Mom

"Mom! You're awake!" I say excitedly as my mother starts to stir.

"Adrien? No, you can't be my son." She says as she looks at me.

"What? Yes I am? It's me, Mom!" Why doesn't she think I'm her son?

"You look too old to be my son!"

Ohhh.

How am I supposed to explain all this?

"Mom, you're in the hospital. You've been in some type of coma for a little over two years now."

"What? That can't be! Where is my husband? And my son? What is going on?!"

I didn't even think about this type of reaction, I just expected her to happy.

"Mom, I promise, it's me! I've just gotten a little older."

"How old did you say you were?"

"I'm 16."

"See, my son is only 14. Who are you and why am I here? Are you a nurse at this hospital playing a joke? I do enjoy jokes, but not to this degree."

"Mom, no. I'm not a nurse, I'm your son! I really am!"

To my surprise, she starts to laugh.

"Wha-?"

"Adrien, darling! I'm just kidding, of course I know it's you! A mother will know her child, especially me."

"Mom! You scared me!"

"Dear, have you forgotten your sense of humor? Don't tell me you've stopped trying to make your bodyguard laugh with ridiculous puns?"

Now I'm laughing too, I missed being free to pun in my own home.

Father made me stop, because it reminded him too much of Mom.

"Of course not! But like you said, I enjoy jokes, just not to this degree!"

"Oh come here!" She says with a laugh, reaching out to hug me.

I gladly accept.

Aside from y/n, my mother gives the best hugs.

"I've missed you so much, Mom! There's so much to tell you!"

I just don't know how I'll tell her that her husband ended up a crazy psychopath who tried on multiple occasions to kill me, and the people I care about.

"Well let's get started catching up! First off, where's your father? Has he thrown himself into work for a distraction?"

"Uhh, you could say that."

"So he's at home? Let's call him, and we can prank him too!"

"Mom, I've got some bad news. About him."

I don't want to call him 'Dad', as it seems too endearing, yet he wanted me to call him 'Father' and I don't want to do anything he wanted.

"What do you mean, is he alright?"

"I guess. He's um. He had to go to uh- well."

"Adrien, stop your stammering. Where is your father?"

"He's in prison." I decide to get it over with.

"What?! Why?!" She asks, looking shocked.

"Multiple reasons. Um, terrorism, mainly. But also child abuse, kidnapping, and I guess escaping prison. Whatever that charge means."

"What on earth are you talking about?! Adrien, if this is you trying to get back at me it isn't funny."

"Sorry Mom, but it's no joke. He went crazy or something."

"The child abuse, he wasn't harming you, was he?!"

"Uhh, indirectly."

Hopefully by telling her this I won't give away that I'm a superhero.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I guess we should start from the beginning. Do you know about something called a miraculous?"

She seems to pale at this, but nods.

"Father used one that's a butterfly and it grants people the power to control others, I guess. Anyway he used it to make supervillains and sometimes they'd go after me, so that's what I meant."

Whew, a truthful way out.

"But why did he do that?"

"Because he wanted to get you back."

"Well did it work? Is that why I'm awake?"

"No, that was uh, something different. The doctors must've done something." I hope she didn't notice that I quickly hid the flower when she first woke up.

"Did they discover something new? Was I not here before?"

This is going to take a while.

"Not exactly..."

So in the next few hours I explain everything best as I can, without revealing my secret identity.

Of course we get interrupted at one point by nurses and doctors, wondering what happened.

They're all going to be so confused about what's going on around here, with y/n coming back from the dead- that still hurts to think about- and Mom waking up from a coma she's been in for two years.

But when they're done I also tell her some things about going to school, and my friends.

She knew how much I wanted to go, but Father was always so persistent that I be homeschooled.

Mom always tried to make it fun, and she did a good job, but I was still lonely.

I wanted to have friends, and even though I didn't think about it as much then, but started to later on, I wanted someone to be more than friends with.

And I got that.

I wish I could tell mom about y/n, but that would also tell her that I'm Cat Noir.

She tells me some things too, about how she got into the coma in the first place.

Apparently she and Father found the two miraculouses and the book I found in the safe while traveling, and then she'd use it in a similar way to Ladybug and I, going on patrols for criminals.

But when Father discovered she was doing it, he decided to join her, until they were fighting a particularly nasty creep and her miraculous broke, which resulted in her getting sick, and then entering the coma.

It's funny how all that was happening and I didn't notice it, then the same thing happened to Father.

She asks about Ladybug and Cat Noir, so I tell her all that I can without giving away too much.

Then she asks for a picture, but I say I don't have my phone.

And I don't, I left it in y/n's room

But someday, probably soon, she's going to see a picture and she might figure it out, because like she said.

A mother will always know her child.

Especially her.

Because she's the person I spent most of my time with for 14 years.

As we talk a nurse comes in, and says it's time for Mom to have some tests done.

"Ok then. Adrien, you need to go home anyway if you get to go to school tomorrow! But come back and see me after, ok?"

"I will Mom! Promise!" I say, and walk out ahead of them, so they can wheel her away, bed and all.

I doubt I'll be going to school tomorrow, but maybe I can go home, then be there the next day.

Maybe I'll have to use the flower to be granted that possibility, but that'll be ok, since I've done what most important things I wanted to use it for.

Unless the flower has already healed me?

Maybe that's why it took so long, because it was taking care of my injuries first!

When I duck into the bathroom to transform, I check, and sure enough, it's completely healed, and the stitches have even disappeared.

There's just a scar left.

Oh well, add it to the collection.

Plagg grins a little at me, which I interpret as his way of saying he's happy that I got my mother back.

I smile back and transform, then make my way back to y/n's room, where I find her chatting with Kaalki and Nooroo.

"You're back!" She says when she notices me.

"I'm back!"

"So? What happened?" She asks.

"I'm not the only one back!" I say happily.

"Yay! I'm so happy for you!" She says, holding her arms out to give me a hug, since she can't get up because of the wires.

"Thanks, Angel!" I respond, happily accepting the hug.

Because as I said before, y/n and my mom give the best hugs.