You're home. [Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction] (Completed)

Chapter 41 - Nathalie.

Adrien's eyes adjusted to the bright lighting of the strong-smelling hospital room he was bed-ridden in.

After observation from the nurses they forbid him from getting up. They told him, very strictly, to stay put. No matter how much he complained and begged them to let him visit Marinette, they wouldn't budge.

Plagg noticed Adrien stir. The small black cat-kwami flew in front of his miraculous holder's face, green eyes wide and curious. "Hey kid, how are you doing?" He asked cautiously. Adrien had never heard Plagg so worried before. He smiled, reaching his hand up to rub the little kwami's head briefly.

"I'm fine, don't worry to much about me. I'm managing." Adrien waved off Plagg's concern. The last thing he needed was for Plagg to be worried about him as well.

A soft knock came from the other side of the door. Curious, Adrien replied with a "come in."

The door opened. A tall, slender woman with thin glasses and dark hair stood in the doorway. Nathalie.

Adrien's mouth hung open in shock. His care-taker from his childhood, who went missing the day he graduated now stood in the hospital doorway.

"Hello, Adrien." She said calmly.

"Nathalie... where have you-"

"I don't have enough time to explain that. The more important question is; are you okay?" She asked, calmly gliding to the bedside. She was still as calm, cool, collected and elegant as ever. Even when she was walking in heels.

Adrien nodded. "I-I'm fine..." he said quietly.

Nathalie was silent for a minute. "I came back because Gabriel isn't free anymore." She said suddenly. Adrien, caught off-guard, looked up at his former guardian in confusion. Sensing she had confused him, Nathalie continued.

"I left because I knew who he was. I got away to keep you safe." She placed her hands on the edge of the mattress, gripping the thin sheets in her knuckles till they turned white.

"Protect me?" He asked. All of this was going to fast. He didn't get what she was trying to tell him.

"I knew, Adrien. I knew you were Chat Noir. I knew that your father was Hawkmoth. I left to keep your secret safe from Gabriel."

Adrien couldn't believe what he was hearing. If she was telling the truth, Gabriel had been Hawkmoth the entire time. He had been so close to their enemy this entire time. All this time... and he never suspected a thing.

"I figured that Gabriel wouldn't find out, since you moved out of the mansion and Gabriel had disappeared... I figured eventually everything would just... stop." Nathalie seemed to be unable to think properly. Had her mind been spinning as much as his was right now?

Adrien turned to have the distraught woman, and took her into a gentle hug. Nathalie was the closest person he had to a mother since his middle-school years. This hug, Adrien felt, was something they both deeply needed.

Nathalie sniffed her tears away once the two ended the hug. Her hands remained on his shoulders, however. "I've missed you, Adrien. I hope you realize that." She said, watching Adrien with a kind, gentle look.

"I've missed you too, Nathalie." He said.

~

Catching up with his childhood care-taker was something Adrien thoroughly enjoyed. The look on Nathalie's face when he told her that he was engaged was priceless. She even started to cry and proceeded to tell Adrien how proud of him she was. If Nathalie didn't work for his father, she would've made an amazing mother to her own children.