Archie woke at first light, a frustrating habit he picked up in college because he always met some of his teammates to go for a morning run. He smiled at the blonde-haired bedmate snuggled up against him. She had a slight smile on her face as she continued her slumber. He gingerly slid out from underneath her and climbed carefully out of bed so he wouldn't wake her. She deserved her sleep.
He went downstairs and surveyed the living room. It looked exactly the same as when he left for college. Even though the house had received a thorough cleaning before he returned home, the house felt cold, almost sterile.
He and his mom had often talked about selling the house. While Mary had resigned herself to accepting that Archie was always destined to return to Riverdale to take over his family's business, she'd tried hard to get him to sell the house and find something with a few fewer memories. He hadn't really understood what she meant until he turned towards the kitchen, and he could have sworn he heard his dad in the kitchen making breakfast.
Shaking away the memory and needing coffee to get going for the day, he trudged his way into the kitchen and searched the cabinets. Fortunately, he visited enough over the years that there were still the makings for coffee. They'd have to get groceries before they could make anything resembling breakfast.
He had thoughts of maybe zipping over to Pop's for this morning's breakfast. If he hurried, he might make it back before Betty woke up.
"Hey," Betty appeared in the kitchen just as soon as the thought came to him, "I smell coffee."
"Yeah, I just made it," he pulled two cups from the cabinets and poured her one. "There's no cream, but I do have some sugar if you need it."
"Black is fine," she climbed onto the stool.
"I was hoping you'd sleep in," he pushed the cup towards her, "I didn't wake you when I got out of bed, did I?"
"No, not at all," Betty smiled at him, "I wish you had. We have a lot of things to unpack today."
"You looked peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you."
"It feels good to be back someplace familiar," Betty replied, "It's been a while, but I think Riverdale will always feel like home, even with all the craziness that comes with it."
"True," Archie nodded, "Are you hungry? I was about to run to Pop's for breakfast. I was hoping to be back before you woke up, but that didn't exactly work out for me."
"No, I'm okay," she assured him. She bit her lip like there was something on her mind.
"What's going on, Betts?" Archie leaned towards her.
"I'm not so sure it's a great idea that I live with you," Betty blurted out.
"Is us being together too weird for you?" he asked reflexively.
"No, that's not it," she assured him, "I just think it might be too much pressure on us."
"Betty, I told you we'd go at your pace," Archie shook his head, "I won't push."
"I know," Betty smiled, "I'm just wondering if living in the same house is the best way to start a relationship like this."
"I don't know that I follow," he frowned in confusion.
"Look, Arch, being with you in the start of this relationship, it's great," Betty reached for his hand, "I just worry that we're jumping some big hurdles without thinking everything through."
"Meaning?"
"We'd decided on me moving in here before we agreed to give us a real try," Betty pointed out. "Maybe we should rethink me living here until we're a little further along. I haven't unpacked anything yet, and I know Cheryl would be fine with me living in the hunting lodge."
"Is that what you want to do?" he felt like he was being sucker-punched in his gut.
"I think it's the smart thing to do," she replied, "I mean, what happens if we realize that we're better off as friends."
"What if we realize we're amazing together?" he countered.
"Then I can move back in, and this time we both sleep in the master bedroom because if we get busy in your room, there's a good chance JB will see us," Betty scrunched her nose at him.
"Betts, you're right. It's probably smart to not living together at the start of this, but when have you and I ever done the smart thing?" he admitted.
"I've just got so much baggage right now, and I don't want to bring that drama into your life," she admitted, "You've had your fill of drama girls. I want to be different."
"You are different," Archie picked up her hand and held it, "The drama those girls brought into my life was self-inflicted."
"Meaning?"
"They chose it," Archie said, "Veronica and Grundy made their own drama, and instead of running for my life, I let it affect me too. Your drama is because your ex doesn't know how to take 'get lost' for an answer."
"I guess part of me worries that now that I'm in Riverdale, Louis is not going to be far behind," she admitted.
"All the more reason to stay here," he told her, "I can protect you."
"Promise me one thing, and I'll leave the subject alone, okay?"
"Okay," Archie nodded.
"If at any point, you feel like it's gotten to be too much and you want me to leave, you will tell me."
"I will," he assured her.
"Even if it's just a small break," she added.
"I'll let you know," he assured her, "We should get the truck unloaded and then pick up your vehicle at Polly's place, so we get your car and unload that too."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," she agreed.
"Come on," Archie smiled as they headed for the front door. He opened it just as FP was about to knock. "Mister Jones?"
"Hey, Arch, welcome home," FP told him.
"Thanks," he hugged the older man as Betty stepped up beside him.
"Hey, FP," she greeted her stepfather.
FP looked a bit surprised to see her in Archie's house. "Um, hello, Stepdaughter," he hugged her too, "Did I know you would be here? I came by to help Archie unpack."
"That's really nice of you," Betty replied.
"Yeah, when are we helping you unpack? JB said she'd give up her room if you'd move back into the house."
"She doesn't need to," Betty said.
"Betty, you don't have to stay at the hunting lodge. It's okay with Jug if you move in," FP said.
"I'm not staying at the hunting lodge. I'm moving in here at Archie's place," Betty said quietly.
"Here?" FP raised a brow, "Something you want to tell me?"
"Archie had the room, and he asked me to move in," Betty kept the explanation as vague as possible.
"Uh-hmm," FP tried to discern if his stepdaughter was telling the whole story.
"Honest, FP," Archie chimed in.
"I've got a job in Greendale lined up, and Archie offered to let me stay with him," Betty replied, "Obviously, I knew I could stay with you and Mom, and Cheryl would have jumped at the chance to have me stay with her."
"And when did the two of you reconnect?" FP motioned between the pair. Even though he'd gone to Betty's graduation and Archie was in attendance, he'd assumed it was primarily out of courtesy. He had no idea they were back to being inseparable, "Last I checked, you two haven't seen each other since the summer after high school."
"We reconnected a few months ago," Betty replied, "He's been helping me with something."
"Something I need to know about?" FP asked.
"Not right now," Betty shook her head. "We should get to unpacking, so we're finished before we have to go to bed."
"Betts, it's eight in the morning," FP reminded her.
"And Archie has a lot of junk," Betty replied, "I helped him load his darn truck."
"And we also have to get her stuff from her car, which is at Polly's," Archie pointed out.
"Why don't I get JB over here," FP offered, "We can have the truck unloaded before lunch, and then I'll take you guys to Pop's for welcome home burgers and shakes."
"Sounds good," Betty said. "What's she driving these days?"
"She's got that old scooter of Jug's," FP replied, "Goes like thirty miles an hour and gets great gas mileage. She looks like a little serpent princess."
"She kind of is," Betty smiled, "Once a serpent king, always a serpent king, right FP?"
"Don't you know it," he chuckled.
"Why'd you want to know?" Archie asked.
"She can give me a ride to Polly's. I can get my car and drive back here, so we don't have to do it later," Betty explained.
"If you want to ride on the back of that thing, more power to you," he chuckled, "I'll wrangle her out of bed and be back in a few."
"Thanks, FP," Betty smiled.
"Shall we?" Archie motioned to his truck.
"Might as well get a few boxes unloaded," Betty shrugged, "It's going to take a bit of convincing for FP to get JB out of bed. She's not a morning person in the best of circumstances. When you add in that it's the start of summer break...FP's going to be lucky if he doesn't come out of the house with a shiner."
"Not an early riser?"
"What Jones is? I'm surprised FP is up this early. Jug would've stayed in bed all day if I'd let him sometimes."
Archie and Betty were several rounds of boxes into their morning when FP and JB arrived to help out.
"Betty!" JB launched herself at her stepsister.
"Hey, JB," Betty smiled, "I've missed you."
"I missed you too," she hugged Betty tighter.
"I'm glad I got to see you before you left for summer camp," Betty replied.
"It's only for a week," JB reminded her.
"Still glad I get to see you," Betty stated.
"Dad said you wanted me to drive you over to Polly's to get your car," JB held up the keys to Alice's vehicle.
"Yeah, but I thought we'd take your scooter?" Betty looked confused.
"I have a flat, so we're taking Alice's car," JB rolled her eyes, "We have to hurry."
"Shouldn't take too long," Betty shrugged. "We'll be back soon."
"Just be careful," Archie tried to be discreet with his warning.
Betty bobbed her head and hooked an arm around Jellybean's shoulder.
"Let's get going, Kid," FP patted Archie's shoulder to get his attention. Archie's focus was solely on Betty. "You made a good start."
"Thanks, FP," Archie grinned.
"So, what's really going on?" FP leaned against Archie's truck.
"I want to tell you, but I promised Betty I'd let her tell you," Archie didn't even try for pretense.
"Does it have anything to do with your not-so-subtle reminder for her to be careful?" FP asked.
"Yeah," Archie sighed.
"If you need help, don't let her talk you out of getting it," FP warned him.
"It's not me," Archie stated.
"It's Betty?" FP raised a brow.
"Look, FP, it's Betty's story to tell," Archie sighed, "I'm just being supportive."
"And protective," FP added.
"That too," Archie grinned.
FP shook his head and looked at the ground.
"What?" Archie said.
"Just now? Your dad was looking back at me."
"I swore when I woke up this morning I heard him in the kitchen making breakfast," Archie admitted, "Sometimes I wonder if I'm losing my mind."
"He's always right there," FP pointed at Archie's heart, "He's always with you."
"Sometimes that's not enough," Archie admitted, "Things like my national championship, my graduation…he should have been there, FP. I've been robbed of that."
"Yeah, you were," FP agreed, "We all were robbed of years with Fred, but he'd want us to keep living life, finding what makes us happy."
"I'm happy to be back in Riverdale," Archie replied.
"Yeah? Are you going to feel that way when you run into Lodge?" FP asked, "I speak from experience. Those annoying encounters at the Mayor's Office are no picnic."
"Maybe you should run for mayor, FP," Archie smirked.
"Oh hell no," FP snorted, "My short run as sheriff was plenty. I'm hoping Sierra will give Lodge a fight next time around. Tom says she's been thinking about it, especially with some of the crap Hiram's been trying to pull."
"Like?" Archie asked for details.
"Questionable city expenditures, contracts he's made for public improvements," FP explained, "On the surface, it all appears legitimate, but it just smells fishy. We've got a little while until the next election, so we'll see where things go."
"I think the sooner Hiram Lodge is voted out of office, the faster he's gone from Riverdale," Archie replied, "What's keeping him here? His wife left him. His daughter seems to be making a new life for herself in New York City."
"Your guess is as good as mine," FP shrugged, "Some guys just like to feel powerful."
"In some podunk town like Riverdale?" Archie snorted, "You have to look hard even to find it on a map."
"I'm not going to explain to you the inner workings of a mind like that narcissist," FP chuckled, "He's here for the foreseeable future. Unless you have some sort of rabbit to pull out of your hat, he's here for a while, so keep your damn head down, Red. Stay off Lodge's radar as much as you can. He seems to like putting a target on your back."
"I have no intention of entering Hiram's orbit," Archie assured him.
"Good to hear," FP patted his back as they went back to the truck for more boxes.
Betty and JB returned quickly with Polly and the twins hot on their heals. With the extra help, both Archie's truck and Betty's SUV were unpacked fairly quickly and everyone went to Pop's for welcome home burgers and shakes.
"Welcome home, you two," Pop greeted them both with hugs.
"It's so great to be home," Betty gushed, "We found a place that helped ease the ache of missing this place, but it wasn't the same."
"Order whatever you two want," Pop told them, "It's on me."
"What about the rest of us?" FP asked.
"You haven't gone away long enough to deserve free food," Pop wagged a stern finger in FP's direction, which drew a hearty chuckle from his one time employee.
Betty and Archie put in their standard order for burgers and shakes and a basket of fries to split amongst the table. After everyone else put in their orders, JB took the twins to the jukebox to pick out some tunes.
"So living together," Polly had been watching Archie and Betty closely since she arrived. She thought she saw a spark of something at Betty's graduation, but Betty had assured her they were just friends. She wasn't sure she bought the explanation then, and she sure didn't buy it now. They looked closer than they'd ever been, which was saying something.
"They claim it's a matter of convenience," FP chimed in, "But my deputy senses are tingly."
Betty rolled her eyes, "Your senses are always tingly, FP. I think your radar needs to be retuned."
"Believe whatever you want," Archie chimed in, "I had a room that I was going to rent out. Betty needed a place to stay. It made sense."
"Have you ever lived with a woman before, Red?" FP asked. "They come with a lot of…stuff."
"Really?" Polly raised a brow at her stepfather, "What kind of stuff?"
"Womanly stuff," FP sputtered, "The kind of stuff that men who haven't been around women don't know about."
"Do you mean like bras and panties," Betty teased him, "Or the more intimate stuff like tampons and maxi-pads?"
"I'm almost sorry I brought it up," FP grumbled.
"I think I can handle Betty's womanly stuff," Archie chuckled, "Yeah, it's been awhile, and as a kid I was pretty clueless about my mom's stuff, but whatever. We'll figure things out."
Betty snickered as her hand found his knee under the table and rested it there until their food came and the twins returned.
"If you need a break, you know where to find me," FP offered.
"Yeah, nowhere near mom's womanly stuff," Polly couldn't resist.
The entire table burst into laughter.
"Did FP scare you out of living with a woman?" Polly asked Archie as they unpacked several boxes in the office, mostly books both he and Betty had accumulated while at school. Betty and JB were upstairs in her bedroom organizing and unpacking. FP had gotten called into the office.
"Not yet," Archie chuckled.
"We're really not all that complicated," Polly smiled, "He's just unbelievably stubborn and resistant to change. Obviously it's been great that he and my mom reunited, but it hasn't always been the smoothest of sailing since they started co-habitating again."
"I imagine after such an age a person gets set in their ways," Archie conceded.
"Look, Arch, I'm not blind. I can see something is going on with you and Betty. Whether you've admitted it to her or her admitting it to you, that's all irrelevant to me. Being in these close quarters, it's only a matter of time for whatever feelings you've had in the past to bubble to the surface, and I'm all for it…"
"But," Archie prompted her.
"She's incredibly vulnerable right now," Polly stated. "I never liked Louis, but for Betty's sake I tolerated him. Knowing what I do now…" She trailed off as she looked around to make sure there weren't little ears to hear what she was about to say. "I want to twist off his man parts and shove them down his throat."
"There's a disturbing visual," Archie cringed.
"If anything happens between the two of you, take it slow," Polly told him.
"Slow, got it," Archie repeated.
"Mom, Aunt Betty says she'll take us for ice cream tomorrow if you say it's okay," Juniper came rushing into the office, "Can we?"
Dagwood came skidding up behind his sister to add a sweet sounding, "Please."
"Oh man, she's making up for four years she missed spoiling them," Polly smiled, "Yes, you can go."
"Yay!" the pair cheered as they rushed up the stairs to tell Betty the good news."
"I appreciate you're concerned about Betty," Archie replied, "You know me, Polly. I'd never do anything to intentionally hurt her. All that stuff in high school, that was just a whole lot of teenage angst I needed to get out of my system."
"And Veronica?" Polly asked. She may not have been around during most of the Veronica Lodge years, but she certainly knew all that had gone down.
"She's part of my past," Archie stated, "I have zero interest in sparking any connections to anyone with the last name Lodge."
"Good," Polly stated, "And when Louis shows up?"
"I plan on using his face as a speed bag," Archie smirked.
"How about getting Betty to file a restraining order first," Polly suggested, "Then he's breaking the law if he comes near her."
"Yeah, I'm working on that," Archie assured her, "I can't force her, but I am strongly encouraging her."
"Good," Polly replied. "You hurt her, Andrews, I'll do to you what I threatened to do to Louis."
"Fair enough," he grinned.
TBC...