More Ryumako. I couldn't resist.
PS: At AO3 the fic and the next are separate chapters and since they're related I thought I'd put them together here.
The prompt: Person A finds Person B huddled in the shower shaking. Reason? There is a giant spider on the shower curtain/door and they are terrified of spiders.
In a ramshackle house on the edge of town, during the early morning, the peace and quiet was shattered by what sounded like the screech of an agitated pterodactyl.
Mako barreled into the bathroom. "Ryuko-chan, what's wrong? I didn't flush the toilet or run water or anything!" She grasped the shower curtain with both hands, preparing to shove it aside, but jumped back at a squawk from the shower.
"Open it slowly." Ryuko's voice was very quiet.
Mako did as instructed, brow furrowing in worry.
"Yaaaah!"
Mako screamed in response as Ryuko shot into the corner of the shower and slumped shaking to the floor, eyes wide. "It moved. It's on the wall…"
Mako peeked around the curtain. A tarantula was on the shower wall.
"Oh!" Mako said. "Why didn't you just tell me?" She stepped into the shower, patting Ryuko's head as she passed. "Come on, little guy."
"Little? Mako, that thing– don't bring it over here!"
Mako turned to face her, tarantula resting on her hands. She smiled. "He won't bite you, Ryuko-chan. See how calm he is? He came right to me."
Ryuko pointed a trembling finger. "Shower! Out! Go!"
Mako left the bathroom, talking softly to the tarantula. Ryuko, still unclothed, followed several yards behind.
"What are you gonna do with it?"
"I'll put him outside."
"It could come back in! Can't you just k-k-ki–" Ryuko huffed, dragging a hand over her face. "Of course you can't."
"I know just where he should go. I'm gonna leave him by the gully."
And so Ryuko hung by the front door while Mako made the half-mile trek to the gully.
"Ryuko-chan, aren't you cold?" Mako said when she returned.
"I had to make sure that thing didn't follow you," said Ryuko, as Mako followed her to the bedroom.
"Don't worry. Felix is all settled!"
Ryuko froze halfway into a t-shirt. "You named him?"
Mako threw her a pair of underwear. "Sure! I have to call him something."
"Jeez, Mako, you're amazing."
"Thanks, Ryuko-chan!" She beamed. "Besides, if you have something to call him he won't be scary anymore, right?"
Ryuko laughed ruefully. "It's not that simple," she said into the closet. "I don't… like spiders."
"But Felix isn't so bad, right?"
"He's way too big. And poisonous. What if you'd gotten bitten?"
"Actually! That's one of the common misconceptions about tarantulas."
"Tah-rah… huh?" Ryuko tripped out of her jeans in shock.
"You see, Ryuko-chan, most people think that…"
Despite Mako's encyclopedic knowledge, Ryuko refused to make friends with Felix.