Work Text:
Barry is a small bumblebee who has fallen in love with a human. But, the human he is in love with doesn’t love him back. Instead, whenever Barry flies near the human leaves! Sometimes even swats at him! Just like everyone else…
Barry is so sad, because all he wants to do is be near the human for a little while. He knows that the months of hot weather suitable for him won’t last long before the cold comes. The cold which lasts much longer. Barry may not survive the winter. You never know, when you’re a bee. He just wants to be close to the one he loves for a little while before that uncertainty becomes a reality.
So, Barry is determined! He visits every day, despite always being met with the same results. And one day he brings an actual, though very small, flower for the human. Barry is proud of himself, because he’s never tried to carry a flower before and though it’s small it’s also heavy to him. But, he’s sure that his human will like it and be so proud of Barry in return!
But, no…Barry’s beloved gives an annoyed growl and swats at Barry, causing him to fly a little off course so that he doesn’t fall, though he was very close to being stunned that time, and he drops the flower on the ground.
He flies to it, thinking perhaps this can still be salvaged, maybe if he just tries again…
But, it’s not to be, because the flower has been crushed somehow. Perhaps beneath his human’s heavy boot. In fact, he’s sure of it because Barry has to fly quickly to avoid that boot himself.
Was that deliberate? Did his beloved human try to kill him, just now?
No, he can’t let himself believe that. It’s a misunderstanding.
But, he mourns the loss of the little flower. The one gift he’d managed to try to bring to his human, crushed on the ground and destroyed.
Still, he is not deterred and he tries to visit the next day, though it’s windy and rainy but the human isn’t outside today.
Barry feels so incredibly heartbroken…he only has so many days left. But, the rain is weighing him down, the wind knocking him off course, and the cold making him a little sluggish. He falls and lands on the ground, feeling sort of like he does when he’s been stunned. Except he’s aware and he feels so tired.
Had he miscalculated? Had he stayed out too long? That happens to bees sometimes, the cold comes to stay early and they get caught outside, freeze to the ground, unable to move.
If that’s the case, Barry’s alright with it, but his one regret is that his human hadn’t been outside today. He wished he could get a glimpse of his beautiful beloved one more time.
And no one told him that the freeze would be so painful while stuck outside. It hurts so much and he cries out with it.
Cries out?
Suddenly he hears a sound to his left and he manages to turn his head just slightly to see what it was.
His human! His beloved human opened his door and stepped outside! Oh, he does get one more glimpse! He’s so happy he feels wetness on his cheeks that’s too warm to be the rain.
“Jesus, kid, what happened to you?” his human asks, looking with wide-eyed horror down at Barry.
“Lisa! Get some coffee started.” His human always had such a beautiful voice and Barry would smile if his body wasn’t aching so much.
His human stepped back inside and Barry is a little disappointed, but he tells himself it’s fine. He got his wish, he got to see his human one more time.
But then his beloved is stepping outside again, feet in slippers instead of boots, and he puts something warm around Barry and lifts him up into his arms.
Lifts him up?
“Hey…kid, snap out of it. I need you to tell me what happened,” his human insists, concern in his voice as he carries Barry inside and kicks the door closed.
Barry looks down at himself. Since when does he have arms and legs like this? Skin like that?
“Oh my God, Lenny, is he naked under that blanket??”
“Yes, Lisa, just…get the coffee. I want something warm in him as soon as possible,” his human replies as he sets Barry on the couch.
“He’s wet!” Lisa laments.
Not just wet…he’s human, too! But, how?
“Lisa…not the problem right now.” His human has such beautiful eyes. But, now his human is pulling away and Barry’s eyes widen and he reaches out to grab his beloved’s wrist.
“I’m just gonna get you some clothes…” his human says, such a reassuring tone.
Barry shakes his head. He just wants his human to sit with him. He doesn’t care how this happened, it happened. Or maybe it’s heaven and he gets something nice there. Whatever the case, he doesn’t want his beloved to go…
“I’ll get him something from your room,” Lisa replies, quietly, as she brings a cup with steam coming off of it over and sets it on the coffee table before leaving the room herself.
“Thanks, Lise.”
Barry feels that warm wetness on his cheeks again.
“Shhh. Here, drink this. Careful, it’s hot…”