Author's note: It's been posted on my tumblr but for those that don't follow me, I'll post it here, too. Yesterday afternoon, I received news that my friend attempted a heavy suicide attempt. Fifty sleeping pills and her boyfriend found her. Currently just waiting on news of how extensive her brain damage is. Updates are going to be slow. Please bare-with me. I have lost a couple of friends to suicide by now and it never gets any easier. So, if you pray, have any good vibes or well-meaning energy to send out into the Universe if you're not religious and feeling kind enough to do so, I ask that you do. For her. For her boyfriend and little boy. Thank you. Enjoy this chapter. It's the date. Xxx

Jughead, for what felt like the millionth time, checked the picnic basket he had prepared. He had texted Sweet Pea to doublecheck that Betty still liked to eat her favorite foods – although, admittedly, he would have loved nothing more than to have been able to put Pops into the basket. Knowing that wasn't an option, he stayed to her other tastes as true as he could. Tacos – he knew she liked tacos – and he got them from the vendor that they visited, after Sweet Pea had casually mentioned she said she liked that place the best. He tried to stamp back his grin of pleasure at that as much as he could.

Sweet Pea then told him there was a little bakery that sold her favorite cupcakes and he got two for her and two for him. Then, added some coffee to the thermos he had dug out of the back of his kitchen pantry – late nights in college surging to the forefront of his brain while doing so. After adding the blanket he had, he was ready to go and made his way to her apartment, making sure to leave with plenty of time to get to the ferry so they could catch the right one that would get them to Staten Island with enough time to settle in before the sun actually began it's descent downwards.

Arriving at their apartment, Jughead knocked on the door, receiving a slight start when Betty herself answered. He swallowed thickly as he took in her appearance, throat suddenly dry. She had her hair pulled into a side braid with a few loose strands framing her face artfully. A loose-fitting Mets shirt, of all shirts, was resting against her chest and a pair of black skinny jeans were sheathing her legs. A pair of converse topped off the outfit and he was quite sure he had never seen her look so effortlessly beautiful a day in his life. Her makeup was minimal, his preference, and by the knowing look in her eyes, she knew he was enjoying what he saw. She blushed as looked down shyly and he chuckled, tipping her chin up with his index finger.

"You look beautiful, Betty Cooper," he signed, and he smiled as her eyes lit up.

"You've been practicing," she signed back, and he nodded.

"A little here and there," he grinned.

Betty blushed an even prettier red and Jughead found himself entranced with her eternal beauty. Betty, in his opinion, was the very definition of beauty and not solely because of her timeless looks. She had so much heart to give to everyone – despite what life had thrown her way – and he was in a constant state of awe at the fact that she still delivered her heart the way she did. She hadn't changed from the woman he knew five years prior.

"Ready to go?" Betty signed, voice sounding excited, and he grinned.

"Yeah, let's go hon," he replied, holding his elbow out for her so she could crook hers' through it if she wanted to. She didn't hesitate in the slightest and looped hers' through his and he found himself, while being happy with any form of contact, ready to hold her hand once more.

XXX

Stepping off the ferry once they reached Staten Island, Jughead placed his hand on the small of Betty's back as he carried the picnic basket for them and led her to a little place off on the side, away from the main part of the tourist attraction that most people came for when coming to Staten Island. Sitting the basket down, he pulled out the blanket he brought and spread it out before laying out the food, stomach rumbling at the sight of it, and he could only hope Betty liked what he had made. He hadn't ever cooked when they were together – but not wanting to live on takeout daily, Jughead had learned how to cook with a few online classes.

Shuffling back a few paces, he watched Betty take in the spread before her with slight nerves. She smiled as her eyes fell on the homemade pizza. Turning to him, she looked at him curiously.

"Did you make this yourself?" Betty asked, fingers moving as Jughead studied them, trying to capture any sign she made so he could learn it himself. He nodded as he looked back at her.

"Okay, so I really wanted to learn how to sign this completely, but I had to make that, so, let's bare-with me, okay?" Jughead asked sheepishly. He smiled as Betty leaned to press a gentle kiss on the corner of his lips.

"Jughead Jones, it's just me," she signed as she pulled back, ever-famous gentle green eyes on his. "You do not need to ever feel like I'm going to be…to be…mad at you for not learning the entire language in a couple of weeks, okay?" Her fingers were moving, along with her speech, rapidly and Jughead was fascinated. He knew this is what she was referring to the week prior when she had said how her movement and speech would blend together if she was talking passionately about something. And fuck, he stuck true to his original thought – it was an art all in itself.

When she seemed to be running out of her energy, he gently clasped her hands in his, bringing her palms and kissing them, before intertwining their fingers as he smiled gently at her, searching for the right words to say that would express his…immensely wide gratitude for the blonde sunshine in a bottle before him. "Betty Cooper, you're a good person, you know that?"

He watched as she blinked, eyes tender as she swallowed before nodding.

"You're a good person too, Juggie," she murmured, not signing because she had taken the initiative to press her body towards his hesitantly. Sensing her intentions, he took out the last bit of hesitance in her movements and crushed her to his chest. Holding her there for a long moment, he eventually pulled back, and looked down at her. Smiling, he sighed as he caught sight of the pure look of contentment resting on her face; caught sight of the way she seemed to carry herself differently because for the first time in his fucking life, he could see how she didn't seem to be carrying the weight of the world.

She opened her eyes, finding him looking at her, and he couldn't help it, he ducked his head down, gently cupping her left cheek as he pressed his lips to hers'. His movements were slow – he wanted her to have all the opportunity to pull back – but when she didn't, when he felt her stand up on her tiptoes to have better access, he grinned and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet. He laughed as she laughed, their lips missing one another's because of their laughter and god, Jughead hadn't felt this alive in…five years. He hadn't felt alive in five years. Pulling back, he looked at her.

"You're an enigma, Betty Cooper," he signed, praying he had gotten it right.

By the way she laughed, throwing her arms around him, he knew he had.

Author's note: Friend is good. I started writing this chapter several days ago, so I didn't have any updates then. But I'm updated. So here's an update. The date is continuing next chapter – but I just really wanted that little kiss to happen. Enjoy! *Also* not proofread. We have an insane storm happening right now and I'm just trying to get this published incase electricity dips out. So, sorry! X