All characters belong to Jeremy Zag and are not my own.
"Pound... it?" Ladybug's faltered as she saw the look on her partner's face. He looked... scared. "Chat? Are you okay?" She reached out to him as she went to take a step closer. He stepped back, the terrified expression never leaving his face. Ladybug's brows furrowed, hurt worming it's way into her heart. "Chat... what's wrong?"
Meeting her eyes, he moved his gaze back down to her shoulder. Forehead creased, Ladybug frowned. Chat repeated the action, moving his eyes from her face to her shoulder. Eyes widening, the superheroine tilted her head.
There, on her shoulder, was a common American House Spider, probably brought in the luggage of some unwitting tourists.
Ladybug smiled, relief coating her features. She picked the little spider up, letting it crawl on her finger. Looking to Chat, she asked, "Is this what you were worried about? Chat?"
Chat noir hissed at her from his position on the ground. Standing on all fours, rear end in the air, he looked like a real cat. She rolled her eyes. "He's not going to hurt you, Chat Noir."
"Tell that to him!" Ladybug rolled her eyes again, putting her free hand on her hip.
"The House Spider is non-venemous, Chat Noir. He couldn't hurt a fly." She paused, seeing the sour expression he gave her. "Well, figuratively, anyway."
"I don't care what he is! Just get that thing away from me!" Rolling her eyes once more, Ladybug sighed, annoyed. She turned, walking to the edge of the roof before carefully setting the spider down on the ledge.
"Bye-bye, little guy." She straightened, turning to her partner. "Better?" Chat nodded, refusing to move from his spot on the ground.
"Much."
Adrien hissed. He hadn't meant to, honest. It was just a reflex. At least, that's what he told himself to stave off the embarrassment. He turned to look at his classmates. They're definitely staring. Adrien shrunk into himself, his sun-kissed face turning a deep shade of red. Alya picked up the source of his troubles. She looked at him, eyebrow cocked and free hand on her hip, a small smile on her face. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a little spider?"
"Eep." His pathetic brain! Why couldn't he form words?! Fear clouded all rationality as the little creep stood on Alya's finger, watching... Waiting... Adrien shrunk even further.
Mari paused. There was Adrien, frozen in place, and Alya, holding something she couldn't quite see. Concern swept over her as she stepped into the classroom. "Alya? What's going on?"
"Adrien's afraid of spiders." She heard the amusement in her friend's voice but knew her well enough to know that she wasn't mocking Adrien. Looking to the blonde, Mari's eyes widened. Head lowered and shoulders raised, eyes trained on the small spider on Alya's hand, his face grew another two shades darker. He's terrified, she realized. Putting her "game face" on, she made her way over to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch. He turned to look at her.
"Come on, Adrien. Let's go outside, okay?" He nodded stiffly, watching the spider tentatively as they walked out the door. Its legs went up once, causing him to jump. Mari added pressure to his shoulder, calming him slightly. After what seemed like an eternity to Adrien, they were out the door.
The sun bathed Adrien in warmth as they stepped out into the courtyard. Sighing heavily, he was grateful when they both sat down on a nearby bench. He leaned back, placing his head against the wall. Smiling slightly, he looked at the girl beside him.
"Thank you, Marinette." She jumped at his voice, turning bright red. Now that it was just the two of them, Mari's confidence was gone. What should she say? Oh, right!
"Y-You're welcome." She smiled back at him, ever-timid around him. He wondered why that was, though he supposed he shouldn't ask. To him, that's just who she was: confident but shy, beautiful and timid. Smile widening slightly, her presence soothed his pounding heart. Eyelids resting closed, Adrien let himself drift off to sleep.
Marinette looked at him, confused by his silence. Her eyes widened slightly when they landed on the sleeping beauty before her. He's asleep... Smiling warmly, she forgot all fear as she carefully rested her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, a peaceful, content smile graced her lips as she, too, fell asleep. A slight breeze kissed their foreheads, a warmth covering them that they didn't know. If they had stayed awake just a little bit longer, they would have seen a bright-eyed reporter taking a picture for her best friend as they slept in the light of the noonday sun.
Author's Note:
Hey, guys! First off, I want to thank you for all of your positive reviews and suggestions, especially on my work Like I'm Gonna Lose You. You all have been so kind and supportive! Thank you so much! Y'all are really wonderful. I'm sorry I haven't been responding to many specific comments and I will try to work on that in the future.
I got the idea for this ficlet as I was working outside. There was a brown spider just chillin on the side of the house. He was just minding his own business, but he freaked me out just a bit. While I've gotten better, I'm still afraid of spiders, so I thought it'd be funny if Adrien was, too. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Humor isn't really my thing, so please don't judge lol. I did my best. Oh! I'm also hoping to upload a new chapter of Brotherhood soon! Anyway, that's all for now! God bless, and I hope you have an amazing day. Bye! :P
