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Marinette loves Alya quietly.
It's not a kind of love that she's ever experienced before. Even when it comes to the platonic love of friends and family, she loves loud. She loves with big gestures and even bigger craft projects. She loves like Nino's more eccentric tracks and getting so excited that you don't realize that you're accidentally yelling. But after Adrien - after being told sorry, Mari, you're still my best friend - she'd learned to put a lid on it when it's romantic. It's for the best, after all.
Loving Alya is still loud, sometimes, but the quiet moments are damn near silent. It's sitting next to her in class and feeling her presence more loudly than anyone else's in the room. It's worrying about where she is during every akuma, but knowing wholeheartedly that she's probably chasing it. It's quiet, and sometimes sad, but Marinette doesn't think that she'd change it for anything. After all, nobody needs to know that she's in love with her best friend. Alya is a reporter-in-training and has no clue, so Marinette doesn't worry about anyone else finding out.
During one of their sleepovers, when Alya is painting Marinette's nails, she gathers the courage to say, "you know, Alya, I think we're soulmates." Not soulmates like Ladybug and Chat Noir, destinies intertwined. Not soulmates like Maman and Papa, who never ever get mad at each other, or at least never show it. But soulmates like Alya and Marinette. Nobody gets Marinette like Alya does, and Marinette never laughs so hard with anybody else.
"Of course we are," Alya agrees, not looking up for a second from the pink polka-dot design she's perfecting. "Has that ever been any sort of question?"
Marinette smiles. "No," she says, feeling warm, and not just from the candle that smells like apple cider. "Never."
Marinette, as aforementioned, never worries about anybody else finding out, especially as the days turn to weeks and the weeks turn to months. Maybe she starts getting reckless, then, because turns out, she should have been worried.
It's Adrien, of all people, who corners her after history class. "You don't have to be sad forever, you know," he tells her, hesitantly, as if he knows that this conversation could be disastrous.
Marinette misinterprets it, and feels anger coil in her gut. The gall - "No need to be egotistical, Adrien. I got over you months ago." Alya had held her hand through most of it. "At least you know now," she'd said. "He doesn't deserve you, and you'll find someone who does."
"That came out wrong," he admits, and at least has the decency to look embarrassed. Good. "I know you're over me. I'm talking about Alya."
Marinette freezes and presses her history binder closer to her chest. This is not happening, she thinks, bewildered. Adrien Agreste, who didn't know I had a crush on him for well over a year despite how obvious I was, is not catching onto my feelings for her. "I have class," she lies. "Sorry, we can talk later!"
"No you don't. You have the period free, so you're going to go sneak some macarons for Alya, like you always do," he tells her. He scratches the back of his neck. How is this more awkward than when she'd kissed him, thinking he was a freaking statue? "Look, Marinette, I'm not going to tell anybody. I don't think anyone besides Alya and I even know that you're bi, so it's not like people will suspect your crush. But it sucks seeing you so lonely, especially because you're lonely while you're right next to her. I just want to help."
"I don't think she's over Nino," Marinette says, though it's relatively far down on her list of concerns. Number one on the list is: we're best friends and I can ruin our three-year friendship with one sentence. Whether or not Alya likes girls isn't an issue, because even though it's never been a vocal conversation, the pink-purple-blue pin on her bag has never left much room for debate. "They broke up so amicably when he left for America, but they talk most days. I don't know how romantic it all is, and I haven't asked."
Adrien, inexplicably, perks up at that. "Nino told me it's all platonic," he says, and Marinette wonders why he's so excited about Nino being single. "He says that he confirmed with her that she had no interest in getting back together before he went on a date with someone, and she told him to go for it. Apparently she told him that she's interested in someone over here."
Oh.
"So it's clear, then, isn't it?" Marinette says, suddenly mad at Adrien all over again for bringing this up in the first place when there's obviously no chance. "So stop trying to get me to confess when she's interested in someone else!" She stuffs her history binder in her backpack and starts to head towards the door. She doesn't want to have this stupid conversation anymore. She wants to go home and spend her entire free period figuring out how to put on a happy face for her next class.
"Marinette, you don't understand what I'm saying," he says, but she doesn't turn back around. "I'm pretty sure that the person she likes is-"
She doesn't hear the rest before the door slams behind her.
... She'll apologize to him later. It's not truly his fault that he stumbled upon the hornet's nest that is Marinette's feelings.
Marinette brings Alya raspberry and pistachio macarons, and ignores the butterflies in her stomach when Alya says, "thanks, Marinette. You're the best."
They're probably better off as friends. She shouldn't mess with that.
Sometimes, when the lectures at school are more common sense than anything Marinette actually needs to write down, her mind drifts to who Alya could be interested in.
It could be Kim. Alya's never specifically mentioned anything about liking athletic guys, but it wouldn't be surprising. Plus, if how he had treated Chloe even while she was horrible to him says anything, he's a softie on the inside. Marinette wouldn't be angry if it was Kim. She knows that he'd treat Alya well.
It could be Adrien. It would, well, it would hurt real bad if it was Adrien, but it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. He's nice, after all. He's funny and friendly and could probably help Alya make incredible reporting connections, not that she necessarily needs them with the success of the Ladyblog. But having the two main loves of your admittedly-short life get together... sheesh. Marinette's not sure she could handle it, no matter how long ago she got over him.
It could be Lila, but Marinette shoves the mere concept so far down into her soul before it strangles her. She'll deal with that if it ever goes there. She'll just have to hope that it never goes there.
"Hey, girl," Alya says, during lunch one morning. She's going to town on her extra-large cup of coffee, anticipating the test next period. Marinette knows that they've both got it in the bag - they study together at least three times a week, after all. "Let's go to the movies on Friday night."
"Okay," Marinette agrees instantaneously, figuring that she'll rearrange her schedule if she has to. Friday night on her calendar is graced with the important event of crying to sad love songs, so she'll push that to Saturday. "Are we inviting the other girls too?"
"No," Alya replies, maybe a bit too quickly, but she recovers before it's too noticeable. "I, um, I want to go out with you, just the two of us. Do you... understand what I mean?"
Marinette nods seriously. Inviting the girls means at least Rose, Juleka, Alix, and Mylene. But inviting Mylene sometimes means inviting Ivan, and inviting Alix can turn into her inviting Kim and Kim inviting Max. That's always fun, of course, but it can be nice to have quieter outings. "Of course," she says, missing how Alya seems to visibly relax. "That sounds like so much fun! Do you have a specific movie in mind?"
As Alya begins to ramble about the action-comedy movie she's picked out, Marinette daydreams about what it would feel like to hold her hand.
The movie itself is fun but a little forgettable. The main character saves his love interest, who dramatically swoons in his arms afterwards. The comic relief character cracks a joke about being tied down. (Marinette definitely does not imagine two rings and painted nails.) She spends the majority of the time blushing whenever their hands brush while reaching for popcorn, or being overly aware about how their shoes are slightly touching. Thank goodness for dark movie theaters.
When the movie's over, and they're walking to the subway station, they're quiet for a while. Marinette's content to remain in the comfortable silence, content to do anything as long as it's with her. Eventually, Alya says, "this was fun. Let's do it again."
Marinette smiles, pleased. She loves hanging out with Alya, and tonight had been no different. "Oh, of course," she agrees. "We should grab a coffee next week."
"Yeah, of course, girl," is the agreement. Alya seems surprisingly quiet, not overflowing with excitement or naming all of her favorite parts of the movie. The reason why comes next: "Can I kiss you?"
Marinette can't help it; she stops short in her tracks. "Wait, what?" Her mind scans hopelessly for a reason to Alya's question. Is she trying to get practice for whoever she has feelings for? She'd kissed Nino before, and frequently, so that doesn't make sense. Everything had seemed normal up until this point!
Alya slows to a stop, too, looking back at Marinette with soft understanding. "It's okay," she says, smiling, as if this situation is endearing and not baffling. Marinette desperately hopes that she will be filled in. "We don't have to on the first date, I mean, I know you've only really kissed that one mystery boy."
First date...?
First date.
Date.
"Oh my gosh, this is a date," she says, and then she and Alya are already kissing. Alya tastes like warmth and sour candies and home, and then she tastes like nothing at all, because she's pulling back. Marinette unthinkingly tries to chase her mouth, but pulls back as well when she realizes that Alya is laughing.
"You didn't know? I asked you out, girl! How did you not know?" She seems uninterested in kissing at the moment, but the way that she keeps holding Marinette close stops the anxieties from creeping up into her throat. This is nice. Confusing - bewildering, really - but nice.
"You just said that you wanted to hang out alone," Marinette defends herself, though now that she is getting the gist, she cannot wipe the grin off of her face. "We hang out together all the time! Adrien told me that you told Nino that you had a crush on someone else!"
"Yeah, you! And I said I wanted to go out with you! I even asked if you knew what I meant, and," Alya pauses her sentence, the giggles clearly starting up again. Marinette, despite the shock, laughs too. "And you looked so serious. As if going on a date with me was your life's mission."
Oh, huh, that had been kind of obvious, looking back. Alya's never been one for vagueness, after all.
"Oh," Marinette says. What else is there to say but oh? Well, maybe one thing. "Can you kiss me again?"
Alya says yes without words.