drily asks.

(It's petty, Cheryl knows. But she feels she's still allowed to be annoyed by….that whole thing.)

"Low blow, Blossom. Plus, that is so not what happened."

"What did you even see in him anyway?"

"Honestly?" Toni asks as they pause in front of a sculpture. "We, uh, had similar interests yeah, but...it was about more than that."

"What was it about, then?" Cheryl questions, as Toni begins to slowly circle the statue.

"It was about...him being someone who was willing to come in and shake up the Serpents, truthfully. Without F.P. around we were in dire need of leadership. But not just...anyone. You know? We needed someone who wasn't afraid to stand up to the group, to show the rest of them that there was more than one path, more than one solution, to our seemingly never ending feuds with the Northside and the Ghoulies. We needed someone who wanted more for us than just violence. Someone who wanted...better for us."

(And if that sounds a lot like Toni herself to Cheryl, well.)

(Sweet Pea's words from that overhead conversation slam straight into the forefront of Cheryl's mind.

If anyone should be sitting on a throne it's you.

Cheryl wonders, again.

About the Serpents.
About Toni's careful maneuvering.
About crossed lines and rattled snakes.
About gender roles and lineages.
About legacy.)

(And God, does Cheryl know about legacies.)

"Someone to….share with you a throne?"

"That's...complicated," Toni sighs, shaking her head.

And Cheryl wants to ask more, wants to understand, wants to know what it is she's missing that keeps her from getting the bigger picture.

But.

A beat passes.

And no more comes out of Toni.

So.

Cheryl decides she can at least get another query answered.

"So….what do you see in me?"

(And the instead of Jughead rings clearly in the silence.)

Toni's lips twitch up into a smile as she looks over to Cheryl, from her place now directly across from her on the other side of the sculpture.

"More."

"More?"

"More than the Northside, than the Southside, than Riverdale," Toni says. "Hell, more than the Serpents," she mutters, briefly glancing away. "I see in you, Cheryl Blossom…." she trails off, shaking her head with a grin, as if in disbelief at all that she sees.

(And the thought of that? Cheryl can't quite comprehend it.)

"I see in you a whole world. Universes and galaxies. Everything that I can't wait to go out and explore. Together."

(And this...this is finally the answer Cheryl has been looking for. She gets it now. How Jughead was about bettering the status quo for Toni. About bettering the situation she found herself stuck in. But Cheryl? Cheryl is about breaking that status quo. About the world as their oyster. And well, Cheryl has always enjoyed breaking things. And oysters.)

(Cheryl thinks back to how her mother always wanted her to be more. How her father demanded it. How she never thought she'd live up to it….And how now she is it. She is more to Toni.)

(Perhaps she was always everything she needed to be.)

Cheryl swallows, nods at Toni's words, and moves over to join her on the opposite side of the sculpture.

"You know, I too helped out during that period of time," Cheryl says as she moves them back to their previous conversation. She feels Toni take a hold of her hand and squeeze it. "I happened to be the one to find out the true identify the Sugar Man."

"Really? He was my English teacher back at Southside High."

"Were you close to him?"

"Nah, he was a creep. And I totally got arrested for his bullshit operation on more than one occasion."

"That...might have actually been our fault," Cheryl winces, thinking back to everything regarding the Jingle-Jangle debacle.

(She pushes away the details though, far far away.)

(Thinks back to how every single questionably situation on the Northside had a direct fallout for the Southside.)

(Thinks back to how the Blossoms played a hand in it all.)

"Forgive me?" she whispers.

"It's already forgiven," Toni answers, leaning forward to place a lingering kiss on her lips. "Come on, there's a lot more to see."

They leave the museum with four Rocky mugs.

They go to see the Liberty Bell the next day. Toni takes pictures of the exhibit just outside it, the one focusing on George Washington's slaves.

It's a sobering experience.

When they get inside, Cheryl reads over the Bell's inscription.

"Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof."

(Privilege.)

(Cheryl hopes she's getting better at this.)

They head over to One Liberty Place.

Cheryl watches as Toni takes pictures of their view of the entire city. She goes to stand by her, when she sees Toni just taking it in.

"One hell of a view," Toni comments when she feels Cheryl next to her.

(Universes and galaxies, Cheryl thinks. All out there for the taking.)

Toni turns to look at her.

"Thank you," Toni whispers. "For all of this."

(Cheryl feels her heart skip a beat at the sincerity in Toni's eyes.)

"Baby, this is only the beginning," Cheryl smirks.

This is only the start.

Cheryl leans over and kisses her.