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Cheryl bobbled her head around lazily, lolling her eyes across the whisps of smoke billowing from the roaring fireplace. She sat in the living room- alone, apart from Jarvis, her Scottish Fold kitten that napped peacefully in its fluffy red bed. She drew in a large puff, exhaling cigarette smoke through her nose. It was a nasty habit she’d picked up a few years after graduation, and with all the money in the world, she had nothing but imported wines and Nat Sherman’s to fill the hole in her soul.
She blinked down at the paint staining her hands; splatters of brown shades and warm purples like a poison on her pale flesh. The painting sat in the corner- away from her workroom since it somehow felt more... personal; intimate to create this piece. It wasn’t finished, not by far, because no matter how fine the lines or rich the colour, it wasn’t as perfect as the subject staring with half lidded eyes back at her. She took another long drag, flickering the ash on to her silk sleep pants.
Jarvis mewed despondently and booked it up the stairs at the sudden wrapping at the front door, and with a last drag Cheryl tossed the remainder of her cigarette into the fire and swallowed dryly; following a very, very healthy sip of Chateau Margaux 1787.
“Cheryl?!” A warm but brazen voice sounded from outside, echoing into the empty halls as the person entered the estate.
“Bonsior, Ms. Topaz.”
Cheryl’s tone was dull and raspy from crying. Toni puckered her eyebrow in worry, swiftly moving to stand in front of the redhead. “Are you okay?”
The older woman nodded, still not meeting the brown doe eyes scanning her for any possible sign of injury. “Never better.”
Toni heaved a breath of relief, finally relexing the tense muscles she’d had since entering the Uber over.
“You scared me half to death.”
“No clue what for,” Cheryl spoke up, sipping languidly at her wine. “You haven’t been worried about me in, what was it now? Seven years?”
Toni pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, “Are you serious?? You sent me a text saying, and I quote, ‘I’m sorry Antoinette, but this world is not meant for a cursed soul such as mine’ and then went AWOL.”
The corner’s of Cheryl’s lips quirked, before flattening into a scowl once again. “There was nothing worrying about that text.”
“You know damn well that isn’t true.”
“Do I? Because it seems pretty obvious you don’t care considering this is the first time you’ve spoken to me without asking for money.”
Toni flinched, her heart twinging at the vivid hurt on the redhead’s face she just chose not to care about in favour of honey’d words for her and her friend’s causes. She swallowed thickly, shaking the memories off like water. “Since when was this even a matter of me caring? You sounded like you were-“
“What?” Cheryl snapped, finally meeting Toni’s eyes with a fire reflecting the flames of the one roaring behind them. “Like I was going to do something to hurt myself? God, if you knew the things I’ve done you wouldn’t question me having the thought pop up from time to time.”
Toni tried her best to understand, really, but maybe she was just trying to convince herself of that to ignore the truth that was quite literally sitting right in front of her. She looked around, taking in the darkened and empty rooms around them.
“Where’s your girlfriend?” She found herself asking, praying that Cheryl wouldn’t notice the slight bitterness on her tongue.
Cheryl noticed, that along with the unconcealable baby bump and stood, motioning Toni to take the seat she had previously occupied while she refilled her wine glass. Toni may not like accepting help, but she was 8 months pregnant and wasn’t about to whine when her feet were near ready to explode.
“Minerva isn’t my girlfriend, per say, more of-“
“A warm body?” Toni smirked,
Cheryl chuckled softly, and Toni desperately tried to blame the baby’s kicks being the feeling of fluttering in her chest and not because of the melodic sound coming from the goddess approaching with her filled glass and one with water.
Cheryl offered the water glass to her, shaking her rivulets to hide the slight blush tinting her cheeks. “No we havent uh, actually...” she inhaled sharply between her teeth, “A friend. We’ve kissed and I’m sure she’d love to... go further but I rather not.”
Toni nodded, releasing her iron like grip on the glass and moving to allow Cheryl to sit.
It was a tight fit, given the stack of papers on the left and Jarvis’ bed and toys on the right but they fit like puzzle pieces that had been discarded and lost apart for a time.
Cheryl’s eyed drifted from Toni’s dreadlock hair to the baby bump and smiled a bit. “Got a name for him or her yet?”
Toni smiled, nodding. “It’s a boy. Fangs wants to name him Fangs junior and Kevin wants to go with Evan like as in Dear Evan Hansen-“
“-Of course they would. And what do you want?”
Toni blinked as if Cheryl had three heads. “Well, uh, doesn’t really matter what I want. I’m just the surrogate...”
Without thinking Cheryl caught Toni’s wrist, leaning in to force their eyes to meet. “Of course it matters what you want. He’s your son.” Cheryl smiled softly, urging with the pad of her thumb against the vein of Toni’s wrist to speak.
“River...”
Toni breathed shakily, her eyes drifting down to slightly parted red lips, subconsciously licking at her own that suddenly felt too dry.
Cheryl took in her full bottom lip between perfect teeth, trying to refrain from smiling like a fool in front of her ex. “That’s a lovely name. Truly.”
Toni shrugged, “The boys offered to raise him as a family, but... I don’t know, I don’t want to be like...” she drifted off, looking at a very interesting piece of fat fur clinging to her maternity pants.
She didn’t have to say anything. Cheryl knew how terrified Toni was of becoming like her parents and just squeezed her wrist. “I think you would make an exceptional mother, TT.”
Toni’s head snapped up with widened eyes at the redhead, who seemed to notice her misnomer and had already jumped to her feet. “I-I’m so sorry, I just-“
“-It’s okay.”
“-It’s kate and I’ve drank way more of these than I should have,” she motioned to the half empty bottle of wine sitting on the table nearby haphazardly, “You should get going I’m sure youre exhausted and i dragged you out here and youre pregnant for God’s sake and-“
She was abruptly cut off by a pair of arms pulling her into a tight hug and her sobs were muffled by lavender scented hair that somehow still smelt of motor oil even after her hiatus from riding. It smelt like home- something Cheryl hadn’t felt since prom night seven years ago.
Toni reached up and ran her fingers through matted tresses, whispering tender promises of being okay and gentle reassurances. After a while, Cheryl’s breathing evened out and the ridiculousness of the large situation between them set in. She pulled away reluctantly and ran her hands across her sticky face.
“I’m such a mess,” she groaned, “Usually when seeing my ex I’d pull out the finest Dior and pretend my life is way better then theirs.”
Toni feigned offence with a hand to her chest, her face creased in a mix of shock and hurt. “You’ve been seeing other exes behind my back?” She gasped
Cheryl gaped, “I would never. Considering I only have one.”
Toni puffed her chest out cockily, “Yeah, I’m one of a kind.”
They both bursted into a fit of laughter, which seemed to call Jarvis out of hiding as he mewed at the doorway. Toni, suddenly with the excitement of a child, bounded over to the startled kitten who backed away slowly at the sudden figure towering above him.
“Oh my god! aren’t you just the cutest thing ever? Yes you are!”
Jarvis’ ears twitched and he took a tentative step forward, sniffing suspiciously at the hand offered. Sensing no threat, or perhaps coaxed by the taste of Toni’s pizza dinner, nuzzled his face against the palm of her hand.
Cheryl gasped, “No fair! It took me two months to get him to even stop hissing at me!”
Toni hoisted the kitten into her arms, cradling the purring animal to her chest. “Well, what can I say? I’m adorable.”
Cheryl bit her lip, looking to the fire to avoid the irresistible urge to spew out confessions of love to the brunette babying her only real family left.
But that same woman had her own baby on the way, and didn’t need the Blossom curse plaguing Toni’s new found family.
Toni’s babying stopped, when her eyes caught sight of the painting hidden in low light and a dark corner. She squinted, but when the light of the fire flickered and illuminated the canvas, it was as if it had become a mirror. Her face, half finished, looked back at her with a ferocity she never knew she was capable of.
“Is this... me?”
“Hm?” Cheryl hummed distractedly, turning and blanching at Toni who’s fingertips were tracing full and glossed lips she’d finished painting a few measly hours ago.
“I can explain!”
Toni turned slowly on her heels, setting Jarvis down before folding her arms and resting them atop her distended belly.
“Cheryl...” she began slowly, taking a half step forward as the redhead took a half step back.
“What is the real reason you texted me? Of all people?”
Cheryl shook her head fervously, “I don’t know what YourE talking about. I was just... drunk and in my head.”
“In your head?”
“Yeah...”
“About me?”
Cheryl didn’t respond, turning her back to Toni but she didn’t move any further away. She allowed the darker woman to approach because she was afraid if Toni wasn’t any closer she would collapse from how badly her knees were trembling.
“You know Cheryl...” Toni was only a foot away now. “I know you’re scared. Of trusting, of loving of commuting of... of losing. And I know I just made all of those worse and I’ve said.. some awful things to you lately...”
The memories were like open wounds in Cheryl’s mind, making her vision cloudy with unshed tears and heart ache at the pressure in her mind from the pain of those inconsolable nights. When she was drunkenly plastered in tears on her bedroom floor, too afraid of climbing into bed because maybe Toni would somehow manage to poison the sheets with the innocence of love now brandished with hatred for something she wasn’t seven sure she did.
“And I don’t know why I was so awful, or if there will ever even be a time where I can get my own head out of my ass and realize that I am the luckiest person on this planet to have known your love. You have always been insatiable, Cheryl. An insatiable woman with a talent for art and a heart with no limit to how capable you are to love. And I’m sorry that I was just another person to show you pain...”
Cheryl felt a hand at the small of her back, and leaned into her touch, fresh tears falling freely down her cheeks now completely stripped of her makeup from the day.
“I’m so sorry. I was an idiot for ever letting you go... I should have ran after you and I promise I will never let you go again. I mean, it might take me a few months to be able to chase you but...”
Cheryl laughed shakily, turning to face Toni.
She slowly reached her hands to cup pale cheeks, wiping at her tears with the pads of her thumbs. It was Cheryl’s turn to stare at plump lips she’d spent hours trying to perfect in her art and her here was this masterpiece, who wanted her.
“Do you... actually want to be with me?”
Toni leant up on her tippy toes to press a kiss to the crown of Cheryl’s head. “I’ve been trying to tell myself I don’t. But every single night, for every single year we’ve been apart you’ve crossed my mind without fail. Not even crossing. Like a full sprint over and over, so much so you have mad abs now.”
Cheryl smirked. “I’ve always had killer abs, TT.”
Toni moved her hand back to cup the back of her neck, toying with the stray curly baby hairs that managed to escape the heat from the flat iron.
“Can I kiss you?”
Cheryl snickered, “And here I thought Toni Topaz had game. Maybe getting old and knocked up-“
Swatting playfully at Cheryl’s chest, Toni said,
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence! I have game!”
“Prove it.”
Without hesitation, Toni pulled their lips into a searing kiss, capturing her full bottom lip between her own. Cheryl kissed back with just as much fever, nibbling at Toni’s lip and slipping her hands from her waist to cup her ass.
Toni hummed appreciatively, pulling back with a pop to look up through hooded lips. “Paint me like one of your french girls, Cher.”
Cheryl nearly tripped over her own feet running to the stairs.
“And don’t think we aren’t discussing your cigarette habits after! I’m not having you losing a lung to fulfill some painters prophecy! And slow down, before I give birth on your fuckin’ stairs!”
Cheryl’s laugh filled the Blossom house for probably the first time since Toni moved out.