They were around the corner when she started the conversation. "You're in love with her." She was blunt. It made him think of when Marinette accused him of being bad at small talk. He had a dopey little smile on his face, but it was obvious that he didn't plan to admit to it any time soon, at least not to her.
"You're exaggerating. I can love someone without being in love with them," he explained initially, "they've taken me in as part of their family and I really don't want to mess that up. This is the closest thing I've had to a family in a very long time. I'm not going to ruin it for feelings that are probably just platonic on her part."
"I know the difference between loving someone and being in love with someone, Renard," Alya responded. "I love Marinette and I love Adrien. I have never once looked at either of them the way that I saw you look at Marinette tonight. That's the way I only look at Nino. It's the way my parents look at each other, and it's the way Tom and Sabine look at each other."
"That doesn't mean that she feels the same way about me," he said in response. "All of your examples were mutual, but what if this one isn't." Alya was going to say something to him, but before she could put her thoughts together, Félix kept talking and she knew, as well as any journalist, that letting someone talk was a very successful way to gain information.
"Did you know that I turned her down," he asked quietly. "She confessed to me in collège and I was so in love with someone else that I didn't even consider Marinette. That's why Papa-Garou happened. She knew I was in love with someone else, Tom found out I was in love with someone else and he didn't react well. God, I'm lucky I wasn't permanently banned from the bakery after that." He took a shaky breath, but didn't stop talking.
"She loves Buttercup, anyway. It doesn't even matter how I feel about her. Someday, Buttercup, the lucky idiot, is going to realize that Marinette is the best thing that has ever happened to him and they're going to be so happy together and I'm going to be so happy for her because she deserves that and I can't hold her back just because I'm selfish."
"You know who Buttercup is, right? Is he," he gulped before he could finish his sentence, "Is he good enough for her?"
"He's one of the best people I know," Alya admitted. She knew saying that was probably enough to break Félix's heart, but she didn't want to lie to this boy. She barely knew him. She couldn't compare him to Adrien Agreste, one of her best friends. "I think you have a chance, though. Mari has been my best friend for years and I don't know you that well, but I don't think she would be disappointed to end up with you."
It felt like the biggest under-exaggeration that Alya had ever said, but she couldn't just come out and say 'I have it on good authority that Marinette is in love with you.' There was always a chance of Alya being wrong about Marinette's feelings and she couldn't bear to build up Félix's hopes just to have him get knocked back down even further later.
"Thank you, Alya," he said, but she could hear from his tone that he was doing his best to keep from crying. "She's one of the most important people in my life. Honestly, this week alone has made the three of them come pretty close to my top five most important people. I would do whatever I can to make sure that they're all safe and happy."
Adrien knew he was moments away from trauma dumping and had to do his best to restrain himself. He couldn't let her know anything that would connect Félix to Adrien and he especially couldn't do anything that would connect Félix to Chat Noir. "Do you know what she thinks of me?" He paused for a moment, considering what he should say.
"I'm not asking as someone who is hopefully a friend. I'm asking as someone who has been lied to about stuff like this for almost their entire life. I don't get a lot of chances to make real friends and it feels like people would rather lie to me and tell me that everything is fine and okay when it isn't than just have a hard talk and tell me bluntly 'Félix, this isn't how socially adapted people do things.'"
"You're doing well, Félix," Alya assured, "Marinette really cares about you. You make her laugh and she's been so happy lately. That's all I've ever wanted for her. After she spent so long pining after Buttercup, I'm happy that she has you here for her."
She heard him laugh lightly. "A second choice," he said softly, "I suppose that's what I deserve after doing the same to her when Tom was akumatized. Do you have any advice for a lovesick amateur to romance like me? Marinette said you've been with your boyfriend for what. 4? 5 years now?"
"Timing can be everything," Alya said, "if you could believe it. The day I fell in like with Nino, I thought I was setting Marinette up on a date with her crush and Nino was trying to go on a date with Mari. The whole situation was ridiculous. Even if the timing between you and her was wrong in the past, people change, feelings change, and situations change."
"I want the best for Marinette. I have a feeling you're not planning to hurt her." He nodded enthusiastically. "Just hold on for the ride. She may be figuring things out for herself, but I have a feeling that as long as she has you to lean on, she'll make the best choices she can in any situation. Make sure she's not taking more of your heart than you're willing to offer her, though."
Alya sighed when they approached her door. "This is me," she told Félix. "Get home safe. Let Marinette know if you ever need to talk to me again." She opened her arms to him like she had seen the Dupain-Chengs do. She didn't know that he was going to accept the offer, but she wanted to make sure he knew it was available.
He hugged her. "I'm glad she has someone like you," he said quietly. "You really are a great friend to her. Please don't tell anyone what I've said tonight."
"And I'm glad she has you." Alya nodded in confirmation, then went inside and Félix left. He grabbed his phone from his pocket.
'Alya's home. I'm going to try to find LB to give back this Miraculous. Do you want me to come back, or just see you tomorrow?'
'Tomorrow is fine. I just saw her pass my window- looked like she was going toward ND.' Marinette deleted the text she had gotten and the text she sent so that Alya wouldn't see them later.
He smiled at the text and took off across the roofs. He smiled when he found out Marinette was right about Ladybug's destination. He transformed back into Chat before he approached her. He returned the miraculous then they both went home.
'Home safe. I'll text you tomorrow.' He detransformed when he landed through his window and almost immediately collapsed in an exhausted heap in his bed. His dad was out of town, there was no reason to overexert himself like he had been, but that didn't stop him. He went to sleep, dreaming of what could have been different if he'd accepted Marinette's confession the first time around.