I'm sorry this took so long to get up, I was super busy with work this week and I've also been unwell so I've only just had the chance to write this up. This is a continuation from last chapter and the next chapter will be Cheryl becoming a Serpent. I hope you like it xx
"I didn't mean to yell at you." Toni wiped the tears from her cheeks and sighed, "I didn't mean what I said about you just being some rich girl; I know that's not who you are."
Cheryl brushed some pink hair from Toni's face and tucked it behind her ear, "I know you didn't mean it. I didn't mean what I said about the Serpent's either. I was hurt and the only way I knew how to deal with that was to hurt you back. I've never been yelled at by someone that I genuinely cared about. I was scared I'd lose you and I can't lose you - " she paused, "I can't lose you Toni because I love you."
"You do?" Toni sounded shocked and propped herself up on her elbow.
Cheryl started to panic and a million thoughts ran through her mind, each one fighting for space. She'd never said those words to anyone except Jason before; she hadn't used them in this way with him but they meant more to her than the average person. Was it too soon? They'd just had their first fight, maybe Toni was still angry. Should she have waited for a more romantic time? Maybe Toni didn't even feel the same way and Cheryl had just made an absolute fool of herself.
"Cheryl?" Toni could see that the redhead was lost in thought.
Cheryl blinked as Toni's voice pulled her away from the thoughts in her mind and back to reality. She was about to lie and say it had just slipped out but she looked into Toni's eyes and the world stopped. She felt her whole body fill with warmth, the warmth you'd feel if you stepped into the late afternoon sunshine after a seventeen-year-long storm. It was in that moment that she realised she was in love and there was no way of denying that. Cheryl nodded proudly, "I'm in love with you, Toni Topaz."
A smile spread across Toni's face, "I'm in love with you too, Cheryl Blossom."
The one thing Cheryl craved in life was love and the one thing she needed was stability; hearing Toni say those three words provided Cheryl with both of those things. She let out a soft sigh of relief and Toni giggled, "Did you think I wouldn't say it back?"
The redhead shrugged, "I didn't know if you felt the same way."
"Oh Bombshell, if only you knew." Toni cupped Cheryl's pale cheeks and pulled her in for a tender, yet fervent kiss.
Cheryl moved one of her hands back into Toni's bubblegum locks, needing this kiss more than she realised.
Toni mumbled against Cheryl's lips, "You know, I always expected that your lips would taste like cherry pie but I was wrong."
"What do they taste like then?" Cheryl giggled as she moved back just an inch from Toni's lips.
"Bacon" Toni bit her lip and tried not to laugh.
"Bacon?" Cheryl went to sit up but Toni laughed and pulled the redhead back down to her lips.
Toni smirked and kissed her girlfriend again, whispering into the kiss, "Funfetti frosting."
Cheryl giggled and shook her head, "You're an idiot."
"Don't pretend that you don't love it" Toni winked and ran her fingers over Cheryl's arm. She smiled when she noticed the goosebumps appearing on Cheryl's arm but soon remembered what FP had told them at the Whyte Wyrm earlier.
Cheryl saw Toni's face drop and knew what was on her mind, "He wouldn't want you to be upset, T. I know that sounds so cliché but from what I knew about Fangs, he was always making people smile, especially you."
Toni sighed and looked at their interlocked hands, "Have you forgotten what Jason's voice sounded like?"
Cheryl froze for a second as the usual flood of emotion she experienced whenever someone mentioned her brother's name hit her like a brick wall. She welled up, "Sometimes it gets a bit hazy and I worry that I'm losing one of the only parts of him that I have left but I have voicemails on my phone and videos of us as kids that I watch and then it all comes back." Cheryl squeezed Toni's hand reassuringly and kissed her thumb.
Toni nodded then broke down, "I don't want to forget him, Cher."
"We won't let anyone forget him, Toni." She wrapped her arms around Toni and pulled the shorter girl closer, holding her trembling body tightly against her own.
A few minutes later Toni's mind and body had exhausted all their energy and her breathing evened out. Cheryl kissed Toni's forehead and pulled the covers up over the both of them. She stroked Toni's hair and watched over her girlfriend for most of the night before finally drifting off to sleep a few hours later.
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