Disclaimer: Lyrics and title sampled from Panic! At the Disco's 'Always'.
Question:
My Answer:
Characters: Reader Insert X Steven Stone.
Summary: Anxiety is brimming within you, filling you up so high that you can picture it flooding out from your eyes, spilling into the sink in a torrent of shame and worthlessness. (Giftfic for Olih. Thanks for being wonderful. xoxoxo.)
When The World Gets Too Heavy
put it on my back; I'll be your levy.
Anxiety is brimming within you, filling you up so high that you can picture it flooding out from your eyes, spilling into the sink in a torrent of shame and worthlessness. It collects in your lungs instead of air, and your thoughts are all blurring together in your head, hazed-over bursts of Ican'tevendosimplethingswithoutfeelinglikethis and Remindmetojuststayinmyroomandneverleaveagainnotevernoteveragain. Your breaths are coming shorter and shorter, and you run your hands through your hair, feeling as if you'll suffocate—
"Shhh." A hand that isn't your own covers your fingers, stilling their movement. "It's going to be okay. Don't feel bad about letting it out."
There's a sob lodged in your chest, and you can't get it out no matter how hard you try. One of Steven's hands slide down to rub slow, soothing circles on your back, while he uses the other to card his fingers through the knots you've created.
After holding you for a moment, he turns you around in his arms so that you can look into his face. Lines of seriousness cut into his face, aging his handsome features by a few years. His hair gleams a dull silver under the lights, and his eyes—as cool and steady as you've ever seen them—are fixed on you almost fondly.
"It's not bad or shameful to be feeling like this," he says, brushing a few strands away from your face. "What's important is that you're trying your best to work through it. I'm so proud of you, and I think that you're the bravest, most talented person I will ever have the luck of meeting."
His arms tighten around you in an embrace, and you hug him back fiercely, his chest solid and reassuring underneath your cheek. A faint, unfamiliar scent clings to his shirt, a remnant of his spelunking, and you close your eyes against the warmth and comfort it provides. His lips touch the crown of your head in the lightest of kisses, and for the first time in what seems forever, you manage to take in a deep, calming breath.