Jughead walked swiftly around Veronica's apartment, his eyes never leaving the gold plated, three-tiered dessert tray in his hand. He carefully weaved through the sea of party guests, to a short table directly behind the living room couch, placing the tray firmly down onto the table with a dull thud, happy to see none of the colorful pastries fell off during the journey over.
Almost instantly his now free right hand was grabbed and consumed by Betty's dainty left hand, as he glanced to the side at his gorgeous girlfriend standing less than a foot away. Jughead immediately noticed the pleased smile on her face, growing as her fingers clutched his, her big green eyes sparkling with adoration. Their bodies quickly gravitated towards one another, hands still clasped. Betty's other arm came up to hold his, and she leaned up to give Jughead a tender kiss to show her appreciation for helping.
The second their lips touched, Jughead could feel the happiness from Betty's soul reverberate through his lanky body. For that brief moment, time faded once again, and him and Betty were the only two people in that crowded space. As Jughead leaned into Betty's kiss, he tried to pour all his happiness and contentment right back, giving her a quick reprieve from the millions of thoughts and stresses taking over her mind. The soft kiss was like a polite thank you, but with a shimmering passion behind it, a sort of trust Jughead was previously unfamiliar with.
Quite simply, Jughead loved when Betty kissed him. His perfect girl next door was always focused on a hundred other things, from pleasing others to her dozen extracurricular to investigating Jason's murder. But she still took the time to spare him a minute, even in the midst of family fueled chaos like this. It was her way of showing she card, that his presence made a real difference to both her and her happiness, without saying a word. Jughead appreciated every second of it and would never take that for granted.
The soft kiss ended, and Betty moved back enough to nearly blind him with her bright smile, her green eyes filled with affection for him. Her hands were still latched to his muscular arm, as though she was desperate not to lose the calming effect his touch clearly had on her.
"You're sweet to be here," she finally stated after a few moments. "I know this isn't exactly your scene," she teased, looking down at the dessert tray, attempting to find some miniscule detail to fix as per her helpful nature.
"What? Organizing a baby shower?" Jughead scoffed lightly. "It's totally on my bucket list," he finished, sarcasm dripping from his words. He watched Betty glance down and back up at him to avoid the playful smirk that threatened her features. Making eye contact again, Jughead's heart swelled when he saw that familiar smile. He gave it right back, hoping that his presence and mood would uplift her from any stress from the party, the way being near her seemed to brighten his spirit.
That slight smirk on her face, which filled Jughead with pride, vanished as Betty looked up towards the door, seeing her mother actually arrive at the shower.