#falice is canon

[darklinaforever]

Daemyra = I support pedophilia, grooming and physical abuse.

Zutara = I support colonizer x colonized relations.

Sylki = I support incest with oneself.

Charlastor / Radiobelle = I erase the canonical sexuality of the characters.

Reylo = I support the Nazis !

Darklina / Alarkling = I support a pedophile, a groomer, a pro-genocide and child killer in his spare time.

Sareth = I support pedophilia !

Sessrin / Sesshrin = I support pedophilia, and grooming.

Persades = I support kidnapping, rape and forced marriages.

Wyler / Weyler = I support psychopathic serial killers ! And grooming too ! (Because apparently for some Tyler is an adult and not a teenager as he is canonically in the series...)

This is usually what I get insulted about for loving these relationships... and it's just bullshit.

Daemyra is not grooming and pedophilia, book and show, I have already explained countless times why and I won't do it again here. And Daemon do not abuse physically Rhaenyra in Fire and Blood.

Zutara is not a relationship of a colonizer with a colonized person. Zuko himself is not a colonizer and the people of Katara were never colonized by the Fire Nation.

Sylki is not a true incestuous relationship, especially not with yourself. Sylki is not shown and characterized as truly the same person but as different people with the same role in the universe.

I'm not erasing the canonical sexuality of Charlastor / Radiobelle by shipping them into the context of fanon.

Kylo Ren / Ben Solo is not a Nazi, I also already explained why. Essentially he has no ideology of his own and has been manipulated since his fetus by hearing voices in his head 24/7 again today, and above all the defenders against grooming keep quiet this time ironically, since Kylo Ren / Ben Solo is actually a victim of grooming by Snoke / Palpatine.

The Darkling has not committed any genocide, he is not a pedophile or a groomer either and is even less a killer of childs specifically...

For Sareth basically... Everything that happens in the movie is essentially a representation of the desires / fantasies of teenage Sarah. Jareth is the reflection of her dreams, he literally acts according to her. He is the product of his fantasy. Please note, I'm not saying that what Sarah experiences in the film is literally a dream. No, I'm saying that the film, through its story and especially the character of Sarah, is in a way a representation of the adolescent's desire / dreams, and also a bit of hormones / sexual awakening. Without forgetting the fact of accepting to grow. That's why everything in the maze is in Sarah's room. That's why Jareth's universe is in this book, and also why the way to defeat Jareth there is. This is why Jareth is “in love” with Sarah. That's why he looks like a walking sexual fantasy with his tights on. Why there is a snake, a cane. Why does everyone at the ball wear masks with horns and long noses (= just falic / sexual symbols) Brief. There's nothing wrong with shipping Jareth with Sarah, since he's literally her personal fantasy and he's acting on that. (in the sense that he takes the role she gives him in the story)

Sessrin / Sesshrin is also not a relationship based on pedophilia. Sesshomaru clearly didn't feel anything romantic or sexual about Rin when she was a child. As for the accusations of grooming, they are unfounded because there is no proof. The fact that Rin gave birth to twins at 18 is not proof of this. Inuyasha takes place in the feudal era where a girl under 18 is seen as an adult. Essentially, Sesshomaru simply fell in love with Rin as she grew up. And he came to see her from time to time from the moment he left it with Kaede as a child. He was not responsible for her education. That was Kaede. He wasn't her father figure either, that was Jaken.

And Hades and Persephone must be read in the context of the time when the myth was written, otherwise you lose its true meaning. I have already reblogged excellent analyzes on the subject, I invite you to go and see them. Hades, essentially, is not the true villain in this myth.

No. I don't support psychopathic serial killers. The proof, I hate Laurel. The real psychopathic serial killer. Tyler is a teenager who she manipulated and enslaved for her cause. Literally, Tyler is a hyde, implying a personality disorder, but more than that, canonically, he must obey and approve of what his master does. Tyler is a victim. Not a bad guy. Moreover, once again, a real case of grooming under the arms. Yes, Laurel groomed Tyler, I've written lots of articles on this subject, you can go and see them. But once again, ironically, no one talks about it, and what's more, the antis will try to say that Tyler groomed Wednesday by inventing a new age for him...

[wildernessuntothemselves]

"maybe they have a one on one sword fight in the middle of an epic battle scene. normally tyun would kick gyu's ass but now that tyun lost his eye he might actually lose..."

Oh yes... sword fights. The most quintessential symbolic dick measuring contest in history lol. May the one with the most big dick energy win in the name of oc's almighty pussy, or die trying!

What are they gonna do next? Build a obelisk 💀? I love the amount of falic symbolism ingrained in aggressively stupid manliness. ... now I wanna read that scene. But I also want them to have to talk to each other and have a low-key public passive-aggressive altercation - no throwing hands, just venomous words.

So I guess in my non-canon time-line of yamqn taegyu encounters we have:

- semi-civilized passive-aggressive exchange of words

- bloody historicly accurate metal dick measuring

- tyuns imprisonment and subsequent sexual torture/humiliation

(Hiiii ~♡ I'm back! Hope you are doing well despite the business of your days)

~♡anon

"May the one with the most big dick energy win" i mean that's obviously tyun then. my man is taking on the crown knowing fully well that people don't like him and probably won't support him lol

"But I also want them to have to talk to each other and have a low-key public passive-aggressive altercation - no throwing hands, just venomous words" i don't know about the rest but you might get that babe

welcome back babe i missed you 🥺 hope all is going well with you

[ripleywhitaker]

Sweet

There are five primary flavors in life- sweet, salty, bitter, savory and sour. Alice throws FP a surprise birthday party, which is most certainly makes for a sweet day. A fluffy and smutty one shot.

Not once in 45 years had anyone thrown Forsythe Pendleton Jones II a surprise birthday party. Hell, he hadn’t really celebrated his birthday since he was probably 16. They just weren’t his style and for the most part Gladys had accepted this during their marriage.

So, needless to say, he was shocked.

It seemed like everyone who cared about him in some way, shape or form was standing in Alice Smith’s living room, bedecked in party hats and tooting noisemakers. It was a lot more than he would have guessed.

“Happy birthday, dad!” There was Jughead, looking uncharacteristically cheery with his arm around Betty’s shoulders.

FP was almost at a loss for words.

“Happy birthday, old man.” Fred came up and slapped him on the shoulders. “Almost ready for that AARP discount.”

“You wish,” FP said, smiling. “Don’t forget, we’re the same age.”

“Oh, I know. I’ve already got adjoining rooms at Shady Pines Assisted Living Facility lined up. Hope you don’t mind sharing a bathroom.”

As he looked around the room, he took a mental roll. Cheryl, appearing to be happier than ever as she canoodled with Toni in a corner. Fangs and Moose, looking equally loved up. It had taken a while after Midge’s death for Moose to rejoin the living world, let alone think of dating anyone, but it seemed like he was coming out of the other side of the tunnel. Even Sweetpea was here, trying desperately to distract Toni and Cheryl enough to include him in their conversation. Unfortunately, they only had eyes for each other.

“Happy birthday, Mr. Jones! Archie and I got you a gift and I think you’re going to love it,” Veronica said as she dragged Archie over to pay their respects. As usual Veronica hadn’t wasted an opportunity to spoil someone she cared about. FP just hoped it wasn’t a day at the spa because there was no way he would be caught dead getting a mani/pedi. Archie smiled sheepishly as he shook his hand. “Happy birthday, Mr. Jones.”

“Thanks, Archie. I can’t believe you guys actually threw me a party.”  

Almost everyone was here with their significant other- which rose the question, where was his? He didn’t see her anywhere in the living room but her car was in the driveway, so she had to be here somewhere.

“Come with us, dad,” Jughead said, gently leading him into the dining room and making him sit down at the table.

“I don’t know what you guys are planning but I can still run as fast as you, boy, just keep that in mind if I have to catch you.” FP tried to give him a steely glare but failed miserably and instead broke into a smile.

Someone flipped off the lights and almost on cue Alice emerged from the attached kitchen, the candles on the cake in her hands glowing softly.

Everyone else joined in, their voices merging and filling FP with a clear and simple love for the people in his life. Maybe he wasn’t much for birthdays in the past but it was never too late to start.

“Happy birthday, to you.

Happy birthday, to you.

Happy birthday, dear FP,

Happy birthday to you.”

Alice placed the cake in front of him on table. It appeared to be covered in buttercream icing (his favorite) and true to form, it had “Happy Birthday FP” written on it in green icing and a cartoonish rendition of a snake wrapping its way around the sides. It was silly, light hearted and absolutely perfect.

“Make a wish, honey.”

It doesn’t matter if you’re 4 years old or 45, when you’ve got birthday cake candles in front of you, you blow them out and make a wish. It was the rules and for once FP was happy to follow them.

So, FP did, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to decide what he was going to wish for. Honestly, these days life was going really well and he had most of what he used to wish for.

A good relationship with his son- check.

His sobriety- check.

A stable job at the Chock’Lit Shoppe that, while it didn’t pay much, gave him some breathing room to figure out his next move.

And lastly, the one thing he had hoped above all else for over 20 years- Alice.

He never would have dreamed a few years ago that he would have such a wonderful woman in his life, and if she was getting tired of him, she hadn’t begun to show it yet. She was the love of his life and if something happened to her, he didn’t know how he would keep on living. In turn, she had him wrapped around her finger and he would do anything to make her happy.

Even if it meant letting her throw him a surprise birthday party.

So, what FP wished for that day as he blew out his birthday candles was to keep this moment forever unchanged in his mind, shining and perfect. It was something that he and Alice could think about as they grew old and sat in their rocking chairs, easing their aching joints over the warm fire of a memory.

Everyone cheered as the candles went out and he turned to Alice, who bent down to capture his lips. She was warm and soft as he wrapped his arms around her waist and even a fairly chaste kiss from her was enough to get his heart racing. He took advantage of the lights still being off to run his hand along her thigh and under the edge of her skirt. He was addicted to the feeling of her skin. She shivered slightly in response and he suddenly couldn’t wait for when they were alone.

“Happy birthday, baby. I love you.”

“I love you too, Al. I can’t believe you pulled all of this off.”

“Well, you know, all I had to do was tell Betty and it was halfway around Riverdale before she even left the house.”

The lights came back on and then it was time to cut the cake and open presents.

“Here, open this one first,” Alice said as she handed him a small, wrapped box. “It’s from me.”

FP quickly unwrapped it, revealing an elegant wristwatch with a black leather band. It was beautiful and had Alice had obviously spent a good amount of time deciding on a design that would be perfect for him.

“Flip it over,” Alice said. She bit her lip in the adorable way that she sometimes did when she was nervous.

She had had the back of the watch engraved in a graceful font. For my one. Always.

It was the most thoughtful gift he had ever received.

“Thank you so much, Alice. I love it.”

She bent down to kiss him again and he had to resist the urge to take her upstairs right then, party bedamned. It was a close battle. Before she rose she stilled her lips by his ear.

“Your real present comes later,” she whispered with a grin and he felt the heat rise in his face.

She really didn’t know what she did to him. Or, she knew and she liked watching him try to control himself. Knowing Alice, it was most likely the latter. Scratch that, he knew she knew.

The rest of the party went by in a whirl.

Jughead and Betty chipped their money together to get him a new motorcycle helmet.

Veronica and Archie didn’t get him a luxurious spa getaway, thankfully, but they did get him a subscription to a meat-of-the-month club, which was more his style.

From Toni and Cheryl, a box set of all seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy on Blu-Ray, which was sort of ironic. He wasn’t really sure what message they were trying to send him with that one.

Fred got him a new pair of Ray Bans, and Fangs and Moose got him a manly-themed poker set with pictures of moose and bears emblazoned on the chips. Sweet Pea rounded out the gift giving with a pair of wool lined slippers that would definitely be handy come wintertime.

They ended breaking out Cards Against Humanity for the next several hours, which left most of them in hysterics, particularly after Betty won with the card “An erection lasting for more than four hours” in response to Sweet Pea’s “Daddy, why is Mommy crying?”.

Finally, the festivities wound down and one by one the party goers exited. Even Betty decided to head to Pop’s with Jughead, Veronica and Archie and planned to sleep over at the Pembrooke afterwards. She had a feeling that maybe her mom and FP might want a little alone time (and it spared her having to potentially hear anything that might make her want to puncture her eardrums).

Alice shut the front door with one last promise from Betty that she would text her when she got to Pop’s and when she headed to Veronica’s. Things had settled down in Riverdale but Alice was still a little paranoid that something would happen to her children. She didn’t know if she could take any more heartbreak.

At last, Alice and FP were alone.

She rested her back on the door and gave him a wide smile. “So, Jonesy,” she said, using her old nickname for him, “Are you ready to actually celebrate?”

Read the rest (including the smutty parts) at https://archiveofourown.org/works/15574533. 

Part 1 of The Taste of You series. 

Reviews welcome as always. 

[leavemeslowly]

falice - over? or not really?

2x18 showed what is so problematic about our beloved ship Falice. they push and pull each other and cannot decided what they really want. Fp’s and Alice’s characters are similar and it shows that they are meant for each other but they won’t survive together - too much temper. 

What has struck me the most was not the scene when Alice entered pop’s and Fp was cold but scene when Fp entered the show. And he was shocked and harmed when he saw Alice holding Hal’s hand. His face was miserable and his posture really revealed what he felt (I just hope he won’t start drinking again).  

And he left.

He didn’t have any other reason to stay. Not even fact that his son was there and he could support him. He came there only for her. He was disappointed, but I suppose not surprised. He knew they both have separate lives and families to maintain and this romance won’t last. Heart-breaking.

BUT FUCK THIS FP AND ALICE IN 2x19 GAVE ME CHILLS SO I EXPECT AS LITTLE AS A TOUCH. I WOULD CRY EVEN BECAUSE OF IT. 

PS HAL GO TO HELL !!

[heytherejulietx]

All of s4 is this meme

[arsenicpanda]

Falice?

Season 1 to 2A: A/B Tier

Season 2B onward: F/Trash Tier

The version of this ship we got in season 1 to 2A was quality, it was just two people who hated each other but also wanted to fuck and had complicated history.  There was an idea that FP and Alice were like friends or partners in crime in the past as Serpents but then Alice got out and it turned into animosity.  I loved watching them spar, and the sexual tension was great.  The possibilities for ridiculousness were endless, both within the ship and when you add bughead to it.

Then season 2B started up the idea that they were somehow this big romantic love, and I was like “ehhhhh,” but rolled with it, demoting it to C Tier.  But season 3x04 had to come around and be like “No, they were fuck buddies, that was their connection”, and I was like “This is not an epic love, guys, what are you doing?  You’re normally so good at selling me on your ships, why are you dropping the ball now?”  I kind of peaced out then, put it in D Tier.

But THEN Riverdale introduced Gladys, and her relationship with FP was goddamn gold, definitely A Tier.  Do you remember when she was like “hey, remember when we used to rob places together?” because I do, and it was what I had wanted for the falice backstory but didn’t get.  Combining that with my desire for Jughead to get everything he wants, including his family back together, and I became monogamous with...is it gladsythe?  Fladys?  Whatever it’s called, that’s my FP ship now, the disaster Jones parents.  Honestly, this put falice between D and F Tier.

But Riverdale keeps trying to push them as some kind of sweet true love, and no, I don’t buy it, get that out of my face.  What is this happily domestic Alice you’re trying to show me, it’s gross, take it away.   The show pushing it at me has made me hate it, and I want it gone. 

[tandv]

The reason why people react differently toward Lopaz than any other crack ship to do with those characters; is because deep down the people hating on it feel threatened. If Lopaz was canon, them as a pairing would be a legitimate threat to their own ships as it would be a great canon relationship for both girls and they know it.

[baddieromanova]

Falice anti’s love to harp on about the events in 3x04 yet conveniently forget the very same episode ending with Alice pursuing Hal not because she was interested in him but because she was useful to him, and put further emphasis on that by having her touch her stomach before she approached him to indicate that what she was about to do was solely about providing the best for her unborn child by any means and nothing to do with being romantically interested in Hal. Hal was nothing more than a stepping stone to the life of security and respectibility she wanted. Yeah........but that’s the love story that totally trumps Falice, who at least had feelings for each other, right?

[unhingedanger]

they really fucked up gladys’ character and i’m forever bitter over it. 

[multifangirl69]

I love how no one in the riverdale fandom actually cares about Varchie. You’re either team Bughead or team Choni with a small group of outsiders standing in the dark corner, whispering about their love for Falice.

[celinecooperjones]

Calling all Parentdale fans! Here’s my take on their senior year!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14714483/chapters/34007147

[barchiefanfiction]

prompt where jughead dies at the end of 2.20 and archie comforts betty until months and months later as she slowly gets over jughead’s death, both archie and betty develop feelings for each other?

Laying Upon the Dead With You

by @elsiestubbs

AO3 // ff.net

It’s raining the day of Jughead’s funeral. Not pouring,nothing that dramatic. Just a constant drizzle that seems like it will neverlet up, like it’s some kind of sign of how life is going to feel from now on.Without Jughead.

Archie stands between Veronica and his Dad at the service,his hands folded in front of him. Hermione stands behind Veronica, but Hiram isnowhere to be seen. Across the shiny black coffin adorned with flowers, Bettystands with her mom and sister. Droplets of water cling to her hair, themoisture causing tiny curls to form around her face. Her eyes are rimmed red,like she hasn’t stopped crying for the past three days. Alice has a blackumbrella but Betty stands just in front of it. Archie wonders if she’s evennoticed it’s raining.

The rest of Jughead’s friends and family are gatheredaround, everyone dressed in black, though that isn’t unusual for the Serpents.Grey clings to them, the sky just as morbid as the congregation. The red roseson the coffin are the only splash of colour that can be seen. Blood red. Itmakes Archie want to vomit.

They gather at Pop’s afterwards. It’s supposed to be acelebration of Jughead’s life, where people reminisce and tell stories aboutJughead. Archie tries, he really does. He can tell FP is trying too, but it’stoo soon. Maybe someday they’ll be able to talk about it, but not today.

Veronica, on the other hand, has no trouble. Archie isthankful for the easy way she takes control, putting on Jughead’s favouritesongs, asking people about their favourite memories of Jughead. It’s a weightoff Archie’s shoulders, knowing he doesn’t have to be the one to do that.

He finds Betty sitting by herself, tucked away in a cornerof a booth, staring out the window, miles away. She’s not crying now, but herface is stained with tears. Archie slides into the booth beside her and sheturns to face him.

“How are you doing?” he asks. Stupid question. Betty shakesher head.

“I keep thinking it’s not real, you know?” she says. Hervoice is hoarse. “That he’s going to walk right through that door and wonderwhat the hell we’re all so sad about.”

“I know. Me too.”

Betty presses her lips together and blinks back tears. “Howam I going to go on without him?”

Archie shakes his head. He doesn’t have an answer for her,not sure there is one. Instead he offers his arms and Betty lets him embraceher. Words have never been Archie’s strong suit, but perhaps its enough for nowto just be there to stroke Betty’s hair while she cries into his shoulder.

Betty doesn’t come to school for a week. Archie can’t blameher. Her boyfriend dead and her Dad arrested in one night. She needs time torecover. Still, he worries about her. Veronica tells him Betty needs time andspace. Time, sure, Archie gets it. He’s still processing himself. Sometimeshe’ll think he’s fine, but then he notices an empty space where Jughead shouldbe, as if everyone is still leaving room for him. It’s like a punch in the gutevery time.

Space, on the other hand? Archie isn’t so sure. He’s sure itcan’t be good for her to be alone in that house all the time. He tries to callher but she doesn’t pick up. He tries to catch her attention through theirbedroom windows, but her curtains are shut. He sends her a text, and sheresponds, telling him she’s fine, but she’d rather be alone right now.

Archie respects her wishes, but he still worries about her.

Veronica practically lives at his house now. She can’t standto be around her father, and since she spent all her money on buying the WhyteWyrm and subsequently trading it for Pop’s, she has nowhere else to go. Notthat Archie minds. He’s glad to have her there. He’s not sure he could copewith sleeping alone.

She doesn’t walk home from school with him though. Archietakes a detour every afternoon to the cemetery to visit Jughead’s grave. Hesits there for a few minutes and tells him the mundane things that happened atschool that day. He doesn’t bring flowers or anything, but there are alwaysfresh ones there. Archie assumes they’re from Betty.

After a week of not seeing her, and barely hearing from her,he decides enough is enough. There’s no way being alone is what’s best for her.She needs her friends. He tries to convince Veronica to come with him, butVeronica declines, saying she doesn’t want to overwhelm her.

Alice opens the door.

“Archie,” she says, and she doesn’t exactly smile, but shedoesn’t exactly frown either. She lets him inside. “Betty’s upstairs in herroom. Perhaps you can convince her to eat something.”

Archie nods. Alice disappears into the kitchen and returnsholding a plate with a sandwich, and a glass of juice in the other hand. Archietakes them from her and heads upstairs. He doesn’t have enough free hands toknock on her bedroom door, so he just pushes on it with his foot, and it swingsopen.

The room is dark, all the curtain closed. Archie can vaguelymake out Betty’s form, curled up on the bed, huddled underneath her doona.

“Go away, Mom,” Betty says. “I told you I’m not hungry.”

“It’s Archie.”

Betty doesn’t move. Archie kicks the door shut and walksover to her. He sets the plate and glass down on her nightstand and sits besideher on the bed.

“What are you doing here?” Betty asks.

“I was worried about you.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m fine.”

“Betty—”

She sits up. Her face is hollow, haunted. Her eyes are red,her hair greasy.

“I’m fine, Arch,” she says. “Really.”

“I don’t think you are.”

“I just need some more time to grieve,” she whispers.

“You need to eat,” Archie says gently. “And you need to getout and get some sun. And you need to see your friends. We’re here for you.”

“I know, Arch.”

“Betty, if you need to talk—”

“I know,” shesays. “I know.”

Archie frowns, concerned. As if to show him she’s fine,Betty picks up the sandwich and takes a bite. She chews slowly, and Archiewatches her until she swallows.

“Do you want me to go?” Archie asks. Betty nods. Archie patsher knee and stands up. She wants him gone, so he has to go. But he vows tocome back tomorrow. “Come back to school soon. We all miss you.”

The sound of his phone vibrating against his bedside tablewakes him in the middle of the night. He reaches for it, squinting at thebrightness of the screen as he checks it in the dark. Betty. Veronica stirsbeside him.

“Betty?” he answers, softly but urgently. His stomach is inknots.

“Archie,” shesobs. Archie immediately untangles himself from Veronica and shoots out of bed.

“What’s wrong?”

“You were right. I’m not okay, I—” she stops. “Can I comeover?”

Archie glances at Veronica, lying fast asleep in his bed.���I’ll come to you.”

He lets himself into the Cooper house with the spare key andtries to be as quiet as possible as he ascends the stairs. The scene in Betty’sbedroom is much the same as that afternoon. Only now, he can hear Betty quietlysobbing. He’s across the room in two quick strides, pulling her into his arms. Bettycries into his shoulder, sobs wracking her body.

“I miss him so much,” she says.

“I know,” Archie says, rubbing her back. He misses Jugheadtoo.

“I can’t stand being here in this house, everything eitherreminds me of Jug or my dad. But I can’t bring myself to go anywhere either. Idon’t want everyone looking at me, talking about me. Everybody probably hatesme because of my dad. Or they feel sorry for me because of Jug—” she cutsherself off with another loud sob.

“I can’t eat, I can’t sleep,” she says. Tears take over, andArchie pulls her tighter.

“Hey. It’s going to be okay,” he tells her, though he knowsit doesn’t mean anything.

“Will you stay here tonight?” Betty sniffles.

“As long as you need.”

When he checks his phone the following morning he has fourmissed calls from Veronica. Betty is still fast asleep so he gets up and takeshis phone out into the hall, almost running into Alice.

“Mrs Cooper,” he says nervously. She seems surprised but notangry.

“Archie,” she nods. “Is Betty—”

“She’s asleep,” Archie tells her. Alice breathes a sigh ofrelief. For the first time Archie notices that Alice also looks like she hasn’tslept in days.

“Are you okay, Mrs Cooper?” he asks her.

“I’m fine, Archie,” she says, patting his shoulder. Shegives him a tight-lipped smile before heading downstairs. Archie’s phone startsbuzzing again and he quickly answers it.

“Ronnie—” he starts.

“Finally!” she snaps. “Where are you? I’ve been worriedsick.”

“I’m at Betty’s. She called me last night.”

“Oh.”

“I was right, Ronnie. She needs us,” Archie says.

“She needs you.I’m glad you were there for her. But next time would you leave a note orsomething?” Veronica sighs.

“Yeah, of course,” Archie says, feeling guilty. “Sorry,Ronnie.”

He ends the call and turns to find Betty standing in thedoorway behind him.

“You’re up,” he says. Betty nods.

“Was that Veronica?”

“Yeah. I forgot to tell her where I was going last night,”says Archie. He pauses. “Are you going to come to school today?”

Betty bites her lip. She shakes her head. “Just… just today.I promise I’ll come back on Monday.”

Archie nods. “I’ll be right there by your side.”

Betty calls again that night. Veronica wakes up this time.

“Was that Betty again?”

“Yeah.” He gets out of bed and throws a shirt on. “Youshould come this time.”

Veronica hesitates. “No,” she says. “It’s better if it’sjust you.”

Archie frowns, but he doesn’t fight her. It’s almost as ifVeronica is actually avoiding Betty,not just giving her space. But he doesn’t have time to deal with that rightnow. He goes to Betty, like he did the night before, and immediately crawlsinto bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her, her back to his chest.

“Thanks for coming,” she whispers. “Is Veronica—”

“She knows I’m here,” Archie says. “It’s okay.” He leavesout the part where Veronica didn’t want to come with him.

“Does it make it easier? Having someone?” Betty asks.

“A little bit,” Archie says. “I still have nightmaressometimes.”

“Me too. That’s why I stopped sleeping. But last night wasbetter.”

“Glad I could help.”

The third night, she’s crying again. She doesn’t sayanything as he crawls into bed beside her, but she buries her head into hischest. Her breathing slowly becomes more even and the tears eventually stop.

“I’m a terrible person,” Betty whispers.

“Of course you’re not,” Archie says immediately, though hehas no clue what she’s referring to. “Is this because of your dad?”

Betty shakes her head. “I haven’t been to see him since thefuneral.”

“You don’t have to,” Archie says. “You don’t owe himanything.”

“Not my dad. Jughead.”

That surprises Archie. “Why?” he blurts out, alreadyregretting the word. But Betty doesn’t seem to mind.

“Seeing his name on that headstone…” Betty swallows. “Itmakes it too real. And it’s not like he’s really there. He’s gone.” Hervoice breaks on the word gone.

“You’re right,” Archie says slowly. “He’s not there. Notreally. But it’s nice to have somewhere to go, to talk to him. I like to thinkhe can hear me.”

“You talk to him?”

“Yeah. Just boring stuff. Do you think I’m crazy?”

“No,” Betty says. “I want to talk to him too.”

“We could go now.”

“Now?”

“Why not?”

“It’s the middle of the night. They lock the gates atnight.”

“So we’ll climb over them.”

Betty pauses.

“Okay,” she agrees.

They walk to the cemetery in near silence, their footstepson the pavement the only noise they make. The rest of the night is quiet aroundthem, except for the trees rustling in the slight breeze. Archie glances atBetty occasionally, to make sure she’s okay. She’s quiet, but she���s not crying.That’s something.

Archie scales the gate first, and it rattles with everymovement.

“Shh!” Betty hisses up at him. “We’ll get caught.”

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Archie says. He reachesthe top and clambers over. His foot gets caught as he tries to swing it overand he falls to the other side with a thud.

“Ow,” he says.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he says. And then, for whatever reason, he startslaughing. He thinks it might be the first time he’s laughed since Jughead died.

“I think you might have hit your head,” Betty says, climbingover the gate after him. She drops to the ground beside him with much moregrace than he had managed. She offers her hand and he takes it, letting herhelp him up. He surveys the darkened graveyard.

“We should have brought a flashlight,” he realises. Bettypulls a tiny one out of her jacket pocket and switches it on. Archie grins.That’s the Betty he knows.

Betty leads the way to Jughead’s grave. Archie sticks closebehind her. It’s not that he’s afraid or anything, but the way the headstoneskind of loom in the shadows creeps him out. He’s wondering why he suggestedthis.

They find Jughead’s resting place and Betty shines theflashlight across the headstone.

Here Lies Forsythe“Jughead” Jones III

Beloved son and treasuredfriend

2002 – 2018

Archie swallows. He’s read the words enough times. Theynever seem to do the man he knew justice.

The light falls on the bunch of fresh lilies that lie on thegrave.

“Did you leave these?” Betty asks. Archie shakes his head.Up until now, Archie had assumed the flowers that constantly adorned Jughead’sgrave were the work of Betty. Perhaps FP has been leaving flowers. It seems outof character, but it is his son after all.

Betty sits on the grass beside the headstone, and Archie joinsher. She traces a finger over Jughead’s name before switching off theflashlight.

“Jughead…” she starts. Her voice wobbles. Archie reaches outand takes her hand. He gives it a comforting squeeze. Betty takes a deep breathand tries again.

Archie isn’t sure how long they sit there, Betty’s hand inhis as she tells Jughead about how much she misses him, how much she wishes hewere here. She doesn’t cry until she’s nearly finished, and she instinctivelyleans towards Archie, letting him bear the weight of her tears.

They walk home hand in hand.

Betty returns to school on Monday as she promised, andArchie accompanies her, as he promised. Veronica claims she has to be at schoolearly.

People give Betty looks of pity and ask her how she’s doing.She tells them all she’s fine, but her smile is not even a little convincing.Everyone is delicate with her. Except Veronica. Veronica barely speaks to herat all.

The three of them sit together at lunch, but Archie doesmost of the talking. Come home time, Veronica says she needs to talk toPrincipal Weatherbee about something, and Archie and Betty walk home withouther.

“How are you doing?” Archie asks Betty on their way home. Bettyshrugs. “As bad as you thought?”

“No,” Betty sighs. “You were right. It’s better to be out ofthe house.”

Archie nods as they reach his house. “Call me if you needme,” he says. Betty gives him a half smile, slightly more genuine than the oneshe’d been giving everyone else all day.

“Thanks, Arch.”

Veronica gets home twenty minutes later. She’s lookingguilty, like she already knows what Archie’s going to ask her.

“Why are you avoiding Betty?”

“I’m not.”

“You are. And whenshe needs her friends the most. What gives?”

Veronica looks pained. Her eyes flutter closed and her mouthforms a tight line. She sighs. “I feel guilty,” she finally says.

“Guilty?”

“Yes!” she bursts out. “What if she blames me, Archie?”

“For… Jughead’s death?” Archie says wondrously. How she cameto that conclusion he can’t fathom. Veronica nods. “But that was Penny and theGhoulies… how could you possibly think…?”

“You think my father wasn’t behind this?” she snorts. Archiegapes at her. He licks his lips.

“Even—even if that’s true,” Archie says, and he’s notconvinced it isn’t true, “that’s notyou. You aren’t your father. You would never condone—”

“That’s the thing, Archie, I did condone this! Not this specifically, but did I not help myfather every step of the way? Was I not his fiercest supporter up to thismoment?”

“If you believe that, then you must believe it’s partly myfault too.”

“No, Archiekins,” she says softly. “It was never you. Myfather did whatever he could to manipulate you. And I let him,” she says,disgusted.

“Ronnie—” Archie starts. He can’t let her think that any ofthis is her fault. She would never, neverhurt someone the way Hiram has hurt people. She’s good, this Archie knows.

“It will just take some time, Archie,” Veronica says. “I’llgive her some space and then eventually, hopefullywe can be friends again. But you need to be there for her.”

Archie nods. He had no intention of doing otherwise.

“In the meantime, I’ll just keep making sure there arealways flowers on his grave,” Veronica says.

“That’s you?”

She nods. “It’s the least I can do.”

Archie doesn’t hear from Betty for a couple of nights. Theywalk to school together and hang out at school together, but she doesn’t callhim crying in the middle of the night. She looks tired, but Archie doesn’tcomment on it.

She doesn’t call him, until she does, nights later, hervoice a hoarse whisper.

“Sorry to call,” she says as Archie takes the call out intothe hallway. “I can’t sleep.”

“Do you want me to come over?”

“I don’t want to be in this house. Can I come to you?”

“Veronica’s here.”

A beat. “Oh. Of course. I’m sorry, I—”

“Meet me outside in five minutes.”

“Okay.”

He sneaks back into his room and dresses quietly, then headsdownstairs, grabbing his dad’s car keys as he slips out the front door. Bettyis already standing in his driveway when he gets outside. He waves the keys ather and she meets him at the car, climbing into the passenger seat while Archiehops into the driver’s side. He starts the car.

“Where are we going?” she asks him.

“Wherever you like,” he says, backing out of the driveway. Shesays nothing, so he just drives. He heads out of town, passing no one else onthe road as he drives. They stay silent until the lights of the town are wellbehind them, where Betty turns the radio on.

“Feeling any better?” Archie asks her.

“Honestly, I felt better as soon as I heard your voice. Butbeing out of that house helps too.”

Archie assumes the hatred of the house is more to do withher father being a serial killer than with Jughead being gone. But Jugheadbeing gone can’t help.

“It must be lonely.”

“Yeah…” Betty sighs. “I think I could deal with my dad beingthe black hood, if only I had Jughead to help me through it.”

Archie swallows. “I know it’s not the same, but… you knowI’m always here, right? Whenever you want to talk about your dad, or Jughead.Or whatever. I’m here.”

Betty almost smiles. “I know. Thanks, Arch. Not right now.I’m kind of exhausted.”

“Have you been sleeping?” He asks the question, though healready knows the answer.

Betty shakes her head. “Not since you last slept over.”

“You can sleep now, if you want,” he says.

“What about you?”

“I’m not tired,” he lies. He’s not sure if Betty believeshim, or if she’s just too tired to argue, but she tilts her seat back andcloses her eyes. It isn’t long before her breathing becomes slow and even, themotion of the vehicle putting her to sleep like a baby. Archie glances at herout the corner of his eye, and finds his heart swell with fondness. She looksso peaceful like that. He hopes she’s dreaming of something good.

They don’t go for a drive every night, but it becomes ahabit. Sometimes he’s already waiting in the car when she calls. He neverbothers to wake Veronica, he knows she won’t want to come. And he finds hedoesn’t want her to come.

She wakes up one night as he’s sneaking out, and he freezesin the doorway, caught in the act.

“Is it Betty again?” Veronica croaks in the darkness.

“Yeah,” Archie says. He has no idea if Veronica knows justhow often he leaves her in the middle of the night. A lot of the time he makesit back in time to wake up with her in the morning, but sometimes he just staysat Betty’s. He knows Betty will sleep better if he’s there.

“Should I come?” Veronica asks hesitantly. He feels a rushof sudden resentment, and he panics, trying to think of a way to tell her notto come. This is his time with Betty. He doesn’t want Veronica intruding.Because that’s what she would be, if she sat there in the back seat; anintruder. He doesn’t want her there, witnessing how he is with Betty.

“Not if you don’t want to,” Archie says. He holds hisbreath, waiting for her answer.

“Maybe next time,” Veronica says. Archie breathes a sigh ofrelief.

“Okay,” he says. He leaves without another word.

Veronica never asks if she should come along again. Maybeshe senses that he doesn’t want her to. Maybe she feels she Betty still needstime before they can be friends again. Maybe she feels it’s been too much time.

As weeks pass, Archie and Betty continue their midnightdrives. Archie doesn’t know if Betty can tell, but he notices that she seemsbetter every time.

He notices the first time she gives him a genuine smile, twoweeks after Jughead’s funeral. And a week after that, he says something thatmakes her laugh joyously, the sound filling up the car and the holes in hisheart. He’s missed that sound.

He notices that she doesn’t seem so tired anymore, and thatshe cries less and less. She says she thinks her mom is doing better, that FPhas been there to help her through the aftermath of Hal. Archie can’t help butthink that, whether Betty knows it or not, he has been the same for her.

He notices that slowly, slowly, the light returns to hereyes. He notices that she doesn’t mention how much she misses Jughead as much,and that when she does mention him she doesn’t get choked up.

And he notices that the more time he spends with her, themore he wants to spend time with her. That he wants to hold her hand, and thatit gets harder and harder to leave her side to go to Veronica. He catcheshimself thinking about kissing her, and he feels incredibly guilty, because hefeels like he’s betraying his girlfriend and his dead friend, though he’s donenothing to act on it.

But he can’t stop himself from thinking about her, dreamingabout her. From imagining that maybe she feels the same. And he knows he’s waytoo far gone to ever come back from this.

Perhaps he’s being a complete fool, but he decides to endthings with Veronica on the off-chance Betty feels the same about him.

He meets her at Pop’s. Neutral territory. The last thing hewants to do is hurt her, but he feels like he’s hurting her either way.

She sees it coming. She doesn’t cry, but she can’t entirelyhide the hurt in her eyes.

“I’m not going to ask you why, Archie,” she says, carefully.“I know why.”

“You do?”

Veronica snorts. “Archie, you spend every second nightsleeping in Betty’s bed.”

“I never cheated on you,” Archie is quick to inform her.Veronica rolls her eyes.

“I know. I know you’d never do that.” She sighs. “I can’thelp but feel partly responsible.”

“No, Ronnie—” Archie shakes his head. “None of this is yourfault.”

“I know that too,” her eyes flash, and Archie flinches. “Butif I pretend I could have stopped it, then I won’t have to hate you.”

“You can hate me if you want to.”

“I don’t want to do that, Archie,” Veronica shakes her head.She stands up. “I really hope it works out for you,” she says as she leaves.Archie can’t tell if she’s being sincere or not.

By the time he gets home, all her stuff is gone.

Betty probably doesn’t need these late-night drives anymore.But she keeps coming anyway. Archie wonders if she looks forward to them theway he does.

It’s not strange for them to sometimes sit in comfortablesilence, but this time Archie finds it’s unbearable. He has so many things tosay but he can’t quite work out how to phrase them.

“I broke up with Veronica,” he says finally, breaking thesilence. Betty doesn’t say anything for what feels like eons.

“Why?”

“I guess—I guess my heart just wasn’t in it anymore. I wasn’tin love with her anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” Betty says. Archie nods, and they fall intosilence again.

Archie eventually turns the car around and they end up backin his driveway. He turns off the ignition and removes his seatbelt, and he andBetty just sit there for a moment. He turns to her.

“Betty,” he says. It comes out more hesitant than he intends.She turns her head to face him. He leans in slightly, pausing with his lips aninch from hers. Betty closes the gap and meets his lips with hers. The kiss onlylasts a second, but it gets Archie’s heart racing. Their faces remain closeenough that any small movement could cause their lips to brush again.

“I love you so much,” Archie whispers. Betty doesn’t sayanything, but he doesn’t need her to. He just needs her to know. It isn’t untilhe presses a soft kiss to her cheek that he realises she’s crying.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, brushing his thumb across her wetcheek to wipe her tears away.

“I want this so much, Arch,” she tells him. “But I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of?”

“The last person I loved died,”she says. “I’m scared it could happen to you too. I’m scared that if we do thisthat I’m betraying his memory. I’m scared that I might not be able to give youas much of me as you need. I’m so broken, Arch. How could I ever expect you tolove me like this?”

“Hey, hey,” he whispers. He puts his hands on her face. “Lookat me. I do love you. And I’m notgoing anywhere. It doesn’t many how many bruises or battle scars you have. Iwant you as you are, as much as you can give me, as much as you want to giveme. And Jughead would want you to be happy, you know that.”

Betty nods.

“As for me dying, I can’t promise I won’t. But love isalways a risk, Betty. Could you ever be happy if we didn’t try?”

Betty shakes her head, and Archie kisses her again.

“Okay,” she says. She gives a watery laugh. “Okay. Let’s dothis.”

“Come on.” Archie opens the car door. “Let’s sleep in my bedtonight.”

[tv-is-my-love-life]

FP's face😭😭 . Riverdale Season 2 Episode 18 #riverdalecw #riverdale #mädchenamick #madchenamick #alicecooper #skeetulrich #fpjones #southsideserpents #falice #ship #canon #cw #tvshow

[ripleywhitaker]

Salty

Part 2 of The Taste of You series. 

She couldn’t find Chic.

Where was Chic?

He was just here. They were both in the living room, Alice trying to catch up on some homework for her photojournalism class and her son enthralled by a rerun of Sesame Street. Sometimes she felt bad about parking him in front of the TV for a while but honestly it was the only way that she could get any work done, and the sooner she finished with her communications degree from Riverdale College the better.

She got up to get a drink of water. She was maybe gone for 30 seconds at the most. She’d done it a thousand times.

A thousand times.

Where was Chic?

His matchbox cars were still laying on the carpet and his favorite stuffed animal (a squirrel which he’d dubbed Waffle for reasons she still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of) was laying unceremoniously heaped under the coffee table along with a Transformers action figure.

He was only three years old, how far could he get?

“Chic, come out for mommy, okay? Where are you hiding little boy?”

She tried to keep her voice cheerful as she called for him and looked around the living room. The couch was too low to the ground for him to get under, thanks to the fact that it sagged generously from years of use. Just another thing that was on her list of things to fix whenever they managed to get out of this place.

The house that her and FP were renting wasn’t a dump. It was just the definition of a starter home. She tried her best to keep it clean (as much as she could with a toddler) and they spent a lot of their free time on the weekends doing yardwork and trying to make it look like they were doing better than barely scraping by. It was something that her mother had always impressed upon her- just because you’re poor doesn’t mean your house has show it, at least not on the inside.

Somehow, they had managed to get the money to get a two-bedroom place on the border of the Southside and the Northside. They couldn’t totally escape where they came from but it was better than nothing. It was close to Riverdale College on the Northside and was also close enough to Fred Andrew’s construction firm. Fred had hired on FP shortly before Chic was born and so far, everything seemed to be going smoothly. FP had started out as a regular worker but Fred recently promoted him to Assistant Foreman, which was a big boost to their finances. It was almost enough to envision getting into a nicer place, maybe even out of the Southside entirely. Alice had two more semesters to go on her degree and then hopefully she’d be able to go full time at the Riverdale Register. Right now, she had her hands full with classes, taking care of Chic and getting maybe 20 hours a week at the Chock’Lit Shoppe.

Their small house was also close enough to the White Wyrm where FP could also manage his duties as the head of the Serpents. Neither he nor Alice had been as active as they wanted to be since Chic had been born but once a serpent always a serpent.

Chic wasn’t in the living room, that much was for sure.

Alice tried to suppress the steadily rising sense of panic as she checked the kitchen, two bedrooms and the lone bathroom. It didn’t take long. The place was barely 800 square feet for Christ’s sake. There weren’t that many places he could go.

She checked the front and back door. Locked. Chic wasn’t even tall enough to reach the door knobs yet but she walked the perimeter of the trailer just to be sure.

Alice continued to call Chic’s name, trying to pitch her voice so that the whole damn neighborhood didn’t hear her. The last thing she needed was rumors of her being a neglectful mother flying around.

Where was Chic?

He wasn’t in the house and he wasn’t outside. How much could he have wandered off in 30 seconds?

She glanced at her watch. 5:01. FP would be home soon. Normally she’d be starting dinner right around this time. Where the fuck is my son? It was starting to become a mantra.

Alice could feel herself on the verge of tears. She forced herself to take a deep breath and search the trailer again. Don’t panic, Alice. Don’t panic. He’s got to be here somewhere. If she didn’t keep the hysteria at bay, there’d be no chance of fixing this before her husband got home, and then things would really go to shit. What kind of mother am I, she thought.  I lost track of my own child.

If I can’t find him in 10 minutes, I’ll call FP and try to catch him at work. He’ll know what to do. No, 15 minutes. Ok, never mind, 10 minutes. 10 minutes and I’ll call.

5:03.

She began to search haphazardly, looking in places that even she knew there was no chance Chic could be, like under the couch cushions and behind the refrigerator. She just had to keep moving because if she stopped she was going to completely lose it.

5:07.

“Chic, this isn’t funny, baby, please come out. Mommy’s got cookies and ice cream if you’ll just please come out.” She’d give him sweets until he was sick if he’d just stop playing this game. He could have a fucking sundae every day for dinner for the next week if she could just find him.

Her son could sometimes be mischievous, a trait that she put squarely on the back of his father, but he had never done something like this. He was more of the type of child that when you tell him not to do something he not only does it, he does it in front of you to gauge your reaction and then charms his way out of punishment with a cheeky grin. Hiding just wasn’t his style.

5:11.

It was time to call FP. Chic had been gone for over 20 minutes at this point.

She felt like she was looking down on herself from above as she crossed the room to the kitchen phone. Alice knew that she was close to passing out. She willed herself to come back to reality and dial the office number for Andrews Construction. Luckily, she had taped it up next to the phone for emergencies. She hoped that the secretary, a waifish girl named Janey who had a son around Chic’s age and who she often traded parenting tips with, was still in.

The phone rang and rang and she imagined it on the other end, trilling sharply into an empty room. Damn it. She had to resist the urge to rip the phone off the wall.

Alice made a noise of frustration and slammed the handset back into the cradle. She was dialing the number for the behind-the-bar phone at the Wyrm, the one usually reserved for irate wives and girlfriends trying to track down their spouses, when she heard gravel crunch in the driveway. Truck tires.

FP was home.

She met FP at the door and he had a split second to register the look of utter desperation on her face before she was in his arms and she was saying something about Chic but he could barely understand her through the tears clogging her voice- Chic was what?

“Baby, what are you talking about? Where is Chic?”

Alice just shook her head in agony and FP grabbed her by the shoulders. She was on the verge of collapsing and her semblance of composure was completely gone.

“Where is Chic?” FP repeated sternly, shaking Alice slightly. “Tell me where he is!” He was trying not to yell but he was also fighting the panic that was rising in his throat. His little boy was missing and Alice didn’t seem to have a damn clue as to where he went.

“I don’t know,” Alice wailed. “I can’t…I can’t find him, I don’t know where he is…”

Fresh tears were coursing down her face. “I…I…looked everywhere…I’m sorry…”

FP’s grip on her shoulders grew tighter.

He didn’t look concerned anymore.

A coldly calculating look had crossed over his face. She’d seen it before, on her father right before he went up one side of her mother’s face and down the other with an open hand, after she didn’t have his supper on the table when he came home. Or when 10-year-old Alice got caught fighting on the playground at school and the school sent her home early. She’d shown up the next day with both eyes blacked and no one, including her teachers, had said a damn word. She would have knocked out any other kid that tried to comment on it but half of them dealt with the same shit in their own houses at the end of the day. Alice Smith was Southside trash and if her old man smacked her around a little bit it was just par for the course. She probably deserved it.

He looked like a shark who’d smelled blood in the water.

“You gave away our son, didn’t you Alice?” FP said flatly.

Alice gave him a confused look. “What are you talking about, FP? I would never…”

“You did what you wanted to do when you found out you were pregnant. You never wanted Chic. You gave him away and now he's dead.”

His grip on her shoulders had grown painful and she could almost hear her bones shifting.

“I swear, FP, please, let me go. You’re hurting me!” Alice pleaded, trying to shift out of his grasp. His grip was like iron after years of construction work.  

“You got rid of my son and now I’m going to have to punish you. You whores never learn.”

She winced at the epithet. It was another reminder of the past. Whenever her father had had a few, her and her mother always turned into whores, sluts, bitches. Sometimes she wanted to ask him what it said about him if he was the one who had married and fathered said whores, sluts and bitches, but she bit her tongue. It would only serve to enrage him further and she knew from experience to just keep her head down and be quiet.  

Before she could react, FP’s hands were around her neck and she couldn’t breathe. He was squeezing, squeezing and she couldn’t get any air, not one bit. Alice batted fruitlessly at his face and hands. It was like he was looking right through her.

“I’m sorry I have to do this, Alice, but you should’ve thought about that beforehand.”

He was completely emotionless as the life began to leave Alice’s body. Her vision was going black and she knew she didn’t have much time left. One of her nails caught him in the cheek, leaving a bleeding gouge, and it was like he didn’t feel it at all.

She tried to beg for mercy but he was completely crushing her windpipe and she could only make gagging noises as she desperately tried to get some leverage under his fingers. It didn’t do any good.

FP lowered her to the floor, with his hands still around her throat, and knelt over her during the last seconds of her life.

“Goodbye, Alice.”

A 45-year-old Alice Smith woke up in her bed on Riverdale’s Northside, gasping for air and bathed in sweat.

It had all been a dream.

She immediately burst into loud braying sobs, startling awake the man laying beside her.

“Honey, honey, calm down,” FP Jones said as he tried to comfort his crying girlfriend. “What’s wrong?”

“I had a nightmare…” Alice managed to get out. “We kept Chic…and I just got up for a second…and I lost him!” This triggered a fresh wave of tears. “I lost our son again…and you were so mad…you…you…” She couldn’t get the rest out. It was too horrible.

“It’s okay, baby, it was just a dream.” FP wrapped his arms around Alice and began to rub her back consolingly.

“It was so real, FP.”

He pulled her closer to him and covered her face with gentle kisses, tasting the salt of her tears. He knew that she still lived with the guilt of giving their son away every day, but she usually wasn’t prone to night terrors, at least while they had regularly shared the same bed.

Finally, her sobs quieted down into small hiccups. He felt terrible that she still suffered so much from a decision that she made a teenager. She thought she was doing what was best for Chic, and even though sometimes he still wished that she had told him about their son, he couldn’t blame her for trying to give him a better life.

“I’m sorry, FP.” Alice said after she had calmed down a bit. Just inhaling his scent and feeling his warmth did a lot to make her feel better. “I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s fine, honey. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just haven’t dreamt about him in a long time. I guess I just wasn’t expecting it.” Alice still looked a little peaky but she seemed miles better than when she first woke up.

“I miss our son, FP,” Alice said wistfully.

“I know you do, Alice. I miss him, too.”

In the early days of her marriage to Hal, especially before she had Polly and Betty, Alice had dreamt about Chic almost weekly, it seemed like. It was usually innocuous- flashes of rocking him to sleep or watching him play at the park. Sticky hands and the smell of baby shampoo. There was always a man beside her- not her husband, she’d realized guiltily after the first one- but the one person she really wanted. FP.

Alice would always wake up with an ache in her chest for the life she would never have.

She never told Hal about these dreams. It would raise too many questions and he’d probably grow angry with her and sulk around the house for the next three days. It just wasn’t worth it.  Alice knew that in his heart Hal knew that Chic wasn’t his child, but there was no way she could ever bring up the subject of her first born without starting a huge fight. So, she mentally packed it all away and did her best to forget it ever happened.

It was only in the unguardedness of sleep that her brain allowed her to imagine what might have been.

“Think you’re going to be able to go back to sleep?” FP asked.

“I’m going to try. I really need to get some rest, and you do too. We’ve both got work in the morning.”

Alice pecked him on the lips and spooned into his arms. “I love you, babe.”

“I love you too, Ali.”

They laid there for a while and eventually FP’s breathing evened out and she knew he’d fallen back asleep.

Sleep was a long time coming for Alice Smith that night.

She laid awake until the predawn hours, thinking about the dream and the life she could’ve- should’ve- lived. She couldn’t totally regret the path she had taken, because it had given her Betty and Polly and her grandchildren, but sometimes she wished more than anything that she could go back in time and try harder to make it work. To make Chic and FP work.

Surely, it would have been difficult but would have it had been as impossible as it seemed when she was 17? She didn’t know.

There was no use in trying to change the past.

All she had was the future, and she hoped with her children and FP beside her that she’d be strong enough to face it.

I was going to wait to post this but I was too excited to share it with all of you. Read the original at https://archiveofourown.org/works/15598116 and let me know what you think. Reviews welcome as always. 

[leavemeslowly]

i wish you will find someone that will treat you like FP treats Alice in the falice scene in 2x19

PS I’m still not okay after this.

[jeronicashippersclub]

here’s a little falice to brighten up your day !!