Around ten in the morning, Alice and FP were having breakfast at the Andrews household. He was already dressed in his work clothes and only needed a few more minutes to be ready to leave.
Fred was at work already, preparing their first meeting of that day. Alice had been the only one to sleep in today, as it was her day off. They ate in silence, until there was a knock that caught their attention.
"Al, could you get the door?" FP asked, as he focused back on making another stash of French toast for her to eat after he'd left.
With a little jump the woman opened the entrance to the apartment, surprised to see the beanie that slowly began to be familiar to her.
"Jughead? Hey, come on in." She smiled kindly and took a step aside to welcome him.
"Boy? What are you doing here?" FP perked up happily and immediately turned down the heat to come and greet his son.
"I hope I am welcoming to stay here for a while." Jughead smiled a little brighter when he saw how glad his Dad was to see him.
"You always are, you know that. Did something happen? Should I be worried?" FP rambled, his concern growing once he realized that maybe he had walked away from home.
"No, not necessarily." The boy tried to ease him, but it wasn't helping at all.
"That doesn't make me any less anxious."
Alice squeezed her boyfriend's arms and decided to first let the boy breath for a second, which he could do with offering him a hot beverage. She could read on his face that all was fine.
"Would you like some coffee, Jughead? You must have had a long trip." She didn't wait for an answer but immediately poured him some in a mug.
"That sounds great, Alice. Thanks." Jughead smiled gratefully. He was indeed tired of his trip, and the third degree wasn't helping on the early morning.
"Why isn't your sister with you? She is mad at me, isn't she?" FP continued with what felt like an interrogation, but truth was he was just very worried.
"She's not mad, Dad. Trust me, she's very eager to meet Alice. It just wasn't possible with school and all for her to come with me." Jughead placed his hand on his father's shoulder and send him a soft smile.
"You sure about that?" FP couldn't relax, not after years of having a daughter to pretend he didn't exist. What if she had changed her mind and decided to hate him again?
"Honey, I think you should trust Jughead on this one." Alice reassured him, and made FP look at her by turning his chin her way with her finger.
"Sorry, I just—" FP wanted to apologize, but Alice noticed he was going to ramble again.
"It's okay." She kissed his cheek softly while he breathed out.
Jughead noticed the little moment between the two and realized what kind of calming effect she had on him. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, especially not between his parents.
"I stopped by because I missed you. And I was kinda done with being in the same house as Mom." Jughead explained his visit, to make sure his Dad would know that it was nothing more and nothing less.
"You missed me?" FP asked hopeful, his voice filled with a little confusion and disbelief.
"Yeah, like crazy." Jughead smiled. Although, it wasn't the whole story.
"Truth is, when I was here almost three months ago... I hadn't felt that happy in a very long time. When I had to go it felt like leaving home behind." His cheeks flushed a little, since he wasn't usually someone to open up about his emotions.
"You consider this your home?" There tugged a smile on FP's face.
"More than I do Toledo." He confessed.
"That means so much to me, Jug." FP hugged his son tightly, as he had to fight some happy tears from escaping. However, it wasn't enough for FP to stop worrying completely.
"What about your Mom? Can she be alone with Jellybean?" It was safe to say that neither Gladys or FP really trusted one another, and the thought of his fourteen year old daughter being alone with her wasn't too appealing to him.
"Yeah, she can. Jellybean practically pushed me towards the train station so I'd get here. She's feisty, she doesn't take her bullshit anymore. Mom knows, she behaves now."
Jughead grinned as he thought back of his little sister convincing him to stop by Riverdale, even when he had trouble leaving her alone. Only difference was, he trusted his Mom with her.
"Alright... still makes me feel a bit uneasy but I guess I need to trust Gladys." FP calmed down a bit as he tried to think of all the moments she had been taken care of them when he wasn't able to.
Maybe it wasn't fair of him not to trust her, but after hearing how much she had tried to set his kids up against him it was hard to live up to that.
"I know you two are everything but fond of each other, but I promise you she has been taken good care of us. That won't change." Jughead assured him.
It wasn't a surprise to him that his parents could barely be around each other (that became even more clear when his dad moved back for those two weeks), and though he could understand why his father was worried, he never had to complain about the way his mom cared for them.
"Okay. That's good to know." FP smiled a little more relaxed this time.
Suddenly, he remembered something that he forgot to say when he saw his son coming in. He couldn't stick around today and therefore had to disappoint Jughead.
"Hey, Fred and I have to work today. Would have taken a day off if I knew you were coming but on such short notice we can't. Do you mind hanging out here today? We'll have Pop's tonight to make it up to you." FP promised, squeezing his son's shoulder.
"Yeah, don't worry. You've got a TV, right?" Jughead smirked. As long as he could watch movies today he would entertain himself.
FP shook his head laughing and grabbed his bag and jacket to take off.
"Have fun at work, honey." Alice took his face into her tiny hands and kissed him sweetly.
"Thanks babe, I'll see you tonight." He winked at her and waved at Jughead before he closed the door behind him.
"You got him whipped." Jughead smiled brightly as his Dad's girlfriend made her way back to the kitchen island.
"You think so?" She questioned, her cheeks flushing a little as she poured the boy another cup of coffee.
"No doubt about it, he can't keep those heart eyes to himself." He stated as if it was obvious. Which it was, only it was something Alice couldn't notice the way everyone around them did.
She blushed a little and handed him the mug. They sat in silence for a little bit while she studied him munching on the leftovers French toast until Alice decided to share what had been on her mind ever since FP came back to Riverdale.
"Hey, Jughead... can I ask you something?" She started out carefully.
"Yeah, anything."
"Do you blame me? For breaking up your family?" There it was. The thing that sometimes kept her up at night.
She had never shared that worry with FP before, mostly because he'd convince her of the opposite no matter what. Even if she could end up getting hurt, she wanted an honest answer directly from him.
"Wait, what? Is that what you think?" Jughead asked confused, as he lowered the piece of toast that he was about to take a bite from.
"Well, I am the one who your father fell for. I even chased after him in front of all of you. I wouldn't be surprised if you wouldn't be too happy about us." Alice explained her trail of thoughts, which to her made a lot of sense.
"Alice, non of what is happening with my family is your fault." Jughead pointed out, still a little caught off guard by the fact that Alice would even think that he was bothered by her relationship with his dad.
"And honestly? I've seen my Dad at his lowest for years now, and it looks like he's finally in a good place. If you contribute to that I wouldn't dare holding that against you." He shot her a warm smile, which she returned.
If he saw the positive influence she had on FP, then maybe that was really the case. Jughead wasn't the first one to have noticed, Fred had too.
"I know that... but that doesn't mean you can't be sad about your family, does it?" Alice could understand that maybe the frustration wasn't something personal, but one way or another his family was broken up for good. That must be something hard to deal with.
"Family is a social construct that sometimes we give a bit too much sentiment. It only means something with the right people. This here in Riverdale with you and Fred, Archie, Betty, Polly... you are the right people for him."
It were those words that made Alice fully believe that the boy across of her wasn't mad at him in any way. Though, his family wasn't complete without his two kids.
"Don't you and Jellybean want to come here? I mean, not necessarily now, but I know your Dad wants to fight to prove that he can take care of you guys."
"Jellybean is warming up to the idea of spending more time here, so I think wel will. We love him a lot."
Jughead knew that it was going to be difficult, but once he was off to college he could definitely spend more time here. As for Jellybean, she still had to finish school in Toledo but he knew for fact that she wouldn't be able to stay away for long.
"He's lucky with such wonderful children." Alice smiled sweetly.
"Promise you won't worry anymore?" Jughead raised his eye-brow playfully.
"I'll try." Alice chuckled, and though it was going to be a challenge, her conversation with the boy had definitely helped.
"I'll take that, for now. You wanna watch a movie with me?" He was going to watch anyway, and since this was her free day he saw an opportunity to bond with her over his favorite movies.
"You pick one, I'll get us something to drink." Alice made a quick stop in her bedroom to pull on something more decent after she set on the kettle, making them both a hot cup of tea.
**
That night, Alice was changing into her nightwear again as FP wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
"Did you enjoy yourself today, babe?" He pecked a sweet kiss on her jaw and nuzzled his nose in her blonde locks. Her shampoo had become a scent that calmed him down instantly.
"Yeah, I did. Jughead and I watched a few of the Harry Potter movies today." Alice turned around to smile at him and pressed a kiss on his lips.
"He really loves those. Has been obsessed ever since he was a child." FP chuckled.
He had tons of memories of Jughead pretending to be Harry, running around in his wizard robes and his wand that he had made out of wood.
"I could tell." Alice grinned. It had been clear how much he loved those movies as he could almost talk along with every quote.
"He mentioned something else to me..." FP caressed her sides to soothe her, and she immediately knew that Jughead had told him about the worries she had.
"Al, do you feel guilty about what happend between me and Gladys and the consequences for Jughead and Jellybean?" He tilted her chin with his index finger for her to look at him. Her eyes were filled with insecurity.
"Jughead told me not to worry, but I can't help but feel like part of their sadness is my fault." She confessed, her cheeks flushing slightly. Alice couldn't help it to look away from him again.
"Hey, look at me..." She met his eyes again. "It's not. I wish you could have seen how they encouraged me to go back to you. They are on board. Trust me." He kissed her forehead assuringly.
"I hope you are right." She leant into him a little and let out a bit of the tension in her body by deeply breathing out.
"Jughead is a fan of you already and I am positive Jellybean will adore you." He cupped her cheeks and send her one of those soft smiles that made her knees weak.
"Just like I do." He breathed out, before capturing her lips into a deep kiss.
She felt him softly bite her bottom lip, and without a second thought she let him in. He always knew just how to kiss her— not too hard not to gentle, not too possessive but still assertive.
He was a little nervous to take things further, but luckily Alice took the lead. She pulled back totally out of breath and grabbed her t-shirt, to pull it over her head and reveal herself in her white bra. It was nothing special, but to him she looked like an angel who had been sent to earth just for him.
"Do you want to?" She whispered lowly, her fingers tracing the outline of the waistband of his sweatpants, just teasing him enough.
FP growled. He had been wanting this ever since they kissed for the first time.
"Do you?" He breathed out in response, his lips ghosting over hers without kissing her just yet.
As a response, Alice took his hand and brought it up onto her back, until it reached the clip of her bra. FP groaned audible and unclipped it in one swift motion and freed her breasts. Her own hands twirled the stash of her bottoms and unleashed it, making the elastic loose.
FP took a moment to look at her bare chested, his eyes growing dark with lust. For a second Alice suddenly felt very exposed and wanted to distract him, but he softly grabbed her wrists in his hands while his eyes kept lingering on her boobs.
"You are so beautiful, Al." His voice was so soft that it almost made her tear up.
He let go of her wrists and placed his hands back on her waist to pull her close, and finally started to prep her chest in soft kiss and lovebites. Alice closed her eyes in pleasure and stifled a moan when FP's mouth closed around her nipple, making her even more aroused than she already was.
Still, it didn't seem fair that she was almost naked while he was still wearing both his shirt and his sweats. She tugged on the hem of the cotton, hinting that she wanted it gone. FP didn't need long to oblige, and tossed the bordeaux red t-shirt aside, revealing his bare torso.
She had seen it before, but now she was taking a moment to fully appreciate his features. Her fingers traced his pecks, the jellybean tattoo above his heart, the scar in the middle of his chest, and the muscles in his abdomen.
FP smirked and pulled her closer again while wrapping them up in a passionate filled kiss. Although Alice liked to be in charge, she was giving him the power to control. For once, she didn't want to call the shots. She trusted him completely.
"If you're not okay, please tell me and we'll stop."
He had carefully laid her down on the mattress and hovered over her while those sweet words left his mouth. One of his hands was combing through her hair while the other cupped her cheek and stroke her jaw with his thumb.
"I want you, FP. I want all of you." She had come to hold his face in her hand as well and brought him close to kiss him again.
Her words were filled with a sentiment deeper than just sex, which only spurred him on more to make their first time together unforgettable.
His kisses traveled lower and lower until he ended at her bellybutton, and he hooked both her bottom and panties into his fingers to slowly drag them down her legs towards her ankles.
By now he was throbbing with need, but this wasn't about his desires— not yet anyway. First he was going to make her come undone under his touch until he even allowed himself to think of what else he wanted to do with her.
Alice shivered slightly as for the very first time she was fully exposed in front of him, which made her more nervous than she had anticipated. However, there was no need for her to be insecure, as he looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.
He softly trailed small kisses up her calves, her legs, her thighs, to end up right where she was aching for him. FP started out slowly as he planted a soft kiss on her folds, before taking a long lick of her slit. Alice arched her back by their first touch, and when he slowly but already attached his tongue to her clit, he looked up to her to meet her eyes.
She tasted so damn good. Maybe it was because he was so head over heels in love with this woman, but the little sounds she made got his whole body to tingle.
He could feel that she was almost there, which is why he slowly detached his mouth from her wet core, making her whimper.
"Please don't stop." She whispered breathlessly.
He crawled back up and kissed her passionately, letting her taste herself, something that was unexpectedly turning her on even more. She had his face between her hands as his tongue battled with her own, not planning on letting go anytime soon.
"Who said anything about stopping? I'm just taking things slow." He send her another soft smile, one that she loved most of all.
While he kissed her again, one hand traveled down back to her drenched entrance, and entered two of his fingers inside. Alice gasped and had to break free from kissing him, while she heard his hollow breaths so close to her ear. It told her how much he wanted her, and involuntarily she spread her legs a little bit more.
"Al..." FP breathed in her ear, as his fingers kept on pleasuring her.
"I want to be inside you when you come. Is that alright?" He nuzzled his nose in her hair and prepped her cheek in kisses.
"What are you waiting for, Jones?" Alice whispered confidentially, even when he was still the one to have all the power over her.
FP groaned when her hands squeezed the tent in his pants, not leaving much for the imagination with what was underneath.
He had to take his hand back to free himself out of his sweatpants and boxers, but before he did he took his middle and index finger into his mouth and looked at her hungrily as he sucked them clean.
Once again, he stole a long kiss before he stood up from the bed and finally removed the rest of his clothes, leaving him totally naked now.
Back up the bed, he took one of her thighs into his hand to make sure there'd be enough room for him. He noticed that she was shaking slightly, her skin covered in goosebumps.
"Are you okay? Do you want to stop or take a break?" He dropped his forehead against her and planted a sweet kiss on her lips.
"No, we're okay. It's that... I am a little nervous." Alice confessed a little embarrassed. She had been with her husband for so long that showing this side of her to someone else was a brand new feeling.
"Me too," He chuckled sweetly.
Even though he had a big history of women that he had been with, it had been years since he had last experienced something special. All his focus had been on getting better, not on dating or falling back into an old habit. And now he was about to share this for the very first time with someone he was in love with, a feeling that was totally new to him.
Alice smiled and had one hand in the base of his neck, softly ticking the hairs there, while he lined himself up with her entrance and slowly but steady spreaded her walls to welcome him in.
Once he fully filled her, they gasped for air and rested their foreheads against each other. Alice tried to get her breathing under control with a happy chuckle leaving her lips. She gave him a small nod to tell him he could move now.
FP found a steady rythm that worked for the both of them while they kept on stealing kisses. Their hands roamed over each other's body to find new places, new sensitive spots.
While she found out that he loved her fingers tracing his lower waist, just above his ass, he managed to discover that she loved the spot below her earlobe while one hand kept on teasing her boobs.
Neither of them were in a hurry to finish this, as they took all their sweet time to get to know each other's bodies. His fingers traced every piece of skin they could find as Alice tickled the hairs in the base of his neck, making him smile while he kissed her as he kept thrusting into her in a slow and passionate pace.
Although he wanted this to last the whole night, he felt himself getting closer. It was too much. He would have never thought he'd be able to experience something so full of love, so intense, because he believed for such a long time that part of him had turned into stone. But it hasn't. The fireworks she send through his body were ones he had never felt before.
His hands traveled towards her clit, and with a few strokes she came with a silent cry. FP let himself come undone at the same time, and came deep inside her while he tried to catch his breath.
He collapsed on top of her and immediately wrapped his arms around her waist to make sure she'd roll with him when he turned on his side. Alice hummed contently when she cuddled up close to him.
FP chuckled happily and pressed a soft kiss to her hairline before he started back up the ceiling. Alice looked up to him and noticed the tears in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly, as her fingers traced his chest.
FP looked down to her and turned fully on his side to face her.
"Yeah... more than okay. It's that... I never knew how meaningful sex could be." He shook his head with a laugh, as if he couldn't believe he had never felt this way before.
Alice smiled brightly and brought him over to kiss him softly.
"Lucky for you we're going to do this a hell of a lot more." She grinned, before FP wrapped her up in his hold and kissed her like a teenage boy who had fallen in love for the very first time.