A/N: I know I said I was taking a break from this book to work on the detective au, but I just thought of this Headcanon and I couldn't resist writing a story about it.
Qrow's POV
Clover and I were in Vale and I was taking him somewhere for a surprise.
"Come on, just tell me where you're taking me." Clover said as I pulled him along by the hand.
"I'm not telling you, it's a surprise." I chuckled.
We finally arrived at the place I would always take Ruby and Yang to when they were little.
"What is this? An aviary?" Clover asked.
"No, it's a butterfly garden." I told him.
"A...w-what?" Clover asked suddenly growing pale.
"A butterfly garden. It's kinda like a bird aviary, but full of butterflies. It's very peaceful...are you okay, you look pale?" I replied.
"I-I'm good...I'm fine....totally fine. There's no need to worry." Clover assured me.
I'm not sure if I completely believe that. His voice is very shaky and he looks about ready to run the opposite direction. I practically had to drag him in there. What's his problem? What is he so suddenly stressed about? Well, whatever it is, I'm sure this will help relax him. The longer we were in there, the worse Clover got. His eyes darted everywhere and his hands got all sweaty and were trembling.
"Okay, seriously, babe...what's wrong?" I asked him, concerned.
I've never seen Clover act like this. It's almost as if he's terrified to be here. Before Clover could respond, probably saying he's "okay", a butterfly lands on the tip of his nose. I swear to the gods, it looked like Clover's eyes were about to pop out of his head.
"GAHH! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!!" Clover screamed, flailing his hands in front of his face, and running away.
Clover ran so fast out of the butterfly garden, I barely had time to process what had just happened. Why did Clover freak out like that? Is he alright? I follow after him and find him sitting on a bench with his head in his hands, and I can tell he's having a mild panic attack.
"Hey, it's okay, shhh, it's okay. I'm here." I said hugging him and rubbing his back.
When he calmed down, I switched to holding his hand.
"What the neck happened back there? And please don't lie and say you're fine." I asked.
"I can't, it's embarrassing." replied Clover.
"Babe, you know you can tell me anything." I said squeezing his hand gently.
"Fine...do you know what Lepidopterophobia is?" Clover said.
"Nope." I answered.
"It's...the fear of...butterflies." Clover admitted hanging his head in shame.
"Why didn't you just tell me that? I never would've made you go in there if I knew." I told him.
"Wait, you're not gonna question it? You don't think I'm weird or stupid?" Clover said confused.
"Of course not. I have no right to judge you for something that you can't control. Phobias aren't something someone chooses to have, they are what they are." I replied.
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. It's just that you looked so excited...I didn't want to ruin that with my dumb fear. I know it doesn't make sense, but butterflies just creep me the h*ll out!" Clover said.
"Where did this fear come from?" I asked wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"When I was little...a tiny butterfly flew up into my nose and got stuck. My dad had to take me to the emergency room to get it out." Clover explained.
"Wow that must've sucked. Having all those legs and wings flapping inside your nose like that." I commented.
Clover shudders and grimaces. I give him a hug and a kiss as an apology for making him go into an area full of things he was petrified of. It was also to make him recover from his embarrassment from freaking out like he did in front of other people. I still feel really bad for causing him so much anxiety. When we get home, I'm making him his favorite dessert and cuddling with him on the couch. Yeah, that should be enough to atone for the awful mistake I made. Also...how the h*ll did Clover ever pronounce that long a** name? What was it...lepiadotrophobia?...no, lipida....no...d*mn it! Ah, forget it, it's not like I'm ever going to have to use the word.