𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐, jasonette

xx. 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫

Marinette glanced at Jason, but he had his head down, hands fidgeting with his shirt and constantly running them through his hair.

"Are you okay?" she asked, trying to hide her laugh. Jason's head snapped up, eyes slightly widened and cheeks red as he realised that he had been caught.

"Yes," he said vehemently—too forcefully, pulling Marinette in for a hug. He buried his face into Marinette's neck, no doubt wanting to hide his red face.

This time Marinette laughed. "Jason," she said, cupping his face in her hands. "You're nervous."

Jason looked like he was going to deny it, right up until he decided he wouldn't. Letting out a long sigh, he gave Marinette the side-eye as he asked, "Is it that obvious?"

Marinette shook her head at him affectionately. "Why?" she asked, more than a little confused as to why.

Avoiding all eye contact with her, Jason once again began fidgeting with his fingers. "Because Mari, she's your best friend. What if she doesn't like me?"

"Jason," Marinette said, laughing. When he gave her a sour look, Marinette forced herself to get it under control. "She'll love you. It's impossible not to."

Jason gave her a disbelieving look. "You literally told me she called me a 'tall, dark and totally undeserving of you' kind of man."

Marinette realised he was genuinely worried, so she did her best to alleviate the stress. "She says that to every guy I've ever dated."

Not even fazed by the mention of her past relationships, Jason bit his lip, looking uncertain. Marinette tugged him in for another hug as she murmured into his ear, "Seriously mon cherie. You don't need to worry. We're just going to have lunch together."

It was a few seconds of stilted silence before Jason finally relented. "Okay," he murmured.

Chloe is already waiting for them at the classy restaurant they picked, tapping on her phone with a vaguely annoyed expression on her face. Realising that it probably wasn't helping Jason's nerves, Marinette squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Wow," she said, announcing their presence. "We should mark this day on our calendars. Chloe wasn't late day. We'll celebrate the anniversary every year."

Marinette's best friend rolled her eyes. "Please," she scoffed, looking every inch of the queen she was. "I had nothing better to do."

Her gaze slid past Marinette and onto her utterly silent boyfriend behind her.

As soon as she made eye contact with him, Jason stepped up to the role of a perfectly welcoming boyfriend as he held out his hand politely. "Jason Todd," he said, an elegant curve to his words. "I assume you're Chloe? Marinette's told me a lot about you."

Although it wasn't clear to anyone who hadn't known Chloe for nearly a decade, Marinette had to hide her expression of glee as she saw her best friend practically preen at the compliment-not-compliment. Jason was already on the right path.

As Marinette and Jason settled side-by-side, Marinette pulled out a menu, hiding her amused smile as Jason and Chloe exchanged light conversation.

"So," Chloe asked, going deeper into I'm-going-to-veto-this-guy mode. "Do you like your job?"

Jason's hand, which was trembling before, stilled completely, and there were a few seconds of silence before he answered. "Actually," he said carefully. "I don't have a job."

Chloe raised an eyebrow at him, and internally, Marinette rolled her eyes at her. She already knew that.

"Oh," her best friend said, tracing the rim of her glass. "Then what do you do?"

Jason's hand spasmed in Marinette's as he answered. "Generally, I help out at WE. With my brothers," he answered honestly, and Marinette squeezed his hand in encouragement. "I've also invested a little, so I have a steady source of money."

Chloe hummed lightly and Marinette cheered internally as she saw the barest hint of a smile on her friend's face.

A few seconds later, the waiter served their food in front of them, and immediately, Marinette was reaching out for the ketchup and the maple syrup on the table. Despite it being the middle of the day, Marinette was craving waffles, so she ordered just that.

She also ignored Jason's disgusted stare as she poured maple sauce and ketchup onto her waffles, mixing them into what she thought was a lovely mix.

"Gross," Jason said, neatly cutting out his own food as he watched Marinette cut out her waffles.

"What?" she asked, defensive of her food choices. They tasted perfectly amazing, thank you very much. "It's amazing. You need to try it again with an open mind."

"I have," Jason pointed out, and Marinette raised an eyebrow at him.

"Since when?" she asked.

"Since forever," Chloe's amused drawl answered.

"All the time," Jason added, a slow smirk crawling across his face.

Marinette could practically see him connecting the dots and realising the full potential of his ability to discriminate against her for her food choices.

"Mari," Chloe said, leaning forward with an equally mischievous smirk on her face. "It's not normal to eat food like this."

"You're one to talk," Marinette said, attempting to sound the slightest bit annoyed. She failed miserably. "You've eaten some even weirder shit before."

"But, at least I don't act like it's normal," Chloe said, raising a very good point.

"This isn't fair," Marinette faux whined, loving the way Jason and Chloe were teaming up against each other. "I regret introducing you both already."

Jason grinned, slow and calculated—and utterly beautiful. "You, my dear Pixie, have made a terrible mistake."

He pecked her on the lips lightly, shuffling out of his seat until he was standing. "I'll be right back, I need to go to the bathroom."

Marinette waited until he was out of sight before she turned back to Chloe, expectant and eager. "So?" she asked the single word speaking volumes.

"Marinette," Chloe sighed, looking very serious all of a sudden. "As your best friend, it's my duty to stop you from dating someone who isn't good enough for you."

Her heart sinking a little, Marinette took a sip of her drink to mask her hurt.

"Which means," Chloe continued, uncaringly. "That it's also my duty to inform you now that he is just a little out of your league."

Marinette choked on her drink, and Chloe cackled as she frantically tried to wipe her mess up. In her haste, she accidentally tipped her glass—which only fueled Chloe more.

Cheeks a fiery red, Marinette sputtered out, "What happened to the totally undeserving part?"

Chloe raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you really want me to change my mind?"

Marinette sighed loudly as she realised this was probably going to be an argument she was never going to win.

"Do I even want to know what happened here?"