Chapter Text
Juleka felt ridiculous. The tree lights were on, and she was wrapped up in her favorite purple batwing blanket—a gift from her best friend, Marinette—while she sat quietly. Waiting. She wasn't a little girl, and even when she had been, she had never been the kind to sit up on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa Claus. She had, however, starting at the ripe age of six, spent a lot of time gazing into the rippled surface of the Seine, hoping for her brother to come back.
Waiting for Santa felt much the same way, because now, her brother was Santa.
Luka had spent the last dozen or so Christmas Eves helping Santa bring presents to children all over the world, and falling in love with her best friend one magical Christmas Eve at a time. But this year, Marinette wouldn't be in her house in Paris, waiting to greet him. Marinette was the new Mrs. Claus-Couffaine. Which was great, except —wouldn't Luka get sad doing his rounds without someone to talk to in Paris?
So she waited.
Cookies—from T&S—on the counter next to a pot of cocoa (heavily accented with coffee) waited with her. She refused to be antsy or impatient, so she sat with her bat blanket draped over her shoulders while she carefully applied polish to her fingernails. It was a perfectly good reason to be up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve.
Finding out that Luka, her big brother who had saved her life at the expense of his own, was still alive had been shocking. That he was marrying her best friend had caused a riot of different emotions that had been impossible to disentangle. But after all the chaos had settled, it was good. Luka was alive, and happy, and just a reindeer ride away. She had a permanent invitation to visit the Pole (except for during the month of January, when the residents all took off to explore the world and take a much-needed vacation after Christmas). Her best friend was her sister-in-law. All in all, it was good. But it was different.
There. The last nail was done. Smooth and matte purple. She eyed her mug of cocoa-enhanced coffee and decided to wait before chancing a smudge. Staring at the glowing tree, she tried to imagine what it would be like when Luka arrived. All of Marinette's stories made it seem like he just appeared, and she hadn't remembered to ask for specifics. Rose would have, if she'd been allowed to know. Rose loved details. Rose would love being related to Santa Claus and being allowed to see the evidence of magic. She would be doubly excited about magic based on love and joy. Someday. Probably. If Juleka ever got up the nerve to propose. Still, if Luka had done it…
She'd like to marry Rose. Sweep her off her feet in a grand gesture, then stay together forever. Wrap her in her arms every night and fall asleep to the sound of her breathing. It was a familiar dream. A dream that felt a little closer to reality these days.
Juleka blinked. Christmas Eve was soft and magical, and the soft movement of the Liberty on the Seine worked its own lullaby. She blinked again, watching as the twinkling tree lights blurred and faded before reappearing. Suddenly, she took a deep breath, pulling in oxygen, as she shook her head to clear out the cobwebs of half-woven dreams.
Careful of her nails, she took a sip of coffee, wrinkling her nose at the thick chocolate. Luka had better like it, because—
If shimmer had a sound, she heard it. A sort of glimmering sparkle filled the air for a brief moment before it coalesced into a point about six feet tall and turned into her brother.
Luka was here. And wearing a deep red, fur-lined cape over his scrawny frame. Smooth-faced as always.
"You look like a cosplayer," Juleka announced, standing to scramble out of her blanket with a smirk.
"Jules!" He wrapped her in a hug as he laughed. "What are you doing up?"
She rolled her eyes. "My brother was coming over. 'Course I'm up."
There was a pause as he closed his eyes and took a breath—his thinking face. "I can spare a little time tonight. I'll admit I was nervous about my first solo run, and set off early. Completely worth it if I get to see you, though."
She poured a tall mug of the cocoa-coffee and shoved it in his hands. "Here. I've never done this whole Santa thing, so… you get what you get."
"Thanks." He took a sip, his eyes twinkling like he'd escaped a damn children's book. "Mmm, it's good."
"Of course you think it is. It's stupid sweet."
He took another sip before filling their shoes with little gifts and slipping a few presents under the tree.
Luka's smile never faltered. Whatever had led him to this point—no matter how hard and scary it had been—he was a good man for the job.
Resisting the urge to pick at her freshly painted nails, Juleka took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak. "Listen, dumbass. I need to say something, and I don't want you to butt in."
Luka nodded, solemn and patient. He'd always been good.
"Thank you. For saving my life, and for loving Marinette, and for being Santa, and for coming back to us. I missed you so much it hurt, and those years still do sometimes. But I'm really glad you came back for us. I don't know how much of all—" She waved from his hooded cloak to his black boots— "this was your choice. But thank you."
Luka wrapped his arms around her again, holding her a little longer this time. The way he used to do when she skinned her knee or got scared of the dark, back when the dark had been scary (it wasn't after Luka was drowned, because fear changed shape around her as she learned the depth and breadth of pain and loss in new ways and found kinship with the dark). She relaxed into the hug with a choked sob. Christmas was already more magical now that Luka was back. She breathed, inhaling the scent of him—cinnamon, cloves, pine, and fresh snow; all of which seemed to make everything feel a little better, a little lighter. Eventually, he let go.
His smile was soft, but healing. Nearly making up for a dozen missed Christmases. "Merry Christmas, Jules."
"Merry Christmas, Luka Claus. Now you'd better finish your job so you can get back to your wife."
Luka grinned and winked with a mock salute before he vanished in twinkling light.
Juleka wrapped her blanket back around herself and curled up on the sofa. She was glad that Marinette and Luka found each other, grateful that their love had brought her brother back to her. Life was changing. Traditions reshaping… but so far, it was for the better.
As she drifted off to sleep, she thought of the little box tucked away in her room. Maybe, just maybe, she could pull it out before spring. After all, she had it on good authority that Christmas was a season of love.