Work Text:
Betty was dragging her feet as she walked back into the office. She glanced in the direction of Jughead’s desk hoping that he would be there to talk to and debrief, but could only see Kevin and Archie glued to their computer screens. She took a deep sigh, readjusting her bag on her shoulder as she made her way to the kitchen instead. She needed coffee, lots of it.
It had been the home visit from hell. They were good people in a difficult situation. They always hit the hardest. A young mum who was doing everything that she could to get her life back on track despite the poisonous family situation created by her own mother. Betty could relate. The same thing had happened with Polly and her mum and to some degree with Betty as well.
She was making her way to the kitchen when she felt an arm grab her arm and pull her into the dimly lit supply closet. Another hand was placed over her mouth to stifle her scream. Her eyes changed from fear to anger as she narrowed them at the face in front of her. Jughead. He slowly removed his hand while pressing a single finger to his lips making a shush motion.
Betty kept her voice low. “What the hell, Jughead?” Even in a whisper there was a clear edge to her voice.
“Weatherbee is looking for a volunteer.” His voice was barely above a whisper. She shook her head at him.
“So?” She looked at him incredulously. Her hand jutted on her hip.
“We are hiding,” He whispered back to her. Taking a peek out the closet door before slowly closing it shut again behind him.
“This is ridiculous.” She made a move towards the door, ready to leave him in the closet on his own. He quickly moved ahead of her within the small space blocking the door and exit. Betty widened her eyes at him letting out a frustrated groan. “I have paperwork to do Jug.”
“Look, just here me out. I was walking past Weatherbee’s office, when I happened to hear -”
“So you were eavesdropping again?” She was smirking her arms crossed across her chest.
“Yes okay I was eavesdropping it’s the only way I ever find out what was going on in this place.” Jughead tended to use his hands a lot when he was frustrated, much like now even within the small space of the closet they were gesticulating wildly. Betty was trying to hide her amusement. “Any way Archie got a complaint. A big one. So Weatherbee needs someone to shadow him.”
“So you are hiding in the supply closet?”
“And I brought you in and saved you as well Betty. You should be thanking me really.”
“And how long do you plan to stay in here for?” Betty looked around the cramped space piled high with boxes of stationery and miscellaneous forms. She was already starting to feel closed in in the small space.
“Long enough for Weatherbee to come out of his office, find a volunteer, who is not you or me. And then we sneak back out.” He crossed his arms over his chest puffing it out a little as he explained his very simple but effective plan.
“Foolproof plan then.” Betty replied.
“Of course -” Betty was about to launch into a speech into how they had just sacrificed poor Kevin to this volunteer position when they heard voices outside the door. They both pressed themselves solidly up against the door to listen. Their ears pressed against the solid door both keen to catch the words spoken on the other side.
“Who has left their storage key in the lock again?” Weatherbee’s voice boomed out across the office. Betty looked up expectantly at Jughead who already had his hand searching around his neck for the lanyard with his set of keys. “This is how things go missing people.” They heard the key turning in the lock effectively locking them within the closet. “If anyone has lost their keys they are in my office.”
“Shit.” Jughead exclaimed.
“Shit?” Betty responded her eyes now furious. “We are locked in.”
“We can just bash on the door someone will -” He raised his hand about to start when Betty grabbed it quickly moving him away from the door.
“Let us out Jug” She stabbed her finger into his chest.“ Us , plural. I will let you explain why we are in a supply closet together during work time and Human Resources will have a field day.” He ran a hand down over his face slowly.
“It would look kind of bad wouldn’t it?” She slapped him on the chest before huffing over to the back of the small closet. She pulled out her phone from her bag, grateful that she still had it with her. She started typing. “What are you doing?”
“I’m texting Kevin to come and let us out.” There was none of the usual humour left in her voice. He knew she was pissed and he wanted to bring her back out of it. Like he usually did.
“See Betty I knew I saved you for a reason.” Betty just looked up at him and glared before returning to her phone. Betty sent the text and was tapping her foot as she waited for the reply, returning to glare at the reason they were stuck in the closet in the first place. The screen soon lit up in reply. “He’s coming?” Jughead moved away from the door towards Betty. Betty sighed in response turning her phone around so that Jughead could read the text for himself.
‘Fuck you guys I’m stuck with Archie heading out on a visit.’ It seemed that Weatherbee had found his volunteer.
“He’s so eloquent sometimes.” Jughead joked and Betty looked up to the ceiling as if someone up there would help her. She then slumped against the wall, her back up against the boxes of forms and documents they were required to take out for each visit. Jughead went over to join her mimicking her position up against the boxes. Betty’s phone lit up again with another message from Kevin. Betty moved her phone to between the two of them and opened the message.
‘I will let you out when I’m back. Until then you two can think about the meaning of teamwork.”
“I have so much work to do Juggie.” Betty whined, rubbing her eyes. She could already feel the beginnings of a tension headache forming behind them. She felt his fingers on her temples, and was about to tell him to remove them when he started to rub little circles and she could already feel the tension starting to wane away. It wasn’t the first time he had been able to sense when her head was pounding.
“I’m sorry, Betts. Really.” she turned her head towards him as he kept his fingers pressed to her temples, the circles he traced becoming larger and then smaller again. Her head lolled back against the boxes as her shoulders dropped.
“I know you were trying to help. Oh God that feels good.” She let out without thinking as he gently increased the pressure he was applying.
“Keep it down Cooper, you don’t want to give people the wrong impression.” A sly smirk on his face, had her blushing at her own reaction to his ministrations. But she didn’t make a move away from him or tell him to stop. She stretched her legs out in front of her only just touching the wall across from her with her toes. He tried to do the same but his legs were too long for the cramped space and he returned them to their original position. They would start cramping soon. “So anything you want to talk about?” He always knew when things were getting to her, when the world was starting to weight too heavy on her shoulders.
“Just the usual Jug. Client tries her hardest and the world just stomps all over her. Her own family stomp all over her. She has no-one and -” She blinked back the tears that she could already feel start to well. She tried so hard not to let this job get to her, but some days there was just no stopping it.
“You’re wrong Betty.” She turned to face him and his hands dropped from her head. They instead reached out to clasp one of her hands in them. She felt her pulse start to race at the intimate gesture.
“She’s got you doesn’t she?” He smiled at her roll of the eyes. “Seriously Betts. You are one of the best workers I’ve seen and trust me I’ve seen a lot. You care Betty. You genuinely care and want people to succeed. But you also want to see the best in people. And sometimes they don’t live up to those expectations. In fact they rarely do. So it’s a good thing we have people like you in this world Betty. Makes the rest of us want to be better.” Her eyes were searching his and she knew then that he meant every word that she said. It was moments like this where he wasn’t joking with her when she found herself wondering if there was something else there. If she wanted something else to be there. She noticed that he was still staring at her and she felt her skin tingle under the intensity of his gaze.
“Is that why you decided to save me from Weatherbee’s volunteer mission?” Her tone was light and playful as if trying to pull them back from where she knew they were heading. Where they had been heading for a while now.
“That, and other reasons.” He gave her a sheepish smile. Something that she was not used to seeing in the usually confident and quite frankly cocky Jughead Jones. She pressed closer into his side and he gripped her hand tighter. She was staring at his lips, she knew he noticed as his eyes flicked back up to her own.
“Other reasons?” Her other hand travelled up his arm to his neck, playing with a loose strand of hair which had managed to escape the confines of his beanie. The beanie that Weatherbee begrudgingly allowed him to continue wearing through the year. He hadn’t worn it at the Christmas Party and she felt a rush of heat run through her as she remembered the way his hair had fallen over his eyes, wild and messy yet soft underneath her fingertips. Her fingers were itching to lose themselves in those dark waves again.
“You tempt me like this Betty, in this small room I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep our relationship strictly professional. “ He was warning her giving her the opportunity to pull back. They could resume their usual playful banter instead of treading into the dangerous territory they were dancing on the edge of. He flirted, he suggested and she put on the brakes that was how things went. She bit her lip as his eyes darkened, trained on her every movement. His scent filled the small space overwhelming her and she wondered why she kept her distance. They were both consenting adults. After the day she had had she needed a release, she wanted to do something a little irresponsible, loosen the ponytail even if just for a moment. She reached up and pulled the hair tie from her hair. The loose waves falling to just below her shoulders. She shook her head slightly, before running her hand through her own golden locks and replacing it on his arm. Her eyes met his again as if in challenge as her scent undoubtedly her shampoo, coconut, filled the small space and overwhelmed his senses.
He couldn’t hold back any longer his hands moving to cup her face as his lips pressed urgently against her own. It wasn’t a gentle kiss, which was what he had planned for when he finally kissed her again. He was hungry for her as she was for him. She returned his kiss eagerly which was a mess of teeth clicking together and tongues clashing together with no hesitation on either side.
She let out a gasp when she felt his hand on her waist, pulling her body to him needing her to be closer. Her leg swung over his lap as she straddled him, her hands locked around his neck as she moved against him. She felt almost like a horny teenager the way she was moving seeking friction while her tongue continued to explore his mouth. She had been wanting this for months, ever since that damn Christmas party she knew she needed to feel him again, needed to taste him again. That night had been haunting her for months. The playful banter had not helped in the slightest, only stoking the fire between them. He moved his hands through her hair, revelling in the feeling of her silky locks between his fingers. He pulled her hair exposing her neck to him as he pressed his lips hungrily against her pulse point. She mewled at the sensation and she could only imagine his smirk at her reaction. That he was able to make her come undone so easily. She let out a moan at the sensation of his teeth against her skin and he pulled her back to meet his eyes.
“You need to be quiet Betts,” he teased. His lips returning to her neck, pressing a light teasing kiss against where he had just left a mark. Her hand reached under his beanie knocking it off his head. Her fingers finally sinking into those locks she had been fantasizing about as she watched him from her own desk. She tugged them forcing him to meet her eyes and stop his attack on her neck.
“Well why don’t you make me?” She quirked an eyebrow at him and he accepted her challenge returning his lips to hers. He didn't remember her tasting this sweet, his memories slightly altered and dulled by the effects of the alcohol he had consumed that night. His fingers reached under the hem of her sweater moving underneath to trace the skin of her hip. Smiling into her mouth at her sharp intake of breath at the contact. He moved them further up her back, fingertips brushing the soft warm skin he found there.
They heard a key shift in the lock and immediately moved away from each other as if shocked. Betty jumped up pretending to look at a box on the far side of the wall while Jughead went to tie his laces. Betty looked at him her hands raised in question as to how that was his cover and Jughead shrugged as the door opened slowly.
Kevin poked his head in a sly smile on his face. His eyes flicked between his two colleagues. Noticing the fact that Jughead’s beanie was lying on the floor next to him and he hadn’t seemed to notice, while Betty’s hair was down and messy. Her sweater also seemed to have ridden up slightly.
“Archie forgot his badge so we had to come back. Looks like you two managed to find a way to occupy yourselves though.” The pair glanced at each other before Jughead moved to the door, peeking out before he made his way back to his desk. Betty picked up her bag from the floor before she went to move past Kevin. “Betty.”
She stopped at the sound of Kevin’s voice looking up at him. Her pupils were still dilated from the darkness of the supply closet and her incandescent rendezvous. “Your lipstick is smudged.” A blush immediately spread across her cheeks as she quickly made her way towards the toilets.
Kevin moved into the supply closet picking up the forgotten beanie from the floor. Before making his way out and locking the door behind him. He made a point to twirl the woollen cap around his finger as he walked casually past Jughead’s desk smiling as he watched him clutch his head to find nothing covering his head. He’d be keeping this little memento for a little while yet, at least until his nightmare afternoon stuck with Archie had concluded.