Jughead lined Betty up with the front of the house, steadying her body so she wouldn't slip off of the curb. "Can I see yet?" she asked, twisting her lips.

"Okay," he breathed, pulling the bandanna away from her eyes. She inhaled deeply as she stared at the house in front of them, looking over at Jughead with wide, questioning eyes. "I can explain, I promise."

5 months earlier...

Betty sat down in a chair at the dining table and Jughead sat down beside her, wincing as he knocked into the table. Alice gave him a dirty look and Betty sighed, tucking hair behind her ear.

"It's crowded," he muttered and she nodded, glancing at Polly when she saw her sorry frown out of the corner of her eye. "It's not my fault."

"Jug, I know. But this is my mom," she muttered, her eyes sorry. "Just ignore it, okay? I'm sorry."

He offered a thin lipped smile and she swallowed thickly, taking the plate her dad passed her. The conversation stayed light as food was passed around the table and glasses were filled with wine.

"So," Alice started moments after everyone had begun eating. She folded her hands together, eyeing Betty and Jughead. "You two live together, obviously, right?"

"Yes, you know that," Betty mumbled, getting a glare from Alice.

Alice sighed, continuing, "Don't you think it's time to move out of the city? Time to think about settling down? Having kids? Getting married? That comes first, obviously. We don't need any more bastard children in this family."

"Mom." Polly and Betty said in unison while Charles snorted, knowing he was the bastard child in question.

"As for your... questions," Betty said softly, glancing at Jughead who shrugged. "We have a life in the city and we're just not so sure we're ready to leave, that's all. And we've... discussed marriage and we're just not ready."

"That sounds like a pathetic excuse to me."

"Not being ready to get married is a pathetic excuse?"

"I was married by your age—to your father. And we were buying a house."

"We're two different people, mom. Life does not play out the same. Besides, we're still... young, really young."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You should be grateful you found him," she mumbled and Betty furrowed her brows. "You drink like your life depends on it and lord knows you'll never stay below a size 6 to save your life."

It was the same insult Betty had been hearing since she was 15. It held little to no meaning but still managed to make her feel sick to her stomach. She stood slowly up out of her seat, setting her napkin on her plate.

Jughead reached for her and under her breath she said, "Don't touch me."

He stood up after her and she slowly walked out the front door of the house. "She's your daughter," he stated and Alice shrugged.

"You won't tell her what she needs to hear."

"Mom, stop," Polly said with a pointed look.

Alice threw her hands up angrily, rolling her eyes. "Take her side," she muttered and Jughead pinched the bridge of his nose. He left the table and followed Betty's path outside. He sat down beside her on the stairs, keeping a little amount of space between the two of them.

"You don't have to say anything or call me pretty or whatever," she began, watching her hands. "I left because I just don't want to be there and I don't want to listen to it. She's been saying the same thing to me since I was a teeanger, I'm immune to it, but it doesn't mean I want to sit there and listen to it."

"You are beautiful-"

"Jug, I love you, but I don't want to hear that," she said firmly and he sighed. "I'm sorry, I just don't."

"Okay," he breathed and she moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'd rather be home, but I'm fine." A comforting feeling seeped through him each time she called their apartment home. Knowing she wanted to be there with him, alone, meant the world to him.

"Should we talk about what she said?" he asked and she sighed.

She looked over at him, shaking her head. "Later," she whispered, kissing him. "Right now I want to go back inside, act like nothing happened, then go to bed but not really go to bed, wake up early tomorrow, and go home."

"You want to stay?"

"No," she chuckled, resting her head back on his shoulder. "But it's cold and the trains aren't running anymore, plus I don't want to waste money on a hotel. We'll just have to deal."

"Are you sure you want to?" She nodded and he kissed her temple. "It's freezing, we have to go inside." She giggled as he took her hand, hurrying into the house with him.

~

Betty rested her chin on Jughead's shoulder and hugged his waist, watching him flip a pancake.

"Jug," she began softly, smiling at his small "hm" noise. "If we did happen to move away, where would you want to go?"

He glanced at her and she bit her lip. "I don't know. Maybe somewhere close to my dad..." he answered cautiously. "Why?"

"I don't know," she sighed, sitting on the counter beside the stove. "I've just been thinking about it lately."

"Do you want to move?" he asked and she shrugged. "Buy a house?"

"I don't know, maybe? The idea isn't... terrible. I think it wouldn't be a bad thing to look into."

"You want to buy a house?"

"Well, I..." She groaned, laughing at the confused look on his face. "We're just discussing the idea."

"Yes, right," he muttered and she laughed again. He smiled at her before kissing her, plating the pancake. "These are yours, you know."

"What would I do without you making me breakfast every morning?" she asked with a smile as she took the plate from him.

"I never make breakfast," he laughed and she giggled. He kissed her deeply and she sighed, resting her forehead against his. "I love you."

She flushed and repeated the words, kissing him quickly again before getting down off the counter to eat her breakfast.

"I made breakfast this morning, I can't make dinner too," Jughead said into the phone and Betty laughed. "I'm serious! Betty, these hands are gold, they can only do so much."

"You are so dramatic," she giggled and he grinned. "What were you thinking for dinner, then?"

"We could always skip dinner and go straight to bed."

"Uh-huh," she muttered sassily. He could see her eye roll in his head. "What do you want, Jug?"

A beat passed before he offered, "Thai food."

"Okay, that's doable, but I have to call them. I'll be home in 20ish minutes."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too," she sighed, ending the call. He set his phone on the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You are so absolutely gone for that girl, it's insane," Sweet Pea said, smacking his shoulder when he passed by him. "See you at the bar later?"

"Hopefully," Jughead breathed, chewing his cheek.

Sweet Pea nodded, squeezing his shoulder. "Good luck," he stated, leaving the apartment.

Jughead felt a surge of panic rush through him when he heard the door to their apartment open. "Jug," Betty called, huffing. "It's snowing again. And it's cold. Where are you?" She came around the corner and she gave him an odd look when she found him standing in the middle of the living room. "What are you doing?"

"Come here," he whispered, holding out his hand. She took it hesitantly, scanning her eyes over his face. "I love you-"

"Are you breaking up with me?" she asked, her expression becoming panicked.

"No. No, no. God, Betty, no. Why would I be breaking up with you?"

"Well, you're acting weird! And I'm panicking because you're acting weird!" she explained and he shook his head. "Stop acting weird."

"Betty, I am not breaking up with you, this is far from that."

"Then what are you doing?" she asked quietly, scanning his face again.

Her eyes dropped to his hand and she gasped. She covered her mouth with her hands and looked back to his eyes, watching him drop down to one knee.

"I've been planning this for awhile but I still don't know what to say," he started, chuckling nervously. "Three years isn't really a long time and I understand if you want to wait, but... I love you and there's never going to be anyone that could ever replace you. There's never going to be anyone that genuinely understands me the way that you do. You've been it for me since I met you, honestly.

"You are the first person I would call when the sky fell. No other person would even merely cross my mind. I love you more than anything and I want to spend my life with you, I want you in it. I want to be with you forever—and I never thought I would say that to anyone. But here I am because I can't imagine my life—no, I can't imagine a world without you in it. I need you in my life, I need you in my world."

He stood up and wiped the tear from her eye, cupping her cheek when she moved her hands. "You're not supposed to make me cry," she muttered and he chuckled.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and she sniffled. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes, obviously!" she exclaimed, closing her eyes when he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you," she whispered and he slipped the ring onto her finger, kissing her.

Tears filled his eyes as relief washed over him, his forehead resting on hers again. She watched him for a second, cupping his face and pulling her head back to meet his eyes better.

"Why are you crying?" she asked, her voice soft to hide the pain she felt. She hated seeing him upset. It didn't matter what caused it, it still hurt.

"I don't know," he mumbled, wiping his cheek when she dropped her hands to his neck. "I was just paranoid and terrified that you would say no."

"Jug," she breathed, tears filling her eyes again. "I would... I would never. I love you more than anything, saying no has never even crossed my mind. I'd be stupid to say no and let you get away. You complete me, and I know how stupid and childish that sounds, but it's true. You make me a better person, you don't treat me like I'm-I'm nothing, you actually care about me. I would never, not even in any alternate reality, deny your proposal."

He sighed and kissed her again, pulling her into him. He placed a kiss against the top of her head and smiled to himself, breathing her in.

"Are you guys playing tonight?" Betty asked, dropping Jughead's hand to open the door to the bar.

"No. We're just here for drinks because they wanted to see us after it happened."

"Well, that's kinda cute," she mumbled, and he rolled his eyes playfully. She took his hand again, looking around the bar.

Once Sweet Pea's eyes found them, he held up his hand and waved them over. "When's the wedding?" he asked when they were close enough and Betty flushed, looking back at Jughead who smirked.

"Congratulations," Fangs said from across the table, raising his shot glass before downing it.

"He's a little out of it, but yes. Congratulations," Toni mumbled with a small smile. Jughead rubbed the back of his neck anxiously.

"Let me see!" Cheryl said excitedly, taking Betty's hand when she held it out to her. "Jughead, I am thoroughly impressed. You have an eye for diamonds."

"Thank you?" he questioned and Betty giggled, her cheeks starting to hurt from how hard she was smiling. He pulled a chair out for her and himself at the table, both of them hanging their jackets on the back of them.

"I'm going to get drinks," Betty said, standing beside her chair.

"I can-"

"Jughead, no," she interrupted, and he gave her a questioning look. "What does everyone want?"

"Betty, are you sure-"

"Shh!" she shushed, her cheeks turning red again. "What do you want?"

"Just a beer," he answered, still confused. Everyone else answered the same and she nodded, taking Cheryl's hand when she stood as well.

"I'm going to talk to Cher," she said softly in his ear, smiling when he laughed. She walked with her up to the bar, tucking hair behind her ear.

"So, how'd it happen?" Cheryl asked, her eyes huge. "Was it, like, romantic or anything?"

"I don't know. There weren't candles and flowers or anything, and he didn't take me anywhere special. But... I mean, to me, it was intimate and cute and I'm glad he didn't go all out because then I would have started freaking out and I would have cried way more than I did."

"Did he cry?" she asked and Betty nodded. "Awe, Toni didn't cry when she proposed. Why did he cry?"

"He was relieved I said yes."

"He thought you would say no?"

Betty chuckled, shrugging. "He said he knew I wouldn't say no, he was just paranoid. And I get that, proposing is... a lot."

"Well, now since we are both... tied down, we have to find Sweet Pea and Fangs someone or those poor boys will never make it in this world."

"I love you, you know that?"

"What? What did I say?" Betty giggled, taking three beer bottles while Cheryl took the other three. "Are they dating?"

"Not necessarily, but shh. It's not everyone's business. And don't say anything, let them do it themselves."

"How did I not know this?"

"Because you're Cheryl and you enjoy being oblivious," Betty teased and she laughed. "Also, do not ask Jughead a hundred questions. He can only blush so much before he explodes and I would like to make it to our wedding day."

"So you do have a date."

"No," she giggled, and Cheryl gave her a playful glance. "Shut up."

Betty skipped up to Jughead at the bar, smiling at him. "Hi," he chuckled after kissing her and she giggled.

"I want to go home," she whispered, twisting her lips. "And take a bath."

"Take a bath?"

"Well, we take a bath," she corrected, biting her lip.

"So we can get water everywhere?"

"Okay," she laughed, picking up his hand. "Maybe not take a bath, but I want to go home."

"I think I want to go home, too," he whispered, kissing her again. She laughed, ducking her head. "I can't believe you still do that."

She turned red when she looked up at him, saying, "I will be at our table." He laughed, nodding.

"I hate saying this," Betty sighed, looking up at Jughead. "But I think my mom was right."

"About?"

She groaned, covering her face with her hands. "We should buy a house," she mumbled and he smirked.

"You think so?"

"I can hear you smiling." She gasped, sitting up. "You thought it was a good idea!"

"I didn't hate the thought, no."

"I feel betrayed," she whispered, falling back down on the bed dramatically. "Are we ready to leave here?"

"We can always stay close by. Move out to Long Island, it's right there."

"You want to live on Long Island?"

"I'm not saying I want to, I'm saying we can," he said, both of them laughing. "Why, where were you thinking?"

"Well, Cher said her and Toni were thinking of moving to Connecticut, so there. I don't know what I'd do without having Cheryl within driving distance."

"What about Pea and Fangs? It'd be unfair to leave them behind."

"We'll take them with us," she stated sincerely.

"What if they don't want to leave the city?"

"They're going to whether they like it or not." He laughed and she giggled, snuggling into him. "I don't want to deal with the fuss of buying a house. There's a lot of stuff involved and plus, the nicer the house, the more money it's going to cost. We don't have a ton of money to spend."

"Let me handle it," he muttered and she furrowed her brows. "I'm an adult, I can handle it. I know what we both like, I know what we want, I can handle it."

She sighed, closing her eyes. "Only because I don't want to," she yawned, knowing she was going to regret those words in the future.

Present

"I can explain, I promise."

She looked back at the house, her look horrified. The house was rundown and the grass was uncut. Paint was peeling off the side and the roof was missing shingles.

"It was cheap," Jughead started and she clenched her jaw. "Like, I-got-it-from-an-auction cheap."

"Oh, my God," she mumbled, hiding her face in her hands and turning around. "Jughead, I can't believe you did this!"

"No, no. Listen," he breathed and she kept her face hidden. "It's really not that bad inside. The structure needs to be touched up a little, but it mostly just needs to be updated. And with the money we have left over, we can do that and more if we want. I know what I'm doing."

"Jughead, no. No, this is hell!" she shouted, meeting his gaze when he winced. "I wanted a house, not a death trap!"

"I can fix it."

She shook her head and breathed deeply, starting to walk down the street.

"Where are you going?"

"To buy a train ticket home," she called over her shoulder, huffing. He caught up to her at the crosswalk moments later, cupping her face. "You're really, really stupid, you know that?"

"Betts, this house will mean more to us later since we made it our own."

"You can make a house that can pass a city inspection a home!"

"Love, I promise you, I know what I'm doing."

"You fix cars, not houses."

"I know what I'm doing," he stated and she sighed. "I have Sweet Pea and Fangs helping me and my dad and a guy I went to high school with—he's even a contractor now. I have this figured out, I swear. Besides, I took shop in school, this can't be much different."

"I hate you so much right now," she whispered and he nodded.

"I love you, too."

"I hate the house," Betty sighed and Cheryl chuckled. "I love him a lot, but how could he be so stupid? I mean, he got the house at an auction. I just..." She groaned, staring distantly out the window as she traced her thumb around the rim of her beer bottle. "Why couldn't he just buy a house like yours?"

"He's trying to prove something, obviously," Toni shrugged and Betty sighed, dropping her head back against the couch.

"He did it out of love at least," Cheryl offered in an attempt to brighten the mood. She glared at Toni when Betty wasn't looking. "He wants to make you a home, not buy you one."

"Cher, you haven't seen this place. His dad helped him, but... it's a lot to process right now."

"Go home and talk to him," Toni said softly, putting on a small smile. "Trust me, I grew up with Jug and I've been with him when he's made stupid decisions. I've been a part of those stupid decisions. This is not the dumbest thing he's done, I promise. And his dad knows what he's doing. He was a contractor before his whole situation."

"Wait, really?" Betty asked and Toni nodded. "Oh, okay. That makes me feel a little better."

"Go talk to him. I'm sure he has a little more of an explanation by now."

Betty sighed as she stood up, pouring her beer down the sink and setting it aside with the others before picking up her bag. "Have a good night," she whispered with a smile, leaving their house. She hugged her arms around her body as she walked to the bus stop, watching every vague shadow she saw.

Once at the apartment she unlocked the door and pushed it open, smiling softly. "You actually decided to stay," he said teasingly and she giggled. "I'm sorry."