Tragedy Ever After

Anxiety

        ~Normal POV~

     I think I had been in the shower for half an hour, letting embarrassing thoughts wash down the drain. Why did I want to kiss him so badly? He was so gentle about it, so nervous. . . Don could be absolutely adorable sometimes.

     I tugged on a pair of boxers and a tank top and looked over myself in the mirror. How long had those eyebags been there? I observed the deep bags and realized I hadn't really been sleeping too well. 

     Maybe a part of me was still anxious about having the turtle live with me. A part of me still feared him for what he had done. There was a part of me that couldn't forgive him for that. Maybe resting in his room wouldn't be my best idea.

     What if he was just trying to make me feel safe so he really could kill me? I mean, I lost my one friend, and I wasn't in touch with my family that much, so who would realize I was gone?

     I wrapped my arms around myself as I began overthinking every moment I had spent with the mutant. When did I begin trusting him so much? Did he do something to me? Inject me with something? Brainwash me while I slept?

     My skin began itching at the thoughts and I scratched away, ignoring the feeling of my skin becoming raw. I couldn't remember what made me trust him, no matter what depth of my mind I searched.

     April! I need to call April. No, stupid idea. April doesn't like me anymore. I had no way of contacting Don's brothers. I had nothing. Stupid, stupid stupid-- A knock sounded at the door and I froze up.

     "Y/n? Are you okay?" it was the mutant. His voice was gentle as ever and he sounded a bit sleepy. "You've been in there a while," I didn't respond to him. Would he get mad if I stayed silent? "Are you sick? Do you need anything?"

     Why wasn't he getting upset with me? Why couldn't I speak? My hand reached up and rubbed my neck gently. Had I accidentally caused myself to shut down?

     "Y/n?" Don sounded so concerned, so I knocked lightly on the door to let him know I was okay. I didn't want to open the door for him to see me like this. "What's the matter?" No response. "Can I come in?" a single knock. "Can you come out?"

     I took a shaky breath to compose myself before stepping out of the bathroom, arms still wrapped tightly around myself. "Shutdown?" I nodded. "Do you need anything?" I motioned that I needed a drink.

     "C'mon," he handed me the bottle and motioned for me to come back to his room. I followed nervously, barely relaxing when he wrapped the weighted blanket around my shoulders.

     "Is that all right? It's not too overstimulating, right? I know most people use weighted blankets as a form of comfort or to help with stress and anxiety," he rattled out while I just stared up at him. I hated when I shut down. I felt so useless.

     "Try and get some rest, okay? Maybe you'll feel a bit better after," he stepped away from me and sat at his desk where his robot was laying. I laid down on the bed, struggling to relax as my brain continued to race. I grabbed one of the pillows and clutched it to myself in an attempt to either comfort or ground myself.

     Don was trying hard to not make much sound while he worked on Shelldon, but I could hear him muttering things to himself every so often. How did he help me last time? I think we cuddled. My racing thoughts made me more opposed to the idea than I had first been.

        ~Donnie's POV~

     I wish I knew what was going on in my human's head. They shut down, but that's all I know. I don't know what caused it, or how long this one would last. Did I do something wrong and not realize? It was likely, I wasn't good at taking other people's emotions into consideration at times.

     I glanced down at my chipping nail polish that I gained a habit of picking at. Though I still didn't see much point in it, I loved the connection it gave me to my human. My gaze shifted to them once more, their face hidden in one of my pillows.

     I wanted to do something more to comfort them, but this shutdown was different from their last one. I had had more than I can count, so I was pretty good at telling different triggers.

     I could hear their soft breaths, the way the sheets shifted along with them. If only I could hear their thoughts so I could help calm them down. Would laying on the couch watching cartoons work better? Or even just being in their own bed?

     "Y/n?" my eyes fixated on their smaller figure that turned toward me when I called for them. "Do you want me to put something on the TV for you to watch?" I saw them nod gently and I stood up to set up the TV.

     I heard their feet softly padding after me as I walked into the dark living room. "There you go," I smiled softly as that show 'Bluey' played quietly. "Is it all right if I give you a kiss?" they shook their head and tugged the blanket closer to themself.

     "All right. I hope you feel better in the morning," I stepped away from them and retreated to my room, once again trying my best to distract myself with my work.

        ~Normal POV~

     Maybe that's what made me trust him. . . Don respected my boundaries, he would try to help even if he didn't know what was wrong. He's lied before, I had no doubt he had, but I think in his own way, he was trying to make up for it.

     I know I wasn't good at understanding cues, like when I should be scared, or when I shouldn't trust someone. I know I've made mistakes, and maybe, at first, trusting this mutant was one of them. But something about him had changed. He was different from when we first met, he was still learning a lot, and so was I.

     Word Count: 1,065. Was this one all right? I saw someone commenting about how dumb Y/n was for trusting/lying for Don, so I thought I'd bring up how they still have a sort of anxiety being around him. Especially with them being ND/autistic, like myself, they don't always have that gut feeling that they shouldn't trust someone. Y/n tries their best to look for good qualities in people, even if they aren't always there. It's a flaw of theirs that they're still working on. Okay, that's all. Enjoy!