Chapter Text
There was nothing like a wedding to make you feel lonely. Normally, Betty would have just RSVP’d no and sent a moderately priced gift off the couple’s registry. But this was her cousin’s wedding and she was a bridesmaid, so that wasn’t an option this time around.
Besides, Cheryl would literally have sent someone to track her down and bring her here if she hadn’t shown up on her own accord. So resignedly, she’d taken the time off work and booked her flight from DC to New York.
It didn’t help that most of their friend group had coupled off or at least brought plus ones, so she felt even more aware of her singledom than usual. At least she had Kevin. As the two resident singles of their former friend group, they already had plans to wallow together over a bottle of wine and a tub of ice cream after the Bridal Party Welcome Dinner tonight. It was the first event of Cheryl and Toni’s wedding week and she was already counting down the hours until she could check in for her flight home. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy for the beautiful couple or that she didn’t want to be there to help them celebrate. But watching all the happy couples around her just reminded her what was lacking in her own personal life. What she yearned for more than she was willing to admit to herself.
Betty’s eyes scan around the room to find Kevin, hoping she can catch his eye and convince him to sneak off early with her. He’s nowhere to be found of course. Maybe she’ll start the festivities without him and text him to let him know she’d left. She considers how much of Cheryl’s wrath she might suffer for making that kind of move.
“Thinking about making an early exit?” The unmistakable sound of Veronica Lodge’s voice interrupts her thoughts.
Betty turns to look at her one time best friend, a slight pink tint to her cheeks. “It’s going to be a long week of celebration, I don’t think anyone would miss me if I cut out early tonight.” She admits with a slight shrug.
“Cousin!” The shrill of Cheryl’s voice seems to prove Betty wrong immediately. The redhead has two fingers curled, beckoning for her to come over with a slightly panicked look on her face.
“You stand corrected.” Veronica smiles gently. “We should catch up later, B.” She adds, her eyes moving lingeringly over Betty until they meet hers with an unexpected intensity behind them.
She hasn’t spoken to Veronica beyond the casual greeting they’d exchanged upon getting here tonight in at least the past five years. But the way Veronica looked at her makes her swallow hard, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. “Yeah, for sure. Find me later and we can do just that.” She replies, trying to keep her voice devoid of the nervousness she feels before heading over to see what Cheryl needs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over an hour later, she’s heading back to her shared hotel room with Kevin, more than ready to take off her heels and dive into bed with that bottle of champagne. When she gets to their room and sees Kevin’s tie hung haphazardly around the doorknob, she lets out a frustrated yet still amused sigh. In college, she and her roommate would use a scrunchie to communicate the “do not enter” message, but she gets the same idea from Kevin’s more masculine accessory. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she groans quietly, sinking down to sit against the wall next to their door. If Kevin’s hooking up inside, clearly she is going to need to find a place to spend the next couple hours at least.
The hotel’s rooftop bar isn’t as comfortable as the bed she was hoping to be laying on while drinking it, but the wine will still taste the same. She heads back to the elevator, pressing the up button and waiting for the doors to open.
“Oh hey, B!” Veronica’s voice greets her as the elevator doors part.
Fuck .
Being trapped in a confined space with Veronica is less than appealing for several reasons.
After Betty and Archie’s illicit kiss had come to light and effectively ruined all of their friendships, they’d all lost contact. But somewhere in the past couple years, Archie and Veronica had gotten back together. They kept it pretty private on socials and since she’d lost touch with them both, she didn’t have very accurate information. But the idea of being trapped in a small space with all that was collectively left unresolved between them, seemed daunting. She’d planned to have as limited an amount of interaction with them over the course of this week as possible. So far, that wasn’t going to plan. At least Archie wasn’t here too, so there was that.
It would be more weird if she didn’t get in the elevator car at this point, she decides, so she steps in. “Hey,” She smiles softly, moving towards the buttons to press one for the top floor to access the bar.
“Keeping the party going?” Veronica asks, obviously noting her floor selection.
“Oh,” Betty blushes gently. “Not by choice. After spending the last hour navigating the subway to pick up Cheryl’s dress for tomorrow that had been mistakenly delivered to the wrong hotel, I came back to find that Kevin was…” She tries to think of a demure way of putting it. “...entertaining a gentleman caller.” She supplies with a lip-biting smile. “So in order to avoid some serious awkwardness or being a total cock-block, I’m going to go chill up at the bar for a bit like the exceptional wing woman I am.” She adds playfully.
“You should come to our suite!” Veronica suggests, excitedly. “Archie and Reggie are still up at the bar together doing shots and talking about, honestly who knows….sports and other things I couldn't care less about. It’ll give us some time to catch up, like we were planning.” Her dark eyes lock onto Betty’s lighter ones with the same intensity as they had earlier.
“I, uh,” Betty, who is usually staunchly articulate, finds herself struggling to respond intelligibly. If Reggie and Archie are up at the bar, then she’ll just end up feeling even more awkward up there probably. “Sure, yeah. Thanks!” The agreeing response tumbles out before the synapses of her brain have connected completely.
Was this a bad idea? This could be a very bad idea. But then, Veronica seemed so genuine and gracious, it’s like she can’t resist giving in to the idea.
Veronica gives her a pleased smile, “Great!” She slips her arm through Betty’s. “Like old times.” She adds fondly, giving the blonde’s bicep a light squeeze.
Veronica and Archie’s room is more than twice the size of the one she’s sharing with Kevin. In addition to the king sized bed on the far right, there’s a furnished sitting area. Veronica motions over to the plush sofa, “Want some wine?” She asks, moving to the bar cart next to the couch as Betty takes a seat.
She has to admit, this is much more her speed then the rooftop bar would be. “Sure!” She smiles gently, slipping her feet out of her heels and drawing her legs up next to her on the couch, settling comfortably against the cushions. Veronica brandishes a bottle of red and a bottle of white in each of her hands respectively, silently asking which she’d like. “Whatever you’re having,” Betty shrugs. Veronica nods and then hands her a generous pour of white wine shortly after. “Thanks, V.”
Veronica sits next to her with her own glass of wine, her eyes working over Betty deliberately. “You are a sight for sore eyes, Betty Cooper.” She states fondly, “I like the short hair, by the way. Suits you more than the ponytail.”
“Thanks,” Betty’s smile broadens at the compliment. “Of course you’re as beautiful and timeless as always, V.” She adds affectionately.
“I’m like fine wine, babe. I only get better with age.” She winks, taking a sip from her glass.
They both seem content to tiptoe around the elephant in the room as they catch up. Usually, Betty finds small talk to be stilted and annoying, but with Veronica she doesn’t mind. They go back and forth updating each other on their lives for the better part of an hour, though it feels like hardly any time has passed at all. Instead of feeling awkward or uncomfortable, it actually feels pretty natural to spend time together again like this. It feels like they could actually be friends again; like they still were.
As Veronica is refilling Betty’s glass for the third (or was it the fourth?) time, she pauses and gives her friend a thoughtful look. “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed you, B.” She says quietly.
“I,” Betty swallows. “… me too.” And then, without warning, her eyes gloss over with sentiment. Maybe it’s the wine that’s causing the strong emotional response, but a part of her is pretty sure she’d feel the same emotional tug at her heartstrings even if she were stone cold sober. “I’ve missed you too, so much. I’m so, so sorry for what I-”
“B!” Veronica interrupts, setting down her wine glass and leaning closer to Betty, placing an affectionate hand on her knee. “There’s no need for all that. If I forgave Archie for it, obviously I forgive you too.”
At first, she’s stunned into silence. “You do?” Betty doesn’t even realize that tears have slipped down her cheeks until Veronica’s giving her a soft look and swiping at them with her thumbs affectionately.
“Of course, what kind of hypocrite would I be otherwise? Getting back with him but holding a grudge against you?” She replies gently. “Besides, it was so long ago now and we’re all different people then we were back then. I can see it all through a different lens now and I’m not mad or hurt anymore. I guess you could say that I actually understand.”
Relief floods Betty almost instantly, but it still feels a little too good to be true. Still, she’ll let herself indulge in the moment while she can. After all, it wasn’t just the lack of a partner that made her lonely. Pouring herself into her career had seriously stunted her friendships over the last few years. She’d missed having her best friends probably even more than she missed any aspect of romance. “Can I hug you?” She asks tearfully.
Veronica smiles, her own eyes glossing with emotion. “I’d love that.” She returns immediately, pulling her in for one. “I know you didn’t do it to hurt me. You and Archie have always had an undeniable connection, an organic moment like that was bound to present itself at some point. In retrospect, I can almost find the beauty in it, believe it or not.”
For the better part of the last five years, Betty had tortured herself for her transgression with Archie. To hear that Veronica could forgive her was beyond her wildest imaginings. “Are you sure it’s not just the wine making you feel this way?” Betty inquires, not convinced. “Because I would understand if you decide you still hate me tomorrow.”
Veronica’s jaw goes slack and she tightens her arms around Betty reassuringly. “I didn’t hate you, I could never hate you. I’m so sorry you thought that I did for all of this time.” She leans her forehead against Betty’s. “I should’ve told you a long time ago, because I do forgive you.”
Those are words she never thought she’d hear her say and they overwhelm her. Betty’s lip quivers and then, the flood gates open and a steady stream of tears pour down her cheeks. Veronica surges forward, wrapping her in another hug. “Oh sweetie, it’s okay.” She whispers gently, her own eyes rimmed red.
She hadn’t realized just how much she needed Veronica to forgive her. The new found sense of solace eventually brings her calm and she stops crying, pulling back slightly, but not letting go of her completely. They simply stare at each other for a moment, lingeringly. The intensity of Veronica’s gaze makes Betty want to avert her eyes, but she doesn’t, instead she holds her stare with her own powerful emotion. For a moment, it feels like Veronica might kiss her and she realizes it wouldn’t exactly be unwelcome.
Betty swallows hard, she must be imagining things. Finally breaking their eye contact, she speaks so that the building tension can stop closing in on them. “For what it’s worth, I’m really happy that you and Archie were able to work things out. You two are perfect for each other.”
Veronica’s smile is less than convincing. “Don’t get me wrong, Archie is wonderful.” She agrees, her fingers fiddling absentmindedly with the hem of Betty’s dress. “But, perfect might not be the best word.” She pauses thoughtfully, as if considering how much to say, but after their emotional breakthrough, she feels closer to Betty than she does to any of the friends she’s made in the last five years and she could use someone to talk to. “Full disclosure, we’re sort of using this weekend to answer some hard questions about our relationship and whether or not we see this working long term.”
“Oh, V. I…I’m sorry.” Betty stammers, not quite sure what to say now that she’s effectively put her foot in her mouth.
“No, don’t be. It’s…it’s actually fine. I love Archie and he loves me. But, we both agree that there’s just something missing for both of us.” She sighs, picking her wine glass back up. Veronica doesn’t talk about her feelings with anyone really, but even after all this time, she still finds the same sense of comfort and ease she’s always had with Betty. She feels compelled to open up in a way she usually doesn’t. “Is it weird for me to talk about this with you?” She asks, pausing to study her carefully in case her answer conflicts with her body language.
“Is it weird it isn’t? Because honestly, this is the most normal I’ve felt in a long time.” Betty confesses, her hand slipping tenderly into Veronica’s. “You can talk to me about anything you want.”
Veronica’s features crest with relief as she intertwines their fingers. “About eight months into getting back together with him, I started to feel… stagnant . It’s not that I was unhappy or anything. I mean, Archie is so good to me and sexually we’re extremely compatible,” She wrinkles her nose, she probably could’ve spared Betty that detail. “But sometimes I think we both crave something a little deeper than that. Basically, long story sort of short; I suggested we try opening our relationship. Archie, the ever considerate and supportive boyfriend he is, was fine with helping me to explore that.” She pauses, reaching for her wine glass and taking another sip.
“And did that help?” Betty asks gently, hanging on Veronica’s every word at this point.
“Well, yes and no. I mean, for me? Definitely. It helped me to acknowledge a lot of things about myself and what I want; what I need to feel fulfilled. And as a couple it really has brought us closer than ever. We’re completely open with one another about everything from our deepest desires and kinkiest fantasies to where we see ourselves in the future and what goals we have. It has really added to the friendship side of our relationship. It’s beautiful, honestly. But then there are the downsides of course. Jealousy, miscommunication, testing out boundaries and rules…it was a lot to figure out. We are still figuring it out.”
“So, when you say open relationship…” Betty trails off inquisitively. “I guess I’m just not quite sure what all that entails.”
“It’s referred to as ethical non-monogamy. Archie and I are each other’s anchor partners but we’re also free to explore with other people. Longer term lovers, casual dates, one night stands…” She lets her eyes drift down to Betty’s full, tempting lips, “...friends with benefits.” She finishes, a coy smile on her own lips as her eyes flick back to Betty’s.
Betty finds herself blushing, and she bites down on her bottom lip to quell her growing albeit slightly misplaced smile. She’s not used to anyone having this effect on her, much less Veronica. She tries to focus back on the conversation at hand and not over-analyze Veronica’s intentions yet again. “So Archie has,” She pauses, unsure which word to use and lamely goes with, “... relations with other people too? Or is this more of your thing.”
“It’s a two way street, but I’ve explored a lot more than he has. He has to really connect with someone to want to be with them in that way. But, we’ve had a few threesomes and I think he prefers that.” She can’t help but enjoy the way her last confession makes Betty’s cheek flush an even deeper shade of crimson. She thinks perhaps it’s caused by more than just shyness or embarrassment; perhaps intrigue or if she’s not getting too ahead of herself, possibly something more. She considers adding the detail that their thirds are usually blonde women, but she figures that might actually make Betty come apart at the seams, so she keeps it to herself. “You keep it pretty vanilla, hmm?” She asks, though it isn’t an accusation, just curiosity.
Betty smiles in spite of her slight discomfort, “I mean, I guess I haven’t done anything that wild, but I’m not some prude.”
“For example?” Veronica raises an eyebrow with piqued curiosity.
She gnaws gently on her bottom lip for a moment before responding. “I’ve had a couple of one night stands and I made out with several girls at parties in college. I even dated a girl named Laurel for a few months junior year.”
Veronica is poised to investigate more when the door’s lock disengages and then swings open.
Archie strides into the room without glancing over at the couch to see that they have company. He kicks off his shoes and loosens his tie, “Sorry, babe. Reggie was in rare form tonight. I’m honestly terrified to see how he’ll behave at the wed-” He stops mid-word, his eyes registering that Veronica isn’t alone. “Betts,” He says her name almost achingly. She is clearly not who he’d been expecting to find when he finally looked up.
If she hasn’t said much to Veronica in the last five years, she’s said even less to Archie.
“Arch,” She swallows hard as her eyes meet his only briefly before she looks away. She’s honestly not sure how to act around Archie anymore, which is heartbreaking in its own right. Once upon a time, she’d sworn to her own mother that she would always be friends with Archie, no matter what. How wrong she’d been. It was a necessary consequence to their illicit actions, of that she was convinced. But, it hadn’t made it hurt any less. She’d managed to shove away the pain of losing Archie deep inside of herself, mostly because the time and space between them made it just slightly easier to do so. But being in such close proximity to him made all of that pain come rushing back full force. Her feelings for Archie weren’t exactly on a switch, but a dimmer. They were never turned off completely, but she could turn them down enough to make them barely noticeable. But now, with his tie loose, the top few buttons of his shirt undone, and his hair mussed just so , it was seemingly the perfect storm needed to crank her feelings back to full force again.
If being alone with Veronica had felt like an overwhelming concept, then being alone with Veronica and Archie felt downright fatal. She wants to make up some excuse to leave and bow out gracefully before the tension can grow any more suffocating than it already has, but she can’t seem to muster the words to say much of anything.
Veronica’s the one who breaks the mounting anticipation. “Look, it’s already been a night of emotional breakthroughs. I say, we just keep clearing the air. You two need to talk, arguably more than Betty and I did. I can leave if you want, but something tells me this conversation will progress a bit faster if I’m here to facilitate.”
“Stay!” Betty says quickly, reaching for Veronica’s hand as her eyes implore hers pleadingly.
“Arch?” Veronica questions, her own gaze shifting to his expectantly.
Archie’s eyes search Veronica’s, where he only seems to find encouragement. It emboldens him to move towards them, sitting on the chair that faces the couch where they’re both perched. “Well?” He looks expectantly at his girlfriend, still unable to meet Betty’s gaze.
“Well, for starters I think you two should admit whether or not you’ve missed each other.” She moves her free hand over to grab one of Archie’s.
“Of course I’ve missed her,” Archie says incredulously, but then Veronica gives him an emphatic look and he finally shifts his eyes over to Betty’s. “Obviously I’ve missed you, Betts.”
“I’ve missed you too, Arch.” She swallows hard, she doesn’t want to start crying again, that’s for sure, so she leaves it at that, though there’s so much more she wants to say to him. This night had taken an unexpectedly emotional turn she’s not sure she was prepared to handle, better not to add to it.
“I’ve forgiven you both for what transpired all those years ago. So, I think it’s time that you two let go of this weirdness between you and figure out a way to be friends or…” She trails off for a moment, not wanting to push Betty’s comfort level too far. “...or whatever you’re meant to be.”
While having Veronica’s approval of the rekindling of their friendship helps, it isn’t some magical cure. It wasn’t just about hurting Veronica, or even Jughead. It was how their actions, and inaction, had hurt each other. It was about how they’d broken each other’s hearts. “I think we’re both afraid that we’ve caused too much irreparable damage to be able to salvage our friendship.” Betty confesses, surprising herself by keeping her eyes on Archie’s. “And I guess I’ve always been afraid that you wouldn’t want to.” She adds even more honestly.
“Betty, how could you ever think…” He shakes his head. “You and I,” He swallows hard, clearly trying to keep his own feelings in check and trying to gather his thoughts. “Just because we didn’t… it doesn’t mean that I didn’t always want us to be friends or be in each other’s lives.”
“When you left for boot camp, you were going to leave and you hadn’t even said goodbye to me. I thought that spoke volumes about how you felt about me and our friendship.” She focuses on keeping her breathing steady; the hurt they’d inflicted on one another went deeper than either of them had fully confronted.
“Betts,” He sighs, looking down at his lap. “I was hurt by how we’d left things.” He admits honestly. And everything was so complicated, it was so hard for us to be around each other…I guess I just thought we’d figure things out later. But then time went by and we didn’t figure anything out. I think we just didn't know how to…” He stops, searching for the most accurate way to finish that sentence.
“...how to be just friends anymore after everything.” She finishes for him, knowing the sentiment all too well considering she’d felt it herself. When her eyes focus on his, she finds a blatant understanding there. He nods, as if to affirm his agreement.
Palpable tension fills the room once again.
Veronica’s voice breaks the air of agitation. “Listen, you’re both going to look at me like I’m crazy, but just hear me out. I think you two should kiss.”
Their responses are simultaneous. “V...” // “Ronnie…”
“Maybe you’re not meant to just be friends.” Veronica continues wisely, moving to tuck some of Betty’s hair behind her ear. “Different partners can meet specific needs in our lives.” She adds wisely. “Not to mention, I can practically touch the unresolved sexual and romantic tension that is flowing between the two of you like an actual electric current.” She pauses, hoping they’ll let that sink in before she continues her pitch, “If nothing else, kissing will tell you if you’re ready to move on or if you need to explore the romantic facet of your connection more. Either way, kissing is going to give you a lot more information than sitting here in awkward silence will, that’s for damn sure.”
For her part, Betty does pause to consider her words and let them sink in. “Veronica, I know you’re extremely open, but that still feels like playing with fire.” Betty’s tone is full of warning. “With all of our history…I don’t want to do anything that would come between us or hurt any of the three of us. You and I just got on good terms again,” She says plainly, squeezing her hand. “I don’t want to fuck that up again.”
“I get where you’re coming from.” She acknowledges, “But it won’t…look in the poly-world, we use the word compersion to explain the feeling. But, since I’m going to assume that’s a term you’re not familiar with, I’ll lay it out like this. I don’t feel jealous seeing Archie being intimate with someone else or having a deep emotional connection with them. That’s actually what I want for him. It brings me true and fulfilling happiness to see him experience feelings of ardency with others.” Veronica reassures, “Right Arch?”
“It’s true,” He agrees, but his eyes stay on Betty’s face, trying to determine her level of discomfort while also keeping track of his own. Of course he’d kiss Betty again, given a reasonable opportunity, but he wasn't sure this qualified as one. “But, this is different, Ronnie. This is Betty .” He emphasizes her name almost torturedly. “Don’t you think we should tread carefully here?”
Veronica frowns, shaking her head. She lets go of Betty’s hand and reaches to hold both of Archie’s now. “Of course we should and we will. We don’t have to rush into anything. I just feel like this is a step that you two should take for the benefit of all of us moving forward. Don’t you trust me, lover?” She asks softly, leaning in to kiss him gingerly as she pulls him over to sit on the couch with them. They seem to have a silent conversation with their eyes before Archie nods in compliance so she turns to Betty.
“B,” She sighs, letting go of Archie and moving her hands to cup Betty’s face gently. “A kiss can just be a kiss,” She says softly, her eyes flicking down to Betty’s full lips wantonly, moving her thumb to trace the bottom one gently. “But it can also tell you a lot about a person and what kind of connection you’re meant to explore with them. I just want to help you both figure that out. Maybe it leads to nothing, but maybe it leads to something beautiful. Isn’t it worth the risk?”
She’s not sure what compels her to do it, but Betty leans in and presses her lips to Veronica’s tenderly. Maybe the wires in her brain have gotten crossed, because she knows that Veronica’s little monologue had been encouraging her to kiss Archie. But then, this feels right too.
Since it’s been initiated by Betty, the kiss is timid at first, much like the one they shared so many years ago, a kiss that had been Betty’s first, coincidentally. Veronica is caught off guard, to say the least so it takes a moment for her to respond. But when she does, she takes the reins and the kiss turns into something else entirely. Veronica’s tongue traces against Betty’s bottom lip before slipping passionately into her mouth. Her fingers tangle into blonde hair, pulling her in closer as the kiss deepens in intensity. Betty’s lips are softer and fuller than she remembers now that she has more time to savor them. The gentle moan that escapes Betty’s lips threatens to be her undoing in a way that Veronica isn’t used to. It’s scary, if she’s honest, because she doesn’t like to feel like she isn’t in complete control and kissing Betty makes her feel like she’d give it up willingly. The dawning of that realization makes her draw away from her all at once, breaking the ardent moment.
“I…yes. We will come back to that ,” She manages, feeling momentarily at a loss for words. It’s an unexpected yet exhilarating realization of all that she’s just felt kissing Betty. She slides her hands lingeringly down the other woman’s arms, settling them into her hands. “Trust me.” She says, looking into her eyes as she stands up and tugs Betty with her, so they can switch spots. Once they’re seated again, Veronica scoots up behind her, placing a gentle hand on her hip. “Arch,” She intones, reaching for her boyfriend’s hand.
His face looks pleasantly surprised by what he’s just witnessed but he tries not to dwell too much beyond the fact that for the first time, he truly understands the feeling of compersion that Veronica has always credited as the thing that most attracted her to living and loving polyamorously. Seeing Veronica and Betty kiss causes him to feel the sense of complete joy at witnessing your partner connect with someone else that Veronica's always described to him.
Archie swallows hard but grasps her hand, letting himself be pulled in closer to Betty. Veronica guides his hand to Betty’s face and he brushes his thumb affectionately over her cheekbone. He’d be lying to himself if he tried to pretend he’d ever be able to turn off anything he felt for Betty let alone everything he felt for her. “Betts, are you sure this is okay?” He asks faintly, his gaze locking onto hers.
She nods briefly, but much like she’d found herself doing just moments earlier with Veronica, she feels herself compelled to lean forward and just go for it. Gripping fistfulls of his shirt and letting her lips meld against his, she loses herself in the kiss instantaneously. Five years of unresolved tensions of varying degrees coming to fruition will do that to a person.
It’s more familiar, kissing Archie. They’d done it for their faking dating stint, and perhaps they’d let themselves overindulge in those moments just a little more than necessary. Then, there were the kisses that changed everything, forbidden as they were, that had still felt so incredibly right. Kissing Archie always feels like something she’s just innately good at; like her lips are meant to be pressed to his as often and ardently as possible.
There is no shyness once their lips meet now, only passionate longing. His fingers move to her throat, pressing lightly; daringly. “Betts,” He mutters, his teeth grazing over her bottom lip before he sucks it into his mouth wantonly. It’s as though time has stopped for a moment as they somehow manage to deepen their kiss even more. Betty’s fingers tug at this hair as she sighs against his mouth, taking a second to catch her breath before crushing her lips against his once more. Every raw emotion they’ve been too cowardly to admit to, or too inarticulate to speak into reality, comes through in this kiss. Her senses have been ignited by fire.
“I’m going to give you two some alone time…” Veronica’s voice is the only sound that could break the trance they’ve both fallen into. They stop kissing immediately and Betty opens her eyes, staring at Archie uncertainly before turning back to Veronica. As she does, she realizes her hand has reached for Veronica's, stopping her from getting up off the couch. There’s a beat of silence as the weight of such a small action sinks in for all three of them.
It’s as if all at once, Betty returns to reality and the gravity of what she’s just done starts to fully sink in. Maybe this was something Veronica and Archie were used to, but this was complete outside of her wheelhouse. Part of her wants to shove logic aside and kiss Archie again. And Veronica, if she’s being completely forthright with herself. But another part of her is sounding the alarm that this is all a really bad idea. Maybe the noise from that is just louder, because even though more of her wants to see where this goes, she listens to the warning instead. Maybe the sheer rightness of all she’d just felt is what strikes the most fear in her, but for some reason, she feels compelled to run away from all she’s feeling instead of towards it.
“We shouldn’t…” She manages nervously. “I should go.” She notes, suddenly feeling completely overwhelmed not just by what has already transpired, but what she wants to happen, and the idea of what might happen if she stayed.
It’s all too much.
“B, wait.” Veronica says with a controlled sense of urgency in her voice. “Please don’t go. We can pump the brakes on all of this, okay? I just want to be around you.” She admits feeling raw.
“I…” Betty’s eyes dart from Archie’s to Veronica’s and finds similar yet completely different looks on their faces. Veronica’s face is crested with excitement, if not a hint of nervousness. Archie looks nervous too, but his features are laced more with concern and an air of his own uncertainty. “I don’t think I want to slow things down,” She breathes out, trepidatiously. “That’s what scares me.”
Veronica chances moving closer to her, “Well what do you want, then?”
“You,” Betty shrugs, the answer comes out though it’s instinctive. “ Both of you.” She clarifies quickly. “And honestly I’m not sure how to feel about that or what it all means or if it’s just some fleeting thing…” She shrugs, clearly starting to feel exasperated.
“You don’t have to figure it out alone, B. That’s sort of the point.” She moves a step closer, placing her hands on Betty’s waist to test the waters before pulling her in closer. “Maybe it is just some fleeting thing, maybe that’s all it’s supposed to be. But even something passing can be a profoundly meaningful and important step on our paths.” She leans in, her nose brushing gently against Betty’s. “I bet I know the last time you just gave into a moment without any inhibitions, B.” She whispers, pressing her lips to Betty’s cheek in a mostly innocent gesture. “I bet I know how good it felt.” She moves to her other cheek, this kiss pressing closer to the corner of Betty’s mouth. “How it ignited all of your senses in the best way.” She adds, ghosting her lips over Betty’s, smirking as she watches the wanton quiver of the bottom one in response. Betty’s long lashes flutter closed desirously and Veronica thinks maybe she’s conjuring up a mental movie reel of that kiss in Archie’s garage. One she herself wishes she could’ve been a fly on the wall to witness herself. “Don’t you want to feel like that again, B?” She mutters in a sultry rasp.
“Yes,” Betty’s whisper barely escapes before her lips part and press rapturously to Veronica’s. “Arch,” She breaks the kiss to utter his name, her eyes flicking up to his as he bites her lip, one hand tangled into brown wavy locks as the other extends to reach for him.
His feet are moving even as his mind wrestles with a sense of hesitation. Like Veronica had said, sometimes it was just about abandoning inhibitions and letting things play out. Betty turns to face him as he approaches and her lips are on his the second they’re close enough for it to be possible. “How’s this all supposed to go?” She asks breathlessly, turning back to Veronica.
“Less planning, more going with what feels right.” Veronica smiles, pulling Betty against her and then Archie so his front is pressed firmly to the blonde’s back. “There’s no rule book, there’s just checking in with each other, making sure we’re all comfortable with how things are going.” She leans in, pressing a hot, open mouthed kiss to Betty’s neck, smiling at the goosebumps that form there. She’ll refrain from giving her a hickey she’d have to cover up or explain away, despite the temptation to leave the souvenir as a memory for the morning. “Stay with us tonight,” Veronica’s voice sounds tinier as she makes the vulnerable suggestion. “Nothing has to happen beyond this, I just don’t want you to go.” She admits, a slight blush tinting her cheeks this time.
Betty smiles, leaning in to kiss her tenderly. “I call middle.”