Yeah...I would've done this sooner but other things came up so I do apologise for not keeping fully up to date with this story like I said I would...but anyways, it's really nice to see how much all of you guys are interested in this story and my theories. To be honest I don't find the Nathalie mom thing to be true now that I really think about it, but let's just stick with it ;)

Also, to those of you that are new and might be confused with some parts due to the new episodes, almost anything in those new episodes I have taken out, like the Nino liking Marinette thing, even though he doesn't like her that way anymore. I am leaving some parts of the new episodes in, just not all of them. It's just so you don't get confused :)

Well, on with the Chapter then. Enjoy Chapter 13 of Revelations! ^^ Oh and sorry but I'm making the characters seem very clueless about each other's true identities...*giggle*

Miraculous Ladybug (C) Thomas Astruc/ Zagtoon

Chapter 13 – Conflicted

As Sunday arrived, Marinette was still in the deep end of denying Adrien was Cat Noir, the similarities were becoming all too the same, merging the two into one. She shook her head vigorously, denying that the flirtatious and over confident Cat Noir was the nice and well reserved Adrien Agreste. She may have been mistaken, maybe she was worrying about all of this over nothing, but she wanted a clear head about this. Her curiosity didn't leave her alone until she would know for sure if Adrien was indeed Cat Noir.

There just wasn't a way to really know without asking him upfront. She didn't want to do that, her shyness always overcame her when he was even ten feet away from him, or even on the other side of the room. And what if Adrien really was Cat Noir? It meant that all those times she had been with Chat and all those quirky remarks and teases she gave him were really moments she had with her crush.

And then her thoughts dwelled deeper, she remembered Chat confessing his feelings to her the week before. If Adrien was indeed Chat, then that would mean for certainty that Adrien liked her back. It made her blush a deep crimson as her heart raced, Tikki interrupted, not wanting Marinette to get caught up.

"Marinette, you can never know for sure. The only way is to ask him and it's too risky, you could put your secret identity on the line too." Tikki informed, deeply worried and caring of Marinette.

Biting her lip, Marinette's eyes turned to a floating worried kwami, making the heat from her face cool and her heart slow down a little. She sighed in a saddened tone, knowing that her kwami was right.

"I know...but how do I know for sure? It's killing me now that I heard Adrien's name called out when he wasn't around!" She cried, falling face first into her bed, ending in a muffled groan.

The little red and black spotted kwami rested softly against Marinette's pillow, with her lips curled into a small assuring smile. "Don't worry Marinette, you'll find a way. You always do." She complimented with a grin, closing her eyes.

Marinette arched her neck up to show her face to Tikki, seeing the adorable expression printed on the kwami's face always made her smile, but then she took into account Tikki's words. They were words that Tikki had said so many times before, it made Marinette lower her eyebrows as she frowned.

"But you always say that, and nothing really happens...You said that about if I should reveal who I really was to Adrien..." Marinette explained, moaning towards the end before hiding her face within her pillow.

Sighing as she could see that she wasn't getting through to Marinette, she flew up and floated next to the poster of Adrien. "Come over here and look at this." She requested, pointing towards the poster.

Marinette raised her head slightly, seeing where Tikki was. She raised an eyebrow, seeing that it was the only poster of Adrien on her wall, and wondered why a poster of him would have anything to do with the situation. Without asking any more questions, she got up and walked over to the poster, eyeing Tikki with a raised eyebrow of confusion.

"I don't understand, why do I need to see this? I see this every day." Marinette implied, oblivious to what Tikki was about to explain.

Tikki smiled before gently landing herself on Marinette's shoulder, pointing her eyes into where they should be looking. "Look, what do you see?" She asked.

Marinette had no idea where Tikki was going with this, it was only a simple poster of Adrien. It was her favoured poster from the rest, even though she loved all of them. She adored his elliptical emerald eyes, his blonde hair pushed to the side, the way he always smiled make Marinette awe in adoration. She tried to think hard about what Tikki meant, but still couldn't read on the same level as her kwami.

"Um...Adrien." She answered bluntly. "Who else?" She asked, shrugging her shoulders as she looked at her kwami.

The little kwami faced the poster once again, already seeing what she wanted Marinette to see. "Look deeper." She insisted. "Beyond his looks, what do you see?"

The navy haired teen hummed in thought as she scanned the poster from a shorter distance, narrowing her eyes on Adrien's face. She adored his looks, he was a very attractive teenager, and she was surprised that despite liking Ladybug he didn't have a girlfriend at all. And then suddenly, with widened eyes that's when it hit her.

Adrien was a kind hearted, respectful, friendly, loving and honest person. He wouldn't hurt anyone if there was the chance; he was never mean, always nice and respectful to others around him. Although he lived a strict life, he made the most of it with people he likes. He seemed like a dream boy to her, she would give a dazed look every time he walked on by. She knew what the extent of his honesty was; he was able to confess to her who he really likes, without knowing he was actually telling Ladybug herself.

If Adrien had that sort of guts to tell someone they liked someone else, even after they knew about that person liking them back, he was truly brave and honest about himself, and Marinette could to if given the chance.

"I've got an idea!" Marinette stated firmly, clenching her fists as her face was filled with confidence and determination.

Meanwhile at the Agreste mansion, Nathalie hid out in Adrien's bedroom, embracing her son several times in rejoice while explaining to him why she had been like this for years around him. Adrien had wanted to know why she was like this ever since he found out after all this time his mother was his father's personal assistant.

"It was your father; somehow...I was just able to obey what he said within the blink of an eye..." She explained, demonstrating the face she gave every time Gabriel told her to do something.

This made Adrien look down in thought as he rested a hand underneath his chin. "How did that happen?" He asked, looking up at his mother.

Nathalie cleared her throat and straightened her posture, before taking in a deep breath and then slouching again as she remembered the day when it all happened. "It was late...Thursday night..." She began, her words trailing off. "You were already in bed, sound asleep. I was with your father, discussing about your future."

Flashback

Rain started to fall outside on a hot summer's night, a 12 year old Adrien was sound asleep in his room. Little did he know was that there was bickering and arguing not far from his room.

Nathalie and Gabriel were discussing Adrien's options for the future, as Adrien was entering his teen years Nathalie wanted only what was best for her son, but Gabriel wanted something else from his son.

"Look Nathalie, I've told you this a thousand times...I don't want our son out there in a public school!" He shouted, pounding his fists against the table.

Nathalie stood up abruptly, glaring at her husband. "How else is he going to make friends?! You have to accept that he can't be a controlled child forever, he needs to go out and be with other people!" She exclaimed.

Gabriel growled under his breath, narrowing his eyebrows at Nathalie. "I know what is best for my own son." He stated firmly, calming down the tone of his voice.

The woman pressed her lips together firmly, her hands clenched tightly into a fist next to her hips, one of her emerald eyes twitched as she saw the selfishness in her own husband. "Adrien is OUR son!" She corrected, raising the volume of her voice.

"And you are my wife! I expect you to respect my decisions!" He yelled, pounding his fists against the table as he stood up abruptly, glaring at his wife.

Tears formed in Nathalie's eyes, she was beginning to lose it, and she didn't want to wake her poor son up with her loud yells and screams at his father. "I expect you to respect mine!" She cried, in a lower tone, but still anger heating every word she said.

Gabriel moved around the table, his hands clenched into fists of anger and frustration. "Listen to me woman, he is not going anywhere! He is my son! I will raise him how I want to raise him and you can't stop me!"

Finding a quick solution to this argument, she left the room with her eyebrows deeply narrowed. "Watch me!" She whispered, before she heard him growl and run after her.

Nathalie ran towards Adrien's room, very reluctant to wake up him up now but knew that the only way out of this was to take Adrien away from his father, Adrien needed a happy and free life, with less restrictions than he has now. She wanted to see him smile more and have friends, be more outgoing and free spirited like she was. Tears engulfed her eyes as she saw before her exactly what she was doing. She never expected the night to end like this. Nathalie didn't want to run away with her only child, but it felt like it was the right thing to do to make Adrien's life better.

As her hand touched the door knob of Adrien's bedroom, her hand was tightly grasped by Gabriel, not long before his palm met her cheek at a fast speed, making her skin redden in pain as she sulked, closing her eyes and looking away from Gabriel's intense angered expression.

"Now you listen to me, he is my son. The only thing you ever did for him was carry him around for nine months! I know exactly what is best for him. He doesn't need someone like you messing up who he is truly meant to be!" He yelled, not realising the two of them were right next to Adrien's bedroom.

But as Nathalie sulked silently, no changes in sudden movement from Adrien's bedroom were heard. In Gabriel's mind he sighed in relief, the last thing he wanted was his son at the door behind them asking what was going on. So since that didn't happen, Gabriel kept his grip tightened around Nathalie's wrist as they both went upstairs and into Gabriel's office.

He slammed the door shut on his way in, it was then that he locked the door and allowed Nathalie to sit down in front of his desk. Then, Nathalie's eyes deceived her as a brilliant flash of light appeared.

And then there was nothing but darkness.

Flashback Ended.

Nathalie continued from where she left off. "And then a little while later I remember sitting at a desk of my own doing work for Gabriel. I don't know how he was able to give me amnesia or make me able to do everything he told me...but I knew one thing to be sure. Gabriel is hiding something."

Adrien took this very deeply into account. With every word of explanation his mother gave him, the more curious and suspicious he was about his father. He never realised how manipulative and selfish he really was until he heard that story. He looked down as he thought down a path he hadn't thought down before.

Could he possibly be the man he and Ladybug were looking for?

He shook his head in denial, not wanting to believe his own father was his archenemy and the one who wanted the miraculous from him and Ladybug. It was too difficult to believe that his father could be that controlling over so many people just to get what he wanted. But it made more sense than it did less, he needed to know for sure if his father was indeed Hawkmoth, but he didn't know how to figure that out.

Thanking his mother for the information, Nathalie crept out of the room and headed for the front door, not spotted by Gabriel or anyone else by the time she had passed the gates. Adrien fell into his bed as Plagg came out from hiding.

"You do realise she might know you in your other form? How come you haven't said anything yet!?" Plagg cried, deeply worried about the cat being out of the bag.

Then Adrien's head was weighted with more heavy thoughts, he had not thought about that part very much as he was more concerned about making sure his mother was safe and what happened to her all these years. But now that it was on his mind, he wished he could bring her back in and ask her. She knew something about him being Cat Noir, and it worried him that she knew without even saying anything else besides his name, but he knew she could be trusted with a big secret like this.

He stayed like this, confused and conflicted in his mind as the day carried on around him.

The next day at school, Adrien tried to make the most of his thoughts and keep them well hidden. He wasn't sure if it was right to tell anyone yet about his mother returning, he feared that there would be questions asked that he couldn't answer, just because it was too hurtful and mean for what his father did to Nathalie.

He walked into school; the first person he saw was Nino. He waved with a friendly smile as he approached his best friend.

"Hey dude, you're looking well." Nino stated, widening his smile as he fist bumped his best pal.

Adrien replied with a slightly guilty expression as he looked away for a moment before speaking. "Yeah, I'm alright now. That weekend gave me plenty of time to feel better about my family stuff...you know what I mean." He quickly added in the end, to make it seem like it was about his father being strict again.

"Gotcha." Nino assured, giving a wink.

But yet, it was actually about his father being strict, he had even been strict on his own wife and found a way to control her for a little over three years, it was impossible to think about without a negative expression being well presented on his face. He quickly shook his head, brushing the thought aside as he and his best friend headed for their lockers.

In all the meanwhile, Marinette had told Alya she had some unfinished business to do before she would meet her in class. She hung around the locker room and saw Adrien nearby with Nino, heading towards their lockers. Tikki peeped her head over Marinette's shoulder, looking up to see Marinette's determination slowly slip away as the blonde teen walked further into the locker room.

"You can do it Marinette, ask him as soon as you get the chance." Tikki assured her, trying to keep Marinette's confidence up high.

Marinette breathed in and out deeply, trying to calm herself down as she waited anticipating the moment in which Adrien would be alone. She watched from afar, trying to keep her eyes off him most of the time as to not look suspicious. And then, the moment arrived. Nino had left early to catch up with another friend before class, and Adrien was left alone at his locker preparing his things for class.

By this time, half the students that were in the locker room when Adrien first entered were now gone. Tikki decided it was the best time for Marinette to initiate her idea on full force. Not seeing anyone else in sight, she flew up next to Marinette's head.

"Come on Marinette, now is your chance! Don't waste it."

By hearing those words come out of Tikki's mouth reminded Marinette of how Alya would speak to her sometimes. Then she was pushed suddenly by her little kwami into the direction of Adrien, her cheeks turned crimson, her shyness and anxiety took full control and made her be extremely doubtful about her idea working.

"It's not going to work; he's going to find out in the instant that I'm Ladybug! And if he isn't Chat Noir, then what do I do!?" She cried, not seeing the obvious advance towards that situation.

Tikki sighed in frustration, before pushing Marinette again until she was in Adrien's sight, making her unable to go back without a smile and wave. Adrien waved with a smile in response, glad to see that she was holding up after what he told her, he continued to ready his things while ignoring Plagg's plea for more cheese.

The bell rang, and that's when almost everyone else left the locker room to get to their classes. Marinette took in a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly before opening and relaxing them as she started to walk over towards Adrien.

"Adrien, can I talk to you?" She asked, very surprised she did not stutter at all during that sentence.

The blonde teen turned before shutting his locker gently, his mouth slightly open in wonder and curiosity of what Marinette wanted to talk to him about.

Marinette approached him, her head down as she felt the blush warm up her cheeks. She could feel Adrien's emerald eyes staring at her, waiting for what she had to say.

"What is it Marinette?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and curling his lips into a small adoring smile.

The nervous teenage girl fiddled with her fingers as she looked away, she was too worried about her own identity being revealed to her crush. If Adrien was indeed Cat Noir, it would raise a lot of pros and cons. But she had to ask very subtly.

"You...have heard of Cat Noir right..? What do you think of him?"

Adrien widened his eyes in sudden surprise of the topic; he bit his lower lip in slight nervousness. He didn't know what to respond with.

Okay, I'm sorry but it's really hard to include fluff in this story when all I want to write about is Adrien and his family. But hopefully in the next few chapters I am able to get more up to par with the fluff between these two. I feel like I've been ignoring the romance side to this story more than I should be. I know I have to balance it out but still...I like more romance, don't you agree?

Well, that's all for Chapter 13. Looks like I'll see you in a few days for Chapter 14! ^^