Jabitha Oneshots

You can hold my hand if you want to.

Jughead has a nightmare and Tabitha comforts him.

"Tabitha?" Jughead whispers into the night, cringing as the sound of his voice cuts through the silent bedroom like a knife.

Beside him, he hears his girlfriend roll over, yawning groggily. When she speaks her voice is muffled by the comforter.

"You ok Jug? What's going on?"

He's already regretting waking her up, the sound of concern in her voice barely disguising the exhaustion hiding under the surface. She's been working the night shift at Pop's these past few days and has found her body refuses to adjust to the lack of sleep.

"Nothing, you- you can go back to sleep. I'm sorry for waking you," he replies.

She fumbles around for a moment before catching hold of his hand. The feeling of his skin against hers makes him feel grounded, safe.

"Don't try that on me Jones," Tabitha says, "I can hear it in your voice, something's up."

Jughead sighs. Sometimes he wishes that his girlfriend didn't have such a good read on him. After a brief moment of hesitation, he shuffles closer to her, leaning forward so that his forehead is pressed against hers. She gasps at first, before releasing a small, contented hum.

"Just a nightmare," he mumbles, his voice low and quiet.

It's not the first time that he's opened up to her about these kinds of problems but something about this feels more vulnerable than those other moments.

Maybe it's the warmth of her breath dancing across his lips, or the darkness of the room coaxing long-absent trust from somewhere deep within him. Or maybe it's the fact that in this moment, he really, really, needs Tabitha Tate.

She threads their fingers together.

"I'm sorry. Do we need to turn the lights on and get some tea, or would you rather talk in the dark for a little while."

It didn't escape Jughead that she referred to them as a 'we'. He liked the way it sounded, as though it was him and his girlfriend against the world. And maybe tonight, it was.

"I don't mind. So long as you're here with me."

He could almost hear her smile, "I'm here, Jug. You can hold my hand for as long as you need to."