Toni knocks on the door at seven o'clock the next day, duffel bag hanging from her shoulder and a big grin plastered on her face.
"Who is that?" Nana Rose calls from the living room, and Cheryl winces. Toni's smile grows wider.
"A friend, Nana Rose," Cheryl calls back, pulling Toni into her house and shutting the door behind her. She drags her to the kitchen, just to be sure, and says: "She'll be asleep and in bed by 7:30, I swear."
"I don't mind, Cheryl," Toni sets her bag down on the kitchen table, smirks, "what? Did you think I came to see you? I'm all about Grandma Blossom."
"Whatever."
"Don't be jealous."
"I'll try my hardest not to be." With that, Cheryl whirls around and heads back to the living room, most definitely feeling Toni's eyes on her back.
Nana Rose is watching her programs, already forgetting there had been a visitor at all.
"It's almost time for bed, Nana Rose," Cheryl informs her, hands finding the handles on her wheelchair, "let's start getting you ready."
She wheels Nana Rose towards her bedroom slowly, deliberately crossing the kitchen just so she can feel Toni's eyes on her back again. She leaves Nana Rose's door slightly open because Toni is going to come snooping around eventually — and she does, just as Cheryl is helping Nana Rose remove the makeup off her paper-like skin.
"Can I help with anything?" Toni interrups the silence, voice soft for Nana Rose's sake. Cheryl's first instinct is to say no. She's been doing this for years now, all by herself, but, well. Toni's asking. She can't say no.
"Could you fold the wheelchair up and put it in the closet?" Cheryl says, removing Nana Rose's earrings, now, a pair of pretty, golden roses. Always on brand.
"Of course, yeah."
Toni struggles with the wheelchair for a long minute, making the most ridiculous noises as if she was physically fighting the metal chair. Cheryl and Nana Rose both turn to her, eyebrows raised. She's trying to kick in a lever now and, upon hearing a little laugh, Toni looks up to meet Cheryl's eyes.
"If you can't handle that, Toni, I could assign you to fluff the pillow, maybe?"
"Shut up." Toni says through gritted teeth, turning back to the wheelchair.
Cheryl can't help the smile on her face, the giddiness coursing through her; she doesn't notice Nana Rose studying her face with her one working eye. The other one, icy blue and dead, used to haunt Cheryl's dreams before she realized her grandmother was an ally, another friend in this haunted home.
"She's a pretty one." Nana Rose mutters as Cheryl slides the necklace off of her. Cheryl startles, blinking a few times before risking a look to see if Toni heard. The girl's back is to her as she slides the closet door open, so Cheryl isn't really sure she can hear them, but —
"The prettiest." Cheryl murmurs back, moving to put the necklace away in Nana Rose's jewerly box.
The assortment of rings and necklaces and earrings and brooches used to dazzle Cheryl but now she has her own extensive collection on her nightstand, one that perhaps even surpasses Nana Rose's. She'd caught Cheryl sifting through it many years ago and, instead of scolding her or slapping her as she'd expected, her grandmother told her to pick her favourite brooch, a red spider one, and let her keep it. She even promised Cheryl that, when she died, she'd be the one to inherit her jewerly — not Cheryl's mom or any of her daughters. Just Cheryl.
"What's your name, dear?" Nana Rose asks pleasantly, shifting in bed a little as Cheryl prepares to tuck her in. Toni's gone red-faced, breathless from fighting with the wheelchair that most likely weighs the same as her. Cheryl smiles ar her own quip, archives it to tell Toni later on today.
"Antoinette Topaz," Toni answers, looking at Cheryl to see if it gauged a reaction from her, "but I very much prefer Toni."
Cheryl doesn't really react, unfortunately. She's learned not to, has learned to school her expression to be scoid and serious and blank. Years of abuse will do that to a person.
"Antoinette," Nana Rose repeats, nodding, as if all the secrets of the universe have finally been revealed to her, "you take good care of my Cheryl."
"You're just going to sleep, Nana Rose."
"At my age, you don't know whether you'll wake up tomorrow or not," Nana Rose closes her eyes, shakes her head, "you promise me?"
She's speaking to Toni again and Cheryl thinks this is a little embarrassing. It feels like Nana Rose is marrying them, like maybe she'll whip out the Blossom ring any moment now.
Cheryl can feel Toni's eyes on the side of her face but she doesn't look, oddly nervous.
"I promise, Mrs. Blossom."
"She can be a handful sometimes," Nana Rose is looking at Cheryl now, intently so, "always was a troublesome child, however– always a good heart. Cheryl just needs someone to look out for her once in a while."
"I understand," Toni replies, "as long as she'll have me, I'll take care of her."
"As soulmates should."
YOU ARE READING
Sick of losing soulmates (Cheryl Blossom & Toni Topaz)
Fanfiction"Toni looks at her - like, really looks at her - long and hard and then she nods as if she understands, as if all of Cheryl's secrets are written all over her face and it just took someone to look closer than usual to discover them all." Or; you hav...
