Archive of Our Own ^beta

For as far back as she could remember, Mira had struggled with chronic migraines, a debilitating condition with no known cure.

She'd tried various medications and therapies, but nothing seemed to work. Sure, some things would provide relief for a few hours, but that only meant so much when she had migraines that would last days at a time.

Now, though, with the stress of the Comeback tour, she was dealing with one of the worst migraines she'd had in a very long time.

The girls could tell, of course. They'd known her for so long and, as much as she tried to downplay it, there were certain things she just couldn't hide.

The winces, the way she'd pull at the roots of her hair when she thought no one was looking, how she'd eat less and less due to the nausea.

Rumi and Zoey tried to get her to talk about it. To let them help her and take care of her. But, Mira was nothing if not stubborn, and she continued insisting everything was fine.

It wasn't until she had a solo rehearsal with Bobby that it all came crashing down.

Whenever she had a new choreography outline, Mira would have a private rehearsal with Bobby to show him the dance and run it by him before she taught it to the other girls.

This particular rehearsal was not particularly strenuous, as it was for a more simple dance meant for an interlude in their setlist, but there was one part where she had to spin, and this proved to be the final straw.

The more she showed him the dance and had to do that godforsaken spin, the worse the pounding in her head became, until she eventually couldn't take it anymore.

She fought against it, but her body finally decided enough was enough and pulled the emergency brakes, forcing her to collapse on the stage, groaning and panting from the splitting pain in her head. The pain was so bad now that it radiated down to her neck and shoulders and found its way into her stomach, forcing up her lunch onto the stage in an embarrassing expulsion.

Bobby immediately paused the music and ran to her side, frantically asking her questions that only made her head hurt worse as she cried out in agony.

Bobby took a deep breath to calm himself. His girl was in pain, and he had to help her. Questions were clearly just making it worse, so he instead focused on comforting her however he could.

It took some time because she'd always been particularly avoidant when it came to touch, but he eventually managed to turn her onto her back and dimmed the lights in the room. Given the way she was clutching her head, it was safe to assume she was having an intense migraine, which would've made her already sensitive sensory processing ten times more overwhelming.

Okay, he thought. That's okay. I can work with that.

He found her some rags, which he dampened and put against the back of her neck and across her forehead, glad to see that it made her relax a little bit. Once that relief fully set in, he saw her unclench her jaw and relax her shoulders, no doubt providing some level of relief.

He didn't comment on the vomit as he cleaned the stage and instead just stayed with her in case something happened, quietly sending a text to the other girls letting them know what had happened.

It always hurt to see his girls struggling, but he was glad to be able to take care of her.

Eventually, Rumi and Zoey showed up and carried the now-sleeping girl out, taking her back home and lying her in bed, rags still set in place for pain relief and a bucket by her side in case she got sick again.

When Mira awoke, her head still hurt but, more than anything, she was embarrassed.

The girls didn't judge her, though. No, they were just glad to finally be able to help her, and vowed to do everything in their power to help this migraine to be at least a tiny bit less miserable.

How did I ever get so lucky?