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It was a day. Normal. Boring, honestly.
Phantom had just got done doing his part in the chores list he was assigned to: laundry. So so SO much of it. He's pretty sure Dew purposely overloaded his basket knowing the quint`s turn was on the way. Bastard.
But he gritted his teeth, slapped on his headphones, and just jammed along to his music. Three whole hours of rotating clothes in the wash, then dryer, then into the respective “Clean” baskets to be dragged back to the dorm. Which took him another half an hour to do.
He wasn`t paying too much attention to the outside world; more focused on either the dulcet voices of Lennon and McCartney, or headbanging gently to Green Day. He has Rain to thank for introducing him to all the modern music.
On the topic of the bassist…
Once Phantom has finally finished the laundry, he's walking back to the dorms; his headphones draped around his neck as he decides to take a short break before tackling his smaller chores. Eyes on his phone, he enters through the doors and hasn`t broken sight of the device when he starts to head to his room. A harsh and quite urgent hiss interrupts his journey however.
“Phan!”
His steps stutter and ears perk as he breaks contact with the phone and looks for the source of his name. Taking a step back into the lounge area of the dorm, it's not hard to find it as he sees none other than Rain ghoul himself, standing atop the coffee table. And he is frozen with wide eyes, arms close to his chest and slightly hunched with his tail between his legs.
“Rain?” Phantom raises a brow, approaching the siren carefully. The poor guy is clearly terrified; to what, Phantom doesn't know yet. “You okay?”
Rain`s aqua eyes flick to the quint for a second before darting back to a spot somewhere near the couch, his usually calm tone resorted to a shaky whisper. “No. I am so not okay!”
Well, that raises alarm bells in the other ghoul`s mind. Rain is usually so composed and level-headed; so whatever is freaking him out must be serious.
“Okay, okay,” he responds as calmly as he can, trying to not let himself catch his friend`s fear. “Can I help you at all? Talk to me, man.”
It takes a moment for Rain to answer. His body actually starts trembling ever so faintly as he swallows hard and then attempts to speak. “U-um… you`re gonna think it's stupid.”
“I swear I won`t.” Phantom pockets his phone and raises his hands to emphasize his promise. “You are literally shaking from fear, so I will take this seriously. Just tell me, it's okay.”
Rain dares another glance at the quint, and he does seem to relax some. His hands grip his sleeves tighter with a shaky nod. “Uh… so. There`s a…” He trails off as his eyes snap back to their previous target; his body stiffening again. Phantom waits patiently, on edge.
“A…? What?”
Rain`s fangs catch his bottom lip anxiously before answering in a cracked whisper.
“A spider.”
Phantom blinks. A spider?
“What?”
The siren flinches with a shiver, throwing a glare at his packmate. “I said a spider, okay?! A gross, creepy ass bug that just makes me freeze up every time I see one! I can`t help it, but no one else has been by, and I seriously can`t do anything, so either help me or… or don't!”
Now if Phantom was anyone else, he would probably be laughing and making jokes at the terrified siren`s reaction. But he isn`t; even though a small part of him does want to chuckle a little bit. Nonetheless, he takes Rain`s words to heart and nods as he slowly pads forward to wherever Rain`s eyesight had been focused on.
“I hear ya. They are creepy as fuck, I`ll agree with you on that.” He pauses at the front of the couch, tilting his head and bending his body to try and spot the offending creature. “Where is it?”
“Oh gods, it probably went into the fucking crack, no-o-o-o-o!” Rain`s voice does not sound like his usual low and soothing tone anymore; it is high-pitched and absolutely full of genuine terror. It actually sounds like he's one more voice crack away from straight up crying.
Phantom is locked in as he lets out a breath and starts taking the pillows off the couch, setting them on the floor so he can lift the cushions. A very faint whimper emits from the siren behind him, which just pushes Phantom`s determination to eliminate the object of distress. Brow is creased with focus as he gingerly lifts the couch cushions, and much to his triumph, but furthering Rain`s dread, he does indeed find the small sized eight-legged source of fear. It's settled itself where Rain had suggested it would; right where two cushions met.
The quint very slowly places the piece of sofa on the floor, keeping un-blinking golden eyes on the spider. The creature had not moved far, which is exactly what Phantom keeps hoping for as he extends his paws out in an attempt to catch it.
“Oh my gods, please kill it! Don't just take it outside, it could come back!”
His ears prick at Rain`s whisper-yell, and he hisses back. “I don't wanna kill it with my bare hands, that`s disgusting!”
“Not as disgusting as it coming back and making babies inside!”
Phantom suppresses a groan and the urge to roll his eyes, still frozen halfway with his arms out. The spider still hasn`t moved, but if he doesn't act now, then it will, and he doesn't want to deal with that drama.
So he sucks in a breath and lunges forward, cupping his hands around the arachnid, and sealing it tightly in his paws.
“OH MY GODS—!”
Rain shrinks into a crouch while Phantom straightens up with a victorious grin. He can feel the tiny steps of the spider legs around his sensitive pads, which immediately starts to tickle.
“Hey, I can feel it moving around!” He can`t resist teasing the siren a little bit as he turns and gives Rain a little smirk.
The poor water ghoul`s face is equally horrified and disgusted. “Ew, Phantom! Get it out of here; what the fuck!”
A chuckle from Phantom as he walks past the coffee table and over to the small door that leads out to the garden. He personally had a neutral stance on spiders; didn't love them, but isn`t scared of them either. But it seems Rain has very intense arachnophobia, which the quint will NOT tease him for.
Much.
After gently depositing the spider onto a bright red rose, he heads back inside where Rain is still fearfully crouched and trembling on the table with his tail wrapped protectively around his legs. Aqua eyes peek out under his chocolate colored locks at Phantom, who raises his empty hands with a tilted grin.
“I vanquished the scary monster, Rainie. Everything is okay.”
Another glare shot his direction, but there was relief in Rain`s tone when he replied.
“Don`t patronize me. It's not my fault.”
The teasing smile and demeanor fades quickly from the quint. He approaches the siren and places a gentle hand on his back. “I`m not patronizing. Sorry if it came off like that. Jus` trying to lighten your mood. Seriously, everything is good now. It's outside. You`re safe.”
Rain tensed under Phantom`s touch, then he slowly relaxed the more the other ghoul talked. His eyes lose their frown as he lifts his head and takes a deep breath. He doesn't say anything until his body loosens up more and uncurls; repositioning to sit on the table`s edge. Phantom joins him, keeping his hand on Rain`s back while rubbing it slowly.
“Sorry,” mumbles Rain, shaky fingers clenching the fabric of his sweatpants. “Didn`t mean to snap at you. Thanks for helping me.”
“Don`t need to be sorry, man. It's all good. I`ve just never seen you so scared before.” His tone turns softer, tilting his head to try and meet Rain`s eyes. “That really freaked me out, honestly. I seriously thought that something horrific happened.”
“It was horrific!” Rain insists with wide eyes. Phantom lets out a short laugh, stifling it quickly.
“Okay, I`m not saying it wasn`t, because clearly it had such an effect on you. But I meant like, I dunno, a dead body or somethin`.”
The siren just stares at Phantom, then purses his lips, glancing away with a sheepish tone. “Did I really look that bad?”
Phantom has to bite his lip to keep from laughing again. This is still a delicate moment, and the last thing he wants is for Rain to think he's just brushing off this fear, or making fun of him.
“Well, it wasn`t bad. Just slightly…” He struggles to think of a word that isn`t demeaning.
“Dramatic?” Rain inputs bluntly.
“I wouldn`t say that, exactly.” Phantom shakes his head; although the term was accurate.
“No, it's okay. I am dramatic.” The water ghoul sighs with a weak flick of his tail. “I don't do it on purpose, it's just… a thing. At least I`m not like Dew or Swiss.”
“Oh gods, no. I don't think Copia could handle it.”
The two laugh at Phantom`s remark. They sit in silence for a while as Rain gets himself relaxed again. Phantom`s hand on his back stays as a grounding point, and he doesn't even think to wish it gone.
After some time of quiet between them, Phantom speaks.
“How is it that you have lived in the ocean with a bunch of weird ass shit, and yet a small spider just locks up your fight-or-flight instincts?”
Rain raises a brow, then rolls his eyes. “Because I got used to all the weird shit down there. I barely went on land, and when I did, it wasn`t for super long. So I never really experienced all of the weird land shit until I got summoned.”
Phantom had rested his chin on his free hand, and he nodded when the siren ended his explanation. “Mm. Makes sense.”
“And spiders are just…” A shiver runs through Rain as he continues with a tighter voice. “They are so fucking gross. I couldn`t even begin to explain all the reasons why they are the worst things to walk this Earth. And I know there are worse things, but those things are definitely on the list.”
The quint`s hand on Rain`s back keeps its place there while he tries hard to keep from smiling with amusement. It was both endearing and hilarious to hear Rain rant about stuff he dislikes about the land bits of Earth. But he could see where the siren`s phobia derives from. It is very jolting to go from one way of living to a completely new one.
Just another thing he himself can relate to.
“No, I get it, man. They`re not the nicest or friendly looking things out there. I mean, if I were to suddenly have to live in the ocean, I`d be freaking the fuck out by stuff down there.”
“Oh, dude, you`d shit yourself. There is some otherworldly shit.”
Phantom laughs. “I know there is, I`ve seen pictures! You literally make me watch documentaries.”
Rain`s tail flicks as he smiles. “Oh yeah, I did kind of force you to watch some stuff with me. Ha, sorry.”
“I don't mind it. It's a more entertaining way to learn than just through one of your presentations.” Phantom nudges Rain with a smirk.
“Wha—? You don't like my very detailed and time-consuming PowerPoints?” Rain has a faux look of offense on his face, but Phantom could tell that the siren really does pride himself on the way he has been teaching.
“I do like them; they`re very organized and you have a very not annoying voice to listen to,” Phantom replies. “But my attention span could only go so far, ya know.”
“Fair enough,” Rain says with a shrug.
“So what were you doing here anyway?”
Rain looks sheepish yet again, and points behind him. “I was trying to vacuum. One of my chores today.”
Phantom peers over Rain to see there is the dorm's resident vacuum cleaner standing there, the cord not even unraveled yet.
“Ah.”
“Yeah.”
It gets quiet between them.
“You know you could've used the vacuum to—”
“I KNOW!”