25 & 28!
It’s past midnight when Betty texts him and tells him to meet her outside the auto shop. He shrugs on a sweatshirt and texts her back (for any particular reason, betts?) as he’s making his way out of the house, not bothering to wait for her to answer. He knows he’s going to end up there, anyway.
They’ve been back in town for a few weeks, now, and things between them have been…well, interesting, to say the least. They lost their cool for a moment and wound up having really great sex in his shower, but they’d agreed it was a one-time thing and moved along from it…for the sake of their friendship, or whatever.
That’s what Betty had said, anyway. He wasn’t going to argue with her, this time.
He texts her when he’s out front, patting his hands against his thighs as he waits for her. He knows she’s coming, but he still jumps when he sees the garage door start to lift up and light starts to spill out. “Betty,” he laughs in a loud whisper, “what the fuck?”
She rolls her eyes at him, tugging him into the shop by the hem of his sweatshirt and laughing as he stumbles into her a bit. He steadies himself with his hands on her hips, letting out a laugh and giving her a squeeze. “I just thought,” she shrugs, grinning up at him, “it would be fun, y’know?”
He squints down at her, frowning lightly and sliding his hands up to her waist, tapping his fingers gently against her sides. “Fun? You call breaking and entering fun, Agent Cooper?”
“I’m not breaking anything, we’re just entering – I have a key,” she rolls her eyes at him, shoving him and making her way over to her desk and picking up a bottle of wine she’s clearly already opened up. “Want some?”
He nods, smiling softly over at her and letting out a slow breath. “So,” he chuckles, walking over and leaning against the desk, watching as she pours some wine into a plastic cup. “Let me get this straight, Betts. We live…ten steps away from each other, and instead of just…inviting me over for a glass of wine, you…dragged me to the auto shop in the middle of the night?”
“God,” Betty scowls at him, her eyes playful as she hands him the wine. “You’re so boring now that you’re old.”
“Oh, now that I’m old?” He sips his wine, shaking his head. “You know you’re comin’ up on being old, too, right?”
Betty smiles at him, shaking her head. “No, no, you’re always gonna be older, so it doesn’t matter how old I get.”
“Ah,” Archie laughs, setting his cup down and taking a step closer to her, raising his brow. “S’that how that works?”
Betty nods, biting on the rim of her cup and keeping her eyes on his. Archie swallows, biting on the inside of his cheek. Something feels…different, here, tonight, but he can’t put his finger on just what, yet.
Betty sets her cup down, brushing her fingers against his wrist as she pulls her hand back and tucks some hair behind her ear. “Hey Arch?” Archie hums, trying not to stare at her mouth. “If i kissed you right now, what would you do?”
Archie sucks in a breath, furrowing his brows. “I thought…I thought we weren’t,” he flicks his tongue out over his lower lip, finding her eyes. “I thought we weren’t…doing that, anymore.”
Betty shrugs. “I’m not doing anything, I’m asking a question.”
Archie frowns at her, but takes a step closer. He can feel his breath hitting her cheek. “What would I do?” Betty nods. “Well,” he lets out a low laugh. “I…I mean, you could find out.”
Betty pouts out her lower lip. “Or you could tell me.”
“Or,” Archie settles his hand on her waist, dragging his thumb along the curve of it and raising his brow, his eyes on her mouth. “You could find out, Betts.”
Betty lets out a frustrated little sound, but surges up and presses her lips to his. Archie slips his fingers into her hair, pulling her against him and chuckling into her mouth, kissing her the way he’s wanted to for weeks…maybe years.
Betty pulls back after a long moment, letting out a soft sigh and nudging her nose against his. “Well,” she mumbles, her eyes closed. “Good to know, at least. For science, and all.”
Archie nods, mumbling a soft, “Yeah, for science,” before he pulls her back in and gets her to stop fucking talking.
