The day had been...not bad, but not exactly good either.
Tilly had had a shift at the food truck whilst Margot had been working at the bar.
They'd met at Rogers' home after, Margot with bar food for dinner and Tilly with beignets for dessert.
Rogers' had picked up the day shift so he could have the evening free.
Tilly had been quiet, reserved, hardly touching the food when usually she was so into food.
The three of them had settled on the sofa to watch a film.
They'd scanned Netflix but had ultimately decided on Avengers Assemble. Again. Tilly's favourite.
About the time Clint invaded the hellicarrier, Tilly started to fidget.
It started out small; tapping her foot, wringing her hands.
Soon it progressed to rocking on the spot, and mumbling under her breath.
On the screen, as Natasha knocked Clint out, Tilly sprung to her feet.
The film was forgotten as the girl crowded herself against the wall, hands tangled in her hair.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Her voice rose, palms hitting her temples as her legs gave way and she sank down to the floor.
"Shut up!"
Rogers' and Margot exchanged glances, starting to walk towards the girl.
"Don't!" She screamed, wild eyes pulling themselves from the floor.
The pair stopped, hands held up in surrender.
"Tilly, sweetheart, it's just us-" Margot said softly, crouching down to her height.
"You're okay, love, we won't hurt you. It's okay." Rogers' said quietly.
Tilly whispered, one hand tangling back in her hair, the other hitting the side of her head.
"Just stop, stop!" She sobbed.
"Babe-" Margot took a tentative step forward.
"Don't touch me!" Tilly roared, standing and pushing her way through the two of them, running up the stairs.
Margot swallowed and hastily rubbed at her eyes before following her.
At Tilly's bedroom door, the two of them pressed their hands to the wood.
"Tilly, it's us. It's okay. You can trust us." Margot called, tapping the door frame.
There was no lock, but she wouldn't enter without permission. This was Tilly's space.
She wouldn't invade it unless she was certain Tilly was in danger.
There was the sound of sobbing and things being thrown around the room.
When the clattering had died down, Rogers' knocked again.
"Starfish, please let us in. We can help." He said softly, voice strained.
It was silent for a moment and Rogers' was about to burst in, thinking the worst when a scream sounded throughout the apartment.
The door was pushed open in an instant and the two were rushing through the door, panicked.
Tilly was sat in the middle of the carnage, face buried in her hands, sobbing.
"Tilly..." they both moved slowly, hands still up.
"They...were so loud." Tilly hiccuped, voice muffled by her hands.
"Its okay." Margot said softly. "It's okay, sweetheart. Can we come closer?"
"Please-" the blonde choked out, lifting her face.
Rogers' very subtly looked up and down her arms, seeing nothing new there and moving to her.
They sat either side of her, arms wrapping around her shoulders as they held her close.
"S...sorry-" she whispered brokenly.
"No need to be sorry, my love." Margot whispered back, kissing her hand.
"Its okay, Starfish. You're okay. This happens but we get through it. You get through it. Always."
"I wanted to...I thought about..."
Both Margot and Rogers' inhaled sharply.
"I...I didn't." Tilly shook her head. "Thought about it. But...but didn't."
"That's...amazing, Tilly. You're so strong. And brave." Margot squeezed her a little tighter.
"We can do this together. Get through it. Live." Rogers' hummed, exhaling and kissing Tilly's forehead, where red marks lay from the hitting.
All in all, with her past of both unintentional and intentional self harm, this didn't even rank in the top ten bad episodes.
"I...threw a lot of stuff." Tilly sighed softly.
"Stuff can be replaced. You can't." Rogers' murmured.
"There's no one like our Tilly." Margot chimed in.
"We can worry about the mess later. You two can share my bed and I'll sleep on the sofa for tonight." Rogers' pulled away and stood, offering both his hands out.
"Now, how about we get you your night meds, make some popcorn and hot chocolate and finish your favourite film?" He asked, smiling softly at the two girls.
Tilly smiled weakly and nodded. "Yeah. I'd like that."
"You two get yourselves settled, I'll be down in a minute." Margot waved them off. Once the two left to go to the living room, Margot rummaged through some of the chaos.
She grabbed the fluffy blanket the two girls often shared, as well as her tactile bunny rabbit stuffie (a very helpful gift from Margot).
She carried then downstairs to find hot chocolate made and popcorn almost ready.
Tilly was sat on the sofa, tear streaks still lining her cheeks.
Margot gently wrapped the blanket around her, tucking the bunny into the crook of her arm.
After that, she ran a cloth under warm water and gently wiped the remainder of the make up and tear stains from Tilly's face.
She was already in cosy clothes, so Margot just pushed Tilly's feet into her slippers and went to grab bowls for the popcorn.
Tilly was often very shaky after an episode, and for some reason very cold and very hungry.
She hadn't eaten much dinner so the girl made her love some marmalade sandwiches too, as well as the left over beignets.
With the popcorn done, Margot and Rogers' returned to their places on the sofa.
Margot had her arm wrapped around Tilly as they resumed the film.
Playing with her girlfriends fingers, Tilly leaned her head against her shoulder, quietly muttering the words to the film that she knew by heart.
In between the two who loved her most in the world, and always saw her, Tilly didn't feel so bad.
/
So this chapter was inspired by one, one of my own personal ptsd induced episodes and two by the film I just watched Brain on Fire. Not a mental health film but the illness the girl had brought on psychosis and manic episodes. I don't think we ever got a first name for Rogers' did we? It feels weird constantly writing that so I might just opt for saying Killian instead. Lemme know what you think. I hope you enjoyed. So much much and until next timeā¤