"I'm sure you'll beat it. I believe in you."
"Ugh, we're finally back." You grumbled and opened the door to the base.
"You worked hard today. Good job." Jack came in soon after and shut the door with a slight slam. You dragged your feet slowly as you went to put your weapon and veil away.
Who would've thought that coming back to the cocoon of the Delirium Butterfly might be a bad idea. You were supposed to scout the area for more possible routes, but you and Jack got ambushed by a huge group of Lost. You somehow managed to fend them off just to decide to cut the trip short later on.
You wanted to bring back some good news but all you got were sore arms, couple of scratches and some blood beads from the spring behind the cocoon. You growled as you flopped yourself on the couch, not tired at all.
"Hey, you're laying in my spot. Move it." You opened one eye only to see Jack with two glasses of brandy you gave him about a week back. Slowly sitting up, you grabbed the glass and took a drink. Yeah, that felt better. You got so used to drinking with him it made you calm down a bit. You sighed.
"Let's go there again tomorrow. We know how many will be there so that should make it easier to kill them."
"That sounds like a decent plan. Don't forget our goal, though." Jack took a sip and placed the glass on the table.
"Anyways, that spider on your shoulder is your new friend?" His slightly sarcastic words made you freeze.
"W-what..? A s-spider..?" You weren't scared of anything - darkness, the Lost, heights.. But then there is an exception. That one single exception could make you stab yourself with a stake or jump out of the window just to get away from it.
Your biggest fear were spiders.
"Kyaaaaa..!" You shrieked like you were about to die. Jack had to cover his ears so he wouldn't go deaf. You started swatting your shoulder and running around. As hilarious as that sounds, you thought something different. You ran straight into the hot springs, not caring about your clothes, and jumped into the water to make sure the spider wasn't on you anymore. As you came back above the water, your eyes met with shocked crimson ones.
"(Y-Y/N), what are you doing..?! Are you okay?!" Only now it started to hit you how weird that must've looked.
"Hey, umm, sorry, Louis. I'll explain later, but now I should probably go.." Rubbing your head nervously, you got up and left, leaving behind a very confused Louis. After coming into your room, you changed into something dry and flopped face-first into the soft mattress of your bed.
"Ughhh, dying sounds really good right now.." You mumbled as you moved your face into the pillow.
"No, it doesn't. Anyways, (Y/N), you're afraid of spiders, right?"
"Yeah no shit Jack." You turned towards his voice, not phased by his sudden appearance at all.
"Still better to ask, although I think you showed enough evidence to safely conclude so." Jack said sarcastically, totally indifferent about your attitude. You two were so used to each other your mood swings couldn't move either of you.
Over the time, you two developed a special bond. Starting in operation Queenslayer, you two were always compatible, be it your personalities or your fight styles. After saving Eva, this bond deepened even more. You've become so dear to Jack you probably surpassed Eva, even if only a little bit. He treasured you and tried to take care of both your body and your soul, but he was really careful to not make anyone suspicious. He didn't want to show that he had a weak spot for you.
"I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of. We are all afraid of something. The only difference is the thing we're scared of."
Jack sat on the bed and started caressing your hair. His touch made you relax. You huffed, letting out some steam out of your system. It was rare for him to show affection, be it in front of others or just when you two were by yourselves.
"You're awfully kind to me today. Did I do something..?" You eyed him curiously.
"Well, it's not like I get to see you afraid often. In fact, I haven't seen fear in your eyes for a long time." He mentally sighed. This probably came out wrong.
"Heh, well, I did my best to hide it as long as I could." Chuckling to yourself, you smiled at him sweetly. He didn't expect that. The blush that crawled on his face was almost invisible. Neither of you realised how close he's gotten to you. He leaned in and kisses your forehead slightly.
He froze. What did he.. did he just.. he couldn't have.. right..? He looked at you, visibly shocked by his own behaviour. Your face was now tomato red and your eyes looked like saucers.
"I.. I'm sorry, I should probably go now. You should rest for a bit." He got up quickly and headed straight for the door. He stopped and glanced back before opening the door.
"Huh..? What do you mean..?"
"Your fear - I'm sure you'll beat it. I believe in you." He said in a serious tone. Your eyes met for a split second.
"Of course. I won't let it stop me." You said, now serious as well.
"Good." That last word made you smile to yourself. As he left, you cuddled back into your pillow, now covering yourself with a blanket.
He believes in you. Your smile grew wider as your eyes fluttered shut and you drifted off to sleep.
"Is (Y/N) okay..? The last moment I saw her, she looked like she's seen a ghost." Louis was still unsure what happened to make you act like that.
"Not sure, but the shrieking woke me up and now I can't seem to fall asleep again.." Yakumo rubbed his eyes, still half asleep from his disrupted nap.
"No use thinking about it anymore. It seems like Jack has taken care of it." Eva joined the two on the couch while Jack came out of your room, clearly satisfied with himself.
"Let's leave him alone for now. We can ask (Y/N) about it later. " Eva chuckled and continued to chatter with them.
It seems like you'll have a lot to explaining to do.
