It was a cold winter's night, and Barry was just about to lose any hope of survival when, lo and behold, he saw a small hut in a swamp. Using his remaining energy he zoomed to the door; but by the time he had gotten there he had already fainted from hypothermia. Luckily for the small bee, a certain ogre had heard his buzzing and went to investigate the situation. It was then that Shrek saw a tiny bee on his doorstep, nearly frozen to death, and took him inside.
Barry woke up and felt warmth surrounding him. He took in his surroundings and finally realized just where he was.
Oh no...
His thoughts were interrupted by a jolly green giant walking in with a cup of warm tea. After setting down the drink, he motioned for Barry to take a sip, and he did. The warm liquid ran down his throat and soothed him.
"So, long time no see, eh? Where've ya been old friend?", Shrek nonchalantly asked, totally oblivious to the feelings of regret, longing, and betrayal that were radiating off the bee.
"Oh just- um... around...", Barry thought back to a time, a time where he and Shrek had been best friends. He rembered being the only person the ogre allowed in his swamp. And then he remembered the day Shrek left to go see the king of Duloc.
That day was the first of three full of agonizing loneliness. Though surrounded by fairy tale creatures, Barry felt as if he'd been the only person there. When Shrek had returned, all the fairy tale creatures had been removed from the swamp, and the bee was ecstatic to have his friend back. Though he was soon taken away once more by donkey; something about a princess.
Shrek had come back the next day, but to Barry's heartbreak, had returned with his new love, Princess Fiona. The bee couldn't believe his eyes. The ogre he loved for years, now about to marry somebody he had just met. Barry felt utterly betrayed, but in the end was consumed with regret for never having voiced his feelings.
Barry had left the day of the wedding, and never looked back since.
Yet here he was now, face to face with the love of his life and filled with a whirlwind of confusing emotions. He stared at Shrek with lust and longing, aching to plant one kiss upon his green, ogre lips. But he couldn't.
"Barry?", Shrek asked, "Can I tell you something?"
The bee nodded, the thought of kissing Shrek still in the back of his mind.
"Well... To be honest? Ever since the day you left, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you... And my conclusion is that...", he gulped, "I'm in love with you."
Barry couldn't believe his ears! Had his life-long crush really just confessed his love to him? Tears welled up in his eyes and there was a faint smile on his lips. Shrek took his mighty ogre thumb and gently wiped away Barry's tears; then, he cupped his cheek and laid a gentle, yet passionate, kiss upon the bee's lips.
To Barry, the kiss seemed to last forever, but he knew what had to be done. He pulled away from Shrek, suddenly yearning for his warm lips once more.
"B-barry? What's wrong?", Shrek looked confused, like a child who couldn't understand the concept of death.
"Shrek... I love you too but... You have a wife now! And three beautiful children! You can't just abandon them! It'd be best if you forgot about me, about us. Focus on your family. You've got a good thing going here."
"Barry?! You can't bee serious?!"
"I'm sorry Shrek... but we- we're ogre..."
And with that, Barry fled the hut in tears, leaving a broken-hearted ogre sitting at that table. The two would never have a chance to be together, and sadly, that's how it always was going to be...
