Hey y'all! So glad my writers block is gone'
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Also, should Betty have a boy or a girl?
Warnings: mentions of smut
An old BMW rode up the dirt driveway, a cloud of dust kicking up around the vehicle. Jughead shook his head forgetting how much of a mess cars made on this old road. He normally was encased in his truck, safe from the filth, but when he stood outside he got the full effect. He swung his beanie out in front of him to fan away the dust. Betty stood on the porch with Dakota by her side, watching Jughead's hair flop free from his beanie. She had never seen the dark locks without the protective layer of his hat. They fell so beautifully across his pale skin. But the sight was short lived as he situated his beanie on his head once again. As the beanie sat back on his head, Jughead fixed his gaze on Betty, who blushed and looked away, Anna running towards her. Anna hugged Betty tightly as if she hadn't just seen her the night before. Betty giggled hugging her back and placing a kiss on her head. "Night that bad, Anna?"
Anna sighed and looked up at Betty. "I had to beg my mom to leave Noah at home. He wouldn't stop talking about milking uncle Jug's cows." This made Betty laugh out loud as she threw her arm around Anna's shoulder. She liked these kids already and she prayed this family only got easier to be in.
Jughead hopped up their two front porch steps and stood next to Betty with his hands on his hips. Betty wanted to laugh at his stance but refrained. "I heard my name." He said matter-of-factly like they owed him an explanation.
"Oh Jug! Stop being so worried." Jellybean said with a smile as she walked up to the porch, shaking her head. Jughead hadn't changed much since they were kids. He always wanted to know what people were saying behind his back. He had grown hard to it since then but he still wondered what the town's gossip mill said behind his back. "Maybe she was telling us what a wonderful husband you are." She added with a smirk.
Jughead shook his head, "Whatever. I'm sure Anna wants you to go as much as I do." He said with a cocky grin and a shrug. Jellybean stuck her tongue out at him like any good little sister would. "Bye Betty." Jellybean said sweetly hugging Betty and her daughter goodbye.
"I'll be back for dinner." Jughead said to Betty as he placed a kiss on her forehead. Betty stood frozen in her spot, a blushing creeping onto her face as Anna giggled underneath her arm. Jellybean smiled at Betty as if she knew a secret that Betty didn't.
Jellybean left back down the bumpy road and Jughead walked to the north field to start his work for the day. Betty and Anna sat in the kitchen, Betty sipped at a cup of coffee, her mind preoccupied.
Anna sat and rambled on about her boring schoolwork that her mother made her do. The town was too small to have a school and with all the work that had to be done on the farm it was a wiser choice to keep them home and teach them a trade. The busline to school was long and Noah was still young. The kids didn't mind being home balancing farm work and school but they missed the interaction of kids their age. They only saw their friends at town gatherings and sometimes in the summertime when the heat was too much for the children to work. Now with a baby cousin they would have someone nearby to play with even though there would be a big age difference.
Betty was growing tired of Anna's chatter of paternalistic historians who she admired as heroes, poor girl didn't know any better. Betty placed a hand on her stomach, if she has a girl she would teach her the ways of history and how she should stand up for herself.
"Are you hungry, Anna? Have you had breakfast?" Betty inquired, pouring another cup of the decaf coffee. Jughead had hidden his caffeinated coffee somewhere in the house and Betty was sure of it. He was far too awake in the early mornings on his work days to be drinking decaf coffee. Perhaps one day she'd find it or coerce Jughead to tell her.
"Oh no, Momma made me eat before we came. She said you guys need to save money for diapers." Betty eyes widened at Anna's response. Jughead had said the kids didn't know about the baby. "Momma told me said I was old enough to keep a secret." Anna paused again, "Oh shoot! I ruined it! Momma said not to say anything to anyone."
Betty sat her mug down and covered her mouth, hoping that Jughead would come in and interrupt this awkward exchange. How could Jellybean have told Anna of her situation? She was embarrassed enough to be shipped away like a prisoner. She thought maybe she could start fresh, but now it seemed her life would mirror her life at home.
"What's wrong, Aunt Betty?" Anna asked with wide eyes staring up at her. "I think it's wonderful you're having a baby! You and Uncle Jug love each other and now I'm going to have a little cousin." She exclaimed then quietly under her breath, "I hope it's a girl."
Betty let out a dry laugh. "What is it Aunt Betty?"
Betty shook her head, "Nothing Anna. Nothing at all." She said kissing Anna's head. Of course Jellybean hadn't told Anna the actual situation. Jellybean was a level headed women who cared too much for her brother to hurt him. Betty could only assume he didn't want the town to know of his promiscuous wife. "Why don't we go upstairs? I need to unpack and I have lots of dresses that won't fit me soon." She suggested with a twinkle in her eye knowing Anna would love a chance at her dresses.
Betty and Anna took the day to unpack Betty's things. She didn't have much but they had spent so much time talking. Betty answering Anna's pestering questions about her life in California. Betty tried to answer them to the best of her ability without getting too reminiscent.
They went downstairs to the kitchen around 4:30pm and started on dinner. Anna told Betty of all Jughead's favorite foods, hamburgers, onion rings, mashed potatoes, and French fries. Betty left out a soft laugh realizing that she had married a big kid. They settled on meatloaf and mashed potatoes and went to work.
About an hour later dinner was ready and Jughead came in the door. "Hmm it smells good in here." Jughead grunted as he walked into the kitchen. He took a good look at Betty whose blue apron sat nicely against her growing belly. It wasn't very round just yet but it was small and just now started to show. Betty placed the casserole dish containing the meatloaf on the table, a sweet smile placed on her face.
"I hope you like it. I haven't cooked in quite awhile." Betty admitted. Generally, Polly did the cooking, until she was married then it was back to their mother cooking. Mrs. Cooper wouldn't let her help cook but Polly would.
"I'm sure it's great, Betts." He said as he washed his hands in the kitchen sink. Betty cut the meatloaf up into slices and dished it onto the plates along with the mashed potatoes.
They all sat around the table, starved from the busy day. "Are we gonna say grace?" Anna asked, it was something her family always did and it didn't feel right not doing it.
"Why don't you say it, Anna?" Betty suggested as she took Anna and Jughead's hands. She still felt suffocated holding his hand, his skin pressed against her, an electricity running through them.
Anna began to pray about how happy she was being here with their aunt and uncle. Happy for a break from her own family and a nice home to visit. She prayed for her baby cousin to stay safe and to get here soon. She added quickly before she said 'amen', "and please God let it be a girl." Betty held in a laugh opening her eyes to look at Jughead who was smiling back at her. They both said 'amen' in unison and dug into their food.
After they finished their meals, Betty began to clean up. She sat the dishes in the sink, filling the sink with soapy water. Jughead stood behind her a loose hand sitting on Betty's back. "Dinner was amazing, Betts. Thank you." Betty smiled up at him, "You're welcome, Jughead." She said turning off the water, "Why don't you go take a shower? Then we'll watch a movie?" Jughead smiled down at Betty. Their faces suddenly seemed very close. Jughead's eyes fell to Betty plump lips, ripe from her recent meal.
Betty dipped her head down to face the dishes and Jughead cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'll go take a shower." He mentioned as he walked towards the stairs. "Pick a movie Anna. But no chick flicks!" He yelled from the steps making Betty giggle.
Jughead stood under the steaming water thinking of his beautiful wife who stood downstairs. Her own hands under hot water, her thoughts similar to his own. Jughead sighed, his hand punching hard into the tiled shower wall. He was frustrated, it had only been three days and yet he already wanted more from Betty. He wanted to touch her without the fear of being slapped. To kiss her and for her to kiss him back. In his quiet thoughts, he imagined her skin tugged close to his. Here he imagined her body wedged between the wet wall and his wet body. She would gasp from the humid air and from his hands.
"Aunt Betty?" Betty jumped at Anna's voice. She had been lost in her own thought world. Her hands rubbing together under the faucet, exciting her nerve endings. Betty cleared his throat, "yeah Anna?"
"I picked a movie."
"Great." She said simply drying her hands on the nearby towel. "What did you decide on?" She asked untying her apron and setting it on the table before joining Anna in the living room.
Sitting next to Anna was Jughead, his arm draped over the back of the couch. "Oh you're back." Betty noted taking on the sight of his damp hair and his plaid pajama pants that drove her crazy. She sat on the other side of Anna so she was wedged in between them.
"I picked Beauty and the Beast." Anna informed, "the new one." She corrected making Jughead laugh.
"I'm pretty sure that's a chick flick Anna." Jughead defended receiving a glare from Anna. "Okay fine we will watch it." Betty laughed as she got comfortable on the couch leaning into the cushions, her arm resting on the top of the couch.
The movie started and Jughead couldn't help but keep his eyes on Betty. She looked peaceful and for the most part tired. Her eyes were glued to the tv but he could tell her thoughts were elsewhere.
Anna was already fast asleep snuggled into Betty, she was quite cuddly for a thirteen year old. He imagined she got it from her touchy feely mother, Jellybean. Jughead didn't bother to move to change the movie, but sat back and enjoyed the relaxing environment after a hard day of work.
Jughead looked over to Betty whose eyes were zoned out, her hand rubbing Anna's arm. He didn't know what she was thinking about but he wanted to rescue her from it. Jughead inched his fingers towards hers. He laid his fingers on her delicate ones, gaining her attention. She looked up at him, a grin forming on her lips. He smiled at her, his fingers lightly playing with hers. Betty laid her head against the cushions paying attention back to the movie, her hand holding his gently.
A few minutes later, Betty's hand had went limp, she had fallen asleep. Jughead smiled at her peaceful face then her round belly. You could see her growing stomach much better from this angle. He focused his attention back on the movie, watching it until the credits. Jughead yawned and looked over at the two sleeping girls on the couch. It looked like a perfect picture of a mother and daughter. The sight made Jughead wish for the next 6 months to go by quickly so he could spend everyday looking at the view he had in that moment.
"Hey Betty," Jughead said softly, shaking Betty's knee gently trying to wake her up. With the soft shake, Betty stirred, stretching her arms slightly. "Hey, movie over."
Betty nodded and stood up off the couch. She bent over to wake Anna, but Jughead stopped her. "I got it." He said leaning down and picking Anna up gingerly so he wouldn't wake her.
Once upstairs, Jughead set her gently onto Betty's bed and tucked her in. He backed up slowly and then turned to walk to the door. "Thanks Jug." Betty quickly added before he left.
He stopped like something went off in his head and turned to face her. "Hey about the forehead kiss thing earlier. I was just trying to show Anna were 'in love'"
Betty's heart dropped slightly as she swallowed air. "Oh yeah, I got it. No worries." Betty sighed as he walked out the door. She closed the door behind her and slid her ponytail holder out of her hair. 'No worries'. Betty was far from no worries. She laid down on the bed where Anna immediately curled up to her. She sighed and held her close needed to comfort of human touch. Every time she thinks they are becoming closer it just gets pushed further away.
Outside the closed bedroom door, Dakota laid in the hallway. Her new spot to sleep was uncomfortable but it would have to do.
The next day, after breakfast was made and Jughead was off to work on the farm, Jellybean arrived to pick up Anna. Betty quickly invited her in for coffee while Anna went upstairs to get her things. "Sorry decaf is all I have." Betty said setting her mug in front of Jellybean. "Jughead has hidden the real coffee from me. He says it's bad for the baby." Jellybean chuckled taking in the sight of the pregnancy books on the table. "That sounds like Jug, for sure." Jellybean replied with a smile.
Betty took her seat across from Jellybean, her hands toying with the rim of her mug. "Look Jellybean, I just wanted to thank you for not telling Anna the whole story. I don't want my niece to think badly of me."
Jellybean smiled at her, "Honestly, I don't think she could ever think badly of you but you're welcome. I'm your sister now, your friend, I am always on your side." Betty smiled at her as she sipped her coffee. She imagined she was going to like it here. If it too forever for her and Jughead to figure out what they were, so be it. She was going to make the most of her time here.