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"Maybe you should start a list," Tikki had suggested, "of what Marinette is supposed to know, and what Ladybug is supposed to know."
Marinette had loved the idea, and instantly went to work. She dedicated several pages in her journal to this, knowing it was the only place she trusted evidence of her alter ego to stay secret.
But now she was looking over her lists, lost deep in thought. Tikki couldn't help but feel concerned.
"What are you thinking, Maribug?" she asked.
Marinette took a moment to respond. "Written down like this," she said, eyes glued to the pages, "it's hard not to notice the similarities."
Tikki read the page over Marinette's shoulder, and panicked. On the left page was some notes on what Chat had told Marinette about his home life. On the right were things that Ladybug had learned about Adrien.
Ever since the pair had started spending more time in each other's company in more combinations of identities, Tikki had known it would end like this. Not exactly this way, a result of her own suggestion, but that something would slip.
Tikki thought back to how the pair's relationship - relationships- had grown so much more complicated
---
Adrikitty - as Tikki had dubbed him - had a rough home life. Gabriel Agreste could be almost as heartless as Hawk Moth sometimes. One night, he had come to Marinette's balcony as Chat Noir, and wound up staying the night. The half-truths he'd told Marinette led her to believe he was homeless, or close to it.
Tikki had wanted nothing more than to comfort the poor boy, but if Adrikitty found out Tikki was at the bakery he might wonder why. So, she left it to Marinette to comfort her partner. After a night away from home, he'd felt ready to go back. Tikki knew this was mostly guilt, for imposing on Marinette's space. It wasn't long before he came back, though, and it became a regular occurrence for Chat to visit Marinette on the roof of the bakery. Tikki suspected Adrikitty was falling for his bugaboo all over again, without realizing it.
It had been tricky to try and come up with a theory for why Chat would visit Marinette. Adrien would know she was a kind soul, and probably the most likely person he knew to be able to help. Tikki had come up with an explanation for Marinette- between Evillustrator and Multimouse, they'd interacted a couple of times. Chat would know Ladybug trusted Marinette enough to give her a Miraculous, and likely had seen enough of her to trust her himself. Since he didn't know who any of the other heroes were, or where to find them, Chat couldn't go to anyone else. Sure, everyone knew Chloé was Queen Bee, but- seriously?
This had kept Marinette from growing suspicious, and instead she had welcomed being able to see a new side of Chat. The more vulnerable side, less concerned with flirting or impressing her. At the time, Tikki thought it would make them better partners.
Later on, a couple of months, there was that one akuma attack. Marinette and Adrien were both nearby when it first struck, though Maribug was the first to find an opportunity to transform. The akuma was a particularly cruel one, and caused people to relive the most painful memory that another had. When it made Adrien and Ladybug see each other's memories, Tikki was drawn in too. She had expected to see Adrien learning his mother was missing, or to see Chat worrying for Ladybug in battle. Instead, Tikki and Ladybug saw Gabriel Agreste flat out being emotionally abusive and manipulative to his child. Tikki knew this was the first night Chat had shown up on Marinette's balcony. But Maribug didn't know that. The memory hadn't included enough for Marinette to find out Adrien was Chat Noir- just enough to see how cruel Gabriel Agreste could be.
After that akuma had been dealt with, Maribug had gone to see Adrien. Tikki supported the decision for Ladybug to talk to Adrien at the time- after what had happened, not only did Adrien need some love but they also needed to confirm whether Adrien had discovered Ladybug's identity.
Tikki later learned from Marinette that Adrikitty had seen one of the first few akuma attacks. Marinette's most painful memory was when Chat Noir sacrificed himself for her in a timeline that never was. With the possibility of being found out addressed, Ladybug then spent a long evening with Adrien talking about what she had seen, and how Adrien's home life was. This was the start of many visits Ladybug would make to the Agreste household- in Maribugs own words, "barely restraining {her}self from beating Gabriel Agreste black and blue."
---
The notes Marinette was looking were from the two most recent visits each superhero had made to their partner's civilian identity.
Adrien had missed school, and Maribug was concerned. So Ladybug had gone to check in on him. She was vague about how she found out he'd missed school, and inquired why. Adrien admitted it was a year to the day that his mother had died. That he'd wanted to spend time with family- either Gabriel or Nathalie, and Nathalie might even be preferable- but how Gabriel had left on a work trip for the day and taken Nathalie with him. Ladybug tried to casually bring up that Adrien had supportive friends who would want to be there for him, but they weren't who Adrien needed that day. He needed family.
Chat had visited the bakery and spent the night again. Marinette had decided to pry, out of concern for her partner. Chat told her in fairly vague terms that his mother had been out of the picture for a year - it was the anniversary of that occasion. He'd mentioned how cold and distant his father was to him, and how he had someone who acted like a good parent - who may even become a stepmother some day - who wasn't permitted to spend much time with him at all.
At the time, Tikki had applauded herself for doing a good job framing the "two" situations to sound as different as possible when Maribug used her as a sounding board. But now, they were boiled down to the key points.
-Mother gone
-Father abusive and manipulative
-Positive parental figure kept away by his father
Tikki sighed. There was no escaping the realization now- no turning back the clock. She latched on to that phrase, and realized- as long as Bunnyx doesn't show up, that means everything will work out.
Maribug closed her journal. "It's him, isn't it?" she asked- though it came across more as a statement.
Tikki debated whether to give one last ditch attempt to convince Marinette otherwise. Perhaps, she thought, If they both knew, they could find a way for Adrikitty to escape the Agreste Manor for good.
The kwami took a breath, and turned to her owner. "You have to tell him you know," she said. "and how you found out."