Work Text:
Prompt: Friends to lovers
Ship(s): Sweet Pea x Female!Reader
Rating: T
CW(s): Cursing, alcohol
Reindeer Games: Prancer - Parties
As Y/N was pushing the pins into her hair to hold up her half-up half-down do, she could only think about how little she wanted to go out tonight. Every year the Southside Serpents held a festive party in the Whyte Wyrm - she had no clue how they could even afford the place considering their low budget but it probably did not hurt that FP, the current leader of the Southside gang, was brothers with the owner.
Y/N had joined the Southside Serpents three years ago so there had only been three parties since Y/N had first been permitted to go, and she was rather glad that she had only ever been roped into attending one of them; every other time she had been quite happy to stay at home, curled up in bed. Her best friend Sweet Pea had voluntarily attended each one, unfortunately for her, so she had been left at home alone to entertain herself. But this time he was dragging her along with him.
“I still can’t believe you persuaded me to go to this party,” Y/N complained, casually strolling out of her ensuite bathroom and standing in front of Sweet Pea, hands on her hips in the only act of defiance she could muster right then. He drew his eyes away from his phone, looking up from his position on her bed, not batting an eyelid at her half-clothed state.
It was an almost amusing contrast to see Sweet Pea in the setting of Y/N’s room; the floral pink duvet cover against the fully-black biker look, that Sweet Pea seemed to have had ever since he left the womb, would have been shocking to most. To be fair, his dark attire wasn’t all that different from Y/N’s typical outfits of choice, but she had an affinity for all things pink, pastel, and floral when it came to her decor and belonging, only preferring grayscale when it came to clothes.
Y/N and Sweet Pea had been best friends since birth, or near enough; they were both Serpent legacies, but Y/N’s family was somewhat more stable than Pea’s. When Sweet Pea hit the ripe old age of six months, his father took it upon himself to high-tail out of Riverdale to go and live with his pregnant mistress. A single, working, new-mother, his mom often resorted to leaving Pea with the Y/L/Ns’ and the pair became fast friends. They grew up together and, although they did occasionally venture outside of their partnership, they were each other’s closest friend. And it was for this exact reason that Sweet Pea had no reaction to Y/N standing in front of him in only a black mini skirt, fishnets, and bra.
“We need to leave in half an hour. Are you going like that?” Sweet Pea commented dryly.
“Pea,” She moaned, continuing to complain just in case he would allow her reprieve from their plans.
“It’s up to you, but I think FP may have something to say about your outfit of choice.”
“Pea, please?” She pouted, clasping her hands in front of her chest.
Sweet Pea sighed, dropping his phone between his crossed legs. “I believe we had an agreement, sweetheart.”
“Yes, and I will be forever grateful that you are not forcing me to go to the New Year’s party or any other Serpent festive gathering for the rest of this year, but,” Y/N crouched down, a hand on each of Pea’s knees, “would you not much rather be curled up with yours truly, hot chocolate, and a Christmas comedy on the TV?”
She tried to pull her most enticing puppy-dog face--which nine times out of ten melted Pea into a puddle at her feet, but not this time.
“A deal’s a deal.” He gave her a pointed look which softened slightly when he saw genuine disappointment flicker through Y/N’s eyes. “Hey,” he placed his hands on top of hers, running his thumbs over the back of them, “I’ll be there and I promise we can be back here by one am. I’ll even try to persuade your mom to let me sleep over and we can cuddle with hot chocolate and a comedy then.” The placating smile he offered did nothing as she rolled her eyes, pushing up from her position.
“You don’t need to persuade my mom to do anything.” She wandered over to her dresser, picking up her makeup bag before plopping herself down on the floor in front of the full-length mirror attached to her wardrobe. “She fucking loves you.” And didn’t Y/N know it.
‘Sweet Pea is such a nice boy’, ‘why don’t you date Sweet Pea’, ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful if Sweet Pea was my son-in-law,’ – Y/N never heard the end of how much her mother adored Pea but what her mother (or Pea for that matter) did not know is how much Y/N and her mother were in agreement in wishing that Pea would date her.
For as long as they’d been friends, Y/N had known that she loved Sweet Pea, but it was not until a moment in their teens, when she had had the sudden urge to grab him by the neck and crush his lips to hers, did she realise the love was no longer solely platonic.
Y/N had a crush on her lifelong best friend and he did not have a single fucking clue.
She had briefly entertained the thought of initiating something between them but the potential of losing Pea over such a thing was a devastating concept and so the idea was killed in moments. Regardless, Y/N knew that Sweet Pea had a huge crush on Toni, not that he had told her this, but she had noticed the way he smiled at her - that was the smile of a boy who was crushing on a girl.
Each time Y/N saw that smile, there was always a small twinge in her gut but she was determined to make her best friend happy, no longer caring that it would not be with her. Sweet Pea deserved to be happy.
“But she doesn’t love me as much as I love you.” He sent her a faux sickly-sweet smile in the mirror, forcing her eyes to roll yet again.
Drawing on her eyeliner, Y/N could not stop her mind from imagining him meaning it the way that she secretly hoped he would. No, she had to reprimand herself, Sweet Pea had been with her through thick and thin, spent many evenings soothing her as she sobbed over this and that as well as always having her back. She loved him regardless of context and, because of this, she wanted and needed him to be happy – if Pea wanted to be with Toni then she would make it happen.
“I fucking love you.” Their little phrase left her lips as she finished up the liner on her second eye.
“And I fucking love you,” he replied, as they shared a genuine smile before delving back into their respective tasks – Y/N applying minimal makeup for the forced exertion from her home and Sweet Pea texting whoever.
Riding on the back of a motorcycle in a skirt was never really the best of ideas, but it was a dark December evening and no one would see. But what Y/N had not considered was how bad of an idea it was to ride on the back of a motorcycle, in the middle of December, at night, in fishnets and a skirt.
“Holy shit, I’m freezing,” she exclaimed, jumping from the seat as soon as Sweet Pea turned the engine off.
“Yeah, probably not the best of our ideas,” Sweet Pea reasoned, sliding off the seat a lot more smoothly. He placed a hand on either of her arms, rubbing his hands up and down her clothed skin, trying to create a little heat.
“Our idea? Please, I wanted to take the car but no, we were already late so you wanted to freeze my tits off.”
Sweet Pea rolled his eyes at that before gripping her wrist in one hand, pocketing his keys with the other, and all but dragging her towards the bar door.
“I’m freezing, my legs are going to fall off, and I do not want to be here.” Y/N continued to complain and Sweet Pea could only compare her to a toddler having a tantrum.
They stopped just shy of the closed door, muffled music and chattering could be heard on the other side, and the glow of multi-coloured lights could be seen through the frosted panes of the windows. It all looked rather cozy and, if there weren’t fifty other people in there, Y/N would have probably been quite happy to enter.
“Stop being dramatic, we had a deal. These parties normally suck--”
She opened her mouth to interrupt but a slight glare from Sweet Pea stopped the words in their place.
“--but my bestest friend in the whole entire world is here and you’re going to make the experience so much better. Then, we will go home, maybe catch a lift with someone since I quite like your legs being attached,” he spared a glance to her goose-bump covered skin, “and we will drink hot chocolate and watch a movie.”
He took one of her hands in his, neither of their fingers particularly warm, and began to push on the door before stopping and turning back to face Y/N. “Oh, and Toni’s here.”
Ah, how could she forget her plan, although she wasn’t entirely sure why Pea thought that this would be an incentive for her to enter, he had no idea that she was aware of his crush. Y/N was going to somehow get her best friend to ask out Toni by the end of the night, whether she said yes was out of Y/N’s control, but she would be sure to get Sweet Pea to confess... somehow…
With a small smile now gracing her lips, they both pushed through the door into the large bar area, welcoming the overwhelming warmth that hit them as well as the tangy smell of alcohol. Hog Eye, the owner of the Whyte Wyrm, had strung fairylights along the walls and a small Christmas tree sat on the bar, adorned with the same multi-coloured lights and several red shiny baubles. People were scattered all over the large room, drinks in hand, and loudly chatting away as Bing Crosby was crooning out ‘White Christmas’.
Y/N hummed along as she handed her coat to Sweet Pea to hang on the coat stand, nodding a silent thanks as she continued to take in the room. It was whilst doing this that she spotted several bunches of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, and then she had her plan. Now she just had to lure Toni and Sweet Pea over to one of the many bunches of mistletoe. She began to search for Toni but the latter had already spotted them and was waving them over to where she stood with a small group of her friends.
“Let’s join Toni,” Sweet Pea spoke before Y/N had the chance, sending a nod towards the fellow Serpent.
“Hey guys, cold out isn’t it?” Toni greeted each of them with a hug once they made their way through the crowd. This was not too much of a feat, though, as they tended to part easily for Sweet Pea as he towered over most people.
“Sure is. This idiot decided to ride on the bike wearing fishnets.” Sweet Pea knocked Y/N with his elbow, sending a kind smile to let her know he was only joking.
“Sure, sure, my fault, I know.” Y/N rolled her eyes goodnaturedly, bumping her best friend back with her hip.
“Well, at least it’s warm in here, you’ll be alright in no time,” Toni replied before pulling on the arm of a tall redhead beside her, who turned away from her current conversation. To say Y/N was shocked to see Cheryl Blossom in the Whyte Wyrm would be an understatement. It had been a few years since they had all graduated from Riverdale High, but Cheryl had always been an incredibly preppy individual, to put it kindly, who had deemed herself higher than most others around her. She and her brother, Jason, had practically ruled the school, hardly sparing a glance to others, particularly the transfers from Southside High who were made bottom of the food chain. She had obviously come a long way from her time in high school.
“Sweet Pea, Y/N, I’m sure you remember Cheryl.” Cheryl wiggled her fingers in a small wave and offered a sheepish smile as they were introduced. “She’s a ‘trainee serpent’, so to speak. FP is considering her for the initiation.”
Both Y/N and Sweet Pea’s eyes widened comically. Tonight was full of surprises. It was one thing for the Cheryl they knew to willingly surround herself and be associated with Serpents, but for her to also desire to become a Serpent - perhaps she had hit her head.
Cheryl must have noticed their expressions as she was quick to pull her hands together in a pleading gesture. “I know and I sincerely apologise for the unacceptable and truly horrible way I treated you and your fellow Serpents throughout our time at Riverdale High. I promise that I have changed my ways since graduation and, with the help of TT, I hope to show you how true this transformation is.”
“Of course, I’m sure we’ll see more of each other through Serpent business, but we can always hang out. It’s a regular thing we do with Toni,” Sweet Pea answered for both of them, swinging an arm around Y/N’s shoulders, signalling for her to nod her agreement.
“Brilliant.” Cheryl grinned.
A slightly awkward silence settled around the four of them, something that was most likely due to all of their being unsure how to act with Cheryl around. Y/N’s eyes flitted around the room, not knowing where to land, trying to avoid having to make stilted conversation. Her eyes just happened to catch on a particular bunch of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling above the bar.
Being in such close proximity with Pea heated her skin, something that was putting Y/N off of the whole scheme she had created, but the look that appeared on Pea’s face each time he saw Toni reappeared in her mind; she wanted only the best for him and for him to be happy and, because of that, she would continue forward with her plan.
“I don’t know about you, but I need a drink” Y/N broke the silence, and relief noticeably appeared on Pea and Toni’s faces, Cheryl seemingly oblivious. Pretending to notice Toni’s lack of drink in hand, you added, “Toni, why don’t you join us at the bar.”
Pea’s eyes narrowed slightly, trying to work out why she had intentionally omitted Cheryl from the invitation but seemingly settled on ignoring it for now, he released his arm from around Y/N’s shoulders before chiming in, “yeah, I’ll cover this round.”
“And I’ll stay here and make conversation with my soon-to-be fellow Serpents.” Cheryl did not seem overly bothered about her exclusion, smiling and nodding before making her way across the room to a group of younger Serpents.
Y/N led the three of them over, placing herself at the front of the group so she could strategically lead them over to the right-hand side of the bar where the mistletoe hung. She settled herself at the very far end, resting her arm on the sticky surface so that Toni and Sweet Pea would be forced to stand together at her left.
“Y/N, Sweet Pea, nice to see ya,” Hog Eye greeted, coming directly to the trio, bypassing a few already waiting patrons.
Y/N and Sweet Pea had helped out Hog Eye quite a bit over the last year. The Ghoulies, before they were run out of town, had made an attack on the Whyte Wyrm, destroying half of the bar, and the pair had been a part of a few Serpents who had helped reassemble the place. Veronica had pitched in the money necessary, due to feeling guilty about her father being partially responsible for the attack, so Y/N and Sweet Pea just offered some manpower, as well as occasionally taking up some shifts at the bar while Hog Eye was recovering from injuries he sustained during the ordeal.
Nevertheless, Hog Eye had been incredibly grateful and had no qualms ignoring the already waiting customers to serve them. “Toni too, I see. What can I get you three?”
“I’ll have a bourbon, please, Hog Eye, you know how I like it,” Y/N replied. “Pea’s driving so he’ll just have a coke?” Sweet Pea nodded to her question. “And Toni, what do you want?” Y/N turned to Toni who seemed distracted but requested a Jack and coke at her prompting.
As Hog Eye was pouring the drinks, Toni zoned out again, slowly gaining a mischievous twinkle in her eye paired with a not-so-hidden grin. “Y’know, Y/N, you’re looking hot as hell tonight.”
Y/N turned bright red at Toni’s words, and she wanted nothing more than to hit her head on the bar counter in embarrassment. A similar, but more subtle, pink dusted Sweet Pea’s cheeks. It was also joined by a small smirk.
“Um, thanks I--”
“Yeah, you look amazing, let me take a photo of your outfit. And Sweet Pea! Sweet Pea can be in the photo as well.” She was talking so frantically that neither Y/N or Sweet Pea really understood what was going on so when Toni suddenly gripped Y/N’s arms and spun her around for the picture, Sweet Pea had to grab Y/N by the waist to stop her toppling over.
“Perfect! Just perfect!” Toni exclaimed, pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket. “Now Y/N just move a little closer to Sweet Pea.”
“Do you know what the fuck is going on?” Sweet Pea whispered into Y/N’s ear, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She shook her head in answer but also to rid herself of the odd sensation, she could use that bourbon now.
“And smile!”
Toni took the photo. The pair began to move apart from the too-close position before Toni stopped them with a hand, that mischievous look taking over her entire face.
“Would you look at that!” She feigned surprise, tilting her head to the ceiling. Y/N and Sweet Pea followed suit, freezing at what they saw. Shit.
“Mistletoe. You know what that means?”
“No, Toni you were--”
“You’re under the mistletoe, you have to kiss.” Toni seemed to be enjoying Y/N’s squirming, but Y/N was more concerned about Sweet Pea unwrapping his arm from around her waist and pulling away, taking it as rejection. Although it was nothing short of what she expected, it still stung.
“No, Toni, I think Y/N wants you to come here.” Sweet Pea stepped back, motioning Toni over. Y/N could almost scream in frustration, this was not going how she had wanted it to go.
“No, it was supposed to be you and Toni under the--”
“Guys, just get on with--” Toni tried to interrupt Y/N, but Sweet Pea stepped in.
“Wait, you were trying to set me up with Toni?” Y/N swung around to face him, now incredibly concerned that he had taken offence. She had not considered Sweet Pea might consider her scheming overstepping.
“Yes, I just wanted to see you happy and I know you have a crush on--”
“Me? Have a crush on Toni?” Sweet Pea’s eyes were almost bugging out his head.
Their outbursts had gained the attention of a few of the nearest Serpents whilst Hog Eye was trying his very hardest to hold in laughter, his face beginning to resemble a tomato.
“It’s fine, you don’t have to--”
“I thought you had a crush on Toni!” His exclamation caused Y/N to freeze, both of them oblivious to the listening ears and the amused smiles of the entire bar.
“You--I--What?” Y/N could not believe a single word that she was hearing. How had he gotten the idea that she liked Toni? Y/N had noticed how he had always smiled when they approached her and whenever she was mentioned in conversation the same look reappeared; how else was Y/N supposed to interpret this?
“As entertaining as this is, we would all appreciate it if you both shut up.” Toni’s words brought their attention to the silence that otherwise filled the room and the fact that every pair of eyes were trained on them. If Y/N had been embarrassed before, it did not compare to how she felt now.
Heat filled her entire body, and not in a good way, her face radiating as she chewed at the skin on her lower lip. Sweet Pea was hiding his embarrassment somewhat better, but pink still tinged his cheeks and the tips of ears.
“You’re under the mistletoe so stop stalling and just kiss!” a shout came from somewhere in the small crowd.
Sweet Pea shot a glare in the heckler’s direction before he took a step closer as Y/N was still frozen in shock, reaching his hand to cup her cheek, gently tilting her head upwards to face him. His thumb smoothed over her warm cheek as he scanned her eyes for any form of protest--there was some hesitation but also a hefty amount of want. The same thumb ran over her lower lip now, his ring cold on her skin as he pulled her slightly bruised lip from between her teeth. Pea’s gaze left her lips, meeting hers and silently asking for her permission. After a nod, so small that only he would have seen, he brought his other hand up to her unoccupied cheek, guiding her face up so they met in the middle.
Sweet Pea wasted no time in pressing his lips to hers, unable to believe that this was happening and savouring the moment. Y/N broke out of a trance, bringing one arm up to wrap around his neck, threading her fingers through the short hairs at the nape of his neck, ensuring he would not pull away quite yet. It was too soon.
Her lips were on fire, but it was the sparks that spread from their connection through all the nerves in her body that racked her with shivers and set her akin alight. Her other arm settled against his chest, clenching the material of his jumper in her fingers as one of Sweet Pea’s found its place at her waist, pressing her against him, trying to get as much contact as possible.
And then Y/N began to move her lips in a gentle caress, Sweet Pea following suit. There was no rush or urgency, they had time but also a passion as they poured their love for one another into this kiss. The pair moved almost in opposites, caressing each other in turn. Y/N took a gasp of air so Pea seized the chance to run the tip of his tongue along her lower lip, not needing to deepen the kiss further, but savouring the feeling, her touch, her taste, when they were no longer connected. Y/N moved to wrap her other arm around his neck but a loud clearing of a throat registered, triggering Y/N to remember just where they were.
She leant her forehead against Sweet Pea’s chest, her cheeks turning even redder whilst her lungs were still trying to catch up, snickers beginning to filter through to her ears. How could she forget where they were? She probably would have allowed them to progress to a full-on makeout session, without intervention, completely oblivious to the audience they had gained.
Sweet Pea pressed a kiss to the top of Y/N’s head, the hand not on her waist smoothing through her hair. The contact of his skin sent a shiver down her spine, her body obviously not registering their audience.
Once she finally caught her breath and calmed down, she pulled away enough for Sweet Pea to press a small kiss to her nose. An involuntary grin took over her lips and stayed in place as she finally twisted her head to look at the Serpents gathered around.
A chorus of cheering and wolf whistles broke out. Toni still stood behind her, only now joined by Cheryl, who had wrapped an arm around her waist; the former wore an incredibly smug expression whilst the latter simply looked thoroughly entertained. Fangs, on the other hand, who stood a few metres from them, had a slightly childish pout on his face aimed solely at Toni.
“Told you I could do it tonight,” Toni simply said in answer to his expression. “You’re going to have to pay up.” She held her hand out, making a ‘gimme’ motion.
“I don’t have the money on me right now! I was so sure…” the last part seemed to only be spoken to himself.
“You bet on us!” Y/N cried indignantly, wrapping her arms around herself, interlocking her fingers with Pea’s at her waist.
“Only last week,” Toni placated, as if that made it any better.
“If it’s any consolation, Y/N,” Hog Eye spoke unexpectedly. He was leant casually against the wall behind the bar, a smug smile that rivalled Toni’s, adorning his face, “me and yer’ mom have had one going for years.”
“My mom!” Y/N was not angry, per se, but more frustrated with the fact that everyone seemed to have been in a secret conspiracy, even her mom.
“Just don’t tell her about all the mistletoe I put everywhere.” Hog Eye began to full-on belly laugh when Y/N’s eyes bugged out of her head. The rest of the bar, still listening, joined in too.
Y/N twisted back around to properly hug Sweet Pea, wanting to fully gauge his reaction. It seemed she was not alone in her embarrassment, but by the chuckles that were beginning to vibrate through his chest, he was finding the humorous side of things. Y/N sighed. She supposed it was all good-natured.
Y/N‘s gaze flickered over Sweet Pea’s face, taking in the small smile, the slight flush to his handsome features and the twinkle in his forest green eyes. He was truly gorgeous.
“I fucking love you,” she whispered to him, smoothing a lock of his hair back from where it had fallen into his face.
“And I fucking love you.”