“Do you want to get so broken you can’t be fixed again? Why do you keep provoking me?”
“Hic… Hani, not so rough… haaah!”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you. Just don’t blame me later.”
Hurel roughly shoved the honeybee to the ground and moved to force his knees apart with brutal hands—but a sharp pain jolted through one of his legs, snapping him back to his senses.
Staring down at the sobbing bee, thrown carelessly into the grass, the spider bit into the soft inner lining of his own mouth with a venomous fang, trying desperately to contain the wild, raging emotions threatening to explode.
“Bee-Bee, I…”
“Hic… sniff, Hani… nghh…”
“…I’m sorry. It’s just… my leg! It hurts—suddenly—it really hurts. I’m sorry.”
“Sniff… yeah, okay…”
Something about it didn’t quite feel right. But as Hurel scooped him up into his arms again, hugging him tight and pressing their lips together, Blaine could only nod and wipe his tears away with a trembling fist.
His leg hurts… What do I do? Poor thing… This is serious.
“I was supposed to say it first… You totally beat me to it.”
“…I was going to say it too.”
“Heh, really? Then I guess we’re in sync.”
The bee, still sniffling and pouting through his tears, looked so adorably grumpy that the spider couldn’t help but smile helplessly. Kissing him sweetly, without a trace of earlier aggression, Hurel’s hand slipped beneath the bee’s shirt and gently massaged his chest. Blaine let out a moan of delight, his face melting in bliss as he grabbed Hurel’s wrist.
“I didn’t get to touch you much while we were apart. It must’ve been tough, huh?”
“W-What are you…? No, it wasn’t…! Aah!”
What kind of bee do you think I am?! Like I can’t go a day without having my chest groped? Blaine screamed silently inside, trying to deny it with all his might—but Hurel ignored him completely, cooing: “That’s okay. I’ll make up for lost time and give you plenty of attention today. And down here, too. I’ll lick it all I want to make up for everything I missed—until it swells up nice and fat.”
“Don’t—! Ahhh! Hngh!”
“Mmm, Bee-Bee, I love you.”
“Aahh, I… I love you too… Hani…”
At this point, Blaine didn’t know whether he was holding the hand that pulled him from heaven—or the one that dragged him into hell.
All he knew was that once this had begun, he couldn’t stop it—not of his own will. He had kicked and screamed, saying no so many times, but in the end… he was the one who stripped off his pants, spread his legs, and begged to be licked. Realizing his own pitiful position, the honeybee was forced to confront the reality of who he had become—yet again.
***
It wasn’t easy leading a large migration of weakened honeybees. But they couldn’t very well stay in the burned-out wreckage of the hive either. Just when Blaine was running around in anxious circles, the heavens finally offered mercy—a few fat raindrops began to fall.
Smoke still rose from the rubble of the collapsed base, sending waves of heat in their direction. But soon the heavier rain cooled their scorched skin.
Worried sick about Hurel, who had been left beneath the old tree because he could barely move, Blaine quickened his pace. His ankle still ached faintly, but to the eye, it looked fully healed.
“Hani!”
“Bee-Bee, why are you running? Your body hasn’t fully healed yet.”
A mouse worrying over a cat—that’s what this felt like. Hurel, with his legs bound tightly below the knee using tough leaves and silk, looked paler than before, likely from the cold dew soaking into him.
Blaine laid down a thick mat woven from twigs, leaves, and fruit skins, then helped the spider sit atop it and wrapped him in a blanket. Wanting to share even a little more warmth, Blaine rubbed Hurel’s damp, chilled cheeks—smooth as mushrooms—with his rough palms.
“Your lips are turning blue.”
“I wish you’d warm me up.”
Even shivering like a sick man, Hurel managed a sly remark—and his eyes widened in surprise the moment Blaine cupped his cheeks and began rubbing his lips all over his.
“Haha… Bee-Bee…”
Well, I guess even a half-dead patient can pull that off, huh? Hurel chuckled helplessly. But when Blaine saw him smiling through that deathly pale face, he looked on with eyes full of sorrow, as if he were staring at an injured, dying chick.
“Are you still cold, Hani? I’m sorry—I should’ve brought another blanket, but there are so many injured over there…”
“Of course I understand. Don’t worry about me—go take care of your comrades, Bee-Bee.”
Naturally, if Blaine had taken him up on that offer and said, “Alright! I’ll go check on everyone!”, he would’ve ended up a voiceless, wingless honeybee. Thankfully, the lucky bee who still had all his body parts shook his head with a troubled expression.
“You’re freezing… I can’t just leave you like this.”
Hurel smiled faintly, but suddenly, he grabbed Blaine’s wrist and gasped. The bee had slid an ice-cold hand under his shirt to warm him with his own body heat.
Of course, the spider didn’t show it on his face—he was a professional, after all. That pathetic, world-weary smile nearly twisted into a grimace, but he held it in.
“Bee-Bee.”
“Mm? Yeah!”
“Thank you… I really do feel a little warmer now.”
“Thank goodness. Haaah!”
With the fakest innocent face, Hurel shamelessly massaged Blaine’s plush, soft chest to his heart’s content—for a long, long while.
“Hani… There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Mm…”
Curled up in the warm, soft comfort of the bee’s embrace, feeling his body relax, Hurel looked drowsy. His eyes blinked slowly, heavy with sleep, and the hands kneading Blaine’s chest now moved far more gently. Blaine pulled him in closer and took on a serious expression.
A face filled with inner conflict but firm determination. With a look of resolute clarity, Blaine slowly opened his mouth.
“I… I’m thinking I won’t go back to the Hive.”
“……”
The spider, too busy groping and nodding off, didn’t seem to register the words. He simply nodded absentmindedly.
…Wait. What?
“…What did you say?”
“The Queen has passed, and the damage is serious… but it’s not like the colony was completely wiped out. We can find a new place and rebuild.”
Blaine glanced sadly at the spider’s injured legs draped across his lap. We bees are warriors—we never give up. No matter what challenges come, we’ll survive. That wasn’t just optimism; it was the unwavering trust built with his comrades.
But Hurel… Blaine couldn’t imagine him being alone. Just as Blaine had realized he couldn’t live without Hurel, the spider now felt like he couldn’t live without Blaine. With his injured legs, what could he do on his own?
No—he had to stay by his side.
“Bee-Bee, but that’s…”
“Maybe… this is how it was always meant to be.”
When Blaine lost his stinger, it felt like his world had ended. He’d cursed the heavens, wondering why something so cruel had happened to him. But maybe… it had all happened for this. So he could be here now—with Hurel.
Smiling with a calm so steady it seemed carved from stone, Blaine looked at Hurel with eyes full of love.
“What…?”
Did this honeybee just say fate brought us together? That I’m his destiny or something?
—Well, he’s not wrong, but still.
The spider, who always considered himself emotionally steady, was feeling something brand new. He couldn’t quite explain what it was—but it didn’t feel bad at all.
“…Haah. Bee-Bee… just what are you?”
