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According to their families, Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones were roommates and best friends. That’s all.
They had grown up together, had become best friends, and moved to New York for University with their other best friend, Archie Andrews.
Jughead had moved in with Archie in Sophomore year, making him, Archie and Betty neighbours. When they moved to New York, they maintained their neighbour status; Archie and Jughead lived across the hall from Betty and her roommate, Veronica.
Over time, Veronica and Archie became friends, and then more than friends, and now they were dating. This led to Betty and Jughead spending more time together, neither of them wanting to be in the same apartment as Veronica and Archie consummated their relationship.
All this time that Betty and Jughead had been spending together had resulted in them falling for each other in the sweetest of ways. It started with late nights of take out food, deep conversations about life and falling asleep beside each other on the couch after watching whichever Netflix show they’d been binging at the time. Over time, they’d begun to gravitate towards each other, now falling asleep on each other, instead of beside. This led to some awkward mornings, the pair waking up with limbs tangled together. They’d eventually had the talk, which ended in a long overdue and passionate makeout session to confirm their new found relationship status.
This, of course led to the exchange of roommates. Veronica moved in with Archie, Jughead with Betty. Life was blissful, and everyone was happy and in love.
Eight months later, it was the holiday season and they were preparing to go back to Riverdale for Christmas. Now, this would have been fine in any normal situation, except this was not just any normal situation. Jughead and Betty had decided not to tell their families about their relationship. All of their friends in New York knew about the couple, but nobody in Riverdale did.
They chose to keep it a secret because they knew that Betty’s parents wouldn’t approve. They didn’t like that Jughead came from the Southside, they didn’t believe he was good enough to even be friends with their precious daughter.
Betty didn’t believe that. From that first day of kindergarten, when Archie introduced her to Jughead, she’d considered him to be one of the best people she knew.
Because of their distaste for the dark haired, brooding boy, the couple decided to keep their relationship from the overstepping and controlling Cooper’s. Which made going back to Riverdale for Christmas an uncomfortable and undesirable trip.
“Babe, can’t we just stay here, just the two of us in our apartment for Christmas? I don’t want to have to keep my hands off of you for four days. I don’t even know how I’m going sleep without you while we’re there!” Jughead whined as he came behind Betty, putting his arms around her waist and pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder. It was the day before Christmas Eve, and he was trying to distract from packing for the trip he was dreading taking back to his hometown.
“I know Juggie, but we have to! I don’t want my mother butting in and insulting our whole relationship. It obviously wouldn’t change the way I feel about you, but you know how much I hate when she puts you down,” Betty replied as she reached back and combed her fingers through his mane of black waves, bringing him closer to her. “I promise I’ll make sure we have some time to ourselves at some point. It’s only four days, hon. I promise to make it worth it once we’re back home.”
“It just sucks, Betts, that’s all. I’ll miss the simplicity and domesticity of being here with you, you know?” He turned her around so that she was facing him. “I want your mom to know how much I love her smart, amazing, beautiful and sexy daughter,” he said as he kissed her forehead, each cheek and tip of her nose before finally settling on her lips, kissing her with purpose.
He licked her bottom lip, his tongue asking for entry, which she gave him. He eased his tongue into her mouth and tilted his head, deepening the kiss. He moved one hand from her waist into her long blonde waves, massaging the back of her scalp as she moved his hands pulling him against her.
Suddenly, she pulled away and put her hands against his chest, pushing him away.
“Jug, stop! I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to distract me, so that I won’t pack and we won’t go home. It’s not going to work!” She reprimanded and she moved back to her clothes, and continued to fold.
Jughead threw himself on their bed, falling on his back with a sigh. “Dammit, I thought I had you with the scalp massage,” he winked as he responded.
“Come on, Jug, get packing. If you pack now, I’ll reward you with that thing you like, you know when I slowly drag my tongue up your -...”
Jughead hopped off the bed, and pressed a chaste kiss to her, interrupting her. “On it, babe!” He quickly grabbed the things he’d need for their trip, eager for his his reward, which he definitely received.
The next morning, they joined Veronica and Archie in an Uber to the airport. Veronica was joining Archie and Jughead at the Andrew’s residence for the holidays. Betty and Jughead clung to each other as they made their way through the airport and on the flight to Riverdale, trying to make the most of their time together before they were forced apart by reality.
The plane arrived in Riverdale and the Cour Four got off the plane. Betty and Jughead trailed behind Archie and Veronica, preparing themselves to revert back to being just friends.
Just before reaching the entrance to the baggage area where their families were waiting, Jughead pulled Betty aside into a big warm hug, his hand holding her head to his chest.
“I don’t want to do this, Jug. Let’s go back. I need you with me to deal with my mother!” Betty cried into his chest.
“Oh baby, you’ll be fine,” he soothed. “I would say we could just be honest about us, but I know that’ll just complicate things. Plus, we’ll be together Christmas Day for the annual Cooper-Andrews Christmas charade. Might just have to sneak you into my bedroom to regroup… among other things we could do,” he teased.
She pulled back from him, looked up at him with soft eyes and rested her palm against his cheek, “I love you, Juggie. Now kiss me like you mean it and let’s get this over with.”
“As you wish, my lady!” Jughead swooped her down, and made good on his promise.
He brought her back up to standing and rested his forehead on hers. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she replied with a sigh.
She pressed one more soft kiss to his lips, and they walked out the doors side by side, but of course, not holding hands
They parted ways, Jughead over to the Andrews’ and Betty to the Cooper’s.
“What took you so long, Elizabeth? Veronica and Archie have been out here for ages, and we’ve been waiting for you! Nana Cooper is at home waiting for us!” Alice chastised.
“Sorry, mom. I stopped at the bathroom to freshen up quickly.” Betty said to appease her mother. “Nice to see you, too.”
The two Cooper women exchanged an awkward hug, before Betty made her way to her father.
“Hi, Pumpkin. I trust your flight went well.” Hal Cooper hugged his youngest daughter. Betty nodded in affirmation before making their way to the baggage claim to retrieve her luggage.
Jughead walked over to Fred Andrews, who reached to pull him into a hug. “Hey, Jug! Good to see ya!”
“Hey Mr. Andrews. Merry Christmas!”
“Glad you came home so I’m not just a third wheel to the lovebirds,” Fred said pointing to Veronica and Archie who were preoccupied with a thorough search of each other’s mouths.
Jughead laughed, and momentarily wished he could be doing the same with Betty. Not that he was big into PDA, but he thought it would be nice to be able to show some affection to the girl he loved so deeply. She was so close, yet so far away. He looked over as Betty and her family walked past them, and sighed. Four days, he thought. Four days until we can act like lovesick fools again.
Once their bags had been claimed, the families loaded their respective vehicles and drove to their neighbouring homes.
Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Betty’s phone started buzzing, pulling her from her relaxed state. She smiled as she saw her boyfriend’s name on the screen.
“Hi, Juggie,” she said quietly, cautious not to wake her family.
“Hey, baby. How are you holding up?”
She smiled at the term of endearment. Even after being with him all this time, the simple things he did to reassure her and show his complete adoration for her never failed to make her weak.
“I would be better if you were here, and not in the house beside mine.”
“Three more sleeps, Love, and we’ll be back in the same bed,” he promised. “How was the evening with the Cooper’s?”
“It was fine. As usual, Nana Cooper started on the wine early, and by supper, she’d told my mother to pull the stick from her ass and lighten up,” she chuckled at the memory. “I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
“The holidays with Nana Cooper always lead to great entertainment. I’m glad she’s there to put Alice in her place.” he sighed, running his hand over his face. “I’m sorry I can’t be with you, Betts. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
“S’okay, Jug. I might need that escape to your room more than I thought. I miss you, Jug,” she yawned.
She rolled over in her pink bedding, looking out her window to the Andrews’ home, wishing she was there with Jughead.
“I should let you sleep, babe,” he said softly.
“Okay, I love you. Night, Juggie.”
“Sleep well. I love you,” he vowed before he hung up.
They both quickly realized that sleep would not come quickly to either of them.
The next day, after presents had been opened and breakfast had been eaten, Nana Cooper started on the wine.While this stressed Alice Cooper out immensely, this pleased Betty just the same.
This meant that the heat was off of Betty, with her paternal grandmother coming to her rescue everytime Alice got a little too overbearing. This made not being able to have Jughead around much easier to accept.
Finally, it came time to head over to the Andrews’ home for turkey dinner. Betty was beside herself in excitement to see her boyfriend. She just wanted to be near him and have the chance to touch him.
The Cooper family gathered on Fred Andrews’ front porch. Hal rang the doorbell, and when the door didn’t immediately open, Nana Cooper hollered, “Open the damn door! It’s fucking cold out here, my nips could cut glass!”
Betty and her sister, Polly burst out laughing, Alice’s jaw dropped, and Hal rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation; he was used to his mother’s antics.
They attempted to regain composure before Fred opened the front door and welcomed his guests in. Betty made her way through Fred, Archie, Veronica and finally Jughead, giving each of them a big hug. When she finally got to her boyfriend, he whispered in her ear, “15 minutes. My room.”
Betty pulled away quickly to keep up appearances and tried to hide her excitement of some alone time.
Everyone made their way into the living room, waiting for dinner to finish cooking.
“What’s an old broad gotta do to get a glass of wine around here?!” Everyone snickered at Nana’s outburst.
“I’ll get it, Nana Coop!” Jughead jumped up.
As soon as he left the room, Betty excused herself to the ladies room, only to make her way to Jughead’s room.
She walked through his bedroom door, and his arms immediately found their way around her waist as she shut the door behind her.
“Oh my God, I missed you,” he breathed out as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
After a brief second, she pulled away and brought her lips to his. He moaned instantly into her mouth at the intensity as he reached for her thighs pulling them up around his waist. He walked her over to his childhood bed and laid her down, finding space between her legs.
“God, I’ve missed your mouth, and your hands, and your voice.” Betty sighed as he pressed kisses onto her neck and ran his hands down her sides.
They carried on for a few more minutes before Jughead pulled back with a look of panic in his eyes. “Fuck babe, we gotta stop.”
Betty carried on, trying to get the most out of this time alone with Jughead.
“Babe! Your Nana is going to lose her mind if I don’t get her a drink!”
The reminder of her Nana pulled Betty back to reality. “Shit!” The couple got off the bed and fixed each other’s clothing and hair, ensuring they were once again presentable.
Jughead presses a kiss to Betty’s forehead, “Love you, babe.”
Betty smiled up at him and squeezed his hand before she hurried towards the bathroom and Jughead rushed back to the kitchen to get the beverage for Betty’s Grandmother.
Betty checked her appearance in the mirror and washed her hands for good measure before returning to the group in the living room.
Before she made it to the room, she heard her Nana shout out, “It’s about damn time, Forsythe! I just about sobered up waiting for you!”
Betty knew Jughead cringed at the use of his first name. She smiled softly to herself as she heard him say, “I’m sorry ma’am. It took me awhile to find the bottle opener.”
As she entered the living room, she looked at Jughead, who was already looking at her with soft eyes. God, she wished they didn’t have to pretend to be just friends.
The timer in the kitchen went off and Veronica, Alice, Polly and Betty went to get the dinner sorted and ready to be served, while Nana and the men stayed in the living room to socialize.
Once everything had been set out in the dining room, all the guests made their way to their seats. The big table accommodated everyone generously. The Cooper’s on one side, the Andrews/Jones’ on the other. Coincidentally, Betty and Jughead sat directly across from one another, with Betty in between her father and Nana Cooper.
The secret couple exchanged looks throughout the dinner. Jughead reached his foot across to stroke Betty’s leg. He brought his socked foot up the inside of her calf and up past her knee.
Nana Cooper began to fall into a fit of coughing, Betty quick to rush to help settle her.
Once she’d regained her breath, Hal look at his mother and said, “Did you eat too fast, Mother?”
“Something like that, dear,” she dismissed her son.
The eldest Cooper looked between Betty and Jughead, shooting knowing looks at each of them, both of them flushing. She knew, and that worried the hell out of them.
The dinner carried on without issue, much to the young couple’s delight. Everyone helped clean up the dishes and package up the leftovers for everyone to take home.
Every year after the turkey dinner, the families congregate in the living room to watch a Christmas movie. This year, Nana Cooper insisted it being the Original Grinch movie, and nobody ever disagreed with Nana.
Everyone piled into the living room. Alice and Hal on one couch, Nana Cooper and Fred on the other. On the floor in front of the Cooper’s sat Polly, Betty and Jughead, and Archie and Veronica sat in front of Fred and Nana Cooper.
As the movie began, Jughead pulled a blanket over his lap, sharing with Betty and Polly. He subtly reached over to intertwine his fingers with Betty’s. They shared a soft smile.
Betty’s eyes began to drop and she leaned onto Jughead’s shoulder. His arm reached around her shoulders, tucking her into his side. This caught the attention of no one else, thankfully, but Veronica and Archie, who both looked at Jughead with alarm in their eyes. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn’t care. He loved this girl with all his heart, and he wanted to show affection for her, regardless of the consequences.
The movie ended, and Archie gasped as he looked outside, “Look! Snow! It’s beautiful!”
“It’s a Christmas miracle!” Veronica exclaimed as she pulled Archie up to look out the window.
“The real Christmas miracle would be if these two would stop trying to fool us into thinking they’re just friends. As if no one noticed them sneaking off together, the looks they’ve exchanged, not to mention this young man trying to get fresh with me under the table thinking I was Elizabeth!” Nana Cooper exclaimed looking irritated at the snow, but seriously pleased with herself outting her youngest granddaughter’s relationship.
Everyone gasped and looked at Jughead and Betty, whohad been sleeping but awoke to the ruckus.
They looked shyly at each other as everyone else began to bombard them with questions. The secret was out.
Jughead looked down at Betty, “There’s truly nothing like coming home for the holidays,” as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
Yes, Betty thought, nothing like coming home, as she kissed Jughead, fully aware of her family watching and she couldn’t have cared less.