perfectible | duplicity ic inbox

I'd like to see for myself that you're in one piece.

Fair enough.

I'm going to need some directions.

I can meet you somewhere.

[ He wants to protest, it's still pretty rough out there but then again, Betty can handle herself as well as he can. ]

Okay.

[ It takes him a moment to come up with a place that is 1) safe and 2) not fucking tainted with yesterdays mistakes but soon enough he sends her the address and directions. ]

I'll see you there. Be careful.

[ Nowhere is safe anymore. But as long as they don't go back to the bar or to the diner where she died, she'll risk it for him.

And she does, with minimal harassment except from maybe Bellamy who would interrogate her about whether she should be going out there after being mugged. ]

[ It takes longer than he'd like to get to their meeting point, not because he got into trouble but rather because he's trying real hard to avoid it. Once he spots her he quickens his pace, not wasting a second before pulling her into a tight embrace. ]

[ She's on the cusp of being worried about him when she sees him round the corner and she feels relief wash over her, happy to see he hadn't been hurt or mugged (the bruise on her cheek from when she was mugged has faded into a less harsh shade of purple).

And when the distance is closed between them and he pulls her into a hug, she moves to wrap her arms tightly around him, burying her face against his shoulder for a long moment, simply breathing him in.]

[ He holds her so tightly, with no intention of letting go even as his bruised ribs protest at the compression. Jughead isn't the kind of person who ever really cries around other people and that's still true in this moment, though she can probably tell by the thinness of his voice that he's not far from it. ]

I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry. I'm an idiot.

Edited 2019-10-11 17:34 (UTC)

[ It doesn't matter if he hurt her, it breaks her heart to hear the tremor in his voice, she knows what that means. And she feels her own tears starting to well up in her eyes after days of just drifting, of feeling too much and feeling nothing at all. It's so much, all of it. And it takes being back in his arms again to make he realize just how much she missed him, how much she needs him to keep her balanced.

Tilting her head up, she brushes her lips against his jaw, her fingers curling a little tighter against the fabric of his jacket.]

I'm sorry too, Jug.

[ Holding her tightly he turns his head to kiss her, hoping she'll accept it, that she won't push him away even after all this. The whole event with Lucy was blown out of proportion but he can't deny that it was fucking idiotic of him to handle it the way he did, or that it's a symptom of a greater problem they haven't fully dealt with in the city. Betty has every right to be mad at him. ]

[ Betty isn't mad, just hurt and already feeling like she's walking on a razor's edge with her own issues, her own insecurities. So it's easy to let him kiss her even if maybe she shouldn't. Maybe she should stay upset with him longer, keep her distance but she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to punish him, she doesn't want to push him away because it only makes her feel worse. ]

[ He lets the kiss linger for just a moment, all too aware of what kind of war zone they're in. This may be a relatively safe spot to meet but it's not a safe spot to stay. ]

We can't stay out here... but I don't know where we can go.

You're right. [ She nods against his lips before she pulls back enough to look around. There's the bar but she honestly doesn't really want to revisit that spot right now. ] The library is still safe... I've been going there during the day.

Then let's go there.

[ He lets her go but still stays close enough to keep her within arm's reach, fingers curled around the switchblade in his pocket. Just in case. ]

Honestly, the library feels like the right choice. It's not quite neutral ground for them but she's not thinking of it that way, she's thinking of finding a place they can talk without being harassed or attacked. So she leads the way, winding them through the streets carefully until they can make it there without incident, she hopes. ~~UNLESS RICA WANTS TO DO THAT THEN BETTY CAN'T STOP HER.~~

But they if they don't hit any snags, she'll get them inside.]

[ Maybe the violence is winding down, or they're just lucky enough to make it through a lull in activity but either way they make it to the library without incident. He relaxes by a fraction once they're inside, shoulders sagging some as the relentless tension eases up. This has been a lot. It's been a lot for a long time.

He reaches out for her hand. ]

Are you okay?

[ They get there without anyone hassling them and Betty can't say she isn't thankful for it. Once they're inside, she feels the same relief wash over her but it's little consolation to how she's been feeling the past few... it's been a long time. Her thoughts mirror Jughead's and she catches the way his shoulders sag and he takes her hand.

At his question, she answers honestly, with a shrug of her shoulders. It's in-between "I don't know" and "Not reallly". She starts them moving towards the stacks, where they can have some privacy and just... sit for a moment. But she does muster up some words for him. ]

I don't know anymore, you?

[ Sitting sounds like a good idea and even if they hadn't had an incident in the Grey Room, he thinks he would've preferred this over resting at a bar. Not a lot of people coming and going here. Hopefully they can take a moment to catch their breath and regain their footing. ]

I want to say yes, but then I think about it and realise I'm not sure what okay feels like. [ Here, home. ] ...Are you hurt?

[ He caught that black eye. There was just no time to address it. ]

Neither do I, [ she admits softly, realizing the same. Has she ever been okay? Because even before Jason's murder, she wasn't really, she was just better at playing like she was.

At his question, however, she doesn't look back at him.] I got mugged, I didn't have much money on me so it made her angry enough to smack me across the face.

[ She finds the corner she's been looking for easily enough (the perks of working here), it's got a well-broken in couch. And she doesn't let go of his hand as she sits down on it, hoping he'll join her.]

You look like you've avoided scuffles better than usual.

[ A couch is better than he hoped for and he doesn't hesitate in joining her, sitting down with a bitten back wince. God, he's so tired. ]

Isn't that depressing. [ Better than usual. ] I got knocked into a railing, but I think that's the worst of it. Doesn't feel like anything's broken.

[ Just bruised and sore, looks worse than it is as so often is the case with him. He leans back, looking like he has more to say but is unsure of how to approach it. ]

[ She winces for him when he describes what happened to him, feeling the urge to reach out and touch his face, to tuck the hair that's peeking out beneath his beanie back in. But she keeps her hand in his and glances down at it.]

We're a mess, I guess. [ She lets out a breath and she can feel it, she can feel that there's something else. So she lifts her gaze to meet with his and takes in another leveling breath: ] What is it, Jug? [ Because there's something he isn't saying, just like she's not saying something too. ]

[ He opens his mouth and finds himself needing to work up to it, thumb rubbing over her hand as he tries to find the right way to phrase this. It's probably not as terrible as he thinks, almost certainly not what she might think he's about to say. ]

That night- after you left, I went out with Reggie. [ Just gonna let that sink in for a moment. ] We played a drinking game.

[ If he expected her to be upset about this news, she's not. If anything, she looks slightly surprised and bemused, although a part of her wonders what comes after the drinking game, if that's where his trepidation stems from.]

You guys are becoming friends. [ She sounds hopeful about that, she honestly doesn't mind it, if that's the case. If anything, she's glad that Jughead has another person to rely on.]

[ To be honest, he wasn't really expecting much of a reaction from her. This is pretty innocuous, all things considered, but it's something that's been nagging at him nonetheless. ]

Yeah, I... guess we are. [ He has to groan a bit at that, out of habit more than anything. ] After that shared dream, I think we get each other better. We didn't really know each other before.

I guess he's not a total idiot all the time.

[ She lets out a tiny laugh at that the last thing he says, finding it charming and adorable in its child-like quality. She finally stops resisting the urge and reaches up to tuck his hair back with her free hand, a smile still curving her lips.]

I know he was more than terrible to you but... it makes sense given what he was going through, right? [ Bullies are usually being bullied somewhere else.] And you have a big heart. I think this is a good thing.

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