Chapter Text

Something in the Orange - Zach Bryan

But I miss you in the mornings when I see the sun

Somethin' in the orange tells me we're not done

"So," began Roaar to a half-asleep Juleka, "since we're going to be here a while, we may as well start talking again."

"Mmm…"

Juleka rolled over in bed, taking a second to remember where she was. The answer was the spare bedroom in Adrian's home. While the Kwami was unbearably loud 24/7, she had to admit she'd missed them.

"Alright," she agreed, "How have you been?"

Their eyes flickered elsewhere. "Lonely."

An ache pulled at her heart. "Hasn't Sass been keeping you company?"

"He's usually meditating, or yelling at me for 'interrupting his meditation', or something like that."

Roaar giggled, so Juleka did too. "Well, you have me for… probably the next month, knowing my luck."

The Kwami grinned. "Well, let's make the best of it! C'mon, Juleka, let's get some food in your stomach and get ready."

"Yeah, yeah." She fished two breakfast bars from her travel bag — one for her, one for Roaar — and scarfed hers down in no time.

The last time Juleka was in Paris, had spoken to any friends she'd once had, had spoken to Roaar, was three years ago. This was common knowledge. That was when they'd defeated Chrysalis, after all, and when she was no longer needed.

Juleka and Rose had already been broken up two years at this point. Juleka was more focused on making her and Luka's career actually work, but when Paris needed her, she still returned no matter what.

Then, she realized, without Chrysalis' influence and with all the Miraculous in Marinette's control, Paris didn't really need her anymore.

She sat upon a rooftop with just Roaar to break the news.

"So," she began, voice hoarse from recording her latest album, "I have something I want to talk about."

"Yeah?" responded Roaar, who also seemed pretty tuckered out from their previous battle.

"I, um… I think I'm going to move. To North America. Full-time."

Roaar's eyes widened, like they knew this conversation. It made sense. An immortal being with the power of a deity would have at least some experience with loss.

"So you're… going?"

"Yeah. I'll be back if there's, um, another big threat, but…" she felt tears stinging at her eyes. "But yeah, I'm going."

"Juleka, you can't! Paris needs you!"

"Paris doesn't-" she coughed down her tears, "-Paris will be alright. The rest of the crew has it under control."

Anger contorted the pink Kwamis face. "You can't be serious! After all we've done together!?"

"I-"

"Is this about Rose? Why doesn't she just leave? She's the one who-"

"Roaar!" she interrupted the Kwami. Tears were streaming down both of their faces now. "I'm going. It's not about Rose, or you, or anybody else. It's me. I've made my choice."

Roaar geared up to let out a loud yell, but before they could, Juleka pulled off her bracelet and shoved it in her pocket. She would return it to the Miracle Box before she left tomorrow. She would ignore the aching pain of loneliness when she went to rub her bracelet for comfort only to get none. She would move on.

She would move on.

Purple Tigress arrived at the spot Ladybug told her and Pigella to meet to go over suspects. As it turned out, it was quite familiar to her — more specifically, her and the supheroine in front of her had made out after school in this very alleyway many times.

"So," began the tigress, "are you feeling better?"

Pigella nodded. "I am. Thanks for… caring."

"Like I would've stopped."

A tense silence built over them.

"Um, did Ladybug give you our suspect list?" Purple Tigress finally asked.

"Yes, just let me-" she grabbed a hastily written list from her pocket. "I have it right here. It has all of our suspects, and a rundown on their day-to-day. I don't know if you saw Ladybug's message, but she says we might have a few more depending on how, um, how King Monkey handles them."

"You mean depending on how incompetent Kim is?" Juleka whispered.

Pigella gasped, but smiled nonetheless. Juleka would deny how much she missed that smile, but warmth still returned to her when she saw it. "Jules, you can't-"

"C'mon, we both know you hate him. Not even Luka can whip his sorry self into shape. Max refuses to work with him, too, last time I heard?"

"Professionalism!" she shouted out. "Professionalism, Tigress!"

Juleka found herself, her true self, the one deep down, laughing out. It was dangerous, how even after five years, Rose could still bring that out.

"Fine, fine. Professionalism, Pigella. Who's our first suspect?"

"Seems to be… Miss Mendeleiev?"

"The science teacher?" chuckled Purple Tigress.

"Seems to be. I think Ladybug's checking anyone who could've gotten access to Adrian during the average hours of his day. I mean, really, anyone could've done it."

"Fair enough," she sighed, "I mean, yeah, obviously."

Pigella chuckled. "I know that look. Someone has a hunch."

"I mean, I just- Nothing else was stolen, right? Just the ring. So, it has to be someone with knowledge of the Miraculous. Maybe even extensive knowledge. I just don't think that's Olga Mendeleiev." She looked down at her bracelet. No one except for a select crew knew what it truly did.

"No, I don't think so either." Pigella paused. "But for now, we'll follow out Ladybug's orders. When we take our break later, we can read over the list and see if there's anybody we think should be a priority."

"Good idea," Juleka agreed. "Now let's get to it!"

The two superheroes got to the school within a matter of minutes, and were given clearance almost immediately. While nobody really remembered Purple Tigress, everyone knew Pigella, and she was able to vouch for them both.

They made their way to the chemistry classroom, where Mrs. Mendeleiev quickly cleared her name via an alibi. The two girls thanked her then went on their way.

Their next two suspects were busts too; just people Adrian volunteered with semi-regularly. They had alibis as well.

"I guess it's time for the most important question of all, then…" Juleka began as soon as they were out of earshot of the others, "What're we having for lunch?"

Pigella chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I could go for something from the Patisserie, if you're willing?"

"Absolutely. I'd love a little taste of Paris while I'm here."

On their way, they were stopped by someone — a grandmother walking with her young granddaughter, holding a pig plushie.

"Grandma, grandma, look, look, it's her!" whisper-shouted the girl. "It's, um, um, it's- it's Pigella!"

"That superhero?" The girl's grandma turned her head and spotted them, a soft smile coming over her face. "Oh, goodness, it is!"

It was at this point that Rose noticed the two and waved them over with a smile. Juleka's only option, as someone who wasn't really a superhero at all anymore, was to stand to the side.

"Hi, what's your name?" Rose asked with a cheery smile, the sweet kind she used when talking to kids. Juleka remembered it fondly, remembered the similar smile she put on as well. They were publicly a couple at that point, after all. Now, they were just… business partners. One known, one faded out of public eye almost completely.

"It's, um, um, Sophie!" the girl said. "You're so- so- so brave! I wish I could be that brave."

Pigella knelt down and ruffled her short hair. "You wanna know my secret, Sophie?" The girl nodded, eyes full of stars. "If you want to be brave, you have to put yourself out there. The real you, the one deep down inside."

"Really? It's- it's that easy?"

Pigella smiled, then shook her head. "No. It's one of the hardest things ever. But if you start now, then by the time you're big, you'll be really good at it."

The girl gasped. "Okay, okay! Then I'll be a hero like you, 'cause I'll- I'll be big and brave!"

"Yes you will," she agreed. She turned to the grandmother. "Do you two want a picture?"

"Oh, absolutely! Doris wouldn't believe I'd seen you otherwise." Her eyes settled on Purple Tigress as Pigella took the phone from her hand to get the picture. "I remember seeing you on the news a couple of years back. Pink Panthress, was it?"

"Purple Tigress, ma'am."

"Janice." She extended her hand, so Purple Tigress took it. "You saved my neighbor's son-in-law from one of those darned Akumas. It's nice to see you back on the scene after so long." She smiled down at her girl. "Heroes like you two truly make Paris a better place."

Purple Tigress found herself smile, the same way she did on stage. She supposed this was just as much of a performance. "It's what we do, ma'am."

"Now, I don't know about my granddaughter, but I most certainly want a picture with you, Purple Tigress."

"Don't worry about it, already got one." Pigella showed them a photo of them just chatting, the sunlight hitting the older woman's face perfectly. "Tigress here clams up a bit when she knows a photo is being taken of her, but I knew you would want one."

"Woah, you're like a- like a- like a ninja!" Sophie shouted in awe.

"Sometimes, being sneaky is my job." Pigella raised her index finger to her lip, and Sophie giggled, doing the same. "Which is why you absolutely can't tell Ladybug we took extra time on our break today."

"Never!" Sophie agreed.

"Oh, I wouldn't dare," Janice said. "You made my girl's entire month."

Pigella hugged Sophie one more time, then she and Purple Tigress found some place to de-transform. Rose looked a bit more put-together than last night; her makeup had been wiped off, substituted for something cleaner, while she wore a cute pink skirt and cardigan. Still pretty as ever, even with the change in style.

Finally, they headed on their way to the Patisserie.

"It's such rewarding work," Juleka murmured under her breath, "Remind me why I ever stopped?"

"You could probably blame me for that," Rose replied.

"I…" she went quiet. "Everyone always thinks that. That I left because I was running away from something — from you, I guess. They don't ever believe it when I say that there was something I was running toward."

Rose physically stopped moving, so Juleka did too. "And… was there?"

Juleka laughed, nodding. "My career had started to boom, and then we defeated Chrysalis, and I just…" She took a deep breath. Those times, right before and right after she left, were some of the worst in her life. She hated every decision she made. Every breath she took was something she scorned and criticized for months. All she wanted was to feel at home again, and she just didn't feel that in her New York apartment yet. Not even when Luka joined her did she properly feel at home. It was only when she eradicated Rose Lavillant from her mind that she felt like a person again. Going back to those months just felt… dreadful. "I felt that same rush of relief when I went to that first drag night that I did in Kitty Section all those years ago. I felt the same way every time I climbed up onto any stage, when I first opened for a bigger name than me, when I got to dress up in a fun costume and just be for a little while. The weight of the world wasn't on my shoulders so much when I was in a gay bar in Miami, and I finally felt free. I wanted to cultivate that feeling. I wanted Juleka Couffaine to thrive, and so Purple Tigress had to… fall to the wayside."

"Wow," Rose whispered, "I had no idea this was… holding you back so much."

Juleka shrugged. "I think it was just… me. I couldn't handle it anymore. Being Purple Tigress and Juleka Couffaine at the same time, it was… it was suffocating me."

"I just- I'm sorry I assumed. Y'know, that it was because of me."

Juleka wouldn't tell her about the spirit of an optimistic girl she felt all around Paris, how that spirit wore pigtails and got migraines and laughed and cried and loved. She would just nod. Rose didn't need to know that part of that hopelessness, that crushing weight, was because of her.

"Might've been a little presumptuous," she teased. "Let's keep on going. We're not far from the Patisserie."

Rose nodded. "I've been thinking about the list. Maybe we should try to get access to some other lists as well?"

"Good idea," Juleka agreed. "I'm sure most of the team would send their lists no question, but I'm also sure Marinette kept the hardest suspects for herself."

"She's going to work herself to death if she keeps this up," Rose mumbled.

"So she's still an overachiever?" Juleka wasn't sure why she was asking. As long as Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the guardian, she would pile her workload higher than the Eiffel Tower.

Rose nodded. "She's not great at taking it easy. The last time we all got her to take a break, Adrian had to take her phone because she was calling Alya so much."

Juleka chuckled. "Nathaniel told me about that. He and Marc were worried sick."

"We all were."

Juleka's stomach dropped. It was right at the beginning of her tour, and while Luka flew over for the weekend to comfort everyone and mediate the situation, Juleka holed up in her hotel room all alone. She couldn't face it. Paris needed her, her friend needed her, and she couldn't face it.

She was a disgrace to her team and everyone knew it. Roaar's mighty spirit would be better in the hands of literally anybody else. Cerise Bianca would do a better job embodying the Tigress.

They finally reached the Dupain-Cheng family's Patisserie, and without any hesitation, Rose ordered their order — two chocolate scones and two lattes, one with extra sugar and the other iced. They got the same thing every day after school when it was time to work on homework or chat about life.

They slouched into the same two-seated table as they always did. The place hadn't changed much. The menu had expanded, with the family presumably having more room without their daughter living there anymore, and the ambience was a bit calmer, but it was still the same place she had visited all those years ago.

One thing she realized, as she bit into her scone and let out a small moan of delight, was that she'd really missed French pastries.

Juleka coughed quietly. Rose was staring. "I'm sure if we explained ourselves to Adrian, he'd give us their list too."

"Good point," Rose agreed, rummaging to find her phone in her pocket. "I'll message him."

She did so, then set her phone down on the table. Just a few minutes later, a loud ding rang out from the device.

"Did he respond?"

Rose picked up her phone, then shook her head and set it back down. "No, that was just from a-" she cut herself off.

"From a what?"

"Um, not important."

Juleka chuckled. "Was it a date?"

Rose's face flushed, and she nodded. "I just… I didn't want to make things uncomfortable between us."

She shrugged. "We've been friends before. I don't see why we can't be friends again, right?"

The blonde's eyes slowly but surely met hers, and she smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that. Friends."

Only hours later, when Juleka was alone in her room, did the all-consuming pit of 'just friends' begin to eat at her. The only thing worse than never seeing Rose Lavillant ever again was being so close to her, close enough to touch and kiss and love, but not be allowed to do any of it. She would have to know someone else would be doing that for her.

She would have to persist. She and Rose would be working together for upwards of a month. She couldn't afford to be reckless.

Purple Tigress would have to stay calm and collected. She would not lose her sanity.