Abby let out a scream of pain. Sweet Pea got up from his spot on the couch to run into the kitchen. Archie came running from his room. "Are you alright?" Sweets asked as they looked her over.
"Yeah, some of the oil splashed on me from the chicken." She rubs her arm. "It's my fault for being too lazy to put on a long sleeve shirt before frying it."
"Oh thank god," The teens let out a breath of relief before they realized the other did the same as them. Abby rolled her eyes when they refused to look at each other not wanting to acknowledge that they had anything in common.
"Dad, what is that? A letter from the Black Hood?" Archie walks over to the dining table where Fred was to read the letter over his shoulder.
"No, it's worse. Riverdale General. My hospital bill." He told them.
"How much is it?" Abby took the chicken out of the oil to put another batch in it. "Eighty-six thousand." He made everyone's eyes go wide.
"What, dollars? That can't be right, can it? Or doesn't your insurance cover it?" Archie asked. Fred shook his head.
"This is such bullshit. America got a healthcare business, not a system." She rolled her eyes. "I was watching Worst Cooks in America and this guy wanted to win, so he could pay off his chemo debt. Can you imagine going into debt because you had to treat your cancer?"
Fred cut off his daughter's rant, "They probably made a mistake. I'll call them tomorrow. I don't want you guys to worry about this. Enjoy your Christmas."
"But dad..." The kids argued.
"No buts, go to your gift exchanges." He orders.
When they pulled up to Tomoko's house, she got off the bike. "Just come in." She looks at him sitting on the running bike.
"This is a tradition that the three of you had since kindergarten." He didn't want to impose.
"It's weird if you just sit out here." She already felt bad that he was driving her everywhere she wanted to go.
"Then I'll go to the Whyte Wyrm and you can call me when you're done." He gave another option.
"How do you know I'll call?" She crossed her arms to get a glare from him. "You won't be the only party crasher, Akira will be there."
"Who?" He asked.
"Tomoko's brother, who also got a huge crush on me." She left out the fact that he was five.
"You know what I'll come in." He turned off his bike and got off it. She grabs the container of fried chicken and their gifts from the saddlebag. They walked to the house and rang the doorbell.
"Hey, come in." Tomoko opened the door.
"I hope it's alright if I'm staying." Sweet Pea follows Abby inside.
"We got enough food, but I'm sorry we didn't get you a gift." She would have got him something small if she knew he was coming.
"Don't worry about that," He waved his hand to say it was no problem.
She led them into her backyard where Trev, Akira, and Mochi were sitting on the blanket. "Abby." Akira ran to her.
She bent down to pick him up into a tight hug. "Hello, Akira." She kissed his cheek making his face go red.
"Who is this?" He looked at the stranger.
"This is Sweet Pea. He's Abby's boyfriend." Tomoko told him. They watch in amusement as his curious stare turns into a glare.
"Why is he here?" He looks up at Abby.
"Do you have wax in your ears? Because he's Abby's boyfriend." She took her brother from her friend to put him back on the ground. "Now, you'll be nice or you have to go inside."
"Fine." He ran over to play with Mochi.
"I'm sorry about him." She apologizes.
"If I was him I would be mad too." He smiled. Tomoko laughs as she goes over to sit down on the blanket. "So, Akira is a little boy?" He raises an eyebrow at Abby.
"Oh, did I not mention that?" She tilts her head.
"Such a sly little minx." He snickers under his breath. They walk over to the blanket.
"Hey man," Trev got up to give him a bro hug before they sat down.
"Sorry, we had to have it at my house this year instead of the park but my mom has been on guard since the Black Hood said we failed his test." She felt weird having to alter their tradition.
"Where we are doesn't matter?" Trev wraps an arm around her. "I'm hungry, so let's eat." They dug into the nikuman, fried chicken, and fruit kabobs.
"This is really good." Sweets complement the meat buns, having never tried one before.
"Thank you." Tomoko smiles.
"Is your mom coming down for Christmas or are you guys going to her?" Trev asked Abby.
"No, she's on some single cruise." She told them.
"Sorry," Tomoko knew this was one of the rare times she saw her mom.
"It's fine. She was looking to go on one, this was the cheapest. Besides, I wouldn't be able to fit her in this year if I wanted to. We got Toys for Tots." She pointed to Sweet Pea and herself.
"The Serpents do it every year." He told them.
"Oh cool, my family goes to the soup kitchen to serve the homeless Christmas dinner every year." Trev nods in respect.
"Well, now I feel selfish." Tomoko rubs the back of her neck.
"You can always come." Trev offers.
"And miss my family traditions, I think not. I have to win the gingerbread house contest." She had drawn blueprints for it.
"No, I'm going to win." Akira jumps on her back.
"In your dreams." She pulled him into her lap to tickle him.
"Can we open gifts now?" He shifted to sit on her lap.
"Okay, you can open first." Abby hands him the gift she got him. He ripped it open to see an action figure of The Hulk.
"I love it." He went to rip open the box but Tomoko stopped him.
"Open your other gifts first." She handed him two gifts. He opened to see that he got action figures of IronMan and Spiderman. He grabbed his boxes to run into the house to play.
"He just ditched us." Sweet Pea laughed at the excited kid.
"Here you go." Abby handed Trev his gifts from her and Tomoko. He opened it to see a pair of cleats and football gloves.
"What's going on?" He looks at them.
"With Chuck banned from the team, we figure you should go back," Abby explained.
"You not doing what you love because of those assholes wasn't right anyways." Tomoko grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.
"These gifts are going to make mine look like shit." He laughed, handing his gifts out.
"You go first, Tomoko." Abby put her gift in Tomoko's lap.
She opened up the gift, it was a scrapbook filled with pictures of them throughout the years. "Oh, this is so sweet." She flips the pages. She opened Trev's to see a locket with their first official date picture in it.
"You're next." Sweets nudge her.
Abby opened Trev first since it was in her lap to see two dog collars. "One's a dollar collar for Vegas and the others a bracelet for you." He explained when he saw the looks he was getting from the other three. Tomoko looked ready to punch him if he was insulting their friend.
"Oh, that's cute." She smiled, getting it now.
"I want to say sorry to Sweet Pea in advance before you open my gift." Tomoko nods to him.
"Why would you be so..." He got his answer when his girlfriend screamed in excitement holding up her sweater that said All I Want for Christmas is Steve Harrington with a picture of the guy. "No truer words have been printed on a sweater." She put it on.
"Oh god," He rolled his eyes. "You're not going on my bike with that."
"Then I'll walk home." She hugs herself to protect the sweater.
Abby was wrapping gifts with Fangs, Sweet Pea, and Toni. They had an assembly line going. Toni would cut the wrapping paper to fit the gift, Sweet Pea was ripping off pieces of tape, Fangs was wrapping the gifts, while Abby was making the gift tags and checking the list to make sure the toy went to the right kid.
"What is all this?" Jughead walks into the Whyte Wyrm to see it looking more like an elf workshop than a bar.
"It's a Serpent tradition. Every year, we give back to the Southside. Toys for Tots. Meals on Wheels, kids and old folks living alone." Toni explained.
"The Hells Angels do it." Fangs kept telling himself to feel like a biker and not like an elf.
"I'm always down for charitable works. Hey, have you seen my dad?" Jug asked.
"Why aren't you in school?" FP came out from the back when he heard Jughead's voice.
"It's a half-day before the break." He explained.
"Well, in that case, you can hold down the fort here, Jug." He walks to the bar with Jughead following him. "Sweet Pea, you're with us," FP called over his shoulder ignoring his son who was pleading with him to go.
"You guys are going to have to hold down the fort without me." He got up to follow FP out.
"Oh please, give me the tape, Fangs." She held her hand out to take over his job.
The younger Serpents were around a fire that they made in a tin trash can. Abby was sitting between Fangs and Sweet Pea with a marshmallow bag in her lap. Before she could roast them Jughead wanted to make an announcement. "Penny Peabody has got my dad transporting drugs. I know this, 'cause she had me doing it before him. Now, she's roped in Tall Boy and Sweet Pea."
Sweet Pea sighed, knowing he was going to be a pouty bitch about this. "Man, if you're pissed because your old man tapped me instead of you…"
"No, Sweet Pea. I'm pissed because I don't want the Serpents to end up like the Ghoulies. And I doubt that any of you became Serpent to be at the beck and call of a drug queen. I know where this ends. Death. Jail. This is why in the interest of self-preservation, we have to take out Penny." He ends his speech.
"Snake Charmer's helped some of us." Sweets told him. Snake Charmers were practical Serpents themselves. To turn on one of them wouldn't be right.
"Oh, yeah? And what did she ask for in return, Sweet Pea, huh? How many favors? Now, if we don't stop Penny tonight, she is going to get every single one of us in on this. I promise you. I promise you, Sweet Pea. What I am asking is, are you willing to risk your necks to save my dad's life?" Jughead asked the group. There was a moment of silence. A lot of them didn't see Penny as a big threat.
"What is the first law?" Toni stood up from leaning on her bike.
"No Serpent stands alone. I'm in." Sweet Pea stood up.
"Me, too." Toni nods.
"Let's do this." Fangs stood up next to his best friend. Soon all the young Serpents were standing up.
"Can I roast a marshmallow first?" Abby asked knowing that Sweet Pea would take her back home before they go.
"Oh, can we?" Fangs looked at Jughead.
"Yes, we can." Jughead sighs, getting a cheer from the two.
Abby woke up early Christmas morning to go all out for breakfast since she would be heading out to the Southside and they would have to go to work selling Christmas trees. She stood on the chair taking a picture for Instagram of her impressive spread. She had strawberry pancakes, link sausages, bacon, loaded omelet, hash browns, ham steak, and blueberry muffins.
"Oh kid, you outdid yourself." Fred's jaw dropped when he entered the room.
"Yeah, well we're only going to have the morning together so I figured I should make it count." She smiled.
"Your mom is waiting on the phone for you." He nods to the phone that was attached to the wall.
She went to pick up the hanging phone. "Merry Christmas, Mom."
"Merry Christmas. Did you get our gift?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, I love the earring. They are cute." They opened gifts last night, not knowing if they would have time in the morning. Fred was ashamed that Mary wrote his name on her gifts since she knew he was tight on money this year.
"I'm glad you like them." She was happy to be on good terms with her daughter again. She was worried that the cruise would set them back.
"How's your man-hunting going?" She asked.
"I'm not man-hunting." She denies.
"Then you waste your money on a single cruise. Come on, it's just us girls." She told her.
"I may be vetting a few guys." She admits.
Abby giggles. "Well, let me know who wins."
"Hopefully me." She teased getting a hard laugh from her daughter. "I love you. I hope you have a good Christmas."
"I love you too. I hope you get lucky." She teased. They said their last goodbyes before joining her family for breakfast. "Well, aren't you all smiley?" She nodded to her brother.
"Veronica said she loves him," Fred explained.
"Congratulations." She put a pancake on her plate.
"When do you and Sweet Pea say I love you?" Archie asked.
Abby froze when she realized that they never actually said it. She suddenly felt ashamed that she was sleeping with someone and they haven't even said I love you yet. "Um, I don't remember."
"How can you not remember?" Archie tilts his head.
"It didn't seem like that big of a deal to me." She lied.
"Well, let's shitty. The guy sleeping on the couch for you because he was worried about the Black Hood and you don't even think it's a big deal that you guys are in love." He couldn't believe she would forget such an important moment.
"Archie, enough. Didn't you learn that those three words are different for everyone?" Fred gave his son a stern look. The table was filled with silence.
"Why don't tell us how you caught Mr. Svenson?" Abby asked. He nodded before telling them of the events from the night before.
"Hold off watching the Grinch I got to shower." Fang rushed into the bathroom. At the Toys for Tots event, a baby had thrown up all over him.
"I'll get the hot cocoa ready." She went into the kitchen to boil a pot of milk.
"Did you have fun tonight?" Sweet Pea sat down on the counter.
"Yeah, it was so endearing to watch the kids light up when they open their presents." She grabs the cocoa powder from the cabinet.
"Then how come you had on your customer service smile?" He asked.
"What are you talking about?" She turns to him. She wasn't pretending with the kids.
He put a finger on the corners of her mouth, he turned it upwards. "This is your customer service smile. It's small, humble, and makes it look like you're shy." He tried to stretch the corners of her mouth to touch the top of her cheekbones. "This is your genuine smile. It's large, takes up your whole face, honestly, it's a little joker like but it's the one I like seeing."
She pushed his hands away to rub her sore cheeks. "I do not have a joker smile."
"That is not the issue, the issue is why it wasn't on your face tonight. You've been looking forward to this day all month." He wouldn't let her distract him from finding out what he wanted to know.
"I'm just distracted today, that's all." She didn't want to ruin the holiday with heavy talk.
"Distracted by what?" He pushed.
"Can we talk about it later?" She sighs.
"I rather talk about it now." He was too curious to wait.
"Fine. Veronica told Archie she loved him this morning. He asked me when we said it. I realize we never did." She stirs the milk.
"Oh," He let out.
"I tried to tell myself it's not a big deal. I feel love from you and I give you love back. It doesn't matter if we say it. I mean we do these big acts of love. You rearrange your schedule so you can sleep on my couch to protect me from the Back Hood." She pointed out.
"You fixed my floors. Your support and embrace my Serpent lifestyle with no judgment." He never doubted that she loved him.
"If we both know we're in love, then why haven't we said it. It's not fear of rejection." She understood how Veronica felt now. It feels like a piece of you must be broken to not be able to say something that should come easy.
"For me, I just never heard it growing up. With the Serpent, I was taught lip service doesn't mean anything. You have to prove yourself through actions. But, I do love you. If you need me to say I can. I love you." He repeated himself to prove a point.
"I love you too." She smiled weakly before letting it drop. "I heard it all the time growing up. My parents said it until the end, they still say it now. Oh god, that's it."
"What?" He steps back when she jumps up to avoid getting hit with the spoon.
"Towards the end, it felt like they were going through the motions, including the I love you. It felt so cold, I remember thinking something isn't right. It wasn't warm like it used to be. Sometimes, they would say it and not look at each other. I guess I didn't feel like the words meant anything." She adds in the cocoa powder before looking up at Sweet Pea. "But, it does mean something. It connects people. It's what makes them human. I love you, Sweet Pea, in a way I thought was only in books."
"I love you, Abby, in a way that I love my bike. Shit… I'm not good with words like you but you know what I mean." He huffs at ruining the moment.
She giggles and yanks on the end of his Santa hat to pull him into a kiss. She pulled away when felt Sweet Pea take something off his neck and put it on her. She looked down to see his dog tag on her chest. She picked it up to read the engraved name. "Corrie Cannon."
"It's my dad's dog tag. He was in the military before he was a Serpents. Guess he was always looking to be a part of something bigger." He told her.
"I can't take this. We said we wouldn't do Christmas gifts." She went to take it off but he grabbed her hands.
"Don't think of it as a Christmas gift? It's just a gift." He wasn't gonna give her a Christmas gift, but after exchanging I love you, he felt moved too.
"This means a lot to you. You never take it off." She looked down at it.
"Then your gift to me can be taking care of it." He pulled her into a hug.
"Wait... your name is Sweet Pea Cannon." She giggled.
"Okay, your real gift to me is to keep your mouth shut about that." He squeezed her.