"Bee amazing." Adrien spoke to her softly, and his emerald green eyes gave her pause.
It was like this weight that she never realized she had fell down her shoulders, one heavy brick at a time, and relieved her of its burden.
She's not the sort to admit to nerves or her own weaknesses; she's too proud and headstrong to let others in and realize how weak she can be at times.
Locking eyes with Adrien reaffirmed her own sense of confidence, because with him, she'd never really had to pretend; he always saw through her bravado, through her lies, and to the girl, now woman, underneath.
Chloe took a deep breath, "I don't doubt that I will bee." And if she held that 'e' a little longer than normal, she made no indication of it; she'd do a hundred things over for Adrien, the least of which is letting the occasional pun slip out right when she felt like he should hear it.
Adrien's award winning smile in that moment, as if her pun left his heart soaring, melted a long iced over part of herself that he was often prone to melting regardless, "You're Queen Bee, one of the most amazing women that I know, you'll do great." His voice naturally dropped to a soft murmur, not at all heard by anyone but them since the noise of the crowd surrounding the court room drowned the two of them out easily.
She couldn't help throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him, quickly yet enthusiastically, half ignoring the judge that was entering the court room's throat clearing.
Chloe took a second to channel her inner bee and walked confidently into the court room: the best lawyer in all of Paris, something she'd worked towards, and surely would have under her finely trimmed nails when she won her case, and something, both similar to her father's career, and vastly different.
As a lawyer, she felt powerful, felt dignified, and definitely felt her father's old influences steer her in the right direction; as a lawyer, she had to have a way with words. An argument became weak if spoken incorrectly after all.
This was the most important case of her life so far, and she was determined to win; old nerves dulled to faint embers in her chest as an energy that almost rivaled Queen Bee's rose up in her chest, and she couldn't help her slight smile down at her pretty engagement ring.
For her, Adrien was her hidden pool of strength: one that made her laugh, made her almost feel like crying over his puns on some days when it felt more excessive than ever, made her sometimes mad with his kindness, and was more than a pretty face could ever be to her.
When she was younger, she couldn't articulate why she loved him so much, couldn't explain more than they were friends for as long as they could remember, and that he was the cutest boy she knew; now, she knows her own heart a little better.
He's the only one that fully sees through her mask, not just as Queen Bee,and he gives her a reason to believe in the world that once abandoned her; he's more reasons to move on over her heartache from when her mother left, enough to remind her that there is more than her father's wealth and fame to cling to her, enough to give her the added knowledge and strength as Queen Bee.
She loves Pollen as much as they sometimes bicker, as much as they have to be close, but it doesn't quite compare to her love of Adrien that burns brighter than any flame that she's ever faced; Pollen is a sister, a best friend, a confidant, and sometimes the best counselor that she's ever had.
Adrien is to her a love that never seems capable of fading or burning out though may always require more effort than her heart sometimes feels it can take; Adrien loves the world in a kind of easy way that Chloe can't quite master, and through that, he always encourages her kind heart to show more, for her to let others in.
He's her oldest friend, her oldest confidant, and while he hasn't stepped in the close proximity of Pollen to her, he's so much more than the world can offer her regardless.
She'd feel incomplete without Pollen, without Adrien, she'd be at a loss.
Chloe stands tall, delivers her argument, defends the man that she came here to defend, loves the fact that Pollen's tiny paw gives her an added boost of confidence.
She doesn't cheer when she wins the case, just lets a small, confident smile peek out of her lips, talks to the man that she won the case for, and when she leaves, if there is an extra boost of confidence and joy that no smug reporter can take off her face, it's hard to tell past her mask of calm confidence.
Chloe knows that Adrien sees the light in her blue eyes, like a lighthouse becoming a beacon to lost sailors at sea, and she knows that Adrien knows what the exact curve of her smile means at the moment; he knows her better than anyone else other than Pollen after all.
Her arm stays looped over Adrien's, and she can't help the thought that she'd definitely been amazing today; she feels that confidence like a balloon trying to burst forth from her stomach to her chest to her throat. She feels like singing, but doesn't dare open her mouth; it's not respectful to boast after all.
She'll keep her pride on the down low until she's alone with her fiance and can't keep that dam from bursting anymore.
Her own luck happens to come in the confidence of a black cat and the small body of a bee Kwami; they're all she needs to power through court case after court case when she's barely keeping her eyes open working through composing arguments, speaking with clients, balancing many cases.
She loves her work though, loves the thrill of winning a case especially an important one; it's worth more than the cash to feel this level of pride, of boosted confidence, and yet so much more.
It's the closest that she's ever came to finding something in her civilian life that reflects herself as Queen Bee after an Akuma fight, and she refuses to break down this joy; she rides on the adrenaline high, the tense moments in court when she's unsure if she'll win despite her confidence, the joy of winning that swells like pride in her chest.
She's Queen Bee through and through; it's been long enough in her life that she can't even hope to escape from her alternate persona, and it only grows more intense with each passing day.
Queen Bee feels the steady pressure of Chloe Bourgeois as well; they've blended and meshed over time.
It's a wonder that no one notices how every so often, something more than a little hint of who they are slip by past a mask.
Still she can never forget the high of being a superheroine, of rising to the challenge, and she knows that she's never been the sort to take a challenge laying down.