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Archie’s hand ran absentmindedly through his boyfriend's hair. The tv was playing in front of him, but the volume was kept low to avoid waking Jughead. It's not like Archie was paying much attention to it anyways. Most of his focus was going towards making sure Jughead was sleeping soundly. He was wearing one of Archie's sweaters, one that likely had his scent on it, something that seemed to comfort Jughead, especially with his heightened senses and ability to pick up on things that most couldn't.
Recently Archie had been worried about his boyfriend. It was the dead of winter, and it was abundantly clear that seasonal depression had been absolutely kicking Jughead's ass, and as a result, it was rare that he wasn't in his younger headspace. Jughead's father was still completely unaware of this side of his son, and Jug had preferred if it stayed that way out of fear that his father wouldn't understand. Things had been a lot better between them recently than they had in the past, and he didn't want to put that at risk. That's why Jughead had been spending the last couple days at Archie's house, unable to pull himself back to his normal mindset.
Archie gently ran his thumb along his sleeping boyfriend's cheek, then noticed that the pacifier was starting to slip out of his mouth, and Archie knew from unfortunate experience that it would no doubt wake him up. Just as he carefully nudged it back into the Little’s mouth, there was a heavy knock on the door.
Carefully, Archie replaced his thigh with a nearby pillow that Jughead had tossed to the ground during a fit a few hours ago. Thankfully, he stayed asleep. The redhead made his way to the front door, not even thinking to check who it was before opening it.
“Hey Red” FP smiled, standing on the Andrews’ front porch. It threw Archie off a bit, not expecting to see the person he was currently helping to hide his boyfriend from.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Jones?” Archie asked, trying to keep himself from coming off as suspicious.
“Is Jughead here? He left in the middle of the night the other night and I haven't seen him since, I'm worried about him.”
Archie thought for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should tell FP. On one hand, he wanted to respect the fact that Jughead wanted to keep this from his dad. On the other hand, FP was an ex gang leader who was fiercely protective of his eldest, and only, son. A quick, thoughtless glance over his shoulder at Jughead sleeping on the couch no doubt gave away the fact that Jughead was there, and there was no way he'd be able to deny it now.
“Uhh, yeah he's uh… he's here, Mr. Jones. Before you come in, there's something I need to tell you first…”
—
After doing his best to explain that what Jughead was doing was an involuntary trauma response and not something weird, Archie waited anxiously for FP’s reaction. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when the man finally responded.
“Okay… I'm not really sure I totally get it but you’re a good kid, Archie, and I trust you. I trust that you have my son's best interest at heart. Can I see him?”
Archie hesitated again, thinking over his options.
“Yeah.. yeah, you can, but he's, uh, he's asleep right now. He hasn't come out of this headspace since he got here a few days ago, and I don't think he will anytime soon. Just, please, try not to wake him, he wasn't having the best morning…”
Archie stepped aside, allowing his boyfriend's dad to come in. He shut the door, then gestured over to the living room, where Jughead was curled up on the couch under a blanket.
Slowly, FP made his way over to the couch, making sure to step lightly. He crouched down in front of the couch, and then Archie's voice came from the doorway.
“He came here because he thought you would be mad at him and he didn't want to put a strain on your relationship when things were just getting better between you two, so if you could please not tell him you know, that would be great. I don't want him to think I ratted him out or something…”
FP simply nodded, taking in the sight in front of him. His only son, his own flesh and blood, had been fucked up so badly in the head that his own mind felt the need to revert to early childhood as a defense, and it was all his fault. He put his son through so much and caused this. And on top of that, Jughead hid it from him, thinking he would be angry or hate him for it.
Before he knew it, there were tears pooling in FP’s eyes. He was quick to wipe them away, refusing to show signs of weakness in front of his son's boyfriend. Slowly and carefully, he reached out and cupped Jughead’s face, running a calloused thumb along his cheekbone.
He tried to be as gentle as possible, he really did, but apparently his son was a lot more sensitive to touch than he thought. There was a lot he didn't know about Jughead, and he so desperately wanted to fix that. There was no time to think about that now though, because he was waking up. His eyes opened, slowly looking around.
It was clear that Jughead was still small, and not awake enough to properly take in what was happening. His eyes moved slowly, travelling across his father's face, his half awake mind trying to process things. Once he did, he was fully awake within seconds, sitting up and tossing the blanket off of him. He sprang up from the couch and tried to make a run for it, stumbling towards the stairs.
“Wait, hang on-'' FP tried to grab his son's arm, but Jughead was quick to pull his hand away. He must've realized that he was too unsteady to make it up the stairs on his own. Normally Archie would hold his hand and help him up to make sure he didn't trip, his motor skills lacking in this mindset. So, he instead chose to take cover behind his caregiver, barely peering over Archie’s shoulder at his father, who he had come here to hide from in the first place. Why was he even here?
Why wasn't he angry?
Archie stayed still, not wanting to get involved too much or make things worse, but also not wanting to betray his boyfriend. Jughead was leaning heavily on his back, grasping at his shirt, tugging on it anxiously. He was also shaking hard enough that Archie could feel him trembling against him.
FP didn't make another attempt to approach his son, instead choosing to hold his hands out and slowly back up a few feet, trying to show that he wasn't a threat. When he noticed Jughead retreating further behind Archie’s back, FP decided to speak.
“It's okay, Jug…” he started. “I understand, and I'm not angry. I'm a little hurt that you thought you had to hide from me, but I don't blame you. I haven't exactly been very nice to you. I want to fix that, though. I want you to see me as someone you can trust, or- or come to when you're upset. I understand that it'll take time, and that's okay. I just hope that eventually you'll be open to sharing this side of me with you. You're my son and I love you, nothing's gonna change that, Jughead. Especially not when this is my fault to begin with…”
FP finished, and silence took over the room for a moment. It quickly became obvious that Jughead was frightened, and froze up instead of being able to answer. Archie turned around to face him.
“Did you hear him? How does that sound, buddy?” He asked gently. He didn't get much of a response, but Archie had gotten pretty good at reading his boyfriend's expressions most of the time. He studied his face for a moment, then reached out and gently ruffled Jughead's hair. “Is it okay if I answer for you?”
Jughead nodded.
“He says it'll take some time for him to work through the fear he has around exposing himself to people, but he's willing to try, as long as you're patient and don't rush him.” Archie said, turning back around.
“Of course, take all the time you need. I understand how my past actions have affected him, and that it'll take him a while to warm up to me. Would it be okay if I stayed for lunch or something? Just to observe, I don't need to be involved or anything. If not that's totally fine, I just figured it's a start, you know?” FP said, trying to be cool about it but desperately hoping Jughead would be okay with it.
Archie spared a quick glance over his shoulder and saw Jughead slowly nodding.
“Alright then! Do you want up? You're a little shaky..” another nod, and he was quickly slipping his hands under Jughead's arms, lifting him up and resting him on his hip. Then, he turned back to FP, smiling.
“You coming?”