OPEN POST.

OPEN POST

psls ✦ memes/overflow ✦ aus ✦ pic prompt

✦ this is open to everyone, no need to ask first before commenting! feel free to PM if you'd like to discuss anything. please mark NSFW accordingly.
✦ open to both castmates and cross-canon, & shipping with any gender is fine.

CODE

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ he should have been home over an hour ago, but he lost track of time at the library. there was a campus wide alert on the incoming storm and, to say the least, jughead regrets not heeding the warning sooner. by the time he makes it back to the apartment, the weather has taken a severe turn for the worse and his only reprieve is the thought that he'll once again have a quiet, warm place all to himself.

reggie is probably holed up somewhere with one of his innumerous frat fuckbuddies, which means he won't have to see him until the blizzard passes.

......or not.

it looks like he made the novice mistake of having hope. he barely gets the door halfway open before he is immediately greeted by the sound of vague noises coming from further inside the room. mantle is home. ] Great. Just what I need. [ removing his outer coat, he hooks it onto the rack as he makes his way toward the living area. ]

What are y— [ annnd his voice cuts off because what he sees is almost as mortifying as what he hears. ] Reggie.

[ Reggie would have holed up with one of said frat fuckbuddies, too, but any of the ones he might have asked were either just far enough out of the way (compared to home) that he wouldn't have beaten the storm there, or were already out of town for the holidays; left no other choice, he came straight home after class, flopped on the couch, and hoped that maybe he'd at least have the place to himself tonight.

The later it got and the harder the storm began to come down, the more it seemed possible that maybe Jughead found other lodgings for the night-- or maybe just got trapped at school. Either way, making himself comfortable, Reggie certainly forgot all about the possibility he could still be interrupted... until he is.

He looks in the direction of Jughead's voice, muting the porn that's playing on his big screen-- some corny but classic guy-enjoys-being-seduced-by-his-best-friend's-mom story. Reggie hasn't gotten too comfortable, luckily -- Reggie may be shameless enough to watch porn in the living room, but he's not yet so bad that he'd jerk off out there, too -- but he still flinches, caught between startled and flustered.

(But only barely.) ]

Well. [ He glances toward the TV, then back to Jughead. ] I guess you didn't freeze to death.

[ augh. why does he have to deal with this?

with his school bag still slung over his shoulder, jug's eyes flicker between reggie and the frozen porn on the tv — a seriously unfortunate freeze frame. this is not what he wanted to know reggie does on his free time when he's home alone. he can only be grateful that he didn't walk into more, so it's going to end here. adjusting the strap to his backpack, jughead moves right in front of him, blocking the screen. ]

I'm having a lot of regrets about that, actually. [ with a quick search, he nabs the remote from wherever reggie tossed it aside to. ] Freezing to death seems like the preferable option right now. [ yep. say bye to your porn. he's shutting the tv off and now he's turning all of his focus on you. ] You shouldn't be watching this crap in the living room, Reggie. Or at least not on the TV! Don't you have a laptop? Earplugs???

[ Nose wrinkling, Reggie allows the TV to get clicked off without argument, but that doesn't mean he's not steeling himself for a different argument-- maybe because he feels like Jughead is overreacting, or maybe just because he can. Reggie doesn't need more of a reason than that to argue.

He stands, as always ready to use the few inches he has on someone to make part of his argument for him. ]

Who watches porn with earplugs in their own freaking home except for pathetic, horny losers with something to hide? Like, we're not that married. [ They're so not "that" married it's really not worth taking seriously at all. Right? Right. ] The TV's higher definition. This place doesn't have good enough lighting to make watching it on my laptop worth it.

[ He shrugs dismissively, then puts his hands on his hips. ]

And so what? I live here too, so you might as well get used to that.

[ Never mind that he'd 100% be crashing with someone else tonight if he could have swung it in time. But oh well. ]

[ he doesn't even try to hide his scoff as reggie stands. maybe his height might serve to intimidate most people, but jughead is way too used to this tactic by now — not just from him, but from his own guys. setting the remote down on the coffee table, he rolls his shoulders back as he angles his head up at him with a vague, almost amused smile. give him a fucking break, mantle. ]

Home? Are you seriously using that as your excuse? You don't come "home" more than once every, what? Two, three weeks? This isn't your home, Reggie. It's your pit stop in between all of your carnal traipses. It hasn't been your "home" for the past two years, so don't start calling it one now just to suit your fancy.

[ breathe, juggie. a full blown fight is not worth it. ]

Why are you even here? Didn't have enough time to get off at one of your fuck buddies' places instead? Or wait— did your two years of lascivious gallivanting finally leave you high and dry of viable paramours to leech off of?

[ Reggie narrows his eyes but doesn't respond immediately, mostly because he doesn't have an argument at the ready-- Jughead may not be privy to all the finer details of where and how and with whom Reggie spends his time outside the "home," but the general idea is pretty much spot-on. Reggie doesn't like staying here alone with Jughead, whereas crashing on the couch or in the bed of someone who's company he can stand?

Well, it's a no-brainer, honestly. ]

"Home," then. Whatever. [ Complete with air-quotes. ] The point is, I have the right to come and go here as I please. And I wasn't about to get my ass stranded in some snowbank just so I could try to crash with one of my frat bros instead when this place is like, way closer.

[ He doesn't appreciate the implication that any of his bros and/or so-called paramours would leave him hanging, but it obviously feels pointless to argue with Jughead of all people. Reggie doubts he could understand the nuances of loyalty that come with such friendships-with-benefits... and also, maybe he should be taking some offense to that? He can't actually tell. ]

That isn't all I do when I'm not here.

Whatever, man.

[ he genuinely doesn't care what reggie does outside of this apartment. it has nothing to do with him and jughead strongly prefers keeping it that way. there are some things in life you just don't need to know. reggie's personal life is at the top of that list for him. ]

Just no more porn. If you want to continue watching, then do it on your laptop. I'm going to take a shower now. When I come out of it, I sincerely hope my eyes won't be afflicted by... that kind of content onscreen.

[ the thought of a nice, hot shower is at least enough for him to drop this argument. he is tired and hungry, and he honestly just wants to spend the rest of the night relaxing. he won't let reggie mantle take that away from him. besides, he may as well try to make the best of an overall crappy situation. it's not like either of them can leave until the blizzard ends.

why make this harder than it has to be?

so, excuse him while he disappears for a good 10-15 minutes. he is going to enjoy his momentary escape from his "husband". ]

[ Rolling his eyes as Jughead heads off to shower, Reggie scoffs and sits himself back down, still annoyed (he'll probably always be annoyed) by being told what to do in his own home. Well, sort of home. Occasional resting place where he keeps some of his things.

But he doesn't turn on more porn, flipping the TV back on to a movie instead. He could just as easily retreat into the spare room in order to give both of them more space, but he's both stubbornly resentful of the idea that he should have to -- he bought this TV, after all! -- and also, there's really nothing else for him to do; going on his laptop or taking a nap or playing video games hold no real interest to him for the moment.

So he sits back, one leg crossed over the other, and defiantly tries to get invested in whatever action movie he's tuned into the middle of. ]

[ the shower was just what he needed, so by the time he was done, he felt much more relaxed and at ease. of course, it's pretty much afterward that he realizes he forgot to bring a change of clothes with him. blame it on the fatigue or simply out of habit, but he is usually more conscientious about it when reggie is home.

oh well, it doesn't matter. the bedroom is only a couple of steps away from the bathroom. besides, it's not like he has anything to hide here.

wrapping the towel around his waist, he starts to dry off his hair with a smaller one as he steps out into the hallway. he can hear the sound of a movie playing on the television and it... admittedly assuages him more. he wouldn't have been surprised if reggie ignored him and went straight back to porn. it's nice that he didn't. so, curiosity gets the best of him and he makes a quick detour to check out which film reg is watching and— how is he married to him?

he can't believe he's watching 50 shades of grey. god, this is... this is worse than the porn.

yeah. no. not in this household, buddy.

jug is literally so incredulous that he isn't even going to say anything as he crosses the room to lean over the couch and grab the control. honestly, he has pretty much forgotten that he's still only in a towel. if reggie looks over now, he is going to get an eyeful of exactly how much college ~~and being a gang leader~~ has changed juggie. with lean musculature decorated with a scattering of scars, he now has a full tattoo sleeve on his right arm depicting a dark castle against a skull backdrop merging into the southside's forest and a lovecraftian half sleeve on his left forearm with the crowned serpents tattoo standing out boldly above it.

a few quick flicks and he switches the channel to something else — anything else. it could be a cartoon for all he cares. ]

When I said no porn, I didn't mean you should substitute it with bad erotica. [ seriously. he can't even deal right now. ] Watch this instead. [ have fun with the sound of music, reggie. he's heading back to the bedroom now. need to put on some warm clothes. there will at most be a final glimpse of the serpent rules intricately tattooed onto the back of his left shoulder as he disappears out of sight again. he'll be back in a few minutes, if only to grab something to eat. ]

[ Even Reggie doesn't know why he's watching 50 Shades. It just happened to be on whatever channel he flipped to next and seemed enticing enough to keep him from moving on, but fifteen or so minutes later he's still not following the film at all. It's not interesting, it's not hot, it's just... perplexing.

Jughead interrupts him from his semi-trance of just leaning forward staring at the TV, brows furrowed in confusion, and then suddenly they're raising in both alarm and a different sort of confusion as Reggie is graced with the sight of Jughead's half-naked and surprisingly toned, tattooed body. His mouth opens, then closes, eyes wide as if in shock, before Reggie forces them quickly back in the direction of the TV.

What the hell was that? His heart's racing a bit, even after Jughead walks off. Seriously, what the-- ]

Fuck The Sound of Music.

[ Reggie runs a hand slowly through his hair in frustration, switching the channel again and landing on one of the Final Destination films. Sure. Maybe horror is appropriate for a blizzard. He glances uneasily toward the hallway, but then makes a point to keep his eyes forward, even if they're totally unfocused on the movie. ]

[ it doesn't take him long to change. thanks to the heater, he won't need an excess of clothing to keep warm, so a comfortable grey sweater over a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants will do. he has opened up his laptop, ready to spend the night writing. there is just one more thing he needs to do before he can really settle in for the evening — a nice hot meal.

making his way back out to the kitchen, he sees reggie has decided to pick another film to watch. final destination, huh? well, it's an improvement from 50 shades, he'll give him that.

now, let's see, what should he make?

he could whip up some pasta. pasta sounds really good right now. glancing behind him, juggie begins to collect the ingredients and utensils he'll need as he tentatively considers asking if reg wants anything. it could be a gesture of good will, he guess, for just going along with his demands (albeit them being perfectly reasonable demands). it could also be a temporary truce since they're stuck indoors until the weather clears up.

what the heck? ] I'm making pasta. Have you eaten yet? [ he sets the skillet on the stove, calling over his shoulder. ] If you haven't, I can make an extra portion.

Uh...

[ After what just happened a few minutes ago, Reggie was entirely prepared to do his best to just ignore Jughead for the rest of the night -- or however long they end up snowed in together -- but now suddenly the dinner offer hangs in the air like an uneasy olive branch, and while Reggie might normally just think fuck it and continue ignoring Jughead anyway, now he isn't sure what he wants to do.

Realizing he's attracted to his friends, or even acquaintances, is one thing, a common thing, where he can almost always just carry on acting the same as usual, but this is a particularly unprecedented situation. Whatever peace their relationship is capable of is only ever precarious at best, always hanging by a thread, and Reggie has no idea what a variable like this could unleash on that dynamic were he not to repress it immediately. Whether that means he should take a neutral approach or an overly antagonistic one to do so, he also has no idea. ]

Sure, I guess. I don't think I've eaten since breakfast.

[ ... Neutral it is, then. At least for now. He still pointedly continues to stare at the TV, avoiding looking over at Jughead as much as he can. ]

[ it's all the answer he needs to get started. he isn't going to try to push his luck by attempting to strike up conversation with him right now. it isn't like he would know where to even begin with something like that. as he prepares the meal, jug listens to the movie playing in the backdrop. it isn't exactly the most... ideal film to make food to, so it isn't long before he soon finds his mind drifting off to other things.

the serpents will be meeting up later in the week to finally discuss some internal affairs that keep getting postponed. they're all on different schedules nowadays, so it isn't always the easiest task to get everyone together in the same place.

maybe he should shoot toni a text after dinner just to reconfirm the time and date.

the dish only takes about 20 minutes to get ready and he has been content to let the silence linger between them the entire length of it. he has gone for a classic bacon cheeseburger pasta. quick, simple and delicious. collecting two plates, jug gives them each a heaping portion before he finally speaks up again. ]

It's ready. Want anything to drink? [ don't say booze. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OPEN POST.

OPEN POST

you know which au

aw ye

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject