Confessions

A/N: Thank you so much for all of the positive reviews, favorites, and follows! This is my first fanfic and I have been mulling over ideas for a few months! I have no idea how long this will be, but I am so excited!

Adrien didn't know what he was feeling. Whatever emotions plagued his soul left a bittersweet taste in his mouth. He had just learned that his father was Shadowmoth. Yes, he and Ladybug always had their suspicions, but it never crossed the boy's mind that the accusations would be proven true. While he was having his inner turmoil, Adrien couldn't help but feel relieved. Relieved that his father's reign on Paris was over. This thought did not calm the storm inside him though.

Chat Noir burst through Marinette's skylight that he had been peering through. He knew it was wrong, but he just wanted to be there in case his father was ruthless towards her. He landed swiftly on the girl's bed and jumped over the banister.

"HOW COULD YOU?" the leather clad hero screamed in his father's face, less than a foot away. At this point, reason had gone out the door and all Adrien could focus on was the white hot anger he felt towards the man standing in front of him.

Marinette was horrified. She wanted to tell her love later that night- she had not expected him to be listening to every word that had been exchanged. Gabriel was confused to say the least. He didn't know how Chat Noir knew he was there, or why he was eavesdropping on the conversation. He didn't receive a moment to voice his wonderings.

"HOW COULD YOU TERRORIZE INNOCENT PEOPLE FOR ALL THESE YEARS?" At this the boy burst into tears. He wanted to show he was strong, he wanted to show that he would be fine. But, he wouldn't be. Not for a while anyways.

"How could you do something so horrendous just to bring mother back?" his voice was shaking. He was about to collapse.

"How could you not even know, that this whole time you were fighting your son?" Now, Adrien fell to the floor. Marinette ran to catch her prince and cradled him on the ground. Chat Noir let his transformation drop, leaving a sobbing Adrien in the solemn girl's arms.

"Adrien?" Gabriel whispered. He didn't know what to make of this. It was just revealed that his son was one of his rivals. He thought he would be sick at the revelation.

"I'm assuming Nathalie is Muyura?" Gabriel nodded at his son's question. "Is that why mother disappeared? She got sick just like Nathalie is." Gabriel cast a downward glance, looking and feeling ashamed. "So you're telling me," the boy began rivaling the coldness Marinette used towards his father, "that you knew what was going to happen to Nathalie, and you let her use a broken Miraculous anyways? What really happened to mother?" Adrien was needing answers, and "no" would not be one of them.

Gabriel started apprehensively, "Yes. I... I knew what Nathalie would go through. Your... your mother-"

"She was the previous holder of the peacock Miraculous. She's in a magical coma. Isn't she?" Marinette interjected, barely above a whisper. She knew this because since becoming Guardian, the other kwamis taught her all they knew of their history and language, and the Guardian language.

"Y-yes. Adrien, I don't know what to tell you. I-I-I can bring you to see her if you would like," Gabriel said, silent tears streaming down his angled face.

"Not right now. I-I need some time. I think you should go."

"Of course son."

With these words, he stood up and left, passing a confused crowd consisting of Alya, Nino, and the two elder Dupain-Chengs.

Adrien's head was spinning. He felt faint. He felt like he wanted to be swallowed into the earth's center and never return. The only thing that kept him grounded was his Princess.

After Gabriel left, Marinette went downstairs to the main part of the house. She told her confused friends and parents that they would like to be left alone for the evening. After grabbing some water, pastries, and Tylenol, she headed back upstairs.

Adrien was laying in her bed. He was pressed against the wall that was filled with pictures of him and his alter ego. Angling his head up from above the blankets that formed a cocoon around him, he looked at the pictures. A small smile graced his lips as he looked back at the memories Marinette chose to showcase. He saw pictures of their movie nights, as her and Chat. He would visit her late at night before their identities were revealed. They would watch movies and talk about anything and everything that crossed their minds. He remembered how they would both show up exhausted for school the next day because they stayed up until sunrise watching anime all night. He would smile as she blushed while fumbling for an excuse as to why she fell asleep in class again.

He glanced at a picture of him and Marinette as their civilian selves. They were huddled under Adrien's jacket because it had started pouring rain. Alya had become excited at how close her favorite ship was together and snapped the picture. Little did she know, they had already been dating for three months. He looked fondly at the memory, reminded of how close they were. He could feel the warmth emanating from her body, despite her shivering. He could smell the rain mixed with whips of cinnamon, sugar, and flour, with a hint of strawberry. He remembers looking over at her and seeing a shivering Marinette, cuddled into his side trying to steal his body heat. He can still hear her laugh when they realized the jacket was a soaked as them, and not helping their circumstance.

Then he noticed a picture of them together as the crime fighting duo that saved Paris. It was a picture of the two on top of a random Parisian rooftop. They had noticed how beautiful the sunset was and decided to take a picture to commemorate their time together. It was one of his favorites. It was a private picture that nobody else had, which made it quite risky for Marinette to have it displayed in her room, but to him, it just showed how treasured the memory was. Adrien let out a dry chuckle when he remembered that they were talking about their plans for the future after they defeated Shadowmoth. No- his dad. It was the first time Ladybug had truly opened up to Chat Noir without worrying over their identities. To Adrien, it was the first time Ladybug fully trusted him.

He didn't know when Marinette climbed into the bed with him, but he just now realized he was once again in her warm embrace. He also noticed he had new tears streaming down his cheeks. Marinette pulled him in close and stroked his golden hair. As Adrien cuddled into her side, he let out a muffled sob. No words were needed for the two heroes to comfort each other. They stayed this way for the rest of the night and well into the morning