Love Him Like He's Yours [FPJones] [JugheadJones] [O.F.C]

2006

The first time Archie Andrews ever saw his Dad cry, he was five years old.

On a cool and quiet September morning, just hours before he and Betty were scheduled to have their play date with Jughead, the ringing of the phone mounted to their dining room wall would echo throughout the house.

As was custom during that era of the Andrews family, everyone in the house would eagerly run for the handset in an attempt to be the one to answer. A smug Betty Cooper would be the victor as she stuck her tongue out tauntingly at an out-of-breath Archie before struggling to grip the phone with both of her small palms.

By the look on Betty's face, Archie could immediately tell that something was wrong. She insisted on keeping the phone out of his reach and instead, held it to her chest as she called out for his Dad. Fred Andrews appeared instantly and with a single motion, would dry his hand on the front of his sweater before taking the phone from Betty.

Archie had never seen either of his parents sad before this. The look settling in on his Dad's face was dark and unfamiliar, and it made Archie uncomfortable. He felt helpless as he watched his Dad's body then fold over and slump against the papered wall. It seemed as though his Dad had become instantly exhausted. His breath was loudly expelled from his lungs and then held out, before a foreign sounding voice fought its way out of Fred's mouth with a strained and wavering affect.

Hanging up the phone, Fred quietly informed both children that Jughead would no longer be coming over to play. Not on this particular day, or for some time after. For the first time ever, Betty Cooper was asked outright to go home. This made Archie's stomach drop. He couldn't remember doing anything wrong, and he didn't think Betty or Jughead had done anything wrong, so why were they being punished?

Fred turned to the children and reassured them that they weren't in trouble, that the separation was not meant as a punishment. Fred told them both that an adult friend of Jughead's Dad's, and in turn a friend of his also, had been badly hurt and it meant that some people in Riverdale might be sad for a little while.

Betty Cooper would hunch over Fred as he sat down on the floor beneath the phone, and wrapped her tiny arms around his shoulders while leaning in. Archie would watch on as his friend tried to cheer up his Dad before quietly returning to her own house. With his mom at her office for the day, it left just him with his Dad, alone, until dinner time.

Moments after the door clicked shut behind Betty, Archie would be startled by the wracking sobs now coming out of the curled up man on the floor. He didn't know how to help his Dad but he so desperately wished that he could. His eyes would roam over every inch of the main floor and he stumbled forward to grab at the things he would want, if he was feeling like his Dad currently did.

In just thirty seconds, Archie would return to Fred with a box of tissues, a fuzzy throw blanket pulled from their sofa, and his stuffed dog dressed like Superman that he'd left in front of their television. He set the dog and tissues down in front of Fred.

"Here, have these." Standing on the tips of his toes, he leaned over Fred and wrapped the blanket around him.

"There you go. I, um...I love you Dad... sorry your friend was hurted..." Standing in front of his Dad, Archie didn't know what else to do. He pulled nervously at his fingers as he stared down at his feet.

"Did you...want me...uh, to go to my room?" Archie chewed his bottom lip while waiting for some sort of direction. Fred looked up at him then and Archie was taken aback by how red and wet his Dad's face was. It made Archie's stomach turn. He was sad that his Dad was sad. He wanted the bad feelings to go away.

"Well, Uh...if you...want to, Son...I'm, Uh...I'm..." Archie watched as his Dad struggled to speak because he was so upset. He began to panic that he'd just made things worse. Archie then dropped down to his knees and threw his smaller body forward. He hugged his Dad as tightly as he could.