A Snap in Time

Chapter 29 (Marinette - Real World)

Marinette scrambled her way back to Adrien, mad at herself for leaving his body for a split second. She cradled his head and positioned it back onto her lap, stroking her hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, my love. I'm so, so sorry."

The sound of Nino's cries echoed through the room again but nothing could take her focus off her love, including the slow decline of her best friend's heart.

"Marinette?" Luka's voice was quiet, but she didn't want to respond, not at the moment. Adrien needed her, and she needed him. Just holding him made her feel better, even if his body was growing increasingly cooler.

"Little buggy on the roof, all alone without her kitty." She sniffed, before bending down to kiss his forehead. "Us against the world, kitty cat. It's me and you remember, always me and you."

"Marinette?" A hand placed on her back and slowly stroked round in circles. She knew it was Luka and she knew he was in pain, but at least he was alive. What about her kitty? What about the one that mattered?

"I know what you're thinking, Marinette, and I wish it was Adrien here too."

"Stop trying to read my mind," she snapped, causing the teal tipped boy to recoil back in shock. She knew that if she was in the right mind she would apologise. That she would go over to him, make things better and give him a pat on the shoulder, or if she was feeling extra nice a hug. "Little Kitty went away, all alone without his lady." She sang again, this time bending down to press her lips against his greying cheek.

Marinette knew everyone was looking at her, watching her and waiting for the next move, but it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. What was the point? Adrien wasn't here with her, Chat Noir had gone. She was alone.

"Marinette, can you put Adrien down?"

"No!" She screamed, turning around and coming face-to-face with Rose. Her eyebrows frowned and she felt her lips tighten. How dare Rose suggest she left Adrien! She needed to hold him, did they not understand he was hers?

"Here kitty, kitty, come home please. I need you. I can't do this without you, I don't want to do this without you." She felt the next wave of tears leave her eyes without warning, replacing the anger that was there a minute ago with sheer devastation. "I promise we'll go to the cinema when you're back. I'll even make sure we stay for the whole film, I promise. I really promise, but I need you to come back, Adrien. I need you to come home, Chaton. I love you."

She could feel her heart breaking multiple times, an intense pain worse than being thrown at a brick wall. Hadn't she already sacrificed enough? Hadn't she had enough thrown at her in her young fifteen years? She should be living a simple life now, one where her love wasn't lying dead on her lap.

Dead.

He was dead.

Letting out a scream, she placed Adrien back onto the floor and crawled backwards away from him, tripping and tumbling multiple times in her haste. She had been holding a dead person, dead as in not breathing and it was Adrien, her Adrien, but he wasn't hers, they hadn't made it official. One minute they were hugging, next they dropped their transformation and then 'snap' Adrien was on the floor.

"Marinette, please," that was Luka again.

Luka.

Luka, the guy who could have stopped all of this from happening. Damn him!

She turned around and saw he was trying to get to her again. Without thinking, she stormed her way over and slapped the beaten and bruised hero around the face, clenching her fists. She hit his chest, beating him roughly for good measure.