Is It Too Late To Love You Again?

Bonus Chapter - DJWiFi

Takes place after Chapter 25

Alya Cesaire couldn't quite put her finger on it. But there was something so suspiciously different about the way Marinette and Adrien interacted with each other.

When Adrien started dating Kagami, Marinette was heartbroken, she'd throw around the just a friend nonsense with a sad smile on her face. And Alya had tried to be there for her best friend.

Then, there was Adrien, who supposedly was dating Kagami, who would beam at Marinette's very presence without even realising it. Just like he usually did. The oblivious sunshine child.

Watching the two of them was honestly painful. They shared the same braincell and couldn't seem to get the hint. Whilst they did grow close as friends, Marinette still had trouble expressing her feelings around him, and she always had mixed reactions towards being around him. Her struggle was evident. Alya felt sorry for her poor best friend and she really wanted to help her.

However, Kagami and Adrien broke up. Not that she wasn't expecting it...she suspected that it might happen. Alya wasn't too sure about the path that Marinette would take: would she want to pursue him all over again?

Marinette seemed quite unaffected by it. When asked about it, Marinette would merely shrug, that she didn't mind too much since they were friends now. And Alya thought...she had finally done it; she had successfully moved on from Adrien Agreste. She didn't know how to feel about that? Sad? Happy? But she was glad she arrived at some kind of conclusion. Or did she?

"It's so strange." She told Nino as they walked home together. They were going to Alya's house to work on the project. And have some free time to themselves...of course...good thing her parents weren't home. She could handle Nora and the twins.

"What is, babe?"

"Adrien and Marinette. I-don't they seem a bit different?"

"Weren't you the one who suggested they should be partners?" Nino said playfully elbowing her.

She grinned and nudged him back. Leaning in closer and giving him a flirtatious smile.

"Are you trying to get on my bad side?" She asked silkily.

"I don't need to do that." He looped his hand in hers.

She merely smiled at him and tightened the hold.

"So, about Adrien and Marinette..." Her face shifted into a more sceptic expression.

"The reporter in you just needs to investigate, huh?"

"Can you blame me? They seem different...don't you think?"

"It's a good thing though. They're finally able to talk to each other. Instead of looking like lovesick puppies every time, we hang out with them."

"Yeah...but it happened so quickly." Alya pondered. "One minute, they're all confused about their feelings for each other and the next...it feels like they can talk to each other with their eyes!"

"Weren't they always able to do that?"

"Yes. But they didn't know it. Now, they give each other these strange incomprehensible looks in class. And they always seem to be in so much sync with each other and the way they look at each other, the way the talk to each other...it's almost like..." Alya steadied herself for a quick breath, realising she had been getting a bit too enthusiastic.

As they walked ahead, Nino let her breathe and waited patiently for her to finish. He was such a good boyfriend. That adorable little goof!

"It's almost like they're hiding something." Alya finally finished. "I don't know what it is. And I've spoken to Marinette about how they got so close already, something about her version of events doesn't add up. I feel like I'm missing huge chunks of information here. And I've tried my best to find out more about it, but it feels like I'm slipping. What am I missing?"

"Babe." Nino let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her instead. He pulled her closer and drew comforting circles on her shoulder. "I know how irritated you can get when you don't get all the answers. I know it can frustrate you, and make you feel like you're doing something wrong. But trust me, you're not."

Alya raised her head to look at him. He was giving her a small smile and it made her heart flutter. She liked to believe that she was the one who would make his heart flutter most of the time. Not the other way around. But she liked it.

"It's alright that you don't have all the answers, you don't have to. We're their best friends. I'm sure if Marinette and Adrien were hiding something, they'd have a good reason."

Alya pursed her lips and she tore away from his gaze as her head dropped to the ground. "Are you sure? I-what if they are hiding something? And something really bad happens? What will we do then? They've never been the best at handling their feelings for each other."

"If that time comes, we'll know it. And I won't hesitate you from going all crazy reporter mode on them." Nino replied with a light-hearted tease. "But it looks like they're getting smarter."

"I hope so." Alya turned to look back at him. Her intense gaze fixated on him.

Faltering at the stare, he bashfully reached up to rub the back of his neck.

"S-s-so, looks like I won you over, right?"

"That you did a long time ago." She stared at him from beneath her lashes before bringing them to a stop. Nino gave her a puzzled look.

Placing a hand on his chest, she pushed him away slightly, turning to face him, engulfing her arms around his neck to bring her closer.

Upon realising what she was doing, she saw his features relax and felt his arms wrap around her waist.

Slowly and carefully, she leaned in, reaching up to give him a peck, to feel his lips on hers...

"Miraculous, simply the best, up to the test when things go wrong!"

The abrupt noise broke them apart with startled looks on their faces. Alya tore through her bag to get her phone out.

So close. Stupid phone.

Upon answering the call, she realised that it was Nora, asking where she was.

Nino looked at her in understanding as she spoke to her big sister and they strutted ahead. 

Looping their hands together once again.

---

Here we are, I promised bonus chapters ages ago. But I finally got around into writing one. These exist to explain certain aspects that feature a more side-storyline than a main one. 

This one is based on Alya and Nino's attitude towards Marinette and Adrien's dynamic change.

Honestly, this chapter is full of DJWiFi and I did not mean to include this much fluff. But it is very indulgent indeed. Love them so much! Underrated babies!

The next bonus chapter is where I'll show you how exactly Luka and Kagami got akumatized into Inverter.