Chapter Text
As a little girl, Betty Cooper had loved the idea of finding her soulmate. Every time she looked at the mark on her wrist - a twinkling, shiny object reflecting light in every direction - her heart would swell with the idea that one day she'd find the person who's mark would be in unison with hers. She'd watch her parents, sneaking peeks at their marks, a quill on her mother's wrist and an ink pot on her father's, whenever the opportunity arrived. She simply couldn't wait to find her soulmate.
Betty's fondness for soulmates ended the moment she met Cheryl Blossom, with her sun soul mark blazing away on her wrist. Nobody questioned it, not once. After all, the sun and a star, obviously their soul marks corresponded and they were meant to be. Cheryl certainly seemed open to the idea, and wasted no time in claiming Betty as her own. Since then Betty's never hated her soul mark more.
Veronica Lodge hated her father. Because of him, she and her mother had to pack up and move to middle of nowhere Riverdale where her mother grew up. No way was Veronica cut out for a lifestyle that was anything less than luxurious, her soul mark was a tiara for God's sake, she was destined for a life that treated her like royalty. At least that's what she'd used to try to convince her mom that they should stay in New York. Hermione laughed in her face as she and Smithers loaded the car.
Now she was standing in Pop's diner, as her mother hugged Pop himself and started chatting away. The diner was at least half full, various patrons filling the booths, although most were teenagers. She made note of some redhead boy wearing a varsity jacket, sitting with another boy in a beanie that was scowling and holding his burger in a grip so protective it was like he thought everyone around him was an enemy trying to take it from him. Veronica's eyebrows furrowed together as she noticed their was three milkshakes on the table, and only the two boys seated there, although it was quite possible that beanie boy had ordered two.
"Excuse me." There voice behind Veronica caused her to jolt, whipping her head around to see who had spoken. The moment she did her breath hitched in her throat.
Before her was an angel, it had to be. A girl with startlingly clear blue eyes, pale skin and beautiful blond hair. She was tall, definitely taller than her, but her posture was hunched slightly, like she was trying to make herself smaller for some reason. Everything about her radiated gentleness, and Veronica was frozen in her beauty. That was until the girl blushed slightly and cleared her throat, glancing at her still blocked path, then back up to Veronica.
Instantly Veronica blushed as well, stumbling back a bit to clear the way. "Right, sure thing." She mumbled, heat rising in her cheeks. Never had she felt this flustered. She was the Ice Queen back in New York, and Ice Queens do not blush and babble just because some pretty girl was in their vicinity. Some gorgeous girl.
The gorgeous girl merely smiled graciously at her, before walking past her and to the both redhead and beanie boy occupied, sliding in on the end and sipping on her milkshake. Vanilla. The information was clearly irrelevant, but it stored itself away in Veronica's brain anyway. The gorgeous girl liked vanilla. It was then she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder, and heard her announcing that they should go and unpack, but she didn't really hear her. She was too busy just watching the blond sipping steadily on her shake, until her mother nudged her and gave her an odd look.
"Are you okay mija?" Hermione asked softly, following Veronica's gaze over to the girl. Once she saw who Veronica was looking at, she chuckled softly. "Ah, that's Betty Cooper. She looks just like her mother."
"Betty." Veronica repeated softly under her breath. So the angel had a name. She nodded, satisfied, and turned to leave with her mother when a furious looking redhead came barging through the door before they could exit. "Excuse you." Veronica scoffed, scowling at her, but it didn't seem the redhead even heard her. Her mother shook her head and headed out the door, but Veronica watched the redhead for a moment before leaving. She watched the red headed girl march over to the table Betty sat at, and watched her slap Betty straight across the face.
It had been a month since Veronica moved to Riverdale, and the nature of life had been explained to her. Mostly due to the fact a month ago she nearly tore Cheryl Blossom apart after watching her strike Betty in the diner. She'd been dragged off of her by Pop and her mother, while the red headed boy, whom she learned was Archie, and beanie boy, whom she'd learned was Jughead, restrained Cheryl who was spewing profanity and admittedly creative threats her way.
Once she'd been calmed down it was explained to Veronica that Cheryl was Betty's soulmate. They found each other in the sixth grade, and have been dating since then. Cheryl's abuse disgusted everyone in the town, especially Jughead and Archie, but Betty refused to let anyone do anything about it. After all, Cheryl was her soulmate. It's not like she had much choice in the matter anyway. That didn't stop Veronica from doing everything in her power to keep it from happening as best she could.
She and Betty quickly became friends, and Veronica became the one woman Betty Cooper security detail. Hell she even joined the Riverdale Vixens to try to take some of Cheryl's heat off of Betty there as well. Betty had been apprehensive towards Veronica at first, which was to be expected, after all she had tried to attack her soulmate, but once she realized Veronica only had good intentions, the two were attached at the hip. Archie and Jughead warmed up to Veronica right away, as while the whole Cheryl assault had worried Betty, it made Veronica instantly alright in their books. The only person not so pleased by Veronica's presence was Cheryl.
The amount of time Betty spent with Veronica drove Cheryl crazy. Veronica around, defending Betty by snapping back at her with equal ferocity, it wasn't right. Betty was Cheryl's soulmate, and she should be able to treat her as she pleased. And she intended to make that clear.
Veronica rushed over to the intercom to answer Smithers' buzzing, about Betty's arrival no doubt. The girls were having a sleepover that night, to marathon the Star Wars movies after Betty found out that Veronica had never seen them. Veronica wasn't necessarily interested in watching them, but she'd do anything to make Betty happy.
"Miss Veronica, I have a Miss Betty Cooper here to see you." Smithers spoke through the intercom, a tightness to his voice that went undetected by Veronica.
"Send her on up Smithers! And for the record, you never need to ask if Betty's allowed up, she's always welcome." Veronica replied, practically glowing with excitement. She'd gone downtown and purchased a Chewbacca t-shirt and Death Star sweatpants to impress Betty earlier, and now couldn't wait to see her reaction.
"Sure thing Miss Veronica. But I feel that I should warn you - " Veronica didn't wait to hear what Smithers had to say, she was already rushing to her door to let Betty in. She wasn't prepared for what she faced.
Betty looked absolutely disheveled. Her bottom lip was split and bleeding, her right eye was blackened and quickly swelling shut, and from the redness in her left eye it was clear that she had been crying. Bloody scratches down one side of Betty's face showed that someone with very sharp nails had clawed at her as well. For a moment Veronica was just frozen there, unable to process what was in front of her. She'd never seen Betty hurt this badly. When Betty sniffled and shuffled her feet, it broke Veronica out of her trance.
"Betty…" Veronica stepped forwards, gently wrapping her arms around the taller girl. Betty's knees buckled once she was in Veronica's arms, and she allowed herself to collapse against Ronnie, trusting her to keep her safe as she broke down crying again. Veronica swiftly ushered her into the room, clutching to her like it was her duty and guiding her gingerly to the bed, all the while murmuring sweet nothings. She didn't have to ask who did this to her. Cheryl was going to pay for this, and nobody would be able to hold her back this time. "How could she do this to you?" She asked in a hushed voice, looking at Betty with softened eyes.
Betty refused to meet her eyes. Her crying had slowed but her breath was still shaky, and she was trembling. It was pouring outside, and Veronica hadn't even realized that Betty was soaking wet. She quickly got to her feet to grab her a blanket, when Betty's hand shot out and latched on to her wrist. When Veronica looked back at her, she was met with fearful and panicked eyes. It broke her heart.
"I'm not leaving you, I'm just going to get you a blanket and some dry clothes." She explained in a hushed tone, and Betty nodded, releasing Veronica's hand with a blush. Veronica moved as quickly as she could, rushing into her closest and getting Betty the warmest, comfiest pajamas she had that would fit her, along with a fluffy blanket. She hurried back and handed her the clothes, before noticing Betty's blush. "Oh, right I'll just uh… I'll just step outside so you can change." Veronica muttered, blushing herself and stepping outside the room. She nearly collided with Smithers, who looked equally guilty as he did concerned.
"Smithers, were you eavesdropping?" Veronica asked, quirking an eyebrow curiously.
The older man immediately shook his head, although he did flush a little. "No I… well I know you're rather fond of Miss Betty and Mrs. Lodge tells me what a kind girl she is and I just… is she alright? Did someone do that to her?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned and even a bit cross at the thought of someone harming Betty.
"Betty'll be fine… I hope so at least. And the person who did that to her has something coming to them that I doubt they expected." Veronica's growl following the last part of her response seemed to satisfy Smithers, as he smiled and nodded.
"Well alright then. You take care of her, Miss Veronica. I can tell she's a good one." With that Smithers walked off, and Veronica reentered the room to find Betty had curled herself up in the blanket, watching the door for her return expectantly.
"I… I'm ready to explain what…" Betty started slowly, clearly nervous, and Veronica saw her curl her hand into a fist, nails digging into her palms. Quickly she walked over, unfurling the blonde's hands and taking them in her own instead. Betty seemed to relax from the gesture, sighing softly. "Cheryl thought I was cheating on her with you." She murmured out, casting her gaze to the floor. "She told me how we spend too much time together, and how dare I spend any time with you after what you did anyway…" Veronica bit her lip, hating the idea that Betty had gotten hurt from their friendship.
"Betty…" Veronica started to murmur, but Betty shook her head and cut her off.
"I told her that you were right to go after her when you first got here. Th-That she can't keep treating me like her punching bag, that th-that's not what soulmates are. That's when she really went off." Betty finished softly, tentatively touching her hand to her swollen eye and wincing. Veronica just stared at her for a moment, eyes shiny with unshed tears as she thought of the courage it must've taken Betty to stand up for herself like that. "I want my soulmate to be like what I wanted as a child. I-I want my soulmate to be someone who makes me happy, and feel safe, and warm inside and Goddammit V I want my soulmate to be you." Betty blurted out, looking at Veronica for her reaction.
Veronica wasted no time in kissing her. It was gentle, as she didn't want to injure Betty's split lip any further, but it was passionate, and when Betty made a soft sound of relief again her lips it made Veronica's heart soar. For what seemed like an eternity they stayed there, softly kissing each other in the safety of each other's arms, before Betty finally pulled away slowly. "What's your soul mark V? I don't think you ever showed me." Veronica quickly rolled up the sleeves of her robe and placed her wrist in Betty's lap for inspection. Betty gently took it, running her fingers along the elegant design. "A tiara. How fitting." She murmured, causing Veronica to chuckle, although the disappointment in her voice was obvious. A star and a tiara have nothing to do with each other.
"You know I'm just destined to be queen." Veronica joked softly, coaxing a small laugh from Betty, before she frowned and pulled her wrist a little closer to her for a better look.
"Why is this space empty?" Betty asked, pointing to where the largest gem should be in the tiara. Evidently, the gem was missing from the crown. Veronica just shrugged.
"I don't know, it just always has been. I figured my soulmate would have some kind of gem of some kind as their mark to complete it." As soon as the words left her lips, Veronica's gaze snapped to Betty's eyes, to find that Betty had already been staring at her wide eyed. Quickly Betty placed her wrist next to Veronica's, lining up their soul marks. Of course, Betty's mark was the perfect size to be the missing jewel to Veronica's crown.
Both girls began laughing in disbelief, softly at first before breaking out into full on hysterics. Cheryl had never been Betty's soulmate. It was always, and always would be, Veronica.