A lover & a fighter

1. The town with pep

A/N: This is a mostly canon fic, and basically a time-jump rewrite, because I couldn't stand the way Jughead's character was pictured. In this fic he doesn't have a drug/alcool addiction. He's a great guy and he is still friends with Toni&Co. He smokes, though.
Also, there will be a lot of smut in future chapters, if you don't like it, feel free to skip this fiction.
I'm a Bughead endgame kinda gal.

I wrote several fanfictions in my life, but this is my first ever Riverdale one. Please keep in mind English is not my first language and I don't have a beta, so all typos and errors are all mine. I'm not sure how many chapters this fic will have because I'm still editing the rest, so bear with me ;)
Comments and con-crit are appreciated. Let me know what you think!
Thank you

_______________________________________________________________________________

Jughead parked his black Ducati Monster just outside Pop's. It was almost 10 p.m. and the night was quite foggy. He killed the engine and stared at the neon sign casting a red misty aura over the parking lot and the few cars there. He was back in Riverdale.

He took off the helmet, hanged it on the mirror and looked around, everything seemed just the same as always. He walked towards the entrance and pushed the door, welcomed by the oh-so-familiar bell ring, a comforting sound. He scanned the room quickly, the booths were almost totally empty except for a group of cheerleaders and football players laughing and drinking milkshakes, undoubtedly celebrating a win.

"Good evening. Would you like some coffee? It's fresh" came a voice on his right. He turned toward the reassuring voice to see Pop Tate standing behind the counter with a coffee pot in his hand.

"Oh my...Jughead Jones!" he exclaimed with a wide smile. "It's been a long time, kid! I almost didn't recognize you without the beanie and this new haircut, good to see you!" he offered his hand.

"Thanks Pop, you too" Jughead smiled back shaking Pop's hand and taking a seat "I heard you retired."
"Yeah, well I come here from time to time ho help the new boss."
"I was wondering...is it too late for a burger and some onion rings?" Jughead asked, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. It had been a long trip back from New York and oddly enough he didn't stop to eat or drink on the way.
"Maybe, for someone could be a little late, but I remember you to be quite famished at all hours."
Jughead smirked taking off his leather jacket and laying it on the stool to his left. "Here, have some coffee to start, and I'll fix the burger in no time" Pop said, filling a cup with the hot liquid and handing it to him before heading to the kitchen.

A few minutes later Pop was back carrying a large plate with a hamburger, fries and onion rings. "Enjoy, and let me know if you'd like something else, ok?"
"Yeah. Thanks Pop" Jug replied. He looked down at the plate before him and his mouth started to water, he definitely missed Pop's burgers and the homey atmosphere. He ate his food calmly, savoring every bite.

When he was finished he took his time to look around the place. Everything looked the same: the faux-leather seats, the retro-looking menus and the pictures on the wall behind the jukebox, among which there was one of Betty, Archie Veronica and himself the night of senior prom. He walked over to the wall and looked at the picture. The four teenagers were beaming at the camera. His arms were wrapped around Betty's waist and her smile was so bright he couldn't get over the fact that he hadn't seen her seven years. He felt a sudden lump in his throat and looked away. Well, not everything was the same, after all.

"Riverdale's very own core four, huh?" Pop's voice snapped him from memory lane.
"Good times, I guess. Different times" was Jug's reply. He must have been a real fool to think that stopping to Pop's for a late dinner wouldn't trigger old and painful memories. He and his closest friends used to spend a lot of time at the diner, hell, he'd even wrote the majority of his high school essays and mystery novels sitting on a booth at Pop's.