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Sometimes, Luka hated being perceptive. With how quiet his sister was, he had to learn to read subtle movements, learn a person’s tells, and figure out how to act without pushing any buttons. He liked helping people, so one might think it wasn’t a problem, but it could be hard reading someone’s emotions before they’ve had a chance to really figure it out for themself.
And clearly, Marinette had a lot to figure out.
“So, that’s what happened,” Luka said slowly, piecing together the vague details that she had shared with him.
“Yeah. That’s why I’m sort of…” Marinette fell back and laid on his bed, letting out a sigh. “really exhausted.”
He snorted. That was clearly the reaction she was hoping for, given the way she smiled at him.
“Thanks for letting me relax here for a while.” She rolled onto her side to press her face into his pillow. “My parents usually ask how my day went and I still have to think up what to tell them.”
The, “plus, my friends might show up with Lila,” went unspoken.
“No problem, Marinette.” He strummed a few notes on his guitar. “Juleka’s staying over with Rose, so you can rest for as long as you want.”
She hummed gratefully in response. He didn’t comment on it, but how comfortable she felt around someone not in her class was a huge tell. He loved her company, yet she was such an open book to him that it hurt seeing her like this. Maybe it was the fact that Juleka was so subtle; if he could read her, reading Marinette felt like listening to music at full blast.
The twitch of her eyebrows. The flex of her fingers against his pillow. Heck, the fact that she was in his bed at all like she was ready to be bathed in comfort…
He could only hope he was enough.
“Luka,” a voice suddenly called from the doorway.
Luka turned his head to his mother, who apparently wasn’t at all surprised about the girl currently laying in his bed.
“Got a visitor,” she explained. “She’s lookin’ for the lass here. Glasses, big hair, carries her phone around like—”
“Alya,” Marinette cut in, sitting up a little too quickly. Luka was pretty sure - no, he knew - that she hadn’t caught the disappointment in her own voice.
Luka looked back at his mother again, searching her eyes. Despite her craziness, she was readable in her own way, and he could tell that she hadn’t told Alya anything about Marinette specifically being there; probably mumbled something about “not knowing, but would check,” if Luka had to guess.
Marinette carefully swung her legs off the bed so as not to bump into Luka. “I should—”
Luka’s hand shot up, hastily grabbing her shoulder to stop her. It hadn’t been fully voluntary and she jumped at the gesture in surprise.
“Luka?”
“Do you want me to talk to her?” he offered, his tone calm but with a silent plea that she really consider what he was saying. “You should rest.”
Marinette blinked at him, then tilted her head. She legitimately couldn’t seem to comprehend the concern he had for her, but the way her brows furrowed indicated that she was acknowledging something she hadn’t before.
“…Okay. Thank you.”
Luka was up immediately, handing his mother his guitar as he walked towards the stairs. He heard footsteps coming the other way and wasn’t even halfway up the staircase before he saw Alya stopping at the top when she noticed him.
“Hey,” she greeted with a smile, as if the school day Luka had been told about hadn’t happened. “So, is Marinette here?”
She went to peek past Luka, but he side-stepped. It was only somewhat more voluntary than his earlier motion with Marinette.
Alya recoiled, thrown off by the movement, then raised a brow at him skeptically. “Uh—?”
“I…” Luka paused to consider his wording. “I don’t think you should see Marinette right now.”
“Why not?” she asked, slightly accusatory, the smile long gone since he’d denied her.
Luka supposed that, in a way, he and Alya had something in common. They both sought the truth, whether that was journalistically or emotionally.
The difference, though, was their method of getting there.
“I heard about what happened at school.”
Alya looked confused. “What do you mean? There was—” She glanced away in thought, then back at him again, gaze suddenly suspicious. “What did Marinette tell you?”
He remained calm, not answering. “I’m sure it’s easy to get swept up when someone tells you a lot of amazing things—”
Alya waved him off. “Look, you’ve got it all wrong. Marinette has been after Lila for a long time. Back when Lila first showed up at the school, she gave me an interview about how she was friends with Ladybug, and—what?”
Luka cleared his throat, uncovering his mouth from the snort he’d nearly let out. “Sorry.”
“…Anyway, Marinette saw it and started freaking out when she saw Lila starting to drag away Adrien. Ever since then, she’s been trying to catch Lila in a lie. Lila was getting a lot of attention since she just got back to class and she was sitting next to Adrien before the seats got moved back.”
He didn’t respond at first, not because he had a hard time replying, but rather to let Alya’s own words sink in with her. Finally, he asked, “Do you think that’s all?”
“What?”
“Do you really think Marinette would do that?”
“Oh, do a lot of crazy stuff over Adrien? Definitely.” She leaned in, half-whispering, “I know you haven’t really seen it, but when she’s around Adrien, she goes nuts.”
He thought it best not to point out that, when Adrien had arrived on the Liberty and Marinette hadn’t been under any sort of pressure, the worst she did around Adrien was stutter. “But you think she’d ruin that girl’s reputation, just for Adrien?”
Alya opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to realize how bad it must’ve looked on her to believe that her friend would do something like that. “Well… Marinette can be a little delusional. She doesn’t mean to.”
“And you think she’s lying about everything.” It wasn’t a question. “And that Lila really does know Ladybug?”
“Yeah?” she replied, as if it were obvious. “Marinette didn’t even have any proof when I asked her for it!”
“Did you?” Luka countered, not missing a beat.
She let out something akin to a strangled noise, not expecting to be challenged. After a moment of hesitation, she managed a, “Proof of what?”
She was playing dumb and he wasn’t sure if it was intentional or an unconscious way of protecting herself. “Proof that Lila knew Ladybug.”
Alya’s eyes briefly darted around the area, only returning his gaze when she replied, “She—she had a lot of stories about how great Ladybug was to her and it all sounded amazing! Ladybug’s the best, so of course she’d do all that for Lila! Lila’s really nice. It made total sense!”
Luka tried not to make his deep breath obvious. He didn’t want to look confrontational, but he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t frustrating to hear Alya talk in such a way. He didn’t know her on a personal level, but for someone who was supposed to be Marinette’s “best friend,” he wasn’t impressed.
Maintaining a straight face, he began steadily, “I’m sure it seemed that way.”
Alya sighed. “Not you too. You don’t even know Lila.”
“But I know Marinette,” Luka argued. “I know she likes Adrien, but she wouldn’t do something like that to another person. Lila might’ve given you a lot of hope, but that’s just what plays well. Maybe she did actually do a few of the things she’s telling everyone, but not all of them.” He paused for effect. “I know Jagged never had a cat for her to save.”
She shook her head. “So you’re saying I should just… not believe anything Lila says now?”
“No,” Luka replied, a little more firmly now that he could see how little she was getting it, “but Marinette deserves to be treated at least as well as you treat Lila. Why does Marinette need proof when Lila didn’t have any either?”
Alya looked hurt at that. “Because—it’s Marinette who’s the jealous one,” she retorted, clearly grasping. “Lila didn’t do anything.”
“Alya,” he began, “you didn’t mean to hurt Marinette, right? Of course you didn’t, but you sent her to the back of the classroom, alone.”
“I sat with her later!”
“Later,” he echoed. “But it doesn’t matter what you play when the concert’s already over. You were still okay with her sitting in the back and you asked her for proof when Lila didn’t have any. Do you know how that must’ve made Marinette feel?”
Alya didn’t respond, the fight seeming to leave her. She broke eye contact with him, now staring at the space connecting the floor to the wall. Her mouth twitched, gaze still sharp even if not as certain as before. “You’re pretty invested here,” she huffed.
Luka couldn’t tell if he was being judged or not. “Because you’re Marinette’s best friend. I don’t want to see your friendship broken up over a lie.”
Alya opened her mouth, hesitating, but her eyes darted to the side to look past him before she’d said anything. Luka turned, seeing Marinette standing there, staring at the both of them.
“Marinette,” he whispered. He turned to see Alya’s reaction, but the footsteps started and she was already running off. He decided to pay her no mind, instead walking down the stairs to meet with Marinette.
Already, he felt bad. He’d probably talked Alya down far longer than necessary, but he supposed there was still that protective instinct inside of him, courtesy of being Juleka’s big brother. Regardless, it was no excuse to meddle.
“Sorry. I know I should’ve asked you first. I didn’t want to get between you two, but you were so tired—”
A soft gasp left his mouth in place of words as Marinette stepped forward and hugged him. Out of all the reactions he thought she might have, that wasn’t one of them.
“Thank you,” she murmured against his chest. Giving him a squeeze, she sighed and added, “You were right. I really needed that—um… rest.”
He relaxed, then smiled, knowing exactly what she meant. Gently grabbing her shoulders to half-return the hug, he assured, “It’s no problem, Marinette. You deserve it.”
Her cheeks were a cute pink when she looked up at him, eyes fond. She smiled back at him, asking, “Can I listen to you practice for a little longer?”
He hummed, already hearing his mother making sure his guitar was tuned in the other room. “Of course.”
She held his hand on the way there.