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Honestly, his first reaction was to freak the fuck out. What else could he do when his girlfriend calls telling him there was a fire in her building?
Archie left the hardware store where he has a part-time job, and went to pick up Veronica. He doesn’t know how but he makes it to her place in record time for a winter day in Chicago.
As soon as his eyes meet her, taking in the image of his pint-size girlfriend wrapped in a cheap blanket, he feels terrible for her but also grateful she’s unharmed. And so, he takes Veronica in his arms, squeezing her tight to his chest. She lets herself be engulfed by his embrace and shivers.
“Are you hurt? What happened?” he mutters, cupping her face in his hands, noticing she doesn’t have an ounce of makeup on her lovely face, and her dark hair is in a messy ponytail, wisps of hair carried by the wind.
“Miss Esther, the lady from 4B was boiling water for tea. Apparently, she forgot about it and fell asleep. No one was seriously hurt, but there’s water everywhere and they need to check the building.” Veronica shivers again. “Since I live in the third floor, I can’t even go inside and I need to spend the night somewhere else.” She tightens the blanket around her. “I’m freezing, Archiekins.”
Not only is her face bare, but also her legs. She’s wearing an oversized white sweatshirt, that looks warm but it’s not nearly enough for the weather. The problem is with her shorts and the canvas sneakers, clearly not something she’d use to go outside.
“Come on. Let’s take a Lyft to my place.”
He knows she would’ve ended up in his apartment hadn’t he be able to go to her, but he likes to offer her some comfort. She might be one of the strongest people he knows, but she’s also sensitive, and anyone would feel vulnerable under such circumstances.
It’s a forty-minute ride to his place, and Veronica has now wrapped the blanket around her legs while his jacket dwarfs her. She looks miserable, and he doesn’t know what to do to make it better. He promised to order take-out so she can have a warm meal, but the thing is that after six months living in Chicago, she’s only been to his place once or twice, mostly because she’s busy with school, and he has Jughead as his roommate. Their place is a shoebox with two tiny bedrooms.
“Hey, Ron,” Jughead says as soon as they enter the apartment. Archie texted him to let Jughead know about what had happened. “I ordered Chinese. Hope it’s okay?”
Veronica, in an uncharacteristic fashion, smiles a shyly at Jug. “It’s fine. Thank you.” She turns to Archie. “May I borrow some clothes? And take a shower? I smell like smoke and feel dirty.”
Shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans, Archie tries to smile, trying not to worry about what she’ll think about the shared bathroom, the cheap shampoo and the woodsy smell of his shower gel. “Sure.”
She smiles, leaning to peck his cheek. “I might grab two pairs of socks.” She toes off her sneakers and rushes to his room.
“Arch–“
“You don’t have a problem with her staying over, right?”
“Arch,” Jughead snorts a laugh. “V and I aren’t the best of friends, but she’s your girlfriend, and despite popular belief, I do care about her well-being. She can stay here.”
He nods, and then follows Veronica to his bedroom, where she’s digging through his clean clothes, pulling one of his Henley shirts, a pair of shorts and his old Bulldogs sweatshirt. She’s unusually quiet, so he decides to just pick a clean towel and hand it to her.
“Do you need anything?” he asks softly, making her smile a little.
“My silk pajamas, my guava shower gel, my anti-frizz shampoo…” she heaves a sigh before leaning into him. “But I’ve got you, and that’s better than all that without my Archiekins.”
He lets himself smile and wrap her tightly with his arms for a couple of minutes, before he lets her go to the bathroom, explaining to her that she needs to turn the faucet with just a bit of cold water or it’ll be scalding hot – and if she opens it too much, it’ll be freezing. After pointing out all the things that are his, and the ones she can use.
It’s strange to feel like this. He spends a lot of time at her place – he has clothes and other stuff there, and she even buys his favorite snacks, and toiletries. But he has nothing of hers in his place. Maybe he should start thinking about it. It’s just that they have more privacy in her apartment.
Chinese food has arrived by the time she makes it out of the bathroom, looking tiny in his clothes and with her damp hair falling over her shoulders. They sit on pillows around the ratty coffee table he bought on sale, just to have something in the empty room and not just the couch.
Veronica breaks apart the chopsticks, sitting next to him, her knee touching his thigh. But then he has a spring roll in his hand, looking at his beautiful girlfriend in the least stylish outfit he’s ever seen her, and mutters, “I love you, Ronnie.”
Her eyes widen before she giggles because Jughead clears his throat to make himself noticed. She cranes her neck to press a kiss to his cheek. “I love you, too, babe.” Archie blushes, smiling like a lucky fool.
“Don’t make me say that, guys,” Jughead quips, making both of his friends laugh as they dig in. “I’m not the sentimental type. And my girlfriend is miles away, in case you forgot.”
By the time they’ve cleaned up, Veronica has already left for bed – she was exhausted after the eventful day, and she has to be up early to check the damage at her place and things. This is the first time she’s in his bed, a full-size bed that’s too small for the two of them, but when he gets in, she sleepily tangles her limbs with his. Her body is half on top of his.
And he always thought she smelled delicious, sexy and sweet, but now she smells like him. In his clothes, with his soap and shampoo, and he thinks this might be the sexiest she’s ever been.
“Ronnie?”
She hums with her eyes closed.
“Let me be the big spoon.” He nudges her side, making her smile. “C’mon.” She giggles while turning on her side, and as soon as he can, he hugs her from behind, burrowing his nose in the crook of her neck – it’s his soap and shampoo, but it’s different on her. Archie kisses her skin.
Veronica links her fingers with his and kisses his knuckles.
He thinks she might’ve fallen asleep when a few minutes go by in silence, but then she mutters, “Why didn’t we think of living together?”
He sighs, “Because I could’ve never paid my share of the rent of your place, and I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Archie,” she whispers, half-scolding him. “You keep me happy, loved, and safe. That’s more than anyone else has done for me in my life. You’d never be a burden.”
“You’d live here, in this tiny apartment with a tiny bed and no bathtub to be with me?”
She turns around, and the bed creaks, “Yes.” Veronica reaches for his face, tracing his features with her fingers. “I’d do anything for you, just like you’d do for me. Like we’ve done it before.”
“Ronnie.”
“Don’t take my love lightly, Archie Andrews. You’re the only one with whom I’ve ever felt completely in love. My soulmate.” Her minty breath tickles his skin – it was hilarious to see the horror on her face when he suggested to brush her teeth with his toothbrush, but there wasn’t much of a choice.
He really doesn’t want to be cheesy, to tell her that had he found her in danger when she called, he would’ve walked through the fire to get to her, to save her. But that’s the thing. Veronica Lodge is it for him. The woman of his dreams, and he feels lucky to have been chosen by her.
“I didn’t know what love felt like before knowing you.” And he was cheesy anyway. “I was so scared today, when you called… Ronnie, the thought of you hurt… I can’t– I can’t take that.”
Veronica slides even closer and kisses his mouth languidly, a slow and deep kiss that helps his heart to slow down, calming him. Archie sneaks his hands under the cotton shirt and hugs her tight to him. He breathes out when she nibbles on his bottom lip.
“I’m here. With you.” Now it’s her the one enveloping him in a strong embrace, clinging to him.
He knows he’s safe too. In her arms, it’s all he needs. And he’s elated she feels it too.