Work Text:
The day Jason disappeared, a ruthless storm dawned on Riverdale. It had started out as a beautiful, sunny day, that 4th of July. Then, he faked his death and got on the other side of Sweetwater River; to fade lightly into his brand new life with Polly.
(Or at least, that’s how it was supposed to go.)
Cheryl gathered all the amazing talent in acting she had – thanks to several years as a drama kid, err, a drama star – and cried. She waited for someone to find her and kept crying, seemingly desperate about her brother’s drowning. She waited for hours, before Dilton Doiley and his scouts found her. She saw the storm coming, she admired it as if it had been the most astonishing piece of art she had ever seen; she’d seen it change.
To her scientific gaze, it was interesting to see how a bright and peaceful morning could turn into an angry, rainy afternoon.
The redhead liked to believe the sky above them had looked down and disapproved of Jason’s sudden abandonment of his sister.
At some point that day, she even started to consider the storm her friend.
While unknowingly mourning her brother’s real death, Cheryl poured her heart out to the million eyes and ears of Nature.
As she expected, she was later taunted and reprimanded several times for not looking after her brother.
Once again, it was her fault.
The moment they told her, she got sick and couldn’t move from the bathroom floor for two days. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep.
Her favorite person in this world, her only ally, her twin brother had been killed.
None of them knew about how Jason always stuck up for her, against both of their parents; no one understood. Clifford Blossom was very well aware of how much he needed his son; Jason being next in line to inherit the family’s business.
So, as long as he agreed to take over and learn about the Blossoms Maple Syrup empire, he was able to protect Cheryl from them. She usually was the one getting the more slaps, or insults. Jason was the Golden Boy, nothing he did or said was wrong.
She has to admit, sometimes she resented him for it. But when her brother died, she was lost. Completely, utterly, absolutely lost and alone in this empty, Jason-less world.
A little more than a year after the Blossom twin passed, Cheryl finds herself looking at a very similar storm right in the eye.
Ever since it betrayed her the way it did – or at least that’s how she felt in a post Jason world, betrayed, by everyone and everything -, Cheryl Blossom does not like storms. Or slight drizzles.
Truth be told, she hates them. Any form of water falling from the sky, is outrageous to her.
People noticed that in the past year, whenever it rained she would be in a bad mood. Not the usual HBIC attitude everyone was used to; worse. She was silent, wary, aggressive even.
They didn’t dare to ask questions. If it was possible, the redhead would hide in her room and turn off her phone until the storm ended.
Toni tried multiple times to get her to talk about it, but with no outcome.
The next day she would be back to normal, as if nothing ever happened.
For weeks now, TVs and newspapers have been talking about this huge hailstorm that’s coming to Riverdale.
Wind, rain, anything you could think of. Considering it’s the middle of August, it probably was to be expected at some point.
The Blossom heir has decided she’ll spend it curled up in her bed, the AC on and possibly a good Lana Del Rey song streaming.
It’s a Tuesday night, the Serpents shouldn’t need her and the Scooby Gang can live a day without her; since they’ve done so for the past months anyway.
Toni should be out with Fangs and Sweet Pea, so ultimately she has the whole evening to herself and her bad mood.
Color her surprised, when a very persistent visitor knocks at the entrance of Thistlehouse. Multiple times, to be honest.
So many, Nana Rose starts calling her niece’s name. No matter how much Cheryl wants to hide behind the walls of her room and forget life and people are a thing, she could never leave her grandma yelling her name in the void.
In her pompous yet fabulous night gown, she runs down the stairs and lightly touches the old woman on the shoulder.
“Don’t upset your precious nerves, Nana. I’ll get rid of the bother.”
Then, with the fakest smile she has ever worn as Riverdale’s favorite It Girl, she opens the door. She’s ready to fire on whoever is disturbing her precious loner ritual.
“Took you long enough, Blossom.”
Toni Topaz, marvelous as ever even with half of her pink hair soaked, stood in front of her. Her tone is a little too chirpy for Cheryl’s taste; she bites back an aggressive comeback she’s aware Toni does not deserve.
A bag on her left shoulder, the girl then motions for the redhead to move, so she can come in.
Cheryl snaps out of her trance at that, back into the real world. She looks at her girlfriend and then at the roaming black clouds in the sky; still very visible despite the evening getting closer.
“I’m sorry TT, I wouldn’t be of much company tonight.”
She hears herself saying, as her arm is about to close the door.
Her heart aches a little, because this is just the next person she’s closing herself off to. Just one more person she is not letting in and who eventually, will get tired of dating a machine.
Toni’s the one good thing that came out from last year, her rock.
When will Cheryl Blossom learn to accept love?
She listens to herself fight her own arguments, exactly when the door is prevented from closing. By that same girl’s hand; a girl who is still smiling lovingly at her.
“Cher, we’ve been together for a couple of months now. I’m your girlfriend. I’m here for that, too.”
These are the kind of things that still surprise her and probably always will, about Toni. Her care and affection towards her, are not feelings she’s used to. She is not used to this weird, almost imperceptible flutter her stomach does when Toni says “stuff” like this.
Her lips curve into a much more genuine grin at that; although she’s still a little unsure, she lets the other one in. Besides, would she really leave the Serpent under throbbing rain, after she drove all the way here (on a very wet motorcycle, she’s sure)?
She heads upstairs as soon as the door is closed behind her, not waiting for the usual greetings between her girlfriend and her grandma.
Something she loves to see on a normal basis, except today is raining.
Toni follows not many minutes later, finding her lazily jumping from one show to another on Netflix.
She slowly climbs on the bed as well, taking one of her hands. She presses a kiss on a little mole on Cheryl’s palm, which she’s very fond of.
“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on, if you don’t want to. You went full radio silence on everyone today and..”
Despite the redhead’s intention not to look at her, Toni’s whole presence makes it hard to do. Her eyes are fixed on the TV as if it were some kind of anchor; still, they are visibly filling with tears.
Toni kindly takes the remote from her free hand, turning the volume off.
Then, her thumb brushes under Cheryl’s chin, hoping to meet her gaze.
“I just couldn’t be with the others and have fun not knowing where you were, or how you were…so, I’m here. I choose to be here, I want to be here.”
She pauses for a second.
Toni’s eyes have been good at reading her soul since day one, unfortunately.
“So, please Cher, let me be here.”
She doesn’t say anything, she leans in and Toni is ready to welcome her in her arms.
The redhead’s not even sure of why exactly she’s crying, this love Toni’s showering her with, leaves her speechless.
The vulnerability she’s displaying no longer tastes like shame on her tongue (which is also the taste of her own blood); it feels warm and safe.
Cheryl is a sailor a hurricane has pushed to the shore, she’s been alone for months, years. A pink-haired girl finds her and she falls in love with her (with her, as in at the same time as her, as in they’re in this together) so hard, it makes up for all the years of torture.
Thornhill was torture, her parents were just her pure desperation.
After a couple of minutes, with her head still buried in Toni’s chest and a lot of warm tears ruining her t-shirt, she starts to breathe evenly again.
Wiping clean her cheeks, Cheryl gently stands up from the bed.
“Can you hear it?”
She asks, looking out the window, visibly calmer.
“What?”
“The raining on the roof got worse. The hailstorm they’ve been talking about.”
“Yeah, I love rain as much as you hate it, probably. Great for inspiration and vivid pictures.”
The other girl can’t help but chuckle a little at that answer, it’s almost as if she didn’t even have to “fight” her bad mood. With Toni, everything is easier and lighter. She doesn’t need to make an effort in loving her, that’s genuine.
“Have I ever told you why I hate it when it rains? Besides it being really annoying on my perfectly styled hair.”
Toni still looks at her as if she could light up the stars, when she turns around.
“I don’t think you have, baby. Why do you hate it so much?”
As distracting as that “thing” in her stomach is whenever she encounters the pink-haired girl’s eyes, she needs to focus.
This isn’t a presentation on the Blossom family tree or a test on the latest, hardest Math topic. This doesn’t come natural.
School, studying, logical thinking, she can handle. Feelings and talking about them, not so much.
“It’s probably going to sound really stupid, but the day Jason disappeared it was raining.”
Toni listens respectfully and attentively, from then on. She’s detected the direction this conversation is going.
“Then, the day they told me he died…it was pouring. And before all that happened, I remember I secretly kind of loved the idea of water flushing out from big, black clouds in the sky. As a kid I found it extraordinary.”
Cheryl shrugs her shoulders, intertwining her arms in front of her.
“When we were kids, they would let us run out of Thornhill and play in the puddles after it had drizzled.”
“So when your brother died, maybe you wanted somebody to blame?”
The other one dares to inquire, careful not to say something wrong. The pink-haired girl is lovingly caressing her side, motioning for her to continue if she wants to.
“…Yeah, as weird as it sounds. And I don’t want to make it all about my brother, I’ve come a long way since then and I also don’t want you to think I’m some shallow pretty princess who can’t get over herself, even though probably I am a little-“
She is graciously halted from taking her insecure ramble any further.
Toni delicately cups her cheeks, pecking lightly Cheryl’s lips.
When she opens her eyes, she’s smiling.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt. But also I felt like I kind of had to?”
That gets a legitimate laugh out of Cheryl, the emotion painted on her lips finally reaching her eyes, too. Close to a miracle, on a night like this.
“I just don’t like storms. I am very glad you’re here, Toni.”
She never thought, not even for a second, that maybe what would cure her unpredictable mood on days such as this one would be…company.
Not any company, her girlfriend’s.
“I actually made you something…before I knew the reason of your profound dislike for evocative stormy nights.”
Reaching into the bag she tossed to the side of the room when she came in, Toni grabs a CD, surprisingly. Then, moving under the observant eyes of the other girl, she turns on Cheryl’s CD player (she’s very attached to it, even though she could use her computer for these things; Toni knows what she prefers). Once it’s on, the first few notes of a song start spreading in the air.
Cheryl is in such a state of disbelief – a positive one -, she can just smile softly.
“What’s this?”
The answer is soon delivered directly to her hands. She’s holding what seems to be a diary or a notebook, she can see it has been worked on. It’s painted of red – of course - on the outside and her name is on it. It is written in a black, elegant calligraphy, which reminisces a lot Toni’s.
Cheryl Marjorie Blossom
my only love
“Open the second page.”
She does as she is commanded, discovering the lyrics of the song that’s currently filling her room; covering a little the heavy banging of hail outside.
for rainy days and bad days
call me and we’ll dance
or we’ll sing loud enough to cover the sound of rain
Again, she recognizes her girlfriend’s writing and another lone, happy tear can’t help but wander on her cheek.
You were alone, left out in the cold
Clinging to the ruin of your broken home
Too lost and hurting to carry your load
We all need someone to hold
You've been fighting the memory, on your own
Nothing worsens; nothing grows
I know how it feels being by yourself in the rain
We all need someone to stay
We all need someone to stay
“I promise you’ll have time to read it all if you want, later. Right now, Cheryl Blossom, will you dance with me?”
Toni offers her hand, taking the redhead in her arms as soon as she nods.
Catching a Blossom in loss of words is so rare and eventful, that this moment could be remembered for that fact only. Despite their height difference, they never had the slightest problem to fit together. It’s almost as if they were searching for a half to complete them and knew from the moment they met, they had it. Mimicking the words the song is so beautifully drawing above their heads, they keep swinging lightly together.
Hear you, falling and lonely, cry out:
Will you fix me up? Will you show me hope?
At the end of the day you were helpless
Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?
You've drunk it down and you've spat it out
And nothing tastes like the things you had
So turn it off, why don't you let them go?
We all need someone to stay
We all need someone to stay
“Thank you.”
Cheryl breathes shakily, her head hidden in the crook of Toni’s neck.
Every inch of those dark, rotten thoughts towards herself which rain normally brings, are nowhere to be seen.
All she sees, everything she hears and touches is Toni now.
There is nothing and no one else around them, she couldn’t ask for anything else.
She’s home.
Hear you, falling and lonely, cry out
Will you fix me up? Will you show me hope?
At the end of the day we're helpless
Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?
Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?
Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?
You were alone, left out in the cold
Clinging to the ruin of your broken home
You were falling and lonely, cry out:
Will you fix me up? Will you show me hope?
The end of the day and we're helpless
Can you keep me close? Can you love me?
Toni is listening to the rhythm their hearts make beating together, listening to the song. And almost as if she were responding to it, she hears it slip from her own lips. She’s not ashamed, she doesn’t feel out of place.
“I love you.”
Because of how true it is, how she can truly sense it on her skin.
Hear you falling and lonely cry out:
Will you fix me up? Will you show me hope?
At the end of the day we're helpless
Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?
Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?
Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?
A kiss is pressed firmly on Toni’s temple. It’s a bit wetter than expected, but as long as Cheryl is content, she is too.
“I love you, too.”
Their feet keep shifting in the same way for more than a couple of minutes that night; they lose track of time. Their hearts keep beating at the same pace, even entangled under the sheets of Cheryl’s bed; where they’ll be in a couple of hours later.