"Give me a buzz, alright?" There was something nearly gentle about the softening of his bright green eyes and the emotion flickering to life within them.
Queen Bee could not resist a giddy smile though was careful to not bounce around in front of the others, "Of course, I will."
Her sparkling blue eyes met his head on, and she couldn't resist letting her smile grow in genuine affection.
This moment was nearly like all of her dreams rolled up into one and yet so different; none of her dreams involved Cat Noir asking her out or even her knowing his identity, but something beneath the surface sparked like her old bunched up dreams, almost like pages of a diary fluttering away, becoming the reality that she'd only hoped for before.
His answering smile was much more than a dream to her; it was its own melody, its own joy, its own candlelight, and its own Summer day.
Cat Noir, no the boy behind the mask, Adrien, was just as excited as she was, and that lit the flame much more inside of her than anything else ever had.
Suddenly Queen Bee wished for the intensity, the brilliance, to rock on her heels and press a quick kiss to his lips; a reminder and a sign of all of her dreams wrapped up in a big, pretty bundle.
She couldn't, not yet anyway, because if Adrien was anything, he was a romantic; he'd love their first kiss may be after their first date, gentle and slow, innocent.
Queen Bee loved the thought, but more importantly, the girl behind the mask loved it even more, practically danced in a big bundle of joy, and yet she knows to keep her composure even if not always she has.
She's Queen Bee right now, and Queen Bee is a lady, a heroine, and definitely not one to look like she's gloating; Queen Bee handles winning an Akuma battle with ease, poise, and a slightly dry tone.
Chloe may be behind the mask, but she isn't one anymore to deliberately rub salt in someone's wounds when her life switches and changes.
Ladybug may or may not know what she's lost, but Queen Bee is going to be a lady, and a lady is much more than a gloat.
Her smile is sweet, and nothing like the Queen Bee that's immovable like stone sometimes, nothing like her dry humor that slips out sometimes, unbidden, but it's everything like the woman inside who's world has become sunny, became bright and vibrant, and so full of the love that she's always reached for, never yet succeeding until now.
Queen Bee loves Cat Noir with all that is left inside of her, loves him perhaps more than she's ever came to love anyone, and that love grows under his loving attention as if it had a life of its own.
He's her better half, and she knows it like she knows that the world will spin tomorrow, will spin in an hour even, may be not make a full rotation, but work towards it; she knows it with a surety that doesn't seem to ever want to fade.
Queen Bee wants to grow, to become better, to always look towards the bright side that may sometimes flicker out of reach, and she wants to do all of this by his side.
It's a date, he promised, and yet she practically feels as if he could propose to her tomorrow, and she'd say, 'yes.'
Cat Noir has wormed his way into her heart with every fiber of his being, first as a civilian, second as a hero, and third as the mentor that never gave up on her.
Queen Bee knows Cat Noir, but she knows her own heart even better, knows each fluttering beat, each joyous song, each playful lilt; she knows the way she feels.
She loves her superhero partner with a ferocity that she may have never guessed before, with a ferocity befitting of everything she sets out to do.
Queen Bee just hopes that she'll be the bright light when the storm flickers, that something in her is enough for him to keep trudging on by her side, that everything that she is, as imperfect as it is, is enough for him, enough to be a part to keep them strong.
It's one date, but her answer feels like fate, feels like so much more, because to her, she'd always give him another chance, always reach out and hold on.
He could ask her for eternity, and she'd hand it to him almost without thought, almost without really thinking about it, and may be it isn't much, but she likes to believe it is.
By his side, she can grow, gain the wings of a true loving heart, and by his side, she's willing to try.
She doesn't say, 'I love you,' but she feels it even as she turns away to go home.