Twice imagines gxg

Anxiety (Mina)

Mina had a gleam in her eyes when the waitress placed a dessert in front of the two of you with two spoons. Neither of you had enough room in your stomachs for your own desserts so, naturally, you had decided to split one. Though, the second spoon was very unnecessary seeing as Mina was insistent on feeding you with hers.

"Open up," she grinned, reaching over the table with a spoonful of the gooey dessert close to your lips. You obliged, parting your lips for her and she fed you with a satisfied smile. She then took a mouthful for herself and repeated until the dish was empty, swatting your hand away when you picked up a spoon to try and feed her.

You both had every intention of staying a while longer to truly enjoy your date night but unbeknownst to you both, the evening would be cut short. You had barely finished your dessert when the hostess approached your table with a grim look on her face.

"I'm really sorry to bother you both," she said quietly, making sure no other customers could eavesdrop. "I just thought I should let you know that photographers have started to gather outside these past few minutes. I didn't want you both to be caught off guard by not telling you."

Mina sighed and put her head in her hands. You reached across to rub her arm soothingly.

"Thank you for telling us," you told the hostess. "Would we be able to pay now, please? It's probably best we leave soon so a crowd doesn't build."

"Of course, we'll do whatever we can to help," the hostess said as you fumbled through your purse for your card. "We have a back entrance if that's more suitable?"

"That's alright," you replied. "We parked out front anyway."

You passed your card to the hostess, with instructions to add a generous tip and she left to process the payment. Mina still sat covering her face and you knew exactly where her mind was at.

The truth was, you had always been less effected by being in the public eye than Mina. You two had been together for close to a year and you had adapted reasonably well to public attention and all that came with it. The last thing you ever planned on doing was to allow strangers to define your self worth or your relationship.

Mina, however, struggled with it all, even after all these years. She was naturally quite an anxious person in crowds and social settings and, despite your constant reassurance, she also had a lot of guilt for bringing you into the public eye. She loved her job but as an idol she was all too familiar with the downsides of constant media attention and when you two made your relationship public, the press wasn't always positive.

So knowing that there was press waiting outside, ready to take photos and profit off your romantic evening together naturally made her tense and uncomfortable.

You left your side of the booth to sit next to her and, removing her hands from her face, you grabbed one and began to rub circles on her palm with your thumb and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

Her hunched up body visibly relaxed slightly with your touch and you gave her an encouraging smile.

"Hey, everything's okay," you said soothingly looking into her eyes. "I know that photographers can be really intimidating but I'll be there with you and I won't let anything happen that makes you feel unsafe."

Mina was still quite tensed up but she was able to return an uncertain smile and you beamed right back at her.

Just then, the hostess returned with your card and as you went to put it back in your purse, something caught your eye. You pulled out your airpods and handed them to her as well as your phone.

She looked confused until you explained.

"Put those in so you can listen to something to distract you out there," you told her. "Anything at all, a meditation thing or a comfort song. I have a playlist of your favourite songs on my phone and your hair is down anyway so nobody will have any idea."

Mina melted at your thoughtfulness. She knew about your playlist because one tipsy night you confessed that it's all you listen to when she's away. Small actions like these were constant reminders to her that you were the one for her. So she accepted your phone and airpods and searched for a song that would keep her grounded. Once she found one, she passed your phone back to you and took you hand, intertwining her fingers with yours.

"Ready?" You asked, giving her hand a comforting squeeze.

She nodded at you.

"Please don't let go."

"I wouldn't dream of it," you replied as you walked to the exit together.

Upon opening the door, you remembered to keep your head down so the flashes wouldn't obscure your vision. Entering your protective mode, you led the way out of the restaurant, tightening your grip on Mina's hand. As the door closed behind you, you looked back at your girlfriend to give her a smile which you hoped would be reassuring to her and in return she gave your hand the slightest squeeze.

Thankfully, not enough photographers had gathered to create a major crowd so you had little difficulty navigating your way to the carpark. You made sure to walk in front of her so she wouldn't have to deal with people blocking her way as she followed right behind holding your hand. You could hear photographers asking questions but as usual, you tuned their words out and, with the airpods in, Mina naturally did the same.

Once you reached the car, you opened the passenger seat for Mina and only let go of her hand to close her door and head over to the driver's seat.

Once you had your seatbelt on, you turned to see her soft gaze fixed on you as she removed your airpods.

"How are you feeling, my love?" You asked her, running your hand up and down her arm.

"Honestly?"

You nodded, waiting for her response.

"A little anxious, sure, but also like I'm falling in love with you all over again."

You furrowed your eyebrows, confused by her response.

"What do you mean?"

"Back there with you helping me, I've never felt more loved and cared for in my life," she confessed, tears welling up in her eyes. "You're so patient and you go out of your way to make me feel safe and comfortable. You'll never know how much that means to me."

A single tear ran down her cheek and you wiped it away before kissing the spot.

"You deserve to feel safe and comfortable, baby," you replied. "I know I can't wave a magic wand and make the paparazzi disappear but I'll do whatever I can to help calm your anxiety when they're around."

She gave you the first full smile since your meal had been interrupted, a smile that never failed to give you butterflies deep in your stomach. No matter how many times you saw her gummy smile, it never failed to provoke those feelings.

"Do you want to stay over at mine tonight?" She asked shyly. "We can watch something and cuddle for the evening."

"There's nothing I would love more," you said, stealing a quick peck on her lips. Putting the key into the ignition, you started the drive back to her place, feeling overwhelmed with love.