perfectible | (no subject)

[ He follows close, not wanting to be away from her for a moment if he can help it. The rush of the water takes the edge off a little bit, even though they're both still extremely naked. He keeps his eyes on her face for now, reaching up to brush back her hair. ]

Me neither. There's a lot I never expected that we'd do. [ Or at least not anytime soon. ] Really thought I'd lost you for good for a moment there.

I was scared I was going to lose you too. [ To the Black Hood, be it by violence or by the killer's machinations. The last thing she'd wanted to do was hurt Jughead and a part of her had been scared they'd never get back to this.

She moves to press a little closer, her hands resting on his arms as she keeps looking up at him, trying to tamp down her nerves as she says what she does next.]

I... [ Her gaze lowers to his mouth.] I have nightmares sometimes. I just thought I'd warn you before we go to sleep.

[ It's no surprise to hear that, but it breaks his heart nonetheless. He slides an arm around her shoulders, holding her in a gentle embrace. There's no judgment here, just quiet acceptance of the darkness in her. ]

[ She doesn't resist him, she lets herself be drawn into an embrace. Her arms wrap around him and she lets him hold her for a little while.] I didn't mean to bring the mood down.

You didn't. [ He presses a kiss to whatever part of her head he can reach. ] I'm glad you told me.

Me too, [ she murmurs against his shoulder. She is glad she told him, that he knows even if he would have probably figured it out some night sooner rather than later. She hugs him a bit longer before she moves to give him one last squeeze. She pulls back some, a gentle, shy smile on her face as she reaches for and offers him the shower gel from a nearby cubby.]

Shall we?

Yes. We should.

[ He takes the bottle, a bit of that awkwardness creeping back. How do they do this? Are they supposed to wash separately or soap each other up in some kind of sexy washing ritual? He has no idea and that's probably obvious by the hesitation that lingers even as he squeezes some shower gel out in his hand, lathering it up to buy some time. ]

[ Betty doesn't really know either. In the movies or TV, the couples always wash each other. She looks at him sheepishly before she takes the body wash and adds some to her own hands before she starts cleaning herself, although once she gets a good lather up, she playfully swipes one hand down his chest, getting it soapy.]

[ He's so lucky that she's decisive about these things - there's a lot he can do but new aspects of relationship stuff will probably be awkward for awhile yet. There's a rush to the way he washes himself, like you do when you don't have free reign of the bathroom and also not a ton of hot water. That is, until she distracts him with her soapy hand. ]

Hey! [ He laughs, reaches out to catch her at the waist. ]

[ This bathroom is now as much his as it is hers and the hot water is not likely to run out in a magic house. She laughs breathlessly when he catches her at the waist, her other soapy hand moving to draw a line of soap along his cheek before she steals a kiss.]

You were moving too fast.

[ He returns the kiss, hands sliding up her back, enjoying the slickness of her skin. ]

I can go slower, if you want me to.

I would like that, [ she says with a whisper against his lips, her hands sliding over his arms to soap them up.]

It's better to take your time.

[ Okay, he can get into this, especially when she says things like that, in that tone of voice. He feels a shiver run down his spine, hands moving further down to the small of her back. ]

[ A smile curves her lips just before they press to his again and her hands slide along his chest and over his sides, trying to lather up the soap as best she can, but letting her hands move slowly.]

[ He kisses her back, heat sparking up and can you blame him? They're naked in a shower together, skin to skin, free to do whatever they want, of course some excitement will creep back. His fingers curl against her back before spreading flat again, moving up to her shoulderblades. ]

[ There's no blame to be had, he's a healthy young man with his very naked girlfriend in a shower. She feels heated herself, although a part of that is the warm water and steam. She kisses him a little longer before she pulls him back under the spray, to rinse him off.]

[ He follows along, ducking his head so as to not get sprayed right in the face which of course means his hair gets in his face instead. All these little things that he's never thought about on his lonesome, but now stick out sharply in his mind - how much does he look like a drowned rat right now?

He lifts his head a bit, giving her a lopsided smile before kissing her again. ]

[ On the contrary, she thinks he looks really appealing with his hair in his face, a mess with water run off his skin. She kisses him back after giving him a grin of her own. Her arms wrap around his torso, hands smoothing up his back. And when she has to breathe, she whispers into his mouth.]

I love you.

I love you too. [ He lifts a hand to brush her hair back, nuzzling into a half-kiss. ] Ready?

Yeah, [ she murmurs before she steals another kiss before she reaches back to shut off the water.]

[ He steps back a little as she turns off the water, combing his fingers through his hair to get some of the water out. ] Towels?

Hanging right outside the shower. [ She moves to ring out her hair as she assumes he'll grab her a towel.]

[ He will hand her a towel, of course, before getting to work on drying himself off. ] This was a good idea.

It was both of ours, [ In a way. She takes one of the towels and does the same, working at getting her hair a lot less damp before she gets to her body. Once she's done, she wraps the towel around herself, giving one brief towards her vanity where she usually does her whole beauty routine. She can skip it for one night, it didn't seem so important as just laying in bed with him. So she heads towards the bedroom, glancing back at him, trusting that he'll follow.]

See? Doubly good. [ He does follow her once he's sufficiently dry, towel wrapped loosely around his waist, stifling a yawn. It's been a long day and it's starting to take its toll. Crawling into bed for cuddles seems like an excellent end to it. ]