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Epilogue: Release
It’s Thanksgiving at last, and that means that Jughead will finally be released from his parole. Betty has invited over their families to celebrate along with Fred and Archie. She’s hoping that everything will go smoothly, but she can’t stop obsessing over getting it all just right. After all, impressing Jughead and the people that matter the most to him is just a tiny hurdle when her mother is coming too.
It’s the end of Honey & Smoke! Read on A03 here!
Coming soon to AO3...
The Secret Ingredient
A food-borne romance in five parts.
Betty has a bit of a breakdown after her fiancé, Archie Andrews, cheats on her in her own home—in her own bed—with her best friend. But that’s understandable, right?
Her editor certainly seems to think so. That’s why the magazine ships her off to meet with one of the most mysterious rising chefs on the west coast, Jughead Jones. He’s known for having a personality like a British celebrity chef, but so far he hasn’t let anyone come into his kitchen for an interview.
Betty Cooper is determined to be the first. She needs this to take her mind off things. There’s no way she’s leaving without getting what she came for—because one major disappointment in her life is all that she can take right now. Jughead Jones is just going to have to get over himself and work with her.
Prizes
“Toss the ball into the bucket! You! You, sir, would you care to give it a try? Win a stuffed animal for your lovely lady?”
Jughead rolled his eyes so hard that Betty was certain he’d give himself a retinal tear. She smiled and tugged on his arm, turning both of them toward the carnival worker.
“Come on, Jug, it looks easy,” she pleaded, smiling.
He sighed, pained, and said, “Of course it does, Betts, that’s the trick. These mosquitoes have all the games rigged. It’s a staple of American carnivals everywhere—they draw you in with a deceptively easy game and then suck your money out of your pockets, leaving an unhealthy dose of poisonous self-loathing behind.”
She was still smiling, ignoring his protests. When his dark blue eyes finally turned to her face, she let her bottom lip slide forward just slightly, and she pressed herself a little more firmly against his side.
Jughead sighed again, looked up at the sky, and then dig his free hand into his pocket to produce a crumpled twenty dollar bill.
When he extended his arm toward the carnie, Betty grinned happily and released his other arm. Jughead might have agreed to come with her to the park purely because of the food, but she’d been hoping all day that he’d win her something she could cuddle when she was alone at her parents’ house, something that would remind her of him.
As the carnie took the money, Betty noticed the way that he stared at her just a little too long to be comfortable. It made her suddenly turn and stretch onto her tiptoes, placing a good-luck kiss on her boyfriend’s cheek. He glanced over at her with a half-smile in response, his expression slightly less put-upon.
The carnie held out a tennis ball to Jughead and said, “To prove that this is all fair and square, I’ll let you get in a practice toss. You just throw the ball, like this—“ he threw his own tennis ball gently into the blue plastic bucket, then turned back to Jughead, “—and then you toss in the next one. Go ahead, champ.” Jughead tossed his ball and it remained in the bucket. The carnie smiled, widely enough that Betty could see his eye teeth, and said, “That’s it! Just toss in one, and you get one of these,” he gestured toward the small prizes at the bottom of the stand. “Throw in both, and you win this beautiful girl any big prize of her choice.”
Betty smiled at him. “Easy!” she mouthed, just to be encouraging.
The carnie put two balls down in front of Jughead, leaning against the table to one side—oddly close to Betty, but she had been the one to make Jughead do this in the first place, so she didn’t want to make a scene.
He tossed the first ball and it immediately bounced out of the bucket. The carnie said to Betty, “Oh, bad luck. Looks like he’s a little bad with his aim.”
Jughead glanced at her and she saw his eyebrows twitch, as if he was telling her See, I told you.
Betty stuck out her lip a bit again, and the carnie said, “You want to try again, champ?”
“No,” Jughead muttered, but handed over more money anyway.
He tried two more throws, which bounced out both times. While he focused, the carnie said to Betty, “Want to give it a try yourself? Maybe this guy just doesn’t have it in him.”
Jughead looked over, his frustration clear, and said, “Yeah, Betty, why don’t you see if it’s rigged?”
She frowned a bit, not wanting to upset him, and nodded hesitantly. “Sure, I’ll try,” she said.
The carnie smirked at Jughead and gave Betty two tennis balls. She tossed the first one, and it stayed in the bucket. Glancing over at her boyfriend, whose face was looking like a thunderclap, she threw the second ball.
The carnie smiled widely and turned to her. “You have your pick of the prizes, Miss!” He said too cheerfully. “It looks like you’re the real deal—talent inside to match that beautiful wrapper your mama gave you.”
Wham!
Betty jumped as Jughead’s fist collided with the carnie’s mouth, before she even had a chance to fully process that he was hitting on her. Putting one battered converse on the counter, Jughead stepped up and pulled down a stuffed animal while the carnie was still reeling. He got down, turned, and draped the large green stuffed snake over Betty’s shoulders. Hooking a finger in her belt loop, he pulled her to him and kissed her soundly, his mouth pressing hard against hers until she melted against him.
When he released her, Jughead looked over at the glaring carnie, who was rubbing the back of his wrist over his bruised mouth. Before anyone could say anything, Betty threaded her fingers through Jughead’s hand and brought his reddened knuckles to her lips, kissing them better. She left no room for misinterpretation as she did it, her green eyes flicking toward the carnie in a warning.
Both of them satisfied, they began to walk toward the snack stand that Jughead had wanted to visit before they’d become sidetracked. Betty thought that a funnel cake covered in strawberries and powdered sugar sounded perfect right now. She kept walking and slipped her arm around her boyfriend’s waist, smiling up at him when he glanced at her.
“Sorry to put on that show of my less civilized side, Betts,” he muttered.
She reached up with her free hand and angled the stuffed snake’s head so that its pink felt tongue tickled Jughead’s cheek. “I liked it,” she reassured him, grinning. “Never try to come between a King and his Queen.”
Honey & Smoke Update
Chapter 11 has been posted! Here’s a little taste~
“Jug,” she said soothingly, “didn’t I say that I’d get you a fresh start?”
Though she’d meant to be reassuring, the words made him sigh heavily and glance away. “I mean it. There are a lot of things that you don’t know about me, Betty. Some of them...I would prefer that you never found out.”
She shifted so that she was holding his hand between both of hers. Frowning, Betty said, “I can handle more than you think. You’re forgetting what I do, Jughead. I’ve seen your records--what you’ve done is nothing compared to some of the things I’ve helped people work through.”
As he shook his head, his hair fell over his eyes. He still wasn’t looking at her. “Those records aren’t a biography, Betty. They’re just the official report of the times that I let myself get caught.”
Read here on AO3!
Honey & Smoke Update~ Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Labels
As their time together as client and case manager is drawing to a close, tension has boiled to a breaking point between Betty and Jughead. How much longer can they keep resisting each other? After a trip to the ocean, it’s time for a little more truth between them...
Read about the second half of their date on AO3!
Honey & Smoke - Chapter 5
Jughead asks Betty to go out with him and get one of the best hamburgers in town. She’s not sure if he means that he wants to take her on a date, and she’s also not sure that she would mind if he does. Veronica reminds her to keep her priorities straight, but it’s hard to stay focused on the task at hand when Betty gets on the back of Jughead’s motorcycle and wraps her arms around her attractive client.
Read at AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14977535/chapters/35086994
Honey & Smoke: Chapter 8
Update:
Betty continues having trouble with her new client, Tall Boy. When Jughead shows up unexpectedly at the office, things get a little bit tense.
Thank you everyone for all your continued support! Read the update here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14977535/chapters/35374005
Update~ Honey & Smoke! Chapter 12: Trip
Things are a little tense between Betty and Jughead after she told him about his father’s visit at her office. He asks permission to skip their Thursday meeting, and Betty’s fairly anxious that she might have messed things up between them.
Warning: this chapter is where that M rating comes into play! ;)
Read it here on AO3!
