Co-parenting

Chapter 12

After dinner Veronica sits on the sofa again with Valerie in her lap. She desperately tries to read in her book but Valerie keeps wiggling around and hums the same song over and over again.
She sighs relieved when she hears a knock on the door. She sets her daughter down and walks to the door with Valerie following close behind her.
The little girl's eyes sparkle when she sees Archie.

"DADDY!" she squeals and reaches her arms out to him. He picks her up and kisses her cheek. "Hi sweetie. I missed you"

"Daddy" she mumbles again and lies her head down on his shoulder. One of her hands grab the collar of his shirt and with her other she rubs her eyes.

"Oh so now you're getting tired?" Veronica giggles. She steps aside so Archie can walk into the apartment. "Thanks for coming. I don't know what's wrong with her lately. She so attached"

"Do you think she's getting sick?" he asks and walks inside while bouncing Valerie up and down.

"I hope not. Besides the fact that I really don't want my baby to get sick, I also don't have time to stay home and take care of her. I have a bunch of exams coming up and one of them is tomorrow and that's why you're here"
He chuckles and looks Veronica up and down. Her hair is in a messy bun. She's wearing a black top and grey sweatpants. "You look-"

"Like shit, I know. No need to point it out"

"I was gonna say cute"

She rolls her eyes and walks back into the living room to get her books. "Will you ever stop hitting on me?"

"Nope" he grins causing Veronica to roll her eyes again. "I'll go to my room to study. You guys can do whatever you want as long as you're quiet and Archie, no candy for her!"

He nods before she turns around and walks into her bedroom.

"Your mommy is hot" Archie whispers.

"Mommy hot!" Valerie squeals.

"No! Don't ever say that again. This has to be our secret, okay?"

The little girl nods. Archie sets her down before he sits down on the floor and grabs two barbies. "Want to play with daddy?"

Valerie squeals. She grabs one of the barbies and then sits down in his lap. She leans into his chest before she starts to wiggle the barbie in his face. "This is mommy"

"Mommy? Oh you mean because she has the same beautiful dark hair like mommy"

"Mhm"

"Well" Archie grins and runs his fingers through his daughter's curls. "She could also be you"

"No dada! This mommy"

"Okay, okay. Whatever you say princess" he chuckles.

They play for a little while until Archie notices how Valerie gets tired. She talks less and moves less. She just sits in his lap with her head against his chest.

"Honey are you tired?"

"No"

"Don't lie to me Val, daddy can tell when you're tired"

"No!"

"What if we go change into pjs and snuggle in bed and I read you a bedtime story?"

"Two stories" Valerie says and holds two fingers up.

"Deal" he chuckles. He gets up and carries his daughter into her room. He helps her change into a pink footie pajama before they lie down in her bed. Valerie's little head rests on Archie's arm while she holds Fred, her little bunny, close to her. He holds the book up so she can look at the pictures while he reads. In stead of reading two stories, he ends up reading the same story twice, 'beauty and the beast'. It's Valerie's favorite and Archie has been reading it to her since the day she was born. The little girl always says that Veronica is Belle and Archie the beast. He doesn't hate that thought. It implies that he would marry Veronica one day.
After he finished the book for the second time Valerie is fast asleep. He kisses her little forehead before he carefully turns to lie on his side and pulls her into his chest. Her head in under his chin and his arms are around her body.

"I love you so much little princess. I know it's not always easy for you and you probably don't really understand yet why mommy and daddy don't live together but I promise you we both love you unconditionally and I also promise you that one day we're a family again"

He closes his eyes just for second. He doesn't want to leave. He hates to leave his daughter. It would make it a little easier if they lived in the same town but he's sure that Veronica will stay in New York after college and he won't leave Riverdale so he just has to drive for two hours to see Valerie. He doesn't mind but he would like it better if he could see her every day.
He yawns and falls asleep.

Meanwhile Veronica is getting ready for bed too. It's 9pm and she promised herself to be asleep by 11 so she has enough energy tomorrow.
Before she goes back to her room though she checks on her daughter. She assumes that Archie left already and Valerie is asleep.
When she walks into her daughter bedroom though she sees the little girl lying in Archie's big, muscular arms. She smiles at the sight. It's adorable. Though Veronica is still not the biggest fan of Archie. Everything she does, she does for her daughter because she knows she needs a dad in her life and even though Archie was a horrible, heartbreaking boyfriend, he's an amazing father, she can't deny that.
She walks closer to the bed and kisses her daughter's head before she goes to bed herself.