#these are all headcanons on kevins family life this is gonna look dumb as heck when s2 comes out haha

[sicklylittlesnowflake]

Could you possibly do a riverdale prompt where Kevin gets really sick and it's up to Archie and jughead to be the caretakers as Betty and Veronica are away? Thanks so much!

(I’m so happy about this prompt because I’ve wanted to explore Kevin for so long because he’s the best!! And also since we don’t know much about Kevin at this time, a lot of his family life is my headcanon so sorry if that turns out to be wrong I just wanted to explore his family dynamic!! Also I never cease to unnecessarily add in DEH references :“) I’m sorry)

"Kevin–we can postpone–” Betty insisted over FaceTime, frowning as she took in her friend’s pale, sickly appearance.

“Betty, its–” Kevin turned away to cough chestily, into his fist, sniffling as he turned back to Betty teary-eyed, “Betty, its fine. You and Veronica have been planning this little outing for months!”

Betty frowned, “But Kevin, you look awful–”

Kevin chuckled, clearing his throat as he continued to croak, “Thanks Betty, but honestly, I would never live myself if I got in between the B and V sweet, sweet..”

“Kevin!” Betty yelped, turning a deep shade of crimson with embarrassment.

Kevin laughed, until his chest intervened and he started coughing wetly, gasping for air as the cough never seemed to stop.

“Kev,” Betty muttered worriedly, to which he simply brushed her off as he grabbed for a glass of water next to his bed, and gulped heartily at it, desperate for the coughs to subside.

“Betty, I promise you I’m going to be just fine, I’ll be alive when you get back,” Kevin promised, trying to give her a reassuring smile.

Betty sighed, “Fine, Kev, look after yourself, okay?”

“I will. Have a great time, you guys! Bye!” Kevin smiled, waving as he ended the call and buried himself further under his blankets, opening the Netflix app, when his dad knocked at his door.

“Yeah? Come in,” Kevin croaked out, curling up as he flicked through Netflix trying to find a movie to watch.

Tom Keller opened the door gently, a bottle of coup syrup, a spoon and a new glass of water in his hands, a soft smile on his face, “How you feeling kiddo?”

Kevin shrugged, “Alright I guess, not quite dying if that helps?”

Tom chuckled, “That’s great news, Kev, also I recommend Ferris Bueller as a sick day movie.”

Kevin managed a weak grin, loading the movie up but paused it before it played to sit up, running a hand through his hair as his father approached him and felt at his cheek.

“That’s not too good,” Tom frowned, pouring the cough syrup into the spoon and brought the spoon close to Kevin’s mouth.

“Dad!” Kevin protested childishly.

The Sheriff glared, which was enough to shut his son up and fed him the syrup, to which Kevin took a good gulp of water afterwards.

“Sucks to see you sick, Kevin, but it’s a sure sign that you should take better care of yourself, especially now your musical is nearing,” Tom scolded lightly, his intentions definitely rooting from concern and love.

“I must sacrifice for my art,” Kevin joked dramatically, to which his dad could only huff and playfully ruffle his hair.

“Alright kid, please try and get to bed soon, okay? You need to rest, I don’t want you becoming any worse than you are..” Tom pleaded, looking extremely worried.

Kevin was going to make a joke, but after seeing the pure concern etched onto his father’s face he opted against it and smiled warmly, “I will, dad.”

“Well, goodnight son, get better soon and I love you,” He said softly, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead then proceeding to exit his sick son’s room. He let out a breath he didn’t know he holding once the door shut behind him, looking up to a picture of his wife on the wall and wondering if he was doing enough  for his son.

“God, Kathy..I wish you were here..”

Kevin woke up to a splitting headache, an extremely sore, raw throat and the sound of his dad hustling and bustling around the place, speaking to someone on his phone. He groaned, rubbing at his temples, trying to soothe the overpowering pain in his head. He took a sip from a glass of water–new, he noted, his father must’ve come to check on him last night–and weakly got out from the covers, dragging himself out of his room.

Kevin staggered down the stairs, across the hall to the kitchen where his father was taking out ingredients for soup and tea, kettle boiling, but also in a rather heated conversation.

“Listen, Larry, I am trying to come as soon as I can but Kevin is sick and–”

“Dad, go to work,” Kevin spoke, trying to sound strong and resilient so his father would be convinced that he would be okay for now but the raspiness and hoarseness of his voice probably just worsened and jeopardised the situation.  

The Sheriff jumped slightly, turning around to face his son and his mouth parted very slightly, “Kevin! You shouldn’t be out of bed! Oh god, you look so sick..hang on, Larry I’ll call you back..”

Tom ended the fall much to the protests of his coworker and approached Kevin, feeling his cheek, gasping at the extreme heat, “Shit! That must be the highest it’s been since you got sick two days ago!Kevin–I don’t want to leave you here by yourself, this must be really bad and I cannot allow anything bad to happen to you..”

“Dad! I’ll be fine, honestly! Worse things are going to happen when you aren’t out there–oh,” Suddenly a wave of nausea hit him, everything around him intensifying, his senses flooding, a slight ringing in his ears as he stumbled, body light and falling before his father reflexively caught him, clinging on tight.

“Kevin!” He exclaimed as he lifted his son with some effort, suddenly realising his age as Kevin was much heavier than he used to–he wasn’t a child anymore. He carried him up the stairs and back into his bedroom, laying his son on his bed as he began to cough violently, choking as he did so. Tom hit his back, until Kevin could finally breathe again.

Exhausted, Kevin leaned back against his pillow as his dad with the same exhaustion, sat at the edge of his bed, rubbing his face.

“This is why I can’t leave you, Kev..”

Kevin breathed in heavily, trying to catch his breath and when he finally did, he rasped out, “Dad, the way Riverdale is going, they need you more than ever. The shadows are slowly but surely overtaking the light and you need to stop that before it’s too late.”

“Kevin I..”

“You need to be the man Little Kevin always looked up to–the man who stood up for the good and always did the right thing, at the expense of his own agenda, please, dad.”

“I just..I fear I’m not doing enough,” Tom whispered.

“..What..? Dad..” Kevin sat up weakly, reaching for his dad’s hand.

“It must be real hard on you, Kev..having to share your dad with the rest of the town..I’m always leaving you by yourself and it’s not right, you deserve more than that,"Tom sighed.

”..Dad..hey..I understand, I really do..the town needs you. I understand that, Mom would understand that.“ Kevin expressed, emphasising his last sentence. He turned away to cough harshly into his arm, and when he finished gave his dad a reassuring smile.

His dad managed to smile back when someone began to knock at the door.

"I’ll be fine, dad,” Kevin reassured finally, assuming it was his fellow colleagues coming to pick him up.

Tom sighed, giving a sad little smile before heading down the stairs, sighing as he opened the door, except the people at the door were not who he expected at all.

“Hey Sheriff Keller!” Archie Andrews beamed.

“..Wh..?”

“We’ve come for your son,” Jughead grinned.

Tom cleared his throat and gave them a sympathetic look, “Kevin’s actually sick..”

“Oh, we know, that’s why we’re here, to look after him,” Jughead explained.

Tom couldn’t help his smile, their kindness warming his heart and putting his troubled mind at ease, greatly touched and moved by their kindness, “Oh you boys..that’s so kind, thank you so much. H-he’s in his room.”

Archie and Jughead nodded, bounding up the stairs and into Kevin’s room.

“Oh my god dad–wait, what the hell?!” Kevin exclaimed, jumping slightly as his two friends practically burst into his room.

Kevin squinted, “..Betty tell you?”

“Uhhh..”,“ Archie stuttered.

"Yes, yes she did,” Jughead deadpanned, straight to the point, grinning ear to ear.

“But of course we’re here on our own accord, I make a killer soup,” Jughead followed up.

Kevin smirked, “What, is it gonna kill me?”

Jughead huffed, “Precisely. Exactly what I wish to achieve here.”

Tom walked into the room, a soft smile on his face, “I didn’t know you could make good soup, Jug.”

“He really does, Sheriff, he’s just the one sick all the time and doesn’t really get to make it,” Archie explained.

Kevin’s eyes widened, “Jug, you’re going to–”

“Ssssshhhhhhh,” Jughead shushed, pressing a finger to Kevin’s lips, “all will be well, child, you’ll see..”

Tom cleared his throat, “Will you boys be okay with Kevin here for a few hours?”

“We’ll try not to kill him, Sheriff,” Jughead laughed.

With a genuine smile, Tom left the room, satisfied enough and his troubled mind at ease.

Kevin sighed, “Thank you guys for coming, you really didn’t have to..but he’s been at it for days–he’s so worried that I’m going to die or something.”

Archie grinned playfully, “We’ll try our best not to, but no guarantees, of course.” Jughead left soon after that, going to make soup and leaving Archie alone.

Archie came closer to his friend and frowned upon examining the sickly features etched onto his face, not used to seeing his bubbly, energetic friend in such a state, placing a hand on his forehead which further deepened his frown. “You really are sick, huh?”

Kevin huffed playfully, “Am I?”

Archie couldn’t help his grin, fluffing Kevin’s pillows and tucking him into the blankets, hovering over him like an overprotective mother. His brow was furrowed in concern, brushing off hair that was on Kevin’s forehead. He was so stressed but Kevin couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Archie, calm down,” Kevin giggled.

Archie blushed, realising how much he was coddling his friend and smiled sheepishly, “Sorry..uh, have you had medicine?”

Kevin shook his head no and immediately Archie was opening the bottle of cough syrup his dad had brought up last night. He poured the the liquid into the spoon ever so carefully, obviously very tense and hand slightly shaking, tongue stuck out in concentration. Kevin pressed his lips to stop himself from laughing and trying to prevent Archie from spilling the medicine everywhere.

Carefully, shaking slightly, Archie brought the spoon towards Kevin’s face, and as he neared his mouth, accidentally shoved the spoon into Kevin’s mouth. Archie widened his eyes as Kevin quickly gulped down some water; shaking slightly, and managing to swallow before laughing. He smiled, “Don’t ever change, Arch.”

A few minutes later, the two boys could hear Jughead coming up the stairs, then proceeding to kick open the door, a tray containing a very aromatic, steaming bowl of chicken noodle. He approached his friends and set the tray on Kevin’s lap.

Jughead grinned, pulling on a very exaggerated French accent, “Voila! Le repas est servi, mon ami.”

Kevin grinned, the steam warming his shaky and shivering body. He tried to reach out for the spoon, and when he did his hand shook violently, metal rattling against the ceramic of the bowl as he dipped into the soup. He tried to bring the spoon to his mouth, but before he could lift the spoon out of the creamy liquid it fell out due to the vigorous shaking. Archie and Jughead frowned, shooting each other a look.

Archie sat down next to Kevin, taking the spoon from him and dipping the spoon back into the soup, lifting it towards his own lips and blowing at it. Kevin blinked, “..You’re not feeding me.”

Jughead rolled his eyes, “You’re not feeding yourself anytime soon either, Kevin.”

Kevin huffed, and accepted his fate as Archie clumsily brought the spoon towards Kevin’s lips. Kevin sipped at the soup, the creamy texture ambrosia for his scratchy, sore throat. His senses were somewhat impaired and not to their maximum potential, but he could still taste the flavourful taste of Jughead’s soup, the richness and creaminess.

Kevin managed the majority of the soup, closing his eyes and laid back, “Thank you..both of you.”

Just as Kevin began to drift off into a peaceful wonderland, his body warm and comfortable against the soft, crisp sheets and mind finally at ease, his body jolted out of this temporary wonderland. He pitched forward and coughed violently, his chest heavy with congestion as he hacked and coughed.

Archie’s eyes widened, frozen and shocked, beginning to panic, “Kevin?!”

Kevin choked as the copious amounts of congestion in his chest prevented him from breathing, blocking his passageways. He gasped for air, continuing to cough powerfully, eyes welling up with tears and face going red as his body pleaded for it to be supplied with oxygen. Jughead recovered from the shock before Archie did, springing off his slouched position on the wall and rushed to Kevin’s side, hitting between his shoulder blades firmly, trying to get him to breathe.

Eventually Kevin spat out a bit of phlegm onto a tissue, gasping as he tried to supply his body with much needed air. He inhaled and exhaled sharply, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath and resupply his body with air. Jughead let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline from the past event, only to be greeted by a comforting back pat by Archie.

Archie was still pretty freaked out, eyes still wide, handing him a glass of water to which Kevin gulped it down. He ran a hand through Kevin’s hair, “Kevin, are you okay? You’re burning up..I’m so scared..”

“Archie, I’m fine–”

“No you’re not! Jesus, Jug, what do we do?? Should we take him to a hospital?!” Archie panicked.

“Shh,” Jughead reassured, feeling slightly alienated for being the calm one in the situation for once, patting Archie on the back soothingly.

“He’s fine for now, Arch. We just have to get his fever down and soothe his throat–will you go make him some tea, Arch?” Jughead suggested, hoping sending Archie off would give him some time to take a breather. Archie nodded, heading off down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Jughead turned back around to Kevin and gave him a warm smile, to which Kevin only looked guilty.

“..I didn’t mean to scare you guys..”

Jughead huffed fondly, ruffling Kevin’s hair fondly, “Its not your fault–Archie’s always worried unnecessarily when I’m sick, he always does this. He’s going to be just fine.”

Kevin raised an eyebrow, “Its because you hide your sicknesses all the time, you’re the worst, y'know? You’re taking years off his life–when he sees someone admitting they’re sick he thinks they’re dying thanks to you. And also, you are going to get sick.”

Jughead laughed, “I know, Kev, but you make sacrifices for the ones you love.”

Kevin blinked, feeling very fulfilled and loved, unable to help himself from the smile creeping onto his face as Jughead turned away to grab a towel and dampen it. He returned shortly after with a cold towel and laid it over his forehead.

“You’re going to be okay, dude,” Jughead promised, running a hand through his hair as Archie returned with some chamomile tea. Kevin offered him a sweet smile, relieved to see Archie looked a lot more composed now, not as shaky and panicked as he had been just then. Archie offered him the tea to which Kevin sipped at it gladly, extremely grateful for the soothing sensation of the warm liquid against his throat.

The warmth of the tea and the company of his friends left him feeling very safe and peaceful, closing his eyes knowing that everything would be okay. He snuggled up against the blankets, patting at both the vacant spaces on both his left and right, clearing calling them over.

“I’m sleepy..” Kevin yawned tiredly, his body demanding him to rest.

He hadn’t even requested or said anything, but the two boys knew exactly what they had to do. Archie looked at Jughead first, wondering if the boy was comfortable with this first and foremost, and even though he didn’t say a word Jughead knew what he was asking. Jughead nodded at him, smiling. They gave each other a knowing look and climbed onto bed with Kevin, cuddling with him until the sick boy drifted off to sleep.

Tom tiredly stuck his keys into the keyhole and twisted them, unlocking the door. He stepped into his house and pulled them out, pocketing them and heading straight for the stairs, eager to see how his son was doing. He climbed the stairs as quickly as he could without making a ruckus, and once he shuffled down the hall to the white door where a lovingly painted “Kevin” in cursive was painted, he halted. He couldn’t hear anything in there.

Tom quietly opened the door, and his heart warmed with the sight, a joyful smile creeping onto his face to see his son sleeping soundly, accompanied by his two friends holding him close, as if to protect him. He nodded slowly, more than content with what he saw and closed the door once again, leaving the friends to their peace for now. Who knew how long that peace would last in this town? He didn’t have the heart to take it from them.

He went down the stairs again to make himself a coffee, feeling fulfilled for the first time in forever. Tom knew that there would be moments he would miss, be spaces he wouldn’t be able fill, and that he would come up short a million different ways. However, he was relieved to know Kevin’s friends would be here to fill in the spaces he couldn’t, and he was forever grateful. As long as he stood by his son, as well as his friends, everything would stop feeling so big, until it all felt small.