#couffaines

It was a statement rather than a question, but he answered his sister anyway. “Yeah. I really do.” Luka’s eyes remained on his knitting, but his gaze looked through the stitches, picturing a face and a heart as familiar to him as his own. 

“You should tell her,” Juleka mumbled, focusing on the knitting now abandoned in her brother’s lap. 

He shrugged, easily, but she could see the underlying tension in his hands, no matter how neutral his expression. “I did. I know she’s not into me that way. She loves Adrien, and I’m not gonna force my feelings on her.”

Juleka rolled her eyes. “The two of you, I swear.” She shook her head. “You’re both selfless idiots. You shouldn’t date each other. You’d both just be deferring to the other the entire time. ‘Whatever you want, Pookie.’”

“Pookie?” Luka cringed at the nickname.

“Or something equally sickening.” She shrugged one elegant shoulder.

Luka smirked at her but shook his head. “Doesn’t change the fact that she-”

“Loves Adrien?” Juleka finished for him and shook her head. “Adrien is dating Kagami now. And before you start feeling bad for Marinette… she practically set them up. She encouraged him to ask her out, even acted as his wingman.” Cocking her head to the side she regarded her brother thoughtfully. “I think you actually helped her help him on Adrien and Kagami’s first date. Ice skating, right?” She shook her head again and snorted. “Idiots. Both of you.”

“Although, now that I think about it,” she mused looking out the pitch-black porthole, “she’s helped set up half the people in our class. She was the one who encouraged Ivan to talk to Mylene, although Ladybug was the one who jumpstarted their relationship. She introduced Nathaniel and Marc. I know Nathaniel had a crush on Marinette before that, but he and Marc are perfect together.”

Tapping her finger against her chin, she continued, “Kim and Ondine got together on their own, although Marinette was very encouraging when he had a crush on Chloe of all people.”

Luka had heard enough stories about Chloe over the years that he shuddered along with his sister when her name was mentioned. “She supported that?”

“No, but she supported Kim.”

His smile must have looked a little too lovesick because his sister dug her elbow into his ribcage while making a gagging noise. “Gross.”

“She even kinda set up Alya and Nino.”

Luka’s eyebrows rose at that one, and Juleka laughed out loud. “Well, Nino actually had a crush on Marinette.” 

He just closed his eyes and shook his head. “Is there anyone in your class who hasn’t had a crush on Marinette?”

Juleka thought for a minute. “Out of those who like girls? Uh... I don’t think Ivan has. And Adrien, of course.” At Luka’s raised eyebrow, she blushed slightly. “Yeah, me too,” she admitted, “but it was several years ago, and I have Rose now. And no, I don’t think Rose has ever had a crush on Marinette, per se, but she definitely adores her!”

Rolling his eyes once more, as if the conversation was starting to give him a headache, he nudged them back to the original conversation. “Anyone else that she set up? And is this why you guys were so determined to set her up with Adrien?”

His sister nodded. “Yeah. She’s made so many other people happy, we just want her to be happy, you know?”

A bittersweet smile flitted across his face as he nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with the sentiment. Marinette was an amazing person, and she deserved every happiness. He was about to say so when Juleka spoke up again. 

“You know, she actually helped Rose and I get together, as well.” Luka made an interrogative noise, and she bumped her shoulder against his. “She’s known for years that I liked girls. Probably before I did. We all thought that Rose liked boys, and when I told Marinette about my crush on Rose, because I had to tell someone, and Marinette has always been so good at listening, she just smiled that blinding smile of hers and told me to talk to Rose.”

Blushing, Juleka couldn’t meet her brother’s eyes, but smiled wistfully at his knitting, looking back into the past. “She must have said something to Rose, because a couple of days later, when we were sitting out at lunch, Rose confessed to me that she had a crush on two people. One was Prince Ali. She’d met him a few weeks before, and just admired him a lot, but she also had a crush on one of her friends. A girl; but she’d been afraid to tell her because she didn’t want to screw up their friendship.”

Smiling up at Luka, Juleka continued, “Marinette knew somehow, and made sure that we sat down and talked to each other. She made me brave enough to tell Rose what she meant to me. So, yeah. I want to see her happy. Even if it is with my stupid brother.” Juleka grinned at him as Luka groaned. 

“She likes you. Enough that she doesn’t want to say anything until she’s sure she has no lingering feeling for Adrien. She’s making you something. I’m not sure what, but she’s asked me enough questions that I know she’s planning something. Just… be careful with her, OK?”

As Luka just sat there, staring at his sister, she rolled her eyes and smacked the back of his head, and restarted the movie, turning her attention back to the TV.