Alphabet ≫ Jarchie

Impecunious II

Impecunious— the one where Jughead is a tactless thief and Archie is a moral millionaire. Also see: Jughead keeps calling Archie, mister. Kinky?? Perhaps.

☁︎☀︎☁︎

"That pouty thing you're doing is pretty cute, but sort of concerning. What's the matter? Can't pronounce the words?" Archie was staring at Jughead with a smug expression, his menu in his hands.

Jughead closed his menu with a huff and sank down into his seat. "When I said fancy, I thought menus in English were also a given."

Archie chuckled and closed his menu as well. "I can order for you, if you want?"

"No thanks, mister. I would prefer to keep my dignity if that's alright with you," Jughead mumbled. He turned his head away from the puzzle and looked around the restaurant. He could feel eyes on him no matter where he turned. Archie was in a full suit and tie along with a lot of the other occupants. Jughead, on the other hand, was wearing ripped jeans—he hadn't gotten them that way— and an old hoodie that needed to be washed. He began to shake his leg underneath the table, and continued to let his gaze wander around.

Archie noticed how uncomfortable he was and smiled a bit. He didn't seem so confident and intimidating anymore. It was actually sort of adorable. "Let's go," he said after a minute.

Jughead snapped his head up. "Huh?"

Archie didn't bother to answer. He stood up and looked at Jughead expectantly before walking out. It wasn't long after Jughead quickly joined him outside. They hadn't ordered anything yet, but walking out somehow felt wrong.

You know, coming from the thief.

"Are you going to tell me about yourself? Or are you just going to continue to let me make incorrect assumptions?" Archie asked. They were walking now, stepping along side the tiny shops on Main Street in the same stride.

"I quite find your incorrect assumptions entertaining," Jughead said, the smirk evident in his voice. "Who am I to ruin ignorance?"

"Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit—" Archie began without skipping a beat.

"Touch it and the bloom is gone," Jughead finished for him quietly.

"Okay," Archie chuckled, staring up at him in surprise. "So you like Oscar Wilde?"

"Who doesn't?" He deadpanned as he stuffed his hands in his pocket. "I can read you know, just not things in Italian."

"You just didn't seem like the classic literature type, I guess," Archie corrected.

Jughead snorted. "What did I seem like?"

"Like one of those emo guys who quote song lyrics that really aren't all that deep."

"There seems to be some deep trauma embedded in that."

"I have a cousin who used to add the phrase 'I can't drown my demons they know how to swim' in every conversation. It was hard to be around him that year," he explained.

Jughead actually laughed, a full one too. It was the first time Archie had seen him smile, and he almost felt like it should've been documented.