Writer Anonima

“Ugh, why did I agree to this again?”

“Because you love me, Jones, and you want your best friend to have a good birthday, now pick.”

Veronica stands in front of him, holding out two sweaters that are made out of some fiber he’s never had the misfortune of hearing of until now. 

“Neither,” he grimaces. “Archie would never wear those.”

Veronica groans and turns back to the racks to keep looking.

“He’s your husband, shouldn’t you know what he’d want?” Jughead asks, watching the small woman rage around the section of the department store.

“It’s not about that, it just needs to be perfect,” Veronica snaps. Turning to face him holding another sweater. “I mean it’s not everyday you tell someone you’re having their baby-”

He realizes what she said before she does. And his eyes are wide in shock. 

Immediately Jughead goes back in time, he’s sixteen and he’s upset he never sees his best friend anymore because of the new girl with the snarky attitude. Archie’s gonna be a dad. Archie is having a baby with Veronica.

“You didn’t hear that,” she says, backtracking. “He doesn’t know, Jughead, I’m serious you can’t say anything-”

“Congratulations, Veronica,” he says, gesturing with his hands that his lips are sealed.

Jughead’s not exactly sure when he and Veronica became friends. Sometime between her and Archie getting together and the discovery that she has an appreciation for good literature. 

As far as he was concerned Veronica was just a stuck up rich girl who somehow got stuck in their empty town; and was next in line to take advantage of Archie’s cluelessness and his newfound attractiveness that had all the girls in town raving about him. It could only really be described as a plague. A plague he found cringe-inducing.

But time would prove Veronica did have a personality, and the two of them bonded over their shared love of vintage movies and gothic literature. And as much as he hates to admit it, she is good for Archie. He could never say it out loud but he’s glad that out of all the people Archie could choose, it’s Veronica. 

Plus he would hate to have to make small talk with another music producer (purely because they were with Archie) that continually references the same Fleetwood Mac song. The thought makes him nauseous. 

“You better not name this kid something old and pretentious like Bartholomew-”

truthfully i’m swamped with academics because for anyone that doesn’t know, in person public school in america during a covid surge isn’t super fun…

and also i just kinda took an unintentional varchie break while i was bingeing old greys anatomy episodes (if you couldn’t tell by that drabble) but i’m doing my best to write it’s just very hard because i’m incredibly uninspired.

“I’m not mad, I’m just curious!”

Veronica barely glances up from her plate, trying to spare Archie the annoyed look that’s going to come his way if he keeps this up. So much for a nice Saturday dinner.

In all honesty it’s something she probably could’ve predicted, at some point he would have to run into someone from her past life since he moved to the city. If anything it’s a miracle it took this long.

It’s just extremely inconvenient one of her old flings had to be at the same restaurant as them on this particular day; walking over to kiss her hand and remark about how long it’s been, laughing in good nature about how he never foresaw her party girl persona ever becoming tied down. 

Last time he met one of her exes it was Nick St. Clair, and she remembers very well just how great that went.

“I don’t know why this is such an issue all of a sudden-” Veronica begins, throwing him a pointed look.

“You know about my exes, why can’t I know about yours?” He challenges back.

“Of course I know about your exes, Archie, we went to highschool with them,” she snaps, looking around at the few people around them that might’ve noticed the conversation getting a bit heated. “Look, what do you want to know?”

“How many?”

“How many what?”

“How many people were there before me?”

It’s a little surprising, considering she’s usually the jealous one in their relationship. But that also might be the reason she gives in.

She sighs, throwing her napkin down and leaning back in her chair. “If I tell you, will you drop this and stop pouting like a scorned woman?”

“Yes,” Archie agrees.

Veronica pauses for a moment to think before answering, “Do one night stands count?”

His eyes widened, “Does it make that big a difference?”

“Oh do not go all high and mighty on me, Archie Andrews, you were not some celibate walker of life when we met.”

His eyes glower, knowing she’s right, but doesn’t like it.

“Hook ups don’t count.”

“Okay, then three.”

“Names?”

“That wasn’t part of the agreement,” Veronica points a finger at him, and nudges his leg with hers under the table, trying to break his expression. “Besides, it's not like you know them.”

“So then why does it matter?”

Veronica stares at him, wondering if it would be dramatic to go finish her meal with her ex and whoever he’s with because they’re the only people she knows here not being difficult

“A boy from my prep school, a girl on my old dance team, and then Reggie.”

“Ha!” he sits up straighter, like he caught her in a lie. “I do know Reggie.”

“Yes but you already knew about me and Reggie. Besides, none of them were serious, at all. Not like someone…” she raises her eyebrows at him, ready to turn things around on her apparently very investigative boyfriend.

“I didn’t have any serious relationships before you.”

“Uh huh, what do you call Josie McCoy?”

“We were together for like five minutes!”

“And yet you brought her to meet your mom, took her to Lover’s Lane probably too, undoubtedly she also was privy to all the secret little thoughts in your songbook,” she points out.

“We did that stuff too!”

“Exactly!”

They’re quiet for a few moments, both of their arms crossed in front of their chests, and while she’s strongly considering calling for the check and making him walk home, he speaks up.

“I’m sorry. You don’t owe me anything about your dating history,” Archie reaches out to take her hand, stopping a few inches before in case she doesn’t want to be touched, but she closes the gap and intertwines their fingers.

“You can ask me anything you want, Archie, but you don’t need to freak out on me about three people I’m not even remotely interested in anymore. Besides we’ve been dating since we were sixteen, I seriously think if I was going to run away with someone I dated as a baby teenager, I would’ve done it by now.”

HIs face turns tomato red, and that’s when she knows he gets it, and she’s succeeded in proving her point.

“I’m sorry,” he says again.

“I know, and it’s okay, because I’ve definitely flipped out on you about more than one waitress or random lady on the street before that smiled at you.”

Archie nods, squeezing her hand, before they both return to their food.

“Just one more thing-”

He never branches out to new things unless pushed, he’d been wearing the same brand of underwear and socks for years until she reminded him he’s a grown up with a nice paycheck and doesn’t need to buy things in value packs anymore. And it wasn’t until he proposed that he finally splurged and bought himself a proper suit that was tailored just for him.

Needless to say when he offered to decorate the apartment Veronica took him up on it, knowing she would need all the time she could get to shop for something he’d tell her he loved but then actually use.

And the time was well spent, because she found a lovely pair of boxing shoes that she was going to have custom made in his favorite shade of blue, because whoever said some things never change was right and Archie’s still the gym rat he was as a teenager.

Of course, it was all too good to be true. She should’ve known better than to expect her to be able to finish her work early for her Christmas break from the office, find Archie a gift, and then get to go home to a festive apartment and be with her husband. 

Something always has to go wrong.

“It’s nothing! Really, it’s not even the worst I’ve ever had, it’s only like four stitches,” he tries to reason frantically, waving his hands in his holiday sweater, as she takes a single step into their home. “I didn’t even need pain meds, just the numbing stuff, because it’s not a big deal.”

“What the hell did you do?”

Dropping her bag on the floor and quite literally running to him, Veronica grabs his chin to examine his cheekbone that was now covered in a thick white bandage. 

“Archie, what happened?” she mumbles miserably. She left him alone for a few hours and he goes and wrecks his handsome face. She should’ve called Kevin to babysit.

He’s clearly nervous as he awaits more of her beratement but nonetheless replies, “I tripped and knocked my cheek on the coffee table. But don’t worry, I didn’t get blood on the carpet-”

She slaps his arm. “Archibald, I don’t care about the carpet, I care about your face! Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because it was no big deal!” he repeats honestly, placing his hands on her waist. “And seriously I’ve had to go to the ER enough to know when I need a driver with me.”

Veronica rolls her eyes at that. Of course he would think it’s reassuring to remind her of all the times he’s gotten seriously injured.

Everyone was surprised when Archie got into med school. He’s always been the sporty quiet type, and never really a star pupil in school. It didn’t help that the people around him were perfect academics with straight A’s, so to save himself the embarrassment he didn’t tell anyone he even applied.

He wanted to fix things, make a difference. It was a stupid dream in the back of his mind ever since his dad got shot in a crossfire of local gang activity. He hoped that maybe he could save some other kids' dad, make sure no one's time ends too soon.

And then he got into med school despite it all, and he studied hard and finished strong, eventually passing his intern exams and later his boards as a resident.

He became an attending at Mass Gen. When he became an intern he was set on going into trauma, he was told he had fast instincts and could react in a calm way to do the job. But during his years as a resident he fell in love with Orthopedic Surgery. 

He had a few cases on an Ortho rotation where he figured out it’s something that comes naturally to him. The bones are the scaffolding of the body, keeping everything up and working. It’s not so different from fixing things like a handyman, his area of expertise just so happened to be the human body. 

It wasn't a shock to most of his classmates, the brawny redhead likes breaking bones, but it was the specialty for him.

And apparently it paid off because then he was offered the Head of Orthopedic Surgery position at New York Presbyterian. Archie’s been specializing in Pediatric Ortho for a few years now, taking the extra work on to achieve that credential, but really it just makes it so he gets as many cases as possible - adult or adolescent. Plus, he thinks kids are a lot more fun to work with than stressed out New York adults.

He loved his job, most of his interns weren’t horrible, probably because the hospital is affiliated with both Columbia and Cornell so the ones who made it through that med school program know what they’re doing. The only ones he has to look out for are kids who think their dads can buy their way to becoming a surgeon.

“Stay away from Valentine, Mantle, she’s trying to work,” Archie says as soon as his friend walks into the room, nodding to Dr. Melody Valentine, his ortho fellow who was currently hunched over a microscope in the lab.

Archie looks up from his station. They’ve been growing cartilage from scratch, as per a case study done previously across the country, for a patient. It takes a lot of time and focus, which is why he momentarily gives his friend his attention so he doesn’t screw up months of hard work.

Reggie raises his arms in defense. “I didn’t do anything, Andrews. You always assume the worst.”

“Well, with good reason.”

Dr. Reggie Mantle, Plastics. He’s great at what he does, can work magic really, stitching up lacerations and making it seem like nothing was ever there. He’s lucky he’s so good because he also can’t keep it in his pants. Interns, residents, nurses. The amount of inter-office relationships he’s had definitely should be an HR violation.

“Let’s keep the judgement on the down low, all right? The specialist from Paris is flying in today. In fact, I think I saw her in the lobby,” he looks at Archie, raising his eyebrows, and all he can really do is roll his eyes in response.

One of their cardio attendings, Dr. Blossom, called up an old friend to assist on a particularly high risk patient she’s been working with. The surgery is scheduled for this afternoon, apparently she’s a vascular surgeon that’s been living abroad the past few years. 

“Leave her alone too, she’s also going to be working,” Archie pleads, seriously hoping his colleague will heed his words and not make a total ass of himself. “Plus aren’t you going to be doing a cleft palate today? You’ll be busy.”

“You’re no fun, Andrews. One day you’ll loosen up, you’ll see,” he points a finger as he exits the lab, making Archie laugh before returning to his work.

It’s hard to keep a relationship as a surgeon, so in a way he understands hooking up with co-workers every once in a while, but Reggie’s a lost cause. 

Sometimes they work shifts up to 28 hours, which seems like a legal infringement but it’s part of the job. When Archie’s not at the hospital, he’s sleeping at his apartment. And when he’s not at his apartment, he’s at the hospital. Keeping up a relationship just isn’t easy, he’s had a few girlfriends but they wanted more of his time that he couldn’t give. And he’s just accepted for now he’s going to be single, at least until the prime of his career is behind him, or he finds someone who gets it.

____

“Alright, let’s do another lap. I’m still right here if you fall. You got it.”

Mrs. Johnson is a patient Archie’s been seeing for a bit now. She needed a double hip replacement and is now in the stages of PT. He visits her everyday to oversee it himself because she’s a sweet old woman without any family in the city. Plus he’s not super sure he trusts his interns with a patient so fragile.

“Oh, actually this is him now. Dr. Andrews?”

Archie glances over his shoulder momentarily, not wanting to mess up Mrs. Johnson’s balance, but all thoughts of his patient are soon out of his mind. Because it’s her. 

His fifth year as a resident, at the boards. The test that would determine whether or not he was to become a board certified surgeon. 

“We shouldn’t do this,” she says, looking around the bar at all the other residents drinking and eating, trying to take the edge off before the test tomorrow. He knows she’s right, but he also can’t find it in himself to listen.

“We definitely shouldn’t do this.”

The girl he chatted with at the bar, who joked with him about the nerves proceeding possibly the most important day of their young careers, and then got him following her with magnetic force all the way to her hotel room.

No, he’s not thinking of Mrs. Johnson, or even the Chief of Surgery or Dr. Blossom standing right there, giving her the tour. Because she’s here.

This is disastrous.

“Dr. Andrews?” she says, and he can see it in her eyes she knows. “Dr. Lodge, Vascular surgery. I’ll be assisting Dr. Blossom on her surgery today.”

Of course she is.

“But hopefully I’ll be able to steal her from France, she could be a real asset around here,” the chief jokes, making her laugh.

Not to mention, it’s owned by the most sophisticated person in Riverdale, so it makes sense to Archie.

He watches her, now, speaking with Reggie about some schedule or something from across the room. He gets insecure, sometimes, knowing she and Reggie are spending so much time together. After all, they were together for a little while when Archie couldn’t be there. And the guilt he feels about that fact might be the same amount of unwarranted suspicion he feels every time she has another meeting or has to go stock the speakeasy with Reggie.

He knows she deserved to move on, god he knows, but he’s still selfish enough to be upset. He shouldn’t get to be but he is from time to time. Archie’s not sure how he ever got her back once, let alone a second time. Her and Reggie make so much sense; Well off families, cunning and adventurous, good looking. 

As much as Archie loves Veronica, as deep and totally in love with her that he is, they’ve never made sense from the outside looking in. That was the problem before, her father’s problem with them. Sometimes he just feels like he’s waiting for Veronica to realize she’s been fooling herself this whole time. 

But then the way she looks at him, and kisses him, and tells him she loves him makes those thoughts leave immediately. And he thinks of all the times she’s confided in him, things she’s never told anyone, and he gets it. Because he’s been through the same things. Absent parents, lonely childhood, just doing their best to hold everything around them together. They don’t make sense from an outside perspective, but from the inside out they’re the only clear thing. The similarities are things only they can see.

He doesn’t think he could handle ever losing her again.

His territorial jealousy, though, dissolves the moment she walks over to him. She looks so tired, and a little sad, even though she’s so god damn gorgeous in the dress she picked out for tonight's event. It’s a normal night, but it has a theme which follows something about marketing Ronnie was telling him about.

He hate’s when she gets like this, he can see her mood shift even others can’t. And he knows exactly what she’s putting herself through right now. Thinking about her dad, wondering if it’s even worth it, maybe it was ridiculous and if she makes up with him everything could go back to how she remembers it was before he was arrested. She asks herself if she can do this, a little rich girl that knows nothing about the real world, can she fight back and make her own living. 

She questions herself so harshly, something no one sees because of her high walls surrounding her in protection. He feels lucky to have been allowed inside, honored to know her so well.

“We don’t have enough liquor. Reggie didn’t put in the order like he was supposed to,” she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose when she approaches, coming to stand between his legs. “I don’t know, maybe we should just cancel tonight.”

“Hey,” he gently takes her hands, moving them away from her face and bringing them to his mouth to kiss. “You’re not canceling. Everything’s gonna be fine, if you run out you can make mocktails, like you did before you had a liquor license. And if it’s a success people will be too drunk to notice anyway.”

It makes him sad to see her uneasy, because he remembers back to last week how animated she was while telling him about her ideas and things from the business side of it even though he didn’t really understand. It makes him happy to see her so excited about something, especially since any reason she has to feel joy has been taken from her. She doesn’t deserve it but everywhere she goes people are throwing hurdles in front of her, or just stabbing her in the back.

He admires her so much.

“I don’t know, what if-” Veronica starts, looking around the room like she’s trying to find something else that’s wrong while the people she hired for the night set up. 

“It’s going to be great, Ronnie,” he promises, holding her waist and getting close enough that she’s forced to look at him. “You’re gonna be great.”

She pauses for a moment, looking at him, trying to make him break but he doesn’t. He just looks back at her just as assured.

“You’re right,” she admits, finally, breathing out. Her palms frame his face and she kisses him, whispering, “Thank you,” against his lips.

“And if things do go wrong, at least I have a handsome getaway driver,” she kisses him one more time before hugging him tightly. He laughs, holding her back, just glad to hear her usual joking tone even if he knows she’ll still be stressed until it’s all over.

From blueprints and countless hours spent planning, Archie feels like everything’s come full circle once again. They’re only 27, but this is Veronica’s third enterprise she’s opened, and patrons of her other establishments seem to enjoy the opening of this one just as much if the packed crowd had anything to say about it.

“Did you have fun?” Archie asks, arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders as they walk back to their apartment through Central Park. His suit jacket is draped over her shoulders, and she looks more stunning than ever with the sparkle dancing in her eyes.

She nods, “I did. I think this one might be my favorite project yet, and if tonight's turnout means anything it might be the most successful one too. Also, it meant a lot you were there.”

Archie meets her eyes as they walk together. They both have busy schedules, her being a budding business woman and him being one of the newest talents of the music producing world. He wasn’t planning on going into music like he dreamed of initially, probably going to get a degree in teaching or something more reliable, but she pushed him to do it. Because it’s what he’s always wanted, and after all, it’s why they left Riverdale. The little town wasn’t big enough for what they wanted.

“I always have time for you, Ronnie, you know that,” he grins, blushing a little when she presses a kiss to his hand resting on her shoulder. 

He remembers back in high school, when she somehow became a 17 year old entrepreneur, but if anyone could it would be her. He’s come to discover this woman can do whatever she sets her mind to. He remembers how insecure she was in herself, and her capabilities, how unsure she was that her taking this path was the right idea and she wasn’t going to make some huge mistake. Watching her tonight go from clique to clique, mingling and shaking hands, made him completely forget about that girl, only able to know the confident woman in front of him.

“Besides, I love being the husband of the owner,” Archie says, watching her laugh outwardly. “I’m like a VIP.”

She holds his waist tighter. “Well, you are. Very Important Partner.”

Partner. That’s what they are, and that’s what he always wants them to be. Equally giving and taking, sharing power roles and taking turns supporting the other’s endeavors. He loves being that for her.

She doesn’t remember the elevator being this slow. For the most modern building in town you’d think it would have something to show for it. She checks her phone. It’s been three minutes since she opened his message.

She can’t help but wonder if more has happened in the time it’s taking him to get to the penthouse floor.

When her bedroom door opens, because he has a key, because what’s left of this apartment she doesn’t want to be alone with, she practically grabs him.

He’s shaking, and cold, and it’s not the first time it’s happened. It’s not the first time he’s called her out of breath and crying when the sun is down.

And at night, when he’s been up for hours because he can’t sleep, he runs. Because the things that haunt him scream in his mind. Abandoned, taken advantage of, framed, beaten. He pushes everything down, it’s something about him she despises. And it all seems to be forcing itself to the surface more and more often lately, especially since Fred died.

“Ronnie…” Archie sobs, and she feels it. She knows how much pain he’s in, and it’s not fair. It’s not fair this is happening to him. He didn’t do anything, this isn’t something that should happen to people like him. But like balance, bad people get off, and good people sink.

In their relationship, it’s one of the only things she’s felt truly confident in; comforting him after getting hurt. She knows what it is to be damaged and stained. The difference is hers was earned, his wasn't.

“I’m here,” she whispers. “I’ve got you.”

He should be hot, for the distance he sprinted to get here, but he’s shivering. Because it’s winter and she wants to be mad at him for not calling and letting her drive to him but she just pulls him under the covers of her bed.

She blames herself. When she met him, when she fell in love with him, he was just a boy. He was so innocent, and he didn’t know what he was getting into by falling in love with her. And she thinks back to a year ago, when he ‘returned’, scarred and drunk. Covered in bruises, emotional and physical. Tape and glue holding his broken pieces in place.

So different from the boy with the strawberry milkshake and curious smile she first met.

And that change is her fault.

“Don’t go. You can’t go too, okay? You-”

“Shh, Archie, I”m not going anywhere.”

His face becomes more deeply buried in her neck. “Do you hear me? I’m not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere.”

Growing up an only child, all his grandparents dead, his mom gone, his dad absent now dead. She’s too much to blame already, and over her dead body is she going to be the next to join that list. As long as she’s breathing he’s not going to be alone.

The way he’s holding onto her breaks her heart, and she makes sure to focus on her breath, so his will steady.

“Tell me. Please.”

It makes her smile, as sad as the situation is. It’s one of the coping tools she learned about forever ago, that she’s been using to calm him down when he has these attacks, and it seems to work the best too.

“After graduation, when we move to the city, we’ll get an apartment together. Just me and you,” she starts, playing with the ends of his hair. “And I’m gonna go to school, and get my business degree. And you’re gonna study music, or get a business degree of your own, or whatever you decide you want to do.”

She notices how she holds onto him tighter too, if possible, at the sound of her own words.

It’s something they’ve talked about for years, since she told him she loved him. The hypothetical that they hoped wasn’t really a hypothetical. Escaping her crazy family that was holding her back and the town that was too small for his dreams.

“And we’re gonna get out of here, and start our life together.”

“There you are.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Veronica smiles at the sight of her favorite person as he dashes from the sliding door to the outdoor couch on their terrace where she’s seated, attempting to escape as much cold as possible. It’s that period between spring and summer where it’s just so nice outside, but that doesn’t mean deep into the night the New York City winds don’t send bone chilling shivers down your spine.

He lets out a breath as she makes room for him under the thick blanket, “I was worried when I woke up and I didn’t have my personal weighted blanket on me,” Archie chuckles at the way she rolls her eyes, loving to tease her whenever he can. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just couldn’t sleep. Thought the air could help.”

“Oh good. For a second I thought I had a runaway bride on my hands. Not having any regrets already, are you? After all you did have some time to think about it-”

She elbows him for that, laughing nonetheless and letting herself be pulled onto his lap so he can kiss her cheek in apology. That’s another one of his favorite jokes to make, how he tried to propose multiple times but she wouldn’t let him actually get the question out until she finished grad school. Once she did, it took no time at all for them to tie the knot, because even though they hadn’t been officially engaged, it was a wedding that’s been in the works for years.

“Not a chance, Archiekins. You’re stuck with me,” Veronica’s left hand comes to rest on his chest, wedding ring over his heart. He kisses her and it all just feels so complete.

She remembers when he was paying her late night visits sort of like this one, but not the pleasant kind at all. After high school he started therapy, to deal with the trauma of all that he’s been through. Since then the nightmares and panic attacks have stopped, he’s a lot stronger and better equipped to deal with it all now too. And she’s just so proud of him.

She’ll never stop feeling guilty for the baggage that came with him getting involved with her, but as she got older she started accepting not all of it is her fault. That even if it sounds selfish, all the bad they both went through brought so much good too, because they made it. And they’re here, together .

“Lucky me,” he mumbles against her mouth, and she giggles through his kisses. “I love you, Ronnie.”

That makes her smile, and she kisses his cheek, then again on his neck, “I love you too.”

Archie kisses her hairline, and holds her for a while, whispering softly how much she means to him.