An Archie/Valerie oneshot just because I was looking around here and thought "Oh my GAWD these two need a fic where they get together!" Yes it is supposed to take place at Christmastime, what with the eggnog and mistletoe, but the glaring lack of anything AS/VF was just too painful. It's short, sweet and a bit out of character for both, but easily overlooked.

Pairings: Archibald Seedplot/Valerie Frizzle (with the help of everyone's favorite principal Ruhle)

Oscar Ruhle shook his head; something had to be done with those two.

The Walkerville Elementary School principal twirled the eggnog in his glass and continued to lean against the wall. He looked between the friends and teachers talking to one another at the "two" who were causing him the problem. They hadn't done anything, and that was the problem.

In one corner sat a teacher with whom Ruhle had corresponded with over the years. Archibald stole covert glances to the side every five minutes like clockwork, looking eager to ogle a fellow teacher when she wasn't looking but also afraid to get caught at it. It seemed just like his shy, nerdy friend and former pupil to be afraid to approach a lady.

The woman whom Seedplot stole glances at was Oscar's colleague and employee. Poor Valerie didn't even know she was being admired from afar, which was unfortunate considering that she too was stealing glances in the 'opposite' direction as Archie. She'd barely even touched what was in her glass, though she'd been chipper as always if she was approached. Oscar assumed that her unusual quietness was due to the man she stole glances at and who stole glances at her.

'One too shy and the other too stubborn,' Oscar thought to himself, 'Now this requires some strategy.' If he wasn't careful, Ruhle could ruin any chance these two had at a budding romance. He continued to lean backwards, watching and plotting.

Archibald was shy, so it would be difficult for Ruhle to convince him of striking up any conversation with the object of his affections. He would need some wearing down before he cracked and worked right into Oscar's plan.

Valerie, on the other hand, was a bit more difficult. The stereotype about redheads was true in her case; she was headstrong, stubborn, and could become quite irritable if one were foolish enough to provoke her enough. If it came down to leading a horse and her to water and making the two drink, Oscar would feel quite sorry for whomever was unlucky enough to get Valerie. She could not be persuaded to do anything against her will, even if it dealt with someone she happened to like. Not to mention her eerie 'sixth sense', which seemed to tip her off to any shenanigans before they occurred (maybe that was why she never had any discipline problems in her class).

Obviously Oscar's best bet was to get to Archibald first.

He slid something discreetly from his suit's inner pocket to his hand as he walked through the small crowd. He said brief hellos to Betty the school nurse and Phyllis the secretary before reaching the young man and tapping his shoulder.

"H-hello, Mr. Ruhle," the bespectacled man said and stood up, his stiff pose reflecting his uneasiness. 'No longer my student but still acting as such,' the principal thought.

"Please, I insist that you call me Oscar," he replied easily back. He was amused as the younger man relaxed just a fraction. "So how do you like the party?"

"It's been very nice; you've done a great job throwing it." Ruhle smirked as Archibald's eyes flickered over in the direction of the redhead; he obviously thought he was being discreet. The principal looked a bit more noticeably at the glass in the other man's hand.

"Here, why don't I go get you some more to drink?" He wasted no time in secretly unscrewing the cap from the small bottle in his hand and splashing a fair amount into the bottom on his way to the refreshment table. The bottle was placed back into the pocket while he filled the remainder of the glass with more wine.

'Nothing like a good dose of liquor to lower a person's inhibitions,' Oscar thought as he returned to the teacher and handed the glass over. To his great delight, Seedplot had not discarded the glass after the strong taste had touched his lips. It was only a matter of time before the extra kick from the vodka spurred Archie into doing something quite unlike himself.

"Say, Valerie's told me so much about you."

"R-really?" The statement obviously caught the man off-guard, and Oscar resisted the urge to grab him by the throat and go 'Of course she has, you dummy!'

"Yes, I believe she's even expressed an urge to speak with you at some point tonight...maybe somewhere with mistletoe."

That last comment had been a lie, but it wouldn't hurt to tack it on. Archibald shook his head and finally openly looked in Valerie's direction.

"I don't know if I could do anything like that..." He muttered, a full blush staining his cheeks. "I mean, look at her: beautiful, confident, stubborn. Why would she settle for someone average and shy like me?"

"It's mistletoe. Doesn't tradition state that two people who stand beneath it have to kiss regardless of the circumstances? And..."

Oscar leaned over to speak with the man in his ear, "You don't know how much you affect her. She likes you. So shoo! Go and get her!"

He elbowed Archie in the direction of the redhead, taking the offered glass and watching the events unfold. It was the moment of truth, the time when all of his hard work would pay off, or all go to hell in an instant.

Oscar watched her blush and grip the folds of her handmade Christmas dress in her hands in a nervous habit he'd always known about her, even when she and Archie were seventeen and in the English class he taught (how oblivious they'd both been to their own feelings back then). He watched as Archie coaxed her towards the doorway to speak to her in private. He watched with a slight thrill of enjoyment as she'd noticed where exactly they'd stopped and the blush deepened.

He smiled with a fatherly love as a muttered 'I love you' was given before the shy man closed the distance between their lips.

(End)