Bughead One-shots | Riverdale

Cuddling

Jughead let out a long exhale as he started waking up, just about able to feel the ache in his neck through his groggy state, not completely awake. He must've fallen asleep on Betty's couch when they were working on their murder board at her house.

He reached a hand up to rub his eyes as he started becoming more aware of his surroundings, turning his head slightly to click his neck with a slight scrunch of his nose and a sigh. After a moment he became aware of something pressing into the front or his body from where he was laying on his side, and paused.

His eyes opened slightly, and after catching one glimpse of the blonde hair tucked against his chest he froze and held his breath.

He was cuddling Betty Cooper.

They must've fallen asleep together on the sofa without realising, because she was tucked against his body with her head right underneath his chin and there was absolutely no way they'd have consciously decided to position themselves like this. He could feel her breath against his neck with every exhale and her hair was tickling his chin, and after a few seconds of processing what was going on he was sure he was about to pass out. Jughead swallowed harshly and looked down at her again, noticing how her hand was clutching at the front of his shirt in a tiny fist.

He forced himself to stay still so he didn't disturb her sleep. His feelings for Betty had always been in the back of his mind, though he'd never dwelled on them as he knew she liked Archie. And maybe it was a little selfish, but ever since Archie had turned her down, a tiny part of him was hoping that himself and Betty might finally happen, and found himself thinking about her more and more. Being with her on the couch like that caused a pink blush to rise in his cheeks as he smiled softly.

Slowly he reached his hand up from where it was squished at his side to gently place it on her back, and for a moment his whole body stiffened up because he felt her moving against him and he was worried that he'd woken her, but his eyes softened when he saw it was so she could snuggle further into him.

He stayed like that for a few minutes, his hand a gentle touch on her back as she slept against him, though after a few moments he sighed as he looked up at the clock on the wall. It was half past five and Betty said her mom was meant to be home at six, and he could vividly imagine Alice Cooper tying a noose around his neck if she caught him all snuggled up with her daughter.

His hand that was readying on her back lifted up to her shoulder so he could lightly shake her, attempting to wake her up. "Betty," He whispered, looking down at her. "We fell asleep, wake up."

It took another few seconds of gentle nudging and whispering before she shifted against him again, her hand releasing his shirt to rub her eyes.

"Hmm?" Betty hummed, not really all with it, though she shifted to look up at him and when she noticed how close they were her eyes widened and she sat up, a pink flush visible on the apples of her cheeks. "Oh! Jug I'm sorry I must've fallen asleep I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything." She immediately apologised, and he shook his head as he sat up too, stretching his arms out since he could.

"No it's okay, don't worry about it. I've only been awake for a few minutes," He dismissed her concern, though didn't get into how much he enjoyed laying with her in such a soothing way. "Uh, we slept for a few hours. It's like half five."

"Oh, crap my mom will be home soon." Betty sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair, which she had taken out of it's ponytail midway through their planning of the murder board.

"At least we weren't still asleep when she came back. I think she'd have my head nailed above the fireplace." Jughead chuckled.

"Yeah, I don't want to know what her reaction would've been like," Betty scrunched up her nose a little and giggled quietly, an action that Jughead found absolutely adorable. "Guess we should probably clean this all up." She sighed as she gestured to the papers and pens over her living room floor, and Jughead nodded a little.

"Yeah. I'll take it home with me so your mom doesn't see it." Jughead offered as he got off of the couch and kneeled on the floor to start cleaning up.

"Thanks Jug." Betty smiled softly, and he nodded as he looked up to meet her eyes.

"No problem. Anytime." He smiled.