Request pretty please: Rumi, Mira and Zoey (separately) helping their reader deal with their fears. Like maybe reader is scared of the dark or something and the girls help them with it.
Three post in a month? Chat am I lock in or what?
TW for panic attacks being described.
Fears and comfort
It was getting late after watching hours of trashy TV as you cuddled to Rumi in her bed. You were trying convince yourself to get out of her arms so you can go home when she suddenly says:
“Can I ask you something?”
“I mean that’s a question already, but if you want to ask another question go for it.”
Rumi rolled her eyes before she asked her question. “Why don’t you ever spend the night. Here. With me?”
Oh. You know that question was coming at some point after turning down Rumi so many times when she asked you to stay the night. You just didn’t know how to answer it without embarrassing yourself.
“You see, there’s a good reason for that. Um,” you cut yourself off, trying to find the right words.
Rumi’s shoulder slump as she listens to you try to come up with a reason. She pulls away from you as if having distance from you would make your answer hurt less, thinking she’s the issue. “It’s fine. You don’t need to tell me. I'll see you later."
“No,” you cried out. “It’s not you. I promise. It’s me. I know it’s a cliche to say that but it’s true. I'm the issue."
You let out a frustrated sigh, looking down at the floor as if you could find the right words on the rug. Rumi, being the sweetheart she is, puts a comforting hand on your shoulder and offers her support. “You know you can tell me anything,” she said, keeping her voice soft.
You nod and take a deep breath. It’s now or never. Time to swallow your pride.
“I’m scared of the dark,” you mumble.
There was a beat of silence then, “What?”
“I’m scared of the dark,” you repeat louder this time. Rumi doesn’t say anything for a while and brace yourself for her to laugh at you for being a child. You knew you should have kept this to yourself, come up with a different reason as to why you never spent the night.
Your embarrassment became unbearable when Rumi started to laugh. Feeling your face go red, you got up to leave, unable to take it anymore.
“Wait,” Rumi said, grabbing your hand to stop you from leaving. She pulled you back onto her bed and into her side. “I’m sorry I laughed but is that really the reason why you never wanted to spend the night? Why didn’t you just say that?”
“Well, it’s embarrassing. I’m an adult. I shouldn’t still be scared of the dark. Plus I didn't want to bother you with a nightlight or anything like that."
You don’t know why the fear still clings to you. Despite your best efforts to get over it, the idea of being in a dark room made you panic. Your brain would trick you into thinking there is someone, or something in the dark, just waiting to get you.
Rumi giggled a bit more and kissed your temple. “Aein, it’s ok to still be scared of the dark. It doesn’t make you less of an adult. And having a nightlight wouldn't be a bother for me. If it helps you sleep then I'm fine with it."
While her words were kind and reassuring , you still felt embarrassed. You hid your face into her shoulder, wanting to hide how red your face was. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to be sorry. I want you to feel comfortable staying here,” Rumi reassured. “If we left the TV on, do you think you could spend the night here? Or would it be better if we left the bathroom light on? But if you would still feel more comfortable sleep at your own apartment that's fine with me. No pressure,” she quickly adds.
You nodded again, mumble how the TV would be fine, and Rumi smiled. She got up from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes only to reappear with a new toothbrush for you. “Come on, time to get ready for bed.”
After finding some clothes you could borrow from Rumi to sleep in, you take turns taking showers. Being the gentleman she is, Rumi lets you go first.
Once Rumi had her turn in the shower, you found yourself standing at the bathroom sink to brush your teeth. Rumi joins and you 'accidentally' bump into her as you brush your teeth, starting a playfully shoving match with her.
Getting ready for bed with your girlfriend felt nice. Domestic. Perfect. It makes you wish you told her about your fear of the dark early on so you could have done this with her sooner. It makes you feel like a fool for not trusting Rumi sooner.
Freshly shower and in clean PJs, you were finally ready to go to bed. Leaving the TV on to a random channel, Rumi got into bed first and you followed her. She pulled you close to her and you rested your head on her chest, the sound of her heart beating soothing you.
"Goodnight, aegiya. Love you."
"Night Ru. Love you too."
Soon enough, Rumi fell asleep, her snores filling the room. Between the light from the TV and feeling safe in your girlfriend’s arms, you quickly fall asleep too.
After that night, a nightlight suddenly appeared in Rumi’s room. It was small but it was enough. She didn’t say anything about it nor did you. You did find yourself spending the night with her more often.
“I’m going to sue the weatherman for lying,” Mira threatened as she glared out the window at the rain that ruined the picnic date she planned. She spent a good amount of time this morning preparing food and drinks for the picnic, making sure she had your favorites carefully packed in the basket only for the date to take a literal rain check.
Seeing the dancer pout like a child who was told they couldn’t have any more cookies made you laugh. You walk up behind her, wrapping your arms around her, and kiss her shoulder. “We can just have the picnic here inside, Miss drama queen.”
Mira left out a huff before she relaxed into your arms. She could never stay upset for long when she was in your arms. “I guess that would work.”
With help from your girlfriend, you move some furniture around to make room so the blanket Mira brought could be spread out. You connect your phone to a speaker to play soft music as Mira set out all the food and drinks she packed. Soon enough the living room turned into the best indoor picnic you've ever seen. Or at least that was your humble and totally not bias opinion.
“See, this isn’t so bad,” you said, leaning into Mira’s side. “Plus we don’t have to worry about ants now.”
Mira mumbled under her breath about how she would have preferred to do it at the park like she wanted but you could see that she was still happy with the set up. Grabbing her arm, you put her to the blanket so the date could officially start.
The food Mira brought was tasty, clearly made with love. The blanket was soft underneath you and the music playing in the background only added to the cozy feeling of the date. Mira, the most important part of the date, was intently listening to you talk about an annoying coworker when it happened.
“And then he had the audacity to tell me I’m over thinking thing-” your story was cut off by a flash of lighting and the clap of thunder that followed. You jumped at the sound, hating how your heart hammered in your chest and the feeling of panic that began to fill in your stomach.
“Jesus,” Mira said after jumping herself at the sound. “I’m definitely suing the weatherman now. He didn’t say anything about a thunderstorm. Anyways go on about the coworker I’ll beat up later for being an ass to you.”
You tried to shake off the growing feeling of dread in your stomach and go on with your story when lighting once again lit up the sky followed by more thunder.
“Shit,” you hissed under your breath. You started to dig your nails into your palms, leaving half crests marks, hoping it would ground you. Your chest started to hurt due to the knot of fear that start to form there.
Mira, the ever observant person she is, noticed the shift in your mood immediately. “Whoa, are you ok?”
“Yeah I’m fine,” you let out a shaky laugh, not wanting to ruin the date even more with your stupid panic attack. “Just a bit jumpy is all."
Mira carefully took one of your hands into her own, rubbing the marks from your nails with her thumb. “Are you sure? It seems almost like you’re scared of the storm."
As if God himself wanted to make a fool of you, another round of lighting and thunder filled the air. You jumped again and dove into Mira’s arms, unable to keep back the pure panic you were feeling.
Your girlfriend immediately pulled you into her lap, hugging you close to her chest. She gently rocks back and forth, whispering that it’ll be ok and how nothing will happen to you with her around. The sound of her voice and the smell of her perfume slowly grounded you. The knot in your chest slowly gave away, replaced by the warm feeling of comfort given to you by Mira.
Slowly but surely, the storm moved on, leaving only the lingering smell of rain as proof of it being there.
“Sorry,” you whisper, pulling away from Mira. “Didn’t mean to ruin the date.”
Mira stopped you before you could fully get out of her lap. She took your face into her hand and gently wiped away tears from your cheeks. You didn’t even realize that you cried. Damnit, you’re acting like a child.
“Hey no. Don’t say that. You didn’t ruin anything,” Mira’s words were soft and full of love. “I get it. Storms are scary.”
You settled back into Mira’s lap and she leaned against the couch behind her. She started to run her fingers through your hair, humming a random song and the leftover feeling of panic slowly left your body.
“Can we stay like this for a bit longer,” you hesitantly ask, feeling safe wrapped up in Mira’s warmth.
“Of course, Jagiya ” Mira answered quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “We can stay like this for as long as you need.”
“Babe! Check this out,” Zoey called out, throwing herself next to you on the couch.
She holds out her hands to you like she was holding a bug. You scramble away from, back hitting the arm rest. “Zoey I swear to God, if you’re trying to hand me a bug, I’m breaking up with you. “
“I would never,” she gasped dramatically. "Just take it.”
She offers whatever she’s holding out to you again, eagerly waiting for you to take it. Giving her a suspicious look, you hold out your hands, ready to throw it back at your girlfriend if it does turn out to be a bug.
Instead of a bug, you find a lock being placed into your hands. It’s painted to look like a cartoon turtle. “Aww it’s cute. Did you paint it yourself? Are you going to use it as a gym lock or something?”
“Yes I painted it myself, no I’m not using it as a gym lock. Turn it over,” Zoey’s words came out so fast you could barely process them.
Doing as you’re told, you turn it over. On the other side, carefully painted in your favorite colors were your initials along with Zoey’s with a heart surrounding them. Your heart swelled with love for your girlfriend.
Pulling her into a hug, you give Zoey a kiss, one that she happily returns. “This is literally the cutest thing ever.”
“I’m glad you think so! I figured since we’ve been together a little over a year we could go put a lock up at Namsan Tower and take some cute pictures together,” Zoey asks hopefully.
At the mention of Namsan Tower, a pit formed in the bottom of your stomach. The idea of going up to the very top of the tower to place the lock tied your insides into knots. At the same time you didn’t want to disappoint Zoey or waste the hard work she put into the lock.
“I would love to do that,” you said, giving her the best smile you could, hoping it sounded and looked convincing.
Zoey cheered and pepper your face in quick kisses. “Thank you! Give me some time to get ready and we can head out to Namsan.”
With that, the idol hurried off to her room, muttering to herself about finding the perfect spot. Your smile disappeared as soon as Zoey went into her room. Hopefully by the time she’s done getting dressed, you’ll have found a way to get over your fears.
You did not get over your fear by the time Zoey got ready. Nor did you get over it as you head over to Namsan Tower. You especially didn’t get over it as you rode the cable car up to the top with Zoey by your side.
“Oh my god, look! You can see where we had our first concert” Zoey excitedly pointed out, dragging you to the window.
“Cool,” barely giving the window a glance. Between all the people in the cable car and the slow ride to the top, you could feel your chest tightening. ‘I’m doing this for Zoey. I’m doing this for Zoey,’ you repeat over and over to yourself.
“Hey. Are you good,” Zoey asks, concern written across her face. “You look a bit pale.”
“Me? I’m great. Fine. More than fine,” you said quickly, trying to put on a convincing smile.
Zoey studied your face. “Are you sure? You can tell me if you’re uncomfortable.”
Grabbing her hand, you give it a quick squeeze in an effort to both reassure her and to calm yourself down. “If I was, I would. Don’t worry about me.”
Zoey gave you one more look before seemingly letting it go. She went back to looking out the window of the cable car, but she still kept a close eye on you.
You’re doing this for Zoey.
After riding the cable car and then an elevator for what felt like hours, you were finally at the top of Namsan Tower. The second the elevator came to a stop, Zoey jumped off. She had one hand on her bucket hat to keep it from flying off, and the other was pulling you along so the hunt for the perfect spot for the lock could start.
As Zoey went on her hunt, you did your best to ignore how high up you were. It didn’t help that you could hear all the people around talking about how great the view was. All the comments slowly added to your growing panic. At some point, Zoey lost hold of you, making thing even worse.
You were trying to keep your breathing steady when Zoey turned to you to tell you about a spot she found.
“I found the perfect spot, let’s grab it before someone else- hey are you good,” Zoey asks when she saw that you were having trouble breathing.
At this point, there was no hiding it. Your chest hurts from trying to keep calm and you probably look like you were seconds away from passing out. “I’m not so great with heights,” you say through gritted teeth.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Here, get away from the edge,” Zoey tells you, guiding you to a nearby bench.
Not being able to see over the edge helped lessen the panic a bit. Your insides were still tied up in knots but it was a bit easier to get air into your lungs now. Zoey sat next to you, rubbing your back, giving you time to calm down.
“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” you finally admitted after some time passed. “I can tell you put so much time into the lock and I didn’t want you to waste it.”
“Oh lovebug. I care more about your comfort than putting up the lock. Next time tell me if something is bothering you,” Zoey lightly chastise you. “Do you think it would help if we went back down to the base of the tower?”
You nodded at her suggestion and with that, she went from your loving girlfriend to your guard dog. Never leaving your side, Zoey leads you to the elevator that would take you down. As it goes, she tells you all the random facts she can think as a distraction from the lingering effects of the panic attack.
Once back at the base of the tower, you’re parked at a bench again by your girlfriend. “I’m going to go find you something to drink. Stay here or else,” Zoey threatens. She gives you a quick kiss to your cheek before dashing off on her quest for a drink.
As you wait for Zoey to return, you start to watch the various people walking around. The crowd was a mix of families, tourists and couples. It was nice to see so many happy people around You’re watching a couple head up to the top when Zoey comes back with two drinks in hand.
“Sorry if I took too long. I had to take a couple of pictures with some fans,” she apologized, handing you a cup of water. You wave off her apology, not really caring about the wait.
Zoey sits next to you and takes your free hand into her, giving your knuckles a kiss. Now that you weren’t at the very top panicking, you could enjoy your time with Zoey.
“You know, there’s spots down here we could put the lock,” Zoey offered, breaking the peaceful silence. “If you’re up for it, that is.”
“I would love that,” you say with a warm smile.
You spent the next half hour helping Zoey find the perfect spot. Once found, the turtle lock was put into place with a satisfying 'click'.
With the lock in place, Zoey could finally take all the pictures she wanted. After getting a dozen photos of the lock itself, she pulls you into frame and takes another dozen photos with you.
One last picture is taken before leaving for home. It's of Zoey kissing your cheek with the turtle lock in the background. Seconds later, the picture is posted on her Instagram with a caption that says:
Me and my lovebug locked in our love at Namsan Tower today.