Blaine squeezed his eyes shut and hurled himself out of the hole like a diver making a blind leap. But instead of that stomach-churning feeling of falling, it was a dull, aching soreness in his wings that hit him. Fortunately, his wings—slightly larger than the size of a human palm—seemed strong enough to carry the weight of two full-grown insects.
But unfortunately, Blaine didn’t have a moment to breathe in relief.
The collapsing wasp base flipped upside down in an instant, and the honeybee that had barely managed to stay airborne began plummeting at terrifying speed. He beat his wings with every ounce of strength he had left, but it wasn’t enough. In that brief moment, Blaine was overwhelmed by a dizzying sense of despair—and instinctively wrapped his arms tighter around the creature in his arms to shield him from the impending impact.
“Guhk…!”
But the expected jolt never came. Instead, it felt like his insides flipped as if being rearranged, and a wave of nausea surged up his throat. His breath caught, and he involuntarily let out a choked groan as dread pressed down on him. Hesitating in fear, the honeybee slowly opened his eyes.
The first thought that crossed his mind: the air felt heavy. The ground seemed to be pulling him down as if trying to suck him in. Then, the body clinging to him as if they were one being began to grope at his waist and tightened its arms around him, lifting him gently.
It was only then that Blaine realized they were dangling by a single thin thread of spider silk—swaying precariously from the massive old tree beside the wasp base.
“Bee-Bee, are you okay?!”
“I-I’m fine… Are you hurt anywhere?”
Just as Hurel responded with a strangely crooked smile and parted his lips to answer, a sharp, ominous crack echoed from the branch holding the thread.
The next second, both of their bodies dropped.
“Ah…!”
Blaine yanked Hurel tightly into his arms and gritted his teeth as a brutal shock struck his back. It felt like someone was banging a gong inside his skull, celebrating a festival—his whole body rang with pain as the sting in his back spread rapidly through his fingertips.
“H-Hani, Hani! Are you okay?!”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
Thankfully, since Blaine had fallen on his back while clutching him close, not even a scratch had marred the spider’s delicate skin. Blaine let out a deep sigh of relief from the bottom of his lungs and groaned as he forced his aching body upright. The spider, unable to fully stretch one of his legs, staggered and helped him up.
“Hani…”
Leaning against the tree for stability, Blaine finally took a proper look at Hurel’s condition. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. A glassy sheen formed over Blaine’s pale blue eyes, and in the next instant, the dam broke.
“Huwaaa—Haniii! Huuuuhh! Wahh!”
“Bee…”
Like a broken machine spinning out of control, Blaine burst into uncontrollable sobs, grabbing the spider’s smooth, tender cheeks and frantically smothering him with kisses. Hurel had been about to say something, concerned by the sudden outpouring of tears—but the moment he opened his mouth, Blaine sealed it with his lips.
“Haniii, huuuuh…”
How could anyone possibly describe this overwhelming flood of emotions? Shock, fear, relief, sorrow, frustration—all of it surged up at once, flooding out of his body in the form of tears. He couldn’t stay still. Blaine, like a creature driven half-mad, rubbed and pressed his lips against Hurel’s soft eyelids, his small, pointed nose, his cheeks smooth like kneaded milk dough, and his plump lips. The warmth transferred through the sensitive skin of their lips soothed him, like waves crashing against the walls of a glass cup, calming his frayed nerves just a little.
“Hani… Hic, sniff… Kkhuh…! Hic!”
“Oh, Bee-Bee…”
Gently, sweetly, Hurel pressed his red lips against Blaine’s trembling pink ones, coaxing him as if scolding a child who cried too much. He wrapped an arm around Blaine’s shoulders, patting him softly while suckling gently on his damp lower lip. Blaine, still panting, parted his lips instinctively, as if to accept Hurel’s tongue.
BOOOM!
A deafening roar split the air. The completely charred wasp base finally collapsed. Blaine flinched and started to scramble to his feet, but Hurel gripped his shoulders tightly, forcing him back down as he pressed their lips together once more and turned Blaine’s face back toward him.
“T-The Queen…”
“Shhh, Bee-Bee. Look at me.”
“But… mmph…!”
“Open your lips wider. That’s it. Good boy, such a good boy.”
Those elegant fingers traced down the nape of Blaine’s neck, moving fluidly like a musician playing a fine instrument, gently stroking the place where his hair met his skin. Again and again, Hurel’s warm, moist lips pressed against his own, and his voice—low, sensual—whispered soothingly in his ear. It was like a spell, draining Blaine of all sense. Enclosed in Hurel’s arms, Blaine could only open his mouth, dazed.
“Mmh…”
“Stick your tongue out a little more… good.”
The acrid smell of smoke was overtaken by the sweet, damp scent of wet wood. That fragrance gradually calmed Blaine’s trembling body. As Hurel licked the saliva dripping from their lips and pressed their tongues together more firmly, Blaine finally went limp, his glassy eyes fluttering faintly.
“All that from just a kiss… Bee-Bee, aren’t you just the cutest thing?”
“Uuah…”
As Hurel pulled him in tighter, Blaine’s groin, swollen and stiff, pressed directly against the spider’s firm abdomen. His face turned beet red, but even so, he made no attempt to pull away. Instead, he pressed in even closer, grinding himself into Hurel’s stomach as he buried his shame-filled face into the spider’s shoulder.
“Bee-Bee saved my life again.”
“Mm… ah, hnn…”
That might’ve been a mistake. With his head nestled in Hurel’s shoulder, the spider had full access to his ear—biting, licking, toying with it as he pleased. Then, just as wickedly, his voice slithered directly into Blaine’s ear in a low whisper that sent his brain fizzing like static.
“Can I say what I didn’t get to say before?”
“Hic…!”
His massive body flinched at the spine-chilling whisper, even deeper than usual. Blushing bright red, defying the laws of nature, Blaine slowly lifted his face from Hurel’s shoulder and locked eyes with him. He traced the spider’s beautiful silver irises, slid down his sculpted nose, and finally stared at the glossy, wet lips that looked so tantalizingly edible.
“Bee-Bee…”
“I like you.”
The spider had just called his name with the most heart-aching expression when his lips froze mid-movement. His silver eyes widened slightly as if unsure what had just happened, and he stared blankly at Blaine, stunned.
“Hani, I like you. If you died… if you weren’t next to me… I don’t think I could take it.”
“Bee-Bee…?”
“I thought I was going to lose you. Just thinking that… it scared me so much… nngh.”
Apparently not done crying, another fresh surge of tears spilled from Blaine’s fierce eyes. With the spider too stunned to respond, Blaine took advantage of the moment to shove his lips against Hurel’s again, crying all the while. These soft, tender lips felt like medicine, soothing his sorrow like nothing else.
“Bee-Bee…”
“-! Huaaah!”
“Haah… What am I supposed to do with you…”
As if mocking the gentleness he’d shown moments ago, Hurel’s fingers dove into Blaine’s shirt with rough urgency. He pinched and twisted the swollen bump on Blaine’s chest—hard.
Caught completely off guard by the intense shock, Blaine couldn’t help it.
He screamed.
