Jughead carried Betty's present for him back to the trailer, trudging through the snow and the cold. It was a large and heavy box, with pristine wrapping, giving absolutely no indication of what it could be. Jughead racked his brain for any clues or hints she had dropped, but came up with a genuine amount of nothing.
When it came time to open the present, Jughead remembers the moment vividly and always will. He was sitting at the table in the trailer, his father sitting next to him. Jughead undoes the bow and opens the box to reveal a writing instrument. But not just any writing instrument.
"Let me guess, that's from Betty." FP said, motioning to the gift.
"It's a vintage Underwood!" Jughead exclaimed with an unpracticed amount of joy in his voice. "It's the typewriter of champions." Jughead continued, a small gasp of surprise following his remark, still in disbelief. His gift was totally him, and of course Betty knew that and his mind filled with some different scenarios of her Nancy Drew-ing her way to find him his dream writing tool.
"You want to swing by later? Maybe say thanks in person?" FP asked, a hint of encouragement in his features.
Jughead smile continued to grow on his face as he glanced over to his father. "Yeah, I think I will."
Later that night, Jughead found himself walking through the chilly streets of Riverdale as snow consistently began to fall. He wrapped his red Sherpa jacket tighter around his body and looked up just in time to see the Cooper residence come into view up the street. Jughead had debated walking or taking his bike, but after his breakup with Betty he didn't want to make things worse by shoving the reminder in her face.
Jughead cautiously made his way up the walk, before stopping near the top of the stairs to Betty's house. He could see Betty through the large bay window. His heart stopped instantly when he noticed the blonde sitting in the living room by the fireplace. Her signature and iconic ponytail was high and tight on her head, her shoulder was slumped slightly, and Jug could make out the festive red and white Christmas sweater with snowflakes that was really the essence of Betty.
He loved her. So much.
Her strength, her loyalty, her compassion, her Nancy Drew investigative skills, her high collared pastel colored clothes and her beauty. It was so endearing to him how she seemed so unaware of it. His beautiful Betts.
As Jug stared, he couldn't help but notice that she seemed defeated and almost beaten down despite her usual mask of perfection. The young woman sitting before him was broken and all he wanted to do in that moment was fix it, especially since he realized he contributed to some of that pain himself. So, he did.
Almost as if sensing his presence, Betty instinctively turned around toward the window and they made eye contact immediately. Jughead could see the fresh tears in her eyes, a pain stabbing through his heart in a way words never could. As though they were drawn to each other by an invisible force, Betty and Jughead moved towards the front door at the same time.
Betty opened to front door and warily eyed Jughead's damp clothes and hair. Then she motioning for him to enter, a reserved smile on her face. "Come in Jug, before you caught a cold."
Typical Betty, Jug thought. Always putting others before herself. Jug followed her silently, closing the door quietly behind him. They both went to sit across from each other next to the roaring fire. Jug noticed the white box on the floor with the black hood next to it, as his eyes quickly flickered up to the charred paper in the flames.
Of course, he realized. Burning the evidence. The memories.
Jughead wasn't sure how long they sat there together, but it felt like hours. He glanced at Betty, whose brilliant green eyes were focused on the fire. Jug carefully took her right hand in his left hand, his thumb caressing the back of hers lightly. At the contact, Betty glanced away from the fire, down at their joined hands, then up into his concerned gaze.
He watched closely as she swallowed a sob, clenching her eyes shut to try to let some of the fear and pain of recent events escape. Wanting nothing more than to ease that pain, Jughead snaked his right hand up her shoulder to her neck, offering comfort in his touch as she visibly relaxed.
Then, she slowly lowered her head onto his shoulder, crumbling slightly into his embrace, not unlike their moment at Pop's after his failed birthday party.
"It's over Betty. You're safe now." Jug spoke gently.
"You don't know that, Jug. He said I was just like him." Betty replied, her voice quivering with the uncertainty of that indication.
Jug carefully pushed Betty up so their faces were inched apart. He placed his hands firmly on either side of her face, staring into her doe green eyes with all the compassion, truth and love that engulfed him.
"You, Betty Cooper, are nothing like him. Nothing." He emphasized. "You are so much stronger than everything around you Betts. You figured out who killed Jason Blossom. You figured out who the Sugarman was. You never gave up on my dad and you never gave up on me." He paused, watching her eyes grow a bit softer as she stared back at him. Jug saw the pain beginning to slip away behind her eyes.
"You were right. We will figure out what we have to do together." Jughead finished, barely nodding his head forward, maintaining eye contact, so she could see just how serious he was. There was no hesitation, fear, or hate in his face or voice. Betty seemed to be taken everything in, from his confident demeanor to his words.
Fresh tears sprung in Betty's eyes as his words and she briefly looked down, while Jughead planted a much needed and long-awaited kiss on her forehead. Afterwards, Jug leaned his head against the top of hers in another gesture of comfort.
"You were right. It isn't my decision. It's our decision. Together. Me and my beloved." Jughead stated, the tone of finality consuming the air around them.
Betty sharply looked up at that. A hopefulness present in her eyes that he had missed seeing dearly. So, she had opened his gift. That fact alone warmed his heart.
A shy smile, one only reserved for each other appeared on their faces, as they let Jug's words settle around them, like a protective shield engulfing two hearts into the souls of battle-weary soldiers.
"Jug," Betty whispered quietly, her voice cracking with thick emotion. "Your gift, it was everything." She finished with full admiration in her gaze. Jughead could clearly see the shine of love reflecting in her eyes as he slowly caressed her cheek.
"Well, that certainly sets the bar high for next year. Don't know how I'll top that," he supplied, with a surge of confidence that came only when being in close proximity to her.
Betty tilted her head to the side and reached up to touch the sides of his face, while a slight smirk appeared on her lips. With a quirk of her brow, Betty revealed," Oh Juggie, you could always give me a hand typed copy of your novel." Jughead watched the surge or affection and happiness that instantly graced her features, as he swallowed thickly and blinked.
Jughead swore the world stopped in that moment. His heart certainly did. Betty getting the first copy of his novel was a given, not that she apparently knew that. He was still amazed that his love for this beautiful young woman could grow, but there it was.
He suddenly reached one hand into her hair and released out her pristine ponytail, watching as her blonde locks fell angelically around her face, illuminating in the firelight. She was so beautiful. He could never get enough of her. He felt his lips break into an amazed smile, her eyes lighting up even more at the sight.
Then Jug felt Betty reach a hand up and remove his beanie, carefully placing it next to them without breaking eye contact. Jughead took a deep breath and said in a serious but playful tone, "Betts, that's not going to take a whole year, even with a vintage Underwood typewriter."
And there it was. Betty's ethereal smile that changed his whole world. It was like her soul was restored at his words, shaking her head a bit, she placed the hand that had taken his beanie over his heart and gushed, I love you, Jughead Jones."
In that moment, Jughead knew he was wrong. Hearing Betty Cooper say she loved him wasn't the best moment of his entire life. Hearing Betty Cooper say she loved him a second time and being the one who initiated the words was. He placed his other hand on top of hers over his heart and intertwined their fingers.
"I love you, Betty Cooper," Jughead answered earnestly, meaning every single syllable as though he was carving it into his soul. "I may be living minute to minute here and have no idea what's coming next, but please know Betts, always, that I love you. And I have never once doubted that and I never will. I knew it when you crawled into Archie's treehouse that first time I ever saw you and I know it now. I will know it always. I love you."
Betty nearly cut him off and knocked him over with the force of her kiss against his lips. There was no greater feeling of sharing a kiss with his beloved. Words did not exist to do it justice. The absolute healing power of the cosmic energy between them. All the emotions from frustration, confusion, compassion, fear, pain, lust and of course love were poured into that moment, into that kiss.
They couldn't get close enough. Their lips, their hearts, and their souls were melding together to form an unbreakable bond between them. The light and darkness inside both of them meeting truly for the first time and getting along like two sides of the same coin. Their angels and demons playing well together, creating a strong and unstoppable force. They would and could handle anything that came their way, together.
Betty broke the kiss slowly, moving her lips back just enough so she could look him in the eyes. The pure love radiating from her whole being was lifting him up and erasing his pain almost instantly. "I love you so much, Juggie. And everything else, the terror of the Black Hood, the Serpents, my mom, and your dad, we can face anything together."
"And we will Betty. Always." Jughead squeezed their joined hands together as she spoke, before pulling her back into a mind-blowing kiss as the fire continued to roar next to them. Eventually, they both pulled away, but simply basked in the warm and comfortable embrace of each other. Betty head returned to his shoulder, their hands still intertwined on his heart, his other hand on Betty's shoulder, as the final hours of the night faded away. In that moment between them, there was only love, unbreakable and everlasting.