this is our decision to live fast and die young

[bragnificent]

WHO: REGGIE MANTLE, ARCHIE ANDREWS, & also KYLE CONLEN
WHERE: Archie & Reggie's apartment in Heropa.
WHEN: Sometime after their post.
WHAT: It's called bonding. AKA chillin', illin', settlin' in.
WARNINGS: Nothing anticipated, though will ETA as necessary; possible Riverdale spoilers and/or references to canon violence/murder.


[ So, this whole experience so far? Pretty damn weird, but Reggie for his part has not done much #deepthinking on it; some people are into that, really picking apart and digging into the unexplained, but Reggie hates over-analyzing things 95% of the time if it's not something with an obvious solution. Why dwell on a problem you can't fix or a situation you can't change unless you actually want to be upset, right?

In theory that's what he believes, anyway; in practice it's obviously not always that simple.

When he and Archie finally get to their apartment, though, mostly he feels excited; excited that it's summer, excited to have their own place, excited that now he can take a shower or jump in the pool to cool down a little because it is so goddamn hot.

But first he just collapses onto the couch. ]

Ho-ly fuck. Dude. Why does anyone live here?

Comments

➞ & kyle

[bragnificent]

[ Reggie, for the record, had no part in inviting Kyle over-- though he's a pretty social guy, he'd much rather throw a party than have people popping over one-on-one already. He and Archie only just got this new apartment, and all to themselves, no parents or roommates or anything, they deserve to at least have a few days to enjoy that independence.

Not that they're doing much of consequence; the day so far only finds Reggie and Archie sitting on the couch watching TV, Reggie with his feet up on the table in front of them and his arm over the back of the couch, just shy of hanging off Archie's shoulders. He glances over from the TV for a moment, debating for a moment if he wants to move, or speak, but then a knock at the door interrupts Reggie's train of thought. ]

Who the hell is that?

[songwrite]

[Archie starts, honestly having almost dozed off in their state of shared vegetation (probably because he woke up before dawn to work out and aggressively not think about Things), lurching up off the couch after fumbling with gravity for a second. He flashes a grin back at Reggie as he heads towards the door, dressed in a plain white undershirt and pair of sweat shorts, mostly because he hadn't been doing anything all day so what was the point of dressing properly for human interaction?

And really, he likes parties as much as anyone, but since he didn't spend their whole post picking fights with everybody who responded, he actually made a few friends. And he's way more of a one-on-one (or in this case, two-on-one?) kind of guy.]

Did I forget to mention? [He knows he did, the little ginger turd.] It's Kyle. You know, the one you were arguing with about powers? Anyway he's got smores.

[Smores!! He flings open the door with a smile.]

[redhott]

[ Yup! A whole bunch of smores. More smores than you can shake a stick at. They're in a very convenient and unmarked brown bag. ]

Hey, man. [ Unlike these two babies whining in their house, Kyle's dressed like he's about to go skiing. He's got a beanie covering his horns and long, tapered ears. The rest of him, though, fits the weather a little better. ] Smores are here. [ He hands the bag over to Archie. ] Thanks for the invite.

[bragnificent]

[ Even after Archie stands and gets the door for Kyle, Reggie stays sitting, arm still stretched over the back of the couch; he looks vaguely agitated, but this is Reggie. Being agitated is maybe his second or third most common emotion.

Irrationally, he feels more irritated to know that all that's in that brown bag are s'mores, because at first glance it would be easy to assume alcohol (and irrational, of course, because Reggie doesn't actually need people to bring them alcohol).

Speaking of which, Reggie decides this is the perfect moment to employ said power and finally stands, walking toward the kitchen to get a drink to mix. On his way, he asks: ]

Hey, I'm getting a drink. You want something?

[ Then glances over at Kyle, raising his eyebrow. ]

What's with the hat?

[songwrite]

[Alright, so the hat is weird, so he can't even really get mad at Reggie for asking. He busies himself with opening and peering into the bag full of sugary goodness that they'll probably all have to punish themselves extensively over tomorrow, which seems like the easiest way to avoid blame for nosiness.

They smell amazing.]

I'll have something. [He slides the bag onto the counter, glancing back at Kyle with a grin.] Did you ever find out what he can do?

[redhott]

[ His white eyes behind the sun glasses move to Reggie first. ] No. Am I about to find out? [ Ooo he's so excited. ]

[bragnificent]

[ Reggie looks back at Kyle without answering, then nods at Archie before he walks away toward the kitchen. Not that it takes him very long, considering all he has to do is open the fridge and grab some soda; he's back within moments, carrying three cold cans of Dr. Pepper.

All three have been made boozy, although his own much more generously so than the other two cans; he hands them over, then cracks his open to take a long swig. ]

Would you two stop gossiping about me already?

[songwrite]

[Archie probably should like, ask Kyle if he's okay with day-drinking (or drinking at all really), but he's a dumb teenager so he's just gonna assume everyone is cool with it. Because alcohol!!!

Listen, he never claimed to be anything other than a frat boy waiting to happen...]

Go on, try it. [Archie peels his own open, grinning at the hiss of carbonation and taking a sip. He'd apologize for talking about Reggie behind his back but he knows Reggie loves it.] It's like, the best power.

[redhott]

[ If he were an asshole, Kyle would ask them what there is to try. It's a can of Dr. Pepper. But he's not! He's very sweet and good, despite the demon horns.

Giving Reggie thanks for grabbing him one too, Kyle cracks it open for a sip. He makes the terrible mistake of taking a long chug and almost chokes. ]

Wow. Uhh... [ He may have only had a beer here and there and one good glass of wine, but Kyle knows this has been totally spiked. ] Yeah, you're gonna be real popular with the teens here.

[bragnificent]

[ Reggie's already grinning when he lowers the can again, swallowing and swiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. Not that he doesn't already know the power will be a hit with the other teens here, but he also never is one to complain about validation and attention; he loves the secure sense of smugness that comes from being found impressive.

Not that Kyle seems as impressed as a teenager really should be in this case, but because Archie's clearly enthusiastic enough for the both of them, it doesn't bother Reggie as much as it might another time. ]

And it's gonna make throwing parties a snap-- getting the alcohol is always the hard part. Well, that and timing.

[ Not so much an issue anymore either. Reggie looks at the bag of s'mores again dubiously, then pats Archie's chest with the flat of his hand. ]

Just don't eat so many of those that you get fat and undo all that hard work you put in catching up to me. It'll happen faster than you think, bro, don't say I didn't warn you.

[songwrite]

[Archie already has one smore halfway to his mouth before Reggie can even issue his warning.]

It's fine, Reg. [He glances over to Kyle and back, his way of pointing without his hands because they're both occupied with very important sugary things at the moment.] We've already got a workout planned.

[There goes Archie again, making plans with other boys!!

His brain catches up to the first thing Reggie said while he's in the middle of chewing and he has to finish in a hurry.] You wanna throw a party? [Okay so the last two drunken teenager parties Archie has been to have been absolute shit-shows for him, but he's not a quitter!! Try, try again and all that!]

[redhott]

Yeah, you can get up with us! Then we can see who gets fat first.

[ It's not gonna be Kyle. BECAUSE HE SAVES PEOPLE. Anyway, he stays out of the party topic. Something tells him Reggie's idea of a party is probably nothing like his. ]

[bragnificent]

Please, you think I won't already be up? I don't sleep in except on weekends-- only real way to get definition like mine. So good luck keeping up, newbie.

[ As he takes another sip of his soda he very casually flexes his other arm, leaning his shoulder against the wall. Competitive, Reggie? No, never...

He looks over at Archie again. ]

Archie, is there any better way to start off the summer? No school, no parents-- we've got it made in the shade. [ A beat. Sip. ] Figuratively.

solo thread!

[songwrite]

[Archie finally, finally ditches the jacket, leaving it draped over one of the chairs and making a beeline for the fridge, just standing in front of it with the door open for a few seconds. Basking.]

It's barely June, man. [As Akira had pointed out. It's gonna get so much worse before it gets better.

He bites his lip, turning around to look at Reggie on the couch, if only so he can get a little cold air on his back, too.] ...Maybe it's really nice in the winter?

[bragnificent]

[ Reggie stretches out over the length of the couch, which is just long enough to fit him entirely while he lies on it, face down like a corpse. After a couple minutes, though, he pushes himself back up, sitting on his knees. ]

Someone told me they have like, hurricanes and shit here, too. Is that winter or is that just whenever, do you think?

[ Ugh... not that a little heat isn't appreciated after coming in from the cold, literally, of Riverdale, but this is a bit much. Way, way too much. ]

Oh, hey. Did you see there's a pool, though?

[songwrite]

Really? [Archie closes the fridge, but turns the sink on and splashes his face, running his wet hands through his hair after. Honestly, he was not ready for Florida humidity. And he thought some of those summer days on his dad's construction sites had been unbearable...] I guess we gotta get swim suits. And clothes...

And food...

[He's been more aware of budgeting in the last few months than he ever had been before because of his dad's problems with the business, but even he's not entirely sure how to pull off this whole, living on his own thing.] I hope your job pays well, because I'm just gonna be a fry cook.

[bragnificent]

Don't worry about it, we'll figure it out.

[ Being almost too used to having money, it doesn't really occur to Reggie to register this as something worth worrying about sooner rather than later-- not yet. Realistically, the job he was assigned won't pay much more, although he'll find out eventually that he also still has another (and much more lucrative) job waiting for him here, too...

But for now, his priorities are elsewhere. ]

My job sells swim suits and clothes, and you cook food-- so what's the problem? We don't even need suits now, we can swim in our underwear.

[songwrite]

[Reggie seems like, really confident. Which should maybe be a warning sign? But honestly, Archie just finds it a little bit comforting. Probably not something he should admit to out loud...

Having dripped water all down it, Archie decides to shed his shirt, balling it up and tossing it into the open door of the room he'd chosen as his own. Shoes and socks are the next to go. He has no idea how he's going to survive in Florida when his superpower requires him to wear his letterman jacket. As much as he hates to admit it, Reggie had probably been right about it being dangerous to wear in this heat and humidity.

They said as long as you registered you could use the Porters to get to the other imPort cities, though... maybe he'll just have to stick to heroing in other states during the summer months. But he'll still need a partner, if he's gonna use that one part of his abilities. He has yet to figure out a way to talk Reggie into it.

Maybe cooling his brain down will help it work better.] ... Do you think the pool is still open, right now?

[bragnificent]

[ Definitely do not admit it out loud, because that'll only enable Reggie further; he's already convinced enough that there's very little downside to his "don't worry, be confident" style of living.

He's just glad that Archie seems to be finally coming around to reason, though he would think differently if he knew what was on Archie's mind right now. Reggie doesn't want to think about this hero business at the moment, though-- he might even be more receptive to humoring the idea later when they're both not suffocating from heat and all of this is a little less fresh, but for now all that's on Reggie's mind is getting out of his pants because he can't seem to fumble open his belt fast enough.

Ugh. Well, he can take them off outside. ]

Archie. We live here now, who cares if it's open? If not that just means we'll have it all to ourselves, right? C'mon, don't be a bitch, Andrews.

[songwrite]

[Reggie he didn't even refuse yet!!

But he can't exactly anymore now that he's been Called Out, so he just undoes his own belt, but heads towards the back door (presumably the one leading to the pool area since he hadn't seen it when they came in through the front) with his pants still on.]

I don't know, maybe they lock it? [But he's willing to check, clearly! He holds the door open, waiting for Reggie to catch up.] When do you start working, anyway? They told me to stop by on Monday.

[bragnificent]

So then we'll hop the fence. Relax, it'll be fine.

[ Reggie saunters over, clapping Archie on the shoulder in some kind of gesture meant to be both reassuring and enabling; he cocks his head in the correct direction and motions for Archie to lead the way. Ladies first?

But he follows close, smirking and running a hand through his hair. It feels a little gross by now, honestly, sticky and stiff from sweat, but jumping in the pool is the perfect short-term solution to the comfort lacking right now that a thorough shower will be able to more properly provide later. ]

Wednesday. Might go check the place out tomorrow though, anyway-- just get a feel for it, you know? Besides, I'll probably need clothes like that. Basically all I have are the jeans I'm wearing and a fucking hoodie.

[ He's also a little... uncertain? About starting at a new job, mostly for the fact "working" isn't something he's really got much experience in. If at all. But he'll figure it out, surely-- he's not about to actually voice these concerns, anyway. ]

[songwrite]

[Archie is, as always, not very difficult to talk into just about anything, so at the urging he's the one who heads down towards where the pool ought to be.

And it's there! And empty. And not locked. Archie finally tugs his jeans off at the poolside, looking around like he's half sure someone might pop out of the surrounding buildings to holler at them. He hesitates there, without making the move to jump in yet. Maybe seeing what Reggie will do, or say, or whatever.]

Yeah, me too, I guess. [It's just so weird to consider clothes shopping without his parents.] If you go early I'll come too. [Because he definitely also needs something other than the jeans and henley he came in.]

[bragnificent]

[ Reggie follows without any of the same kind of trepidation, hurriedly pulling off his own pants and kneeling to check the temperature of the water with his hand. Oh, that's so much better. He looks over at Archie and cocks his head in a beckoning motion, dipping both legs into the pool and proceeding to push himself in and submerge with a splash.

Then, after resurfacing: ]

Cool, yeah-- we should go in the morning. Maybe they'll even give us free merchandise. [ He brushes his wet bangs to one side. ] I heard we get a lot of free stuff here.

[songwrite]

[Archie has always been just comfortable enough financially that he doesn't have the sense of shame that comes with accepting free things, nor the feeling of entitlement to them. He's not exactly going to balk at the possibility of having more than one outfit to wear, though...] Yeah, I kept getting free drinks just while walking around. [He slides into the pool too, groaning at how good the cool water feels against his skin, before ducking his head under just to get his hair wet. He shakes it out when he comes back up, raking his hand back through it to get it out of his eyes, though that also has the side effect of making it stand up all crazy.] It's so weird. Like we're famous or something. [He doesn't sound thrilled about that, exactly.]

[bragnificent]

I know, right? It's awesome!

[ Reggie ducks under the water again, doing half a lap before settling at the poolside and propping his elbows against the ledge, as if relaxing in a hot tub-- it's too hot for him to really want to do much swimming yet when he could instead just be basking in the cool water. Maybe once more heat washes off of him. ]

People keep telling me we basically are celebrities now-- I mean, how great is that? I probably be famous on Instagram within a week even without having to bother with this stupid hero crap.

[ Then, to dissuade Archie from arguing the point with him like Reggie knows he'll at least be tempted to, Reggie playfully kicks a splash Archie's way. ]