It takes more time than he thought it would, getting his house back from the Ghoulies.
Technically, it's no one's house – his mom had sold it right after his senior year and it had been purchased quickly, then foreclosed upon, and now he's pretty sure the bank (some bank, he's not clear on which one) owns it. That's why it had been so easy for the Ghoulies to squat there, to ruin the only place he'd ever known to be his home.
He's been staying at the Cooper house – close enough to keep watch on the happenings of his childhood home, and to spend some time with Betty, who he's missed more than he cares to admit over the last several years. It's helped, being closer and watching his house with another person who's been trained to stake things out.
Whatever this thing is with Betty, the thing that's been here – whether he's recognized it or not – since they were young...it's back again, in a way he didn't think either of them could ignore. He wasn't naive enough to think it wouldn't be, given that they were going to be around each other again – but being roommates has magnified it and it's more apparent than ever.
It's apparent when they're sitting with their backs pressed to the side of her bed, watching for motion in his bedroom window and his wrist knocks against hers, and he hears her suck in a tiny little breath. It's apparent when he catches her eyes on him while he's walking into the kitchen, his shirt stuck to his body with sweat after a run. The way she looks at him, now, it's different – stronger, bigger, hungrier. It's the way he knows he's looking at her, too, when she's stretching her arms over her head on the couch and her shirt rides up, or when she's walking around in a thin bathrobe with wet hair, her skin pink from the shower.
They're adults now, and she's not just his best friend...she's more than that. She's beautiful, and smart, and sexy, and Betty.
That, probably, is why it didn't take him by surprise when she crawled into his lap one particularly boring night during their usual stake out hours and took his face into her hands. "Arch," she had breathed, her voice low, and he'd found himself staring at her mouth, licking his own lips. He couldn't exactly say this (having her in his lap) wasn't something he'd thought about doing basically every night since they'd started doing these stake outs. "We're not getting anywhere tonight."
He'd furrowed his brow in confusion. He was quickly discovering that following her line of thought when she was in his lap wasn't exactly a strong suit. "We're not?"
She'd dragged her thumb along his jawline, down to his lower lip, pressed it against the center while she'd shaken her head. "Might as well," she'd mumbled, leaning her face close to his, her hips settling against his in a way that had made him want to groan, "get something out of it for ourselves, don't you think?"
Archie had let out a low laugh. He'd settled his hands on her hips, raising his brow at her. "Betts," he'd chuckled, "if you want me to get out of my clothes, all you had to do was ask."
For once, it seemed, they were on the same page. Betty had laughed, her cheeks flushing, but had slipped her fingers beneath his t-shirt and scratched her nails against his chest. He'd slid his own hands over her thighs, squeezing them lightly and smirking at the low sound she'd let out. They hadn't talked about it until after, when they were tangled in a bedsheet, breath mixing as Archie's hand ghosted over her hip, Betty's face pressed to his chest. "So," he'd mumbled, and she'd hummed. "We're doing that again."
"Oh, are we?" Betty had laughed, tilting her head up and looking at him with tired eyes. She'd lifted herself up and pressed her lips to the underside of his chin. "I didn't think we were not doing that again, if that's what you were concerned about."
Archie had laughed, shaking his head. "Betty, we–,"
"We're just getting to know each other, again, Arch," she'd said, her voice soft. She'd rolled herself into his lap, straddling his hips and pressing her hands to his chest. "It's been...I'm...I just think we don't need it to be...anything more than this. This is fun, and," she'd shrugged, taking one hand off his chest to pull her hair over her shoulder, twirling it around her finger. "I want my best friend back...and I want this. Doesn't that sound...good?"
