Chapter Text
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Juleka sighed in exasperation- her brother was hopeless. He thought he was being selfless, but in truth, he was an idiot. Sure, Marinette had been besotted with the Merprince Adrien back when she first met Luka, but it hadn’t taken all that long for her to notice the obvious superiority of Cecaelia in general and her brother in particular. Nothing beats a hug from the eight-armed merfolk. Juleka had been driven nearly mad watching Marinette ogle her brother's physique under the (honest) guise of admiring his musical abilities and felt that she was going to be reduced to meddling. Ugh. Sure she was a sea witch, and messing with the hearts of Mermaids was practically her right, but it felt so stereotypical. She shoved her purple-tipped hair back against the current and glared at the two of them. Usually, the Liberty was a nice dark safe haven- chill and relaxed. The sunken ship sat right on the edge of a trench and she loved the spooky vibe of her home, but ever since the first time she had invited her finned friend home, the Liberty had started to feel friendlier as Marinette kept coming back. And it wasn’t bad, in fact, she was starting to like the contrast of melancholy and joy. She wouldn’t even mind another effervescent sort of person to hang out with. But the unresolved tension was getting to her.
Her brother was infatuated with her friend, and she couldn’t really blame him-she had found Marinette first after all. Luka all but melted into the seafloor whenever he heard the little siren singing; he loved the melodic tone of the mermaid's voice, but he was easily a match for her. Cecaelia might not be renowned for their singing, but no one could play an instrument as well as Luka. And Marinette had definitely noticed. While all the mermen were scuttling around looking for pretty jewels to woo their counterparts with- Marinette was hanging out at the edge of a dark trench listening to her brother play his homemade instruments.
As best as Juleka could figure out, the only thing keeping them apart was their mutual stupidity. Marinette was embarrassed about her old crush on Adrien and didn’t know how to properly communicate her current disinterest in the friendly but lackluster prince let alone share her affection for Luka. Luka was trying to respect her (outdated) feelings and couldn’t see past the heart on his sleeve. On the plus side; his music had been inspired lately- even if it was a little sappy.
Scheming had always been Alya’s territory, not that those plans had ever worked, but now that she’d run off with that sea turtle it left Marinette in Rose and Juleka’s hands… and if she played her cards right, Marinette ending up with Luka would leave Rose with extra time on her hands, and Juleka was more than willing to spend time with the pretty blond siren- she had a voice that matched her heart- which is to say it was too big for words. Actually, Rose would be the perfect co-conspirator for her project- Juleka’s magic worked best on a willing subject.
There was some danger to the idea of teaming up with Rose of course. While she liked the lovely siren- a lot, the adorable romance-obsessed mermaid was likely to cause… exuberance. Hopefully, the risk would be worth it. All she needed was the right plan and enough luck to get her marks to see. Juleka might not be able to fix stupid, but maybe she could put an end to the pining.
--*--
Marinette stopped her weaving and toyed with one of her long dark blue hair tails as she watched Luka in fascinated adoration. She didn't know anyone else who could play three instruments at once. The fact that one of his muscular arms was tapping out a strong rhythm in addition to everything else was mind-boggling. She tried hard not to be jealous of the violin tucked under his chin as his fingers gently caressed the strings. She imagined the strong tentacle wielding the bow wrapped around her waist instead…
She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since that first hug. She had been upset over something she couldn't even recall any longer and he had been there, ready to comfort her like the gentle souled friend he was. His many arms had wrapped around her at the first hint of tears- driving her distress away. It had been a supportive thing; friendly and respectful. The only romantic thing about it was the way she kept imagining it. Repeatedly. Now, instead of hanging out at the reef, she liked to bring her projects to the Liberty and listen to Luka while she wove or worked on the jewelry she loved making. Juleka liked to tell tales of the deep creatures that thrived far below the edge of the trench and Marinette enjoyed the stories almost as much as Luka’s music. Sometimes she envied the Cecealia their ability to handle the pressure of the deeper waters, she wished she could see more of the world than the little slice of ocean she was able to inhabit.
--*--
She was watching him again. Luka could feel her bright eyes dancing across him. He glanced up past the careful balance of instruments he was playing to confirm his suspicions and smiled at his favorite guest. She returned his smile and then dropped her gaze back to the task in her hands. Small, strong, and capable- he was always impressed with what those two little hands could do. How did she do so much without strong tentacles to aid her? He centered himself with a breath and focused on both the melody and harmony he was playing so he wouldn't let the song unravel in front of their special company. He wanted to know her dreams, oh, he knew some of them- they were friends after all - but he desired to know the deep parts of her heart and hoped to be a part of her future. He had Juleka to thank for meeting her, but now he didn’t know what steps to take to get closer to her without an audience.
"I can't take it anymore." Juleka's soft voice sounded vexed when it broke through the tense bubble of mutual but unvoiced admiration; garnering startled looks from both her brother and her friend. "I'm going to find Rose or something." She swam away ignoring the baffled looks that followed her.
Juleka headed straight to the bright sunlit reef, scanning the popular gathering grounds for shining blond hair. There! She spotted Rose trying to convince some anemones and urchins to rearrange themselves into a flower pattern, nudging all the bright yellow and orange ones into the center while gently pushing the darker-hued ones outwards so that they resembled petals. She had seen her handiwork around and had to admit that it looked pretty cool.
She waved to Rose, a little shyly, not wanting to interfere with her task. Rose smiled when she saw her and with a final word to a purple urchin, she swam in her direction.
“Jules! It’s so good to see you! What's going on?”
“I had an idea and wanted to know if you would be interested in helping me out.”
“Sure, Jules! What is it?”
Juleka smiled at the bubbly mergirl's enthusiasm, there really wasn’t anyone better suited to the task at hand, “We are both in possession of an idiot in love. Would you be interested in teaming up to take care of them?”
“Wait, what?”
“My brother and your best friend.”
Rose’s eyes went wide with excitement and her fins flared, “Working with you will be so much fun!” she squealed delightedly.