Wingwoman

A Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction

By Mintaka14

Juleka knew that Alya was up to something when the reporter tucked her phone back in her pocket and turned back to the girls sprawled over various parts of Marinette's bedroom.

"Let's go for a walk," Alya said with bright and devious innocence, and grabbed Marinette's hand to haul her out of her chair. "I think we should go to the park."

Juleka groaned, but when Rose and Mylene got to their feet she followed. Alix was already bouncing on her toes at the top of the steps, and she was the first one to pelt headlong downstairs, anxious to be up and doing something again, while everyone else followed at a safer speed.

"Why do we need to go to the park in such a hurry?" Marinette was asking, and Alya gave an airy shrug, tucking her hand through Marinette's elbow.

"Oh, I don't know, it's such a beautiful day. It seems a waste to spend it indoors. And a little bird told me that Adrien's got a photoshoot there today," Alya added in a singsong voice, giving Marinette a meaningful grin.

Juleka sighed. Not this again.

They'd reached the edge of the gardens by the time Juleka was starting to wonder if anyone would notice if she slipped away. There were only so many plots and plans and covert operations that could go wrong before she had to start to wonder if Marinette and Adrien were really meant to be, and even girl solidarity could only take you so far. Luka might be an idiot too dumb to stay out of love with a girl who was chasing someone else, but he was Juleka's brother and Juleka knew where her loyalties would lie if push came to shove.

Marinette had fallen behind too, and Alya was halfway across the park before she realised that Marinette wasn't beside her. Alya stopped, spinning around with her hands on her hips.

"Come on, girl. This is your big chance!"

"I really don't want to," Marinette tried to say, but Alya waved her off.

"That's just the nerves talking. But this will be the perfect chance. You can talk to Adrien without Kagami around."

"I like Kagami," Marinette insisted, her brow creasing at Alya's tone. "You just have to get to know her. And Adrien really likes her."

"You like everyone," Alya said dismissively. "And so what if he likes her? You're the one he's meant to be with. Adrien just doesn't know what he really wants, but he's in between shoots now, so you can talk to him and change his mind. Lila said-"

"Lila's there?" Marinette asked in a flat voice, and Alya gave her a sharp look.

"Not this again, Mari. She's trying to prove to you that she really isn't interested in Adrien. She just wants to help."

"Help like a hole in the head," Juleka heard Marinette mutter, and she also heard the faint tremble under the words. Juleka fell even further behind, wondering not for the first time if Alya ever stopped to listen to herself, let alone anyone else. This wasn't the first time the reporter had talked up Marinette's kindness in one breath and raked her down for not giving Lila a chance in the next.

No one else seemed to notice the way Marinette's palms were going white where she was digging her nails into her skin, or the way her shallow breaths were starting to come faster. Juleka had dealt with her fair share of anxiety, and this sounded awfully familiar. She came to a dead stop while Alya strode ahead.

"This is stupid," Juleka said under her breath. She caught Marinette's eyes through the fall of her hair. "I'm gonna get out of here. Want to come?"

The look that Marinette turned on her was one of panicked relief, and Juleka opened her mouth to tell their friends that they were leaving, but they were too far ahead. They wouldn't hear. They never did, anyway.

She closed her mouth.

Juleka pivoted on her heel and set off back across the park, taking a turn towards the docks. She wasn't surprised when Marinette caught up with her and fell into step. Her eyes were unfocused, as if she was concentrating on something, and Juleka stayed silent.

They were halfway back to the Liberty's dock, and Marinette's breathing was calmer again, before Juleka voiced something that had been on her mind for a while. It was easier to get out when it was just Marinette.

"You really don't like Lila, do you?" she asked, but it wasn't really a question. Marinette froze in the middle of the footpath, her eyes wary.

"Why do you say that?" Marinette asked cautiously. Juleka shrugged.

"You and Rose, you like everyone…" Juleka echoed Alya's words. "Well, except for Chloe."

Marinette snorted.

"But you don't like Lila. So you must have a reason."

"So it's something I've been wondering. You really don't like Lila, and I don't buy that it's because you're jealous. You made friends with Kagami, and she's practically dating Adrien these days."

"Tell that to Alya," Marinette muttered bitterly, and hurried to catch up to Juleka again. "You're the only one who's even asked me as if you really wanted to know."

"Luka doesn't like her," Juleka said.

Marinette shot her a curious look.

"She came to a Kitty Section practice once when you were busy with something else. Rose brought her. And Luka told me if Lila came back on the boat again then he was leaving."

They walked in silence a bit further.

"So you don't like her, and Luka can't stand her, and that started me wondering about a few things."

"Then why haven't you said anything?" Marinette let out of a huff of frustration, and Juleka rolled her eyes.

"Who hears what I say anyway?" she said drily.

"It doesn't feel like anyone's listening to me anymore either," Marinette agreed. "I am so sick of plans and schemes and plots that I don't even want anymore anyway."

Well, wasn't that interesting. Juleka shot Marinette a surreptitious glance, and looked away again before the other girl could catch her at it. Maybe there was hope for her idiot brother after all. They'd certainly spent enough time hanging all over each other at Kitty Section rehearsals lately.

Then Marinette sighed. "And these days, any time I even mention Lila, Alya just shuts me down. She's got it so fixed in her head that I'm just jealous that she doesn't even hear anything else. So I've given up even trying. Maybe I should have tried harder to talk to Alya about it, but-"

Juleka's nose wrinkled in empathy. "Alya can be scary."

"She just wants what's best for me," Marinette said dubiously.

"That's when she's even scarier."

Marinette suppressed an involuntary giggle, and Juleka grinned.

They'd reached the Liberty, and Juleka clumped her way across the gangplank with Marinette behind her. From below deck, she could hear the soft strains of guitar chords, which meant that Luka was home.

Luka looked up, the teal edges of his dark hair falling across his eyes, as the two girls clattered through the doorway.

"You're back early," he said, one eyebrow lifting, and then he noticed Marinette behind his sister. His calm half-smile didn't change, but Juleka saw the faint flush of colour in his thin cheeks and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Hey Marinette," he said softly, and Marinette blushed back at him. "What are you doing back here? Not that I'm not happy to see you."

"Alya had another Plan," Juleka explained, throwing herself backwards onto her bed. "We escaped before it could get out of hand."

Luka's eyes fixed on Marinette briefly, and Juleka nodded in silent response.

"So if she comes looking for us, we're not here."

Luka's smile grew a little. "I never saw you."

Juleka flipped herself to her feet again.

"I'm going to go make hot chocolate," she announced. She shot her brother a pointed look. "You can keep Marinette company."

Juleka came back with two mugs of hot chocolate in her hand in time to hear Marinette telling Luka, "It's just… exhausting."

There was a tremor in her breath, and it sounded like she was very close to tears as she traced the edge of Luka's guitar with one finger. Juleka stopped in the doorway. Neither of them noticed her.

"I don't know that I even like Adrien like that anymore," Marinette was saying. "I mean, I like him but he's into Kagami, and he's only ever seen me as a good friend. Oh, god, some of the things that I've done to try and get his attention!"

She buried her face in her hands, missing the sympathetic look Luka gave her. "And it's … is it supposed to be this painful?"

"I don't think I'm the best person to give advice on this," Luka said wryly, and Marinette looked up at him. "I'm not exactly a neutral party here."

There was a soft inhalation of breath, and Marinette's eyes grew wider, then- "Is that a bad thing?" she asked softly.

Juleka could swear she heard the synapses exploding as her brother's brain overloaded.

At that inauspicious moment, Juleka's phone pinged with an incoming message that sounded obscenely loud, and Marinette and Luka jolted apart. The look that Luka sent his little sister promised murder and worse, but Juleka just rolled her eyes and shoved a mug at him. She handed the second mug to Marinette and pulled her phone out of her pocket, and sighed.

"It's Rose," she mumbled, scrolling through the lines of message and unicorn emojis. "Alya's flipping out and they want to know where we are."

"Oh no!" Marinette was breathing hard now, the mug forgotten in her hands. "Alya's going to be so mad at me. I didn't even tell her I was going, but she wouldn't have let me leave and-"

Luka put a gentle hand over hers. "Breathe, Mari. It's okay."

Marinette sucked in a lungful of air, and inhaled again, letting it out more slowly.

"Alya can't force you to do anything you don't want to," Luka said, and the rest of Marinette's breath huffed out too quickly.

"You don't know Alya," she muttered wryly. "She thinks she's helping."

"So do I tell Rose where we are?" Juleka asked, and smiled involuntarily down at the selfie Rose had sent her with a small, fluffy dog she'd met in the park.

"No! Oh god, you can't tell them I'm here. But Alya will be looking for me, and she'll go to the bakery, and then my parents will think I'm missing, and they'll call the police, and then there'll be a nationwide search, and I'll be a wanted person and-"

Luka took the mug out of her hands and curled his fingers around hers. She sucked in a breath, counting, and released it.

"I have to get home," Marinette concluded more calmly.

Juleka hit send – We're fine. Sorry we bailed. Rose would know what that meant, although she would probably think that Juleka was the one with the panic attack. Mari's heading home now.

Marinette got to her feet, and when Luka was a little slow to follow Juleka nudged him none too subtly in the arm.

"Don't you want to walk Mari home?" she hissed at him, and he glared at her.

"Oh, I don't… you don't have to… I don't want to take you out of your way," Marinette stuttered, and Luka gave her a smile that his sister felt was way too nauseatingly smitten.

"I want to," he said simply, and turned to follow her onto the deck.

"Hey, dumbass," Juleka mouthed after him. "You'd better name your first kid after me."

But she didn't think he heard; he was too wrapped up in happy pink clouds.