A Snap in Time

Chapter 10 (Marinette)

"Did you find him?" Marinette was seated on her bed looking at the pictures on her corkboard when Tikki flew into the room.

"I did," Tikki said, following her chosen's line of sight.

"And?"

"He's legit Marinette, and Plagg adores him."

"What does that mean for me?" Marinette tore her eyes away from the pictures of her friends, and of Luka and looked at her kwami. Tikki would tell her the truth, Tikki would help her out.

"I don't know, Marinette. Fu doesn't seem to trust him completely yet, but Plagg, well, I've never seen him so defensive of a holder before. We've been around for years but something about this one has him completely devoted and I don't think it's because of his chosen's supply of cheese."

"Then where did he come from?" Marinette asked. "If we were meant to be partners, why wasn't he here to begin with? Why did he leave me to battle this all alone?"

"You're not alone, you have Viperion." Marinette scoffed and pulled a picture of Luka down from her board, flopping back onto her bed and holding it over her face. She couldn't deny Luka was beautiful and fabulous, and a wonderful boyfriend, but something suddenly felt off and she couldn't make sense of it!

"Why do you think I changed my clothes today, Tikki?" She asked. The thought had been plaguing her for a while. Why would she suddenly change her clothing for almost opposites.

"Perhaps you just wanted to look different. You're a teenage girl, there's nothing wrong with that."

Marinette continued to stare at the photo, each moment feeling as though she was being pulled away from the smoulder of the boy in the picture.

"Have you had many Ladybug's get with a snake?" She motioned for Tikki to come and rest beside her on the pillow. She had so many questions, she wasn't sure where to start.

"Honestly? No, you're my first."

"Does that mean we're not compatible?"

"Of course not Marinette, it's just the snake isn't a commonly used Miraculous. With it being time related, it was only taken out of the box in extreme circumstances."

"That didn't answer my question Tikki. Are we compatible?"

With a sigh Tikki flew to Marinette's phone and handed it to her holder.

"I can't tell you if you are, or if you're not. Afterall, you chose to love who you want to love and nobody can change that. You can't let this appearance of Chat Noir change things between you and Luka. You're nice together, he looks out for you, and Chat ... well ... you've only met him for a matter of minutes. Don't let him get into your head so quickly." Tikki thought for a second, perhaps she could give Marinette a little more. "Did you know that the Miracle box represents those of the Chinese zodiac?"

"Does that mean all holders are chosen because of their personalities linked to that animal?" Marinette asked, typing into google what she wanted to know.

"Exactly. So, when Luka was chosen he was chosen because he was the perfect representation of a snake holder, but also because he would compliment you the best without a cat around. He was there to help you and protect you the way Chat Noir would."

Or will, Marinette thought. She nodded at Tikki's explanation before turning back to google. There wasn't a lot to read up on about ladybug's and black cats, to be honest so she decided to turn her attention to the snake.

The Snake is usually regarded as a dark, insidious, sly and ruthless being. Both in western countries and China, there are many legend stories about the animal and most of the time, it is labeled with a dark image, when actually, the animal is also the symbol of wisdom.

Strengths
Decent, Sophisticated, Eloquent

Weaknesses
Suspicious, Stingy, Lazy

Love and Relationships
Romantic, Enthusiastic, Loyal

They are quite possessive, which makes others feel depressed. If they can leave more personal space for the other, their relationship will be better.

Best Match: Dragon

She clicked onto another website and began reading the next description.

Snake people are quiet, reserved and are good at giving advice to others. However, they strongly distrust other people and choose friends carefully. Snake people can be passionate, possessive and jealous and they need a lot of security.

Too true she thought, heading to one more website.

Snakes can be possessive and at times jealous for no reason.

She closed down her phone and placed it on her chest. They can be quite possessive? Well Luka was nailing that today. He'd never reacted like that before ... actually that wasn't true. There was Volpina. Placing her hands over her face she remembered how trusting she was of the girl who was nothing more than a liar. She'd really believed everything she'd told her. That she was a hero and had her own Miraculous. There was nothing to doubt, it's not like they knew anything about the other Miraculous' apart from the fact they existed.

"Tikki?"

"Yes, Marinette?" Tikki was back with her chosen within seconds.

"Why was my lucky charm different today?" She asked.

"It's quite simple really, Ladybug's are known for their creativity. They are intuitive, intelligent and capable. It's always been said that Ladybugs are the brains and Cat's are the brawn. It seems because the two Miraculous are in proximity to each other, they create some type of connection."

Marinette giggled, she liked the idea of brains and brawn, sitting herself up against her pillows, her thoughts once again drifted to the blonde haired boy.

"What was he like?"

"Who?" Tikki knew exactly who she meant, but for some reason she wanted Marinette to say it.

"Chat Noir, what was he like?"

"Scared, worried, lost."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Marinette asked.

"Not at the moment, but maybe if you see him again you could just be friendly. He looks like he needs a friend."

"I don't think Luka's going to like that." Marinette winced, and scrunched up her nose.

"What are you thinking then?" Tikki asked her chosen.

"I don't know," Marinette groaned and covered her eyes again. "I don't know how I feel about anything at the moment, and Luka is right. I trust too easily. Just look at the mess I made with Volpina. It's a good job Sass could fix it or we'd be in a right mess."

Tikki couldn't help but feel for her holder. Volpina had been a weak point for her. She'd trusted the girl. The girl who idolised her and wanted to be a hero so much Violette Papillon had taken advantage. It wasn't Lila's fault and it wasn't Marinette's, it was just a series of unfortunate events.

"Do you trust him?" Marinette looked deeply into Tikki's eyes, trying to read exactly what she was about to say.

"Who? Chat Noir? It's not really my place to say anything."

"Tikki, don't start being coy with me now. Do you trust him?"

"I trust Plagg with my life and Plagg is devoted to him. He said he's the best holder he'd ever had."

The two sat in silence next to each other for a while, staring at the ceiling, lost into their own thoughts. Unspoken words passed between them as they considered the current situation. Marinette scrunched her eyebrows and looked out of her window.

"Who is this boy?"