STARTER !! for @bcssbitchs / tabitha tate
Jughead couldn’t ignore the tremor in his knees after he left his support group. The honesty and bravery it required to open up about his darkest days was hitting him now, and he could feel his legs trudging along as he dragged himself towards the lights of Pop’s. He told Tabitha he would meet her afterwards over a milkshake, and truth be told it was one of the only things he’d been looking forward to. Getting back on his feet was hard, but doing it with someone like Tabitha Tate felt safe. She WAS safe. Her grandfather had created a space in Riverdale he found haven in throughout his youth, always a roof over his head for when he needed it ( and that had been often ). That sense of home had always been connected to the vibrant neon, but Jughead was now realizing it was in the DNA of this family.
Every single year after graduating he came back to visit Pop Tate. Now, he wondered, if it would be Tabitha he felt a yearning for.
‘ Tee ? ‘ he called out, the bell above the door ringing as it always did, the man following linoleum floor to the bar top. ‘ Please tell me there’s a sugary milkshake with my name on that I’ll overpay for, and overtip for. ‘
The ghost of a grin showed, more so by the look in his eyes than a real expression, as he sat down on one of the stools. There he could rest his bag on the seat beside him and forearms on the bar top, finally looking up to see where she was. ( Or if he’d been speaking to nothing but the salt and pepper shakers ).
