Archive of Our Own

things you do for love

Six months in, his CO called him a goddamn natural. It felt like a compliment.

Two years in, he’s holding a sniper rifle and a different CO’s breathing down his neck and yelling in his ear, there’s someone on the other side of this you would die for solider, you think of her when you pull that trigger. You don’t look back. He felt brave.

Seven years in, he’s in the middle of his second tour when metal sliced through his leg on a mission gone wrong, then right. It’s the beginning of the end.

They send him back to Riverdale with more scars, a head full of unspeakable things and one less kidney. He also left with medals (that he gave to his mom), skills that he knows he will probably use for the rest of his life and friends he saw put their life on the line for him.

Still, there are some days he doesn’t know if he would do it all again.

There are also days when he thinks he would – knows he would. Those are the days Archie fears the most.

Anyway, he’d only been in Riverdale for three days when Betty said same old Archie with a smile lighting up her face. I missed you, he’d said back, liquor swishing around in his stomach. She didn’t say it back but he remembered the look in her green eyes, the gentle way she squeezed his hand before she left him at the bar, happy and wanting.

Four days ago, she called him her light in the darkness with tears in her eyes. Except most nights, he hears dirt pounding on the roof of a familiar coffin, almost feels the weight of his gun in his hand, always feels tense and ready for something. The worst of it is the rage that always seems to be simmering – just waiting to boil out of him. Archie feels like nothing but darkness.

He wanted to disagree with her, to tell her how he’s never felt like the light. But, he thought, she’s already dealing with so much. Archie had noticed her own nightly battles: the panic attacks, nightmares, the ragged sound of her voice when she asked him to ‘come keep me company, soldier’ at 2:30am three weeks ago. There’s a gulf, miles wide, with the things they never say to each other, stopped saying to each other. Archie thinks back to the last time he tried to tell her how he felt – how he’d stopped him before he could finish what he needed to say. You love Veronica and I love Jughead.

He’s so used to following her lead and he really did love Veronica so he didn’t fight her on it.

He’ll be whatever he needs to be for Betty. No questions asked.

Maybe that’s the problem.

-

Veronica’s divorce turns out to be messy. Of course. Archie listens to her argue through their lawyers about the quaint cabin in Vermont, the penthouse in NYC, the vintage Rolls they bought and had restored while he tears out her kitchen at the Pembrooke.

“Do you think I’m terribly shallow?” She murmurs against the shell of his ear when she finally takes break before another round of calls. “He should get nothing I have but I want what I deserve.”

He agrees because Chad is a major asshat but still. “I could go beat him up and get this over with.”

Archie waits for her to say something about toxic masculinity or outdated alpha male behavior. “I know,” she says instead, climbing onto his lap, “but then there’s no fun in it for me.”

The phone rings before anything can happen and she kisses him on the cheek as she slides off his lap, “what do you want Daddy?” He hears her say before she disappears into her office.

Archie promised Veronica he wouldn’t start painting the kitchen without her, she wants to approve the colors, so he tries to settle into the couch with the water bottle she gave him earlier. Except he can’t. He’s glad he’s tearing everything out because right now he also feels like he’s sixteen again, sitting in the Pembrooke, like he’s walking toward another battle, another war he doesn’t want or need. He just wants to enjoy Riverdale…like he used to.

Archie sighs and runs his hands through his hair. Maybe I just need a run, he thinks. A conversation with Hiram could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours depending on either of their moods. Either way Archie doesn’t think he can deal with listening about the guy who keeps trying to kill him today.

He fires off a quick text to Veronica and leaves before she comes out of the office to stop him.

-

Tonight, being the light in the darkness for Betty Cooper means help search for Polly at 1:48am.

He was in the middle of painting the kitchen in the Pembrooke, the easy, repetitive motion was quieting his mind and allowed Veronica to sleep undisturbed as he got some work done. He’d just finished the second wall when he noticed the missed call.

Betty’s name appears just as he’s about to call her back. “Arch?” She breathes into the phone, “thank god, I’m glad you’re awake. Busy?”

They’ve spent enough time together in the past few weeks that he knows she knows he would be awake. It’s probably why she tried calling again, he thinks absently. He decides not to mention where he is or what he’s doing. “No, not really. Are you okay?”

“Does your offer still stand?” She continues before he can answer her, “Polly called. Can you come over?”

Veronica stirs as he’s pulling his sweater over his paint splatted shirt. He hadn’t thought about to how explain leaving in the middle of the night so he’s a little glad she’s awake now so he can at least not look like a total asshole. “Ronnie, hey.”

“Archiekins,” Her voice is bleary but worried. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, of course, but Betty needs my help with something though.” He doesn’t know what Veronica knows about Polly and something tells him not to explain everything to her just yet. He knows her friendship with Betty hasn’t been the same since…high school. Veronica only nods, her quiet of course sounding a little off in the darkness of her slightly empty room. He promises her they are still on for lunch later that afternoon and kisses her before leaving for the Cooper house.

-

Archie uses the spare key to let himself in and finds Betty in the kitchen pouring coffee into a blue mug. She doesn’t look surprised to see him. “I saw you pull up.” She says quietly in greeting, sliding the mug across the counter.

“Thanks.” He says easily. He doesn’t take the cup but walks over to her instead. He hesitates when he finds himself directly in front of her. He planned to hug her, instinct really, but this is the closest they’ve been since they’ve ended…whatever they had between them. He’s not sure if he can touch her the way he used to, the way he wants to, so he settles on, “how are you?”

She sighs and runs her hand through her hair. It’s loose. Messy. She’s tired, he thinks absently. “I’ve had better days.”

“What happened?”

Betty leaves her cup, walks into the living room, and Archie follows her leaving his own coffee untouched on the counter. There are photos scattered all over the coffee table and boxes to the left of the couch. He spies something underneath the pictures as he sits next to her on the floor in front of an open notebook. Her leg brushes his. He doesn’t move, she doesn’t either. “Polly called about 45 minutes ago. She didn’t sound scared but she didn’t sound like herself either. I asked her where she was and she said something about playing in underground caves. I wrote down her exact words.”

Archie glances at the open notebook, Betty’s neat handwriting fills both pages, next to it are photos are of Pops and, “is that Veronica’s jewelry store?”

Betty looks down at the photo he’s looking referring to and nods. “I have pictures of all places she was seen in the last three weeks.”

The space Veronica bought used to be Mr. Doiley’s comic book store. Polly took him there once, a bribe to motivate him to lie (convincingly) to both of their parents so they could all go to a party at the Blossoms. Archie ended up with an X-Men comic book he probably still has buried in a box in his attic. Betty got to borrow Polly’s pink strappy sandals for a week. He remembers Betty being his height and pouting in his face as she asked him to pick her up because her feet hurt at the end of Cheryl Blossom’s party.

“I miss my sneakers.” She giggled into his hair.

“I miss them too. Why are we walking again?”

Betty giggled again. “Walking was your idea genius. Something about burning off the booze…”

“That’s not what I sound like.”

“You’re doing a lot of complaining. Am I too heavy for you, Arch?”

Archie smiled at the sound of Betty slightly slurring her words and the feel of her arms, engulfed in his sweater, tightening around his neck. “Nope.”

Jason Blossom’s car pulled up alongside them then and Polly stuck her head out of the passenger side. “Get in losers,” she yelled, “we’re going home. Before you blow our cover.” She added.

He felt Betty’s chin on his shoulders, felt her smiling against the side of his face. He’s also a little tipsy. “You’re the one yelling on a quiet street.” Betty retorted.

Polly smiled back and leaned back into the car. She gave Jason a kiss and said something they didn’t hear before getting out of the car. They watched Jason make a U-turn before Polly turned to them. “Let’s go kids. I’m craving nachos.”

He shifts through more photos and they are all familiar places, Pops, the salon on Clark St, Riverdale High and Mrs. Brown’s vet practice where Polly volunteered every summer, places she would go when she was fifteen. He takes a picture, a still image of Pops last Wednesday evening, into his hands. An uneasy feeling sinks into his stomach, some of these places are gone and it does nothing to settle the emotions turning inside him. This all happened a lifetime ago, to someone else.

Archie starts to feel useless, considering he’s having emotional flashbacks in the middle of Betty’s investigation. Honestly, on the drive over, he wondered why she didn’t reach out to Kevin or even Jughead to help now that they seemed to be on better terms. The times they did do this back in high school, try to solve one of Riverdale’s many mysteries, he felt like he was really only a sounding board for everyone’s else theories. Betty’s mind has always worked faster than his to connect the dots, to see the bigger picture. He mostly went along to make sure she was safe, that she didn’t go rushing into something dangerous alone, and, really, to help save all of their lives from one threat or another. Right now, though, they are surrounded by pictures, blueprints, boxes of files, and his mind is racing in five different directions.

“Are you sure Jughead or Kevin wouldn’t be better for this?” It’s the only thought he feels comfortable enough to say out loud.

Betty levels him a look he does not and tries not to read into but it’s familiar and it calms him a little, “I thought your military training would be useful. Besides, at this point, you know her probably just as well as I do.”

Both statements unsettle him again for different reasons. His time in the military also feels like something that happened to someone else especially now that he’s sitting in the Cooper living room wading into yet another Riverdale mystery.

Archie drifts back to Betty’s other statement. Polly. He didn’t know the current state of their relationship was that bad. (And, honestly, they didn’t really do much talking in the weeks since they’ve been back, like Betty asked.) He didn’t think it was bad enough that Betty now thinks they know the same things about Polly even though he can’t remember the last time he saw her, much less spoke to her. When he thinks of Polly, he thinks of them in middle school and high school, Polly and Jason defying their parents, Polly waving to him as she snuck back into the Cooper house while he chatted with Betty from their bedroom windows. Betty still uses the same strawberries and cream lip gloss Polly gave her for her 14th birthday.

He also remembers Betty crying into his sweatshirt the night Polly ran away for the third time, “She always leaves and never tells me anything. You wouldn’t do that, right, Arch?”

Archie picks up two more pictures just to drag himself out of those memories, it’s the same spot shot 3 minutes apart, then sets them back down. Something else ticks in his mind but first, “So I’m not just your muscle?”

She smiles, “I don’t think you became Sergeant Andrews with just muscle.”

No. His hand skims over the blueprints but thinks of another set, the feel of hot metal slicing his leg, the taste of copper, earth, thick, hot air in his lungs, and Jackson just a several yards away. I didn’t.

“Arch?”

He looks down at her hand on his fist, the blueprint he didn’t realize he picked up now curled in between his fingers, then into her eyes. They are wide with questions he definitely does not want to answer, not now. The thought he had earlier comes back to him instead, “What makes you think I was trained to…?”

Betty lets go of his fist, a quiet acceptance of his reluctance to talk, but then looks away.

“You looked me up,” he’s not surprised. “Checking on me, Cooper?”

She turns, holds her hands out. “Just to make sure you were okay.”

He grins, “I’m sure that violated, like, a million rules.”

She smiles at him and crosses her arms, “You would’ve done the same.”

He shrugs, “no one would trust me around that kind of information.” She uncrosses her arms, folds her hands in front of her then releases them. He knows she wants to say, no, ask him something so he gives her a small opening. “What do you know?”

“Not everything,” her words come out in a hurry, the way they always do when she knows she’s on to something, “there are parts of your service record that I can’t access which means…”

“I told you where I went, Betts.” His tone is final but he lets his hand ghost along the small of her back, an apology, and he whispers a soft ‘coffee, yeah?’ in her ear to ease the tension.

-

Betty will never admit this aloud to anyone, not even Kevin, but there was a warm feeling of satisfaction calming her nerves when she saw Archie park his truck, then cross their yards, holding fries from Pops, concern etched all over his face.

She heard him drop the bag somewhere in the living room and though she slid him coffee from across the kitchen, he’d ignored it and walked toward her, arms in the air then stopped. How are you? He said instead. It’s better this way, Betty thought, tapping down a feeling similar to disappointment. This is what I asked for.

Besides, Betty thinks while she lets Archie cool off in the kitchen, this is a temporary situation.

She is going to find Polly and go home. She can’t shake feeling fifteen and ridiculous again sitting next to Veronica as she pretended not to enjoy Chad and Archie try (not very hard) not to come to blows or, even worse, her barely hidden smile when she plucked Archie’s keys out of that stupid red bowl at Cheryl’s terrible key party. She’d watched as Archie slid his drunken face into his hand with a sheepish grin. That’s when Betty knew she needed to end whatever it was they had going on between them.

This is not a time to dig up old ghosts anyway. Isn’t that why we are all avoiding talking about high school? Betty thinks. Archie’s had enough alone time in the kitchen. This is all temporary, she tells herself again as she gets up to head toward the kitchen. Our friendship isn’t, so it was better to end it before we ruined things - maybe Archie had the right idea the first time when we were actually fifteen.

“You were awake,” she says as he cracks open a beer, more to break the silence than anything else really. He’d apologized as soon as she stepped into the kitchen, grabbed two beers from the open refrigerator and hasn’t said anything since. He’s organizing the pictures in front of him into a system she hasn’t deciphered yet because she spent the last 10 minutes fighting the urge to crawl onto his lap and say she was wrong. Then it hits her, Jesus Betty, your sister is missing.

“When I called,” she clarifies when he meets her eyes and thankfully his expression pulls her out of her own thoughts. He looks down at his beer and Betty thinks he isn’t going to say anything or, she thinks, he feels awkward mentioning Veronica. She knows he was at the Pembrooke. The thought stirs at something long buried in her chest. She ignores it.

“I was awake.” He confirms.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I interrupt you and Veronica…?”

“Yes. No,” he takes a long swallow of his beer then rubs at the back of his head, “I mean, I meant what I said the other day. I want to be there, here, for you.”

“Oh,” Betty feels her cheeks burn at his earnestness and the sudden feeling of his hand on hers. “The pictures, what were you doing?”

“Nothing you haven’t done, I’m sure. Trying to recreate her last steps.”

He’s right, of course. “There is a rough timeline somewhere here but I’ve been focusing on the truckers.”

“What do you mean?” he asks. He’s stopped paying attention. Betty notices that he’s cycling through the same 11 pictures.

“I mean, I’m sure one of them knows something so I’m just…asking questions.” She pauses when he doesn’t respond. “Arch?”

“I got to go Betty.” He jumps up, taking seven pictures from the stack and picks up the blueprint he’d crumpled earlier. “Don’t do anything until we meet up, okay?”

“Archie.”

“Betty.” He pulls her to feet. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

He smiles a little and grabs her left hand. It’s stupid how much it reassures her, how’d she just said ‘yes’ without at least trying to consider what he was planning to do. “I’ll see you tomorrow after school, okay? I’ll pick you up.”

His thumb starts tracing patterns on the back of her hand but he’s looking directly at her. Up close, she can see he’s tired but she sees the determination all over his face. She knows he would probably rush off to do whatever just for her – just to end this for her. “Okay,” she agrees. Thanks Arch.”

He nods then tugs her hand a little until she’s close enough to see the faint freckles across his nose. He presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Good night, Betty.”

Betty counts to thirty, the number of seconds it takes to reach the Andrews’ yard, and sinks down to the carpet. She nudges at a nearby folder with her toes and stares at Archie’s empty beer bottle. Great, now I’m definitely not going to sleep tonight.

-

Kevin finds her eating her lunch in the library the next day going over lesson plans and not avoiding the lounge. “Betty, please explain why Archie and Veronica are currently seated too close for comfort in the teacher’s lounge and why you’re sitting in this library all alone with your…is that a bologna sandwich? Did we all climb into a time machine?”

“Kevin,” Betty cuts him off and tries for a smile – she can tell from his raised eyebrow that it’s not a convincing one, “I... we decided to just be best friends again.”

Kevin sits back in his chair. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Betty thinks his eyebrow inches up even higher, if possible. He folds his hands in front of him and leans forward. “Betty, and I say this with love and affection, but have you finally lost it? Do I have to quote the speech I heard from you just last week which, by the way, was the beginning of a culmination of years of will-they-won’t they.”

She sighs. “Please do not quote me. It was pretty much over once Archie punched Chad at that stupid party.”  

“Well, Chad is an asshole so... “

“Whatever,” She’s already tired of this conversation and tired in general – she ended up falling asleep just before dawn. She’s already on her third cup of shitty coffee. She does not want to talk about Archie Andrews, who only spoke to her once today when she dropped her lunch bag running into him as she was leaving the teachers’ lounge. “Look where he is now. I just saved myself the heartache. Again.”

Kevin finally sits back and takes a sip of his drink, “what if he’s there because he thinks you only wants to be friends?

Betty shrugs. “Sounds like Veronica’s problem.”

Kevin smirks, “And you’re not going to run off with option number two, are you?” Betty raises her own eyebrow. “Jughead.” Kevin clarifies. “Since we’re all literally in high school again.”

“No.” She replies but Kevin only shrugs. They’ve barely said five words to each other so she’s not sure why Kevin would say that but maybe, Betty thinks, pushing aside her salad –appetite officially ruined, Jughead would be a little more helpful since Archie decided to spend all day catering to Veronica’s needs.

-

Jughead is giving him that look that says ‘your answers are very simple if you just stand up for yourself’, a look Archie has seen a thousand times over the years but in the last ten years, it’s always been about Veronica and Hiram Lodge. This time is no exception. “Normally, I’m no stranger to running on pure caffeine but I’m pretty sure this is your fourth cup this afternoon, what’s up?”

What’s up is that he drove back to the Pembrooke last night after leaving Betty’s house, taking the long way through town, and when he got back Veronica was waiting for him on the couch reading a book. “How’s Betty?” she’d asked, when he sat beside her, not bothering with greetings or a kiss apparently.

He shrugged, not sure what to say. “I’ll need to help her out with something for the next couple of days.”

Veronica took off her glasses, “I assume you’re not going to tell me what that something is?”

“I think that’s up to Betty. I promised.” He added when she arched an eyebrow.

“Of course, you did.” Veronica got up, he followed, “Well, hopefully whatever is it is done by Friday. We need to go into the city. My parents want to strategize in person since Chad has decided to contest the divorce. The phone calls are becoming tiresome.”

“I’m not going to have dinner with your parents and your soon-to-be-ex-husband, Veronica.”

“It’s just lunch and I need someone in my corner.” She’d looked up at him through her lashes, a look that normally had him agreeing to do whatever she wants. “My parents only care because Chad dare touch the family fortune and Chad just wants revenge because I dare move on before him.”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Wait,” Veronica crossed her arms as she took a step back and he knew she was gearing up for an argument. “You can help Betty with whatever dangerous shit she’s involved in this time, but you can’t have a simple meal with my parents?”

“Veronica, your father and I hate each other. He almost burned my father’s house down. I can’t be in the same room with that man.”

 “Archie…”

“No.” He’d walked over to her to hug her, to take the sting out of his words but Veronica only stepped back again. “I can’t and I don’t want to.”

She frowned, “I’m sure whatever mission Betty has you on is just as dangerous and life-threatening as you think this lunch is, and before you open your mouth to defend your precious best friend,” she added, holding her hand out as he tried to take another step forward, “I know whatever she wants you to do can get you killed. I was there too, remember?”

Archie sighed, he had no idea how this became a thing about Betty considering that he’s done a stint in jail, survived a bear attack and had to fight off 12 deranged people ready to kill him just to win a game, all because he loved her. “This has nothing to do with Betty.”

“Of course, it does and of course, you don’t see it.”

“Veronica,” he snapped and she seemed shocked. “drop it, please. This has nothing to do with Betty. I don’t want to see your father so I’m not going with you to New York.”

He sighs as Jughead slides pours him another cup of coffee. “I don’t think you’re wrong by the way.”

“Yeah? Then what’s with the look?”

Jughead laughs and takes a sip from his own cup. He only told Jug the basics, he got into a fight with Veronica about going to see Hiram. He didn’t mention Betty. He did mention the lunch date he had with Veronica earlier that went all wrong because he kept checking his text messages throughout the appetizers. Then, when he finally looked up when the entrees arrived, Veronica was whispering angrily into her phone. Needless to say, they barely spoke. She seemed to soften just a bit when they got back to the teacher’s lounge and he apologized. “Just think about it, okay?” She’d whispered before tucking into his side with a sigh.

“She thinks she can convince you to go.”

“I’m not going though.”

Jughead holds up his hands. “I believe you, man. I do, but I don’t think Veronica does so you’re probably going to be living on coffee for the rest of the week.”

“Probably,” Jughead smiles and Archie grabs the to-go cup, “Wish me luck?”

“Can’t. Luck won’t help you.”

Archie laughs and turns to leave but he remembers why he decided to drive down to Pops for coffee in the first place, “Jug, have you seen any Ghoulies in here recently?”

He stops wiping down the counter and narrows his eyes, “Two weeks ago. Why?”

“I think they have something to do with the fire at our house.”

“Makes sense since Hiram is working with those soulless bastards.” Jughead comes around the counter. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to go over there, fists swinging, to take them all out. I’m too old to be an action hero or to be saving one.”

Archie laughs and claps him on the shoulder - the panic on Jughead’s face subsides…somewhat, “Nah, I’m still in the reserves. Can’t do too much of that anymore. I’ll let Sheriff Keller handle it.”

“There’s a lie in there somewhere but I’ll pretend I believe you.”

-

He wasn’t lying. Not really. Once he left Pops, he checked his phone and after answering Betty’s six missed calls with a ‘I told you, I’m not ignoring you. Promise.’ text message, he climbed into his truck and headed to the other side of town.

His phone buzzes just as he pulls up to the abandoned glass factory. He can see SoDale in the distance, the cranes, the beams and it reminds him of the drafts he found in the attic with his Dad’s signature in the corner. Archie takes out his phone as he turns the engine off, “so I guess you’re still not the sit down and do-nothing type.”

He can see the frown on her face and the frustration in her green eyes in his head. He chuckles a little. Betty hums a little in return, “I’m glad you find this amusing. You’re still the same too, Archie. I know you’re up to something because you’re still a terrible liar.”

“That may be true, but in the past, you would’ve already found me already. I’ve honed some skills, Betts.”

She scoffs but he can hear the smile in her voice, “Not enough to know you shouldn’t be talking to me while you’re doing whatever it is you shouldn’t be doing without me.”

He chuckles, “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t dare do anything fun without you. I’ll see you in two hours.”

He hangs up without waiting for her response and his phone is buzzing within seconds.

I’ll get you back for that.

You’re an idiot.

Be careful.

Thank you.

He smiles at his phone and tosses it in his glove compartment. He meant what he said to Betty and Jughead. He was really only following a hunch and he wanted to check it out before getting Betty’s hopes up. He jogs up to the factory gates and walks around the perimeter until he finds what he’s looking for, an opening. He slips though easily and follows the blueprint he remembers in his head, bypassing the main factory to what appears to be a holding bay but there was something off on the prints. He’s seen it before, in another lifetime.

‘Remember, there’s someone on the other side of this waiting for you, men. We take care of this and we go home.’

Except. “Something about this feels wrong.”

“The blueprints look wrong,” Calhoun replied, handing him the print and soon Jackson was looking over his shoulder and agreeing. They all agreed.

His CO had disagreed, “You’re a leader, Andrews, but remember you follow orders too.” So, he led them there anyway. 13 men who knew there was something they were missing...

Archie feels his leg throb in response to the intrusive memory. He counts to three and darts across the compound to the holding bay. There’s someone outside, a guard with a familiar jacket, which confirms one thing, but he needs more proof. Archie takes the cans he brought with him and launches one into the air to the other side of the yard. He hears it smack against what sounds like a truck, then he launches another one and he’s sure that once landed on the fence. He waits and watches as the guard gets up and starts walking toward the sounds.

Running, Archie reaches the cargo bay and follows the along the wall until he sees what he was looking for. He takes a couple of pictures with the burner phone he bought earlier and quickly continues along the side of the cargo bay until he’s on the side where he threw the cans. He can see the guard walking back toward his post and Archie runs as fast as he can back to the hole in the fence and back to his car.

-

“How sure are you?”

Archie holds out a cheap phone with clear pictures, “Pretty sure. That blueprint is the same one I saw in my house when the Ghoulies were holed up there. Their blueprint had an additional room, like an underground hideout.”

“What makes you think that Polly is there?”

Archie shrugs, “I remembered seeing her here and those places she was seen at? Hiram owns most of them so even if she isn’t there, they at least sold her something, or know something.”

“Right,” Betty nods and gets up. She can hear Archie following her – she knew he would.

“Betts,” his voice is a little teasing, a little concerned, “where are we going?”

“To my room.”

“While I appreciate that this is how you want to thank me…” Betty kicks her leg out and grins when she makes contact. He grabs her leg at the ankle, a reflex, she thinks absently as he lets go. “I was only joking.”

“Terrible joke.”

“Fine,” he huffs behind her when they get to the landing. He’s standing closer than she thought. You stopped that’s why. He hasn’t moved but he’s still talking, “…have to tell me what we’re doing soon.”

Betty goes to her closet, ignoring the goosebumps on her arms, and pulls out a safe. She pulls out a gun and hands it to Archie. He doesn’t take it. “Is something wrong?”

“You’re just handing me a gun?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Why? We’re going to get my sister Archie.”

“Wait, we have no idea what we’re getting into. Those fuckers are insane and we have no idea how many of them are down there or even if she is down there.”

“It’s better to catch them off guard and if they only have one guard it can’t be too bad. You were able to get in and out easily. We can take them. That’s why I’m giving you the gun.” He looks down at the gun between them and for the first time, Betty has no idea what he’s thinking but she doesn’t have time to figure his shit out.

He’s still eyeing the gun warily when Betty rolls her eyes and practically shoves the gun into his hand. “I know you have a permit and stop pretending like you’ve never used a gun.”

He furrows his brow and takes the gun with a smirk, “we’re going to have a long talk about how much you know about what I’ve been up to.”

“Later.”

“Does later mean still mean never?” He’s not even looking at her, just checking the gun as if he didn’t just drag up the past, smirk still on his face.

I can be nonchalant too. “Later means later.”

He frowns and Betty almost braces herself, instead he says, “This only has three bullets.”

Betty grins and points to the safe. Of course, he’s coming with her. She never had any doubt in her mind.

-

Something changes in Archie when he leads her though the gate, his movements are precise and he whispers in a stern voice that’s barely recognizable, “follow my exact steps.” She follows until he leads her to the side of a trailer. “Stay here,” he whispers again.

He doesn’t give her a chance to argue. He sprints down the length of the trailer to the other side. She watches him toss something a few feet ahead of him and when the guard gets close, he taps him on the head with the butt of her gun. She does not think about leaping into his arms when he calls for her to join him. She does not think of sliding her hands up his shirt when she looks up at him, “You okay?”

He nods even though he has a split lip and they step over the guard. She follows him for a few more minutes as he leads her to the wall on other side of the cargo bay. He stops, then takes her hand and places it on the wall, “Here, this sticks out a foot further on the other blue prints I saw.”

They press their hands on along the wall trying to find an entrance until Betty feels cold metal under her palm. She waves Archie over. “I need a flashlight.”

It takes a little over a minute to get the door open with her tools but Archie was right, beyond the door, there’s a stairway leading down into a basement. He gives her elbow a squeeze and goes inside first. They pass through the curtain at the base of the stairs and enter the basement. The space is large with green bulbs in the lamps and there are twin beds lined up against each wall all separated by sheer curtains. It’s orderly but depressing. Nobody looks in their direction. No one even says a word.

They walk in different directions without saying anything else. Carefully looking through each curtain, Betty notes how each person, and there are men and women of all ages, are all different levels of intoxicated. No one has even addressed them yet. Betty finds Polly asleep on a bed across from where Archie is standing. He turns at her touch to his elbow and steps inside the curtain Betty is holding open. Without saying anything, he scoops Polly up and they leave the factory. When they get to the car, Betty reaches into the glove compartment and takes out Archie’s burner.

“There are people passed out in the abandoned glass factory. Please send help!” Betty turns off the phone takes out the SIM card and gives it to Archie. He breaks it in half.

“Let’s get out of here.”

-

“We make a good team, you know.”

Betty sees him smile as she crosses her yard to his. He’s sitting on a lawn chair, sipping on a beer and he gives her one when she sits beside him. “Of course, we do.” He says when she sits and takes a sip.

“Haven’t seen you around.” It’s been two weeks actually, nearing three, and she’s pretty sure he’s avoiding her again.

He shrugs. Veronica, she thinks. “How’s Polly?”

“Well, she’s in there arguing with Alice because she bought the wrong brand of shampoo so she’s getting there.”

He nods. “I’m glad she’s okay.”

“Thanks again for helping me.”

“Betty, stop thanking me.” His voice is serious. Too serious. “You’d do the same for me.”

She takes another sip of her beer, decides to change the subject, “so why are you sitting out here?”

“Can’t sleep.”

“Don’t feel like going for a run?”

He glances at her with a smile, “How do you know I haven’t?”

“You don’t usually drink after.”

His grin gets wider. “Now are you going to tell me everything you learned about me over the years?”

“Is there more to know than what I know now?” The smile stays on his face but he doesn’t answer. “The blueprint,” she starts then stops, looking for his reaction. He raises an eyebrow. “Is that how…?”

He looks at her for a beat, eyes dark, then, “Yeah. A few guys noticed when we were going over the tactical plans that the blueprint looked different from the version we’d been brief with a just a week or two before.”

“What happened?” She prompts when he doesn’t continue.

“I got to come home.”

Betty watches him take a long sip of his beer and takes one of her own. She remembers the dark look in his eyes, the swift way he moved in the darkness, the way he took out the guard without hesitation. She also remembers teenaged Archie standing bloodied and ripped and heaving after knocking out 12 guys, his eyes were that dark then too. Familiar. “You can talk to me about it. When you’re ready,’ she adds when his eyes slide over to her.

“Really?” He drawls, he’s smiley Archie again. She nods. “Isn’t that against your rules?”

Betty frowns. “We’re just best friends now. Old rules apply. You’re supposed to tell me everything.”

“Does that mean you’re going to tell me why you’re having nightmares on a regular basis?”

“We’re talking about you.”

“No,” his voice is serious again, “we’re talking in general and you’re trying to shut me out again.”

“Arch…”

He laughs bitterly, “Are you going to tell me we shouldn’t do this now?”

Betty doesn’t look at him, just takes a sip of her own beer. “Yes. You’re drinking.”

“One beer.” He retorts. She sees him, out the corner of her eyes, put his beer down and run his hand through his hair.

“Fine.” She bites back, a small knot of fondness unravels in her chest. He’s frustrated. He would leave her alone if she asked again. She knows he won’t force her to talk but then he’s never been this direct either. “What’s with you today?”

He sighs. “Veronica and I ended things a couple weeks ago.”

“I’m sorry, Arch.” She isn’t and if the sentiment sounds as fake as she thinks it sounds, Archie doesn’t commit on it. “What happened?”

He picks up his beer, takes a sip and points it at her with a smile. Her stomach does not do somersaults and if it does, it’s because of the cheap shit Archie drinks. “You happened. Again.”

“Excuse me? We didn’t…”

“She said,” he continues as if she didn’t speak, “I will always put you before her and Veronica Lodge is not second best. That’s a direct quote. But it was mutual since her father keeps trying to kill me.”

“What does that mean?” She asks ignoring his last sentence.

“You know, Betts, I spent all week thinking about that.”

“Really?” She cuts him off. “Care to share with the class? Because I don’t want V to think…”

Archie sits up in the lawn chair and turns to her. “I love you. I’m in love with you.”

Betty’s mind goes blank. She can only register Archie sitting in front of her, his brown eyes clear, so maybe he isn’t drunk, and he smells clean, like the soap she used when she showered at his place. “You’re lying.”

He laughs. “Are you going to tell me how I feel again?”

“You love Veronica.”

“Always will. She’s good to me. I care about her.”

“But…”

He takes her hands in hers. “I think we were just…falling into old roles. Veronica needed to end her marriage and I needed to not focus on my shit plus you told me we should just be friends.”

“Yeah, after you were being weird and you told me you had feelings for her.”

He shrugs and starts rubbing circles on her palm, “If by weird, you mean punching Chad, then he’s a dick. I would’ve definitely punched the guy watching your cat too, if I met him.”

“You can’t just,” she huffs, “be in love with love me.”

He looks at her and Betty feels her heart threatening to leap out of her chest at the look in his eyes, “Why not? I’ve loved you for a long time. Always, it feels like. I asked you to marry me remember?”

“We were eight. I told you to wait until we were eighteen,” she pouts, not caring if she sounds childish.

Betty lets him pull her onto his lap. “See?” he murmurs in her ear, “I knew even then, and as much as I tried to forget, you picked Jughead when we were eighteen.”

She sighs and closes her eyes, ignoring the way her body feels like it’s on fire from the inside out; she has to say this, “I told you I loved you, Archie and you gave me the ‘it’s-not-you, it’s-me’ speech and then went and dated Veronica.”

Archie’s voice is a soft whisper, “You’re holding me to what I said at fifteen?”

“Yes, it seemed like you meant it. Valerie. Veronica. Josie. Veronica again.”

“Betty, I don’t... I can.” He sighs, she opens her eyes. He’s frowning and looking beyond her. “I was in a fucked-up place, Betts, with Geral—uh Ms. Grundy and Jason. It felt like there were these expectations that I didn’t think I deserved or think I could live up to and yours, power couple, football captain, cheerleader, I wasn’t even sure I wanted it, the version me you described. Anytime, I tried to tell you how I felt after that, you shut me out.”

She thinks of Archie’s speech, the way perfect felt like an insult, then at her own stifling expectations, even the ones she carried trying not to be perfect Betty Cooper, “Arch, I’m...”

“No, let me finish, don’t apologize Betty. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry it took me a little longer, I didn’t have you telling me where to go but I’m here now.” He finishes with a small smile.

He lets go of her hands and tilts her head up to his. He’s smiling and his eyes are clear and steady. Warm. He’s been looking at her like this for years, Betty thinks, across their windows, across the booth at Pops, the first time she saw him in Riverdale. There’s too much she wants to say and she wants to hear him say everything all over again. Memorize it. She cards her hands through his flaming red hair, smoothing it out, then drags her hands down his neck, lets them settle on his broad shoulders. She taps her fingers against them, and he starts to flush red, his skin hot under her touch – she’s knows she is too, blushing and warm, “so, you’re in love with me?”

He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and leans close enough so that she can feel his lips move against hers. “Yeah, and I’m thinking you’re in love with me too.”

“Yeah?” Betty smiles against his lips, “prove it.”