Work Text:
“This is the pits,” Reggie grumbles as soon as the closet door swings shut behind them. “A roomful of beautiful chicks, and I had to get you.”
“I’m not exactly thrilled about it either.” He can’t see, so he directs his comments to the general direction of Reggie’s voice.
“Still, it could be worse,” Reggie continues. “At least you’re not Jughead.”
“What’s wrong with Jughead?”
“What’s wrong with Jughead could fill a book.”
Archie whacks his head on something. “Ouch!”
“I think that’s the light. Hang on.”
There’s a brief click, and the closet is flooded with a dim glow, lit by a low-hanging bulb in the centre. Reggie grimaces when it turns on. “Ick. Should have kept the light off.”
“What?”
“Just your face.”
Archie lets out an exasperated sigh and turns away. Reggie laughs and slaps him on the shoulder. “Come on, I’m kidding.” When Archie says nothing, he tries again. “You’re not so bad, Archiekins, really. Even if I was really hoping that bottle was going to land on Moose.”
“Moose?” Archie can’t believe his ears. “You’re into guys?”
“You’re so clueless it’s almost cute. Come on. How long have we known each other?”
Archie feels his ears getting warm. “You never told me.”
Reg shrugs. “I guess I don’t broadcast it.”
“Oh.” He can’t think of anything intelligent to say so he stares down at the space between them. Reggie’s shoes are the expensive kind, spit-polished to a shine. His dress shoes seem ratty in comparison. “Are yo-”
“So-”
They begin to speak at the same time and abruptly stop. Reggie waves him on. “No, you go.”
“It was nothing.”
“No, ask me.”
“Well, it’s just – so – are you bi?”
“Yeah.”
“Right.”
He can feel Reggie’s eyes on him for a long while, and he stares resolutely at the floor. Reggie heaves a sigh, and folds his arms. “I’m not into you, don’t worry.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
Silence falls between them again, but this time Reggie steps closer to him, reaching down to take one of Archie’s hands. “All right, let’s get this over with.”
“Hold on.” Archie pulls back as Reggie starts to slide the hand up his arm. “Are we really doing this?”
“Well, we’ve got two options, kiss or talk, and you don’t really seem to have anything interesting to say.”
“I’d rather talk.”
“All right.” The single bulb is flickering now, and he can just make out Reggie’s mischevious grin. “So what exactly happened between you and Jughead anyway?”
Archie grit his teeth. “How long do we have to be in here?”
“The game’s called seven minutes in heaven. I’ll let you puzzle it out.”
“And how long have we been in here?”
“According to my watch-” And he had it on him, of course, a ridiculously expensive looking rolodex – “About sixty seconds.” Reggie looks at him for a moment. “Look, if it’s weird for you, because you just found out I like guys or whatever, it’s not a big deal-”
“It’s not weird!” Archie interrupts. “Well, it is. But not because you’re bi. Just because – you know, it’s us.”
“Because we’ve been friends for so long?” Reggie shrugs. “Didn’t seem to stop you and J-”
Later, Archie will tell himself he only kissed Reggie to shut him up. But the other boy responds enthusiastically, letting his hands rest on Archie’s hips as the redhead kisses him. He’d expected Reggie to fight him for dominance, but he seems perfectly willing to let Archie kiss him.
“Not bad, Andrews.” Reggie offers when they finally break apart, a grin lighting his features, his hair taking on the beginnings of disarray. “But why don’t you kiss me like you mean it next time?”
He blames his dad for this, really. For enrolling him in T-Ball at the age of five, when Reggie was on the same team. Because this competition between them hasn’t stopped. Whatever Reggie challenges him with, it can’t go unmet. And this is no exception.
“Fine,” he says and grips Reggie’s face between his hands, tilting his head and pressing their lips together as he walks them back into the closet wall. Reggie makes a satisfied noise in the back of his throat, hooking his arms around the back of Archie’s neck and kissing him back with equal fervour. His lips are soft, softer than they have any right to be, and the inside of his mouth tastes minty and clean. He remembers Reggie rattling his container of breath mints and feels embarrassed for not having taken one. He tightens his grip in Reggie’s hair. Damn him for making him feel this vulnerable!
At one point Reggie starts stroking the sides of Archie’s neck, and his fingers are cold against the heat flooding his skin. Archie pulls back.
“You okay?” asks Reggie.
“Yeah.” He notices Reggie waits for his answer before beginning to stroke his neck again. Archie wets his lips, and Reggie smiles, looking down at their feet.
“Look at us” he murmurs.
It doesn’t make any sense to Archie, but it doesn’t matter, because Reggie’s hair and suit are looking dishevelled perhaps for the first time since Archie’s known him, and it’s making his heart do loops. “Reg-” he murmurs, “I-“
They both jump as Kevin hammers on the door. “Time’s up! You two naked in there?”
“We’re good.” Reggie’s re-tying his tie and he straightens Archie’s too, running a hand quickly through his jet-black hair to fix it. “Tell me after,” he whispers as the door opens on them.
“It was nothing.” He follows Reggie slowly back to their seats, ignoring the cheers and whooping from the group. Chuck gives him a grimace of sympathy from his spot on the floor, and Archie wants to laugh.
“For the record,” murmurs Reggie in his ear, “I see why girls like you so much.”
“And for the record,” answers Archie in a whisper, “I think Moose is missing out.”