[Narrator's POV]

Marinette sighs as she watches Adrien leave. Once she returns to her room, Tiki emerges from her purse.

"I'm so proud of you Marinette," Tiki says. "You're getting more and more comfortable around Adrien."

"I know! I spent a whole hour alone with him without making a total fool out of myself." Marinette replies happily.

She opens her desk draw and puts all of her photos of Adrien back up on her wall. Last but not least, Marinette takes out her photo of Cat Noir and sticks it right in the middle of them all.

"Adrien must be blind because there is a serious connection between you two." Tiki says.

Marinette swoons over her collection of Adrien photos. "Really, you think so? Maybe I should update my daily log with this achievement!"

Marinette takes out her pink diary box and sits down at her desk. As soon as she unlocks the box, the lid bursts open.

"AH!" Marinette falls backwards off her chair as a small black creature comes whizzing out.

"I'm free!" Plagg exclaims.

Marinette screams. "Rat! Uh, or bug? FLYING RAT!"

Tiki gasps. "Marinette, wait!"

Marinette had already begun chucking things at Plagg.

"Uh-Oh...You weren't supposed to see me." Plagg says, hiding behind Marinette's computer. "Ah, don't worry human I come in peace! No, wait, I mean—Meow...?"

Marinette holds up a book, threatening to throw it, but Tiki flies in front of her to stop her.

"Marinette, I said wait!" She yells as loud as her squeaky voice can.

Plagg peeks out from behind Marinette's computer. "Tiki? Is that...you?"

Tiki zooms forward and tackles Plagg happily. "Plagg! I haven't seen you in years!" She says as she hugs him. Tiki suddenly pushes Plagg away, her mood swinging drastically. "What do you think you are doing here?"

"I got caught in your human's crazy kwami trap!" Plagg stresses.

"Uh...that's my diary." Marinette speaks up anxiously. "Tiki, who...or what is this Plagg?" She creeps closer to observe Plagg. "I-Is he...another kwami?" Marinette pokes Plagg's ears. "A cat kwami...?" Her eyes shoot open with realisation. Marinette gasps as she stumbles backwards away from Plagg. "You—You're—You're Cat Noir's kwami, aren't you?"

"That's right. And if Tiki is here then..." Plagg points at Marinette dramatically. "Then you must be Ladybug!"

"AH! No! No, no, NO! Cat Noir's kwami knows who I am!" Marinette panics. "Oh Tiki why didn't you hide! Now he's going to tell Chat my identity! Oooh-ho-ho, this is bad!" She suddenly glares at Plagg and points her finger at him menacingly. "Cat Noir sent you here to find out who I am, didn't he? Didn't he! That's why you were snooping in my diary!"

"Please try to calm down, Marinette." Tiki says weakly.

Marinette turns on Tiki. "Why aren't you more concerned? You said my identity is my weakness, he's going to spill it to Cat Noir!"

"No, he won't. Relax Marinette." Tiki says. "Kwami are creatures of protection. We are sworn to safeguard the miraculous wielders. I told you that it is harder than you think to be found out as Ladybug. Plagg cannot reveal your identity, even if he wanted to. The only way Cat Noir could find out who you are is to witness your transformation."

"It's true. As a kwami, it is my duty to protect not only Cat Noir but all of his comrades. Besides, if Cat Noir sent me here to your house that would mean he already knew your identity." Plagg points out.

Marinette tries to calm her voice, though she is still tense. "Then—Then why are you here? What were you doing in my diary box?"

Plagg thinks for a moment. He cannot reveal that Cat Noir was in Marinette's room because it would give away Adrien's identity.

"My human came in here to make a purchase from the bakery." Plagg answers. "Being the curious cat I am, I had a snoop around because I thought I smelt camembert."

"Camembert?" Marinette repeats in confusion.

"You're always thinking with your stomach, Plagg." Tiki scolds. "You're lucky you happened to wonder into the possession of Ladybug. What if someone evil got a hold of you? Like Hawk Moth did with Nooroo!"

Plagg yawns, clearly getting tired of the conversation. "Speaking of camembert, do you have any?"

"Er, no." Marinette says.

She still feels uneasy about having Cat Noir's kwami in her bedroom. Even if he can't reveal her identity, there are plenty of other embarrassing secrets found in a girls room.

"How are we going to get you back to Cat Noir?" Marinette questions.

"Easy, I know the way home." Plagg says. "I'll just have to wait until it's late at night so I can sneak through the city without being seen."

"That's a bit dangerous. Tiki is right, you were lucky that I was the one you found you the first time" Marinette replies. "Maybe I should take you home...gah, but that would reveal my identity. What do I do? The only reason I hide my identity is because as a hero I should think responsibly with my head. But in this case it seems like hiding my identity is more of the personal option whereas making sure Plagg returns home safely is the more responsible one."

"Well that's your problem, isn't it? Cat Noir's not the one who has an issue with sharing identities." Plagg responds.

"Plagg. That's very irresponsible of you." Tiki says. "You know that their identities are their most precious of secrets."

Plagg shrugs. "I'm just speaking the truth. If Ladybug showed up at his door, Cat Noir would be thrilled."

"Well I was asking Tiki. She's usually the only kwami voice of reason in this household." Marinette says.

"There is a way to take Plagg home without revealing your identity. You could just transform into Ladybug. Of course, that would still require Plagg to lead us to the home of Cat Noir so as a kwami I would never suggest doing it. Just—just putting it out there." Tiki says.

Plagg crosses his arms. "Look who's being irresponsible now. No way would I take you to Cat Noir's fortress of solitude if you're going as Ladybug. It hardly seems fair if only his identity is discovered. It's an eye for an eye situation."

"An eye for an eye? I am not trading identities with Cat Noir." Marinette argues.

"Then just let me go home by myself, it'll be fine." Plagg insists.

"Fine but you better be careful." Marinette gives in.

"Yeah, yeah. There's no one sneakier than a black cat, especially Plagg himself." Plagg says.

"Geez, you even refer to yourself in third person like Cat Noir." Marinette says in distaste.

Plagg flies off, getting distracted by his curiosity again. "So, Marinette is Ladybug. How interesting." He comes across the many photos of Adrien on Marinette's wall and smiles mischievously. "How very very interesting."

Marinette, thinking that Plagg is looking at her photo of Cat Noir, starts babbling excuses. "It's not what you think! I only hung up that picture to motivate my confidence. I-I don't like Cat Noir, I'm in love with Adrien."

"Hm?" Plagg looks at the photo of Cat Noir and then back at the pictures of Adrien. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait!" He laughs. "You—You like this boy? This boy right here?"

"Y-Yes! Why are you laughing? Is it because you think I don't have a chance with him?" Marinette says, her face turning red.

"This is the boy that Ladybug was crying about during the LadyNoir festival? So let me get this straight." Plagg continues, trying to contain his laughter. "You love Adrien, which is why you won't give Cat Noir a chance, but Adrien doesn't like Marinette because he's in love with Ladybug."

"I—I guess..." Marinette says.

Plagg's eyes begin to water from trying not to laugh. "Interesting." He answers shortly, his voice quivering.

"You better not tell Cat Noir about any of this!" Marinette threatens.

"Of course not, what is said in this room stays in this room." Plagg says.

Marinette lets out a breath of relief. She picks her desk chair up off the ground and sits back down in it. "How weird is it to think that Cat Noir came into this very bakery. I wonder if he is a regular customer, maybe I've seen him before without even realising."

Plagg finds it amusing that Marinette has plastered her bedroom walls with photos of Cat Noir without realising it. He also feels slightly frustrated that he can't say anything about it.

"Aren't you the least bit curious as to who he is?" Plagg asks.

"Well sometimes I wonder what he looks like out of costume or if we've ever accidentally met before but I don't have a strong desire to find out who he is because it doesn't mean anything to me. I spend a lot of time with him already, even if I knew his identity it's not like I would take time to hang with him outside of work." Marinette explains.

Plagg desperately wishes to say that he seriously doubts that but he keeps his mouth shut.

"Cat Noir thinks about you all the time." He says.

"Really?" Marinette looks over at her picture of Cat Noir and smiles. "Oh...you mean he thinks about Ladybug all the time, don't you." She says, her smile fading.

Plagg frowns sadly. "How do you know he won't like the real you if you won't give him the chance?"

"Plagg, I know how much you must care for Cat Noir but you cannot interfere with their lives." Tiki says softly. "It would be unwise for Ladybug and Cat Noir to socialise outside of their costumes."

"But maybe that's just an excuse, Tiki..." Marinette says. "Maybe...Maybe I just tell myself that because I'm scared. I'm scared of disappointing him."

Tiki opens her mouth to comfort Marinette but Plagg gets there first,

"Cat Noir loves you and he will always love you no matter what. Trust me, I have to listen to him talk about how amazing you are every second of every day. And Marinette, I may not have known you for very long but you seem just as amazing as Ladybug to me."

Tiki and Marinette both stare at Plagg, surprised by his capability of genuine kindness.

"Plagg...you really think so?" Marinette says.

Plagg clears his throat and continues, "Yeah, sure, I mean you've got eyes, arms and legs...I see no difference."

Marinette smiles. She suddenly realises that she is having a deep, emotional conversation with Cat Noir's kwami and gets flustered with embarrassment. "I-I don't want you to get the wrong idea! I don't want Cat Noir to love me and I'm definitely not scared of rejection or anything. I just meant that I was worried of disappointing him because he is my partner in crime—or, uh, partner in anticrime? Anyway, I value his opinion and he kind of idolises me, that's all. I couldn't care less if he loved me as Marinette or not!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Plagg sighs in annoyance. "You two are ridiculously complicated."

"At the end of the day I don't have time to concern myself with Cat Noir." Marinette says. "I'm busy trying to get Adrien to love me instead of Ladybug. And the most ironic part is that I'm pretty sure Adrien thinks I have the hots for Cat Noir! Ugh, it's just a big mess..."

"You have no idea." Plagg mutters to himself.

Marinette stays up with Plagg and shares all her stories of being Ladybug whilst they wait for the hours to pass. As unusual as it is, Plagg shows interest in someone else's life. He finds it interesting to hear about each mission from Ladybug's perspective, as frustrating as it is to learn about all the times Adrien and Marinette almost revealed their identities to each other. Finally, at 1am, their conversations die down and they decide it is late enough for Plagg to return home.

Tiki hugs Plagg tightly. "It was great catching up with you. I'll miss you, Plagg."

Marinette hangs her head sadly. "I guess this is the first and last time I'll ever see you."

"It wouldn't have to be if you and Cat Noir knew each other. Perhaps now his identity means something to you." Plagg says. "I know I'll be waiting to meet you again Marinette, or should I say, Ladybug."

With that, Plagg flies out the window and disappears into the night.

Marinette sighs and looks over at her photo of Cat Noir. To think that he was in her family bakery, so very close to her, and she had not noticed. The person she fights beside nearly every day, the one who claims to love her and is always chasing her identity. One of her closest companions...and they didn't even recognise each other. Marinette thinks of all the nameless faces that come in and out of the bakery. She knows that from now on she will be constantly wondering if Plagg is hiding amongst them. Somewhere in the sea of countless customers is Cat Noir. A strange feeling stirs inside Marinette as she thinks about how close they actually are and for the first time yet, she feels a strong desire to know who he really is.

.

Adrien paces his room worryingly. He can't sleep knowing that someone could have found Plagg and taken him. Adrien tried to go out to find him but Nathalie caught him and locked him up in his room.

Tap, tap, tap.

Adrien jumps in fright and spins round to face the window. Outside is Plagg, tapping on the glass.

"Plagg!" Adrien rushes forward and opens the window to let him in.

"Uh, sorry Adrien. I thought I smelt camembert on the way home and snuck out of your bag but I got lost." Plagg lies.

Plagg's calm tone of voice confuses Adrien. "What happened? Where have you been?!"

Plagg thinks about how Adrien would react if he told him he was in Ladybug's bedroom. He sighs and answers, "Nowhere interesting."