Author's note: Been a hot minute for this one. You guys know why. Here we go. Enjoy. Thoughts lovely per usual! Xxx

Jughead watched as Betty stared into her coffee cup, eyes looking at the black liquid but for as empty as they were, he knew she saw the coffee no more than she heard him call her name twice prior. It had been three days since Ethel dropped the bomb on them – since Betty had retreated back into the shell she wore like armor when first returning to Riverdale two months ago. It killed Jughead because he didn't know what to do to save her. Not from this. But, he knew that if she went down, so was he. And he was going down swinging.

Walking towards her, steps slow yet purposeful, he crouched down in front of her at her kitchen table and carefully placed his hand on her knee, trying to get her attention pulled towards him. They were magnetics – always had been – and he was banking on that still being able to work in his favor. After a minute that stretched on for an eternity, he found himself without a lost hope; she turned to him, slowly, and her eyes that held an ancient exhaustion landed on him. He swallowed, licked his lips before nodding and began to speak quietly but with a certain force inflicted behind his tone that he knew she'd respond to.

"You need to stop this, baby," he whispered firmly. He watched as she tilted her head and continued. "You need to stop bottling everything back up inside of you. We're past that point of self-destruction. Talk to me. If not me, Sweet Pea, Nick, or Emma."

He watched as Betty's body shook with the shuddering sigh that escaped her; watched as she rotated her neck in what he could only assume was a desperate attempt to alleviate the tension that had arisen at Ethel's confession and hadn't left.

"It hurts," she breathed, closing her eyes. "It hurts so fucking much that the force of the pain knocks the breath out of me every time I think I am ready to move past the revelation from Ethel."

He nodded slowly, tracing her knuckles with the pad of his thumb as he studied her. Choosing his words with care, he spoke once more. "I need to know, sweetheart, that you're going to be safe."

"I'm not going to run into danger, Jughead," she sighed tiredly. He shook his head.

"I don't mean that, Betty. I mean that you're going to be safe from yourself," he said firmly, tone still soft, however as his eyes dropped to her hand and flipped it over to reveal the new crescents that hadn't been there three days ago. She exhaled shakily and tried to slide her hand away from him, but he grasped her wrist between his fingers gently and held on. "Don't. Please. Don't hide from me."

She looked at their hands for a moment before slowly looking into his eyes and his heart hurt at the tears threatening to fall but she refused. Stubborn girl, you can cry. Cry for as long as you need. I need for you to.

"I'm s-so sad, Juggie," she whispered, voice catching on his name and he nodded, breathing deeply at the pain his love and light felt.

"I know baby, I know you are," he murmured, standing up from where he had been crouched. "But, Betty, you cannot keep it locked inside of you. One way or another, it'll eventually come out, and I would, personally, like for it be in front of me so I can catch you when you fall." Jughead paused to swallow before continuing on in a shaky voice. "God, Betts, please. Please, just let me in."

She stared at him for a moment and he her and then her lip trembled, her eyelids fluttered rapidly, and she launched herself into his open and waiting arms. Wrapping them around her tightly, he clutched her to his chest, letting her cry into him as he sheltered her from the pain threatening to pull her under.

"I'm drowning, Juggie, I'm drowning," she cried.

"Then, I'm your god damn life preserver," he whispered into her ear, hand coming up to cup the back of her head as he held her against him, refusing to let her budge even an inch. "Don't you fucking dare let go of me."

She nodded as her thin body shook in his arms and he eased them down to the ground when it seemed like her legs were about to give out from underneath her. He shuffled them around until she was sitting in his lap and he rocked their bodies back and forth, not giving a damn if her neighbors heard her crying. If they had shit to say, they'd meet his ire.

It seemed to go on for days and only seconds at the same time, her crying, and eventually, she pulled back, small tremors growing smaller with each passing moment. She looked at him and he tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, kissing her forehead, and smiled when she chuckled wetly.

"I'm red and splotchy right now," she muttered.

"Still stand by the claim," he grinned, and she nodded. They were quiet for a few minutes, letting the silence envelope them in it's safety net as he let Betty take a few moments to compose herself. By the way she kept licking her lips and fiddling with his flannel, he knew she had something she wanted to say and was just sorting through how to say it in her mind. He gave her all the time she needed. Eventually, she spoke up.

"I need to call Mary Andrews," she said, voice sounding a bit scared and hesitant.

"Is that bothering you for some reason?" Jughead asked gently, staring at her softly.

She expelled a sigh. "I-I just don't want her or you angry with me."

Jughead stared at her for a moment in confusion before it clicked. "Betty, honey, I am not mad. I wasn't even back then, not really. I was hurt yes, but I hurt you just as much with the passing years. We forgave each other – Robert's sessions have helped us stay as communicative with one another as possible."

She traced his eyes and he left them purposefully open as he could. There was no animosity he felt; not anymore. Not towards Archie and Betty for the cheating and not towards himself for not fighting to get her back – the way she had tried in the beginning. Eventually, she nodded, pressing a kiss to his lips as his arms wrapped around her. He felt the tension leave her and smiled against her mouth. He did that, he thought. He brought the one person he'd love more than himself a sense of peace and tranquility. That in itself was reason enough to keep breathing. He pulled back after a few moments, looking at her once more. "Why are you worried about Mary?"

She shifted uncomfortably, eyes taking on a look of embarrassment. "What if she thinks I'm the slut the town accused Polly of being?"

It was a whisper filled with hatred and Jughead jerked back in surprise.

"What?" Jughead asked. She tried to scramble out of his hold, but he locked her wrists in his manacle-hold. "No, we need to talk about why you suddenly seem to think Mary Andrews of all people would think you were some…god, I refuse to call you that."

"Juggie," she said, voice pitifully small. "You were my boyfriend in high school – my, my soulmate – and I cheated on you with her son. Then I tried to keep my relationship with you. I messed with two guys who have only ever had my back and one of them is her son."

Jughead inhaled harshly through his teeth to keep himself from snapping at the ludicrous words falling from her lips. He took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Betty," he said, waiting somewhat patiently for her to meet his look. "Mary would never think that. We were all a bunch of high school kids who had seen and dealt with our fair share of trauma. The town had wanted to skin us alive, and we barely escaped with our teeth still intact. I think she can forgive you a lapse in judgement. The real person you're needing forgiveness from is yourself if you think she'd ever think of you in that light."

Betty chewed her lip anxiously for a moment before the tension wiped free from her face. "Thank you."

"God baby, I love you, but that had to have been one of the dumbest things I've ever heard you say," he chuckled. "You're not dumb. Don't make me start worrying about that."

She laughed with him. "Okay. And, you're right, she won't think that. I need to call her. Set up an appointment with her about everything that is going on. I think – I think I'll call my mom, too. Get her here. I need you to be with me."

"I'll be with you til the end of times. And then some."

Author's note: Mary comes a knockin' next chapter! So sorry about the delay in this! Xx