#swughead

Jughead could take a punch and keep talking with a level head.

That didn't mean Sweetpea would let him.

When Sweetpea snapped and pushed past even Jughead's attempts at stopping him, it caught Toni and Fang's attention. Sweetpea had never been one to intervene in someone else's business. He was always there as backup if things went wrong, and would step in if things got dangerous, but when Toni or Fangs stood up to someone, Sweetpea had always stood to the side with the widest, proudest big brother smirk on his face. So watching the way that Sweetpea not only inserted himself into the show down, but also put himself between the other two boys in a way that was absolutely protective of Jughead? It was a dead giveaway.

It was Archie who managed to calm everyone down that time - for once. Fangs and Toni were too busy looking at each other with wide eyes and timid smiles to really pay attention though. If they were needed, they would interject. The prospect of Sweetpea being so protective of Jughead was too distracting to engage in a fight that would probably happen again a few hours later anyway.

The next time the something between Sweetpea and Jughead showed itself, it was in a quiet moment. They had just taken a hard hit and had been trying to keep it together while people were watching... now they were all huddled in Jughead's trailer. Toni leaned against the wall, arms crossed over her chest as she looked at her feet. Next to her, Fangs sat on the ground with his legs pulled up, arms dangling as they rested on his knees. Jughead was on the couch, head in hands, and Sweetpea sat near him on the arm of the same couch. After a second, Jughead looked at at his friends and then took a deep breath. He stood to his feet without saying anything, his hand resting on Sweetpea's shoulder. The two boys looked at each other and nodded without smiling.

Their eyes lingered though, and Jughead's hand stayed a little too long on Sweetpea's shoulder. Much longer than when Jughead helped Fangs to his feet or he reached out to touch Toni's wrist. The second he gathered the other two, he was right back at Sweetpea's side again, and this time it seemed... odd. He had to move back across the room to stand by the taller Serpent, and it was so unnecessary when he could have just stayed by Toni like he had plenty of times before. The way Jughead moved, too: slow and random. Like he was gravitating toward Sweetpea without realizing, instead of moving to him on purpose. It made Toni and Fangs look to each other, wondering if the other could see what they did.