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The first time it happened, Jason was still dating Piper. Looking back, Jason’s not sure what came over him in that moment. Everybody was a wee bit tipsy, but Jason didn’t feel like he could blame intoxication.
What happened, you ask? Well…
Nico paused in the doorway of the living room, watching the others - Percy and Annabeth, specifically - and looking sort of uncomfortable. Jason glanced up and noticed that he was standing just below the hat-wearing frog thing that the Jacksons used as a substitute for mistletoe (“It’s Mistletoad!” Percy had called it, like that explained everything), and probably thought something along the lines of Hey, I have a really terrible idea that will replace his discomfort with violence!
So, acting on impulse, Jason strolled over, casual as anything, and kissed Nico.
Who promptly shoved him away so that he hit the doorframe hard.
"What the hell, Grace?" Nico snapped.
Jason had time to register that everyone was staring at them before responding, “Hey, no need to get violent.” He pointed to the stuffed frog. “Mistletoe. It’s tradition.”
Nico punched him (in the shoulder, but it still hurt). “S’not even real mistletoe. What even is that thing?”
"Mistletoad!" Percy answered from somewhere in the background. Nico and Jason’s eyes met, and instantly any tension was broken and they both burst out laughing.
Between that Christmas party and the next, Jason and Piper split up. It hadn’t come with any warning or fanfare, one day Piper just pulled Jason aside and said, “You don’t love me romantically anymore,” and then they got on with their lives.
When Christmas actually did roll around that year, Jason was a bit more intentional about catching Nico under the stupid looking mistletoe-substitute.
This time, instead of punching Jason, Nico just sighed. “Why, Jason?”
Jason shrugged. “Tradition?”
"One kiss does not a tradition make," Nico pointed out.
"Yeah, but two does. I’m officially declaring this a Christmas Tradition, you have to kiss me under the mistletoe every year or it won’t really be Christmas," said Jason, hoping desperately that Nico wouldn’t just hit him again.
After a long pause, Nico sighed. “Fine.”
For no reason that Jason would yet admit to, he nearly punched the air in excitement.
Three years of mistletoe-substitute kisses later, Nico grabbed Jason by the arm and pulled him into the kitchen.
"What are we doing, Jase?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" replied Jason.
"Your whole stupid mistletoe thing,” Nico replied, waving an arm vaguely in the direction of the living room. “Why did you start it? Why do we do this?” He frowned. “I just want to know what’s going through your head.”
Jason shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I just wanted an excuse to kiss you?”
"That’s a stupid reason," Nico said.
"Wh -"
He grabbed the front of Jason’s shirt and dragged him forward into a forceful kiss. When they separated, he said, “You could have just done it.”
(For the record, though, after that they didn’t stop kissing under the stupid Mistletoad every year, as by this point it had become an indispensable part of the Christmas party. They just also took to kissing in other places, at other times, quite frequently.)