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Marinette and Jason were best friends. Inseparable even. Ever since the Outlaws mission in France, the two were attached at the hip.
Artemis had been jealous of the friendship and connection they instantly shared, despite her being in a relationship with Jason at the time. They never did anything to suggest they thought of each other as more than just really good friends. Artemis had no reason to think anything more was going on. It did make her realise that she and Jason were missing something. Something she wanted to find for herself. After six months of watching the two, she broke off her romantic relationship with him. It was almost painful how easy it had been. No hard feelings. It was as if it never happened. They went back to being partners and friends.
So as Jason’s friend, she got really tired of watching him and Marinette go back and forth, dancing just on the edge of flirting, but never quite moving forward.
She, Bizarro, and the other Outlaws, Roy and Kori, made a plan.
It started out simple. Leaving the two alone together in a room and locking the door.
It didn"t work. They were too busy talking that they never noticed the door was even locked.
They would trip Marinette, making her fall into Jason’s arms.
That didn"t work either. Marinette was so clumsy she did that all the time anyways. She would blush and apologize and nothing else.
So when Artemis heard of the silly mortal tradition of mistletoe, she decided to make it unavoidable.
Kori and Bizarro flew around the bunker, taping mistletoe to every doorway. They had to be caught eventually... right?
----
Jason was in his worst nightmare. When he entered the bunker after grabbing food, he found the entire place decorated for Christmas. Normally that wouldn"t be such a bad thing, but one of the assholes had set up mistletoe everywhere.
It was a disaster waiting to happen. What were they thinking?! There were too many old flames in the one location together. It was going to end with someone getting punched.
Or worse. He really didn"t want to have to watch Kori and Roy make out again. He"d seen enough of that for a lifetime.
He had just put his meal down on the counter when Marinette entered.
He blanched. No way. He couldn"t. He would have to make sure that he was never in the doorway at the same time as his best friend. She had made it painfully clear that he was her bestie.
He"d worked very hard to shove down his feelings for her. He had failed, but at least he never showed it. She just didn"t feel the same. She didn"t have to know that every hug meant more to him. That every time he grabbed her to stop her from falling that he wanted to sweep her up into his arms and kiss her senseless. That Netflix and Chill really had a naughtier meaning than really just watching Netflix together.
She couldn"t know that every time he said "I love you too" that it was not in the same platonic way that she meant. That her bises meant more. That he had to fight himself every time not to turn his head so her greeting landed on his lips instead of his cheek.
She was standing under mistletoe now. All he would have to do is innocently go up to her and "help" with her bags and steal a socially acceptable kiss.
Instead, he ran from the room, heading out the other door that was also covered in the offending plant.
----
Artemis was getting tired of this. Jason and Marinette were barely even in the same room together! When they were, Jason made sure to leave before she did.
It was driving her nuts.
"They keep dodging it," she complained to the group after the third day of this.
"We just need to find a way that they can"t avoid it," Roy reasoned. He knew Jason could be thick skulled about some things, and Marinette was one of them. How the man didn"t see that Marinette was into him, Roy would never understand. He had tried talking to Jason about it, but it had only resulted in him denying everything, his own very obvious feelings included. His eyes fell on the weapons case. "I have a plan."
—-
Jason stretched, sore from the last night of binging a show on the couch with Marinette after everyone had gone to bed. She had curled up into his side, and he had eventually fallen asleep in a truly painful position rather than wake her. She had gotten up before him, and he met her in the kitchen. Considering how late it was, it was weird that no one else was up. It was Christmas morning after all. He expected them all to be opening presents by now.
He had just poured a bowl of cereal and sat down beside Marinette in the thankfully mistletoe free zone, when he saw his friends enter from both doorways.
Rather than joining them, however, they lingered.
"Hey guys, what"s up?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at them.
"Oh nothing much," Roy responded casually, raising one of Jason’s bazookas at him.
Jason"s eyes went wide in panic. Had someone done something to Roy?
Movement behind him caught his attention as Artemis raised one as well.
Shit. He had to get Marinette out of there! He had to save his friends from whatever brainwashing this was!
Before he could counterattack, both fired at the same time.
He dove into the line of fire to protect Marinette as best he could. Maybe she could get out with him buying a few seconds for her.
But instead of pain and blood and a gaping wound... Jason and Marinette were covered in a deluge of mistletoe. It was everywhere; in both of their hair, in their bowls. The entire kitchen was covered.
"What the hell did you do to my bazookas you little shit?!" he yelled at Roy, who just shrugged innocently.
A giggle came from behind him. Turning, he saw Marinette, doubled over in laughter. They both had berry juice splattered across them. Jason was pretty sure he looked like he had just come out of a war zone.
"I guess I have to kiss you now," she laughed.
"Heh. Yeah. Tradition and all that," he mumbled miserably. He didn"t want Marinette to kiss him because of some stupid tradition. He wanted it to be real.
Regardless, he leaned down towards her. He would savour his one chance.
He placed a gentle hand on her cheek, and she tilted her head to rest in his palm.
It was like fire when their lips met.
He had expected her to give him a simple peck, but her lips lingered and moved against his. It was heaven. It was perfect.
It was his best friend, who didn"t think of him that way.
"Jace, I- I"m sorry! I shouldn"t have-" Marinette stammered. "I know you don"t- don"t- like-like me like that. I-"
"I love you," he blurted out, meaning it in every way possible.
"I love you too," she responded automatically. "I"m sorry if I just made things awkward. I just- I"ve been trying to tell you-"
"No. No..." This was not going well. Well, he might as well go for broke now that he was likely going to lose her. May as well go out with a bang. If only that bazooka had killed him. It would be less painful than this conversation. "It"s not awkward at all! At least for me." Liar, he thought. "I get if you don"t like me that way, like I like you... love you. I"ll always be there when you need me. You don"t have to reciprocate."
Marinette was staring at him, her mouth hung slightly open in shock. "You... you do?"
He was so confused. Had he even explained how he felt? Ugh, he was messing this up. He should just walk away now.
"Just forget it. We-"
He never got to finish the sentence as her lips slammed into his, this time without the barrage of plant life initiating it.
His arms snaked around her waist after a few moments of disbelief.
----
Success! Artemis clapped along with the others, though she wasn"t entirely sure either Marinette or Jason heard them. Finally, they wouldn"t have to put up with their silent moping and the awkward sexual tension between them!
"Want to watch some Netflix?" Jason asked when the two finally broke apart.
"And chill?" Marinette added with a knowing smirk.
"Hell yeah."
...Ew.
Maybe there were some downsides to this plan after all.