A/N: This is my submission for the hard level of Amber's Monthly One-Shot Competition - August Challenges. The prompt was: Write about your OTP having a fight. Must include the genre angst and include the following prompts: chocolate, nervous, "And yet you keep talking." I've never done something like this before, but it was a ton of fun! So much fun, I wrote it all in one sitting! I hope everyone enjoys this little one-shot!

Breaking the News

Jughead watched Betty pace the length of the front porch, her feet practically creating skid marks on the wood.

She'd been at this for an hour, the sun sinking beneath the horizon to give way to night while she was running dizzying mental circles around her brain. It was exhausting for Jughead to keep up with every single one of her irrational fears and worries. If he were being completely honest, he didn't understand why Betty was getting so worked up. Not that he would tell her that; he didn't have a death wish. He simply nodded and hummed thoughtfully each time a new scenario popped into her head.

"What if she disowns me?" Betty fretted, biting down on her thumb nail. She had already worn the rest ragged, and he was afraid she was going to gnaw off her skin if she kept it up. "I mean, it took her years to fully forgive Polly..."

"That's a bit extreme, even for her," Jughead tried to reason, but his words got him nowhere. Betty was too far gone in her own negative headspace.

It still pained Jughead that after all these years, Betty was still miserably dependent on her mother's approval. Though she tried her hardest, there was still that tiny piece of her that was conditioned to do whatever Alice Cooper said - to be the perfect daughter Alice Cooper groomed and dressed in pretty pink blouses and pony tails. Now that they were adults - really, since Alice had mellowed after the divorce - that influence had waned. But with something as big as this...they might as well have been back in high school sneaking into each other's windows when their parents weren't looking.

"Think about it Betts. If she was going to disown you, she would've done it at the wedding."

That seemed to reach her. Slowly, that lecherous idea unhooked itself from her mind...only to be replaced by something equally as ridiculous.

"Okay, but what if she ends up resenting me?"

"How could she possibly resent you for this?" Jughead spluttered, at wit's end. He could tell his tone was tight with barely constrained anger. His patience only went so far, and he had finally reached a breaking point.

"I don't know Jughead," Betty said frustratedly. Her hands were pulling at her hair, messing up the curls she spent so long styling earlier that evening. "I don't know."

She looked so damn miserable, and Jughead hated it. He wanted her to stop feeling this way, stop thinking that she wasn't good enough. While his own mother had abandoned him, he often thought the emotional abuse Betty's mother inflicted on her girls was worse. Even though he had come leaps and bounds with Alice Cooper over the years, this would be one thing he could never forgive.

"Betty, you're a grown woman with her own life and house and career. You're capable of making your own decisions. If your mother can't be happy for you then screw her because you've got a whole group of people in your corner who will always love and support you no matter what."

For a moment, Betty was stunned into silence. Her eyes went glassy and Jughead had half a mind to think she was about to break down into tears right then and there. Stranger things had happened over the past few weeks.

"I'm done worrying about it. I promise I'm done," Betty decided, sniffling as she continued to pace.

"And yet you keep talking," Jughead huffed. He really should have kept that one to himself. Betty's eyes shot daggers at him, her mood changing in a split second.

"This isn't a joke!" Betty snapped.

"I never said it was," Jughead replied, uncomfortable with being put on the defensive.

"Really?" Betty asked, voice rising in pitch the way it usually did when she was being sarcastic. "Because you brought flowers. And chocolates. As if that is going to make this mess any better!"

Her words rung sharply in his ears. Jughead was at a loss. He normally was immune to her outbursts, but this one cut deep.

Was that really what she thought about this? That it was a mess? Did she regret it? Because until this moment, he had been happier than he ever had been in his entire life.

Betty immediately looked repentant. The pain must have been visible on his face, because her hands came to hover over her traitorous mouth as if begging to take those words back.

"I'm sorry Juggie," Betty apologized, on the verge of tears. "It's the hormones. I didn't mean it…"

He knew she didn't mean it. That didn't make it hurt any less.

"I get it Betts," Jughead sighed, pulling her to him so she could snuggle into his chest. She was trembling, tears soaking the collar of his shirt. "I wouldn't want to be the poor soul who got to tell Alice Cooper that her youngest daughter got knocked up by some Southside delinquent either."

That elicited a laugh from her. A watery, tentative laugh.

"Except you aren't just some Southside delinquent," Betty refuted, peering up cautiously into his eyes. "You're my husband, and you have been for three years. One these days, she's going to have to get over it."

"I doubt it," Jughead smiled wryly. "Knowing your mother, she'd find a way to haunt us even after death."

Betty laughed again, easier this time. The tension between them slipped away as quickly as it came. This was how it went with them: flashing between bursts of hot and cold, though never anything so severe that it could not be fixed with conversation and a few kisses. It certainly kept Jughead on his toes.

"You're right…" he sighed, looking down at the peace offerings he brought with him. "The flowers and chocolates were not my best idea."

"You think?" she snorted, though it was good-natured compared to earlier. "It looks like you're here to pick my mom up for a date."

"Just her daughter," he assured, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Subconsciously, the hand that went to wrap around her waist settled on the growing swell of her stomach. It was so small it could easily be mistaken for something else, but he knew. He knew and soon Alice would know, and if she said one bad thing about his wife or their baby then all bets were off. Because he would fight for them until his last breath, and if that meant having to throw down with his mother in law over a family dinner then he would do it in a heartbeat.

When Jughead decided Betty had calmed down enough, he pulled back and asked, "You ready?"

Betty groaned, her grip on him tightening as the nerves settled back in. "As I'll ever be."

Reluctantly, they disentangled themselves from one another. Betty pulled out her phone and studied her reflection in the camera, trying to remove the evidence of an emotional breakdown. Thankfully, the light provided by the street lamps was not enough to give the entire block a free show to the Jones-Cooper family drama. Most people did not linger around on the front porch for an hour before ringing the doorbell. But they weren't most people, and anyone who had any idea of what Alice Cooper was like also would want to take as much time as they could to prepare before meeting her.

Taking a deep breath, Jughead reached out and rang the doorbell. There was no going back now.

Peering over at Betty, he saw her eyes were glued to the window, watching for any flicker of movement that would indicate the beginning of the end.

"Hey, we're in this together, for better or worse remember?"

Jughead squeezed her hand reassuringly, and Betty returned the gesture with a nervous smile.

"For better or worse," she agreed, standing up a bit straighter as she heard footsteps padding swiftly down the hall. "Though this will definitely be worse."

"Who knows - she could surprise us."

Betty shot Jughead another glare, who simply shrugged his shoulders with the slightest of smug grins. Before she could give him any more hell, Alice Cooper opened the door. The woman was a storm with blonde hair, pulling them into her home whilst both hugging them and scolding them for being so late. Jughead was weary of her company and he hadn't even seen her for two minutes. Looking over at Betty, her eyes said the same thing.

They were going to have such a fun time breaking the news.