Jugpea

Jugpea is the slash ship between Jughead and Sweet Pea from the Riverdale fandom.

Canon
Jughead first meets Sweet Pea in the Red & Black offices, where Sweet Pea invites him to hang out with the Serpents, which is implicitly him asking whether Jughead is in or out. Jughead reneges and Sweet Pea immediately becomes agitated, but Toni steps between them and Sweet Pea leaves, fuming. After staying late at Southside High, when Jughead leaves he gets ambushed and beaten up by Ghoulies. The following day, on Toni's advice, Jughead publicly aligns himself with the Serpents in the cafeteria and sits with Sweet Pea and the other Serpents, for protection. Despite not wanting to be a gang member, with his complicated past with his father, Jughead finds himself needing to hang out with the Serpents. Sweet Pea suggests that new Serpent Fangs earn his induction by targeting Archie and Jughead tries to stand up to Sweet Pea, to protect Archie, to no avail. After Archie brandishes a gun in Sweet Pea's face, he shows up at Archie's house with some other Serpents. The Southsiders and Northsiders face off in a street brawl.

"We don't even know who you stand with. Us? Or them? You can't be half a Serpent"

- Sweet Pea

At school the following day, Sweet Pea tells Jug what happened and that Archie gave Sweet Pea his black eye. As revenge for Alice Cooper trashing the Southside in The Riverdale Register, they are planning to blow up the Register with pipe bombs. Jughead's aghast at their violence and offers Sweet Pea to broker peace by talking with Archie. Sweet Pea's done talking and offers Jughead an ultimatum: choose between the Northside or the Southside. For the first time since getting it, Jughead wears his Serpent jacket in public, as he enters the Whyte Wyrm, asking to join the gang. Sweet Pea jeers at him, but Jughead's adamant and is put through the trials. Sweet Pea and the other Serpents watch as Jughead recites the Serpent laws and has to retrieve a knife from a snake cage. The following day is Jughead's last trial – the gauntlet. Before the Serpents arrive to take Jughead to the last trial, Archie shows up. As the Serpents arrive, Archie's livid that Jughead is joining the Serpents and breaks up with Jug for Betty in front of Sweet Pea and the others. Jughead's hurt and angry, but puts on a front for the gang.

At the end of gauntlet stands Sweet Pea with brass knuckles on and he smiles, as he fires the metal at his head and Jug falls to the ground. Staggering, Jughead pulls himself to his feet and stands in front of Sweet Pea, who offers his hand in recognition of Jughead's successful induction into the Southside Serpents. After Mayor McCoy's caught Josie taking Jingle Jangle, she decides to raid Southside High, thinking with prejudice that the dealer came from there. During the raid, Sheriff Keller arrests Sweet Pea and Toni, and take them into custody. They're released later on and seem unscathed, apart from the false accusations. Nonetheless, Sweet Pea and Toni attend the race where Jughead is competing against the Ghoulies for control of the Southside to try and end Jingle Jangle once and for all. When FP is getting released from prison, Sweet Pea smiles and joins in the applause to celebrate both for Jughead and the Serpents the return of their leader. Jughead wants to arrange a sit-down with the Mayor to end the harassment of the Southside for good, but Tall Boy is against Jughead and belittles him.

In turn, Jughead spits back and decides to clear the air by taking a vote on the issue. Markedly, Sweet Pea is with Jughead's stance and ideas, and seems glad to team up with Jughead. Sweet Pea attends the 'retirement' party for FP, which turns into a return of the King celebration. FP benches Jughead after his dealings with Penny Peabody, taking over Jug's debt to her. Thinking that his father is dealing drugs now, Jughead calls a meeting with the younger Serpents and telling them what went down with Penny. He warns them against her, and Sweet Pea questions it momentarily, but is assuaged by Jughead's information and the true nature of the Snake Charmer. Sweet Pea recites the 1st law of the Serpents at Toni's motion and they stand with Jughead. Sweet Pea, Jughead and the Serpents abduct Peabody and bring her to Greendale. Jughead tells her that she's not gonna be in Riverdale anymore and excommunicates her from the gang by cutting off her Serpent tattoo, while Sweet Pea, Toni and Fangs hold her.

Southside High is closed down by Mayor McCoy after the Lodges bribe her to do so in order to acquire the building. The students are spread to different schools in their district, with Sweet Pea, Jughead, Toni and Fangs going to Riverdale High. Sweet Pea's elated to be leaving the dilapidated, drug-infested school behind. On their first day at school, he almost gets into fisticuffs with Reggie Mantle, as the latter is antagonistic towards the new students, but Jughead holds Sweet Pea back and they go off to class.

Fandom
AO3

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