“I really should just give it all up and drag you home right now, tie you up and keep you there. Don’t you think so, Bee-Bee?”
Hurel cooed with a teasing whimper, rubbing his soft cheek against Blaine’s chest like he was begging for attention. Without even needing to touch him, Blaine’s nipples had already perked up—Hurel pinched them between his fingers, gently toying with them as he licked up the white fluid splattered along Blaine’s cleavage with a lazy flick of his tongue. A soft, “Huuuuhng,” answered him. That definitely counted as permission, didn’t it?
“Don’t worry. I’ll pamper you, day and night, every single day.”
I mean, how could I not, when you’re being this precious? After all the effort I put into kneading your chest every day, it’s only right that your nipples get this obedient, isn’t it? He tapped the tender tips with his finger, making the honeybee shiver and stick out his tongue. Blaine’s irises had gone cloudy and unfocused, like he wasn’t even fully conscious anymore.
“…Ah… ugh…”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“…My… stomach… it hurts…”
“Ahh.”
Hurel kissed Blaine’s damp cheek lightly, like it wasn’t a big deal, then slipped between his legs and lowered his head. With his left hand, he spread Blaine open and shoved his right thumb and forefinger deep inside, swirling them around. The desperate moans from above didn’t slow him down in the slightest—cold and methodical, the spider went about his business, digging out the drooping, semi-melted white fluid that could no longer hold a solid shape.
“See this? When will my Bee-Bee finally understand… that he can’t survive without me anymore?”
Flashing a sweet, sunny smile, Hurel tossed the gooey mess aside without a care and scooped Blaine up in his arms with ease. Like he was carrying something he adored, he kissed the honeybee’s tear-streaked eyes—now half-rolled back—and headed for the bathroom.
***
A loud gust of wind howled through a narrow opening somewhere. It was a grating, unpleasant sound—like metal being scraped by sharp stone, or maybe an old door creaking on rusted hinges. Either way, it rudely interrupted the deep, restful sleep Blaine had been enjoying.
Could it be the wind slamming into the window? Still curled up in the soft, cozy bed, Blaine tried his best to ignore the noise. He really didn’t want to wake up. But in the end, he had to blink his eyes open—and what he saw through his blurry vision was… a head of deep green hair, glinting faintly in the dark.
…?
Why the hell was an aphid—who should be fast asleep in his own room by now—sitting right there? Confused, Blaine squirmed, then suddenly gasped. The warm, plush pressure against his chest was explained soon enough: something soft and snug was curled up tightly in his arms. That alone might’ve been a lovely surprise—something to pull closer and drift back into sleep with.
But… the creature wasn’t just nestled against him. It was nestled inside him, too.
The second that realization hit, Blaine’s breath quickened and cold sweat prickled down his back. His stomach felt tight, his body unbearably heavy.
“Blaine…?”
A sniffle came from the guy whose face had been buried in his palms—he slowly peeked up. What the hell?! Why was this bastard crying like a wreck in his room?!
Sure, technically he was the one who offered the place, so if you wanted to nitpick, it was only fair—but barging in here unannounced and crying your heart out in someone else’s bed wasn’t exactly normal.
“You’re awake? Did I wake you up?”
Well, anyway, now that he knew Blaine was up, he’d probably leave soon, right? That gave Blaine a sliver of hope. He was already panicking over how the hell he was supposed to handle the thing still lodged inside him. But just as he was working through those anxious thoughts, his eyes widened in horror—Jin wasn’t leaving at all. In fact, the little aphid rubbed his teary eyes and shuffled even closer to the bed.
“Blaine… sniff …snfghh….”
Why?! Blaine could feel his own nose stinging now, overwhelmed. What the hell was he supposed to do here?! He couldn’t just snap at Jin and kick him out—no matter how badly he wanted to. Desperately, Blaine yanked the blanket higher, covering both of their bodies as best as he could. But the hot, pulsing mess still inside his belly had his mind spinning.
“J-Jin… it’s late. Why are you even—”
Under normal circumstances, Blaine would’ve started with something empathetic like “Why are you crying?” But not this time. He didn’t want this conversation going anywhere. He just wanted it over.
Of course, Jin took it the wrong way. He burst into even louder tears, assuming Blaine’s hesitation was sympathy, and launched into what could only be described as a full-blown sob story.
“Huuuhhh… Blaine, why is my life such a mess? They say tragedies come in threes, but this is just cruel!”
“J-Jin, you’ve really been through a lot! Seriously! But, uh… when things get rough, sometimes it helps to just get some sleep and—”
“Is life always this painful? Do people really live carrying this kind of heartbreak around all the time?!”
Blaine wanted nothing more than to pass out. That deep, existential question hit harder than anything he was ready to deal with. But passing out wasn’t an option—not like this. What if Jin tried to help and pulled back the blanket? Just thinking about that was pure nightmare fuel. So Blaine clenched his teeth, staying fully conscious, and bore the suffering.
“Umm, Jin… you know, when your heart’s heavy, sometimes hanging out with friends and letting loose can—”
“I can’t.”
“What…?”
“Snff, last night… my best friend, Jandice… he died.”
He’d been out all night collecting juice in the forest, trying to feed the kids… then a ladybug… Jin couldn’t even finish the sentence before breaking down into full-on wails.
Blaine, listening to the aphid sob like his soul was being ripped apart, just stared into the void. Why… why me…
“Uuugh…”
Wait—what had Jin said earlier? Something about bad things piling up? Yeah, well, he wasn’t wrong. But did he really need to prove it so damn thoroughly?! Blaine winced at the sound of another whimper—coming not from Jin this time, but from the man still curled in his arms.
No, no, no. Don’t wake up. Please don’t wake up. Please, not now—how can the heavens do this to me?
A million thoughts raced through Blaine’s head in the space of a heartbeat, as he realized—he’d hit rock bottom. All his nerves were on fire. The honeybee was losing it.
“The ants… sniff… When Anthony was still around, this never happened… sniffle…”
Jin’s shoulders trembled with heavy sobs, his big teardrops soaking into the sheets. If Blaine weren’t in such a disastrous state, he probably would’ve reached out to wipe those tears away. But right now? Right now he was the one who felt like bawling.
“J-Jin… I’m really sorry for your loss.”
“Jandice was such a good friend… When everyone made fun of the star-shaped mole on my thigh, he was the only one who—”
Why? Why the hell did he have to sit here and listen to the story of how they’d gone out collecting together, gotten separated from the group, huddled in fear all night to hide from a passing ladybug, formed a sworn brotherhood and protected their friendship ever since…
All while he had a massive spider’s weapon still lodged inside his gut?!
What did I do to deserve this?!
Even as Jin kept rambling on and on, Blaine silently swallowed back a tear.
“Hey, Jin… in that case, instead of just waiting around like this, maybe you should go find out what happened to the ants?”
That was it. That was the setup. Blaine hoped Jin would leap up, determined, shouting “Yes! I’ll figure this out myself!”—and then storm out dramatically. That was the plan.
Naturally, as always these days, Blaine’s hopes were dashed.
“B-Blaine! Then… can you go find out for me?!”
“…What?”
If it weren’t for the thing currently buried inside his body, Blaine would’ve leapt out of bed, screaming What the hell did you just say?!
“You’re traveling, right? So you must hear all kinds of things! Maybe you’ll run into someone who knows what happened to Anthony! Even if it’s cash on delivery, that’s fine—just send a letter, even just to let me know what’s going on—”
“Wait, hold on! Why the hell would I—”
“Please, Blaine! I’ll pay you whatever you want!”
“No need—AAAAAAGH! DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!”
Jin scrambled over to the side of the bed and dropped to his knees with a thud. Blaine almost passed out. He had zero intention of taking on this kind of nightmare. But the aphid in front of him looked absolutely dead-set—he wasn’t leaving until Blaine said yes.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just jump in a river at this point…?
Blaine sincerely considered throwing himself into the Akansia.
