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Cheryl sat blinking into the flames of the fireplace with a soft, white blanket hung over her shoulders. Her hands were tangled in locks of contrasting shades of brown hair belonging to a certain Hale sleeping on her lap.
Toby smiled fondly down at them upon walking into the living room and gently handed Cheryl her mug of hot chocolate. "She asleep?"
Cheryl nodded with a grateful smile for the hot beverage. "She claimed to be resting her eyes but she always falls asleep when I run my hands through her hair."
A light snort was Toby's first response as he glanced between his sister and her girlfriend. "You're good for each other, you know that?"
Cheryl ducked her head to sip at the hot chocolate and avoid answering his question. While she believed with her every being that Lexi was the best damn thing to happen to Cheryl in a long time, she wasn't quite sure she was good enough for the brunette. After all her screwed up shit, between the drama with Jason and the fact her father murdered Lexi's best friend, she was surprised Lexi hadn't ran for the hills yet.
Toby noticed her intentional silence but didn't say anything on the matter. He knew she was more alike Lexi than she thought. They both couldn't give two craps about themselves but when it came to the other, they acted like light shined out of their arse (in Toby's own words, of course).
"Hey, um, I know it's weird me being Lexi's brother and all," Toby began, insardly cursing himself for being so awkward, "but if you ever need anything, you can come to me and I promise I'll be there as soon as I can."
Cheryl felt her heart swell and break all at once. She felt conflicted with the amount of gratitude she had for Toby's words and the tearing of the hole Jason had left in her soul. Toby sounded exactly how an older brother would and she was grateful to have someone who cared enough to be another older brother to her. It was just hard having someone else offer to be there for her when Jason used to be the one there for her.
Unable to form words right away, Cheryl choked on a sob and nodded with a few tears making their way down her wet cheeks. "T-thank you."
A nod and awkward smile later and Toby stood up to make his departure. Cheryl turned back to the fire and took another sip of her hot chocolate, her free hand absentmindedly twirling around a piece of Lexi's damp hair.
"God, he must like you. He doesn't even answer the phone for me or Cole." Lexi's voice broke the silence and nearly gave Cheryl a heart attack.
"Lexi! I thought you were sleeping!" Cheryl scolded in a whisper, knowing it was late and she didn't want to annoy either of her girlfriend's brothers.
"I was." The brunette smirked up at her before reaching up to trail her hand along the side of Cheryl's face with a deep frown painting her features. "I thought you were going to—"
She didn't have the courage to finish that sentence.
Cheryl smiled down at her sadly. "I know. I'm okay now."
"Don't you ever leave me like Jason did." Lexi whispered unable to speak any louder as her eyes glassed over with unshed tears.
The redhead felt her mind cloud with guilt as she thought about what Lexi would have went through if her wish to be reacquainted with Jason had came true. She couldn't imagine the pain she'd feel if the roles had of been reversed. "I thought you would have been better off without me."
Lexi sprang up into a sitting position beside Cheryl and Cheryl realised that she no longer wanted to stare at the fireplace but instead the fire ignited within Lexi's eyes. "Don't you ever think that. You mean the fuckin' world to me, Cherry. I couldn't cope if you had of died today... I need you. I need you because I'm in love with you."
Cheryl leaned into the brunette and captured her lips in a soft and delicate kiss. It was slow and deliberate, each movement felt like bliss until it deepened and then the real bliss presented itself. Lexi held back a smile at the faint taste of hot chocolate on the redhead's lips.
Each kiss represented their love for one another. Each caress of one of their faces, their arms, their thighs was heaven on earth, a silent promise of affection. Cheryl took the lead of this kiss fairly quickly as she pulled Lexi's hips towards her and lowered her back onto the carpet. Their hands and bodies disappeared under the blanket still hanging over Cheryl's shoulders.
"Cherry," a groan left Lexi's lips as Cheryl's hand traced the waistline of the sweatpants she'd put on after her warm shower to get some hear back in her body. But the brunette couldn't help but to think she would have gotten warmed a lot faster with Cheryl.
Cheryl's breath began rugged as she pulled back for air. "Have I mentioned how much I love when you call me that?"
Lexi's back arched and she took a deep breath as the older girl's hand dipped into her sweatpants. "No. Show me instead."
"Of course, babe." Cheryl answered with a pleased smile as she enveloped Lexi into another kiss — one of many that lead to them both lying side by side on the carpet with the white blanket lying over both their panting bodies.
"Mother's going to wonder where I am." Cheryl said, still breathless for their earlier activities.
"Screw that bitch." Lexi scoffed. "You can stay here for as long as you want. I'd actually prefer it than you going home to live with the wicked witch of the west."
Cheryl thought about it and nodded. "I need to go home and say goodbye."
As Cheryl sat up and got ready to leave, Lexi sat up and watched the redhead with a careful eye. She couldn't say it aloud but she was pretty worried about having Cheryl leave her sight again in case she done something stupid again. "Want me to come with you?"
Cheryl smiled, walking over to bend down and plant a last kiss on Lexi's lips, and for a moment Lexi thought she was going to say yes. "No. There's something I've got to do alone."
"What are you going to do?" Lexi asked stared up at her with mild concern.
"I'm gonna burn that effing house down. It's going to turn to ashes and account for all the lies and secrets it's kept over the years. It's gonna die in misery just like Jason..."
author's note this is, unfortunately, the last chapter of Dark Necessities. I know I've left it quite open and kinda on a cliffhanger but there will be an epilogue so look out for that!
I'm sorry for the abrupt ending but I was losing inspiration for this fic for a while and I knew I'd never be able to make it into season two so I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing Lexi's story.
