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Darkness shies from her footsteps, retreating as light spirals forward and warms all that it touches. It’s effortless, the way life begins from her heat— as if her smile is enough to create. Well, yes. Sometimes, perhaps, maybe it is. Alya smiles lovingly down at Earth, her bronzed skin gleaming with golden shimmers as she follows the curve of the planet.
Her time amongst the stars is happy, a peaceful eternity as she illuminates her celestial bodies, watching them dance around her, turning and turning and turning forever on their axises. She stands at the center, conducting them, wanting to twirl, but not. Just waiting and waiting and—
—sometime she forgets that time does not stand still the way it seems for her. That her little planets change by the second, time inching away, lost grains of sand to be irreplaceable. Yet it is in this moment, when she remembers, when Earth’s moon crosses her path and it’s only a brief moment and—
He smiles at her, his hand outstretched for her to grab. None of the other moons dare come as close, but this one? He’s braver than the rest. While she might create life, he gives it meaning, becoming inspiration for many as he dances in the sky, humming quiet symphonies for people to write.
“My Lady Sun,” he says, a twinkle in his eye as he bows.
She smirks, her fingers almost gracing his palm. “My Sir Moon.”
He raises his fingertips slightly, just so that they graze the flesh of hers. “It’s been far too long.”
(Breath catches in her throat. Is that...is that what it feels like to touch someone else?)
Alya wants to curl her fingers into Nino’s hand, but instead tucks, it away. She smiles bright and waves farewell, watching him dance away once more, caught in song as the universe carries him along.
The next time they meet, it’s because she is crossing his path it seems. It’s a bit unusual, for her to wander. She’s always rather be observing the that life flourishes under her care, but today? Tonight? She finds herself ever daring to go forward.
She has always wanted to, you see, to wander. She’s a star whose light touches everything, but her feet have not moved much from her center. Her whole existence has been spent documenting her creations, keeping memories perfect as time ticks on.
Yet dancing...yet moving...yet—life calls to her in such a way, that she embodies all that she has ever wanted to do. She throws caution aside, her robes swirling as she does, giggling madly as she feels alive .
Maybe it’s because he’s already so close. It’s not like she’s stepped too far away from her spot, but she spins and spins and spins and—
--comes nose to nose with him.
Nino blinks, his smile soft as he gazes at her.
“Hello.”
Alya gins wildly, feeling free, feeling—
“Hi.”
Moments tick between them as Nino digs into his pocket. He hands her an orb and taps the tippy top of it. Alya stares down at her hands and—magic.
It glows and plays a song, much like a heartbeat, much like the movement as she hums along. Little stars float away from the orb, dancing in the motions around the larger orb much like how her planets dance around her.
“This is amazing,” she whispers, awestruck.
He scratches his cheek. “I’m glad you like it…”
Alya wants to say something more, wants to be bold like she has always felt, wants to reach forward and (maybe hold him, you see. Yes, hold him. Hold this little moon and—)
There’s a tug and she flashes him a weak smile, her spot in the center calling her back home. Nino bows deeply, signifying his farewell.
So, she dances away, clutching the little sun in her hand, hoping and waiting and maybe dreaming of something more.
There comes a day when she stops being skittish. She doesn’t know when it happens per say, but one moment he’s inching towards her and the next--the next, she forgoes the balance in the universe.
The planets stop in their trajectory as she moves from her center position, everyone jerking forward and grunting at the sudden halt.
Alya picks up her skirts and lands next to her moon, startling him as he realizes that Earth is no longer moving.
(Adrien only seems slightly confused, but lets them continue anyway.)
“This,” she says. “This is dumb.”
“My Lady Sun?”
She holds out her hand.
“Dance with me.”
“...what?”
Alya groans and puts a hand to her forehead. Gesturing around them, she continues. “Why do we just do this? Why do we follow along this path?”
“Uh, because that’s what we’re supposed to do?”
She lets that thought hang in the air for a second before snatching his hand and dragging him to follow her. “Well, we’re going to do this now.”
“Al-Alya!” he cries.
She laughs, feeling free, feeling like herself, feeling more than anything she has felt before. “What! What is wrong? You dance, I dance, well, let’s just dance together.”
Nino sputters. “But the universe!”
“The universe will continue just as we continue. We,” she says as she places a hand on his shoulder and he lays one on her back. “We are meant to forge our own path.”
Nino’s face is blank for a second before forming into a mischievous smirk. “And you just decided this now?”
“Yes.”
He throws his head back in laughter and starts to spin them in a pattern she has known all her life. She laughs too, happiness bubbling in her flames, her smile feeling bright as she enjoys this moment.
“You’re crazy,” he says.
“I know.”
Darkness continues to shy from her footsteps, light shining more brightly as happiness blooms in her heart. She no longer is trapped and contained in it’s center, but goes as far as her light reaches, goes to the ends of the universe and back again because she can.
Her moon stays with her, laughing with her, exploring with her, happy to be with her as she—
—lives as boldly as her creations.