Bughead Oneshots

Make it Through December

Jughead paced in the judge's chambers, anxiously awaiting her arrival. Badgering a witness wasn't what he thought he was doing though even bone in his body knew he was taking his questioning a step too far. He was asked to leave or he would be placed in contempt before the trial was officially put on hold.

The door burst open before slamming shut, Judge Vogel stomping in. "I've gone over this one too many times with you in the last month, Mr. Jones," she scolded angrily, sitting down at her desk. "You cannot badger a witness and expect me to allow it to breezily pass by. One of these times, a Judge won't be as nice as I am, and you could pull one of your outrageous stunts and lose your job."

"That is not going to happen."

"If you keep acting this way, there's a possibility it will."

He sighed and clenched his jaw, wiping a hand over his face as he turned to look out the window. Snow had just begun to fall, making the ground look glittery under the streetlights that had just turned on. It was pretty at first but Jughead knew the chill would bite you and leave you wanting to go home in an instant, no coat thick enough to fight off the chill of a New York winter.

"I'm disappointed," she said after their break of silence and he sat down in a chair across from her. "This is never who you were when you first started out as an attorney. You're one of the good ones, and there's very few nowadays. Thirty-two and you haven't got an ego as big as goliath with all the cases you've managed to win. But the man you are right now is not the man I knew just a year ago."

"Yeah, that's pretty typical."

"I think you need to take a break, focus on yourself."

His brows furrowed. "What the hell do you mean 'focus on myself'? Everything I do outside of work I do for myself."

She sighed, taking off her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Jones, you're a good man and I get it, you're committed to your job. But don't you want to settle down? Go home to someone you can talk to?"

"I have friends."

"That's not the same. You have lawyer friends. You need someone who doesn't know the in's-and-out's of the system the same way you do. You need to go home and get shit off your chest, but also be with someone you love."

"I get why people don't like constantly being asked if they're married to their partner. This is bullshit."

"I'm just saying, someone who cares about you wouldn't be the end of the world."

"Do you want proof that I have a Tinder account, because I do."

"I think you should take the holiday's off."

"Holiday's? As in Christmas and New Year's?" She shrugged and he scoffed. "Absolutely not. There are people that need my help."

"There are many attorney's in New York City, Jughead."

"My clients trust me. They chose me to help them. I can't let them down."

"Jughead, you are mentally drained. You are exhausted in every way possible. You need to step away for a while."

"You don't understand-"

"I do. I was you before I was a Judge. Nearly killed myself over that job. I know when someone's about to face burnout and I don't want that happening to you, you're too good at what you do. Take the next four weeks off and come back refreshed, that's all I ask. And keep your ass away from any PD or court, understand?"

He crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "You're ordering me to do this?"

"Suggesting doesn't work with you. I'm getting your cases reassigned for you. Starting in five minutes, you're done until..." She put her glasses back on, flipping up the calendar on her desk. "January 9th."