Chapter Text
1,5 years later...
"I forgot how handsome you look in a suit." Alice hummed contently when FP came walking out of their bedroom dressed in a three piece, finding it physically unable to look away from him.
"Hmm, you think so?" FP smirked and pulled her into his chest, their noses softly brushing against one another.
"Damn right irresistible." She said, pecking what he assumed had to be a cute kiss on his lips, but one she quickly heated up. FP groaned and her lips traveled towards his neck, sucking kisses in his skin.
"Babe, we have to leave in a bit. Let's continue this tonight." He reluctantly pulled her away.
Alice sighed. He was right, but she was still bummed out that they didn't have any time.
"Can't promise I'll be able to keep my hands off you all day." She said playfully, and he gave her a teasing slap on her butt.
"Maybe we'll find a place to sneak off to. But only after the ceremony." He said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I am so proud of him." Alice snaked her arms around FP's neck and sighed happily.
Today was Charles' graduation day, which was a milestone Alice had both looked forward too and dreaded. She didn't want for her little boy to grow up so that eventually her job would be done, making it hard to see him spread his wings to go into the world. However, she couldn't be prouder of him than she was.
"I am still in denial of Charles being so grown, but I can't wait to see him in his cap and gown." She smiled at FP.
"Hey, you did all that. He's such a mature and responsible and loving man because of you, Al." FP said lovingly, his fingers softly stroking her sides.
"By the way, this dress is driving me crazy. You knew that and you decided to wear it anyway, huh?" He looked down at her appearance and smiled mischievously.
For the occasion she was wearing a bright red color. It accented her waist and was still loose around her legs and chest. Comfortable, but classy. Just the way she liked it.
"Gotta keep you on your toes, don't I?" Alice winked, finding it sweet that even after one and a half years of being together, that he still managed to be all over her.
She took his hand to make their way out of the door, until he softly tugged her back. She looked at him confused, but he looked back at her with a soft and calming expression that she wasn't sure she could unravel.
"Before we go..." He stated slowly and reached with his free hand into the inside pocket of his suit, taking out a small velvet box.
He opened it carefully, revealing a ring. He turned it around to show to her, and her eyes started to well up.
"FP? What's this?" She whispered quietly, afraid that her voice would break if she spoke any louder.
FP didn't say anything, instead he took her delicate hand into his own and slid the ring on her finger, smiling softly as he did.
"Aren't you supposed to ask me, go down on one knee?" Alice chuckled a little, before gazing down at the ring again.
It wasn't just any ring. She remembered this one. He used to wear it when he was seventeen. She always used to fiddle with it when they were holding hands, especially if she was nervous.
He had given it to her a few months before he had left, and she had worn it around her neck ever since, even after years apart. He must have taken it from her nightstand. She smiled. Now it was hers again.
"This ring is a promise to be yours forever, Alice." He said lovingly, squeezing her hand in his own, feeling the silver of the ring digging into his own skin.
"You once told me how scared it made you that you could see yourself marrying me. So, you can decide when you are ready, and ask me. I know you like to have that control, so I only wanted to give you this so you know I am completely yours, always."
His eyes shimmered as he looked at her and while he spoke, he knew that there would never be anybody else in his life that could make him feel the way Alice did. Even when she was not there, she had been the one.
"You want me to propose to you?" Alice chuckled sweetly. She found the idea endearing.
"Damn right. It'd better be mind blowing too." He teased, swaying her a little.
"And you know what, even after you ask me, I'll go down on one knee for you, because I know that even though you say you don't care about these things, you'll love that. I will just know for sure that you're ready." He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead, knowing that the gesture made her feel safe and secure.
"I love how you know me so well." Alice sighed happily.
"As if we've never been apart." She gazed into his eyes and gave him a giddy smile, like she was that seventeen year old again that gave her heart to FP Jones. Only this time, she knew that it was the real thing.
"We will never be apart again." FP promised in a whisper.
"I love you." Alice grinned from ear to ear.
"Love you too, my love."
"Come, we have day planned full of adoring our boy." He pecked a quick kiss on her lips, and then finally tugged her towards the door. Time to see their son graduate.
**
Fred stood in front of his mirror, being too insecure about his outfit. He wanted to look his best on such an important day. Charles may not biological his, but it did feel like his own son was graduating. He shouldn't over think it, and yet he was freaking out.
"This tie? Or better this one? Or maybe—" He turned on his heel to face Hermione, with the two ties in his hands. She cut him off before he could ramble.
Ever since she had given Alice one of her veneus, she had stayed around in town. It could be exhausting flying from New York City to Riverdale, but it was all worth it if that meant making the relationship with Fred work. She had loved him as a young girl, and she still did.
"Fred, they will all look good on you." She assured him, and picked one out of his hands to tie around his collar.
While Hermione started working on the knot, Fred exhaled deeply. He was still as insecure as he ever had been. Maybe if he had been a little bit more confident, they could've had a lifetime together.
"I just want to look my best for you." He told her softly, his cheeks flushing a little.
Fred had never been a big womanizer. Women loved him, but he always poured himself into his work, ignoring how lonely he actually felt.
"You're sweet," She pecked a quick kiss on his lips.
"Hey, we haven't really been talking about what we're doing here..." Fred took both her hands into his own and swayed them a little back and forth, to try and play it cool.
"So I was wondering..." He was afraid to say it, or to ask if this was officially a committed relationship, but Hermione beat him to it.
"I love you, Fred." She said, her eyes twinkling with hope and determination.
"You do?" He questioned, a smile curling on his lips.
"Always have." She told him sweetly.
"God, I love you so much." Fred took her face into his hands and kissed her passionately. He finally had the girl of his dreams.
The doorbell broke the two apart, and when they made their way downstairs to open the door, they saw FP and Alice on the other side, already smiling like fools.
"Are you guys ready?" FP asked, but started to grin when he saw the smudged lipstick on Fred's face. It was clear that something big had happened.
"They grow up so fast, Al. Don't you think?" FP wrapped his arm arm around Alice and pulled her towards his chest, laughing a little as they looked at the two lovebirds.
"We're happy for you two. It was about time." Alice said, referring to how they had having this will they won't they dynamic for over a year.
"Charles would agree, he has been trying to set us up ever since Hermione came back to Riverdale." Fred shook his head in amusement. Time to go to the boy they all loved so much, who brought out the best in them.
**
FP, Alice, Fred and Hermione sat in the audience together, surrounded by a bunch of proud family members who were all there to see a loved one graduate. It was a special moment, one you would only get once in a lifetime.
Alice still remembered the day she held Charles for the very first time. She had always known he was a special child, and she couldn't even understand that she ever thought of not going through with her pregnancy.
She had been only eighteen years young, but as soon as she looked at him she knew she was never going to feel alone again. He was going to be her friend, the one she'd protect with her life.
But that little baby was grown up now, and he no longer needed protection. He was going into the world, spread his wings and become the man she had raised him to be. It was all she had ever wished for, and yet this day was tough on her.
"And now to get his high school diploma: Charles Smith!" Principal Wheaterbee introduced him, and on cue the audience clapped loudly while he picked up his diploma.
"That's my boy!" FP put his hands around his mouth to shout loudly, making Charles laugh as he heard the proud exclaim of his father.
"Hey, are you okay?" FP turned to Alice, who's eyes were welling up. Her smile had faded, but her hands were still clapping as if she was functioning on an automatic pilot.
"I'm going to have to let him go, aren't I?" She said quietly, smiling a little when she made eye contact with Charles on stage.
FP stopped clapping and took her hand in his own. The gesture made her look at him, and he could feel his own heart sink as he looked at her.
"This is Charles we're talking about. He'll always be with you." He promised her lovingly.
If he had learned one thing the past two years, it was that Charles and Alice were inseparable. No distance would ever change that.
"With us." Alice said, telling him that there was no I, anymore. They were a team. FP smiled gratefully. He was still getting used to that.
**
Charles walked over to his parents right after the ceremony, with one of the biggest smiles plastered over his face that he had ever had.
"Honey, you look so adorable in your cap and gown." Alice hugged him closer, which was a hug Charles gladly fell into. He held his mother close.
"That's exactly what an eighteen year boy likes to be called: adorable." He chuckled a little when he pulled back, but he truly understood what she meant. He could feel that today was hard on her, and truth to be told it was for him too.
"Thanks Mom." He kissed her cheek, making Alice beam with happiness.
She loved how he never had any hard teenage years, and how he never had taken any distance from her.
"We're proud of you, buddy." Fred patted his shoulder.
"Made it thanks to you, you are the best Math tutor in the world." Charles laughed. They had been studying for hours, and eventually he had made it.
"And you know, everything you've done for me the past eighteen years as a father has helped me get here too. Thank you." He said emotionally, as he looked right at the man who had been by his side ever since he could remember.
"My pleasure son," Fred gave him a grateful smile, thanking him for being his nonbiological child.
"Alright, I gotta go. I'll be home on time." Charles made an attempt to turn around, but FP softly held him back.
"Before you go to celebrate with your friends... we want to ask you something."
Charles looked back at him with curious eyes. FP turned to look at Alice, Fred and Hermione who smiled back at him.
"With you going to college a lot of things will be changing. So, before you go, we would love to take a trip with you to New York." He said, hoping that Charles would like that.
"It might not have been the happiest time of my life, but it still feels like home, to both me and Hermione. We really want to go there as a family."
He was looking forward going there with the five of them, so he and Hermione could show them all that they had achieved there. He was certain they were going to love the city.
"Dad, are you serious? That is so cool!" Charles responded extatically. As a child they had never been on much trips, but New York was definitely on his list.
"But you are already paying for so much, I can work more shifts this summer to pay for my plane ticket and—" Charles started to ramble, feeling guilty of the amount of money his father was spending on him, especially since he was going to pay every cent of his college tuition.
"Don't be crazy. Everything you make is your own, boy. I'm your Dad, I love doing these things for you." He pulled him closer and grinned.
He knew Charles was still getting used to having someone cover everything for him, but little by little it was getting better.
"Speaking of New York..." FP said knowingly, and looked at Alice as he drifted off. Alice gave him an encouraging smile.
"We have something important to ask you." He turned back to Charles, who didn't think there could be anything more to come after this surprise.
"Okay, what is it?" He asked curiously, when his father stayed silent.
"We've been drawing, creating and writing so much as a family the past two years, and now you're eighteen, I can finally ask you if you officially want to become co-creator of Charles Comics."
"Wait, really?" His eyes grew wide. Him, as an artist? Having his own comic books, the ones he grew up with?
"You have a real talent, honey." Alice said sweetly.
Ever since Charles had started to draw with his father, his skills had come back to the surface. FP wanted that for his work, and one day it would all be Charles'.
"If this is something you want, we're going to figure it out how to balance this with school, but I hope you will consider it."
FP knew he was asking a lot from the eighteen year old, but he simply had to ask. Creating stories with his son and Alice had always been a dream he had ever since the first day he sat foot in New York. Back then he didn't have either, and now he has both. It was close to becoming his reality, and not something he would dream of when he closed his eyes at night.
"I don't know what to say. Southside Comics has been such a big part of my life, this feels like a dream." Charles was rendered speechless.
Ever since he had read the very first comic book, he had a dream of making one of his own and now his father was handing it to him.
"Believe me, it's real as can be." FP promised, his eyes twinkling with love and hope.
"I'd love that, Dad. I love you." He jumped into the arms of his father who chuckled happily.
"So, when are we leaving for New York?" Charles beamed. He had all he had ever dreamed of.
A/N: You've made it to the end of The Art Of Us! This is a story that for some time I thought belonged in my drafts because it didn't feel good enough, and I didn't believe people would enjoy it, so it warms my heart that you did love this story. It was definitely an ode to the origin of Alice and FP in the Archie Comics . There are several things in this story that were important for me to tell, and I hope that came across. To me, they definitely have their happily ever after in both Riverdale in New York. Thanks for your support!
Hopefully you will stay around for my next story as well. I am having such a blast writing it and I can't wait to hear what you think. It's called It's Nice To Have A Friend and focuses on Alice, FP, Fred, Mary and Hermione in their twenties, living across the hall of one another. I will post the synopsis later!