Chapter Text
“Juggie?” Betty called lightly over her shoulder, “can you add brown sugar to the list please?”
“Of course, Betts,” he replied, stopping to kiss her gently on the temple as he walked over to the fridge. He quickly scrawled the addition onto the magnetized note pad that holds the house’s grocery list before heading back to sit by his laptop at the kitchen counter.
“Ou, and what are we stress baking today, Betty dearest?” Betty jumped, not having heard Cheryl walk into the kitchen to peak over her shoulder.
“Ugh, please stop calling it stress baking, Cheryl.”
“What do you want me to call it? We already have cinnamon buns, scones, and brownies.” Cheryl’s face softened, noticing Betty deflate a little as she paused her mixing. Cheryl stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Betty’s shoulders from behind. “We’re at a very weird time in our lives, Betty Boop. For the first time ever, we're not students, we’re supposedly starting careers, and we’re discovering that maybe the work world isn’t quite what we imagined it would be. If there was ever a time for stress baking, it’s now. Plus you know my TT has a sweet tooth and adores your delicacies, so I’m not complaining or judging. I’m simply making conversation.”
Betty leaned back to rest the side of her head against Cheryl’s, closing her eyes momentarily as she took a deep, cleansing breath.
“Double chocolate, walnut cookies.”
“Did I hear someone say double chocolate?” Kevin’s head popped out of his room slightly down the hall from the kitchen, before walking over to join the rest of the group, lit joint in hand.
Cheryl laughed, squeezing Betty one last time before pulling away to address Kevin.
“Yes, you little mooch, you most certainly did. Our Betty-kins is doing some more decidedly not-stress-baking. She could probably use a hit of that,” she added quietly, gesturing to the joint in his hand.
Cheryl and Kevin shared a look of concern over their roommate before he walked over to tap Betty on the shoulder, holding out the joint with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh God, yes, please! One second!” Betty put down her mixing bowl and wooden spoon before washing the flour and cocoa powder off her hands. She dried them quickly and accepted the joint. She took a deep drag, feeling the tension leave her shoulders as she tilted her head up and exhaled slowly, watching the smoke leave her mouth. “Okay fine, maybe I’m stress baking!” She exclaimed, taking one more hit before turning to face her friends and passing the joint back. “But work has been so slow lately it’s basically non-existent. And when I’m not at work I have absolutely nothing to do and it’s driving me nuts. Time is beginning to lose all meaning!”
Betty had been working as a substitute teacher in London, Ontario for a year and a half now, filling in for various High School teachers around the city. Normally she didn’t mind the work. She worked most of the week but could take days off whenever she needed, she liked meeting new staff and students, and she especially liked not having to do hours of prep in the evenings and weekends. But this past year, with teachers around the province going on strike, work had been slow. Very slow. She had always been the type of person to thrive under pressure - the more she had to do, the less time she had to procrastinate after all. But now that she was no longer a student and, therefore, didn’t have several assignments to work on at any given moment, she was finding all of this free time extremely anxiety-inducing.
“Ugh, do you want to trade places with me?” Kevin asked, sighing loudly. “We’re ramping up for all our summer shows at The Grand right now and all these design sessions are starting to blur together.”
“How have those sessions been going, Kev?” Jughead chimed in. He liked to give the roommates and best friends as much time to themselves as he could, seeing as how he had basically moved in, during the two years he and Betty had been dating. Their house was distinctly more homey than the tiny, cramped two-bedroom he (technically) lived in with Toni. His apartment was ideal due to its location on a side street close to Western’s main campus where he went to school to complete his Honours in Creative Writing. It was, however, decidedly less well-stocked in baked goods and beautiful girlfriends, so he tended to spend the majority of his free time at their house. But he hadn’t heard too much about Kevin’s work lately and figured this was a good time to join the conversation now that the focus was off of Betty’s stress baking.
“They’re going well, I suppose! This time of year is always crazy because the Spring shows are just ramping up and the crew needs to be working on those while prepping for the upcoming Summer season as well. Not to mention the fact that us drama folk tend to be, well…dramatic.” The group laughed in agreement, listening to Kevin’s rant about the local theatre where he worked as Creative Director as they passed the joint around the kitchen. “It’s just frustrating. I know I’m new to this position, but I feel like because I’m young a lot of the more…experienced, shall we say...crew members feel like my opinion isn’t valid. Even though I worked there part-time all through college and have been in the arts my entire life! I’m the one who’s supposed to be running the show here, people!”
“I wish I didn’t know how you feel,” Cheryl added, “but unfortunately I get a lot of the same attitude in my job as well. And I don’t even have to see these people in person very often!” Kevin held his arms out in invitation and Cheryl sat down on his lap, snuggling into his chest as she sighed and pulled out her phone. Cheryl worked remotely for Dress to Kill (more commonly referred to as DTK in their household), a Canadian fashion magazine. She had been hired a few years ago as one of the fashion writers but had since realized that her actual dream in life was to open up her own clothing boutique. Since all her work was online, Cheryl was able to stay in London and only visit the physical offices in Montreal a few times a year - a set up that worked particularly well for the fiery redhead, as she spent as much time as possible working on her own designs these days.
Betty and Kevin grew up in a small town called Riverdale, but moved to London together for their Undergrads and immediately fell in love with both the city and Betty’s new assigned roommate, Cheryl. The three quickly became inseparable, sharing countless joints as they bonded over moving to a new city, a common taste in music, and their quick-witted humour. Though they were as different as they come, something about their friendship just worked, and they quickly became each other’s family in London.
Betty smiled at her besties snuggling up before snuffing out the now spent joint and turning back to her cookie dough. Jughead unplugged his headphones from his laptop, letting Leon Bridge’s crooning voice fill the kitchen before he made his way over to Betty. She was now portioning out spoonfuls of the chocolatey dough onto a baking sheet. He reached forward to snag a clump of cookie dough but wasn’t quite quick enough.
“No,” Betty laughed, as she moved the bowl away from Jughead’s nimble fingers. “This first batch will be done in 15 minutes! You, sir, can wait.”
“But I’m hungry,” he whined, pouting at Betty in the adorable way he knew she couldn’t resist. He sidled up behind her, pressing his front against her back gently and letting his fingers trail from her hands up to her shoulders. He felt her relax against him as he slowly massaged her shoulders and neck.
“Fine,” she relented. “You may have the spoon. But that’s all you get until they’re cooked!” Jughead smiled happily before grabbing the spoon and leaning back against the counter to stay out of her way while he enjoyed his treat.
From the moment he saw Betty as she shelved books at Weldon, one of the several libraries at Western, he was gone. He quickly found more and more excuses to spend time at the library and to ask his favourite blonde circulation desk clerk questions while he worked up the nerve to ask her out. An answering smile, rosy blush, and quiet “I’d love to” were her response, and they’ve been together ever since. Though he started at Western several years after Betty and co., he had taken a few years off of school to save up money in the hopes of being able to put himself through uni without incurring too heavy of a student loan. So they were all around the same age even though he was still in school while the others had entered the work world.
Jughead had moved to London from Ottawa with his best friend Toni after they both worked their asses off to save money and get the hell away from their troubled upbringings. When he started dating Betty, he was quickly brought into the fray of her little London family, and, being the introvert that he is, often brought Toni along as an emotional buffer. Little did he know that Toni would be as equally entranced by Betty’s fiery bestie as he was with the blonde! Their romance took a little longer to develop, Cheryl having been hurt in the past and a little hesitant to let anyone in romantically, but eventually she couldn’t help herself, and the self-proclaimed iconic celeb couple “Choni” was born.
So now all five of them were essentially living in the three-bedroom house East of Adelaide (EOA as the locals called that part of London). Jughead and Toni still had their apartment, of course, but Toni spent most nights at the house anyway, and now that school had finished for the year, Jughead was spending more and more time there as well. It was a little cramped, but they were pretty good at giving each other space when needed, and, small squabbles aside, were cohabiting quite seamlessly.
Jughead had since returned to his laptop and was typing away, as usual. Cheryl and Kevin were cuddled up and scrolling mindlessly on their respective phones, and Betty was putting two trays of cookies into the oven. She suddenly shut the oven door, jumped up, and turned excitedly towards Cheryl, who hardly looked up from her phone before addressing the blonde.
“Yes, Betty Boop?”
“What time is Toni getting off work?” She dusted her hands off on the pair of mom jeans she was wearing with an old, comfy band tee, bouncing on the balls of her feet while she waited for a response.
“She’s working the early shift today, so she should actually be home in an hour or so! What’s cooking in that beautiful, little brain of yours?”
“BCBF night, anyone?!” Cheryl gasped in delight at the suggestion and jumped off of Kevin’s lap. She kissed Betty on the cheek and turned back to her phone.
“Betty dearest, you are a genius. I’m texting TT the plan right now. Should we ask her to bring back some food for dinner so we don’t have to order any later?” Toni worked at Los Lobos, their favourite Mexican restaurant in town, and it was not uncommon for the group to send in last-minute orders for Toni to bring home.
“Absolutely, yes. Do we want to just get the 40 dollar nachos? And maybe a selection of tacos to share?” Betty asked, smiling at the look of excitement that made its way onto Cheryl’s face. It was Kevin’s turn to gasp in excitement at the mention of his favourite giant plate of nachos, nodding his agreement to the group.
“Ask for a blackened fish burrito with crema for me please,” added Jughead, who had quickly fallen in love with the restaurant when Toni started working there.
“Betty you have officially turned this day all the way around. Double chocolate cookies, nachos, and BCBF? What did we do to deserve you, you rainbow-infused space unicorn!” Kevin exclaimed. “Should I spark up another joint in celebration? Does anyone have anything else they actually need to accomplish today, or can it officially be the weekend?”
As they all agreed that the workweek was indeed over, Jughead pulled a pre-rolled joint out of the pocket of his flannel.
“I’ve got us covered for now,” he said, passing the joint to Kevin, who was sitting closest to the lighter and ashtray they kept in the kitchen. “And beautiful use of a Leslie Knope compliment, by the way, Kev. But I’ve got to ask, what in the hell is BBCF?”
“It’s BCBF, Juggie,” Betty corrected, laughing. “I’m honestly shocked you’ve never heard me mention this before! It stands for Broad City Blanket Fort! The best cure for a less-than-optimal day, or in my case, several months.”
“Yes, Beanie Boy,” continued Cheryl, “BCBF nights are a long and storied tradition in our household. Whenever any of us has a particularly gruelling time, we build a blanket fort, cuddle up together, and essentially hot-box the fort while we let our girls Abbi and Ilana distract us from our real lives. It’s therapeutic.”
“It’s iconic,” added Kevin, lighting up the joint, taking a hit, and passing it to Cheryl.
“It’s one of our favourite bonding activities,” finished Betty with a fond smile.
“Okay I knew about your love of Broad City obviously, but I didn’t realize there were blanket forts involved! I agree that’s pretty iconic,” the others nodded their assent. “But I do have one question,” Jughead said, waiting for Betty to give him a nod before continuing. “Can we bring cookies into the fort?”
“Oh sweet Jughead,” Kevin laughed, “BCBF nights always include stuffing our faces. Not only can you bring the cookies in, but we will undoubtedly be bringing in an entire selection of the treats that Betty has been not-stress-baking,” he winked at Betty as the joint came back around to him.
“Okay, folks! Our order is in and my beautiful TT is justifiably excited, though I had to explain the concept to her as well. I am beyond flummoxed that neither of you has heard of this tradition. You’ve been part of the group for over two years now, this is not a new thing!” Cheryl exclaimed.
“Well, we’re rectifying the situation tonight. You shall both be brought into the hazy, comforting sanctum that is BCBF,” Betty smiled over at Jughead.
When the timer on her cookies went off, Betty quickly shooed Jughead away with a kiss, instructing him to gather up as many blankets and pillows as he could find while the cookies cooled and she put in the second batch.
In the years since the trio became friends, they had made countless blanket forts. Though Broad City only got added to the equation after the series ended and they were able to binge the show via a shared DVD box set, the tradition of smoking and cuddling in blanket forts began early in their friendship. It was a way to block out the world, indulge in the intimacies of their found family, and relax while they endured the pressures of school and life in general. As such, they had fort building down to a science, and even knew how to rig in fairy lights and flat surfaces for snacks. That being said, on this particular night, they collectively agreed it was probably best to eat their Mexican food before assembling the ceiling of the fort so that they could sit upright and give their blankets a fighting chance at staying clean. So when Toni arrived home, they gathered in the living room, ate their food, and caught each other up on their days before settling in for the evening.
“In honour of it being our SO’s first BCBF night, may I suggest that we start from the beginning? Ease our beloved into the tradition with Season 1, Episode 1, What a Wonderful World?” Cheryl began, easily taking charge of the situation.
“Okay, I am 100% on board with starting from the beginning. It’s been ages since I started a full re-watch of Broad City, but what on Earth is an SO and why am I one of them?” Jughead questioned, looking around to see if anyone else was as confused as he was. Kevin immediately rolled his eyes.
“Jughead, are we not the same age? Do you not exist in the same modern world that we do? How do you not know that SO stands for Significant Other? Sometimes I swear you must be from another planet, dear woollen one,” Kevin replied, referencing the knitted, crown-shaped beanie that rarely left his head. Jughead shrugged before turning to Betty.
“Remind me to just ask you these things quietly from now on,” he whispered to her. Betty giggled and nodded, then cupped her hand around his cheek for a quick kiss.
“Now that someone,” Cheryl paused dramatically before continuing, “has been brought up to speed, may we begin? Jughead, since you’re the bottomless pit would you mind assembling a tray of Betty Boop’s delicacies? TT can you get the DVD ready and grab the weed? We will need both joints and a pipe in order to properly haze up the fort. I will finish assembling the fort with my sweet Kev and Betty-kins and we can all meet back here,” she finished with a flourish.
“Oh my god, pause!” Kevin exclaimed. “Can you and Betty finish the fort on your own? Obviously Los Lobos wouldn't let us order their delicious peach margaritas for takeout, but I just remembered we have frozen margarita mix in the freezer and I can think of no better occasion than now to bust that open!”
“Yes, yes, 100% yes. You shall be in charge of beverages then,” she waved him off with a smile before turning back to Betty. “Shall we, my dear?”
Toni quickly set up the DVD before running to Cheryl’s room to grab papers and Fabiola, Cheryl’s bright red glass pipe. At Betty’s prompting, she rolled two joints and packed a bowl with the communal weed before helping the ladies finish assembling the fort. By the time the boys returned with margaritas and baked goods galore, a fort unlike anything Jughead had ever seen had materialized in the living room. Kevin smirked at Jughead.
“Welcome to BCBF, my friend!” He passed the tray of margaritas to Betty who positioned them carefully on a flat surface near the tv before crawling into the space between Betty and Cheryl and getting comfortable. After taking a moment to marvel at the care and creativity with which Betty and her friends approached every situation, Jughead followed suit and passed the snacks to Cheryl, then cozied up on the other side of Betty, stretching out with his arm around her waist and a grin on his face.
“Okay, I’ll say it. This is amazing!” Toni squealed, climbing onto Cheryl’s lap and stretching her feet out across Kevin and Betty.
“Agreed. You guys really are something else,” Jughead nodded with a grin. “Now someone pass me a joint and let’s get this party started!”
The group quickly fell into the cozy atmosphere, munching on snacks, laughing at the show, and quoting their favourite lines.
As she let herself ease into the hazy comfort of her friends, Betty threaded her fingers through Kevin’s, snuggled further into Jughead’s chest, and sighed happily.
“I needed this. You guys are the best,” she said softly, smiling at each of her friends in turn.
“I think we all needed this,” Toni added, grabbing another cookie and settling back in.
Jughead felt a deep sense of contentment as he rested his cheek on the top of Betty’s head. Never before had he felt so at home, so like he belonged, as he did with this particular group of people. He shifted so he could whisper in Betty’s ear.
“Thank you for letting me be a part of this, Betts.” She turned to gaze up at him, a smile breaking onto her lips at the look of love she found in his blue eyes.
“Always,” she whispered back, leaning up to kiss him softly.
Betty could worry about the future and the state of her bank account another time, for now, she was happy to bask in the warm cocoon of smoke, food, and her found family.