InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Did you miss me...?"

Peace Out (weirdowriter) wrote in somerealityrpg,
@ 2019-06-28 13:51:00

Entry tags:

inactive: alice smith, inactive: jughead jones

Alice & FP & Jughead

Domestic Bliss * Friday Morning * No Warnings * Incomplete

The smell of frying bacon pulled Jughead out of the haze of sleep. He sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. If he was dreaming, he didn't want to wake up, but he was pretty sure he wasn't dreaming. The bacon was real, and accented by the wafting aroma of coffee brewing.

He dragged himself out from under the covers, stumbled into the bathroom to do what he needed to do there as best he could with one arm in a plaster cast. Dressed in a T-shirt and sleep pants, he padded out to the main area of the apartment. Alice was at the stove, flipping the bacon over. She grinned at him. "You're just in time for breakfast," she told him, and he had the weird feeling he'd just walked into a 1960s family television show where everything was perfect and anything that went wrong could be set to rights within a half hour program.

He glanced toward the couch where his dad sat, and in Jughead's mind he was completely out of place. He was used to seeing his dad sitting on the dingy sofa in the dimly lit trailer they called home. Not on a plush sofa in a professionally decorated living room. He was used to seeing a beer in his hands, not a glass of orange juice.

The toaster popped, and Jughead practically jumped out of his skin. Maybe he was actually dreaming this whole thing, after all.

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-28 06:29 pm UTC (link)
	“Hey, boy,” FP said fondly. He patted the spot on the couch beside him. “You want to sit with me?” “Unless you need help, Al?” (Reply to this) (Thread)

stillhot
2019-06-28 06:34 pm UTC (link)

"No," Alice assured him. She didn't like to have extra people in her kitchen. There were times, sure, when she'd accept help. But a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast was not the sort of meal she needed help prepping. "It'll be ready in about five minutes."

Jughead nodded at his dad's suggestion. He moved closer and sat down on the couch beside FP. "So not used to this," he told his dad. And since when did his dad refer to Mrs Cooper -no, it's Ms Smith now he reminded himself, but since when did his dad call her Al? That seemed oddly intimate.

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-28 10:54 pm UTC (link)
	"I didn't think so," FP said in acknowledgement. He ran his hands through his hair. "I can't wait. I'm sure it will be delicious." "Not used to it either, boy," he admitted. "Just think Alice likes to cook home cooked meals, versus going out and getting breakfast from McDonalds, or Pops." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

weirdowriter
2019-06-29 01:02 am UTC (link)

"It smells delicious," Jughead agreed. He stoically ignored the glare Alice threw in their direction when FP mentioned breakfast at McDonalds. He knew she didn't care for eating out much, especially not fast food. She preferred to cook her own meals, which was almost an entirely foreign concept to Jughead.

"I thought I was dreaming when I woke up and smelled bacon and coffee." He pulled in a deep breath, inhaling thee smells coming from the kitchen where Alice was plating the food.

Jughead started to get up to go and try to help, but Alice cut him off. "Don't even think about it, Jughead. Stay where you are," she said without looking up from her task. A moment later she carried the plates over, holding one out to Jughead and handing the other to FP.

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-29 01:05 am UTC (link)
	"You're letting us eat in the living room?" FP couldn't help being surprised. "You sure, Al?" "It smells delicious," he added. "Sit with us." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

stillhot
2019-06-29 01:26 am UTC (link)

Being strangled by her husband, and watching him get hauled away in handcuffs had changed Alice's perspective on a few things. She wasn't nearly so uptight, or such a stickler for the rules. So she had made her children eat all their meals at the table, not so much as an after dinner snack on the couch. That was a different time, and felt like a whole other life.

She was trying to be less structured now. More spontaneous. More...relaxed. More like the girl FP had known in high school. Someone who wasn't afraid to make noise and get her hands dirty. It was a process, and the change didn't and wouldn't happen over night. But in the grand scheme of things, eating in the living room wasn't such a big deal.

"Sure, why not?" Alice headed back to the kitchen to get the third plate, the one for herself. There was considerably less food on her plate, because they were both Jones men; their appetites were almost legendary in Riverdale.

"Don't question it, Dad," Jughead said. "Just accept. And eat."

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-29 01:35 am UTC (link)
	"Damn straight I'm gonna eat," FP said, and he quirked a grin at Alice as she sat down beside him. "Never say no to your cooking, Al, you know that." He reached out and squeezed her knee. "You know I can cook, right?" He added. "Learned when I worked at Pop's. You don't have to do it all alone." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

weirdowriter
2019-06-29 01:53 am UTC (link)

Jughead wasn't entirely sure what was going on between the two adults in the room, but whatever it was, he was feeling very much like a third wheel. He blinked at the sight of his dad's hand on Alice's knee, and quickly shifted and looked away. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by...whatever that was. But he did feel a little bit awkward.

He wasn't used to seeing his dad show affection to, well, anyone. Certainly not his mother. There hadn't been much love in that relationship for a long time before his mom left, and she'd been gone several years. As far as Jughead knew, his dad hadn't been with any other women since. Why did he have to choose Betty's mom? That was what made it super awkward for Jughead, because he was dating Alice's daughter.

"I thought you just waited tables," he said, taking the distraction and trying to run with it.

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-29 01:59 am UTC (link)
	"Did both," he said, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't want to screw around." He ran his hand through his beard. "Don't want to do that anymore," he admitted. "Tired of being a loser." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

stillhot
2019-06-29 02:05 am UTC (link)

"You're not a loser," Jughead and Alice said in unison. They couldn't have been more in sync if they'd rehearsed it. That made Jughead feel all the more awkward, and he stuffed a forkful of egg into his mouth and followed it with bacon.

Alice at least understood why he felt that way. Because he had very little, besides his children, to show for his life. He didn't have a career, he didn't even have a house. He'd lived in that damn trailer his entire life, and somewhere along the way his so called best friend had cut him out of the business they'd started together.

Alice may have gotten out of the trailer park, but her entire life after that had been a lie. At least living on the Southside of Riverdale was honest. If anyone was the loser in the room, it was her. Not that she'd voice that opinion, and subject herself to the objections both FP and his son would throw at her.

Instead, she set her fork on her plate and let her hand drop to cover his where it still rested on her knee. She gave his hand a little squeeze before pulling back and picking up her form once more. It was a small, but hopefully significant, show of support.

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-29 02:24 am UTC (link)
	"That's nice of the two of you to say," FP said. "Just wish I believed it." He sighed, and he shoved a mouthful of eggs in his mouth. He wordlessly ate, not wanting to draw attention to himself. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

weirdowriter
2019-06-29 02:42 am UTC (link)

"You've done a lot, just in the last year, to get back on track, Dad." Jughead said. Getting arrested for a murder he didn't commit had actually turned out to be a good thing. because as far as Jughead could tell that was the catalyst for FP finally getting sober and trying to make something of himself. He hadn't gotten the job at Pop's for fun and games.

"If you were a loser, you'd still be kicking empty beer bottles out of the way everytime you stood up."

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-29 02:50 am UTC (link)
	"I don't want to live that life anymore, boy," he said. "I was a fuck up." He sighed. "I wanted to change." "Tired of being a fuck up." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	stillhot 2019-06-29 03:00 am UTC (link)
	"You don't have to live that life anymore," Alice told him. She shifted, letting her leg press against his. "Maybe this is your official second chance." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	yourestillhot 2019-06-29 03:13 am UTC (link)
	"I'd like that, Al," FP said. "Maybe it's a second chance for all of us." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

weirdowriter
2019-06-29 03:26 am UTC (link)

"Maybe it is," Jughead agreed. He certainly wasn't going to argue the point even though he could. He really didn't want his second chance to be without Betty by his side. She was his girlfriend, and he loved her, but he could function just fine without her.

On one hand, he was glad to be out and away from Riverdale. That damn town didn't have much good in it. There was Betty, the Serpents, and Pop's Chok Lit Shoppe. He would kill for a burger and shake from Pops any time, day or night.

"I like to think that it is," Alice said. "For all of us," she added, echoing FP's statement.

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-29 03:44 am UTC (link)
	"Hopefully Betty will show up," FP told Jughead. "I'm sorry she's not here. For both of your sakes." He squeezed Alice's knee again. "But that town's been nothing but bad for the lot of us," he said. "I'd just as soon never go back." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

stillhot
2019-06-29 05:06 pm UTC (link)

Alice had a couple reasons to want to go back. Elizabeth was one. Her grandchildren were another. And Polly, she supposed, though she didn't feel much maternal instinct toward her older daughter anymore. And there was Charles. She wasn't sure she believed the boy she'd given up in high school was dead, despite what Chic had said.

But she was here, now. With FP, and for the moment that was enough. It had to be, since she couldn't will herself to return to Riverdale. And maybe this was a new start, a fresh start, a chance to make up for lost time. There was a lot to make up for, and she cast a wayward glance at FP.

"I feel the same. I wish she was here. But I have no desire to go back to Riverdale." A few reasons, certainly. And they were compelling reasons. But that didn't mean she actually wanted to go back.

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	yourestillhot 2019-06-30 04:18 pm UTC (link)
	"I just wish Jellybean was here," FP admitted softly. "Not that she'd be in Riverdale, anyways." He sighed. "I have a lot of regrets about how I handled things when you were younger, boy. Should have forced your mother to bring your sister back, at least." "Maybe they'll show up, Al?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

weirdowriter
2019-07-02 01:56 pm UTC (link)

Jughead shook his head. "Mom made her choice." He didn't have much love for his mother, not anymore. The fact she left had put a strain on his feelings for her, but after FP had been arrested for Jason Blossom's murder, and she'd flat out refused to let him go to Toledo, he had all but written her off. She was his mother, but she wasn't his mom. She was just a woman he used to know.

Jellybean on the other hand, Jughead missed her like crazy. He talked to her at least once or twice a month, but it wasn't enough. She was growing like a weed, and he was missing it. He felt like he was missing out. But there wasn't much he could do about it. Especially now that they were in Fake New York.

"It'd be nice if Betty and Jellybean showed up," Jughead mused. But he wasn't holding his breath for either one.

Alice said nothing, but patted FP's hand where it still rested on her knee.

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