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Betty was exhausted. She had just finished her fourth twelve hour shift in a row- “a story never sleeps, Elizabeth,” her mother would say- and she was so excited for her head to hit the pillow she could hardly see straight.
That’s probably why she didn’t hear the shower running when she entered her apartment, that’s probably why she didn’t notice the dirty clothes sticking out of the slightly open bathroom door, and that’s also probably why she didn’t register that her very handsome, very wet, very naked roommate was getting himself out of the shower and reaching for his towel when she barged in, until it was infinitely too late.
He screamed. She screamed. Neither of them moved. He was frozen in all his toned, lithe glory, completely exposed before her and she was equally frozen staring, embarrassed while simultaneously sending thanks to whatever gods happened to be on her side.
After several moments spent suspended in time, Betty broke the silence. “JUGGIE! Oh my god, I am so so so so so so sorry!”
It was as if her words snapped him out of whatever trance he was in. He scrambled for his towel to cover himself in order to preserve whatever modesty he still had. She tried to cover her eyes and step out of the steamy room to give him the illusion of privacy.
“It’s okay, Betts,” he assured her. “It’s not like you haven’t seen me almost naked before anyway, right?”
“Haha, yeah.” Except she hadn’t almost seen him naked. You’d think so, because they’ve lived together for the duration of most of their adult lives, but she had done very well at giving him the space she knew a twenty-something guy would want. She was his roommate, not his girlfriend.
The closest to naked she’d seen before that night was probably him sans shirt after a hard day of work with Archie and his father at the construction company. She’d never even seen him in his boxer briefs and absolutely never without his beanie.
“Okay, so I’m just gonna… go to my… room now. Okay?” He said, awkwardly trying to shuffle past her.
“Um, yeah. I’m just gonna… go to bed.” She forwent any bathroom usage and buried herself in her pillows, embarrassment and all.
-
She tried so hard to pretend that night never happened. Really, she did. Except she had always found Jughead attractive and after you see a body like his with a face like his and hair like his, it’s really hard to pretend you didn’t see a thing. So she avoided him the next day, and the day following that, until she was finally able to meet with Veronica.
“V!” Betty whined, shoving her face into a pillow, willing it to smother her shame. When that didn’t work she continued: “What do I do now? I mean, we’ve been roommates forever! You and Archie have known us forever! Did I just disrupt the dynamic of the Core Four? WHAT DO I DO?!”
Veronica struggled to hold in her laughter. Leave it to Betty Cooper to feel guilty about seeing a gorgeous man in all his glory, as if Jughead would mind. He’s only loved her for forever. “Uh, B? First thing’s first; get a hold of yourself. Secondly, you are aware that to Jug you may as well have hung the sun in the sky, right? He’s in love with you, sweetie.”
Betty rolled her eyes at Veronica’s suggestion. Seriously, she and Jughead had lived together for almost six years. If he showed any interest in her the way she had in him, surely he would have said something by now. Veronica continued despite Betty’s stubborn denial. “You should give him a peek, B. It’s only fair.”
“What.” Betty replied using a statement rather than a question. She could hardly believe Veronica would suggest such a thing. “How in the hell would you suggest I give him a ‘peek’ exactly?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Use your imagination. You don’t even need to tell him if you aren’t comfortable with it.” She paused, tapping a well-manicured fingernail against her chin. “Oh! I got it! Sometime when you know he’s home, run out of your bedroom in your lacy cheeky lingerie set. You know the one. When he sees you, pretend you didn’t think he was home and voila! Everyone is even and the two of you can bang and get it out of your system. Or marry him. Whichever”
Betty laughed. Whether Veronica was joking or not (Betty had a feeling she was not), she thought that her idea might actually work. It would, at the very least, help Betty feel less guilty.
The two women spent the rest of the afternoon discussing mundane topics while simply enjoying one another’s company before Veronica left for her and Archie’s apartment. “See you soon, B. And if you follow through, you better provide me with all the deets!” She spun with a flourish and took off towards the elevator down the hall.
-
That night Betty dreamt of smooth skin glistening with slick moisture sliding over her own warm, bare body, fingers exploring uncharted territory and tongues warring with one another through deep, intoxicating kisses. It was a really great dream and she most definitely did not want to wake up.
-
Betty, wearing her finest lacy lingerie set- light blue cheeky panties with a matching bra and garter- checked herself over in her floor-length mirror. Her bedroom door was closed and the rest of the apartment empty for the time being, though Jughead was due home any minute. She had a plan. She would hear him come in, put her earbuds in her ears, and strut her stuff “accidentally” in front of her roommate, feigning ignorance to the fact that he would be home at all.
She turned so that her butt was facing the mirror. Did she look alright? Would he think she was attractive? A very big part of her hoped so.
She finally heard the apartment door open then close again. She took a deep, centering breath and put the earbuds in their designated positions before turning on her playlist and heading out of her room.
She was disappointed, however, to find that he was nowhere to be seen. She could’ve sworn she heard the door though. She walked through their apartment and yanked her earbuds from her ears. “Juggie?” No answer. His bedroom door was closed, though, indicating he had probably gone straight there. Still avoiding the awkwardness, no doubt.
Well, Betty couldn’t exactly just barge into his room unannounced and nearly nude, could she? No. She went back to her room and threw some leggings on with a comfortable tee and ventured to the kitchen to dig up some lunch.
As she was standing at the stove watching her burgers sizzle, she heard Jughead’s door open. “Whatcha makin’, Betts?” He asked, leaning over her shoulder to get a better look.
“Your favorite, Jug. Grab some plates?” If this was the most normal they had been in several days, she would take it without complaint, despite her plan not having worked the way she would have liked.
She flipped the burgers and checked on the fries which were finishing up in the air fryer as Jughead brought two plates over. They worked together to finish their lunch, then sat down to enjoy.
-
After their lunch that day, everything seemed to be back to normal, except Betty found Jughead wore less clothing and more confidence around her. She both loved and hated this new version of him.
He was pretty much constantly in shorts if not his boxer briefs alone. No shirt. No beanie. His body wasn’t incredibly built, but more defined and toned with hidden hills and valleys of muscle. He had the body of someone who was much stronger than they appeared.
Betty really liked it.
But for the length of their friendship and their roommate status, he’s been boxed up in Betty’s mind as Jughead: Friend and Roommate and Totally Off Limits. This new Jughead made fitting into that box in Betty’s mind incredibly difficult.
She tried her hardest to ignore that feeling deep in her belly that suggested she needed a new box for him.
-
Betty was late as hell. She had a 20 minute commute to work and less than ten minutes before she was due to start. She was floundering around trying to find a damn shirt when she looked at the clock. She was so fired after today.
“FUCK!” She yelled as she started digging deeper… nothing she picked up looked as though it would fit or look right and she was about to break down and cry.
“Betty?” Jughead asked as he opened her door. “Are you… Naked! Oh god you’re naked fuck Betts I’m so sorry…” he was staring. Not covering his eyes. Apologizing, yeah, but made no move to correct his error before Betty grabbed the nearest thing she could find to cover herself. His eyes darkened.
“Hi, Jug,” she said, her voice a mixture of embarrassment and something… else. Satisfaction, perhaps, that her plan was carried out after all despite it coming into fruition in a completely unexpected and inconvenient way.
“Call off work, Betty.” He told her. It wasn’t a request but rather a very serious demand.
“Why?” She asked, noticing but trying her best to ignore the sultry look in his eye.
“Just… Do it. Please.” And with that, he turned and headed for his own room.
-
He was only gone a few moments before returning to her bedroom just as she was hanging up her phone. She, much to his dismay, had thrown a baggy shirt over herself in his absence.
“Did they take it well?” He asked her, the dark features of his face still taking in the parts of her that remained exposed.
“They said I deserved a day after all the extra hours I’ve put in. I’m off the hook.”
“Excellent,” he muttered as he strode toward her bed. “May I sit?”
She shifted to make room for him. In doing so, the hem of her shirt reached a dangerous position, nearly baring her to his hungry gaze. She could have sworn she heard him whimper, though he would deny it she was sure.
“So… That happened.” She laced her fingers together and placed her hands in her lap willing her forced, awkward smile to get the hell off her face.
“That it did. So. You saw mine and I saw yours.”
“Yep,” she replied, her lips audibly popping at the end of the word.
“And what should we do about that, Betty?” He asked, clearly suggesting he already had an idea of what he’d like to do. She blushed from her chest to her forehead. He tossed a devastatingly handsome smirk in her direction.
“Listen, Juggie. We’ve been roommates forever and more importantly friends. Whatever happens here today, let’s not forget that, okay?” Ever the voice of reason, Betty needed to say it.
Jughead nodded and she pounced.
-
She brought her hands to either side of his face and brought her lips to his in a bruising kiss, which he eagerly returned. His hands found her waist with ease as he pulled her onto him so that she straddled his lap, allowing their bodies easier access to one another.
“You know, you’re really sexy under all those layers, Juggie,” Betty said between breaths.
He let out a small chuckle. “Your body is incredible, Betts. Incredible.” His mouth connected with hers again, tongues tasting one another, before he added, “Your legs go on for days.”
Her mouth moved from his over to his jawline where she nipped, eliciting a growl from his chest which she was very eager to hear again. Her lips traveled from his jaw to his ear, down to the thick tendon in his neck.
His hands roamed her body as she tasted his skin. He filed away the hills and valleys of her form over her clothing before he grabbed the hem of her shirt and silently requested permission by tugging at it.
Betty nodded, permission granted.
She broke away from the spot she had been lavishing on his collarbone so that he could remove the only thing separating his hungry gaze from all of her. He tossed the offending article to the ground before bringing his hands to her breasts with a soft groan of appreciation.
“Betts, you’re perfect.” He lowered his mouth to one of her nipples while finding the other with his thumb. She rolled her hips over him in response.
“Are we really doing this, Jug?”
“Fuck, yes, Betty Cooper. Absolutely.”
“Excellent,” she replied before shoving herself off his lap. She kneeled beside him and encouraged him to help her remove his boxers. As he did so, she wasted no time feeling his impressive length. “I’ve wanted to do this since the day I saw you,” she said.
“Do wha-” Before he could finish his question, her mouth had descended. He uttered wordless praise and wound his fingers into her golden locks as she worked him with both her mouth and hand until he could hardly stand it.
He gently, and reluctantly, pulled her off him before he could finish. “Your turn,” he whispered urging her to lay before him.
He nudged her legs open. Starting at her feet, he softly drug his fingertips up her legs, approaching her inner thighs but he completely bypassed where she wanted him the most. He could see her desire, yet he couldn’t resist teasing.
He brought his mouth to her breast where he nibbled and kissed her nubs until she was practically panting his name, begging for his touch.
“What do you want, Elizabeth?”
“Your mouth, your fingers, your dick… just you. All of you. Please.”
He smiled before dropping his fingertips to her center. She was so wet, he had to taste her. Once his head was nestled between her legs, her fingers found his unruly black strands where she held on for the ride.
His tongue danced around her sensitive bundle of nerves while his fingers pumped in and out of her, quickly unraveling her to a shaking mess. “Juggie, I’m so close,” she sighed. He quickened his pace until he felt her come undone. He slowly worked her through it before bringing his lips up to hers where he allowed her to taste herself.
Before she had a chance to say or do anything, Jughead had already procured the condom he must have brought from his bedroom and stashed somewhere in the bed and was rolling it onto himself. He lined up with her entrance and paused.
“Are you sure?” He asked
“Just do it, please! No more teas-ah!”
He thrust into her causing her words to get caught in her throat. He allowed her to adjust to his size for a moment before slowly pulling almost all the way out. Again he paused and after a moment pushed back in. Both Betty and Jughead became lost in the pleasure of it along with one another.
Through it all, their lips kept finding each other and hushed whispers were passed between the two of them. Why did we wait so long, you feel amazing, Juggie, please don’t ever stop, and I think I might love you along with I think I might love you too.
She shattered first, her inner walls fluttering around him causing him to tumble after, coming with her name on his lips.
-
“That was… wow.” Betty said.
“You bet it was,” Jughead replied as he laid back down beside her.
They sat in comfortable silence for several moments before he asked, “So where does this leave us, Betts?”
Her face lit up with a dazzling smile. “Well Forsythe, as long as you never call me Elizabeth again, you’re never getting rid of me.”
He smiled that kind of smile reserved for the best moments in life before wrapping himself around her. “You got it, Betts.”