A gentle shaking of his shoulder pulled Jughead out of sleep, and he blinked several times as his eyes focused. "I don't know what time it is, but I do know it's too early," he grumbled. He might be able to stay up all night playing the Dragonquest games, but sleeping was one of the main sources of joy in his life.

But as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked up to find his boyfriend, one of his other main sources of joy (the other two being eating, of course, and then his baby sister, Jellybean), some of his morning grumpiness faded.

"I just wanted to say goodbye," Kevin said. His smile, in Jughead's opinion, rivalled the sunlight that was currently streaming in through the bedroom window and illuminating his golden blond hair. "I'm heading out for the morning."

Jughead glanced at the digital clock on his bedside table. "Already? It's only six AM! Give it a rest, Kevin, it's Saturday!"

"Yeah, but I have to go do my morning run," Kevin reminded him. "Besides, I want to clear out long before your mom and dad get home, or else things are going to get awkward fast. Do you really want to have to start your weekend by accidentally revealing your sex life to your parents?"

"Just come back to bed," Jughead urged him, tugging on Kevin's arm. "My grandparents live nearly three hours away, so we have plenty of time."

"Not going to work," Kevin told him. "Besides, I have a bunch of things to do today. I need to get started on the paperwork for that archery club Ginger and I are starting, and then after that, I need to begin plans for the school charity fundraiser."

Jughead sighed, unable to avoid wondering how many of Kevin's scumbag exes threw Kevin out the minute sex was over. One of the reasons he'd wanted to date him in the first place was to make sure Kevin was treated better than that. "You're leaving so early anyone would think I kicked you out of bed. If someone ever were to find out about this, they would think I'm a terrible boyfriend."

"It's all part of my nefarious plan. If no one else wants you as a boyfriend, I can keep you to myself forever. Insert diabolical laughter here," Kevin replied dryly.

Jughead let out a huff of laughter. "Next time we do this, promise you'll at least stick around until double digits?"

"Tell you what." Kevin gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Next time we do this, I'll make you breakfast."

"I'll help you," Jughead said in an uncharacteristic display of volunteering. "It's something we can do together."

Just as Jughead was about to bite into a big, juicy burger, Veronica slid into the booth beside him at Pop Tate's, wearing a haughty glare and what was no doubt a designer dress. Reggie sat down on the opposite side of the table, also in designer clothes, his expression a mirror of Veronica's

"You two just ruined my appetite," Jughead said with a sigh, setting his burger back down on his plate. "What do you want?"

"To harass you," Betty said, frowning at Veronica and Reggie as she and Archie joined them as well. "Which we told them not to do."

"And I told you, Betty, that I'm only here for Kevin's sake," Veronica replied with a flip of her long, sleek dark hair. She narrowed her eyes at Jughead. "Much as I despise the idea of my best friend dating a degenerate like you, I have accepted that I'm not able to control everyone around me at all times—"

Reggie scoffed. "Yeah, right. The reason you and Kevin get along so well is because both of you are class A control freaks."

Veronica was not deterred. "So, I decided that I would offer our dear Forsythe some useful tips on his romance with Kevin," she continued. "Specifically, his plans for Kevin's birthday. It's only two weeks away, you know."

"Neither my love life nor Kevin's are any of your business," Jughead informed her flatly. "Especially not in how they correlate."

"They are too my business," Veronica said with a scowl. "Kevin is my best friend—"

"Mine, too," Reggie interjected. When Jughead, Kevin's previous other best friend, had become his boyfriend, Reggie had jumped as the chance to be Kevin's new other best friend. And even Jughead had to grudgingly admit that he did a good job.

"—so it's part of my job to make sure you treat him right," Veronica finished.

"Me, too," Reggie added.

Jughead rolled his eyes. "Veronica, I swear you're only doing this because you're bitter about not being able to date Kevin yourself."

"Don't be ridiculous," Veronica snapped, though her face flushed at his remark. "I'm perfectly happy with Betty, thank you very much."

Betty sent a sweet smile Veronica's way. "Aw, thank you, Ron."

"Veronica and I are here because you need all the romantic advice you could possibly get, given how little charm or finesse you have," Reggie told Jughead bluntly. "Honestly, it's a miracle someone like you ever scored a solid nine out of ten like Keller. And if you want to keep him around, you'll have to keep him happy. We also want to see him happy, and weird as it is, dating you seems to do that for him. So think of this a temporary truce to unite for the sake of a common friend. Who happens to be your boyfriend."

"How are you measuring Kevin's attractiveness?" Archie questioned. "Are you using yourself as a basis of comparison?"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to be using you , Andrews," Reggie replied dismissively.

"So, Jughead, to give you the help you so desperately need, I've prepared a list of ideas." Veronica tapped the screen of her smartphone, the latest and trendiest model, which hadn't even yet been released for regular retail. "First idea: take him out to New York City for a night on the town. Dinner and a Broadway show."

Jughead shook his head. "Kevin hates all musicals."

"What about a new video game?" Archie suggested

"How pedestrian." Veronica sniffed. "Also, it's completely unromantic."

"He doesn't have a gaming system," Jughead said. "Colonel and Mrs. Keller don't allow video games in the house. They think they glorify violence. Besides, Kevin doesn't have the free time to play, anyhow."

"You should buy him some decent clothing," Reggie declared with authority. "My God, the way Kevin dresses is shameful! It's either that L.L. Boring look for class president stuff, with khakis and button-down shirts, or he's wearing jeans and plaid shirts open over those awful, awful pop culture T-shirts, like some sort of hillbilly chump." He turned to Jughead. "Let me help you pick out some new clothes for Kevin. His wardrobe needs a massive overhaul."

"That's brilliant!" Veronica enthused. "I've been telling Kevin forever that he needs to start dressing better, but you know him—totally uninterested in fashion."

"The fact alone that you two agree it would be a great idea is sufficient evidence to convince me that it actually isn't." Jughead polished off the last of his burger.

Betty cast an unimpressed glance at Reggie and Veronica. "If you're going to interfere against my advice, you should at least give some consideration to what Kevin actually likes. Think about him—he's always on the go, constantly planning some fundraiser or even for student government or another club at school. He's clearly drawn to activity."

Reggie scoffed. "What, are you saying Jughead should buy him a board game or something?"

"Better than some outfit you'd pick out that would get Kevin mistaken as an exotic dancer," Betty shot back.

A particular memory of Kevin drifted to the front of Jughead's mind, spurred by Betty's words. "Actually, I like your line of thinking," he commented as he rose from the table and started toward the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do some grocery shopping."

Jughead gave a cheerful wave to Pop on his way out. "Reggie's paying my bill," he told him smoothly.

A common fixture of the Keller household, Jughead let himself into the backyard of the large Tudor home without worry. He found Kevin by back gardens, curled up on the patio swing with a Superman omnibus in what appeared to be a rare moment of repose.

"Taking some time to relax?" Jughead asked approvingly. He often thought his boyfriend worked himself much too hard.

"Planning my next speech as student body president," Kevin corrected. Last month, in a series of events that were too convoluted and controversial for Jughead to bother with, Kevin had traded his status as junior class president for a rank that let him hold control over all students in the school instead of just those in his grade.

Glancing at the post-it notes on the page, Jughead couldn't help but notice that most of the panels Kevin had marked featured Lex Luthor rather than Superman. However, he didn't comment on the matter, instead just presenting Kevin with a gift bag.

"I hear you have a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, as Reggie and Veronica were so kind as to inform me," Jughead said. "So I decided to give you your present early to get them off my back."

"Those two are incorrigible," Kevin remarked. "I can't tell you how many times I've told them to leave you alone where our dating life is concerned."

"Well, I can't criticize Veronica too much right now, as she was big help in assembling your gift. But Reggie is fair game, as always." Jughead indicated the gift bag. "Go on, open it."

Ever polite, Kevin extracted the card first, carefully sliding it out of the envelope. "Four all-expenses-paid tickets to a luxury beach resort on the weekend of my birthday," he observed, surprise evident on his face.

"They're for your parents and sisters," Jughead told him. At Kevin's quizzical glance, he elaborated. "This all will make more sense once you see what else is in the bag."

With a nonchalant shrug, Kevin pulled out the remaining contents. "Pancake mix. Maple syrup. Orange juice. Cinnamon and thyme."

"With more to come," Jughead assured him. "I just didn't want to buy the perishable foods just yet, since your actual birthday is still two weeks away."

Kevin playfully arched an eyebrow at him. "And what exactly do you have planned for my birthday?"

Jughead grinned. "Your parents and sisters go away to the beach resort. With them gone, you have the house all to yourself, and then you invite me over to spend the night. And," he made a sweeping gesture toward the gift bag, "we make breakfast together the next morning, just like I promised."

Kevin shook his head, chuckling. "Man, you really planned this out, didn't you? I mean, all this trouble, just for me?"

"For us," Jughead corrected. Seeing Kevin's eyebrows rise, he explained. "I want you to know that we're a team, that I'm working with you and not against you." He gave a slightly embarrassed shrug, an uncommon sliver of self-consciousness pricking through him, not quite sure of how to word the sentiment he wanted to express. "I know that in your clubs and stuff, you have to fight to make sure your ideas actually happen, and that you usually have to face down some sort of challenge that would prevent them from coming true. But I want to give you a break from all that fighting. I don't ever want you to feel challenged by me. I just want you to enjoy being with me."

"Jug, I already do," Kevin said warmly. He smiled at Jughead and glanced at the bag. "I can safely say that this is the most thoughtful gift any of my boyfriends have ever given to me."

Jughead smiled widely as Kevin leaned in to give him a light kiss on the cheek. "What do you say we go and show those resort passes to your parents, huh? We can even give Veronica her due credit for getting them for us," he added, feeling a rare burst of generosity for his usual nemesis.

"Let's go," Kevin said happily, springing to his feet. "Afterward, we can plan out the birthday breakfast menu."

Jughead let out a sigh of contentment as he slung his arm around Kevin's shoulders as they walked toward the house together. Without a doubt, there was no one else other than Kevin he'd rather be planning a meal with or for.