Alone Together | Bughead Oneshots

What The Rain Washed Up

i promise storm fluff isn't my new brand, lmao. enjoy!!

"Jug, come on, we should try to get there before the roads get too flooded," Betty said, reaching her hand up to grab her peanut-colored coat. "The roads won't flood, that's why we have sewers," Jughead replied as comedic relief, shoving his wallet into his pocket while she adjusted her ponytail.

"Okay, well, maybe I wanna be there for the trailers," the blonde said with a smile, slinging the strap of her purse over her shoulder. "Fine," he chuckled, putting a hand on Betty's back while the other reached for the front doorknob. "Let's go."

Before the two could walk out, they were greeted by a small cat on their doorstep, protected from the rain as the furball laid under the roofing over the porch. It stood up and meowed at the couple, making Betty's eyes widen and her heart skip a beat. 

"Aww, Jug, it's a kitten!" she said in a high voice, bending down to look at the cat-- its body completely dressed in white fur with an orange spot near its eye. "Is it hurt?" Jughead asked, crouching down to Betty's level as she sat back on her heels, lifting up a part of the cat's fur to see a collar with only a phone number on it.

"We should call the number, owner's are probably worried sick," Jughead said, standing up to pull out his phone. "Read me the number." Betty squinted and announced each number on the kitty's collar as it rubbed its head against her hand, purring gently.

Jughead held the phone up to his ear, starting to explain the situation once someone picked up. "Oh, okay," he said as Betty continued petting the cat in front of her. "Oh, you're not...okay, well, thanks," he said before hanging up, meeting Betty's gaze as he recapped the conversation.

"The owners moved two months ago," he started, seeing a mix of heartbreak and relief in the blonde's eyes as he continued, "They're not coming back. They meant to leave her." Her eyes teared up at the thought of someone having the heart to abandoned such a sweet kitten before she looked up and said, "Well, we should take her to the vet and make sure she's not sick or hurt."

"Babe, what about the movie?" he asked, knowing Betty would let up and that she'd just say-- "We can see it tomorrow, a living thing is more important than a film we can watch anytime we want." 

"Come here, kitty," Betty said in a soft voice, rubbing her index finger against her thumb and clicking her tongue until the cat walked right into her arms. "Here, keep this over her," Jughead said, laying the hood of his jacket over the blonde's jacket, the rest draping over the cat to keep her dry from the rain.

Betty hurried to the car, getting into the passenger's seat and taking the jacket off the kitten in her lap, which was reacted to with a meow as big brown eyes met Betty's. "I know, I know that was probably scary, but you're okay now," she smiled, putting Jughead's jacket on her shoulder.

She smiled as the cat rubbed her head against the jacket, still purring and welcoming Betty's hand running through her fur. "I think she likes your jacket," the blonde giggled as Jughead got in the car. 

He smiled and started the car, immediately having to turn on the windshield wipers because of how much the rain had picked up. "It's okay, kitty. You're okay," Betty soothed, worried that the cat in her lap would get scared being in the car.

---

They managed to make it to the vet within ten minutes, going up to the counter and addressing the issue. "We found this cat on our doorstep, the owners abandoned her when they moved a while back. We just wanted to make sure she wasn't sick or injured," Betty explained.

"Considering it's a stray, I'm guessing you won't have the right information to put on the paperwork, so I'm just gonna need both of your first and last names, home address, and best phone number to reach you," the receptionist said, typing something on her keyboard.

After Betty and Jughead gave the woman all the information she needed, the two sat down in the waiting room, the purring cat now in Jughead's lap with his jacket acting as a blanket. "Poor thing was probably running through the rain, being out in the streets for two months," Betty sighed, her thumb rubbing the top of the cat's head gently as she tilted her head up to meet the blonde's hand.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jones?" one of the vets called, walking out to the waiting room and heading towards the couple as they stood up. The woman took the cat in her arms as the three walked back into a room and took a seat. "So, this is a stray, correct?" she asked, moving her gloved fingers through fluffy white fur. 

"Yeah, she was abandoned two months ago by the owners; we don't know where she's been between then and now," Betty explained, her hands folded in her lap. "We just wanna make sure she's not hurt or sick." 

"Well, she doesn't appear to be either, but we can run a few scans and give her some vaccines. Given she doesn't have a home, it'd be wise to start organizing papers to get her adopted," The doctor said, reaching back to mark something down on her clipboard

Jughead put his thumb to his lip in thought as Betty nodded slowly, her head angled down, "Unless you two wanna take her home?" Betty's head came up fast and she turned to Jughead with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "Jughead smiled and gave a small nod, leading Betty to turn her head to the vet and say, "Yeah, actually we would. What would we need for the paperwork?"

---

After the vaccines, cleaning, insurance sheets, and formal adoption, Betty and Jughead came back to the car, once again using Jug's jacket to cover her from the pouring rain. She meowed a few times under the coat before it was placed like a blanket over her back, head poking out as she sat on Betty's lap again, still purring.

The car ride to the pet store was quick, and Jughead had agreed to go in while Betty stayed in the car with the still unnamed kitten. "You definitely look like a 'Fluffy'," Betty joked to herself, petting the soft fur while continuing to think of appropriate names.

---

Once back at the house, the two set up a food and water station, the liter box, and found a place for a standing kitty condo before settling down on the couch. Jughead's arm draped around the blonde's shoulders while her head laid on his shoulder, watching as their new addition found her food bowl and started eating like crazy.

"I wonder how long it's been since she's eaten," Jughead said before placing a small kiss on the crown of Betty's head as she watched the cat frolick on the rug after getting a bellyfull of food. "Poor thing," she cooed, her arm outstretching to embrace him.

"I was thinking of names in the car, but none really stuck with me," Betty admitted, watching as the ball of white fluff made her way over and jumped up on the couch, parking herself between the two.

"We can think it over," he suggested before Betty looked out the front window, rain still at it just like it was when they found the cat. "Wait, Jug," she said, a pausing hand on his chest as she sat up. "What if we name her 'Rainy'?" 

"Rainy," Jughead repeated, bringing his hand to the cat and brushing her fur with his palm. "It's perfect."