Bughead oneshots 2

Abandoned

Requested by -Bubbly-Snowflake-

TW: child abuse/neglect

Betty's hand intertwined with Jughead's as she held the lead of their dog Charlie, him bounding ahead of them trying to get to the fresh patch of field. Betty giggled softly, carefully unclipping his lead so he set off in the direction of the grass immediately. 

"I wish I had that much energy" Jughead chuckled, wrapping his arm around his wife. She laughed, kissing his cheek as she leaned into him "Don't we all"

The two walked hand in hand around the large park, dogs running around and families having picnics by the field. Charlie was running around in circles but stayed close to his owners as usual, his fur now covered in mud that they would later have to clean up. Still they just enjoyed the peace of this, having such busy lives recently that they could finally relax. 

"Where's Charlie?" Betty asked when she couldn't see him any longer, instantly on high alert. He was a small dog but he never left their sight so she started to panic slightly, Jughead whislting to hopefully call him back. "Charlie!" Betty called out, speeding up her pace as she walked in the direction that she had last saw him going towards. 

Jughead followed after her, passing through a row of trees where they heard his playful barks, Betty sighing in relief and walking over. The woman froze when she saw her dog running in circles around a little girl who was stood alone, her hair in messy braids with tears poruing from her lime green eyes. 

"Hi sweetie" she spoke softly, edging towards the girl as Jughead caught up, frowning in confusion when he noticed the girl. "Where are your parents?" Betty asked gently, crouching down in front of her. The brunette stared at her blankly, not replying but more tears continued to fall. 

"Do you know where they are?" she asked, placing her hand on her arm. The girl just shook her head, Charlie now licking at her hand which made her giggle slightly. "Sorry he's just being friendly, should we go find your parents?"

Jughead watched as he practically saw the colour drain from her face, shaking her head immediately. "No I don't wanna" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Betty looked back at him worriedly causing him to walk over and crouch down too. 

"We won't make you go back if you don't want, can you tell me what the tears are for though?" he asked, Betty confused by his words. Surely they needed to find the parents who were probably worried sick. Jughead however had a different view on this, he knew there was a strong reason she didn't want to. Just like he had tried to stay away from his home so many times. 

"Mummy wasn't nice" she mumbled sadly, looking down at her feet that were in bright pink boots. "She drank again" was all they needed to hear before their hearts broke, Betty taking the girl into her arms. "What's your name honey?"

"Ava" she replied as Betty sat on the ground, helping the girl onto her lap. Jughead put Charlie back on his lead and sat down "Be gentle" he spoke as Charlie started to climb on Ava's lap, trying to lick her face which made her squeal and giggle. 

"This is Charlie, I'm Betty and this is my husband Jughead" Betty smiled, wiping Ava's eyes with a tissue and helping her blow her nose. "I don't have to go back?" she asked hopefully, looking up with them with her big green orbs that could make anyone melt. 

"Of course not, we'll take you to people that can keep you safe" Jughead assured, letting her feed Charlie a treat. She patted his head making the couple laugh softly, they seemed to already be hitting it off. If anyone were to look at them from a distance they'd seem like a perfect little family, Ava cheering up now as Betty tickled her stomach and Jughead made silly faces at her. 

"Have you eaten properly honey?" Betty questioned, worried for the girls' health. She was scarily thin for her age. "Hungwy" Ava shook her head, whining softly. 

"Lets take her to Pop's, then we can call Ms Weiss up for some advice" Jughead spoke quietly to his wife, his hand rubbing her back gently. She nodded and stood up, holding Ava on her hip as they walked back to the car with Charlie bounding ahead in front of them. 

The couple had made sure Ava ate a full meal whilst they asked her about herself, keeping the topic away from her family life. After that they arranged to meet with Ms. Weiss the next day but the two didn't have the heart to report the case because she'd be thrown into a run down care home for the night. 

"I can't Juggie, I want her to be looked after" Betty whispered as she watched the green orbed girl sip on her milkshake. 

"We'll let her stay with us for tonight, then we can discuss options tomorrow. It's gonna be okay gorgeous, we'll fix it" he whispered back, pressing a kiss to her temple. She nodded trusting his words as always, giggling when Ava couldn't figure out how to open the ketchup bottle so she quickly helped her making the child happy again. They couldn't help but make heart eyes at her, finding it incredible that she still had a goofy smile on her face after all she'd been through. How could someone be so cruel to such a sweet child?

_______________________________________________________________

"Well I'm glad you came to me first rather than taking her to some care home" Ms Weiss spoke after hearing the couple explain. She knew them very well and had watched them grow up to become who they are now, she'd been the one to find Jughead's foster family when he was a teenager, helped Betty discover the secrets about her brother Charles and had come to their aid many times. 

"We just want some advice on how to handle this, she stayed with us last night and couldn't sleep for more than an hour without waking up from nightmares. I don't want her thrown into some place that doesn't care and we don't even know where the parents are" Betty vented. 

"From my perspective you have a few options. We can work to find her a foster family like I did for you Jughead, or we can find if she has any extended family that would be willing to take care of her" she started, going through slowly so they understood.

"Now I'm not saying this would work, but you could take the parents to court. If you have a strong case with undeniable evidence then you'd win over the judge" she explained. 

"Which would lead to what?" Jughead questioned, resting his chin on his fist. "Well if you were to win this case, which you have a strong chance at, you could earn full custody" 

Betty shot up in her seat "We could?" she asked biting down on her lip. She had been so scared about sending Ava into a messed up system and the little girl had become attached to both of them very quickly. "You would have to take part in house visits and welfare checks plus them checking our your past but if you pass through all that which I have no doubt you will, then you can take her in. Obviously its up to you but if you really have bonded like it seems you have then I don't see why not. She'd be recorded into the system and you would be adoptive parents" the woman explained. 

This gave both Betty and Jughead a lot to think about, driving to Veronica and Archie's as they had been looking after Ava during the meeting. Betty sat with her hands in her lap and head turned towards the window, staring out of it. It was her dream to start a family with Jughead, that had become stronger when they got married but they just hadn't been actively trying to get pregnant on purpose. 

Jughead had one hand on the steering wheel, his other one fiddling with his raven curls which is something he did when he was stressed or nervous. He knew he and his blonde beauty had become attached to Ava just like she had with them so the thought of sending her away hurt him too much. He knew what it felt like to be pushed and pulled between different 'homes', feeling like no one wanted you, stuck in this cycle of social workers and senseless hope. He didn't want that for her, she deserved a stable loving family. Were they the ones to give that to her?