When Le Paón first shows up (mid fight, no less), Chloé dislikes him immediately. At first it's the fact that she is extremely attracted to him from the get go - like, open mouthed staring attracted (she really needs to do something about this newfound redhead thing; they're on Easter break and she hasn't seen Nathanael for almost a week so maybe she's a bit desensitized). But then it's the smirks and the flirting and oh god what is this.
It's not Chat Noir flirting. No, the pretty bird is much more subtle than that; it's all coy little smiles and quiet, clever quips that leave her speechless more often than not. It's casual, feather light touches against her lower back when he passes, it's lustful glances through his midnight coloured mask, it's the way the fucker licks his lips and then has the nerve to smirk at her when she catches him staring at her ass (not that she hasn't been staring at his, but at least she has the decency to not get caught).
The rest of the team seems to take him on surprisingly quickly, because of course he's also the perfect blend of competent, friendly and funny - to everyone else at least, and it's driving her insane.
She's on whatsapp with Nathanael - it seems all the redheads are out to get her, because he's been teasing her with a new Queen Bee piece for days and it looks amazing - when one of the many news apps she now has on her phone informs her of an akuma downtown. It doesn't seem very serious, and she almost considers skipping it altogether until she remembers Chat's out of town. Cursing herself and her recently acquired conscience, she types a quick "gtg sorry" before waking Pollen from her afternoon nap in the puffy little bed she'd had customized for her. Both are more than grumpy to be interrupted, resulting in a (more than usual) testy Queen Bee when she arrives at the scene after a few minutes. Ladybug is the only one there for the time being, and she nods in acknowledgment when she throws her a smile; they make quick work of the akuma - vixen shows up, halfway through the fight, and between the three of them the tame shopkeeper is back to her usual, non-evil state.
LB is purifying the little butterfly and she turns around to leave with a wave to the other two, only to come face to face with the freaking peacock. She takes a faltering step back and he steadies her by the elbow for the briefest of seconds; both their suits are in the way of direct contact, and yet her skin burns. She scowls to hide it away, raising an eyebrow at him. "Nice of you to grace us with your presence, bird."
His collected smile doesn't waver in the slightest, and he keeps his eyes on her even as he waves his hand around to indicate the lack of commotion. "Seems like you girls had it covered."
She rolls her eyes, taking the cue to break their much too intense gaze. "Of course we did. What, you weren't in the mood to ruffle your feathers?"
His eyes twinkle with mischief and he tilts his head in her direction, crossing his arms over his chest firmly (Chloé does not check out all the nice things that does for his biceps). "Actually, I was finishing something for a friend. She can get very testy when things don't go her way." He chuckles fondly, and something in Chloé's stomach sinks a little bit; it's more than a little ridiculous, and she clears her throat before sidestepping him. "Well, perhaps you should consider that akumas might have to come first over some spoiled friend of yours."
She gets a full-blown laugh at that, and then his hand is covering hers; she looks back to find a soft smile on his face, one that's oddly familiar even though it doesn't match the behaviour he shows her at all. He squeezes her hand lightly, his other one clutching his fan. "Can I show you something?"
His eyes are twinkling again; she finds herself nodding. The next thing she knows they're on a secluded rooftop of an abandoned church, from where she can see the sun beginning to set. She wonders briefly if anyone even noticed she was gone, but then she's turning back around to face him and her breath hitches, all other thoughts gone from her mind; the golden pink hues of the sky have turned him into an ethereal being, and she can't help but to be mesmerized. His smile is getting too wide though, so she crosses her arms and cocks her hip to the side, raising an eyebrow disdainfully. "Well? I don't have all day, Red."
His smile is still peaceful, and he takes a step forward until she can feel his words on her skin; he smells way too nice. "I want you to know who I am."
Her immediate reaction is to let out a disbelieving laugh. When he holds his ground, though, even as she blinks at him several times to give him the chance to take it back, she grows wary. "You can't possibly be serious. Ladybug has specifically said that-"
He raises both eyebrows at her, interrupting her softly but firmly. "Oh? And here I thought a Queen didn't let anyone rule over her."
A few moments pass between them before she narrows her eyes at him, trying to catch him out in what must be a bluff. "Fine. But if you think knowing who you are is gonna change the way I respond to your-"
She doesn't get a chance to finish this time either, because as soon as the word fine leaves her lips the peacock themed superhero is enveloped in blue light, and before her now stands Nathanael Kurtzberg.
Chloe stares.
She stares for a long time, until his soft smile widens into a smirk and then graduates into a chuckle. "I'm sorry, Chloé. I had this whole thing planned with the drawing, but..." His eyes sparkle from behind his long lashes, and she wonders how she never saw it before, considering how much she loves it when he looks at her like that in the halls of the college. "I knew that if I let you call yourself a "spoiled friend" a second time you might have not let me do this."
"Do what?" She squeaks out, still in shock, which doesn't really get any better when he pulls her close and presses his lips to hers.
The next morning is the first day back at school and the drawing is in her locker as promised (even though she races to the school half an hour before the bell is set to ring); Queen Bee isn't alone in this one, though. She tries to control her grin (and her blush) when she looks at the way he's managed to capture her reaction to his appearance so perfectly - it's a complete throwback to that exact second, and for a moment she spaces out so much that she doesn't even notice there's a second sheet of paper.
It's a much rougher sketch, and it's not even coloured, but it makes her heart race anyway - he drew their kiss (well, the first one anyway , since Chloé didn't really stay in shock for much longer after that), simple and elegant lines converging so that she can't even tell where she ends and he begins, and it brings forth all the pleasant little voices in her head that wouldn't even let her sleep last night when they finally parted and she went to bed with swollen lips and a full heart.
She loses the fight to her now blinding grin when she sees he's left her a little note again, just underneath the shadowed edge of the rooftop.
I do love spoiling you, my Queen.
