Fixer Upper (A Choni Fanfiction)

Seven

Toni drove me to work in her Jeep this morning, since I left my car there last night. It wasn't as though I didn't have another car, or three others, even, but she insisted that it'd be easier if she just drove me.

We picked up coffee, then she parked outside of the Versaci office and waited for twenty minutes as I spoke to some corporate bottle blonde about getting two pieces for Josie's cover shoot, and one for Kelly's.

It seemed that Toni got out and walked across the street for a breakfast burrito at Maria's Cantina, considering the fact that she took a big, sloppy bite of one as I opened the door and slid in.

The best thing about being a corporate celebrity was nobody really knowing what I looked like, up until the incident yesterday. Now, everyone knew who I was. I saw flashes of photographers everywhere now, including ones peeking in through the window of Toni's vehicle as we drove slowly through traffic.

"I saw on Twitter that people are expecting action from me soon." I said simply over the music playing the background, and she pursed her lips, her thumb drumming on the back of my hand in thought.

"I think we can put the issue to rest today." She grinned, and I rose a brow.

"What do you have planned?" I asked, squinting my eyes in distrust, and she simply continued to beam as she pulled into the parking lot beside my car.

We both got out, and I finally got to take in Toni's look, from the black leggings, to the simple grey tank top, paired with a flannel tied around her waist, a leather jacket hugging her arms. A bandana was tied around her face to keep her hair out of her face, her camera hanging from a strap around her neck.

She looked like a hipster teenager who pierces ears at Claire's.

Despite her juvenile flannel-mesh aesthetic, I took her hand and walked up the stairs with her in my embrace, the eyes of my employees traveling to us as we walked casually to my office, closing the curtains and locking the door.

"That was awkward..." Toni admitted, and I just shrugged.

Yeah, but I've been in more awkward situations.

Like the time I had sex with a man.

Toni sat across from me and pulled a folder from her leather shoulder bag, setting it on the table.

The folder was red, my favorite color, and blank on the front. I opened it, and it was filled with blank pieces of lined paper.

"What is this?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"What do you want it to be?" She asked, "Sweetpea knows a press guy who's gonna set up a public conference tomorrow so that you can talk about what happened." She smiled, "You can make your case, talk about Jughead's mistake. Cheryl, you can own your sexuality and inspire people!" She laughed, and admittedly, my chest throbbed in excitement. She reached across my desk and laid her hand over mine, a soft, warm smile in her eyes as she looked deeply into mine, connecting with me in a way I don't think I had before with any other human being. "It's time you change the stereotype, and make "gay" just an adjective, not what defines you." She smiled, and I felt a tear fall from my eye, down my cheek. She reached forward and wiped it away before standing up with a worried expression as I began to sniffle. "What's wrong?" She whispered, kneeling in front of me and taking my cheeks in her hands, wiping the fleeting tears with her thumbs as they came down.

"It's just..." I sniffled, "Nobody has ever cared, or believed in me like you do right now." I laughed admittedly, feeling silly for laughing over something so trivial. It was true though. Nobody ever expressed their pride in all my accomplishments, or told me they believed in me while I was working my way up, I had to believe in myself. But now, I have this girl, the most amazing, kind, compassionate, and the sexiest woman I'd ever had the honor to kiss -to touch- to feel- believing in me, being proud of me, honoring my competence.