Alone Together | Bughead Oneshots

Friends Before Benefits

This is a little less NSFW than "Barren", so it's realllllllllllyyy not that much. Enjoy!

Their arrangement had been ongoing for a few months; she would call, he would come, and vise-versa. They both adored the concept of friendship and affection without the need for titles. It made things especially easy for Betty, who'd just gotten out of a harsh breakup.

And when his phone started ringing, he was already out the door.

"Jug," Betty smiled against his lips, laying back as he came over her slowly. He met her eyes with a smile before his lips found her neck. She held him against her, but no sooner as she was smiling, her eyes became clouded with tears.

Betty was good at hiding it before a small sniffle left her lips, making Jughead pull away and grow a concerned look. "What is it, Betts? What's wrong?" he asked softly, moving from his position to sit beside her as she sniffled, sitting up. 

"Why'd you stop?" Betty asked through her tears, wiping them on her hand. "Something's going on with you," Jughead answered simply, placing a gentle hand over hers. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Betty sniffled again, sighing and answering, "I just keep thinking about it." Jughead gave a look of empathy, knowing how the blonde was never one to take heartbreak easily. "I know, Betts," he soothed, pulling her into a hug gently.

"But what about--" "We've been friends long before we started fooling around, okay? So tonight," Jughead paused, swinging Betty's legs over his lap as her head rested against his chest. "Let me be your friend."

She nodded against his chest with a sniffle, listening as he suggested, "Why don't I run you a bath to help calm you down and then we can just hang out?" "O-Okay," Betty replied softly, sitting herself up as he went to run her a hot bath.

 ---

Once the water was filled to a decent amount, Jughead walked back into Betty's room, seeing as she was tying her robe around her waist. "It's ready for you," he said softly, making the blonde look up. She offered a weak smile before walking over to meet him in her doorway. 

"Are you gonna leave while I'm in there?" she asked with beady eyes. "Not unless you want me to, Betts," he replied softly before she shook her hand and walked into his embrace, whispering, "Please don't leave."

"I'll be right out here, okay? Take your time," Jughead replied before placing a small kiss on the top of her head. That was their thing; during calls, they'd do whatever-- making out, kissing on the lips-- but outside of that, it was always the hand, or the forehead, or cheek.

Betty walked past him into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and letting her robe fall as she stepped into the hot bath, leaning back with a sigh.

The blonde closed her eyes slowly, leaning back down to dip her neck in the water before staring up to the ceiling, and all she could do was think about how her heart shattered and how she'd do anything to get rid of the pain. It took a while but as she sat in that bathtub, she stopped trying to avoid the topic, leaning more towards acceptance as if she was moving through the stages of grief.

Betty originally called Jughead for a distraction; she wanted sex instead of sorrow, pleasure instead of heartbreak. But as she thought on it, something about the sudden change of plans made Betty feel at peace. Knowing there was someone who was looking out for her, who cared for her made her feel way less alone and vulnerable.

Within half an hour, Betty was stepping out of the bath, wrapping a towel around herself before walking over to the mirror and taking her hair down from the bun she hand in the bath.

The walk back to her bedroom was cold, the air hitting against her damp skin before she closed her door, noticing that Jug wasn't in her room anymore. She peeked her head out the door, looking out into the hallway before calling out, "Jug?" "I'm in the kitchen," he called back. Betty just chuckled at the response before mumbling, "Of course you are," before closing her door once more.

When Betty came out, she was dressed in her pajamas, hair down as she walked out into her living room. That's when she saw him again, his outstretched arm pointing to two bowls of ice cream on the table and her favorite movie ready to play on Netflix.

Her couch was dressed in warm blankets as he sat down after moving some, patting the seat beside him as the blonde walked over with a smile. "You did all of this for me?" Betty asked softly as she took a seat, pulling the blankets onto her. "Only you," Jughead smiled back, his arm around the blonde drawing her closer as she snuggled into his chest. "Thank you, she said with a sigh.

---

Forty minutes into the movie, Betty was passed out on her couch, her sleeping head laying against Jughead's chest. Once he noticed it, he paused the movie, moving slowly to get up and put the bowls in the dishwasher and walked back over, picking the blonde up gently.

Jughead carried Betty into her room, laying her on the bed gently and covering her with sheets and blankets before she started stirring. "Stay with me," she mumbled, reaching a hand out and falling shirt of his knee. "But I thought--" "Friends...have...sleepovers all the time," she replied with her eyes still closed. "Please."

Jughead smiled in response, moving over the blankets beside Betty and laying down, feeling her arm stretch against his chest as a sign she wanted to be held. "Come here, Betts," he said gently, his arm holding the blonde against his side. "Goodnight," he said softly, kissing the top of her head before Betty looked up, kissing his lips and responding, "Goodnight, Juggie."