I love writing Alya and Marinette's friendship and I don't write it nearly enough. I hope you enjoy it!

Title is from "Burning Bridges" by OneRepublic.

Disclaimer: I don't own ML.

"Marinette!"

Before Marinette can respond, Alya's already thrown herself onto her. "Oh my god, you're alright! I was so worried! But you're alright, aren't you?"

"I'm fine," Marinette assures Alya. "But I won't if you break my ribs with this hug!"

"Right." Alya gives Marinette one last squeeze, then she lets go. "So what happened? Did you see any of the fighting?"

"Not much," Marinette replies ruefully. "Adrien and I spent most of the fight trapped in a pile of sand."

"Aaaaaaadrien?" Alya asks, lengthening the name to three times its actual length. "You and Adrien were trapped together?"

Marinette curses the fact that she blushes so easily. "Yeah, and we're kinda dating now." The second half of the sentence is said in a big rush that no one who wasn't fluent in Marinette could understand. Alya is one of the few who can.

"You're dating?" she screeches. "Oh my god, girl, no way! I thought you couldn't even say a full sentence around him!"

"Well, it turns out babbling gets pretty boring when you're trapped together for as long as we were," Marinette replies, shrugging. She hopes Alya doesn't ask too many questions. She and Adrien haven't finalized their story yet.

Of course, this is Alya she's talking about, so Marinette is pretty sure that's a vain hope.

"Tell me everything," Alya demands immediately, proving Marinette right.

"We just talked," Marinette protests. "It wasn't about anything in particular, it was just chatting. Like with friends."

"You're killing me, girl!" Alya groans. "Where are the details?"

The details don't exist because this never really happened. "Well, after the fighting, I took Adrien back to the bakery," Marinette offers.

Alya's face lights up. "Now that's what I'm talking about. What did your parents think?"

"They love Adrien, you know that," Marinette replies. "They forced a bunch of sweets on him and smothered him. Mom keeps calling him 'such a nice young man.'"

"I mean, she's not wrong," Alya says. "Have you seen him since then?"

"Well, he's back at his house now, but he stayed at my house for a while," Marinette replies.

Alya's eyebrows shoot up. "How are long are we talking? Did he stay overnight?"

"Just one night!" Marinette protests. "And Mom and Dad made sure he was on the couch downstairs. It's not like they let him have a sleepover in my room like we do."

"You still had a sleepover with Adrien," Alya replies, as if Marinette is a huge idiot for not realizing what a bit deal this is. "I can't believe his dad allowed it!"

"His dad only got back yesterday," Marinette replies. "So he didn't know. Adrien says we shouldn't tell him that we're dating yet. He wants to get his dad to like me first."

"Of course he'll like you," Alya replies easily. "Do your parents know that you and Adrien are dating?"

"Of course they do," Marinette replies. "They figured it out immediately. And then they started congratulating me and Dad kept saying Adrien was a 'keeper.'"

"Again, not wrong," Alya replies. "I can't believe you guys are actually dating. After dancing around each other for so long, you've finally gotten it."

"It wasn't that long," Marinette tries to protest, but Alya levels her with a glare that shuts her up immediately.

"You've been into him since the third day of school. Trust me, girl, it's been that long."

"Well, we're dating now," Marinette states, and the words still manage to send a thrill through her bones. "Is it worth the wait?"

"Oh, it is so worth the wait," Alya replies. "Now, when do I get to see the other half of the wonder couple?"

"Adrien and I are meeting up at the Trocadéro soon," Marinette says. "He said he was going to bring Nino. We can make a double date out of it."

"Sounds great," Alya replies. "But really, Adrien was going to bring Nino on your date?"

"I told him I'd bring you," Marinette admits. "We thought you two could keep each other busy if Adrien and I get too boring."

"Oh, no way." Alya shakes her head emphatically. "I'm watching this whole thing. I have waited for this for too long to miss any more than I already have."

Marinette knows she's blushing again. "We might want a moment of privacy," she suggests. Alya raises an eyebrow and Marinette suddenly realizes how that sounds. "No, not for- We wouldn't- You know we would never-"

"That sounds more familiar," Alya laughs. "I'm glad the Marinette I know is still there somewhere."

"It's still me," Marinette replies. "Just me, regular old Marinette." Who also happens to be Ladybug. Except… Is she still Ladybug? Does she still need to be Ladybug? With Hawk-Moth gone, is there any need for Ladybug and Chat Noir?

"What time are we meeting up with Adrien and Nino?" Alya asks.

Marinette checks the time. "We should probably leave now," she replies. "You excited to see Nino?"

"Are you excited to see Adrien?" Alya counters. Marinette blushes. "You two are happy?" Alya asks.

"Very happy," Marinette replies, nodding. "Or, at least, I am. I think Adrien is too." Adrien is finally dating Ladybug; of course he's happy. Marinette hopes.

"Then I'm happy for you," Alya states. "Although I still do want details about how you two got together. Should I ask Adrien for them?"

"No!" Marinette squeaks. "Don't I get to have any secrets?"

"You can't keep a secret, girl, you know that," Alya dismisses.

Marinette swallows the hysterical laugh bubbling in her throat. Oh, Alya, if only you knew. "We should go," she says instead, grabbing her bag and starting for the door.

"I'll get this out of you!" Alya cries as she follows her.

Marinette rolls her eyes as she goes out the door. "You wish," she teases.

"Don't underestimate me!" Alya cries.

Marinette shakes her head, her eyes open wide. "I would never," she replies emphatically.

Alya bumps Marinette's shoulder with her own playfully. "Hey, guess what?" she asks.

"What?" Marinette replies warily.

"Last one to Trocadéro is a rotten egg!" Alya cries, beginning to run.

"We're twenty minutes away!" Marinette protests, but she takes off at a run as well. She knows she can get to Trocadéro is five minutes with a little Miraculous help, but she's not about to use her powers to win a race against Alya. Anyway, if she knows Alya, she'll start flagging before too long.

Sure enough, Alya only runs for five minutes before she slows to a walk. Marinette matches her speed, even though she could keep running. Her stamina has increased markedly since she began chasing after villains in a ladybug suit.

"We're still racing," Alya tells Marinette, struggling not to sound out of breath.

"Okay," Marinette agrees, grinning.

Alya groans. "Why are you so sporty?" she protests.

Marinette giggles. Before she became Ladybug, sporty was not a word that would have described her at all. "You're the one who wanted to race," she replies.

"But not actually!" Alya cries. Marinette just laughs.

Their friendly teasing continues until they reach Trocadéro, where Adrien and Nino are waiting. "Alya!" Nino cries, pulling his girlfriend into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Alya whispers. Marinette is standing just close enough to be able to hear it. She takes a step back, almost walking into Adrien.

"Fancy seeing you here," he says, grinning.

"You did plan this out, kitty," Marinette replies.

"Kitty?" Alya asks.

Marinette jumps. She hadn't realized Alya and Nino were paying attention to her and Adrien now. "Yeah, cause Adrien's like a cat!" Marinette replies, her voice jumping up an octave. "Cause he likes attention and he likes to be petted and-"

"He likes to be petted?" Alya interrupts.

"She's actually not wrong," Nino remarks. "One time I helped Adrien with his hair and I'm pretty sure he purred."

"I do not purr!" Adrien protests. Marinette reaches up to pat the top of his head. The indignant expression on Adrien's face melts away a little bit.

"Kitty," Marinette declares.

"I'm not a kitty," Adrien grumbles. Marinette scratches his scalp slightly and Adrien automatically leans in to her touch. Alya and Nino cackle. "Okay, maybe I'm a little bit like a cat," Adrien allows. He winks at Marinette when Alya and Nino aren't looking.

"Silly kitty," Marinette murmurs, going on tiptoe to give Adrien a quick kiss. The second their lips meet, Adrien deepens the kiss, curling a hand behind Marinette's back and pulling her closer. Marinette's half thought out protest about Alya and Nino being right there is forgotten almost immediately.

Alya and Nino both start clapping when Adrien and Marinette finally pull away. "You're so cute!" Alya cries. "This was so worth the wait."

"Tell me about it," Nino agrees.

"The wait?" Adrien asks, looking puzzled.

Marinette lets out a high pitched squeal. Yes, Chat Noir had an enormous (and often embarrassing) crush on Ladybug, but Marinette's crush on Adrien was so much worse. "No wait!" she squeaks. "No wait!"

"We've been waiting for you two to get together since the beginning of the year," Nino tells Adrien. "And now you're together and you're the most adorable couple ever, so we're both feeling a little excited."

"I'm glad we're entertaining," Adrien remarks dryly.

Marinette kisses Adrien on the cheek. "Let them tease," she tells him, feeling remarkably bold. "We're happy."

Adrien takes Marinette's hand and squeezes it. "Yeah, we are," he agrees, brushing a lock of hair away from her face and behind her ear.

"One," Alya whispers, "two, three…"

"Aww!" both Alya and Nino cry in sync. Adrien blushes, which is adorable, and Marinette giggles.

If this is her new life now, she's pretty happy with it.