Alphabet ≫ Jarchie

Q is for Quaff

Quaff— swallow greedily or hurriedly

☀︎☁︎☀︎

Dustin was seven years old. He was a cute kid, a pale little boy with wavy black hair and green eyes like his father. He was almost the splitting image, if not for his slim nose and slender face that came from his mother. And though he was the product of the two, he acted more like his other dad. He was headstrong and stubborn, yet playful and warm. The two shared the same giggle, and even the same presence. They stood tall the same way and walked the same way.

Dustin was Jughead and Archie's son.

Archie was a better parent than Jughead. They liked to make jokes about it often. Even their friends teased them. Archie and Dustin shared a bond that Jughead didn't have with his kid, despite them sharing the same DNA. Dustin and Archie stayed up late and watched baseball games. Dustin and Archie had the same favorite ice cream. Dustin and Archie laughed the same, ate the same, talked the same.

Dustin and Jughead just looked the same.

Even the boy's birth mother, Betty, had a closer bond with the raven haired boy. Dustin was too young to understand how his family worked, and had come to see Betty as more of an aunt than a mother. She came over on the weekends and they watched movies together.

Jughead could barely get Dustin to watch YouTube videos with him.

This week, Archie was going away on a business trip and Jughead was nervous. He was going to spend a whole week alone with his son who didn't seem to want much to do with him. Things were so much easier when Dustin was a baby. Dustin always gravitated towards him then. He'd cry if he wasn't in Jughead's arms. The change was so sudden and strange.

Jughead would be lying if it didn't hurt.

Archie hated how dark and somber his eyes would get when Dustin asked Archie to tuck him into bed instead of Jughead.

This was his chance though, to finally bond with his son. He just wasn't so sure how to go about it.

"You got everything babe?" Jughead asked as he watched Archie come back inside from packing his things into the car. It was a busy morning.

"I think so," the redhead answered, out of breath.

"Not everything," Jughead pointed out.

"Ugh," Archie sighed as he walked up to his husband who was sitting on the kitchen island. "What did I forget?"

"This," Jughead hummed softly before pulling Archie into him and connecting their lips together sweetly.

"Ew gross!" A small voice interrupted, causing the two to pull apart. Dustin was peaking in from behind the wall, sticking his tongue out in disgust. Like most seven year olds, the action made him want to vomit.

Archie laughed at his son's reaction and gestured for him to come here. As soon as Dustin obeyed, Archie swept him off of the ground and sat him down on the counter next to Jughead. "My two favorite little men are going to behave while I'm gone, right?" He asked.

"I'm not little," Jughead mumbled under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not either!" Dustin agreed, copying the same action.