#((I KEEP SCREAMING ABOUT FOUND FAMILY FOR VERONICA BUT. HOLY SHIT JUST THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MOMENT))

[encursed]

♡ + company, family.

headcanons! (accepting)

SLAMS FIST ON TABLE WAIT HERE I AM ABOUT TO EXPLODE

veronica’s family is... dysfunctional, to say the least. her father waged war against askr and straight up died, his wife (who isn’t her mom but her step-mom i presume?) got exiled and died, and bruno got sent to the border between embla and askr also in exile. wow! what a dumpster fire, the emblian royal family. 

she has bruno, of course, though he disappears throughout the story and (based on how she clings onto him so) it’s safe to assume that, for the most part, she is left alone.

so... what’s left of her family now? who is she to call family, to call loved ones, to call brother and sister?

well.... families don’t always have to be bound by blood

BANGING FIST ON TABLE. THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS-- THIS IS ABOUT FOUND FAMILY

xander. mr. xander von nohr. he’s her retainer of sorts but he also becomes sort of an older brother/father figure to her. we see their relationship grow through the stories, paralogues and xenologues, and hell, their conversation as a duo pirate unit. it’s clear that he’s the closest to family she can get aside from bruno.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE-- HAVE WE FORGOTTEN ALFONSE AND SHARENA??

yes, you heard me correctly! it is my headcanon (and also deep personal wish) for her and the askran siblings to become pseudo-family! we see glimpses of it in the latest book (+ lif and thrasir’s deep bond in the third book which is another topic i can talk about all day) and i really do think she has the capacity to find her family within them!

wah just imagine veronica having tea with bruno... riding horses with xander... reading books with alfonse... exploring forests and hills with sharena... GAH i am all sorts of emo in this chilli’s tonight

so, yes! this is my family headcanon for veronica. a family, after all, can be an imperial princess with a penchant for violence, her masked older brother, her older brother who is also the crown prince of nohr, and her older brother and sister whose kingdom she tried to invade...

[thelonewriters-fic-central]

Secret admirer



(Gif not mine)

Walking in the halls of riverdale is one thing but doing it during valentines day is another thing. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE has a date for a day weather its just for the day or this their partner, it just makes everyone who is single around them feel a little lonely. You see I had girlfriends but it never lasts till February. But I can always count on one thing, my random secret admirer that leaves chocolates and sometimes gifts in my locker every year since the fifth grade. It’s nice, I still haven’t figured out who it is. I just- haven’t gotten around to it. I live in Riverdale for godsakes there other more important things to think about.

I walk over to my locker, turning the dial on my lock and low and behold a heart shaped box of chocolates and a bouquet of red roses. I heard a gasp behind me and turn to see Veronica and Betty.

“Holy shit that looks beautiful. Who’s it from?” Veronica says squeezing past Betty to my locker to get a better look.

“It’s Y/N secret admirer. Have you seriously still not figured it out? It’s been years Y/N.” Betty says and Veronica grabs the box of chocolates and eats a piece.

“No. I’ve haven’t gotten too it yet. I was roped into the hole Jason murder thing that I haven’t really thought about it.” I say and Veronica shoves a piece of candy in my mouth.

“Doesn’t this taste like maple syrup or is it just me?” Veronica asks and I nod my head letting the sweetness overload take over my senses.

“Really?” Betty says grabbing a piece and taking a bite.

“Wow I’ve never heard of a chocolate like that before. You know what I’m going to look into this for you.” Betty says taking the box out of Veronicas hand and starts walking away.

“Betty you really don’t have too!” I scream as she walks away and she waves her hand dismissing me.

A little later at lunch

I was picking at my food and I heard two people sit across from me. I looked up and saw Betty and Veronica grinning at me.

“You would never guess who it was.” Veronica says snickering and Betty nudges her.

“So I found out those specific type of chocolate was made out of Blossom family maple syrup. They only make for the Blossoms.” Betty smiles proudly and my eyes widen.

“You gotta say it or other wise I might think I’m dreaming.” I state and they both smile.

“It’s Cheryl. Now get your ass up and go get your girl!” Veronica says coming to my side and pulls me up.

“But- what about my stuff?” I say as Veronica starts pushing me away from the table.

“We’ll keep an eye on your stuff for you.” Betty yells and I start looking around for Cheryl. I started walking around and find her looking into her locker. I tap her on her shoulder and she turns around and smiles once she sees me.

“Why hello Y/N. What can I do for you?”Cheryl says twirling a strand of hair in her fingers.

“I know it’s you who’s been sending me all those gifts on Valentines day. And if it’s okay with you I would like to kiss you now.” I put my hand on her waist pulling her closer. She blushes and leans in closer to my ear.

“Be my guest.” She whispers in my ear and I shiver. I move my lips towards hers nudging her nose in the process letting her feel my breath on her mouth. She bites down on my bottom lip making me groan slightly. I place my lips on hers and instantly tingle at the new found sensation that I have. Our lips start moving slowly together. I felt her hands move up my body and snake her arms around my neck pulling me ever so closer to her. I gently push her up against the lockers. She whined at the contact and I took the opportunity to slip my tongue in her mouth making her moan. After a little while longer we had to break apart due to the lack of air in. We both start panting, eventually slowing down our breathing and staring into each others eyes.

“So will you be my Valentine?” I ask looking down at her lips slightly.

“I will be more than just that Y/N.” Cheryl smirks kissing me again.

[alleycat97]

Catfight

Tag list :@paolaqueen5580 @fundamentalromantic

Pairing: Chloe x Mc(Bea)

@paolaqueen5580 thank you for the idea and I hope you like it!

...

It was time, the elbows have been rubbed and the talent had been showed. It was time to become the new Queen. Poppy took her step forward only to be stopped dead by,

“Chloe St. James!”

The audience gasped. Poppy stood, mouth agape. Even Bea couldn’t believe it. She was upset she didn’t win, but good for Chloe she thought, she couldn’t be too upset with this outcome.

Until Poppy couldn’t handle the loss and tried to steal Chloe’s moment, she wouldn’t stop until she verbally abused everyone in the room and the main reason for her loss, Wannabee Hughes.

“This is all YOUR fault.” Poppy screamed stomping her way over to Bea.

What happened next was legendary, Bea Hughes exposed Poppy’s family secret and sent her off crying, CRYING.

There was cheers for Bea all through the hall. She finally did it, although she didn’t win, she beat Poppy. She gathered up the trophy and crown and gave them rightfully to Chloe.

“Congrats Chloe, I’m sorry we ruined your moment, but I’m so happy you won.” Bea said giving her a small hug.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Ina staring at her as if she was a monster, an imposter of some sorts. When Ina noticed Bea watching her, she shook her head and ran out the door.

“Would the Queen and runner up like to say anything?” Thomas asked trying to regain the crowds attention.

“I’m sorry, I’ve gotta run!” Bea said leaping off the stage and out the exit.

“Where....where are you?” Bea frantically searched the quad for Ina.

A pair of delicate hands pulled her aside and up against a building.

“Ina!”

“Listen Bea, after your little stunt, I think it’s best if we steer clear from each other. We are obviously not mature enough to keep this going and now knowing the real you, I want to pass.”

“But Ina! This is not who I am! I’m...”

“Goodbye Bea.”

Bea was crushed, Ina was gone. But to be fair, it was probably the right decision. She had been cold to Ina, and sure, she tried to use her as leverage, but she felt a connection, a real connection. But hell, it was college, she felt that with mostly everyone.

“Ahhh look how the mighty have fallen.”

Bea stopped in her tracks, “Leave me alone Poppy.” Bea raised her head to see Poppy sitting by the fountain.

“I don’t think so Winchester. You may have beaten me tonight, but I’m miles ahead of you. I may lose everything after your revelation, but I assure you, you will pay.” Poppy smirked. “You’re no better than me, you’re just another monster and soon, they will see it too.”

“Blow it out of your ass Sinclair, you’re ruined, and I’m not even close to you.”

“On the contrary, I’ll get to rest, and freshen up. I’m still connected wannabe. And news flash, you still couldn’t win. You may have most of the student body brainwashed, but you couldn’t even beat Chloe. You let that ditzy bimbo beat you!” Poppy mocked.

For some reason, and Bea couldn’t answer why, but the comments about Chloe did it for her, rage filled her body.

“Ahhhhh!” Bea screamed charging Poppy, tackling her into the fountain.

“You bitch!” Poppy scrambled to her feet, returning the attack.

The catfight was on and the kicking and clawing began. Bea found purchase of Poppy’s delicate hair and began yanking it. Cliche.

Poppy squealed in pain as she reared back and socked Bea square in the nose.

“Ow! I’m going to kill you! You bitch that was my nose! Owwww! I think it’s broken!” Bea said trying not to cry due to the immense pain.

“Looks like an improvement.” Poppy mocked. “Ow! My eye!” Bea took advantage of Poppy’s distraction and slugged her, blackening her eye.

The two locked up once again, clawing and scratching, collapsing into the water again.

Once they both went under, the cool water startled them into submission. Both ending the fight and the two slowly climbed out of the fountain.

“Poppy!” The two were interrupted by her parents who quickly jerked her aside looking her over with disappointment.

Bea just shifted from foot to foot awkwardly as Poppy’s parents chewed her out and shot Bea an ugly look before leaving with Poppy.

Bea sighed, bloody, hurting, cold and now dripping wet. She limped her way back towards the Gala but as she entered, Chloe intercepted her.

“Oh my god! What happened to you?” Chloe asked concerned.

“Me and Poppy got into a disagreement.”

“Jesus Bea! Your nose!”

“You should see her.” Bea tried to laugh it off, the adrenaline had wore off and her nose began to hurt like hell.

“We gotta get you to the doctor!”

“I’m ok Chloe, really. You should stay here and celebrate your award.”

“No!” Chloe demanded. “I’m so tired of everyone telling me what to do!”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean...”

“I am my own woman! I’ll do as I want and I am taking you to the doctor whether you like it or not!”

Okkkk, independent Chloe was scary as fuck, but also hot.

“Ok.” Bea sighed defeated.

“Veronica!!!!” Chloe screamed out across the room, so loud the music cut out and people began to stare.

“I’m taking Bea to the hospital!!!! Poppy beat her up! We will be back later!”

Bea tried to hide from the muffled laughter and appalled looks, way to go Chloe.

“Ok I’m ready let’s go.”

The girls checked into the hospital and were put in a room immediately. Luckily Bea’s nose wasn’t broken, it was just dislocated.

After a quick adjustment and a very painful pop back into place, Bea could breathe again. The doctor cleaned her cuts and gave Chloe some ointment to apply to the affected areas twice a day.

Back at Bea’s dorm, Chloe insisted she stay. She said it was her responsibility.

“Chloe you don’t have to. The doctor said I can apply the ointmemt myself.”

“No no. He gave it to me. I should be the one to do it.”

“Yes but he didn’t literally mean...” Bea stopped her reply when Chloe shot her, her ‘determined’ look. She clearly wasn’t leaving.

“Ok fine. You can apply it.”

“Yayyy!” Chloe cheered. “Now, hold still.”

Chloe delicately and calmly smeared the cream over Bea’s cuts with her thumb. Her silky smooth hands rested against Bea’s cheek as she stuck her tongue out and narrowed her eyes in concentration as her thumb moved softly over the cuts.

Bea couldn’t help but get lost in the touch. This may not be so bad. She closed her eyes begging for more.

When Chloe stopped, Bea couldn’t help but pout. She opened her eyes and jumped alittle. When did Chloe get so close? Her mouth was just inches away.....

As if Chloe developed mind reading powers, she inched closer and Bea didn’t refuse her.

The two locked into a delicate make out session, Chloe gently pushing Bea back onto the couch and crawling on top.

Zoey and Veronica had paired up to look for the girls after they had ghosted them hours after they left for the hospital. Zoey gave up and invited Veronica over for some Tea.

“Holy Shit!” Zoey screamed in delight as Chloe and Bea leaped apart.

“Damnit!” Veronica hissed. “I didn’t get that on video. Can we do a retake?”

“A retake? Hell no go away!” Bea yelled retreating to her room.

Chloe just shrugged and followed Bea.

“Did you just see what I saw?” Zoey said in shock.

“Looks like a new power couple.”

[taliatremblay]

meanwhile the world goes on.  meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,  over the prairies and the deep trees,  the mountains and the rivers. meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination. x

SECTION 01. APPEARANCE.

A T T R A C T I V E N E S S

Talia doesn’t think of herself as unattractive, but she doesn’t think of herself as attractive either. In her eyes, she’s pretty average. She felt a bit self-conscious about her appearance in high school, of course, as puberty and post-puberty are always a tough time, but it wasn’t ever something that truly affected her life. Really, Talia sees herself as the girl-next-door. She doesn’t think she’ll ever grab someone’s attention through her looks, whether that be positively or negatively. Basically, she doesn’t think that her looks affect her life all that much. Personally, I think Molly Gordon (Talia’s faceclaim) is gorgeous, but of course, the way Talia feels about herself has nothing to do with the way I feel about her faceclaim.

H E I G H T

Talia’s 5′5″, which is just a tiny bit more than the average. Growing up, she was actually one of the tall ones, even being taller than most masculine presenting people at some points, but she stopped growing around her second year of secondary school, whereas other people her own age kept on growing taller. She’s pretty happy with her height, because although she tends to be more attracted to people who are taller than her, she doesn’t necessarily adore feeling like she’s being towered over, so yeah! Not that that’d stop her from being attracted to someone, but it’s just? Not her go to, I guess?

T A T T O O S & P I E R C I N G S

Talia’s a bit of a stick in the mud, and terrified of pain, and has therefore never even considered getting tattoos or piercings outside of the one (1) piercing she has per year that she got as a four year old. She cried and screamed super loudly then, and would probably act in a similar way now, to be honest. LOVES them on other people, though. She finds piercings and tattoos way too attractive for her own good, to be honest. She’s not going to like, be less attracted to someone who has none, but tattoos and piercings just do something for her. Maybe it’s the whole good girl being corrupted by the bad boy/girl/enby trope and what not, but yes!

G R O W I N G U P

I kind of covered this in the last few questions, so I’m honestly not really sure what to add? OH! She was legit ADORABLE as a toddler. Like, ridiculously so. And Leo, her two years old son, inherited that, to be honest.

SECTION 02. RELATIONSHIPS.

CHARLOTTE SINCLAIR ( COWORKERS )

Charlotte and Talia are both secretaries at the Maison des Marguerites, Ellingham’s nursing home, and they get along pretty well! Talia tends to like most people, and I can easily picture her enjoying Charlotte’s company! Also, she DEF was like “holy shit” the first time she saw Charlotte. Because, like, YEAH.

DAKOTA HEFNER ( FRIENDS )

The two of them met at the Maison des Marguerites, where Talia works as a secretary and where one of Dakota’s family members resides. Talia and Dakota ended up becoming friendly, and basically, Talia’s son (Leo) adores Dakota; Dakota is after all a voice actor and can do voices that simply awe tiny lil Leo.

ELIJAH WINTERS + 4 MORE ( GROUP OF FRIENDS )

They’ve been friends since high school, and are still a tight-knit group of friends to this day. With elijah, Talia’s a bit more of the mom friend™, but with the others, that’ll depend on who plays the other characters! I’ll probably make a group chat once all of them are taken to make things easier! 

MIA FISHER ( FOUND FAMILY )

They’re both bookworms, and Talia always went to Mia’s bookstore a lot, but after Leo was born, she started asking for recommendations for picture books, and the two started getting closer. Nowadays, they often hang out together in the store and chat whilst Leo plays behind the counter. It’s like, the cutest thing.

NOAH ANDERSON ( REGULAR HOOKUP )

This connection is pretty much exactly as is advertised, to be honest! The two regularly hook-up, because, although Talia may have a child, she does still want fun and what not, so yes! They keep it on the down-low, though, because Noah doesn’t want his parents to find out, and Talia is generally quite a secretive person.

VERONICA “RONNY” JACOBSON ( FRIENDS )

Currently plotting this out with Amanda! Will therefore be updated sometimes soon!

???????? ???????? ( BIG SISTER FIGURE )

I REMEMBER plotting this out with someone, but I don’t remember who it is because I have the memory of a goldfish cracker, so if it was you, please please please message me to let me know because I feel super bad and am seriously sorry, and would love to plot more with you!

SECTION 03. PERSONALITY TYPES.

49 ARCHETYPES: The Authentic (Approachable, Dependable, Trustworthy).

ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good.

ENNEAGRAM: Type 9, The Peacemaker.

MBTI: INFP, The Mediator.

SOUL TYPE: Helper.

INTELLIGENCE TYPE: Interpersonal.

BIG FIVE: Agreeableness.

TEMPERAMENT: The Phlegmatic.

ZODIAC: Pisces Sun, Cancer Moon & Sagittarius Rising.

[keijiwrites]

some things are meant to be

this is a birthday present for @nblance happy birthday my dude 💙

Pairing: klance

Word count: 2242

Rating: general

It was officially the big day. The day they were to marry. Nerves and anticipation filled the room and Lance was ready to burst. It was - finally - the day he and Keith were going to marry. Lance felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach as he looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his ceremonial uniform from the Garrison, showing off the medals he’d earned throughout the years. He toyed with his hair a little, hands shaking.

“Lance.”

He jumped at the voice of his mother. “Hey, ma.”

“Ready?” She asked kindly, warm smile on her face for her youngest son. She walked closer and brushed his shoulder with her hands. “Mijo, I’m so happy for you.” She grinned, eyes already watery.

Lance grinned and hugged her tightly. “Thanks, ma.” He murmured and squeezed a little harder before letting her go.

“You ready?”

He nodded, exhaling deeply. “Yeah.”

Laura led him downstairs, the ceremony and reception being held in the same place where Keith and Lance were staying for the night. Lance saw Veronica talking with Rachel, both in short dresses because of course Lance would want his wedding to be held in the great outdoors and of course Keith was one to concede to whatever Lance wanted.

He and Laura walked towards them, butterflies in his stomach. The fact that he was to marry Keith was sinking in and fast. The nerves were cranked up and he seriously wanted to drown the butterflies in his stomach.

His irrational thoughts were surfacing and he wanted to step on them as hard as he could.

“Hey, little bro” Rachel grinned, throwing her arms around Lance for a quick hug. “You ready?”

Lance nodded, swallowing thickly.

What if they were rushing? What if Keith didn’t want to get married so early on? What if-

He shook his head a little to get rid of those nasty thoughts. They weren’t rushing anything. They had been dating for six years for fucks sake. Twenty-eight was a good age to get married.

Rachel and Veronica guided Lance to his place, while his mother took a seat next to his father at the front row where his most important people sat. He could see everyone from there, Pidge and Romelle were sitting together, along with Matt and his girlfriend. Krolia was next to Laura, looking stoic in her ceremonial Blade suit. Everyone tried to get her to wear a dress, but they all agreed she looked awkward in them. And she confessed she wasn’t comfortable in dresses.

Lance felt a rush of relief when he saw Hunk and Allura approaching. “Five more minutes for the guests to get comfortable and we start.” Allura announced.

“Is it normal to feel so nervous?” Lance asked to no one in particular. He could feel the nervous sweat rolling down his back and hands shaking as he tightened his fists.

Hunk grinned at him sympathetically. “Definitely. But don’t be nervous, man. Keith is as cool as a cucumber.”

Earlier

“Holy, shit, Shiro.” Keith breathed as he paced in front of his brother and Adam. “What if he doesn’t want to marry me? What if-”

“Christ, Keith. Calm down.” Adam chuckled. “I’m sure Lance does want to marry you. He was pining after your ass for like a solid two years. Now, calm down. You’re going to mess up your hair,” He huffed and fixed the stray hair that had fallen from Keith’s bun. He patted Keith’s shoulders, flattening the wrinkles on his ceremonial uniform.

Keith took a deep breath, calming down his nerves. “I’m fine. I’m cool. It’s all good.”

“Your face is drenched in sweat.”

“Fuck!”

Lance was impatiently waiting at the end of the isle for Keith. He was supposed to arrive five minutes ago and the black paladin was nowhere to be found. He was nervous, he felt like his heart was in his throat and every second that passed he felt like his stomach would drop out of his feet.

“Lance!”

Lance turned at the sound of Keith’s voice. His breath hitched when he saw Keith in his ceremonial uniform, his own badges on display. Lance noticed Keith’s hair was tied up in a bun at the crown of his head instead of his usual ponytail.

“Hi.” He breathed out, unsubtle raking his eyes over Keith.

“Hey.” Keith stared at him for a solid five seconds before giggling.

Lance blinked at him because that was knew. Keith had never giggled before. And Lance knew all about Keith’s laughing fits but this was a new sound.

“You look amazing, babe.” Keith took Lance’s hands in his own, smiling softly.

Lance returned the smile and just as he was about to say the same to Keith, Rachel interrupted them.

“Just because you’re defenders of the universe, doesn’t mean you can be late.” She scowled at Keith without any heat. “You ready?”

The paladins looked at each other before nodding at her. She was gone in the blink of an eye and not even a minute later, the music started to play. Keith let go of one of Lance’s hand and smiled at his soon to be husband. Lance had butterflies in his stomach because in a matter of minutes they would officially be husbands.

Not even halfway down the aisle Lance already had tears in his eyes and Keith was a giggling mess next to Lance. Once they arrived at the podium Coran initiated the wedding, talking about how he remembered when he would officiate weddings at the castle and making a joke here and there. Lance knew he was only doing that to calm their nerves and Lance was grateful for him.

Once they hand exchanged their vows and had their rings on their fingers, Coran announced they could kiss. Lance didn’t spare a second, grabbing Keith by the cheeks and kissing the living daylights out of him. Laughter bubbled out of both of their mouths, gleeful they were finally husbands.

Their families were the first people to hug them tightly and pepper kisses on their faces.

They made it to the reception area that wasn't so far from the ceremony. Lance had asked Kinkade to be their photographer and the pilot had promise they would get the best pictures. After a small photographic session and everyone was inside the reception area, the couple took a few minutes to themselves.

“You look amazing, Keith.” Lance murmured, thumb rubbing Keith's cheek softly.

“You don’t looks so bad yourself.” Keith was blushing as he fiddled with one of the badges on Lance’s uniform, silver ring glinting under the lights.

Lance took Keith’s hand in his and kissed his knuckles followed by the ring, the matal cold against his lips. “I’m so happy, you have no idea.”

Keith smiled at him, features soft before he leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a soft kiss. “You ready?”

Lance let out a breathy chuckle. “Why do you sound nervous? Not even half of the Garrison is here, dude.”

“You’re seriously calling me dude?”

“Would you prefer dude or mullet? Maybe even man.”

“Oh, my god. Shut up and let’s go.”

Lance was chuckling as they entered, Hunk, being the mic man, announcing them as they entered. Everyone was cheering for them as they did. They made it to the dance floor and Can’t Help Falling In Love started to play. They stood closer, forehead pressed together and arms around each other.

“Your song choice was corny as hell, babe.” Lance snorted, but it wasn’t malicious. The soft look on his face screamed he was touched by the sentiment of the song.

Lance shut his eyes, smile ghosting his lips. Keith did the same, getting lost in Lance’s presence and blocking out everyone else. It was their day, finally, after so many tries of making the wedding possible, they finally did.

The song ended, but they didn’t move away from each other, instead Keith wrapped his arms tighter around Lance, wanting to enjoy the moment a little more.

“Okay, you two, move it. We have speeches to give.” Pidge said into the mic, Hunk being heard protesting faintly in the background.

Lance and Keith chuckled but turned their attention to them. Keith snorted at their two friends fighting over the mic. Finally, it was Allura who snatched the mic.

“I’m not sure how these speeches really work but I just wanted to say that I’m very happy for you two. You finally get to officiate your love for one another. Keith, I know we started out a little rough but I’m very glad you finally came out of your shell and, what was it that Pidge said? ‘Grew the balls to ask out Lance?’” She looked back at Pidge who gave Allura a thumbs up while everyone else laughed. “Lance, you’re an amazing friend and I’m sure you’ll be an even better husband. To Lance and Keith.”

“To Lance and Keith!”

Shiro was up and when he took the mic from Allura, he not so subtly wiped his eyes with a tissue. “Hi everyone.” He smiled sort of sheepishly.

“Seven years as a commanding officer and he still gets nervous talking in front of crowds. Wimp.” Keith murmured, making Lance snort behind the champagne glass Adam had handed them.

“It’ll be quick, I promise. These two had been pining for each other for too long, let’s start with that.” Shiro started, making the newlyweds groan. “But I think it was worth it. The love you two have for one another is amazing and I know many would do anything to have what you do. It’s amazing how far you two have come and I hope it doesn’t stop now.” He was starting to tear up, clearing his throat every few words. “I’m proud of both you and happy to see this day finally happen. Keep doing great, boys. To Lance and Keith.”

“To Lance and Keith!”

Pidge and Hunk were next, but instead of speaking, a video began to play on the wall behind the two engineers. Lance started to tear up at the pictures and videos that began to show up. There were pictures of their Garrison days, to videos of when they were training together in the castle. Lance wanted to die when an audio feed that he wanted to erase from his memory was brought up.

“We had a bonding moment. I cradled you in my arms!”

The words “Lance, in fact, does remember” popped up on the screen.

“You remembered?!” Keith asked incredulously.

“I was having a bi crisis, okay?!”

Keith huffed out a laugh, turning back to the screen. Silly pictures of them as a group and a couple came up in chronological order. The video of the proposal came up.

Lance had asked Keith to marry him in a rather inconvenient situation.

They were in the middle of infiltrating a Galra base when Lance had turned to Keith and asked, “When all of this is over, will you marry me?”

Keith had frozen in his tracks and turned to Lance. “Are you shitting me? We’re in the middle of a mission, Lance!”

“Okay, but is that a yes or a no?”

Keith glared at him before pressing a bruising kiss on Lance’s mouth. “Of course, dumbass. But if you try to ask me another important question like that I swear I’ll maim you.”

“Roger that, team leader.”

No one could see the look on Lance’s face as the feed was coming from his helmet cam but everyone knew there was a smirk in his face.

Other pictures and videos of them on Earth showed up. Dates, hang outs and pictures of how they came to be being most of them. Lance thought the video was corny, but it was the sentiment that counted. Besides, he loved corny things even if he wouldn’t admit it.

Once the slideshow finished Lance rushed to his friends and hugged them tightly, thanking them for it. “It was amazing. How did you get so many vids from the castle.”

“We had a little help.” Hunk grinned and looked at Coran.

Lance owed that man his life.

A few minutes later, the party was in full swing. Almost everyone was dancing and having a good time. Lance stood a little to the side, drink in hand and taking it all in. He felt like his heart would burst out of his chest by how happy he was. Keith looked stunning dancing with Lance’s niece and nephew, cheeks flushed and laughing loudly. As if sensing him, Keith looked at him and locked eyes. He watched as Keith bent down and whispered something to them. The two kids turned to Lance and hurried towards him.

“T��o! Come dance with us!” Victoria took his free hand and started to tug on it. “Pretty please!”

Lance chuckled at their puppy eyes and set his drink down. “Alright, I’ll dance with you.”

He let them tug him along to the dance floor where he was immediately swallowed in by his family. There was laughter and jokes going around about their dance moves going around. Keith was laughing just as loud as everyone else, and Lance really felt like his heart was going to burst any second.

He didn’t regret his things happened between them. He thought if they were any different, they wouldn’t be where they are right now and that was something Lance would never change.

[justjessame]

Babysitting Butcher Chapter 50

Picking up Terror from my parents’ house was a lot like picking up a regular child from their grandparents’ house, at least I guess it was, I didn’t actually have any experience to go on.  Billy and I shared a look before we walked up the path, a silent promise to NOT burst out laughing on sight if Mom was locked and loaded with horror stories about our little angel’s sexual deviancies.  

“We act completely surprised,” I muttered, as Billy smirked beside me.  “If she mentions the humping, you maintain a stance of complete and utter bafflement, do you hear me, Butcher?”  

“Absolutely, Veronica,” he mumbled.  “Terror’s never once gotten randy with anything, stuffed or not.”  

The door opened as soon as we were within touching distance and my dad was looking fit to burst.  Either laughter or screaming I couldn’t tell, but he gestured for us to come inside and I shot Billy a side eye that warned him once again to keep his shit together and we crossed the threshold.  Once inside, my eyes went wide and I nearly cracked a fucking rib.  Mom had turned the family room into Terror’s own private orgy of debauchery, stuffy-wise anyway.  He had a veritable zoo, farm, and fucking science-fiction fantasy gangbang of stuffed animals to choose from along with enough treats, a bed that had his name embroidered on it, his own porcelain water and food bowl, and a new leash and collar set that put what Billy and I had brought him with to shame.  Dear fucking -

“Mother -” I breathed, as she came into sight with a huge smile on her face.  

“Doesn’t he look so happy?”  She was beaming and I wondered if maybe hearing that I was, for all intents and purposes barren, and the fact that Billy wasn’t really interested in becoming a father, had somehow broken her?  “Since he hasn’t been,” she leaned closer to Billy and I and lowered her voice to just a hint above a breath, as though Terror might hear and understand the word, “neutered. I thought I’d make sure he had ample ‘fun toys’.”  Jesus fucking Christ.  “I called a vet and they said that this was perfectly normal and fine, as long as he doesn’t get any chaffing.”  Please for the love of all that is good and holy, don’t let my mother have actually checked to see if Terror has any chaffing on his little doggy boy parts.  “If he does, he’ll start excessively licking himself.  The vet sent over some salve and a cone, I have them in the pantry.  I didn’t want to scare him with them before they’re necessary.”  Fuck me running with a fucking pitchfork.  

“Thank you, Margaret,” Billy sounded so sincere that I wasn’t sure I could look at him on the off chance I’d bust from the complete fucking absurdity of this entire fucking situation.  “You’ve taken amazing care of my boy.  OUR boy,” he corrected.  “We’ll drop him by tomorrow at the same time.”  Then he called for Terror and we were in the car again.  

“Did that just happen?”  I asked, once we were about halfway to our house and my brain reengaged.  “Did my mother actually turn the family room of the house I was raised in into a fucking dog den of masturbation?”  

Billy let go, the laughter he must have held in from the moment he saw the fucking UNICORN she bought for Terror to mount released and with that I started to giggle too.  The insanity of it, my mom, a country club matron, had called a veterinarian to make sure her grandpet was normal for humping the stuffies and then went overboard with it.  Jesus.  

“The salve, the cone,” he was shaking his head as he pulled up our driveway, “that bit nearly did me in, Ronnie.”  You, I thought?  It nearly fucking undid me to the point of mad cackling.  

“I thought she was going to tell me she checked,” I chuckled, watching him get Terror out and walk him around the yard, Terror jumping at the fireflies while I moved toward the house.  “What do we feel like for dinner?”  I called back.

“Something easy,” was my answer, and I was in full agreement as I walked into the house, thinking that we’d be discussing more than just Terror’s day at grandma’s over Netflix and food.

We were on the hanging bed, sipping drinks and laughing at Terror’s snoring - clearly worn out from his exercise at Mom’s, when we finally got around to discussing everything that we worked through during our workday.  

“Stormfront had to have chipped him,” I said, shaking my head even as I snuggled deeper into his arms.  “I swear that - I have to get at least two of the chips turned off, Billy, jammed or something.”  He hummed his agreement.  “I’ll discuss it with Frenchie and one of the techie geeks I have on staff, I won’t tell the geek the specifics.”  

“Speakin’ of Frenchie,” Billy took my glass from me and put it on the table beside the bed.  “We looked over the plans and we think a couple of those mini drones that are all the rage now, that kids use?”  I nodded my understanding and he went on, “We think we can use those to do a little intel gathering.  See who else moves around the neighborhood.  See what these tutors look like, and when they come and go.  If we can get the right drone, might even be able to see what they’re teaching Ryan.”  

“Do you think they’re trying to teach him a curriculum more like what his Daddy had than what a regular little boy gets taught?”  It had crossed my mind, but I didn’t want to give it substance, not yet.  

“Got to think that there’s a reason this shit doesn’t meet the sniff test, Ronnie.”  I sighed.  “I want to run the recon before we go in on Sunday.”  

That meant he’d be out of the office at least during part of the week, we really were back to work.  “Back to the swing of things, are we Mr. Butcher?”  I smiled into the darkness and he chuckled.  

“Getting there, Doc.”  He kissed my temple.  “Hearing you sound like the head of the office, throwing your weight around, got my pants feeling a bit tighter than usual, Ronnie.”  I bit my lip, and he went on.  “You sounded like you were about to rip someone’s head off, love.”  

“You liked that, did you?”  Tilting my head, I was rewarded with his nose sliding down my cheek so his lips could find my neck.  “I think my patience is waning.  You might end up hearing that a LOT more.”  He growled and turned me to face him.  

“That’s not a bad thing, Ronnie.”  And he showed me just how little of a bad thing he found it.

Billy and I dropped Terror off at Grandma’s, as she insisted on being called, the next morning and I was considering having her checked out by a fellow therapist.  All the trauma from my near death experiences must have rattled some shit loose in my mom’s makeup, because she was baby talking the wrinkly dog as we left and I could SWEAR she was promising him a trip to the toy store to add to his menagerie.  For fuck’s sake, I was going to get a call from FAO Schwarz because my mother let Terror try out his new sex toys before buying, wasn’t I?  

Onto the office, where Billy met up with Frenchie and Kimiko, grinning like a little boy on Christmas morning with the drones they’d gotten their hands on with what I had to imagine was Joseph’s paper pushing magic.  They had copies of the plans I’d printed of Ryan’s neighborhood and were discussing the best places for them to start from while I sat down and fired up the next round of my own research.  

“I’m going to check in with MM and Mallory,” I informed my partner, and got an agreeable grunt.  “I want to see where we are on the search for other satellite locations for Vought off the books experiments, and I want to speak to Grace about Ryan’s situation.”  

“I’ll check in once we have a better idea of what’s going on during the day,” Billy offered, closer than I’d expected.  I looked up to find him beside me, close enough to touch.  “I want to see just what they’ve got going on over there, too.”   He breathed deeply, but not getting the calmness he was searching for he reached for me and I gladly stood up and wrapped myself up in his arms.  His face buried in my hair and I knew we both needed this, the strength we got from one another to face what we had to look into during our work day.  “I love you,” his voice was almost reverent and I rubbed my face against his jacket and shirt covered chest, loving how his scent was distinctly him.  

“And I love you, Billy Butcher,” I reminded him, as he pulled away to look down into my eyes.  “We’ll figure this out, just like we figure out every other fucking thing they throw at us.”  

He nodded, kissing me senseless for luck, and then off he went with his part of the team while I sat down in our far to quiet office and got started on my piece of the puzzle.  How the hell keeping Ryan Butcher had gotten so far off track? 

[aresaphrodites]

Wicked Games Chapter Twelve

(this is my third time trying to upload this because my laptop sucks holy shit)

but anyway! 

so sorry for what you guys are about to read. 

thank you to my girl, @itstenafterfour, for always fixing my trash and making it better. i adore you. 

Betty spends five hours in the police department. She’s questioned by several different detectives, because now she’s front and center in the murder investigation of Veronica Lodge.

She’s asked, right up front, if she had any motive to kill Veronica after their very public fight. At first it had been a complete insult to her and she had yelled and cried as they accused her of killing her best friend in cold blood. Then, when she calmed down, she began to answer their questions in a cold, calculated voice. She told them the entire truth, about her stalker and everything, and now they were one step closer to finding the killer. At least that’s what they said. She knew they were full of shit. They weren’t going to find Veronica’s killer. They hadn’t been able to find Betty’s stalker this entire time and it was the same person after all. She wonders if they ever even took her case serious or if it only now phased them because there was a death.

The detectives look at her throughout the interviews with gazes like they don’t know whether they should feel bad for her or not. Betty doesn’t want them to feel sorry for her; not anymore. This is all her fault. Veronica is dead because of her. If she hadn’t walked away from her, or if she had followed her into the cab, or called her a little earlier, or gone over to check on her when she didn’t answer any of Betty’s calls; if she had done any of that then maybe Veronica would still be alive, but she didn’t. She didn’t do anything and now Veronica’s blood was on her hands.

“Are you ready to go home?”

She’s only half startled by Jughead’s steady voice and the hand he places on her shoulder. She’s currently seated on a chair outside of Officer Ruiz’s office, a pudgy man with a beard that reminds her of a grizzly bear.

“They’re releasing you,” Jughead tells her, taking in her questioning look. “They’ll call you if they need anything else from you, but they don’t have any reason to hold you anymore.”

Betty nods and stands up. Jughead immediately wraps his jacket around her shoulders as he leads her out of the station’s lobby. He keeps a protective hold on her, like he dares anyone to come up to her and Betty is thankful for it.

“There’s a crowd outside,” he warns her. “There wasn’t anything we could do about it. Just ignore them.” It’s not a comforting sentence and she almost wishes she could stay inside of the police department all night. She’s not ready to face the world. She doesn’t know if she ever will be again.

“Betty!” She whirls around at her name being called and sees Office Chris Matthews walking towards her, a card in his hand. “This is my personal number,” he tells her as he gives her the card. “I want you to call me if you ever feel like you’re not safe or if you feel like you’re around someone you can’t trust. Send me a text, call, whatever. I don’t care what time it is.”

He’s so kind to her. He’s always been so kind to her and it makes her almost want to cry. She needs someone to yell at her right now, to tell her all the things that she’s currently thinking about herself.

“Thanks,” is all she says. He takes a step towards her and holds his hand out like he wants to touch her, but Jughead yanks her back and away from his grip. Officer Matthews looks at him in shock but Betty doesn’t even question it at this point.

“I’m here for you whenever you need me,” he tells her but his eyes are hard and he’s looking at Jughead instead of Betty. “Be careful who you trust.” He stares at Jughead for a beat longer before giving her a nod and leaving. She looks down at his card in her hand and flips it over before tucking it into the back of her pocket.

“You’re really going to keep that?” Jughead asks. His voice is strained, like he wants to say something else but he’s holding back.

She just shrugs. “It can’t hurt.”

Jughead doesn’t say anything back. He just leads her to the front entrance of the building. She can already see everyone with their cameras and recorders and her stomach clenches at the sight. Jughead must see the way her face completely changes because he holds her closer to him.

“Just ignore them,” he tells her again. “I’m right here with you.” The words should make her feel a sense of protection or ease, but they don’t. They’re just words.

As soon as they step outside, the cameras flash at her and the questions begin.

“Betty, how long have you had a stalker?”

“Is it an ex boyfriend?”

“Is this all an elaborate PR stunt gone wrong?”

“Did you kill Veronica Lodge?”

The last one startles her and she stops in her tracks before Jughead tugs her along and urges her to sit in the back of the car. The words echo back in her head. This is what people will think of her from now on until the real killer is found. They’re going to think that Betty killed Veronica all because of a stupid fight they had outside of a Whole Foods Market. It doesn’t matter that statements have already been released saying otherwise. People need someone to blame and right now Betty is all they have.

Cheryl’s in the car and Jughead goes to sit up front next to James. James just sends her a pitiful look through the mirror and Betty looks away. She doesn’t want anyone’s pity anymore.

“I’m sorry,” is all Cheryl says.

“You hated Veronica,” Betty tells her, voice monotone as she stares out of the window at all the reporters. “You’re not sorry.”

“I might not have liked her, but that didn’t mean I wanted her to die,” Cheryl says and she sounds insulted that Betty would even suggest something like that. “I’m sorry that you have to go through this. No one should have to go through this, but especially not you.”

“Is there a reason you’re here?” She sighs out, finally looking over at Cheryl. The redhead looks upset at her question and Betty almost feels bad. She doesn’t want to be mean to Cheryl, the last friend she really has, but she doesn’t feel like faking her feelings right now. And truth be told, when she looks at Cheryl all she can think of is how her agent had told her that she was glad Veronica was finally out of her life. It’s like she knew what was going to happen. Betty shakes the thought away as soon as it enters her head. She can’t think that way about Cheryl. Cheryl hasn’t done anything wrong. She just wants someone to blame. Right?

Cheryl pulls out a box from the bottom of the car floor and hands it over to Betty. “They were for the Golden Globes next month but you don’t have to go anymore. No one is expecting you to.”

Betty pulls the top off of the box and looks inside of it. The pair of Ralph and Russo shoes she’d been pining after for months are staring right back at her. She reaches out and touches the rose gold leaves on the pumps, enamored by the beauty of them.

“I got them for you as a present,” Cheryl says a bit shyly. “You’d been saying how much you wanted them and well, you really deserve them. You’ve been through a lot, and I know a pair of shoes can’t fix your problems but retail therapy helps sometimes. You can just save them for whenever you decide to step back out again.”

The Golden Globes are a little over a month away. Do people really expect her to be hiding out even then? Probably so. Everyone’s probably expecting sensitive Betty Cooper to completely give up and shut down after everything she’s been through, but she’s thinking the exact opposite.

If the cops won’t do anything about it then she’s going to find out who this person is on her own. She’s tired of letting everyone else deal with her problems. She’ll find whoever’s doing this and she’ll kill them herself. Not for her, but for Veronica.

There’s a funeral, close family and friends only. Really it’s only Veronica’s parents, Betty, and Archie plus a few other family members. Veronica’s mother is sobbing so loudly that Betty has to scream in her head just to drown out the noises. Mr. Lodge stays stoic and completely still. Veronica had been his baby girl, his entire world. Veronica was such a daddy’s girl, it makes perfect sense for this to hit him harder than anyone, but Betty doesn’t think he’s truly processed it yet.

And Archie.

Archie looks so lost, so broken, and so alone. Halfway during the funeral, he starts crying silently, and Betty walks over to him and intertwines their fingers together as she holds his hand. He doesn’t look at her, he doesn’t even acknowledge any of it until finally he squeezes her hand back tightly.

She gives her condolences to Mr. and Mrs. Lodge who both thank her for being a good friend to Veronica. It’s almost as though they’re unaware of the fight, as though they don’t know. She wonders if telling them is the right thing to do. She wants to tell them not to thank her, she doesn’t deserve it. Because of her Veronica is dead. Veronica is six feet in the ground all because she didn’t follow her after their fight. She didn’t take care of Veronica the way a friend should.

She sits in front of the newly dug grave for a long time after that. There are things she wants to say, but she can’t find the words.

“No one blames you,” a voice says gently from behind her. She turns around and sees Archie standing with his hands in his coat. He looks so small for someone who had always seemed a bit larger than life. “This isn’t your fault.”

“I didn’t follow her,” Betty whispers as she touches the ground beneath her. It’s a lump of dirt. This is all Veronica is now; a lump of cold dirt. “The last things we said to each other…”

“She loved you,” Archie says. “She loved you so much. She was worried about you and you know how she got when she worried.” He laughs softly, but Betty can’t laugh because he’s saying everything in the past tense and she doesn’t know how to handle any of that. “I talked to her that night. I guess it must have been before… everything, but she told me she was worried you were going to hate her for all the things she said. I told her she just needed to call you and apologize and you’d understand. She said she’d call you in the morning.”

Betty closes her eyes tightly as a lone tear falls from them. If she had just gone to Veronica’s house when she didn’t answer the phone then she might still be alive right now. Betty could have prevented all of this and she didn’t. Veronica’s blood was on her hands and nothing anyone said could change that. She didn’t do the killing but indirectly she had a hand in it, and Betty couldn’t fathom how she’d live with that.

“We’ll find out who’s doing all this,” Archie promises as he places a hand on Betty’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself.” And then he’s gone and Betty’s all alone.

“I’m sorry,” she finally whispers to the grave, tears making their way down her cheeks and falling onto the cold dirt. “I’m so sorry.”

She doesn’t know why she apologizes. It doesn’t change a damn thing.

She’s sitting with Jughead on their couch, watching a game show, when she gets a call.

“Hello?”

“May I speak with Elizabeth Cooper?”

“Speaking.” Jughead gives her a questioning glance, but she just stands up and walks over to the kitchen. “How may I help you?”

“Hello, Miss Cooper. This is Detective Reyes.” She remembers him. He had been a bit of a hardass while grilling her with questions, but she could respect that. “We usually don’t do this, but since this case connects to you as well, I’ve been given the okay to fill you in.”

Her heart begins to slam against her chest as she thinks about what he could possibly have to tell her.

“A piece of hair was left at the crime scene and it doesn’t match Miss Lodge’s DNA. We ran it through the system and came up with a match for a kid who was arrested whenever he was seventeen, some street fighter, gang banger nonsense. We can’t release his name to you due to him being a minor at the time, but he’s our first stop.”

“What color was it?” She asks, needing to know. It doesn’t matter that they might have the killer in their database, she still needs to know.

“A dark brown, Miss Cooper. It was curled too so we’re looking at someone with dark, nearly black curly hair now. That’s really all I can tell you at this moment.”

It’s a start. After months and months of chasing absolutely no one, they now have a lead. It’s more than she could have ever dreamt of. The idea that they might have the killer locked up soon is too much for her to imagine. It’s also a little too easy.

“Thank you, Detective Reyes.”

“We’ll let you know when we bring him in,” he says before hanging up.

She pulls the phone away from her ear and stares down at it for a good while. It’s a big city they all live in. There are four million people in Los Angeles alone and she knows that over half of those people fit the description that she now has. She wonders who the person in their database is and why he’s doing all of this.

“Betty?” Jughead calls out. She turns around and looks at him. “What happened?” He pulls on the dark curl that’s always falling into his eyes. Betty tilts her head at him, studying his movements, before answering.

“They found a piece of hair at the crime scene,” she tells him. “A piece of black, curly hair.”

“Do they know who it belongs to?” He asks, as he stands up from the couch and walks over to her.

“Yes,” she says, not believing the words that are coming out of her mouth. “They think they do, but even if it’s a mix up… it’s all I need.”

“All you need?” He scoffs. “Betty, you can’t go after this person. You’re already in enough danger. We know this stalker is capable of murder, which means you could be next! You need to leave this to the professionals.”

“Yeah?” She asks, sarcastically. “Because they’ve been doing such a good job, right? If I leave it to the professionals then someone else ends up dead. Me, you, Cheryl, the next person who looks at me ugly; it doesn’t matter. I won’t have another person’s blood on my hands.”

“So what? You’re just going to go out and find this person for yourself and kill them?”

“If I have to,” she says as she turns away from him. She doesn’t know where she’s going, but she can’t look at him and his condescending face right now.

“Betty, come on,” he reaches out and grabs her forearm. “You’re being irrational. You’re hurt and you don’t know how to handle it. You can talk to someone, you can talk to me. We can go back to Riverdale like you wanted. Cheryl will let you.”

“I don’t want to go back to Riverdale!” She yells at him. “I don’t want to talk to anyone. I talked to all of you in the past and where did that get me? Nowhere. Talking to people doesn’t help. I’m not running away from this person anymore. If they want me then they can come and get me.”

He looks at her, torn but Betty doesn’t care. She means everything she is saying right now.

“You can go,” she tells him. She watches as his eyes widen in shock and then narrow in confusion. She didn’t mean for it to come out so harshly, but it’s something she’s been thinking ever since Veronica was killed. She can’t have anyone else in her life get hurt and that includes Jughead.

“What?”

“I’m firing you,” she says with absolutely no emotion in her voice. “I don’t need you anymore.”

“Fuck that!” He yells at her, eyes ablaze. “You need me now more than ever!” She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t move. Jughead grows angier. “You can’t fire me. Even if you wanted to, I’m your boyfriend, Betty! I’m not going anywhere.”

“I don’t need you anymore,” she says, repeating the words again. They hurt more than anything she’s ever said before. This hurts more than when Jughead had turned her down the first time. Her heart is breaking inside of her chest, it’s the first real emotion she feels since finding about Veronica and it sucks, but it has to happen. She’s an omen of the worst kind.

She forces herself to stay calm and stoic as she looks at the way Jughead’s face falls as he begins to let go of his anger.

“What are you saying right now?” He asks, voice losing the fire it had held just seconds before.

“You need to leave.”

“Don’t do this,” he begs her, eyes watering. She hates herself for doing this to him, but she has to. She needs to. “I’m here for you, let me be here for you, Betty.” He tries to grab ahold of her hand, but she tears it away from him.

“You can’t fire me,” he tells her, but he doesn’t sound so sure anymore. “Cheryl’s the only one who can do that.”

“I know,” Betty says. “She just did.” She had talked it over with Cheryl earlier and while the redhead hadn’t understood Betty’s reasoning, she agreed. Betty knew she only agreed because she wasn’t about to tell her no after everything she had been through lately, but it didn’t matter. She’d take what she could get.

“Betty,” he tries once more, voice just as broken.

“I’m not trying to break up with you,” Betty tells him. “I don’t want this to be the end for us, but I need you to understand where I’m coming from right now. I need to do this by myself. I don’t want you putting yourself on the line for me, not anymore.”

“If something were to happen to you and I didn’t do anything to stop it, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself!”

“I need you to trust me,” she says as she puts a hand on his cheek. He closes his eyes and leans into her touch. A part of her realizes that this is the most vulnerable he’s ever been with her and she wishes that it could be under different circumstances.

“So what,” Jughead says with an uneasy laugh, “we’re on a break or something?”

Betty smiles. “I need you to be my boyfriend, not my bodyguard. If you want to help, be the kind of person I need right now.”

She knows it’s a lot to ask from him. She can see it in the way he looks at her, completely torn. Does he even know how to not be her bodyguard? She doesn’t know, but they can work at it together.

“I never cared about the paycheck,” Jughead says randomly. “You know that, right? It was never about the money for me.” The conversation with Veronica comes running back to her. “It’s always been about you.”

“Then let me do this by myself.”

Jughead seems to be thinking it over before he finally nods.

It shouldn’t feel like she’s finally free, but for some reason it does. She doesn’t have anyone holding her back anymore and with that in mind, she turns away from Jughead and walks out of the apartment; one destination in her mind.

She turns off her phone as soon as she leaves. She doesn’t need anyone trying to get ahold of her right now. She’s finally in the mindspace she needs to be in and she can’t risk anything pulling her out of it.

She’s dropped off in front of the building and takes a deep breath, feeling nervous for some reason. She knows what she’s doing could definitely be marked as stupid, but she doesn’t care. She needs to do this. Jughead had refused to teach her how to do this, so she has to go to someone who will help her out.

Out of the corner of her eye she sees someone take a picture of her and she has to refrain from smiling. It’s just what she had wanted.

She enters the building and walks up to the front desk. The man standing behind the counter widens his eyes at her and she can tell that he recognizes her.

“I need something small but powerful,” she tells him. “And I need you to teach me how to shoot it.”

She leaves the shooting range with a brand new Desert Eagle and a sense of power. She knows she’ll have to hide the gun from Jughead; he won’t be okay with any of this. She needs to prove that she can take care of herself and that she doesn’t need to rely on others, so she’ll keep it from him until she knows he won’t freak out over it.

When she gets back to the apartment, Jughead’s locked up in his room and she doesn’t feel like bothering him so she puts the gun away in her bedroom and then goes to the kitchen to find something to eat. She settles on making herself a bowl of fruit and is in the middle of cutting up a pineapple, whenever there’s a knock on her door.

She answers it and is surprised to see Officer Ruiz and another cop standing in front of her.

“Good evening, Miss Cooper,” Officer Ruiz nods to her. “Is Forsythe Jones in the vicinity?”

Betty looks at him in confusion, not understanding what he needs with Jughead, but she nods either way. At that exact moment, Jughead comes out of his room, hair bushy and eyes lidded. He must have been asleep.

He pauses as he takes in the sight before him and gives Betty a confused look.

“Officers,” he greets, uneasy, “how can we help you?”

Before she even knows what’s going on, Officer Ruiz nods to the younger cop by his side and the man walks over to Jughead and clasps his hand around his arm.

“Forsythe Jones, you’re under arrest for the murder of Veronica Lodge.”

“What?” Jughead yells out as the cop reads him his rights. He looks at Betty, eyes crazed, and Betty just stares back at him dumbfounded. “I didn’t murder her! I didn’t do that!” He tries to tear his arm out of the cop’s grip, but it’s no use.

Betty turns to Officer Ruiz in disbelief and he gives her a pitiful look.

“He was matched to the hair we found at the crime scene,” he tells her regretfully.

She shakes her head slowly. There’s no way. There’s no fucking way. That doesn’t even make sense. No… She looks over to Jughead who is still yelling at the cop. She looks at his hair; the lone curl of his falling into his eye as he thrashes around.

“Betty,” he yells out, breaking her out of her trance. “Betty, I didn’t do this! You know I wouldn’t do this. You know me!”

She locks eyes with him, but doesn’t say anything. He’s pleading with her, practically begging her to listen to him and she can’t.

“Why was he arrested before?” She asks Officer Ruiz even as she stares at Jughead. He gives her a broken look and shakes his head, begging her not to press the issue, but she has to know. If it was for theft or breaking and entering, then it doesn’t matter. Jughead wouldn’t do this. He couldn’t have done this.

“Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”

All of her breath leaves her and she watches in horror as Jughead’s dragged from the apartment and this time when he tries to talk to her, she turns around and shuts the door in his face.