tequila ; s. paulson one - shots

anxiety (w. venable + s. mckenna)

(the song, circles by max, isn't necessarily essential to the plot, but i always find myself listening to it, especially when i'm sad or stressed. if you ever feel this way and need to talk to someone, my dms are always open !!)

It had been a rather stressful week, and you were starting to crack under the pressure. The exhaustion from the long night shifts at the hospital, combined with your increasing social anxiety, it was a lot for you to handle.

Neither Sally nor Wilhemina had any awareness of the constant shallow breathing, or the persistent shaking of your hands, because you had always been used to dealing with it on your own.

"How was your day, sweetie?" the fiery redhead asked from the kitchen. You didn't say anything yet as you unzipped your coat and hung it on the rack. Wilhemina turned to face you upon feeling your arms around her waist, "That bad, huh?"

"It's been a long week."

"Well, it's Friday night, so what movie do you want to watch?"

"I don't know," you shrugged, "Where's Sally?"

"She's in our room. I think she was playing when I left her there."

As if she had been lying in wait for her cue, the frizzy-haired blonde engulfed you in a hug, pecking soft kisses all over you, "Do you plan to shower?"

"Of course I will, Sally, just give me a minute."

"Would you like that for here or to-go?"

"I swear, McKenna, can't you make a decent joke?" your other lover groaned, "I love you, but if you don't stop making corny dad jokes, I will not hesitate to strangle you."

"Let her be, Mina. I'm going to go shower, you guys can pick what movie you wanna watch."

Your two girlfriends shared a look. Something was up, and they were going to get to the bottom of it.

★★★

Freshly clad in a shirt and shorts, you clambered into bed between the two women, "What movie did you guys decide on?"

"Coraline," Wilhemina replied gently.

"Ooh, I love that movie."

Sally chuckled, plugging in her laptop, "We knew that, which is why we picked it in the first place."

"You guys know me too well."

"When you've been dating someone and living with them for three years, I think you're supposed to know them well, aren't you?"

Scoffing, you leaned your head back against the pillows, your stomach aching as you felt the nagging sensation that something was going to go wrong.

Of course, your discomfort didn't go unnoticed by your girlfriends, who once again shared a nonverbal exchange before Wilhemina decided to ask, "Are you feeling okay?"

It was tempting to say you were fine, but then you remembered that you'd be lying if you said that. So you opted for, "Do you want an honest answer, or a 'my parents are asking' kind of answer?"

"Just be honest with us," Mina sighed, "You know we'll accept anything and everything, no matter how weird it may be."

You leaned onto the redhead's shoulder, willing your breathing to even out despite your nervousness, "My anxiety's been a lot worse lately, and it's been affecting my work too much."

"Woah, woah, back it up a little," Sally interrupted, "How come you never told us that you had anxiety?"

"Well, first off, I'm not diagnosed. I've always had to deal with my smaller-scale anxiety on my own without knowing what it was, and it's not like people would want to be burdened with my problems, would they?"