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“Just ring the doorbell, please,” said Kagami. She stood arms folded, staring straight ahead, while Marinette swarmed her with lavish kisses.
“I just need to show how much I love you before we’re in polite company,” replied Marinette, pecking Kagami’s nose. “I can’t do this when all the others are there to watch.”
Kagami frowned reproachfully. “Maybe not, but right now, the whole street is here to watch.”
It wasn’t that kisses were unwelcome. Not as such. But… Kagami couldn’t indulge herself.
Love, affection, adoration, those were things you had to earn, much though Marinette pretended like they weren’t. Marinette always acted like her love was a bottomless well, with how she poured it over Kagami at all times, and Kagami had to remind her time and time again to save it. Because one day, unless Kagami were careful, she would lose it all by proving herself unworthy of it. And unless Marinette had a surplus at that time, it would all be over.
“I would like you to ring the doorbell, Marinette. Can you do that for me?” she tried.
“Fine,” said Marinette, pulling back, but not without sliding her fingers slowly along the side of Kagami’s neck. “But that means you’re getting extra later.” She grinned impishly and lifted her bag off the ground, hooking the strap over her shoulder.
“Good,” breathed Kagami. She looked at the back of Marinette’s head as the young woman walked up to the doorbells and pressed the one for Rose’s apartment. She hated being dismissive — but it was just self defence. Defence for, and against, the self. Love was conditional. If Mother had taught her anything… it was that.
But then Marinette rolled back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waited, and then Rose’s voice chirped loudly through the speaker and Marinette became ninety per cent arms and legs as she stumbled in surprise, and Kagami forgot about the conditional nature of love for a moment and just enjoyed looking at her girlfriend instead.
The door buzzed harshly, and Marinette smiled at the doorbell before pushing on the handle. She stepped inside and held the door open. “Come! We’re going to the third floor.”
“I know,” sighed Kagami. “You have said so multiple times today.”
As Kagami walked past Marinette, though, she saw Marinette’s smile falter a little. She hesitated, but she didn’t turn around. Had she been too abrupt this time? Had she somehow exhausted Marinette already?
The door fell shut, and Marinette came up alongside her, placing a hand on her arm. “Hey, Kagami?” she said — and Kagami’s brain was just about to gear up for rapid-fire catastrophising, but then Marinette went on: “Did I step over the line, or something? I can pull back a little more if you want.”
And Kagami recalled the Marinette from only a few months ago, the Marinette who was flustered and nervous in her company, who would have recoiled if Kagami sat just a little bit too close to her, who could barely stomach the thought of kissing in private let alone in public. She always seemed like she thought she might be yelled at if someone found out she had a romantic interest.
It was Kagami’s confession — blunt and inelegant though she knew it to have been — that had knocked something loose in there. And since then, Marinette had grown to be more affectionate and liberated. Kagami knew that was a good thing. She liked that it had happened. She hated to make Marinette feel bad over it.
But… she knew that love had its limits. It couldn’t just keep pouring out and never be refilled. And while Kagami made sure to pay Marinette back in simple gifts and practical services, and always kissed her goodbye whenever one of them left the house without the other, she could not keep up with Marinette’s overflow of gestures and affection and joy in helping. One day, if Kagami couldn’t convince Marinette to take it easier, then Marinette would run out of love for her and instead become just like Mother. Distant, strict, like a ghost who wandered through the house and intermittently shouted at her.
She could never truly imagine that of Marinette. Marinette was far too sweet, far too kind, far too amazing to ever go that far. But it was unquestionable that she would grow harder with time, that it wouldn’t last, and then Kagami would lose her.
“I’m fine,” said Kagami. She squirmed a bit, but decided not to unload her whole bucket of fears here in a courtyard they didn’t live in. “You can pull back a little bit. I am not mad at you.”
Marinette broke into a smile so precious that it almost made Kagami’s heart stop. “Okay! That’s good. But if you’re uncomfortable about something then you should tell me, okay? We’re still figuring this ‘couple’ thing out, so we’re bound not to get everything right straight away.”
Kagami frowned into the shade. “Yes.”
They climbed the three unstable flights of stairs meticulously, and at the end they were greeted with a half-open door that bled warm orange light and the skippy tones of ‘70s R’n’B into the musty stairwell. Before Kagami could even think about dithering, Marinette took the lead again: she touched Kagami’s elbow with a soft palm and gave her a lovely smile, inviting her forward. “Come, let’s go,” she said.
So they went inside, and were immediately met by excited voices: Rose’s first, then Zoé’s. “You’re here!” they said, and “Come in!” and “You can hang your jackets there, and just kick off your shoes anywhere”, and as soon as they were out of their outerwear they were enveloped in hugs. And Marinette, of course, relished every moment of that.
Kagami wished she could feel the same way. She wanted to be comfortable with other people’s arms around her, wanted to just enjoy the brief heat of their lovely bodies against hers, but every single touch felt like something drawn carelessly and sloppily from a finite well. So she gingerly patted their backs and shoulders and then drew back, smiling as much as she could at their beaming faces.
“Where’s Alya?” Marinette asked Zoé.
“Getting Alix. She wasn’t sure how to find the place…”
“And Mylène’s getting snacks,” said Rose. “We thought we might run out of crisps, and she offered to go.” Behind her, Juleka flashed a smile, and mumbled something about Mylène being ‘wicked cool’.
“But never mind that,” said Zoé. “Who’s ready for the best sleepover ever?”
“It’s not a sleepover,” said Rose. “We’re adults now. It’s called a ‘stay-over’.”
“What’s the difference?” asked Marinette.
“What we tell the landlord,” murmured Juleka. “We can’t be too loud. Sorry.”
The apartment was pretty roomy. While the hallway itself was a little too cramped for five people to be standing around in, the living room beyond would definitely have space for at least most of their roll-up beds, and presumably Juleka and Rose already had their own bed. Maybe someone would go on the large angled couch, or in the kitchen, which had an open doorway into the living room. The whole place had a pleasant smell to it, like a mixture of new walls and old furnishings.
There was also a dining table, a medium-sized television, a bookcase that — when inspected more closely — contained a lot of medicinal literature right alongside horror DVDs and hard-cover fantasy novels, but also a shelf entirely dedicated to cutesy coffee table books about love and relationships and trust and family. There was a potted palm in the corner, and the dining table and television stand also had greens on them. There was a carpet that looked like one of the softest things ever made. There was a massive blue-green impressionist painting of a mountain with clouds.
And there were… seven seats around the table, with a foldable chair leaning up against the wall.
“Wow!” said Marinette. “You’ve really transformed this place.”
Rose giggled. “Thanks! We got most of the furniture secondhand, but Mum and Dad bought us the table and the plants. And that painting was another gift from Jagged.” Juleka made a devil’s horns hand gesture and a silly face at them as she walked past towards the kitchen.
“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” said Marinette. “Television? Games? Talking?”
“I want to do real sleepover stuff,” said Zoé. “Er — stay -over stuff. Braiding hair, manicures, karaoke, truth or dare, ooh, there’s probably room for Twister too, right?”
“Is all that ‘real stayover stuff’?” said Rose, looking nonplussed.
“I don’t know, this is my first sleepover!”
“Stay-over.”
“Right. That.”
Marinette’s arm snaked around Kagami’s waist. “Kagami’s also never been on one,” she said, leaning her head on Kagami’s shoulder. Kagami wondered how much Marinette was thinking about their conversation. “That means we have to make this a good one, girls!”
Kagami hesitated. She shouldn’t be taking so much: but she leant her head onto Marinette’s nonetheless. She wondered what Marinette’s face looked like — if it smiled, if it was neutral or impassive, if it looked disappointed or irritated, if behind it her thoughts were already moving on to someone else — and then she clenched her fists to stop thinking.
The doorbell buzzed then, and Rose made a small “Ooh!” sound as she went across to open. Kagami caught Zoé’s eye, and with it a warm but brief smile.
“How’s your apartment hunt going, Zoé?” asked Marinette. “Any progress?”
Zoé ended up with a frown. “... Yeah, we’re getting there. But, it’s not that easy to get a mortgage, and after Mom got into tax troubles, you know… Alya still doesn’t have a steady gig, but we’re nearly there for down payment, I think. And her parents have said we can stay there as long as we need to, as long as we make an effort to get our own place, so that’s nice.”
Her face didn’t really light up at ‘that’s nice’ either. Marinette also seemed to notice. “... But?” she prompted.
“Well, it’s not really the best place for getting intimate, you know? Especially with Ella and Etta still living there, at least until they’re out of lycée… so we have to be really careful.”
“Oh! If you want to borrow our bedroom tonight, you can do that!” said Rose, returning to the room.
“I don’t mean like that!” yelped Zoé, flushing pink. “I just mean in general. It’s weird for us to kiss in the living room when her sisters are there watching true crime. Or Marlena and Otis.”
“You can still borrow the bedroom for kissing,” said Rose. “But I think we’re all fine with a bit of cuddling and kissing, right?” She looked at Kagami and Marinette; in a fit of embarrassment, Kagami pulled away, looking down at the floor. “Feel free to be as lovey as you like, because we all love each other here!”
A cupboard clapped shut in the kitchen. “Except Alix,” said Juleka.
“She loves us in a different way,” said Rose, unperturbed. “Anyway —”
The door opened suddenly, and inside stepped first Alix, then Mylène, then Alya, the first one silently awed and the second quietly cheery and the third one very loudly cheery. “Hey, guys! Oh, hey! Oh gosh, girls, I have two people in here I need to hug more than anything —”
“Calm down, Alya,” said Alix, though she seemed to be laughing underneath her chastisement. “We all want hugs.”
“I need them more,” said Alya. She kicked off her shoes carelessly and went inside with her coat still on, heading straight for Marinette and wrapping her into a solid embrace that lasted long enough for Alix and Mylène to both get off their jackets, and for Alix to hug Rose. “Oh, girl, I’ve missed you…”
“Me too,” said Marinette, kissing Alya on the cheek. Kagami knew they had last seen each other two weeks ago. But she wasn’t jealous — she knew they were just close friends. She knew that she was the one Marinette would be going home with tomorrow.
At least for the time being…
Then Alya came up and hugged her, and while the hug was shorter, it was still pretty tight. “It’s good to see you,” said Alya. “How have you been?”
Kagami glanced over at Marinette, who was in the middle of switching hugs between Alix and Mylène. “I am doing okay,” she lied.
“That’s good. You’re taking care of her, right? Making sure she gets to bed on time and has enough kisses?”
“Er —”
“Yes, she does,” said Marinette. “If you’re looking for excuses to kiss me again, you’d better ask her for permission first.” She winked at Kagami, who blushed.
Then came hugs with Alix and Mylène, and soon after everyone had hugged everyone else, and Alya went back into the hallway to properly stow her shoes and take off her coat. Juleka said for everyone to get seated in or nearby the couch, and came out with a tray of various snacks in bowls, as well as a jug of water and some mismatched ceramic cups.
As soon as everyone was seated — Zoé in Alya’s lap, Mylène next to them and Rose on the other side, Juleka perched shoulder to shoulder with Rose, Kagami (at Marinette’s insistence) in Marinette’s lap with Marinette’s arms around her waist, and Alix sitting on the plush carpet facing all of them — Rose clapped her hands.
“So! It’s very nice to see you all! But because we’re in a whole new place now: some ground rules first. We can make some noise, but let’s keep it relaxed past midnight. Otherwise the neighbours might complain and the landlord could get involved. So if we want noisy stuff, we have three hours for that.”
Zoé raised her fist. “Twister! Karaoke! Dance-off!”
“Yes! Or other things. What does everyone want to do? We could watch something, or play board games, or we’ve got Jackbox, or there’s karaoke or whatever you like!”
“I brought some card games,” said Mylène. “Or we could do Pictionary, or um, what’s it called, twenty questions?”
“I think we should start with some noisier stuff,” said Alix, “or Zoé’s going to explode.”
Juleka raised her hand; everyone turned to look at her. She lowered it and mumbled, “Um, when do we want to be up tomorrow? That’s also good for planning.”
“Marinette’s here,” said Alya. “I think whatever we plan for, she’ll only get up an hour later.”
“Alya!”
“What? It’s true.”
“I think eleven,” said Mylène. “Marinette can get up before midday, and we still get to milk the night.”
Alix groaned. “Mylène, there are too many lesbians in this room for you to talk about milking.”
Kagami felt herself grow red; she could see the same was true for Juleka and Mylène and Zoé. Zoé frowned, too. “Hey — you’re the only person here who was thinking that!” she said indignantly. Alix shot out her tongue in response.
“I think,” said Rose, smiling cheerily, “that whatever people want to do while they’re here is fine, so long as it doesn’t disturb the neighbours. But we should probably talk about activities for the whole group first.” Her hostess mannerisms were a little strange — like Rose’s usual happy demeanour had been coated with a layer of responsibility she wasn’t used to carrying.
“All right,” said Alya. “Let’s plan, then. Who’s up for a film?” Only three hands went up. “Karaoke?” Every hand went up, except Kagami’s; she did raise her hand for Twister, though. “Okay, good. We’re all in for Twister. Other board games?”
“Monopoly!” said Mylène.
“We should probably keep the number of couples broken up to a minimum,” said Alix.
“We made it through buying an apartment together,” said Rose, while Juleka nodded. “We can make it through Juleka driving me bankrupt with a hotel chain.”
“I’d forgive your debts,” said Juleka, “because you’re my little raven.”
Alya cackled. “And Zoé’s willing to live with my parents and my sarcastic little shitsisters all for me, so I’ll put up with her getting the most expensive properties.”
“I wouldn’t stop loving Kagami even if she punched me in the face and pushed me down the stairs,” said Marinette, laughing along. Kagami felt a sting in her chest, but didn’t dare to look around, to catch her girlfriend’s eye. “But if Alix doesn’t want to play, we could find something else, maybe?”
Rose cleared her throat for attention. “We have Scrabble, Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit, Mexican Train, Ligretto and Piepmatz. And Monopoly. They’re all fun!”
“I have Uno and Dos and Bohnanza,” said Mylène. “I think they’re pretty fun, too.”
“Maybe we could decide that later? We could split up and play two games, too,” said Zoé.
There was a smattering of agreement. Juleka pushed the tray of snacks a little closer towards the middle, to remind people it was there; Rose got to her feet and went over to the bookcase, where she pulled out the Twister box. As people started grabbing biscuits and palmfuls of crisps from the tray, she and Juleka draped out the Twister sheet and got everything ready.
“I think we should probably have two teams,” said Marinette. “Don’t know if there’s room for seven of us on there. We could rotate.”
Alya urged Zoé to her feet and then stood up herself. She came over and grabbed Marinette’s hand. “And you’re going with me and Honeybee, so we can fondle you in a setting that gives us plausible deniability.”
“Ask Kagami for permission first. And Zoé, you menace,” laughed Marinette.
“Hey, I'm also getting something out of this,” said Zoé with a small chuckle. “My girl is incorrigible.” Both she and Alya turned to look at Kagami.
“... Sure,” she said, getting up, even though her heart immediately sank back to where she'd sat.
“Well, I’m not getting between those two,” said Alix, pushing herself up, “and neither are you, Mylène. They'll be milking Marinette before anyone gets a right foot on the mat.”
Zoé threw a pillow at Alix. "Shut it, you. Who’s going to spin for us, though?”
“I’ll do it,” said Rose.
Juleka, Alix, Mylène and Kagami all perched down to watch as Marinette took to the board with two girls who (to Kagami’s best knowledge) very much still fancied her. Twister wasn’t that kind of game, of course. And Kagami wasn’t jealous, not like that. She just… knew she couldn’t keep up with those two. It wasn’t in her nature to be like them. And Marinette was touchy-feely enough that she probably wanted some of that in return.
Juleka ended up hanging half over Rose as she called out left foot on yellow, right hand on red, left hand on red, left foot on blue. Mylène and Alix leant forward and cheered. Marinette giggled. Zoé tried to cheat by tickling her, and all three players landed in a laughing heap, but Rose called a foul and said they needed to go again.
Kagami tapped Juleka on the shoulder. “Can I borrow your bedroom?” she asked. Juleka nodded, concern latent in her eyes. In reply, Kagami gave her a brief smile she hoped would be reassuring and got up to leave.
“Is something wrong, Kagami?” said Marinette, left hand on green and right one on blue.
“No. Please have fun playing. I will join you later.”
She passed through the door and into the darkness beyond. She hardly noticed the details of the room, only that there was a double bed with a somewhat-dishevelled duvet draped across it. Sighing, she closed the door and just went to sit on the side of the bed.
Maybe she was jealous, a little bit. But it wasn’t really jealousy that anyone else was touching Marinette. She knew it was just for play, she knew who belonged to who. That didn’t help the dark and ugly little feeling that twisted in her chest, though.
When Marinette knocked on the door, it could have been a minute, or it could have been five, but it was probably closer to the latter. She opened the door right after knocking, and her worried smile was stark in the light from the living room; Kagami answered it, though poorly, with a smile of her own.
“How are you feeling?” she said.
“I am all right. Thank you.”
“What’s wrong? Is it a headache?” Marinette stepped inside and clicked the door shut behind her. “I’m sure they’ve got aspirin if you need any.”
Kagami shook her head. “No. It’s not a headache.”
“Is it the pulling-back thing? Was the lap-sitting too much?” said Marinette as she sat down next to Kagami on the bed, aptly demonstrating her uncanny ability to put her finger right on the pulse but in just the wrong way.
“No. I enjoyed your lap. I only… wish I could give back to you the way you give to me.” When she said it, it didn’t feel wrong — it only felt like a genuine answer to a different question. “You are so gentle and loving with me, anata. I think I could never pay you back.”
Marinette’s shocked expression was obvious even in the near darkness. “Kagami — honey — is that really what you think? Do you think I love you because I can get something out of it?”
“Isn’t that what all relationships are?”
“I — well, I guess it’s true that we — I mean — ugh. Yes, I get something from you. I love you because you give me a happy feeling inside when I’m with you. I love you because you’re cute and smart and I like the way it feels when we kiss. But that doesn’t — look.” Marinette lowered her hands, fumbled a little with them in Kagami’s lap, then found Kagami’s hands and lifted them up. “There’s no minimum requirement you have to meet for me to love you, okay? You don’t have to do anything except keep being you, because that’s who I fell in love with.”
“But what if I stop being that person?” said Kagami. She could feel herself start to choke a little bit. She felt like a boiled potato, mushy and broken. “What if I grow into someone you don’t love?”
Marinette answered the question with a kiss on the side of her mouth. “Okay, first of all, that’s impossible. But second, even if you change and end up a little different, you’re still worthy of love. Okay? Everything your mother said to you, that’s nonsense. You don’t have to, like, perform a task well for me to adore you, because that just isn’t conditional. Kagami, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and I’m so happy you chose me. And I’m not going to stop loving you unless you start murdering people and chopping them up in the cellar. And even then I think it’s fifty-fifty.”
Kagami felt like her throat was jamming up. She sniffed. “If I start punching you in the face, though… please stop loving me.”
“Never,” said Marinette, smiling. She lifted one of Kagami’s hands up to her face and brought it against her cheek, miming an exaggerated reaction to being punched. “See? I still love you.” She repeated the action a few more times, and Kagami couldn’t help but snort. “Besides, you’re not that kind of person.”
“... Thank you,” said Kagami.
“Don’t thank me,” said Marinette. “Just let me kiss you, okay?”
And their lips met, breathless and a little clumsy, before they finally melted together. Marinette’s hand was on Kagami’s cheek while the other held Kagami’s side, and Kagami put her hands on Marinette’s shoulders, and they sat there for a long time just sensing each other. It wasn’t like their kisses at home, not as deep or as needy, but just a simple and straightforward reminder that yes, they truly did love each other.
And yet —
— Kagami knew that other girls playfully teasing her girlfriend wouldn’t diminish their connection. But even so, there was something missing, something she couldn’t place. A feeling when she looked at her Marinette through the murk and knew how loved the girl was by so many people. Probably every girl in the apartment would love to be with Marinette, if only Kagami weren’t in the way.
She turned forward again and looked down at her lap. “Thank you, anata,” she said. “I love you. Please go back and join the others. I need a little more time, I think.”
“Are you sure?” said Marinette, stroking Kagami’s back.
That was just the thing. She wasn’t sure. She knew she was okay, but she didn’t know why she didn’t want to go back yet. So she gave a weak smile and said “I just need to clear my head. I felt a little unlovable, I think. It… it will pass.”
Probably.
Marinette put a last kiss on Kagami’s cheek and got up. “Okay, sweetie,” she said, and Kagami could hear her hesitation. “I love you so much. Don’t ever forget that.” And she walked towards the door, a little too quickly for Kagami’s liking.
Kagami sighed. Things were okay. Things would be okay. Mother’s voice was still there, but it never talked about romance in the first place. She could ignore it, compartmentalise it, at least for now. Instead, she could think about Marinette. About the others. She could think about…
… about the way they all loved each other so easily, while she was just an outsider brought here by Marinette.
But —
— the door opened. Juleka came inside, and Kagami jolted to her feet. “I apologise. I will leave the room now.”
“No, Kagami, stay there,” said Marinette, as she stepped in behind Juleka and shut the door. “I had an idea.”
Perplexed, Kagami remained upright, as the two others came closer. Marinette arrived first, and firmly grasped Kagami’s shoulders, pushing her down on the side of the bed again. Juleka sat down next to her and smiled, but the smile quickly ran away again, like a deer that had heard a loud noise.
Then Marinette stepped in front of them both and folded her arms. “So. Kagami. Honey. Love of my life and, um, I don’t remember how that thing goes… I had an idea. A thought. And you might hate it, so stop me if you hate it, and I’ll stop, but I thought maybe since you felt unlovable it would be nice if, and you’re not unlovable and everyone agrees a hundred per cent,” Juleka nodded rapidly at this, and Marinette’s arms which had been itching to gesticulate this whole time suddenly burst free and went straight to doing that, “just ask them, and you deserve to be loved so much, and —”
“Marinette,” said Kagami. She was pleased to see that Marinette instantly stopped and focused on her, like a magic control word. “What are you talking about?”
“... I wanted to show you how lovable you are by having the others love you,” said Marinette, fumbling with her own fingers. “I thought if everyone kissed you and told you how pretty you are, and you are, then maybe you’d stop thinking bad thoughts.”
Kagami blinked. “What?”
“I mean,” and Kagami could tell how hard her girlfriend was blushing despite the terrible lighting, “I’ve given everyone my permission to kiss you, and if you’re also okay with it, then everyone wants to kiss you.”
Kagami felt her eyes go wide as saucers. “You… you want to…”
“Yus,” said Juleka. “If you wanna.”
“It’s all up to you, bunny.”
“I — yes,” said Kagami. She had no idea what to say, but ‘yes’ seemed the most polite. And when Juleka leaned in for a smooch on the lips, Kagami didn’t regret what she had said. Juleka’s kiss was very different from Marinette’s usual style; it was more understated, but there was a deep intensity underneath it, like Juleka wasn’t just holding onto the lips she was kissing but also to something more esoteric and ethereal underneath. Juleka’s hand moved to cup around Kagami’s neck and the heat was almost enough to make her explode.
Then the kiss ended, and Kagami slowly opened her eyes to see Juleka smiling at her. “Thank you,” Juleka said. “Yr very cute.” Behind her, Marinette winked.
Juleka got up, briefly stroking Kagami’s cheek with her knuckles before she left. For a moment, Kagami watched her — until her mind caught up with her senses again, and she focused on Marinette, who was standing by the wall with a smile that was far too warm to be contained by the darkness.
“I’ll just stay here and watch,” she said. “I like seeing you get the love and attention you deserve.”
“Marinette…”
“Just say no if you want to stop, okay? We’re not pressuring you. We just want to let you know how lovely you are.”
The door opened, and Mylène stepped inside. She seemed hesitant, and a little out of place — but after a few moments (and a call of “Go on, babe!” from Zoé), she closed the door and came over to sit next to Kagami.
“I’ve never kissed a girl before,” said Mylène. “Except Rose, but she doesn’t count.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “But I think if I were to lose Ivan and fall in love with a girl, it could be someone like you. Because you’re brave and strong and you’re tall.”
“I am not tall,” said Kagami.
“Taller than me.” And Mylène leant in for her kiss, and Kagami felt like her lips were being sucked off. It was the kiss of someone who was used to compete with a partner who was bigger and stronger than her, and who had never really kissed anyone else, so she hadn’t adjusted herself. But the force of the kiss was a strangely alluring feeling, even though Mylène didn’t move her hands and didn’t sit any closer.
When Mylène pulled away, she smiled and got to her feet quickly, skittering out the door. Kagami felt a little sting of guilt. “... Marinette, if they don’t want to kiss me, they shouldn’t have to.”
“Believe me, Kagami, they all want to.” Marinette seemed almost a little sorrowful for a moment. “If they didn’t, they wouldn’t come in. Nobody’s forcing themselves, and if they were, I would tell them to stop.”
As if on cue, Alix opened the door, while Alya whistled in the background. She rolled her eyes theatrically and slammed the door shut, and walked over while talking. “So I’m not mushy or anything, and I don’t see what all you guys get from romance, but I’m still a girl with eyes in my head and I can tell you you’re hot as hell. You got that?”
At that point, she had already reached Kagami, and she grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her in for a peck on the cheek before continuing: “But I don’t care about that, so I’m gonna tell you what I do care about, which is that you’re cool. And I like you as a friend, and I hope we’ll stay friends. I’ll kick your ass in pingpong some time, yeah?”
Kagami opened her mouth, then closed it. When she opened it again, Alix sighed. “All right, I guess I came on too strong. Let’s talk after you’ve been kissed to bits by everyone else.” Then she turned around again and walked back out the door.
It was only when she had her hand on the doorknob that Kagami found her words again. “Pingpong sounds great,” she said.
Alix grinned. “Yeah. It does. See ya later!”
“See?” said Marinette. “They all love you. It’s all organic.”
“This is not organic,” said Kagami.
“Well... maybe not a hundred per cent. But I swear they're all genuine. Does it feel good?”
Kagami thought about it for a moment. She realised that it did. “Yes,” she said, and the corners of her mouth went upwards by themselves.
Marinette stayed there to watch as Alya entered and smothered Kagami in mostly wordless kisses punctuated with the odd “You’re gorgeous”; as Rose came in after and compared her to a fairytale unicorn who “was the last of her kind but everyone who saw her knew she was fantastically wonderful and precious!” before placing a kiss on her mouth that felt even more magical than the tale; as Zoé stepped in last and gave an actual honest-to-god confession, and finally grabbed her by the head to lock her into an immense smooch that lasted so long they both had to gasp for air afterwards.
It might not be fully real, not in the way that Marinette’s love was. That much was obvious when Zoé left the room again and was immediately grappled into a snog by Alya before she had even gotten through the door. But Kagami knew that Marinette was right about everyone wanting to be there, because she had hung out with them often enough to know how much they trusted each other. Even if they didn’t love her like Marinette loved her, they had still devoted all this time and attention to her. That … was genuine.
She looked up at Marinette and smiled. “Come and sit with me,” she said.
Marinette did so. “Did that help?” she asked, placing her hand on Kagami’s knee.
“Yes.” It did. She could barely even register Mother’s voice now, because all the nice words had drowned it out, and all the kisses and touches buried them under an avalanche of love.
“Do you want some more?” said Marinette, walking her fingers a little bit up Kagami’s leg. “I can top you up with some extra kisses.”
Kagami sighed, and looked her beaming girlfriend in the eye. “I could take another kiss. But I think I want a little break from being loved now. We can get back to it after we get home tomorrow instead.”
“All right,” said Marinette. “But I hope you understand I’m kiss starved now from watching the most beautiful woman in the world get kissed by the six girls who share second place. I might need to steal some pecks from you through the night to survive.”
“That will be fine.”
“And I might want to kiss you in the street again.”
“That will also be fine.”
“Only if you’re okay with it, though,” Marinette added, lifting her hand to Kagami’s chin and stroking it tenderly. “I won’t do it if you’re not comfortable.”
Kagami snorted. “After what just happened, I think it would take a lot to make me uncomfortable. I am okay with this, anata.”
“Okay. I love you. Don’t ever forget that, my little dragon.” Marinette pulled forward for the kiss. It was smaller and less dramatic than all the other kisses so far, even Alix’s, but it held the promise of a future together. A future where the two of them would in fact love, and be loved, and that it would last.
When they parted, Kagami smiled and took Marinette’s hand. “I love you too, ’mushi. Come, let’s get back to Twister, okay?”
She got to her feet and pulled Marinette up with her. And they walked back into the living room, together.