Two days later, Marinette wakes up. She looks around.  Tikki, I have not seen her in a few days. She hopes her friend will be alright with Chat whoever he is in his civilian form.  

        Plagg hears Marinette sigh. He can tell she worries about Tikki.

         "Do not worry, she is alright, Marinette."

            "She is safe with him."

            "By him, you mean, Chat?"

            "Yes, that is precisely what I mean."

           Marinette smiles. She knows he is right. 

              "He is crazy about you."

          Marinette glances at Plagg in confusion. Hands at her sides with her purse on her shoulder.

             "I mean he likes you as Ladybug."

           "So, what?"

           "Everyone likes Ladybug."

            "He cares about you as Marinette too."

            "I find that hard to believe."

          "Why is it so hard to accept, Marinette?"

              "I will tell you. Adrien always calls me just a friend, a very good friend, a good friend, and fangirl. "

                "I am sorry."

              "You are sorry that is all you can say!"  She yells at him.

                 "Chat tried to abandon me once."

                  "I am sure he did not mean it."

               "Oh, sure he did not since he took off the ring while I was ladybug."

                  "Well, he tried to leave me as well."

                "Good point." 

                 "He calls you purrincess."

              "Yes, but the thing is I not a princess. I far from it."

                "I can not even form a proper sentence around the boy, I love."

               "You are right about that girl."  Plagg chuckles.

              "It is not funny."

             " Adrien is oblivious that is all."

              "Oblivious, more like stupid."

               Plagg gasps in surprise.

                 "I mean it, Plagg."

              "He can not see I love him."

            "He has got Kagami anyways, so I do not stand a chance."

             Plagg rolls his eyes. He thinks goodness she sure is down on herself.

              "You can not convince me otherwise." 

         "Adrien will never love me. He will always be far from my reach."

          "Marinette!"

         "What?"

          "Adrien went to New York with your classmates. He danced with you."

           "I know, but..."

         "But nothing, he did not call Kagami the whole time he was away."

           Marinette blushes.

        Plagg smirks.

        Tikki nudges Adrien.

        "Adrien, time to get up."

         "I am up, okay."

       "Hmm, someone is in a bad mood."

       "I know what this is all about too."

         "You do?"

        "Yes, you are upset because Ladynoire felt sad."

      "She did?"

     "Yes, I thought you noticed."

     "I did, and I can not figure out why."

      "Can not figure out why what?"

           "I can not figure out why that troubles me."

      "She is your partner."

      "It is more than that Tikki."

      "She means more to me."

       "More than cookies?"

        "Yes."

    "More than coffee, tea, and other nice things to drink?"

    "Yes."

          Adrien heads off to school, with Tikki in his pocket. He thinks who is she? Who is Ladynoire? Who is Ladybug?  Why is she sad?  For that matter, he can not help, but notice Marinette seems a bit off too. Why?

        ...

   Plagg senses Tikki once Adrien and Marinette are in their seats at school.

      He is so glad. Good thing too, since he is not about to give up this soon.

        Plagg scribbles a note on paper and slips it into Adrien's bag.

         He smiles and thinks, there that ought to do the trick.

   Time skip...Later, the bell rings to signal the end of the school day.

    Plagg remains inside Marinette's purse, while Tikki stays in Adrien's jacket.

       The two kwami's secretly agreed not to switch places again just yet.

         Tikki wonders if it is that great of an idea or not. She shrugs her shoulders. Good thing no one else can read my thoughts or see me.

        Plagg hears Marinette about to trip on the steps. He sees Adrien with Kagami. He rolls his eyes and throws a wad of paper at them.

      Adrien looks up to see who threw the paper. He sees no one. Odd he thought that paper could not have gotten all the way over here on its own.  He also realizes Marinette's lost her grip on the guardrail.

  He rushes to her without another thought.  He catches her just in time.

     Plagg smirks. He thinks yes!  Yes, Adrien did it.  

      Kagami looks at Adrien in annoyance. She thinks strange he says they are only friends. She frowns. She often wonders if it is true. She second-guesses herself a lot.  Perhaps, it is because of her father, or maybe...

    Adrien smiles.  "Marinette, you need to be more careful."

   "A-Adrien, th-thanks. I k-know." 

    Adrien feels his heartbeat fast. He brushes it off though.  "See you around, Mari." He grins.

     "Yes, s-see y-you a-around."

        Plagg sees Adrien catch up to Kagami a few minutes later. He thinks Adrien she is not... He holds his tongue. He supposes he will have to let Adrien figure this out on his own.

      Marinette goes home with Plagg with her every step of the way. She works in the bakery for a few hours, then does homework. She finishes then sits there for a far off look on her face.

   "Cheer up, he did not let you fall."

    "I know, but..."

    "But..."

    "He  took off with his girlfriend, Kagami, right after that Plagg."

      "Marinette, he talks about you all the time."

       Marinette feels her face turn red once more. 

        Plagg sees her tears.

     "Shh, none of that now. "

       "It is so hard."

      "I know."

      "He never sees me."

      "He does see you."

     "He  chose her over me!"

       "Did he now?"

      Plagg scratches his head as though deep in thought.

        "I think he does not know his feelings properly when it concerns you."

      Marinette looks up at Plagg. She brushes away her tears.

      "You think so?"

     "Yes."

        "He did tell me once how much fun it was with you in New York. He also said he was sad when his father made him leave early. He did not know why, but he wanted you to ask him to stay."

       "I tried to but it was too late."

      "Shh, I am sure everything will turn out fine in the end."

       "How can you be so sure?"

     "I am not called a kwami for nothing you know."

        Plagg sees Marinette smile. He can tell she doubts a bit.  He can also tell Adrien truly is unsure how to respond to his feelings for Marinette. 

     Find out more in Chapter 5

   bye, bye little owlets!

   -Summer out!