Pixar One- Shots

Thank You, Flik (A Bug's Life)

A lot of you guys are huge Flatta fans, and this was requested specifically by @sabinewren5 (thank you for the request, btw!), so here's another one shot for these two! Hope you guys like it!

Atta was pacing outside the anthill infirmary where Flik had just been taken to recover. He'd been roughed up quite a bit in the recent battle with the grasshoppers, but she knew he'd be fine. Flik's only real injury was a sprained ankle, the rest was just some major bruising. He had no shortage of visitors, it seemed like every ant in the colony wanted to come visit him. Flik's new fame had been more than earned; he was undoubtedly the reason that any of them were safe. Without him, the grasshoppers would have taken everything from the colony, including the food they'd collected over two seasons, and even the life of the old queen; Atta's mother.

It wasn't worry that was causing Atta's pacing, it was fear. Since the grasshoppers had retreated yesterday she hadn't been able to forget the way Flik had almost died. Atta had been the one to save him, but then the tables had turned, and Hopper had caught up with them again. Flik had pushed her into the tall grass to keep her hidden, but she'd watched as Flik had been confronted by Hopper- and she'd watched Hopper die. The memory played itself over for the thousandth time in her mind.

"Is this another one of your tricks?"

"Yup!" Flik grinned.

"Are there a bunch of little girls in this bird, too?" Hopper snapped, and without waiting for an answer, looked up at the bird that was looming over him, chirping. "Hello, girls!" He snarled. The bird hopped off its nest, and Hopper realized that this was not one of Flik's inventions. This was a real bird. With a scream, Hopper released his grip on Flik's neck, letting him fall to the ground, and took off running, but the bird leaped into the air and landed in front of the grasshopper, cutting off his route of escape. Flik scrambled into the grass and met up with Atta. The two of them watched, hidden, as the bird chirped again and grabbed Hopper by his wings. Still screeching, Hopper was lifted into the air and carried back to the bird's nest, where three hungry chicks began jumping for the insect. Finally, one of the chicks succeeded. The screaming became more frenzied and desperate, then died off.

Atta shuddered, grabbing her arms. A rustling made her turn back to the infirmary entrance. The leaf blocking the door was pushed aside to let two young ants exit.

"I told you he was gonna make it!" One of the boys elbowed the other, receiving a shove in return.

"No you didn't! You said he wouldn't make it! You thought he.." the ants walked out of earshot. Taking a deep breath, Atta decided it was her turn to see Flik. No more putting it off. She brushed past the leaf to enter the small cavern that made up the infirmary.

"Flik?" She asked quietly. He was sitting up fidgeting with something, probably a new invention he was working on, but he looked up at the sound of her voice. A huge grin broke out on his face.

"Hey! I was wondering if you'd come to see me!" He said, but then looked down quickly as if he were embarrassed. "I mean, I know you're quite a bit busier now, being the queen and all.." Flik laughed nervously.

"Of course I'd come see you, Flik. You've just saved the lives of everyone in this colony!" Atta spread her arms to emphasize her words. "What kind of queen would I be if I didn't congratulate you on your heroism?" She smiled brightly at him, already feeling her face heating up.

"Oh. Uh, yeah." Flik looked back at his contraption again, muttering something about any ant doing the same thing. Atta thought for a moment about what to say next.

"But uh... I guess that's not the only reason I'm here." She finally made herself say. Flik looked up again, raising an eyebrow in intrigue. Her wings began fluttering slightly. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? "I wanted to personally thank you for saving all the Blueberries that were helping fly the bird." Atta's voice dropped a little, becoming more serious. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost Dot."

"I- of course. If any of those girls had been hurt, it would have been on my hands. I couldn't live with that, either. I know exactly what you mean, Atta." Flik smiled and tilted his head a little. "I'm super glad you came. I was really hoping you would."

"Really?" Atta asked, only slightly surprised. Flik nodded, but didn't seem to have anything else to say. Atta took a deliberate breath. "Listen, Flik. For a short while now, we've been good friends, and my feelings have changed." Atta cringed. "Wow. That sounded bad even to me."

"No, it wasn't bad!" Flik said quickly. "Uh.. did they change in a good way?" He asked, a slight tremor in his voice. Atta nodded.

"Yeah. At least, I think so. I like you a lot. Simple as that." Atta shrugged. There was no use in beating around the bush. She held her breath and squinted, watching Flik closely to see his response.

"Are you serious? I-I..!" Flik's smile returned bigger than ever, and he began shaking his head. "I've felt the same way for, like, forever! For months I've wanted to tell you, but.." he lifted one shoulder sheepishly. "I couldn't do it." He stood and limped slightly over to her, taking one of her hands. "You called me brave, but I never could have done what you just did." He said softly.

"Yes, you could've. You've taken on a bird!" She exclaimed, still smiling.

"I had help."

"That doesn't make it any less impressive." Atta told him. For a moment, there was only silence between them. "Thank you, Flik." Atta finally said.

"For what?" Flik looked bewildered.

"For everything."

Okayyyyy. It was a bit short, I'll admit that, and I wouldn't say it's my best piece, but I do think it was alright. Flik may have been a little out of character, I haven't watched this movie in a while. I did watch a few clips, so hopefully I didn't change him too much.. tell me what you guys thought in the comments!

I hope you guys enjoyed this one shot! Thank you for reading, voting, commenting, whatever! Any support is welcome, including constructive criticism and requests! I'm always happy to have those! :)

I have to warn you guys, there won't be a one shot next Friday. I'm going away on vacation for a few days next week, and I probably won't have time to write one up. However, I hope this makes up for it!

I'll publish again as soon as I can!