Julian sighed softly as they sat on their phone, scrolling through it quietly. They turned to their husband, giving a soft smile. "Hey, you know I love you, right? That means you will do things for me, yes?" They asked, smirking just slightly. Jace looked over at them and sighed, chuckling and shaking his head. "What are you wanting me to do this time, love?" Julian giggled softly. "Could you please go get me a snack? I think we still have those little marshmallow puff things in the pantry." They smiled brightly, a slight bit of hope in their eyes. Jace stood up and stretched, yawning slightly and wandering into the kitchen. "You're lucky I love you." He jokes as he digs through the pantry. They smiled, fist pumping with a quiet. "Yes!" They went back to their phone, scrolling around facebook, giggling softly every now and then. "Hey, those cute little cats are going on a trip again!" They yelled out. Jace comes back with marshmallow treats and tosses the sugary puffballs at them. "Here ya go, ya filthy beggar." He teases as he sits back down. "And what is this talk about those cats going on a trip again?" They giggled softly, opening the plastic wrapping and taking a bite. "So, we both follow those cats, there is a page for like four cats that live together, and they are going on a trip! Their owner is taking them to a pet convention! Which brings me to be requesting something else. So, we have been together for a bit.....we need pets." They said, trying to convince Jace. Jace raised his eyebrow and chuckled, "What pet could we possibly have? We're both too busy for a dog, a cat would absolutely destroy everything we own." They pouted. "Well......maybe we could get a ferret. I've heard they barely require any attention. Just a few hours of play and they sleep through everything else." They suggested. Jace chuckled. "Then all our stuff would go missing, love." He ruffled their hair and kissed them softly. "Eventually we'll get ourselves a pet, but for right now I don't think it's possible." They sighed. "Fine....." They murmured, a little disappointed. "Hm, since you got up to get me a snack, imma get my own drink. Want anything?" They asked softly. Jace smiled softly and shakes his head. "I'm fine, love" He kisses them softly before getting comfortable on the couch. They nodded and got up, going over to the kitchen. "Hey, before I get the drink imma go to the bathroom, might be a minute, ok?" They called out, going down the hallway to the bathroom. Jace yelled back. "Take your time love, I'll be right here." He smiles before closing his eyes, relaxing and humming to himself. They smiled softly and went into the bathroom, turning on the lights before screaming. "J-Jace, there is a spider's nest!" They squeaked, having pretty bad arachnophobia. There was a large, webbed over nest in the far corner of the bathroom. They didn't even notice the mother spider was nowhere to be seen. Jace jolts awake and rushes into the bathroom, moving Julian to the side and looking at the nest. "Go wait in the living room or the car while I go grab the spider killer and deal with this." He kisses them before smiling. They nod shakily, going to the couch and curling up, watching the hallway like a hawk. Something about spiders had scared him for as long as he could remember. They made him freeze up and panic. Jace heads into the hall closet and looks for the spider killer. "Baby, where did we put the spider killer? I thought it was in the hall closet." Jace calls out, still looking for it. They frowned. "Y-You can't find it...?" They asked shakily, getting a bad feeling. "I-I dunno, I saw it in there just this morning...." Jace walks back into the living room, perplexed about the missing spray. "I don't know, love. If you want we could just go to a motel and I'll call for an exterminator in the morning." Jace holds them tight and strokes their hair, doing his best to calm them down. They shakily nod. "M-Mhmm......Lets do that...." They said, still a bit anxious. They had never seen a nest that big. It was then they realized something. "J-Jace....where was the mother spider.....Mother spiders only leave the nest for food......." They looked over at him, going pale as they shook. Jace tilts his head. "Do you see something, love?" He turns around and tries to find what Julien is looking for. Julian shook their head. "The problem is that there was something missing, there is a mother spider in the house and it isn't by the fucking nest." They said, looking around scaredly. It finally dawns on Jace. "Get in the car, right now. I'll go grab the keys and go to a motel until an exterminator does a full sweep of the house." They nodded, rushing to the car and waiting for him to unlock it. Jace runs into the bedroom, grabbing his phone, wallet, and keys before running back outside. He unlocks the car and gets into the driver's seat. They rushed into the passenger seat, buckling up. They glanced at the house, watching as if something would burst out at any minute. Jace puts the car in reverse and pulls out of the driveway. As he does, he can see the shape of a monstrous spider through the curtains. He puts the car in drive and drives away, looking over at Julien to make sure they're okay. "You okay baby?" He asks worriedly. They nodded shakily, not having seen through the curtains luckily. They sighed, staring at the road, trying to distract themself from all of this. Jace holds their hand and smiles softly, deciding not to tell them about the shape he saw. "Wanna head to the store first to get some sleepwear and hygiene products?" he asks in an attempt to break the silence. They smiled a little, holding his hand back. "S-Sure...." They murmured softly. "Thanks for getting me outta there....those things just freak me out, especially since there is a whole nest.....I have never seen such a big nest either....what sort of spider could have done that....? Last I checked, they mate with the male once then kill it...." They recalled, trying to figure out what was going on. Jace glances over at them and squeezes their hand as he drives into the parking lot of a convenience store. "Do you wanna come in with me or do you wanna stay here?" Jace asked, subconsciously fidgeting with his pendant. They looked up. "I think I will go in with you." They nuzzled him and unbuckled themself. Jace takes their hand and smiles, walking into the store and grabbing a buggy. "Lead the way, Captain." he jokes, trying to further lighten the mood. They giggled, going over to the sleepwear. "It sure is a good thing I have you, else I'd still just be sitting in front of the bathroom all panicked instead of being able to cut up and forget that stuff." They smiled. Jace gently bops them with the shopping cart as the image of the spider's shadow crosses his mind again and he fidgets with his pendant again. They squeaked, moving out of the way of the cart. They looked back at their husband, beginning to frown softly, going to him and holding his hand. "Hey....what's the matter...? I don't think I have seen you like this in quite a while...." They murmured. Jace shakes his head and forces a smile. "It's nothing love. Just thinking of all the things we'll have to do tomorrow." He lies, not wanting to scare them with the truth. "Let's finish up and get to the motel, I could use a shower and some sleep." He yawns before he can get all the words out his mouth. They huffed a little. "Don't use forced smiles with me.....I will let it slide for now but you should be able to trust me, you know?" They said softly. They then picked out sleepwear for themself quietly, putting their stuff in the shopping cart. Jace grabs the stuff he needs and pays for their stuff. When they get to the motel, he's so tired he crashes onto the bed and passes out. They smiled softly and got changed into their night clothes before cuddling up to him and falling asleep. As soon as they woke up the next morning, they picked up their phone, searching for a good exterminator. Jace finally wakes up and yawns before hugging them from behind. "Morning love." he murmured as he smiles. They giggled. "Morning, Jace. think you could help me look at some exterminators so we can go home today?" They asked softly, turning around to kiss him gently. Jace kisses them back before taking their phone and scrolling through the list of exterminators. "We need one with a high rating, and who specializes in spiders." They nod. "Of course. Maybe that one?" They pointed to a certain one, smiling softly. Jace smiles and nods. "You're the boss, chief" he chuckles as he hires and sets an appointment. "We should be able to go home tonight. He'll be there shortly to deal with them, then we give the house all day to air out and we'll be golden." They nodded happily. "Good. I wanna go home and watch a new anime" They giggled. Jace shakes his head and smiles. "Since I crashed before I could take a shower last night, Imma go do that." They nodded. "I will join you. I was too tired to take one last night and I just wanted to cuddle you anyways." They smiled and got up. He got up also and stretched, getting into the shower with his beautiful spouse, washing each other and spending the rest of the day cuddling before returning home, having not heard anything from the exterminator. They got out of the car happily. "Um, Jace, do you think you could go in and check first? I will wait in the living room for you while you check for the nest." They said softly. He nodded and gave a small smile. He went inside and quickly went to the nest and cautiously looked around. They sat in the living room, waiting quietly. Time slowly passed by, making them get a bit worried. "J-Jace....?" They cautiously approached the bathroom, noticing it was dark. They looked inside, barely able to see the outline of their husband. "D-Did he get the nest?" They asked. He nodded slowly, very slowly. They smiled and went to walk in before freezing in place, seeing a bit of light above him. Light reflecting off of......strings. They slowly backed away, their face pale and body trembling. Something else They noticed had unnerved them. His feet were not touching the floor. The strings were holding up his body. He was hanging there limply, barely even breathing as the strings around his neck were slowly choking him. "J-Jace...." They whispered before building up the courage, running to him tearing off all of the strings. "Jace, speak damn it!" They yelled worriedly. He let out a quiet whimper, not able to talk from the lack of air. They dragged him out of that room as fast as They could, dragging him to the living room. "W-what happened?" They asked, helping him sit up on the couch to breathe better now that the strings were gone. He breathed heavily for a bit. "I... I'm not entirely sure... Everything was fine and I turned the light out to leave, then suddenly the string, the web, hooked onto me and pulled me back, making me some sort of, puppet..." He said and quickly hugged him. They whimpered and hugged him back. "H-how, spiders aren't supposed to be that intelligent.....wouldn't the exterminator have found this?" They then froze. "The exterminator came here....and never responded after that....w-we need to find him!" They said, tearing up. "Hey, please stay calm love, we'll deal with this. We need to get some sort of weapon. Do you know if the hatchet is still in the shed?" He asked them and pet them gently. "And I'll make sure to look for the exterminator." They nod. "I-I think it is still there. W-What are we gonna do....? If I see one, I freeze up....and if you think we need a hatchet......I am not sure I can do this...." He nodded. "You could wait out in the car if you need too, okay?" He said and pet them, trying to calm them. They shake their head. "I-I wanna help.....m-maybe I can find the exterminator and you can find whatever did that to you." They said. "What if you run into that thing instead?" He asked and and thought for a few moments, not knowing what to do at all. "Maybe we should just stay together love, I'm not sure it is safe to be both alone." They nodded. "O-ok....lets go find him together......" They clung to his arm. He nodded. "Alright love, lets go." He got up and helped them up also. They looked around shakily. "H-how big was it.....?" "I'm not sure, but possibly bigger than me..." He said quietly. They frowned, shaking a bit. "O-oh god...." they whispered. He pet their head and started to walk to the shed with them while looking around. They heard something above them, slowly looking up at the ceiling. He looked up also. Jace was right. A black widow, much larger than both of them combined was above them, all eight eyes staring at them. Julian froze, beginning to whimper and tear up. "Love... Go get the hatchet." He said quietly and started backing up. They couldn't move, completely frozen in fear, staring up at the beast as they cried. He picked Julian up and quickly started running. They screamed as the beast jumped down, crawling after them. He ran outside and slammed the door behind him and ran to the shed and kicked the door down. He then set Julian on the tractor seat and pet them before quickly grabbing the hatchet. The creature let out an inhuman scream and Julian just sat there crying, holding their head in their hands. He got in front of the open shed door and held the hatchet up, waiting for the Arachne. It burst out, rushing at them, Julian frozen once again from the terror. He held the hatchet back like a bat, ready to swing to protect his love. It screeched and pounced on Jace, causing Julian to scream out. "J-Jace!" He swung the hatchet into its shoulder, just missing the head. He tore the hatchet out, getting covered in blood as he went to swing once more. it screeched, attempting to bite him. He backed away slightly and swung the sharp object right into its throat, pulling it up and slamming it right back down in the same spot as before with more force. It suddenly became much louder, its screeches blending in with millions of screeches from inside the house. Its babies were still in there. He flinched and just kept repeating on bringing the hatchet up and down, up and down on the Arachne's neck, getting drenched in her blood. Julian watched in fear until the beast went limp. He took some deep breaths and turned to Julian. He walked to them and hugged them tightly. "It's all over now..." He said quietly and just held them. They sniffled, holding onto him tightly. "W-what about the babies? She may be dead but.....we haven't done anything to get rid of them..." He pet them. "We'll get someone else to do that..." They nodded slowly. Their fear of spiders had gone from bad to worse. He would never be able to even look at a spider toy again without having a panic attack. So maybe remember this the next time you see that tiny spider in your house and call it harmless.
