#kevin you sly little matchmaker you!!!

[adamsrcnan]

there's something to be said about the way jeremy refused to believe the worst of jean because he trusted that kevin would not have sent him to usc if he was as bad as the rest of the ravens. and at the same time jean trusting jeremy as his partner because again kevin would not have sent him there if jeremy was not a good person that could look after jean. something poetic about the unwavering trust that they both have in kevin !! kevin day !! the man that you are !!

[soyforramen]

Ok, here's a prompt: bughead + their friends trying to trap the two of them under the mistletoe

I loved that this entire thing played out in my head in 2.6 seconds after reading this.  Send me a prompt!

——–

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Archie was yanked back almost off his feet when Veronica grabbed the back of his shirt.

“The sna-”

She tutted and shook her head.  “If you ruin this for me Andrews -”  

With a gasp, Veronica pointed towards the archway where she’d hung an obnoxiously large bunch of mistletoe.  Archie watched as Jughead walked towards it from the right, nodding at the occasional person while he grazed off the snack table.  From the opposite end of the room, Betty and Ethel chatted as they made their way towards the kitchen.  Before their paths met, Jughead was pulled into conversation with Dilton while Betty and Ethel continued on towards the kitchen.

Veronica huffed and stomped her foot.  Frustration radiated off her and Archie saw yet another long drawn-out strategy session in his future, only this time instead of mistletoe it would involve champagne, countdowns, and midnight kissing.

For close to six months Veronica had been plotting for a relationship to happen between their respective best friends.  Archie wanted the best for Betty, he always had.  And Veronica wanted the same for her friend nee high school frenemy Jughead.  But like two stubborn, obtuse ships in the night, the pair had terrible timing.

“Wouldn’t it just be easier to ask if they wanted to double?”  

Veronica rolled her eyes.  “This has to happen organically.  If Jughead knew I was trying to interfere in his lack of a love-life he’d refuse to speak to me until I swore on my abuelita’s Bible and my first edition of Bradley’s 1896 Harper’s Bazaar.”

“But it would be easier -”

“It’s about the romance, Archibald.  The once in a lifetime chance -”

“Of your underpants in France,” Reggie finished as he stopped next to them.  He handed Archie a plastic cup overfilled with beer.

“I’m surrounded by infants,” Veronica said with a curled lip.  She shot Reggie a withering look and went after Betty.

“What’s her deal?”

“Romance,” Archie said, though the word was a question that lingered in the air long enough to turn stale.  

“That’s why she brought in the giant bouquet of hookup material,” Reggie said with a smirk.  He tilted his head up at Josie across the room only to receive a peal of laughter in response.  “She digs me.”

Archie shrugged and took a careful sip of the drink.  Pabst.  He fought back a grimace and set the cup down on the table behind him.  It was worth getting yelled at for rings on the wood if it meant he didn’t have to drink that.

“So, who’s she trying to set up this time?” Reggie asked none the wiser.

“Bet- some of our mutual friends.”  Archie caught himself in time.  The last thing he needed was a primer from Betty and Veronica’s mutual ex about how to chase after either one of them.  

“Bet you five bucks and a shot of Tabasco she’ll have a toll booth set up around that mistletoe before the end of the night.

Archie shook his head.  “No bet.  She’s already staking out potential quarantine areas.  Twenty and a shot of chocolate syrup and vinegar she’ll come up with an elaborate reason to take a photo under the mistletoe.”

“Nah, too amateur hour,” Reggie scoffed.

“It’s always amateur hour where you two are,” Moose said as he joined them.  

He and Reggie fist-bumped a greeting.  Sensing a golden opportunity, Archie picked up his abandoned beer and handed it to Moose who gladly downed it in one go.  

“What’s going on this time?” Moose asked as he wiped his lip.

“Veronica’s playing matchmaker,” Archie and Reggie said in unison.

Moose turned a shade of green even the Grinch would be jealous of.  Archie squeezed his shoulder in sympathy.  Veronica’s attempts to set up her friends were practically legendary.  The rumors, as yet still unconfirmed, about what happened the last time Veronica subjected Moose to her romantic machinations were enough to make everyone think thrice about accepting any invitation to a Lodge social gathering. 

“I think I need something stronger,” Moose muttered.  He shoved his plate of half finished food into Reggie’s hand and rushed to find something stronger that might erase that night before last Christmas from his mind.

“Do I want to know why Moose looks like the wrong end of an elf?” Kevin asked as he sidled up to them.  

He handed them both a small piece of paper and a golf pencil.  In his other hand he held a tin can wrapped in candy cane paper.  

“Christmas movie, sex position, and favorite celebrity for dirty mad-libs.  Why is Veronica glaring at Midge harder than Margaret Thatcher serving turkey dinner at a homeless shelter?”

“Matchmaking,” Reggie said as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper.  “My money’s on her holding us hostage until they kiss.  Thirty dollars and…. an egg, cilantro, and maple shot.”

Kevin gagged and shoved the paper into his tin can.  “No bet.  She’s been blocking out this friend-fiction scene for weeks now.  I’m surprised she didn’t lock them in a closet with a neon sign that says ‘Now Kiss’.”

Archie handed over his own paper.  “Friend fiction?”

“Dude,” Reggie sighed.  “You really need to catch up on Kevin’s blog.  Wait, is Midge single again?”

They watched as Reggie waded out into the crowd ever hopeful.  

“He really can’t stand being alone for a single night, huh?” Kevin asked as if Reggie’s philandering ways were a blight upon his very soul.  “Why can’t Veronica just -”

“Romance,” Archie said in an attempt to mimic Veronica’s dramatics.  “Organic, once-in-a-life-time -”

“Bibbity Bobbity Boo, what’s that witch of yours now up to?” 

“Cheryl,” Kevin said by way of greeting.  The smile on his face was tight enough to stretch tinsel.  “Don’t you have presents to steal?”

“Charming.”  When he didn’t move Cheryl’s smile dropped into a sneer.  “This is a two way conversation, so see your way out of it.”

“That’s not even the right -” Kevin shook his head and muttered, “whatever,” as he turned to a different partygoer with papers in hand.

Archie eyed Cheryl warily; the last time she wanted to have a chat he’d ended up at a charity auction event that required very little clothes and Mantle levels of self-esteem.  

“Don’t worry, Archiekins,” Cheryl said with a smile.  She pressed a finger into the middle of his forehead.  “You’ll get frown lines like that.”

“What do you want Cheryl?” 

“Jughead and Toni are friends, right?”

Archie nodded.  

“Has he mentioned anything about her?” Cheryl asked, her smile becoming as forced as Santa coming down the chimney.  “I mean, about what she might want for Christmas?  We haven’t even been dating a year, so diamonds are obviously too much, and probably a trip to the Cacos, that’s more of a year-anniversary trip, but -”

Archie knew from personal experience that it was best to jump in quickly in these types of conversations.  He’d had a similar conversation with Veronica last year over a ‘normal’ person’s gift budget.  She’d been so stuck on what Betty might want for Christmas Veronica had almost missed that it wasn’t the present that mattered so much as the thought behind it.  Still, Betty had been over the moon about the new wrench set even Archie had gotten a thank you note from her.

“She likes photography?” he offered.  “Is there a gallery opening you could take her to, then dinner?  Sometimes just being together is more important than anything you could buy her.”

Cheryl frowned.  “Oh you poor naive thing.  What has Veronica been teaching you? But, I will admit, photography is a good idea.  Your girlfriend chasing people out of the kitchen, not so much.”

Archie turned and found that Veronica had, indeed, cleared out the kitchen of everyone but Betty and Ethel who watched her with curiosity.  Veronica then proceeded to drag Jughead towards the kitchen all the while waving for Betty to join them.  In the confusion, Ethel met Jughead under the mistletoe.

Obligingly she pecked him on the check to Veronica’s increasing consternation.

“I’ll be back,” Archie said before rushing over to keep his girlfriend from causing a scene large enough to get her back onto Santa’s naughty list.

Much, much later that night, at a time when all the good little children were dreaming of sugarplums and sending fruitcakes to all their teachers, Jughead and Betty were putting lost solo cups and abandoned utensils in a large trash bag.  Veronica insisted they weren’t obligated to help, but Betty had volunteered and Jughead followed suit.  Now the living room was almost back to normal, if one ignored the candy canes stuck to the ceiling.

“Did you notice Veronica being weird tonight?” Jughead asked as he up a precarious tower of trash.

“You mean how she was desperately trying to trap you under the mistletoe?” Betty said with a note of amusement in her voice despite the dark stain of cherry syrup that stained the cuff of her sweater.

Jughead looked up at the archway, understanding dawning on his face as if it were the first time he’d seen it that night.  “Huh. Guess that’s why the kitchen was on lockdown.  I thought it was Archie’s tuna salad.”

“For someone so observant, you can be rather oblivious”  Betty laughed and set another stack of cups in the trash.

He grinned, a sly quirk of his mouth that drew her attention.  “Too bad she wasted so much time.  I am spoken for after all.”

Betty bit her lower lip and met him under the archway, her hips leading the way.  She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.  “It would be bad luck to break tradition.”

“Very bad luck.”  He slipped his hands around her waist and tucked them into the back pockets of her jeans.  “Might carry over into the next year.  And I had such high hopes for where this was going.”

Jughead leaned down to press a kiss to Betty’s collarbone.  His nose brushed along her neck and she drew in a sharp breath.

“Elizabeth Ann Cooper!” came a scandalized voice.  “I hope you have a good explanation for this.”

They broke apart only to find Veronica staring at them, mouth agape.  Behind her Archie raised his own trash bag in a congratulatory salute.

“It’s a Christmas miracle?” Betty said with a half smile and a shrug.

“And there’s the bad luck,” Jughead muttered.

Veronica, however, wasn’t having it.  She stormed over and dragged Betty along behind her to the kitchen.

“So,” Archie said.  “Halloween party?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

Jughead gave him a sidelong glance.  “That’s it?  No ‘How did it happen’?  No ‘Is it serious’?  Nothing?”

Archie shrugged.  “This is all Veronica’s going to talk about until next Christmas.  And she refuses to leave any detail out.  Dining room next?”

“Sure.”

Jughead followed him to the dining room.  On the way, Veronica yelled out, “You’re next Jones!”

Normally the threat would have sent shivers down his spine, but Betty’s amused glance that held the promise of later made it all worth it.