Sorry about how long this took but it's finally here! Line break means a change in POV.


The night may have been cold but, in that moment, Betty felt fireworks. They were electrifying and warmed her to the core, giving her goosebumps as they streaked colour across the night sky. She knew that the second she opened her eyes they would disappear, as if they were never there, and that was a risk she wasn't willing to take. She could feel him relaxing towards her, into her palms, with each second that passed, until he broke the kiss, remaining a breath away. She felt herself smile and felt him exhale with relief. And to think, all it took for them to be where they were was a different city to get away from two other people.

"Weird," she heard herself say and wanted to hit herself. Luckily he seemed highly amused by her reaction.

"Wow. That's what you thought about our moment?" He asked, faux offence colouring his tone. She smiled at the way he called it their moment. He wasn't wrong, but there was something about calling it a moment belonging to them that made her smile widen.

"No, Jug. Our moment was very… not weird," she attempted to patch up the situation. He studied her face for a moment before his smile widened too.

"So, what was weird then?" He asked, stepping back and allowing cool air to wash over her, filling the newly created Jughead-shaped void.

"You know earlier when you asked what Veronica wanted?"

"Yeah?"

"So, she told me that… well, she had sex with Archie," she said, pressing her lips together and giving a curt nod at the end. Jughead stared at her for a few moments. "Apparently leave-Betty-in-the-dark is everyone's favourite game this Christmas," she decided to reference him bringing her to his dad's place. He seemed to realise this, his cheeks momentarily flushing as he glanced away.

"Oh," he managed at long last and Betty shook her head, now wishing she hadn't brought it up. "Um, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, and he studied her face for a moment, his brow creasing intensely with a frown of confusion.

"Then why is it weird?"

"It's weird that I'm fine with it," the admission made her feel lighter (although part of the lightheadedness was an after-effect of the kiss, she supposed). Jughead's eyes widened as realisation dawned on him. With a soft chuckle, he stepped back into the void.

"You worry too much, you know?"

Her shoulders sagged when he stepped closer and she smiled at him.

"I know. I also know I'm fucking freezing," he laughed and motioned for her to lead the way inside. Once inside, she took a seat on the couch again and he took his previous spot beside her. They sat in silence for a few moments and Betty could hear the gears turning in Jughead's head. Her own mind was churning too – she wondered what this meant for them. It was a great kiss, no doubt, and deep down she knew she didn't want it to be a one-time thing but she also wasn't sure how to move forward.

"You know," Jughead began, sending a flood of relief through her veins that he was the first to speak, "we don't have to… label anything. I mean, you said it wasn't weird, which albeit not too good a description of how I thought it was, is better than anything I was hoping for, so-"

"Did you just casually use 'albeit' in a sentence?" She asked, amusement lacing her tone. Jughead's cheeks coloured at this, but she saw his lexical fire flaring.

"I'm a writer. It's what I do."

"No need to get defensive. It's kinda… attractive," she smiled at him and watched his eyes widen at this before he smirked in response.

"Is it?"

And, once again, he was kissing her. Except this time was completely different. This time the waters had been tested and decided to be perfect. This time she felt herself leaning back into a horizontal position on the couch, Jughead on top of her. He moved from her lips to her neck, biting and sucking in quick succession as Betty struggled to regulate her breathing, trying to prevent it from becoming the quick rasp it was threatening to be. When she felt him reach her collarbone and start to go lower, her eyes flew open and she whispered, "No."

Instantly he stopped, propping himself up to make eye contact with her, gazing at her with worried eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just… not like this. I mean, we need to talk about this first. What this is, and what it means and everything," she started sitting up and saw him awkwardly get back into a sitting position too.

"Okay… talk," he said, and Betty's mind went blank. She hadn't thought of what she wanted to say. All she could remember was Jughead's lips on her skin and the fire it lit inside her.

"You go first," she prompted lamely, and he gave her a smile of amusement. She expected him to point out that she had been the one to propose talking.

"Okay," he began, and Betty had never been more grateful for her choice in men, "well, I know I like you and I hope you like me?" She nodded fervently at this, watching his face collapse into a smile of almost pure joy. "So, with these facts on the table, we can do whatever you want. The ball is entirely in your court. If you want to go slow, we can go slow as fuck. If you just want to be friends that's fine too, obviously. No hard feelings, no obligations."

"No hard feelings, no obligations," she echoed, enjoying the sound of these words and the freedom with which they came. She had never been allowed to define the relationship. In all her past relationships, if the word girlfriend was thrown her way, she simply allowed it to hit her in all its force, not bothering to fight it. In fact, Betty had learnt to accept labels a long time ago, only fighting the "perfect" one when she finally made the wise decision to quit the Register.

"If you leave, Elizabeth, I promise you – you'll never find work again. You're not qualified for anything. You think nepotism is a joke? It's the only reason you have such a high standing here. Leave me – us – and you're going to lose it all. "

"No offence, Mom , but I'm better than nepotism."

"Careful Elizabeth. You're only perfect within these walls. The outside world will thrive on making you aware of your imperfections."

"Mom, my entire life I've been doing everything for you and dad. Everything to be perfect . This is the one thing I have to do for me."

She walked out and didn't hear from her parents again.

"Like I said, we don't have to label anything. If you'd rather be together without… being together, as it were, that's perfectly fine too. Whatever you want, Betts," he finished, and she smiled at him. Slowly, she leaned over and kissed him gently.

"Thank you."


Jughead awoke with a terrible pain in his neck. He knew sleeping on the couch was going to be painful, but he had never expected it to be this level of painful. His entire body was rebelling against changing position, yet Jughead had never wanted to move less. In his mind, he was replaying last night over and over again; it was, by far, the best first kiss he had ever managed. Never had he imagined something as dramatic as that. He supposed he was lucky she reciprocated or else the night could have gone much differently.

He closed his eyes without the intention of going to sleep.

His phantom senses still remembered everything about her – the softness of her hair, the cool air seeming just out of reach in the literal heat of the moment, the way her hands delicately touched his face. He felt his smile widen and his heart grow. He wished the moment had never ended.

"No hard feelings. No obligations."

Jughead had never been one for labels. In fact, the only label he wore with pride was loner, and even then, it was ironic – he knew he wasn't short on company if he so desired it. And yet, in spite of this aversion, he had felt somewhat uncomfortable saying the words. He reasoned it out by deciding that, at the end of the day, how he felt about her was all that truly mattered and such words were temporary. After all, one glance at her, and he could tell that serious versus frivolous was a hard decision so he decided to allow leeway. He just hoped she wouldn't need it for too long.

With these thoughts in mind, and logical reasoning (as he liked to think it was) winning over emotional battle, he willed himself into a sitting position, feeling every muscle in his body ache as he did. However, he soon forgot his pain when he spotted his father standing in the kitchen doorway, watching him.

"Hey. When did you get home?" He asked, reaching to his neck to massage the knots that had managed to wedge themselves between shoulder blades.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Jug," he replied with amusement flitting across his face. Jughead gave an obligatory nod, wishing him without words. "I got back about an hour ago. And imagine my surprise when I find both the couch and the bed taken!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Betty was tired and said she was going to take a nap," he mumbled a rambling apology, finding himself met with further amusement.

"It's fine. So I take it things didn't go well last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"From what Jellybean told me there was definitely something going on between you two, and last night I saw it for myself. I just assumed that-"

"You've been talking to Jellybean about me and Betty?" He was suddenly very awake and fully aware of how uncomfortable and conscious his father had suddenly become. In true Jones family fashion, FP scratched the back of his neck when in discomfort while choosing to evade eye contact at all costs.

"It may have come up. Honestly, she didn't tell me much. She just told me about you finding her sister. Speaking of," he hastened his speech before Jughead could interrupt again, "does she know?"

"Does who know?"

"Betty. Does she know?"

"Know what?"

"How you found her sister?" FP asked, his eyes shining with prior knowledge. Jughead maintained eye contact for a few seconds, figuring out how to tackle this question.

"It doesn't matter," he finally settled on, "What matters is that Betty knows where her sister is." FP eyed him disbelievingly but, to Jughead's relief, didn't goad him further. To ensure that the conversation reached its climax, Jughead walked past his father to put on a pot of coffee for there was no better way to kick off Christmas than with caffeine, in his opinion. Out of the corner of his eye, as he waited for the coffee to brew, he saw his dad meander his way to the couch, settling into it comfortably. The coffee was ready and Jughead poured himself a mug, focusing (a little too hard) on not noticing his dad, as he made his way back to the living room. As soon as he sat down, the bedroom door creaked loudly and swung open, allowing Betty to enter the room, her mouth still closing from a yawn as she rubbed her eyes. An instinctive smile appeared on Jughead's face as he watched her, only able to think how adorable her sleepiness was and how weirdly good she looked considering she had just woken up.

"Oh, sorry. Merry Christmas, Mr. Jones. Jughead," she greeted awkwardly, evidently flustered at being caught in such a state.

"Merry Christmas, Betty," FP replied, and she smiled.

"Coffee?" Jughead offered to get her out of the room.

"Yes please," the relief in her tone was palpable as she followed him into the kitchen, standing aside as he pulled out a mug and poured coffee into it. "So I take it you haven't told your dad?"

"Didn't really get around to it. I presume you've already made it national news?"

"Very funny, Jughead Jones," she said, taking a sip, a soft sigh of gratitude escaping her lips when she did. "Oh, also, can we leave a little early? I want to pick up something for the twins."

"Absolutely," he replied with a smile. She reciprocated this smile and returned her focus to her coffee.

It took a while to get FP to let them go. He kept trying to have further conversations with Betty, telling Jughead to sit or get them something to eat until Betty finally put her foot down (as gently as possible) saying that they really couldn't stay much longer. A grumbling FP finally stepped aside, allowing them to leave, apologizing one final time to Betty for the mess.

"Hey, can I speak to you for a moment?" FP said, holding Jughead back. Betty looked at them curiously, an uncertain smile gracing her lips before she volunteered to go downstairs and get the car ready.

"What's up?"

"I thought you said things didn't go well last night," he said, and Jughead chuckled, shaking his head.

"Actually, I never answered that question. You mentioned Jellybean and I countered with a question about that."

"Ah. Right. Well, I'm happy for you, Jug. I know it's been a while since we've caught up but I'm glad your visit here went well even if I wasn't in it much."

"On the contrary, dad. You were in it just enough."

"I'm going to pretend that's a compliment and let you go now. She must be waiting downstairs. Just, Jughead – do me a favour?" Jughead looked at him in an inquisitorial way. "Don't be like me. Don't… you've got something good here with her. I know you probably think it's too early to tell, but trust me, I know about these things, okay? And you guys have got something good here. So just don't screw it up," he finished awkwardly, and although his choice of vocabulary could have been better, Jughead had to admit he was still quite happy with it.

"I won't. Thanks, dad," he replied, and with one final nod at his father and an unspoken promise of meeting again, he went downstairs to join Betty.


Betty could hear laughing from within, accompanied by footfalls as she and Jughead approached the door. She had already told Jughead that, coincidentally, Polly had asked them to pretend like they were dating. The fact that she wasn't sure what they were yet was a different thing, but she had to admit they were closer to dating that being just friends. She felt his fingers brush hers, and giving him a smile, she slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. He looked momentarily surprised before a smile spread across his face too, and he squeezed her hand once, relaxing but not releasing it in the next breath. With this newfound reassurance and strength, Betty rang the doorbell and, within seconds, the door opened, revealing Jason Blossom.

Tears streamed down Polly's face as she shoved a letter into Betty's hands, the twins fast asleep on the bed. Betty opened it and read "Dear Jason" and immediately refolded it, giving Polly a look.

"Please, Betty. He needs to know."

"Know what, Pol?"

"Why I'm not meeting him."

"I don't know where to find him."

"I can tell you. Please, Betty."

Betty could picture the letter still lying under all the discarded papers in the bottom drawer of her desk. She hadn't had the heart to throw it away no matter how many times her logic had told her otherwise. Even after all these years, she still had the letter. She wondered if Jason knew - if Polly had told him.

"Merry Christmas, Betty," Jason pulled her out of her thoughts, sporting a tight-lipped smile. Betty returned the smile.

"Merry Christmas, Jason. This is Jughead Jones."

"Ah yes. Polly told me you were bringing someone," he said before stepping aside. "Come in, please." Betty nodded and entered, pulling a reluctant Jughead in tow. The quaint, pretty living room they had seen was now full of Christmas-themed streamers and lights. "Polly, your sister's here!" Jason called out as Betty and Jughead stepped over the threshold. Betty couldn't help noticing the detached way he instantly allowed her to be Polly's burden and not his, designating her to one half of the family.

"Brilliant. Kids, come downstairs! Aunt Betty's here!" Polly called up the stairs as she came into view, in a red Christmas jumper and green pants. "Merry Christmas, Betty," she hugged Betty and gave Jughead a smile. "Now, kids!"

Thundering followed.

Two eight-year-olds came into view, a boy and a girl, wearing jumpers and pajamas. Betty was instantly struck by how much Juniper resembled Polly. She was sure if she pulled out an old photo album, Polly would look exactly like Juniper in it. Jasper didn't look like Jason, however. Instead, he looked like Juniper but with shorter hair. Betty supposed that as they grew Jasper would begin resembling his father more.

"Juniper, Jasper – this is Aunt Betty," Polly said, giving Betty a giant smile and waving her hand in indication. The twins marveled at this information for a moment.

"She's much prettier than her pictures," Juniper broke the silence, and Betty grinned.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Juniper," she said and the girl blushed, coming down the remaining stairs. Jasper followed his sister and, sizing up Betty one last time, turned to Polly.

"Can we open presents now, Mom? You said we had to wait for Aunt Betty, and now she's here," he gave Polly a wide grin. She seemed less than amused, however.

"Jasper, where are your manners? You may open presents after lunch. It's almost ready," she said the last bit to Betty and Jughead, the latter of whom seemed thankful for this.

"It's fine if he wants to open presents now, Polly. I don't think we-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Betty," Jason interrupted and both sisters gave him a look of disbelief. Betty felt Jughead's hand tighten in hers momentarily. She had forgotten their fingers were still intertwined. "Jasper should know better. Would you guys like something to drink?" He seemed oblivious to his condescending actions.

"Just water for me, thanks," she heard Jughead say, a step behind her, the tension dissipating. Jason gave a curt nod, eyeing Jughead's beanie with the same distasteful look Cheryl had given it previously much to Betty's annoyance.

"For you too, Betty?"

"Yeah, thanks," she replied in a cool, clipped tone. Something flashed in his eyes for a moment before he disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

"Well," Polly broke the silence that had settled, "Let's sit, shall we?"

"Aunt Betty can sit with us!" The twins shouted from the couch and Betty grinned, her previous annoyance forgotten. She looked at Jughead, mentally asking if he'd be alright and he just returned a smile. She took her place between the twins and Jughead took the sofa adjacent to the couch so he was still close to her. As the twins chattered to her, she nearly forgot about Jason's distant attitude when it came to her and Polly.

Lunch was surprisingly amazing. Although, Betty supposed, she shouldn't be surprised that five years had made Polly an amazing chef. It just surprised her since, when her sister left, she could only make a salad and ramen. Jughead seemed to appreciate it far more than her, however; by the end of the meal, Polly was as red as the apples in the fruit bowl due to all the compliments Jughead showered on her. He excused himself right before dessert and, in his and Jason's absence (who had excused himself saying he had a business call - "On Christmas?!" Polly protested very loudly), Polly turned to Betty, eyes shining.

"You and Jughead seem to be doing an amazing job of being together."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Betty felt her guard go up, and Polly grinned.

"I'm not implying anything Betty, but I'm just saying – you two can't seem to stop looking at each other. Jason definitely thinks you're a couple. I didn't realise you were such a good actress; mom would be proud."

"Well as long as the act is working, right?" Betty said, choosing a nonchalant smile to throw in her sister's direction. She didn't know why she didn't tell Polly what had happened. If anyone could help her sort through her mess of emotions, it was her sister. However, just as these thoughts swam in her mind, Jughead returned, looking very frazzled. "You okay?" Betty asked, amusement colouring her tone. He gave her a panicked look before glancing up at Polly and painting on a smile of reassurance.

"Fine. Can I speak to you in private? It's about work," he said the last part as a statement to Polly, explaining why he needed to speak to Betty alone. But Betty suspected that wasn't really the reason. However, giving her sister a smile to pacify any doubt she may have, she got up and walked into the backyard with Jughead.

"What's up?" She asked as he shut the door behind them.

"Jason's cheating on Polly," the instant the words left his lips, Betty felt the urge to ball her hands into fists and consciously had to focus on not doing so. Reminding herself to breathe, she took a moment to regain composure.

"Why do you think so?" She asked, realising she was unsurprised at the information.

"I heard him on the phone with the mistress."

"And how did you know she was the mistress?"

"Well unless he wants to do incredibly dirty things to his mother, I'm pretty sure it was someone outside of this marriage," he explained and Betty felt something wet in her palm. She quickly unclenched her fist, turning the back of her hand to him so he wouldn't see the crescent moons. She nodded once, keeping her expression wooden. She knew what she needed to do next.

Going back inside, she saw Jason approach the table with pie as she faced Polly. Polly seemed suddenly on guard by Betty's stonelike nature and sat a little straighter – the way she used to when she hadn't got the grade Alice Cooper thought she deserved and their mother stormed into their room.

"You okay, Betty?"

"Polly, I have news and it's bad," she stuck to her all-business-no-nonsense tone. "Jason's seeing someone else." To her surprise, her sister seemed entirely unfazed by this information, only realising too late that she wasn't fazed.

"Oh my god, what!" Polly exclaimed, whipping around to face Jason, a distraught look on her face. However, her sister had never been Oscar-worthy so Betty saw right through her. Where Jason's face should have conveyed complete shock, Betty realised it was more mild surprise that she knew that he expressed.

"You knew?" Betty stared at her sister, dumbstruck. For the millionth time, she found herself so thankful that Jughead was there and just a finger length away, remaining her support system. The guilt that spread itself on Polly's face was enough for Betty to want to clench her fists again. However, she felt Jughead put a hand on her back, rubbing it slowly and that reminded her to breathe. Giving a nod, she announced, "Jughead, let's go."

"Wait, Betty!" Polly pleaded, and she gave him an inquisitive look. "Don't you want… an explanation or something?"

"Are you guys actually married?"

"We… were," she admitted and Betty nodded again, pressing her lips together.

"I told you this was a bad idea, Pol," Jason chimed in, rekindling Betty's previous annoyance. This time however, owing to him having no relation to her sister, she felt no obligation to remain nice.

"So was getting my sister pregnant in high school, but that didn't stop you, did it? Jughead, let's go," she said again and, without pausing, walked out, Jughead following her. She spotted the twins on the staircase as she went to the door.

"Are you leaving so soon?" Juniper asked, and Betty felt herself a melt a little.

"Yes, I'm afraid Jughead and I need to be back in Riverdale. There's a Christmas party happening there too, you know."

"Oh. Will you come back?"

"Of course I'll come to visit you guys," she said, with a smile. "Bye, guys," she waved and within minutes, they were back in the car, Jughead sitting behind the wheel.

"Betts, do you want to talk about it?" He asked hesitantly.

"Let's go home, Jughead," she replied and he nodded, starting the engine. They spent the entire drive back to Riverdale in silence.

As the silence allowed her to retreat into her thoughts, Betty realised that the last two days had been more eventful than her entire life. She found herself wanting to go back to the balcony and the movie-like kiss she had experienced. And yet, the kiss felt like it had happened worlds away with someone who wasn't driving right beside her. She thought about how she had reacted when Polly had told her that she and Jason weren't together and felt anger and guilt rise simultaneously. She wondered if she had acted irrationally. After all, her thought process when she had found out had been entirely self centred: if Polly and Jason were no longer together, what reason did Polly have for staying away from Riverdale? Betty knew the answer – their parents – but she also knew that Polly wouldn't have to stay there now that she was financially secure. And she knew that her life would be a lot easier if her sister and closest companion was nearby.

By the time their apartment came into view, Betty was feeling more guilty than angry for lashing out, berating herself for doing so. Due to this, she didn't register when Jughead pulled over until he heard a soft, hesitant, "Betty?" And looked up, meeting his eye. "We've arrived."

"Right," she acknowledged, getting out and taking her bag out from the back, waiting for Jughead to park and return.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked again, as he approached her. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, Jughead," she lied and he gave her a look of disbelief but didn't pursue. They climbed up the stairs in silence until they reached Jughead's flat. As they approached the door, he turned around before opening it, with a small smile.

"Well, this is me."

"Yeah."

"You wanna come in for coffee or something? Archie isn't back until tomorrow night."

"No… I think I'm going to go take a shower," she said, trying to replaster the smile of reassurance. He nodded, returning a smile of caution.

"Betty, you know if you need to talk, you know you can talk to me, right?" He said with a more serious tone, all traces of a smile vanishing in a second. Betty wasn't sure what switch went off in her mind, but she kissed him.

Maybe she had intended it to be a short kiss, but Betty hadn't thought so far in advance. However, it did go on for longer as she dropped her bag and pushed Jughead back, against the door. He pulled away for a second and looked at her, as if asking if she was sure. In response she kissed him harder than before.

She could feel the fireworks again and it spread joy and warmth through her veins. Somewhere far away she could hear Jughead fiddling with the door handle until it finally opened and they nearly fell over because how pressed they were against it. She giggled and saw him smile too as she turned around to shut the door. Once it was shut, her giggles subsided and his smile dissipated a little before he kissed her again, this time letting her be the one pinned against the door. She tugged at the end of his sweater and, once again, he pulled away and looked at her, questioning. She wanted to scream – she didn't want to think so much about this. But instead she gave him a real smile of reassurance and, upon seeing this, his own smile returned, wider than before, and he pulled off his sweater, his beanie falling off in the process. She liked how he looked without the beanie – he suddenly seemed unguarded and… real. In a moment, she pulled off her sweater too and he began kissing down her neck.

This time, however, she didn't stop him at her collarbone.