Ladybug Gone Bad

Chapter 27

Marinette's P.O.V.

I stared at Adrien's mother and felt my heart go out to him. I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind. Her eyes were shut, her blonde hair framing her face. She looked like she was sleeping deeply. Adrien placed his hand in hers, tears forming at the corner of his eyes. I felt a strong urge to hug him and tell him everything would be okay but I stuck my nails into my palm and kept to myself. Felix stumbled inside and stared at her face quietly.

"Felix," I whispered under my breath. "Why didn't you tell Adrien you two are brothers?"

"I'm... Waiting for the right time?" I shook my head. He was scared, I could tell. I didn't really blame him either. His deeds in the past weren't exactly pious and pure. Neither were mine, in the end, but we were brainwashed. I hugged his side and stared on with the rest of them. One by one, everyone left until Adrien, Felix and I were left standing. He turned around and frowned when he saw us. I edged away from Felix.

"You know the difference between you and Felix? You're a cinnamon roll, Felix is a sinnamon roll, with an s." They both stared at me, confused. Good. I had their attention. No more awkward, tense silence. "Adrien, you look cute and you actually are cute. Felix, you look cute but you can kill. See? Difference." They both laughed at the exact same time and I almost blurted out how similar their laughs were. I heard the doorbell ring and both yelled I'll get it at the same time. "Only one way to settle this, boys. On your marks, get set, ready, GO!"

They both ran to the front door, jumping over chairs and sliding under tables as they did so. What a pair. Adrien tripped and opened the door, his face red. There was a girl standing there with a picture in her hand.

"Nǐ hǎo, měihǎo de yītiān, dàzhāo sì zài nǎlǐ?" Adrien blinked, not understanding a word the woman said. I walked over and answered the woman in fluent Mandarin before shutting the door.

"Woah, that was amazing." I shrugged, taking a step back and heading to my room. Master Fu popped up in front of me before I could reach, taking me by surprise. I tripped on air and fell to the floor. I helped myself up, ignoring all the hands stretched out to help me up. Felix snickered till Bridgette nudged him, making him shut his mouth.

"Marinette, you will need to teach Adrien Mandarin. He has to be able to communicate with those on the outside."

"Oh." I glanced at Adrien. He was grinning. Groaning, I dragged him by the ear into his room and ordered him to sit. He complied and I cleared my throat. "Mandarin is pretty popular. Over one billion people speak the language which is around one in six or seven people. Bottom line, if you're gonna live in Tibet, you will need to know a few basics."

"So you're my tutor now. I think I'm going to enjoy this, teacher." The wink he sent me made me want to throw him through the wall. I yawned and rolled my eyes.

"Báichī." He sat up, wondering what I said. I shrugged, not willing to tell him I had called him an idiot. Benefits of being bilingual, I could insult anyone and they wouldn't know. Done it a lot more than I should have in my lifetime. "Forget it, the woman said hello, good day, where is the Jokhang temple? We are starting with hello..."

"Wait, what's this 'Jokhang temple?"

"You have a lot to learn banana boy." For the next few hours, I taught him a few things. Told him about some of the food and the sites as well, translating everything for him. I was exhausted at the end of the day and he felt the same. He lay down on the bed and groaned before reaching out to me. I flinched and he stooped, sending me an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry. I know you've been through a lot. Do you want to stay here with me?"

"Are you still having nightmares?" He hesitated before shaking his head. I facepalmed.