To put it simply, Tikki never really thought much of Marinette Dupain-Cheng's crush on Adrien Agreste.
It was just that—a crush. A passing crush, a brief infatuation, a temporary interest.
There was a reason for that, of course.
Ladybug (Marinette) was meant to be with Chat Noir. They were meant to be, always. No matter how the decades passed and the times changed, the owners of the power of creation and destruction would always, always, end up together. In spite of all odds. The pair would always eventually get along as partners in heroism, then as friends in costume, to close peers in their normal lives, and finally becoming lovers in their civilian forms.
The same pattern.
Once or twice in the past, the Ladybug or the Cat had been briefly enraptured by other people. But only ever briefly. A passing fancy, a slight interest. The pair were simply meant to be, so they would inevitably grow to love one another.
So to Tikki, Marinette was simply gaining experience in what it meant to like someone by liking Adrien. After all went wrong or until Marinette got over her silly little crush, she (as Ladybug) will eventually turn to Chat Noir.
This is what she always thought.
So it was easy to encourage Marinette, knowing that the ink haired girl had a soulmate out there that would pick her up if Adrien tore her to pieces. Easy to give advice, easy to reassure. Tikki never discouraged Marinette—this was a valuable experience.
Marinette would learn about heartbreak, the importance of communication, and about so, so many other things.
Also, Tikki liked Adrien for Marinette as a friend, but not as any boyfriend material. True, Adrien was kind, smart, sincere, serious, patient and just the right amount of innocent. The kind of person who seemed to be the model of a perfect boy. However, a boy who could not reject a girl who was clearly batty over him and who he clearly didn't like that way wasn't a very good person to crush on, in Tikki's opinion. Every time Chloé rushed at Adrien, she couldn't help but feel that it was partially the green eyed boy's own fault for not rejecting her.
Or, as they said here, 'It takes two hands to clap'. Chloé's behaviour was certainly embarrassing, not to mention, lacking any sort of dignity, but Adrien only encouraged her by not pushing her away.
Thus, if Marinette confessed to Adrien, Tikki had reason to believe he probably wouldn't give her a proper answer. Which would most likely to lead her into confusion and indecision, and Adrien's kindness would then get Marinette's hopes up. The pattern would repeat, over and over again, falling in love and getting turned down and falling in love and getting turned down and would eventually make Marinette's heart break a multiple of times.
And Tikki didn't want her Marinette to have her heart splintered into too many pieces to put back together.
But the thought that maybe Adrien and Marinette would go well? That worried Tikki. Even Ladybug (Marinette) and Chat Noir were meant to be, Marinette could still fall for someone else, if Chat Noir wasn't quick enough. Humans now were no longer patient enough to wait for their fates one, if they were lucky enough to have one. They attacked every passing spark now.
That probably proved how different Kwami were from humans.
Humans could still love others apart from their other halves.
For Kwami, there were only their other halves. Considering anyone else was simply not an option.
(But then again, there were much much more humans than Kwami. Tikki supposed they could be forgiven for being impatient, circumstances considered.)
To reiterate, Tikki had never thought much about Marinette's crush on Adrien.
Until now.
Now being as Ladybug and Chat Noir stand trapped in the metal box, whipped cream climbing higher and higher. Worried, Tikki hears Marinette's words loud and clear.
"You win Dark Owl!" Marinette, no, Ladybug shouts. Unworried, Tikki watches from Ladybug's eyes as she turns to face Chat Noir.
"We'll close our eyes and we won't say a thing," pushing through the whipped cream, Ladybug cups a hand around Chat Noir's ear to whisper to him.
This is the kind of interaction Tikki liked. Smiling to herself, she continues to watch the happenings through Ladybug's eyes, even as her energy drains.
"We can't do this," Chat Noir replies in a low voice, but Ladybug turns a worriedly meaningful expression to him.
"Trust me." She tells him, and promptly squeezes her eyes shut then. No longer able to see Chat Noir's expression, Tikki is more than a little worried. She hopes he too closed his eyes. No, surely Plagg's champion will do it. He will.
He will.
"Spots off," Ladybug, no, Marinette, calls. She has given Chat Noir ample time to close his eyes. Tikki feels herself tugged out of the Miraculous and flew over by Marinette's right ear. Now able to see, she takes in her surroundings.
In front of her is Chat Noir, eyes firmly shut.
Good kitty, Tikki finds herself thinking.
She then realises that she will be able to see Plagg, her other half, in just a moment and feels excitement swirl in the base of her stomach. Plagg. It had been quite a while since their last champions. Quite a while since they had spoken to each other in physical manifestations.
No, Tikki tells herself, focus. She knows what Marinette's plan was.
Like the thorough girl that she was, Marinette always plans ahead. She has plans for if they had no choice but to give up their Miraculouses, plans for if those plans went wrong, and even more plans beyond those.
Or, as they said here, 'a plan B all the way to Z'.
That is why Tikki had been unworried even as Marinette claimed to have given up to the akumised victim, Dark Owl.
Now Tikki only has to wait.
"Claws off," Chat Noir whispers with a heavy voice.
To her amazement, right in front of her Kwami eyes, Chat Noir's costume melts away bottom-up to reveal-
Adrien!
Adrien Agreste!
Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir!?
There are several words for her then emotions, however, all fail to come to her at that moment. The only thing that trails through her mind is...nothing. Ironically, she's so shocked that she can't muster up any signs of it. Her entire body freezes and suddenly all she can think is, wow, the same serious Adrien who is modest and innocent and a little shy and oh-so-charming is also the cocky and flirtatious and outgoing and (okay, in an unbiased and completely neutral opinion) oh-so-charming Chat Noir...
Just then, Plagg, floating by Adrien's left ear makes a sound.
Knowing her other half, Tikki immediately shushes him as his head snaps around to regard Adrien and Marinette.
No doubt Plagg has guessed Marinette's feelings for Adrien. Her dear Ladybug had not been very subtle about it. Tikki can practically see him thinking 'Isn't this the girl who danced with her head on Adrien's chest at Chloé's party before the Despair Bear thing?'
The kwami's attention is drawn by Adrien pulling his miraculous off his right hand and holding it out to Marinette in his left. At that moment, Marinette reaches out tentatively with her right hand, feeling around. Her fingers touches Adrien's, and then she slowly pats her way up to his palm.
If Marinette had known she was touching Adrien Agreste's hand, she'd never wash her right hand again, Tikki finds herself thinking in mild amusement.
Once securing the knowledge of the place of Adrien's miraculous, Marinette uses both her hands to close Adrien's fingers back around the ring. Adrien starts and his lips part to say something when Tikki surges forward pushes his chin upwards, effectively shutting his mouth.
Tikki then hears the soft sound of Marinette opening her purse and a rustle as she pulls out some snacks.
And not for the first time, Tikki silently thanks Grand Master Fu for giving the ladybug earrings to a baker's daughter. Tikki, after all, loves sweets.
This time, Marinette draws out a macaroon. Tikki rushes forward to relieve her of it. As she flies over to Plagg, she hears another rustle and guesses that Marinette was taking out a small jewelry box. The same box that holds fake miraculouses—a single cardboard ring and a pair of thumbtack earrings. Behind her, Tikki hears Marinette wading through the whipped cream.
Tikki divides the macaroon in half the best she can without breaking it and Plagg eats the half she holds out to him. As he chews thoughtfully, Tikki wishes she could say something. Instead, she contents herself with taking in the sight of her other half.
Plagg catches her staring and offers her a smile as he chews. Embarrassed, Tikki eats the other macaroon half quickly.
For his part, Plagg notices and floats over to give Tikki a gentle kiss on the cheek. Feeling more than slightly flustered, Tikki flees to Marinette's side. Plagg follows her and pulls on one of her antennae teasingly.
Cross, Tikki rushes off and the two of them are soon engaged in a soundless game of tag.
Which ends too soon as Marinette and Adrien quietly transform. Tikki sees Plagg one last time when he's sucked into Adrien's miraculous.
As Marinette and Adrien work together in perfect harmony as Ladybug and Chat Noir, Tikki finds herself smiling.
The same pattern.
Ladybug and Chat Noir are meant to be.
Irrevocably, no matter how times changed.
Tikki now only has to wait.