GANG RELATED [SWEET PEA] [✔️]

SEVENTEEN || ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT'S ME, FALLON

It had been a week since the Serpents laid Dixie to rest, and in true Fogarty fashion, both Fallon and Fangs were repressing every negative feeling that they'd come into possession of since then.

Fallon slid out of bed, the familiar pit of grief still weighing heavy in her gut. Sweet Pea still slept soundly, given it was 6:30 in the morning, but Fallon knew damn well her baby would be wide awake, waiting for mama to come feed her.

Sure enough, Forsythia was awake, but Fallon stumbled backwards in shock when she realized that not only was Forsythia awake, but the six month old was sitting up, chubby hands gripping the bars of her crib.

"Oh my goodness! My smart, beautiful girl! Hi, angel!" Fallon whisper-cheered, a smile gracing her face as she lifted Forsythia into her arms, snuggling her nose into Forsythia's dark hair.

Forsythia looked up at her mother, practically mirror image blue eyes staring adoringly into Fallon's. "When did you learn to do that, huh?" Fallon wondered aloud, her energetic baby wiggling around in her arms, footie-jammie covered feet kicking rhythmically back and forth.

"I bet you're hungry. Let's get you some food, yeah?" Fallon whispered, shifting Forsythia to her hip as she crept into their tiny kitchen, the sun barely showing through the clean but worn out blinds over the little window above the sink.

With one hand, Fallon popped open the jar of strawberry banana baby food, the rubbery spoon in her hand feeling very small. Forsythia had just begun to eat baby food, switching over from formula to the jars of mush a week before. Sweet Pea had a fabulous time feeding the baby, the man positively dissolving into a puddle of choo choo train noises and adoring smiles as the baby ate.

Forsythia now sat in a high chair, a bib that said "trouble maker" around her neck (Sweet Pea's idea, obviously). Spoonful by spoonful, the baby ate her way through the jar, the silence broken only by her little grunts of satisfaction.

Fallon hadn't had a moment of quiet like this in a long time, her every waking moment haunted by thoughts of the Serpent war and Dixie's death. She rarely had time to just sit, watch her baby eat.

Her thoughts were broken by the sound of heavy footsteps on the floor, indicating that Sweet Pea was awake and headed for the kitchen.

"Hey, baby. Hi, munchkin." He said, kissing Fallon and Forsythia respectively.

"Good morning, you." Fallon said softly, a tired smile on her face. "You missed it, Peanut here sat up on her own this morning."

Sweet Pea whirled around, a smile on his face. "Good job, little girl! Good job!" He praised, planting a kiss on the top of Forsythia's black hair. "She's gotten so big," He sighed, and Fallon giggled. "Oh, I know, she's growing like a weed."

"She'll be strong, like me!" Sweet Pea boasted, and Fallon rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I grew her."

"Yeah, yeah, pull the woman card." Sweet Pea grumbled playfully as he turned back to the sink.

The three settled into a comfortable silence, only broken by Fallon's quiet laugh or Forsythia's baby gurgles. Sweet Pea's coffee cup clanked on the countertop, signaling that he'd finished the whole thing.

"I think it's time to go to school, Pea. And time for you to go to the babysitter's, Minnie Mouse." Fallon said, poking the baby's tummy.

"Why can't we just ditch today?" Sweet Pea pouted, but sighed in defeat when Fallon gave him a hard look. "Yep, okay, fine."

"It's just tough," He protested, "With Dixie being gone and all."

"It's been a week, Pea. We gotta keep moving. It's what Dixie would've told us to do." Fallon sighed, her gut twisting painfully at the mention of their fallen friend.

"You're right, as always." He mumbled from the front  closet, slipping into his flannels and jacket, boots already on his feet.

Fallon didn't bother to put on anything besides eyeliner, mascara, and her eyebrows, frowning when she noticed how sharp and angular her face looked in the mirror. This war had obviously not been kind to her, her skinny body even more thin than usual due to the stress.

"Alright," She said as she trudged out to where Sweet Pea and Forsythia were waiting. "Here I am."

Soon enough she was on her bike, the familiar growl of the engine vibrating through her body as she rode through the chilly morning mists. It had rained with an unusual fury the night before, thunder and lightning shattering the silence in Riverdale.

There seemed to be a bad moon rising for the Serpents in Riverdale, she thought. Not that there wasn't before, but she sensed that it was only going to get worse.