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[burger_king]

The year is 2018 and the Red Scare is alive and kicking. Worlds collide as we're brought here under mysterious circumstances, given gifts we couldn't dream to prepare for. Trapped without hope for escape we ask ourselves - will we ever see our homes again? Our loved ones? Will we embrace our new lives and is it a question of when - not if - that these powers turn on us? So many questions, and yet the biggest mystery is something else entirely.

Best burger joint. Give me your suggestions. Bonus points for cheap menus.

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[perfectible]

Digging for the truth at any cost? [ She leans against him, reaching for his hand to thread their fingers together.]

[burger_king]

Asking the hard questions, no matter what. [ He lets her take his hand, feeling calm and centred for the first time in who knows how long. ] You in?

[perfectible]

How could I refuse? [ Smiling, she gives him another kiss before she glances around.] I guess I could give you a tour of my room.

[burger_king]

[ God, it's hard to concentrate on why they're actually here. ]

Yes, you should. Before something else comes up and we forget again. [ He pulls back a little to avoid temptation, but keeps her hand in his. ]

[perfectible]

[ He pulls back, the action reminding her that they should behave, for reasons. So she keeps her hand in his and she does a leisurely lap around the room.] This is the reading nook. We were just there. [ She points to the bed.] The bed is over there and the closet too. [ She pulls him towards what looks like some kind of weird soda machine.]

This is my magic milkshake machine. Push the big button and tell it whatever flavor milkshake you want and it'll appear.

[burger_king]

[ The fake interest he's feigned over the places that they've already visited is replaced by real interest when she shows him the milkshake machine. ]

Wow. You really have quite the setup here. Question is, is it as good as Pop's?

[perfectible]

It tastes exactly like Pop's.

[ She perks her eyebrows.] Want one?

[burger_king]

We're never leaving your room again, are we?

[ Not that he's complaining. ]

[perfectible]

[ She laughs at that.] I'm not holding you hostage.

[burger_king]

I didn't say that you were. [ He wants to kiss her. He always wants to kiss her, but there's a whole house to see. ]

C'mon. Show me the rest of this place.

[perfectible]

Okay, [ she says with a wider smile, her eyes sparkling with happiness because, obviously. Every happiness cliche applies to Betty right now.

She takes him by the arm to guide him towards the other door in her room, the one that leads to the main house.]

[burger_king]

[ That she looks so happy makes him hesitate to bring up what they talked about briefly in the car, but he has a feeling that if they leave it for too long they might never bring it up again. He follows along quietly for a moment before drawing a steadying breath. ]

Betty... I don't know if now's the right time, but I meant what I said in the car. We should talk about... everything.

[perfectible]

[ She glances at him, her smile fading as she nods.] Okay. [ She reaches for his hand now.] When? Now?

[burger_king]

[ He'll let her take it, holding firmly. ] Maybe. Before we get caught up in something else.

[perfectible]

But not in my room? [ They're just outside of it but she isn't so sure she wants to be standing in a hallway if or when she starts to cry. But at the same time, he'd been eager to get out of there so maybe he wanted a different venue, for reasons unclear to her.]

[burger_king]

Your room is fine. [ Unless they get caught up in something else. ] Or we can do it later.

[ He wants this conversation but also he really doesn't. ]

[perfectible]

[ She takes his hand and leads them away from her room, towards one of the sitting areas, moving to sit on the couch and waiting for him to do the same.]

Let's do this now. I don't... It needs to happen.

[burger_king]

[ He sits down next to her with a sigh, wanting to be close without crowding her. Where do they even begin? ]

...Did Archie tell you what he said to me?

[perfectible]

No. [ She answers quietly, her gaze drawn downward in shame.] I asked him not to be cruel.

[burger_king]

[ Oh Archie. Why do you always have to go full throttle. Jughead makes a noise, a humorless chuckle. ] He said that... that you saw the path I was going down and that you wanted nothing to do with it.

I know why you did it. I get it. It's just... that part's hard to shake.

[perfectible]

Jug, no--[ She reaches for his face, turning it towards hers if it wasn't already, looking at him now.] That isn't true. It's not true at all. And I never told him to say that.

[burger_king]

I know you didn't tell him. [ What she did at FPs retirement party settled that. ] But he's not... wrong. Look at my dad - look at my family. Mom left because of the Serpents.

Maybe it's not a problem now, but it's something we need to talk about eventually. Even if it doesn't matter here, I'm still a Serpent.

[perfectible]

[ She shakes her head at that.] If it's a part of who you are, if it's something you need to explore... I already told you that I'm going to be here for you. And I meant that.

[burger_king]

[ He draws a breath as if to protest, wants to say that this isn't so much exploring as gang activities with all that entails and maybe the reason why he's not taking some time to process and think about what this means is that he won't like what it says about him. He wants to tell her what really went down with Penny, that for a moment, when he had her on her knees, screaming, he enjoyed it and there's another thing he hasn't stopped to think about because what does that say about him?

But he says none of these things. Instead he releases the breath in a sigh, head bowed. ]

Okay. [ He glances up, looks at her in earnest. ] I will never ever blame you if you want out. Okay? You have to know that.

[perfectible]

[ He isn't the only one who has an attraction to darkness. Betty's been going down a road that could lead to her destruction, the way she copes, the desires she has. When he says what he does, she reaches out to take his face in her hands.]

I don't want an out. I love you, Jughead. [ She looks at him in earnest.] I'll take the good and the bad. You've done the same for me.