Chase's Book of YT One-Shots

Entomophobia (RoyalChaos)

a/n: an FYI that I am writing a short story continuation of the "Care" oneshot, which should begin publication in the next week (meanwhile, replica writing is on hold)

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Steven was downstairs after a night with far too little sleep, watching the coffee cup before him fill slowly from the Keurig and wondering if he had time to rest his head on the counter and drop to sleep. He was just beginning to lean towards the possibility of it being worth it when he heard an ungodly shriek sound from upstairs. He started violently and almost fell, had it not been for his grip on the counter, and hurried to the bottom of the staircase.

"Anthony?" he called, concerned, and started slowly up the stairs.

"Oh my goD!" yelped his boyfriend from what sounded like the bathroom. "Oh my fucking god Ze its huge!"

He blinked slowly as his brain registered the words, and found he could barely withhold a snicker. As it was, he couldn't keep the amusement out of his tone despite best efforts. "What is it this time? Spider or cockroach?"

"Stop laughing at me!" Anthony whined. The door to the bathroom opened and he exited, a towel wrapped securely around his waist even though it didn't appear he'd actually stepped foot in the shower at all. "It's a- I think it's a spider, I don' even know dude, it's fucking enormous-"

"I got that," Steven said, reaching the landing and leaning forward in front of him to peer in the doorway, and Anthony only seemed too happy to use him as a shield. "Get me a shoe," he ordered, and Anthony nodded before disappearing around the corner to their room.

While he searched for a shoe that was probably going to be Steven's, the man himself entered the war zone with only slight trepidation. He didn't see anything on the ceiling or in the corners by the cabinets, so he confirmed for himself it was probably behind the shower curtain.

It should be noted that Steven was not particularly scared of bugs, spider or not- he was the sort of guy who let them escape to the outside if he could help it, rather than mass murderer Chilled, and he took some pride in that. But when he saw the large black form scurry across the tub when he pulled the curtain back, he couldn't help the yelp of fright that erupted from his throat, tossing the curtain back down into place.

There was a shuffle of footsteps behind him, and suddenly he felt Anthony looming over him with a shoe (Steven's) in hand. "Did you see it?" he questioned, panicked sounding.

Steven held a hand over his heart, waiting desperately for it to slow. "I- is that a fucking tarantula?" he asked, a slight unsure laugh in his voice to mask the terror he'd just experienced.

"Do you think?" Anthony asked quickly, leaning back a bit. "Does California have those?!"

"No?" Steven responded, in a way that was a bit too unsure for Anthony's mental stability. He reached forward for the curtain. "Hang on."

He braced himself and yanked back the curtain, feeling semi-comical with the large form of Anthony tensing behind him. The spider was sitting in the corner of the tub, definitely large but much less so than Steven's quick glance had led him to believe. Anthony, however, made a sound of distress and shoved the shoe into the younger's hand.

"Oh my god killitkillitkillit!" he pleaded, practically jumping from foot to foot behind him, and Steven rolled his eyes in amusement before taking a few steps closer, bracing himself, and swatting.

A satisfying crunch later, he dropped the shoe with the carcass into the tub, and Anthony turned him around by the shoulders. "My hero," the older proclaimed, dramatic as always, and Steven snorted.

"I need to shower too, hurry up," he said, pushing past him with a kiss to his cheek. He was halfway down the stairs before he heard Anthony protest.

"Hey! Aren't you going to pick it up?"

Steven shrugged, though he knew Anthony couldn't see. "You're the one using the shower first."

He knew he'd be showering late, but he thought somehow he might be amused enough to deal with that.