White Rabbit - A Falice Fanfic (Riverdale)

Part 1

Note: I have this headcanon that FP doesn't have a smartphone, and even if he ever got one, he would be terrible at keeping track of it. This was supposed to be about that.

This fic escalated very quickly.

There will be swearing, substance abuse issues, and perhaps later there will be sex.

White Rabbit

"Your magic, white rabbit

Has left its writing on the wall

We follow, like Alice

And just keep falling down the hole."

- "White Rabbit", Egypt Central

Part 1

The thing about Pop's being open 24/7 was that it was mighty convenient for drunk delinquents to grab some greasy carbs at 3 am. It was less convenient for those who had to work the actual night shift.

FP couldn't blame them though. He knew there was nothing quite like a basket of fries after a night of partying with the boys.

By the time he got home, the sun was starting to peak over the horizon. He had undone his bowtie the second his shift was over, letting it fall around his neck. His stupid hat was left behind in his truck. He knew he'd lose it otherwise.

Betty was already up when he walked through the door. She sat at the small table, tea in hand and with an empty bowl of cereal in front of her. Jughead was still sprawled out on the pullout couch, his head buried under a pile of pillows. As if that would somehow make the night stay longer.

"Good morning, Mr Jones!" she welcomed him softly. "I'm making a fresh pot if you want some."

FP still wasn't used to coming home to anybody. He had spent so much of the last year by himself, and the years before that he was in a haze, stumbling in to a fed up wife hours after the kids had gone to bed. Having Jughead back wasn't quite exactly like old times - he was older, more nomadic - but it was a start.

"No thank you, Betty. I'm going to sleep. Possibly forever."

The corner of her lip twitched upwards."You're going to take the bed while we're at school, right? You need to catch up on your sleep."

Having his son's girlfriend around was still an adjustment. It had only been a week, but FP's back was already complaining about that terrible pullout bed he was now sharing with his son. He felt guilty for making anybody ever sleep on that piece of junk.

FP tried to stifle a yawn, failing miserably. Betty arched an eyebrow.

"Fine. I'll take the bed," FP sighed.

Betty was sweet. She knew she had asked a lot, and she did her best to ease things. She made coffee every morning for him and Jug even though she never drank any of it herself. When FP was working crazy hours, she and Jughead would go grocery shopping and make food. Though FP suspected that Betty did most of the cooking. Either way, it's the most well-fed the Jones boys have been in a long time. As long as FP provided the funds, Betty (and perhaps Jug) would provide the food. She seemed happy to do it.

On her third day at the trailer, FP came home to homemade cookies. Betty was most definitely Alice's daughter.

"Shouldn't he be up by now?" FP asked, pointing to his son.

"You're welcome to try. Jughead is basically a Snorlax."

FP frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"