tequila ; s. paulson one - shots

insomnia (b. d. howard)

(the video i included up above is my go-to whenever i can't sleep, if y'all aren't diagnosed with insomnia but have trouble sleeping, i recommend listening to it 😚✌️)

"Hey, Y/N, what's wrong?" Billie asked groggily as you shifted in bed for the nth time.

"I can't sleep."

"What do you plan to do about it?"

"I don't know yet."

There was silence from the blonde beside you for a while, before she sighed, "Let's give it some time, if you're not sleepy at all, then we have to help you get tired."

"You know how my body works, Billie. It's hard for me to fall asleep if I'm not on the verge of collapse."

"Shhh, give me fifteen minutes, I want to sleep for a while before I stay up with you."

"Wait, no, you don't need to stay up with me, I can get up and keep myself entertained until I'm sleepy."

"Shhhh," suddenly, her finger was on your lips, and you knew you had no choice but to obey her. You glanced at the clock beside you, 10pm, she was asking you to wake her up at 10:15. Not that hard to lie there for fifteen minutes.

Insomnia was a regular occurrence for you. It didn't happen so often that you didn't get any sleep at all, but it did affect you a lot. You'd sometimes stay up until 5am reading a book because you couldn't sleep, then crash for a really long time, commonly until noon.

Your parents had tried several ways to help you fall asleep quicker when these bouts did happen, like tea, and certain alternative medicines, but they never did seem to work.

"Billie?" you asked softly, nudging your companion awake, "Hey, Billie? It's been fifteen minutes."

She nodded sleepily, then yawned, pulling herself out of bed, "Which do you want to try first?"

"I don't know."

"I'll make some tea, c'mon, let's get you something to eat."

Billie was extra-nice about your episodes, she interrogated you about every single thing that seemed to help you fall asleep, and you tried them whenever these nights happened.

"Do we have leftovers?"

"Yeah, we do, but I was going to offer popcorn, if you wanted, that is."

"I'm sensing a movie offer somewhere in there," you raised an eyebrow as Billie opened the fridge.

"Maybe, it'll help me stay awake while helping tire you out."

"You seem tired, I can manage, go back to sleep."

"No, no, it's my job to help you."

"Then I'll take the popcorn, please."

Your roommate poured some hot water into a mug, the teabag floating about, and pushed it towards you, "Drink some first while I make the popcorn."

"What movie were you thinking?"

"I don't know, maybe Castle in the Sky or something?"

"Hm, what about Spirited Away?"

"Not my favorite," she said and the room was silent for a while, apart from the popping in the microwave, "What about Howl's Moving Castle?"

"Not in the mood to fall in love with a male character."

"Ponyo?"

"Ew, no, thank you."

"I've got it, Porco Rosso?"