One step at a time

Chapter 12

Jughead couldn't concentrate. His mind was stuck at home. Home being Betty and Atticus. The thought that they were both at home waiting for him to finish work made him feel so warm inside. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with them. He loved them.

He loved her.

He didn't care how soon it was. He adored her and he knew that Atticus did too. He loved that she bonded with his son. He loves how honest she is with him, especially when it comes to her past. More than anything, he loved her kind heart. She cares for everyone, whether they care for her or not, which he thought was one of her most endearing qualities. He'd never felt this way for anyone before, let alone this fast. Even if she didn't feel the same way or wasn't ready to say it, he was willing to wait as long as it took. He knew that her relationship with her ex had moved pretty quick and he hoped that how fast their relationship was going wasn't triggering her.  He was broken out of his thoughts by a notification on his phone so he reached into his briefcase to check, just in case Betty and Attie needed anything.

"Jughead?" Annie, Jughead's editor/publisher/agent said to him.

"Sorry, I just gotta check that everythings okay with Atticus." he apologised, opening a message from Betty.

He downloaded the image that she sent and instantly smiled when his two favourite people showed up on his screen. They were both facing each other, Betty sticking her tongue out, scrunching her nose as Atticus' face was joyful with laughter, his arms wrapped around her neck. He couldn't get over how fast he fell in love with an image. Just seeing the sparkle in Atticus' eye, that was previously only reserved for him, and Betty's clear contentment with spending time with his son, made his heart want to burst. He saved the image as his phone's wallpaper immediately before turning his phone off and getting back to his meeting. His cheeks hurt from his grin for the rest of the day.

– – – – –

Betty had managed to calm herself down from her brief freak out earlier that morning. She had to continuously remind herself in her head that Jughead wasn't Alex, even though she knew it in her heart. She allowed herself to acknowledge that it was okay to have a minor freak out. She hadn't had one since she and Jughead got together and even he admitted that he was surprised that she hadn't had a minimeltdown over their situation. It was understandable that dating a guy with a kid may cause her to get a bit hepped up. But Attie didn't make her feel that way, which is what confused her.

"Betty...why isn't Aunt Jelly or Grandpa looking after me?" Atticus asked, breaking Betty out of her thoughts.

"Oh, um, Grandpa is at work and Aunt Jelly is out of town." she said, the use of 'grandpa' and 'aunt' coming out of her mouth in this context feeling strange. "Why? Would you rather them look after you?" she asked him, slightly concerned for his answer.

They were sitting next to each other on the floor, trying to solve a puzzle. Atticus had his tongue stuck out as he tried to figure out how to fit a piece with another one. He looked up at Betty when he'd registered what she'd said. He scooched closer to her and sat on her lap in the gap where her legs were crossed, still facing his puzzle.

"No." he shook his head. "I was just wondering." he shrugged.

She felt relieved that he wasn't hating spending time with her. She'd always loved being around kids, it was a part of the reason that she wanted to go into teaching. She would always rather hang out with her sister Polly and the twins than go to parties when she was in high school.

"Do you like hanging out with your Aunt JB?" Is she good fun?" Betty asked, curious to know more about the woman that Jughead and Atticus love so much.

"Yeah, she's so much fun. She always takes me for waffles, she said it's our thing." he said, clearly happy to be talking about his aunt.