PATROL.

It was night in the city of Paris.

After the attacks of Riposte and the Style Queen, the city was finally calm, and luckily for everyone, there were now more heroes and they could better divide their time so as not to be overwhelmed by the constant night patrols.

And right now we see that Queen Bee was swinging over the streets of Paris with her spinning top, enjoying the night breeze on her face and the tranquility in the air after a few busy days, both with the akumatized persons and with her modeling duties for Gabriel Agreste.

'I'd wish every night on patrol was like this.' Queen Bee thought as she paused over a chimney to admire the city. 'Just peace and quiet, that way we would all be happier... Although it wouldn't be so much fun because it wouldn't be necessary for me and the others to be here.'

Queen Bee sighed happily again, smiling at the air of tranquility in the city. Then the girl started running across the roof and jumped off it shortly before reaching the end of it, feeling a rush of adrenaline as she fell. Just moments before hitting the ground, Queen Bee threw her top at a lamppost and used it to swing, skimming the street and past a couple of cars.

The striped-suit heroine pushed herself up as far as she could, retracting her spinning top and letting out a cry of euphoria, feeling the adrenaline rush through her veins and her hair moving through the air, defying gravity. Again, Queen Bee dropped down and threw her top again just in time to avoid crashing into the ground, gaining more height and doing a few pirouettes in the air.

The bee-themed heroine repeated her stunts several times until she was in front of the Eiffel Tower, then threw her top up to the tip of the monument and yanked on it, retracting the string to land on top of the monument, leaning on the railing and looking at the scenery with a smile.

-"New York will always be my home, but Paris is also beautiful."- Said Queen Bee.

-"Thank you for the compliment to my home, Queen Bee."- Said a voice behind the redhead.

Queen Bee let out a gasp of surprise and turned, sighing in relief at noticing that the guy who had taken her by surprise had been her teammate, Chat Noir.

"Oh, hey there." Said Queen Bee. "Did you finish the patrol too?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd beat you to it but I guess I'm getting a little rusty." Chat Noir said with a chuckle.

"Nah, it's just that I like to run."

"Well, I guess that leaves us with some time to kill."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Both superheroes sighed and gazed out over the city for a few moments, only listening to the gentle night breeze and the slight bustle of nighttime civilian activities.

After a couple of moments of stillness, Chat Noir walked over to Queen Bee and leaned against the railing next to her, surprising her a bit and causing her to look away to prevent Chat Noir from noticing the blush on her cheeks.

"Can I ask you a question?" Chat Noir asked suddenly.

"Shoot." Queen Bee nodded.

"What led you to become Queen Bee? What's your story?"

Queen Bee was somewhat surprised by the question, for it was something that even she hadn't quite asked herself.

"I honestly have no history." Queen Bee sighed as she turned her back on Chat Noir. "I'm just a girl from the US who was given a magic jewel and a flying creature. I don't do this for anyone other than myself."

"Why? What are you trying to prove?" Inquired Chat Noir.

"Nothing, I just think... that I can make a difference.

"What are you talking about?"

"I've always admired heroes." Queen Bee said as she looked up at the sky. "New York has tons of them around every corner, with all kinds of abilities, I even know a couple, but the villains are even more and usually cause enormous problems, too many for one hero to stop them alone. Take the Avengers for example, they were formed to combat threats that each of them individually couldn't face. And seeing that lately both the Green Goblin and Hawk Moth are more active, it makes me think that perhaps they're working together, or that each one is forming some kind of Masters of Evil, and that is something that's gonna need more than just the Cunning Chat Noir, the Amazing Spider-Man and the Miraculous Ladybug to be stopped."

Chat Noir looked attentively at Queen Bee as the latter continued to stare up at the sky, feeling surprised at the maturity of Queen Bee's words, for although she didn't sound as determined or inspired as Spider-Man when she spoke of her reasons for stopping the Green Goblin, she definitely knew that nothing they did was a game, although he himself took it as such most of the time, which made him feel a pang of guilt at how childish he usually was.

"Wow, everyone has a much bigger and less selfish reason than me to do this." Chat Noir sighed.

"Selfish? What are you talking about?" Asked Queen Bee, truly surprised.

"Well... I actually do this only because my life as a civilian is suffocating to the core. I do it as an escape from my reality, to be who I want to be, to do what I like, express myself as I want..."

"You must be very pressured under that mask to find a way out as suicidal as being a vigilante in tight tights." Queen Bee laughed.

"I am... under the mask I have no control whatsoever of my life. Even the only moments of true freedom I have, my friends get them for me."

Queen Bee bit her lip and felt a pang of guilt, feeling that perhaps her little joke was too personal.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to..." The redhead tried to say.

"It's okay, don't apologize, it was just a joke." Chat Noir sighed before smiling at Queen Bee. "I'm not made of glass, y'know?"

"Still, I shouldn't have..."

"Tried to brighten my mood? Because you did."

"I was going to say 'be so damn nosy.'"

"Hey, you're not, just a little... lively. But that's good, the world needs more people like you and me."

"Well, you're right on that." Queen Bee chuckled. "But seriously, why do you think it's selfish to seek some freedom? That's something we all want, and when you use that freedom to help others, you can't call yourself selfish."

"Well... What else could I do, right? I mean, people like Hawk Moth and the Green Goblin must be stopped so they don't hurt others."

"You see? You're not selfish at all... Maybe a little devious for killing two birds with one stone by being free being a superhero."

"I feel like you've been through as much as the Webhead, you're very mature and that's not a good sign for someone so young."

"Well, my life has not been easy, but I have many people that I love and who have helped me through difficult times."

"Sorry if I touched on a personal topic."

"Hey, you said it yourself, I'm not made of glass, I won't break down by remembering the past."

"Well, my friend in a striped suit, you impress me and I like you." Chat Noir said with a smile. "Doctor Strange made a good choice with you."

"Thanks. I hope I don't disappoint you guys.

"I don't think that'll happen, that I assure you."

Chat Noir sighed happily and looked at Queen Bee, whose green eyes shone under her mask, reflecting the city lights as the girl watched her with a pleased look, which gave her an almost angelic look.

Chat Noir stared at Queen Bee for a few seconds, completely enthralled by the heroine's appearance, which he didn't realize until Queen Bee turned her gaze to him.

"Is something wrong?" Queen Bee asked.

"Huh... Oh!... N-no... nothing, everything is fine..." Chat Noir stuttered.

Queen Bee noticed the blush on Chat Noir's cheeks as he looked distractedly and nervously to the side, which made her heart skip a beat and smile widely.

"Thanks." Queen Bee said suddenly.

"Uh... why?" Asked Chat Noir surprised.

"The compliment." Queen Bee said as she pointed to her face. "I didn't know I was pretty enough as to make the most cunning hero in Paris blush."

"N-no... it's not that...! I mean, i-it's not that you're not pretty...! Ugh! You're just messing with me, isn't it?"

"Not at all..."

With that said, and following a rush of courage, Queen Bee leaned in and gave Chat Noir a quick kiss on the cheek, causing both of them to blush deeply, leaving the hero frozen for a moment as Queen Bee smiled.

"W-why was that...?" Chat Noir asked. "I mean... i-it's not that it was bad n-nor that I didn't like it... it's just... I'm surprised..."

"Because I owed you that." Said Queen Bee. "You've done a lot for me and I wanted to show you how much I appreciate you..."

At that moment, Queen Bee turned her back on Chat Noir and sighed deeply.

"And it's also because I've got a crush on you..." Queen Bee said suddenly. "I know you got one on Ladybug but... I think that although she's a good friend, she doesn't appreciate you as much as you deserve. Just that... I gotta go."

Chat Noir tried to stop Queen Bee so he could talk to her more, but she was quicker and managed to jump before swinging away with her spinning top, leaving the cat-themed hero with the word in his mouth as he unconsciously moved a hand to the cheek where Queen Bee had kissed him.

As he watched Queen Bee swing away, Chat Noir could swear he heard her let out a euphoric yell, which left him thinking about both the girl's words and her actions, as well as her appearance, which reminded him of a friend of his from his civilian life.

"Is she...?" Said Chat Noir. "No... it's impossible... right?"

Chat Noir sighed heavily and leaned on the railing again, looking at the city and pondering over several things, mainly Queen Bee's kiss, her words, the feelings both had caused him, and also Ladybug and his own feelings for her, coming to a single conclusion.

"My life just got a whole lot more complicated..." Chat Noir sighed.