It's their three month anniversary the first time the thought even crosses his mind.
The two are sitting at a booth at Pops, Y/N talking about some kid in her math class while Jughead looks at her. She's about halfway through her story by the time the thought passes.
God I love you.
It even takes him by surprise, because he's Jughead Jones for god sakes. He's not supposed to feel that, he's supposed to be tough, be the Serpent Prince.
But god does he love her. Everything about her brings him more joy than he's felt his entire life, and that scares him.
"Juggie?"
The sound of his name in her voice pulls him out of his thoughts, his attention snapping back at the girl in front of him.
"Huh? Sorry," he smiles slightly, "got distracted."
"Everything okay?" She asks.
Jughead smiles fully, intertwining their hands across the table.
"Yeah, everything's perfect."
—-
"God Arch, I didn't mean to fall for her," Jughead says, "not this hard, not this fast."
"You love her?" Archie asks, arms crossed as he leans agains the kitchen counter.
Jughead nods, sighing.
"I wasn't looking for anything. I wanted to find out who I was without someone else, after everything that happened with Betty and my dad I needed to figure out who I am."
"And then?"
"And then she came along," Jughead shakes his head, "she walked into my life and I felt everything come crashing down hard. And here I am, falling for her and I'm scared out of my mind."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to lose her," Jughead breaks the facade he tries so hard to keep up, looking at his friend with desperation in his eyes, "and with everything that happened between her and Chuck I...I can't screw this up."
"Jug," Archie shakes his head, placing a hand on his shoulder to clam him down, "you're not going to screw this up. You love her, I don't doubt she feels the same. Just tell her."
"You sure?" Jughead questions.
"Positive."
—-
His fingers run up and down her arm as they lay on the couch, her back pressed against his chest and his chin on her shoulder.
He thinks about her, about everything she's been through, about everything he's been though, about what they've been through together. And he knows it's time.
"I love you," he murmurs, surprised at the lack of nervousness in his voice.
She freezes, mind racing back to the last boy who told her those words.
"What did you just say?"
"I said that I love you," he repeats, the nervousness slipping through this time.
"You're sure? Like, really sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," he replies, a light laugh filling the air, "otherwise I wouldn't have said it."
At her silence he's thinking about her past, about what happened with her and Chuck. Maybe he shouldn't have said it, maybe she wasn't ready. But he was, he knew he was, she doesn't have to be.
"You don't have to say it back if you don't want to," he adds, taking a quiet deep breath.
"I just need more time," she says, an apology evident in her tone.
