The Honey to your Cheese

Two Days

It was Barry's fifth day-after-birthday, and like all bees who had spent more than 120 hours just working his ass off for honey, he was tired. He was an adult now, work life was getting to him and at his age, no one even bothered coming to celebrate with him. 

In fact, his parents had died two days before. Barry was done. 

And so, he decided to take things into his own hands. He would treat himself to a little, not really authorized, vacation. 

Before leaving his comfortable apartment, Barry packed his favorite shirt- the yellow one, with the black stripes. It still smelled like the fresh honey detergent he had washed it with two days prior, and Barry couldn't help but feel exited about the trip. 

After drinking his last cup of warm nectar, he went off. 

The morning breeze felt amazing on his skin as he flew through the blue sky. Barry first snuck by the flower field where workers collected the precious pollen, and continued his journey. He flew past the beach, and he could even make out the tall buildings of the close-by city as he made his way through a dense forest. 

The sun was high up in the sky by the time he made it to the outskirts of the city. Flying further into the city, of course, came with a lot of struggles. Barry had to attentively avoid being swatted at by annoying humans. One of the smaller ones even almost managed to make him lose his luggage, with its damn paws creating air flow strong enough to make him almost lose balance.

By late afternoon, he found a nice tree near the center of the bustling metropolis where he could spend the night. Once the sun set, the city started to light up. One building after another. But even though the sparkling lights captivated Barry, he still managed to catch a glimpse at a small critter scuttling across the dirty right across from his tree. 

"Hey, hey! Did you hear about Biggie's concert tonight?"

"Yes yes!! I can't wait...", Barry faintly heard. 

'Biggie, huh. Doesn't sound familiar... but a concert...', he thought to himself. Considering that it was his birthday, he decided to just go for it- check out this artist, and have some fun. One doesn't turn 5 days old every day, after all. 

Barry carefully flew towards the faint music. As he slowly stalked closer, he could hear the music increasing in volume. The deep bass was mixed with rather symphonic melodies, and amongst these different tones, a rough, deep voice just seemed to glide across the air. 

There he was. Biggie Cheese. Barry decided then and there that exploring a bit and coming to the concert was the best decision he had made thus far in his short life. Biggie Cheese, the man with a glorious and confident stage presence, and a deep, velvety voice. 

The concert went on all evening. Different artists performed as well, but no one came even close to Biggie. The moon was already high up in the night sky when the last notes faded and Barry finally, with the last few shots of pure honey he had brought with him, managed to muster the courage to approach Biggie Cheese, the man, no, rat, of his dreams. 

"B-biggie- wait!", he stuttered, as he clumsily stumbled upon the grey rat. 

"Can I help you?", Biggie grinned back. 

"I jus...wanted to say, I like your voice... and your fur is rea..llyyyy prettyyyyyyyy...", Barry slurred. 

Deciding that the small Bee beside him had drank too much, Biggie offered his rather large paw and escorted Barry to a nearby tree. Having taken a strange liking to the odd male, Biggie waited by his side until he sobered up, fighting off the occasional rat who'd decided that he was a perfect target to seduce and hook up with. 

Around half an hour later, the effects of the honey passed off, and Barry was able to finally introduce himself, and apologize for his drunken behavior. To his surprise, Biggie told him that he had simply found it charming. He had never seen a bee up close before, and he didn't expect them to be this cute. And so, the two lovebees sat together, watching the twinkling stars of the deep royal blue night sky. 

On the next morning, Barry woke up with a strange creature between his arms and an odd feeling in his heart. And then he remembered, the conversation of the night before and the time spent together in the moonlight. Furiously blushing, he gently woke Barry. 

"Barry, Barry- wake up- come on, Imma go show you around the city, and we can go eat some cheese for breakfast, it's on me", he softly spoke. 

Still half asleep, Barry rubbed his eyes. "I've never had cheese before", he replied. 

Almost offended, Biggie took it upon himself to introduce Barry to one of his favorite culinary delicacy. Together, they explored the big city. Ran, and alternatively flew, through parks and alleyways. When Barry's wings got tired, Biggie gave him piggyback, or rather, ratback rides. 

As the sun was about to set, Barry couldn't help but feel like he had to get something off of his chest. "Biggie", he whispered, "I have to tell you something... I don't know what this feeling is, do you think it's love?" 

"What is love", Biggie replied, "All I know is that I feel the same way. Barry, do you want to be my bee in crime, forever?"

"Yes!", Barry was overjoyed. 

Life was good. Barry and Biggie were a freshly married couple, but there was one thing they had forgotten. Or rather, Barry had refused to think about it. 

As his sixth day neared the end, he could feel himself become weaker and weaker. Biggie held onto him, and tried to comfort him when coughing fits would shake Barry to the core. Slowly, the moon climbed into the night sky. The two lovers held each other in their arms as a shooting star passed by, and Barry took his last breath. 

Bees are not immortal. 

Barry had left Biggie behind. Tears dripped down the rat's cheek as he held his lover's cold body in his paws. He watched the shooting star passing by, and made his last and final wish. 

"Barry... I promise you, I will see you again soon. I just have this last thing to do, please wait for me my love", and so,  Biggie took off on his last errand.

Frantically, he searched for the closest pizza shop. And finally, there it was!! A little Ceasar's! He wasted no time in sneaking in and stealing a slice of pepperoni pizza. It would be his ultimate gift to Barry in the afterlife, his favorite food. 

It had taken a lot of energy to drag the large slice back to the tree where Barry was already waiting. Delirious from exhaustion, Biggie Cheese, the rising superstar, carried his lover and his slice of pizza to a nearby pond. And wasting no time, he plunged into the deep waters, taking everything he loved with him, or rather, embarking on the journey of reuniting with them. 

The End

In the afterlife: 

Barry: "I'M VEGAN, WHY'RE YOU CHEATING ON ME, WHAT IS THIS"

[A/N: Btw I have watched the bee movie once, years ago, and I don't know who Biggie Cheese is, I just saw him somewhere a while ago (probably instagram) and I couldn't help but get inspired. Also, there is a song called Biggie Cheese by Kittyscratch and it's pretty nice, so check it out!]