Nameless ≫ Jarchie

Bonus: Quarantine

"I know."

"And Sabrina's flight is laid over in New York because a passenger tested positive...," he went on, his voice growing more shallow.

"I know babe," Archie said softly.

"Dave is not handling it well, and every time Jay calls me he looks so empty inside without basketball taking up his time."

"The world's fucked right now."

With a sigh, Jughead looked back at Archie and nodded his head. "Massively fucked." And after a minute, his eyebrows furrowing again, he couldn't help himself. "You should not have gone to that party."

"Okay, okay," Archie said defeatedly, looking down. "I just thought things were getting better."

"While cases were spiking?"

"Well you've been busy and I was bored," he admitted, bringing his hand to the back of his neck. "I need constant attention and affection, so really this was on you for not physically pinning me down and stopping me from walking out of the door."

Jughead grit his teeth. "I did try that, and you lectured me about how I was being paranoid and clingy, as if we have any other choice but to spend all of our time together in quarantine."

Archie chuckled, somehow washing Jughead's irritation away. "Well, I definitely got that space, didn't I?"

"It is not even funny," he grumbled back, but it was just as light as Archie's tone.

The redhead shifted a bit, placing his phone down and leaning back in his makeshift bed. The nearest quarantine site was two hours away from their apartment, which was on the outskirts of Seattle. He didn't have anywhere else to go, so a cot, a few pillows, wifi, and three meals a day was the best he could ask for right now.

"I'd give anything to be in bed with you right now," Archie hummed, letting his eyes flicker over him. "You look warm. And soft."

Jughead looked down at his sweater. It was too big, something he inherited from Dave who finally committed to working out and gained a new wardrobe. The fabric was thick and swallowed him whole, a collage of deep browns and reds that screamed of fall against the winter snow. No matter how much he pulled the sweater up or down, it managed to expose a sliver of skin on his shoulder, but it was soft and smelled of home.

"And you look tired," he noted. "Exhausted, actually. Pale too."

Archie rolled his eyes. "I'm feeling fine."

"You do not look fine."

"Since when don't you think I'm fine?" Archie teased, but Jughead was too worried to even pretend to laugh.

"I just—"

"I know," he said with another gentle smile. "But you need to stop worrying. I'm fine. Sabrina's fine. Dave and Jay will live. Mike is just happy he has an excuse to play video games and talk to his friends all day, and Carrie is too young to really get it. Everyone's okay."

"But New Years—"

"Will be different," he finished for him, shrugging.