#but cait was OUT TO GET HER and she's like a dog with a bone when it comes to tracking jinx like come ON

[brionysea]

I know it's just the inverse of their s1 dynamic where jinx resents caitlyn's very existence while caitlyn routinely forgets that jinx exists, and cait then declaring jinx her mortal enemy while jinx easily evades her little fan club that's tearing the undercity apart looking for her and generally doesn't care IS very funny. but man what do you mean jinx and caitlyn didn't even get to beat the crap out of each other. what about women's wrongs

[vifilms]

tattoo artist!vi who takes notice of just how beautiful you are the moment you step foot in her shop. it’d be the most difficult task in the world to not notice just how insanely breathtaking you are. it’s clear by the smirk on your glossy lips. you know just how good you look. caitlyn, being the woman she is, tries to jump in first. you’re just her type. violet would know, cait’s dated the anti-thesis of her since the moment you broke up. caitlyn kiramman loves pretty girls. anything she can do to be underneath them, she’ll find a way. you fit her bill. violet tried not to take offense of the ways your eyes light up taking to her ex-girlfriend. maybe you’re just nice. that’s it, right? two minutes, someone who is almost as gorgeous as you walks in and then violet forgets about you as her next client walks in. she tries to at least.

tattoo artist!vi who doesn’t stop thinking about you. it’s new york. there’s plenty of pretty girls she can drown herself in. well, if she could figure out how to ask someone out without her crippling anxiety suffocating her. she knows she’s somewhat attractive but her lack of knowing how to efficiently communicate it without sound like the weirdest fuck who has ever lived gets lost in translation. she doesn’t like how sure cait is of herself when she talks about you though. violet doesn’t even know you but seeing the glint in those aquatic-blue eyes make her want to punch something. it’s hard to even tell if it due to her budding crush or that it’s her ex. probably both but she ignores it.

tattoo artist!vi who likes to frequent bars on her days off. it’s when she doesn’t feel alone. it’s fun to bug her sister, powder. she’s always been more of a free spirit out of the two of them. an artist, a wanderer, someone who choses to bartend a couple nights out of the week just because she liked meeting new people, learning their story, what makes them tick. are they a mean drunk, happy, or will they burst into tears when you ask them how they’re doing? vi isn’t either really. she’s quiet, calm even, but tonight part of her wants to cry. she feels lonely, lost, and even a little bit upset caitlyn is your first choice. she only knows your name because of the clientele list and that just feels pathetic. violet’s never been the smoothest of talkers, she knows that more than she feels the blood coursing through her veins. she isn’t the girl and she’s perfectly fine with it. perfectly. fine.

tattoo artist!vi who doesn’t even enjoy work anymore. three months in and you’ve been cait’s girlfriend and the feeling only gets worse. it’s cliché. a little fucked, but being in love with her ex’s girlfriend? it doesn’t get any lower than this. she let it slip days ago, only to powder, thank fucking god. if violet knew one thing, she didn’t wanna deal with caitlyn’s wrath. according to maddie, she’d been a dog with a bone when it came to you. so protective it nearly turned into possession. she wanted everyone to know that you were hers and not anyone else’s. it wasn’t new to violet, cait didn’t like being runner up to anyone. it’s why their relationship ended in the first place, especially when the girlfriend feels inferior to the sister. when powder comes around to the shop, cait can’t help but wear her disgust all over her face like a poorly concealed mask. vi thinks it’s silly. the both of them are nearly the same it’s almost sickening. if only the other took the time to know the object of their disdain, they would see two peas sitting in a pod.

tattoo artist!vi who hates a messy shop. when personal items are left behind or someone’s station isn’t properly sanitized and clean. it’s why she’s here, alone on the sunday, the only day the shop is closed. it’s been too long since she did a deep clean, just a week or too, but that’s long enough for her. she’s always been proud of what she’s been able to accomplish her. even if she didn’t have much, a girlfriend to love on, or if her father was on the other side of the country, she had this. violet ink. it was her name out on the sign over seeing the street, the luminous violet led lights kissing the downtown street. she made it this far and she couldn’t let anyone run her off from something she fought so hard to build from the ground up. it’s why she was surprised when she saw you. your face free of makeup, your hair in it’s natural state, and you appeared more laid back than you ever were — in her shop. it feels like a fever dream she never wishes to wake up from. cait must have given you a spare key to the shop which she would have a discussion with her about that later because what the fuck? but it’s hard for her to stay mad when you’re standing there looking like a million bucks in the most casual pair of sweats she’s ever seen. it feels different to who you usually are. shredded of the image you maintain, stripped back, there’s just a softer version of yourself and vi can’t help but contemplate if this is the side you’re so reluctant to show.

tattoo artist!vi who stutter how some stupid joke, trying to break the ice and it should have made things more awkward than they already were but your laugh full of symphonies just makes violet smile. in her best efforts, she craves to conceal it from you but it’s impossible when you’re looking at her. she can’t help but smile — so she does. desperately, violet tries not to act nervous when you’re looking at her designs on the wall, not saying a word, just inspecting. there’s a chill in her bones she feels, a need for her work to be loved because if it isn’t? it eats her up from the inside out. maybe it’s embarrassing but she needs her work to be loved. what’s the point if it isn’t? it’s always been an extension of her soul, her life, and if someone doesn’t like it? all they say is they don’t like her. it may be the silliest thing in the world, but she needs to be adored. from a complete stranger, from the people who she’s permanently tattooing, and especially from the beautiful women violet can’t stop daydreaming about.

tattoo artist!vi who blushes when you tell her how much you love her designs. there’s a soft touch to her shoulder, your thumb lightly tracing circles in her sturdy bicep. it feel innocent enough but vi doesn’t give herself much time to think about it. painfully, she takes note in how your eyes soar when they make contact with her designs. even if it makes her cocky, violet knows she’s good at her job. clients flying in from all over the country, just to get tattooed by her. with your undeniable charm, you’ve convinced her to do a custom design for you but you wanna discuss it on sunday’s, alone. if anything, she should know this isn’t a good idea. you’re charming, gorgeous and the prettiest thing she’s ever seen. she should be afraid of caitlyn’s wrath, of what would happen if she found out, but it’s innocent…right? she’s a professional. no matter how much she’s attracted to a client, it’s never been an issues and she certainly won’t make it one now. vi nods and the second she does, you’re leaping in her arms, into her space. you smell of lavender and lilies, like spring in the beginning of march. a sun-kissed marvel aching for the shine of summer, for one breath of fresh air. it’s really all she wants, a moment to be in the sunshine with you, if only for a moment at least she could tell the moon about it. her best kept secret and she would cherish every bit of it. 

tattoo artist!vi who tries to keep her head down low as the weeks carry on. even when you try to make more of an effort to speak with her, the last thing she needs is caitlyn to take one final look at her and realize just how much she likes the attention. maddie already made one comment, even if it was light-hearted — it’s enough to keep her on edge. with the design being complete, all she needs is to tattoo but violet’s been avoiding you and what’s worse? you knew it too. in her true avoidant style, violet failed to go to the shop the last two weeks on sunday. the tidiness and damn right organization of her shop was suffering but she still had plans of avoiding it. rather avoiding you, but in her forest fire of a mind, it comes all the same. all of this is so trivial, so stupid, so tragic. it’s kiramman’s day off and violet and sevika are the only artists on hand today which means she’s overworked. the both of them are tired and violet just completed her last session of the day. she sneaks to the back enjoying the cigarette she’d been itching to have. violet’s on her second one when you corner her into the brick wall she’s leaning on. you’re too close. dangerously close, almost as if the fire you’ve created in violet’s lungs might cause her to burn from the inside out. it’s chilling how silent you are until you aren’t. you’re loud about the way you caress her exposed biceps, tracing the lines of her intricate tattoo as it crawls up shoulders and so do your hands. with a sharp graze, you scrap your nails across her skin as if you want to leave a reminder that she was in fact here. should she even even be here? letting you touch her in the way you are? but it’s not like vi has much of a choice when you push the hem of her tank top up to her ribcage, showcasing the flexing abs on her abdomen. it may be faint but there’s a happy trail, one violet wants to see your lips on but she’s scared to say anything, to move, to breathe. “caitlyn said you were ripped underneath. i wanted to see for myself.” then your touch is gone and you are with it. 

tattoo artist!vi who doesn’t show up on sunday…for the first couple of hours. violet thinks of that night, the way you touched her, like you knew exactly what to do before she even could think of what she wanted next. how on earth did you manage to paralyze her with a mere flick of your wrist? when your nails clawed at her toned abdomen, violet felt the stickiness in her boxers and you’d done all of nothing. she had to put an end to things, the private session, violet couldn’t do it. she didn’t want to be caught in some weird and perversed love triangle with her ex. in the back of her throat, violet feels the lump she constantly has to swallow. the only reasonable explanation is that this, you, is all some weird fantasy of caitlyn to get the last laugh. to fully degrade her in a way she couldn’t, not when you’re the person who gets broken up with. it’s not a secret caitlyn’s ego had taken a hit. to anyone, not being the first choice stings but to cait? it might as well be a death sentence and certainly it wouldn’t stand. 

tattoo artist!vi who isn’t one for confrontation but in the need to savor some of her salvation in her dignity, she walks in the shop. you’re still waiting for her. two hours later, you’d hoped she’d show. ”violet, you came.” it’s endearing but violet also sees herself the night before tangled in her black sheets, vibrator on its highest setting as she applies pressure to her clit, fingers nestled so deep inside her cunt as she hears your voice, thinks about your irresistible lips. violet wonders what you sound like when you come and suddenly the thought sends her hurling towards the edge. the smile you offer is almost like you can see right through her, like you know vi came to the idea of you just the night before. 

with a slender smile, you make your way over to her and suddenly the internal dialogue she created to put an end to this arrangement died on your tongue when she shrugs vi’s leather jacket off. she’s only wearing her wrap to cover her chest, not intending on staying for a long time. definitely not enough to finish the beautiful design she created for you. she’d get cait to do it. their styles were similar to it. your girlfriend has to do this. but you’re touching her bare skin. vi is losing focus as she feels the control slip into your greedy fingers. 

“i know what you’re gonna say.” 

“and what’s that?” 

“you wanna stop this, meeting me here, you feel like you’re betraying someone you love and you have too much integrity to keep seeing someone you so obviously want to fuck.” 

“i can’t—” but the words die on violet’s tongue. 

“sense won’t get to you, that’s something caitlyn didn’t understand. you think with your heart of gold. when it drips for someone, you’d let it bleed out if it meant you were saving someone.” you take a pause, slipping off your shirt as your pierced nipples are exposed. violet nearly begins to drool, her eyes unable to look away from your perfect nipples, the swell of your breast how perfectly they fall on your chest, she’s nearly salivating to be offered a taste. “my girlfriend doesn’t understand you’ve found someone else to be loyal to.” 

“this is not, um, i didn’t—” 

sweetly, you kiss her cheek. “it’s such a bitch isn’t it? your heart wants whatever the fuck it yearns for, no damn mercy on who it hurts.”  

violet can only think of how much she wants to be suffocated by your tits, forever trapped in this venus fly trap you’ve caused her to succumb to. with her best foot forward, she wants to tell you to go to hell, that you’re wrong about her — she would never do something like this — until she does. it’s all tongue and teeth, vitriol and lust spills into her mouth as violet pushes you on the bench, ripping your skirt to shreds with her bare hands. only to find nothing underneath. 

bent over the table, ass up in the air, violet wastes not a single moment and stuffs her face in your fat ass. with a gratifying need, she splits your folds on her tongue as she slaps your ass making you whimper and cry out for her name. it’s beautiful, violet thinks. someone needing her to bring them to the edge, and god, you aren’t shy about it either. never has she heard anyone be so loud and proud about sex. so goddamn confident in each moan you let fall from pornogrpahic lips, it’s damn invigorating. the first one comes easily, you spill over vi’s tongue as she moans back into your weeping pussy, liquid gushing over her face violet never wants it to end. the second time violet fucks you with her fingers, stuffing and fucking until there isn’t any part of you that isn’t undeniably shaking. the third time, you’re on top of her, the two of you finding comfortablity on the cot in the break room as violet lets you fuck her. 

exactly what she expects it to be; hot, rough, fast. slippery pussy rubbing against hers until you collapse on top of her, breast pressed against her binded ones. you have a feeling they are there for a reason and you don’t push, for once in your life, you let yourself succumb to sleep as you fall asleep in her arms. 

tattoo artist!vi who doesn’t see you for three months after she had the best sex of her life. even if it does sting, vi knows it’s for the best. six months in and you’re still with caitlyn despite your best efforts. surprising everyone, but violet for different reasons, you admit your slip up to cait but she forgives you. maddie and sevika make a game of it, trying to guess who make you cheat and when violet’s name comes up jokingly, caitlyn’s words leave an unsettling pit in her stomach. 

c’mon, what is violet going to do? look at her. she’s as loyal as a trained dog and i have you trained. don’t i, cupcake? 

tattoo artist!vi who focuses on her work, like a trained dog, she falls back into her routine. sunday’s aren’t as pleasurable as they were with you, or one sunday she should say, but she dismisses the thought altogether. pushing it to the deepest parts of her mind becomes the only viable option. she uses other forms of entertainment to get her mind off of you. powder thinks it’s a good idea to be here but she refuses to step foot in here with her. this is where my path ends, sis. i’ll be just up the hill when you’re ready. a not so subtle wink has her cringing and flipping her off blue-haired braided sister off in the process. this is such a good stupid idea but violet doesn’t manage to convince herself out of this situation she’s conducted for herself. anyways, it’s one night? no one ever has to know. from the moment she steps into the strip club, she knows she never should have been here. she keeps to the bar as she changes songs from the jukebox a few times. this has never been her scene nor will it ever. as she finishes off her class of neat whiskey, the familiar voice whispers into her ear, never thought you’d be here but i guess we’re both full of surprises.

[slocumjoe]

companions start a minecraft server. how do they play? who lives with who? who starts a war over their dog dying?

Companions play Minecraft

Cait; hardcore mode speedrunner who looks for increasingly difficult and mindfuck ways to kill the Elder Dragon. Why? Success is a kind of high you'll get from nothing else. Especially when you kill the final boss with nothing but eggs and slime pistons. When playing on Hancock's server, functions as a bodyguard during less-safe builds, like underground, or at the edge of the forest. The first line of defense during a raid. Does busywork for Codsworth in exchange for throwing eggs. Piper built a traditional Irish pub for her to live in and you can occasionally see her just staring at it in wonder. Is the one with the pack of wolves. The town graveyard is filled with her fallen pups. Also has a parrot, just to watch it dance to the pub's jukebox.

Codsworth; Does the busywork around the town Hancock and the others have built. Town is probably called Goodneighbor, let's be real. Tends the farms, the animals, makes food, etc. Does a little bit of everything. Takes care of Curie's zoo, goes fishing with Danse, gives opinions on building materials...pure chilling. Refuses to slaughter farm animals for meat, he's too attached. Fish, bread, and vegetables are on the menu in Goodneighbor. Lives in a quaint little birch cottage by the river, where he keeps flowers, bees, and chickens. All of them have nametags. Second line of defense during a raid—touch his potato fields, and enjoy eggs for your last meal.

Curie; Spends all of her time following and studying the more fantastical creatures, like Endermen. Keeps real notes in a notebook as she plays, theorizing on their biology. Endlessly fascinated with the convergent evolution between Villagers and Pillagers. Will often join Preston's archeology expeditions to discover the lore hints in the environment. Dies a lot, usually has nothing but seeds and dirt in her inventory. Keeps an area filled with specimens in appropriate pens. Puts bounties out for new creatures. Favors the axolotls and fish, though. Lives in the second floor of the zoo's visitor center.

Danse; Minecraft has a powerful aura of sad nostalgia, and I don't think he could handle it. Will help out in Goodneighbor by going and getting materials for building. Enjoys fishing more than anything, though. Gets very attached to his orange cat that sits on his bed. His dirt hut is on the outskirts of Goodneighbor, but is covered in flowers, paintings, and whatever else decor the others have put up. Nick dyed his cat's collar pink. Accompanies X6 on Curie's specimen bounties. Will sometimes stop moving. Don't worry, he's just enraptured by the music and is enjoying it. Or is being made very sad by it. Same thing, right?

Deacon; Pays money to change his username to look like someone else's every week. Changes to their skin, too, but edited to have sunglasses. Otherwise, Herobrine wannabe. If you don't know what that is, you are too young to be reading this blog. Deacon will make small, uniform tunnels, fill them with oddities like bone and paper. He'll leave structures reminiscent of crosses. He'll use armor stands and elaborate Redstone mechanisms, make it look like someone's watching you from the trees, only for you to step on a hidden pressure plate, and the figure vanishes. Adds to the lore of the world. Has a rainbow wool house filled with so many rabbits, the game crashes when he approaches.

Gage; You think Gage is playing a kids game? He has shit to do. Like pirate it and sell copies for dirt cheap. Not even to make money, he just does it for the principle. The principle of fuck you, I will make as many copies of this shit as I damn well please. Probably has his face hung up in Mojang HQ, with darts stuck in the one good eye. Would play if he could join the side of the Pillagers. Yeah, sure. He could just set villages on fire himself...but where's the community in that?

Hancock; Owns the server. Keeps it on harder difficulties for the challenge, but not so much of a...whatever you call Cait's type of player. Avid builder, Goodneighbor is a massive project recreating Boston. It's not quite 1 to 1, but still damn impressive. But, hey, if Bobby wants to build places from Grognak, that's chill. Doesn't care about aesthetic or accuracy, just wants to relax and let the creative juices flow. Hancock himself lives in a giant mushroom he made out of mushroom blocks, wool, and mycelium. Pet of choice? Mushroom cow, obviously, courtesy of X6.

MacCready; Got sick for a week. Built the entire Ux-Ron galaxy on the other side of the river. Doesn't remember it, was hopped up on Nyquil and chicken broth in hot water. The resident hunter, when he isn't on a grape-chicken-liquid diet. He's good at building, but can get bored quickly. Aim is...frightening. Can kill a chicken across any gulf. Takes the nightshift guard duty to shoot down Phantoms. His house is a crashed UFO. Even got Deacon to do his redstone trickery, so it lights up all blinky when you trigger a plate at the door. Has a parrot for a pet.

Nick; One of the more adventurous ones. Goes off with Preston, X6, and Cait to explore the different biomes. The resident potion master. It's just a puzzlegame, but for cocktails that can make you jump real high. Keeps a garden with various ingredients, often ventures into the Nether for blaze powder and rods. Has a spawner caged up, so he just smacks them through the door. Writes down all potion or poison recipes in an in-game book and quill. The trial-and-error- failed recipes are also listed, so it's 200+ pages long. His potion hut is built like a speakeasy, and he lives in the basement with a black cat. Would fill the place with ravens, if they weren't in the spin-off game. Third line of defense in town—keeps a chest full of splash poisons. Occasionally opens it and stares at them, like he's not sure if he's willing to commit such an act.

Piper; Obsessed with the underwater update. Always diving for treasure and sunken ships and temples. Keeps all of the knickknacks in a chest back at Goodneighbor, not even for use. Piper isn't even an ocean kinda gal in real life, but...it's so pretty! And the dolphins are so cute! Trades resources for water-breathing potions from Nick. Fills out so many maps, keeps them framed on a massive wall on the Goodneighbor docks. Also keeps a book-and-quill with coordinates and traveling notes, it's longer than Nick's recipe book. Lives in an underwater bubble habitat off the coast of Goodneighbor. Keeps a pink dolphin in a massive glass habitat outside.

Preston; Resident archeologist. Excavates ruins and structures to study them. Spent a month in real life sponging up an underwater temple. Even longer digging out an End fortress. Goes into mineshafts and renovates them entirely, puts signs and maps up. Takes X6 most often on his expeditions, has his own wall of land-maps. Preston spends a lot of time studying the builds left in the world and pondering the historical implications. Real theorist over here. He's fascinated with the subtle story telling and clues. The End keeps him up at night. His house is the huge community library. Also keeps books, writes down his notes and theories. Has a llama for traveling. If anything happened to it, would be very distraught.

X6-88; Resident mercenary. Nick accidentally summoned the Wither? There's a baby zombie running around? Deacon's rabbits have broken out the windows, and the server is in legitimate danger if the horde grows any larger? Get X6-88. Appears with a clap of thunder on his black warhorse, wielding only the most enchanted of weapons, wearing the most enchanted of armor. He does all the hard, dangerous work. Clears out the Nether, the End, Dark Forests, Pillager encampments...X6 is the hard hitter that goes out into danger, whereas Cait stays behind to defend. Is the one who leashes animals and painstakingly brings them back to Goodneighbor, occasionally with Danse's help. He lost his mind, looking for pandas for Curie. Keeps one as a pet in his house, which is the castle in the graveyard.

[fallout4-reacts]

How would the various companions react to like during the escape of vault 114 skinny Malone shouts out to his goons "I want that Twink obliterated" at nick

Cait : She gives Nick a nasty glare but crosses Sole's nervousness. She doesn't like this phoney detective who looks down on her, but she doesn't want Sole to feel guilty.

"Don't worry, they'll try; they'll just run into me and my bat on the way."

Codsworth : "We'd better save ourselves as soon as possible!"

Nick casts a glimpse towards the robot accompanying his saviour. "Why? They never threaten you. They're looking for me."

"However, you are Mum/Sir's only hope of finding young master Shaun. We're not going to let them get to you that simply!"

Nick can't help but smile at the robot, which undoubtedly conveys the background thinking of Sole, who rushes into position, weapon in hand.

Curie : "Doux Jesus!" she said. "This man is terrible! Shouldn't we... flee to avoid them?"

"Not a bad idea," says Sole. "However, Nick, you remain well ahead in sight. I didn't come all this way to have holes drilled in you on the way out."

"What about me?"

"Run with him, and I'll cover you."

Danse : "Tactically, it would be more prudent to abandon the synth. We already have enough on our plate without having to defend this individual against a horde of assailants."

"This synth is my one and only chance to find my son!"

Danse sighs as he looks down at Sole.

"Proceed, I will shield you with my armor. But if you attempt to do it backwards, synth, I'll get out of their way, and we'll have to find another way to find Sole's son."

Deacon : His brows appear over the rims of his glasses, but his demeanour remains unaltered as he gives Sole a little hand gesture to proceed forward. Deacon disappears into the shadows as Sole go further with Nick behind them. While Nick and Sole are walking towards the exit, they hear some dry detonations followed by silence. Deacon rejoins the two fugitives on their level.

"They're not going to chase you anymore, Nick," Deacon says.

Dogmeat : He doesn't know what it's about, but his master goes to this detective, whom he sometimes hang with, and both appear to be afraid of something. The dog's hair rises on the back, and he turns toward the fierce energy with a growl. Men approach with a sinister expression. Dogmeat will shred them all.

Elder Maxson : He dislikes Nick Valentine. He dislikes being persuaded to do this with Sole. He has no idea how this happened. (Possibly due to the fact that the Prydwen never arrived in the Commonwealth at this point 😅😉 ) But one thing is certain: he despises losing his goal to the adversary. He spins around in an instant and charges, not like a fool, but like in a true guerrilla, using the shadows to set up ambushes where raw force or gunfire are insufficient. The poor triggermen have little chance against such a smart tactician, who is equally good at conceiving and executing a strategy.

Hancock : "They don't know who they're dealing with!" he exclaims.

And before Sole or Nick can react, he leaps into the melee, dodging gunfire and splitting the stomachs with his knife without hesitation. Nick and Sole make it their business to complete what little work remained. But the mayor can become feral whenever he wants, and threatening one of his buddies brings out the worst in him.

Gage : He casts a mocking glance towards Sole.

"I told you it was a bad plan from the start!"

"I require the services of this detective. We must prevent them from killing him."

"You need that detective. I need an Overboss. But I'm not going to let a gang of triggermen kill me for this, Overboss. You'll meet me at Nuka-World when you remember what your interests are."

He walks away without saying anything else. He's a raider, you know. Loyalty is not something they have a reputation for. (After all, even if you romance him, he is the first to shoot you in Open Season)

MacCready : "It smells like bone."

"If we don't help him, I'll never find my son."

"Two or three hundred more caps and—"

"Wait, are you negotiating at this time?" exclaim Sole.

"There will never be another better time."

"150, and we have a deal."

"Are you serious?" ask Nick, becomeing irritated.

"Sold! Pointe, I fire."

And, needless to say, there is no longer a triggerman to chase a now taciturn Nick who can't believe his life has been negotiated down.

Nick Valentine : He gives Sole a look of concern. That was something he should have expected. Honor is always last on the agenda with individuals like Malone. He raises his weapon and prepares to protect his life, but to his surprise, Sole also shoulders.

"Wait, you're not fleeing? They're looking for me."

"I also require your assistance. Furthermore, there is no need to investigate who is good and who is bad."

The detective says nothing as the exchange of fire begins, but even after the final triggerman has ceased breathing, he continues to ponder about the moment when Sole, a stranger to him, risked their lives for his synthetic skin.

Piper : "Things are getting complicated," she observed.

"You can go, I'll cover your back," Sole replies.

"Don't you think about it seriously? Do you believe this is the most dangerous situation I've ever encountered? Anyway, I'm not giving up Nicky that lightly."

"Wow, Piper, I'd almost be flattered," Nick says, taken aback.

"Don't think too much," she advised. "It's only a matter of ethics."

Preston : "Who do they think they are?" He asks. "We made a deal, and we stuck to it!"

"You can have fun explaining it to them once they put holes on me like a sieve," Nick replies sarcastically.

"Who do you believe I am? We didn't come to pull you out of there and watch you die!"

Sole doesn't waste time debating and rushes into position, ready to receive the triggerman. Preston covers their back and shoots enthusiastically. When there are no more triggermen standing, he moves closer to the nearest body.

"Adhere to the terms of any deal you make. Honor is what keeps a man up when he has nothing else."

Strong : "AAAAAAAAAAARH!" he shouts.

No wondering which side he's on. Sole wants the detective; the men want to kill the detective. Strong kills the men. Strong is powerful. Strong defends Roboman. That’s all.

X6-88 : "I would strongly suggest that we abandon this obsolete model, which appears to be accumulating more and more problems, and instead utilize the Institute's resources in order to achieve your objective." "What are you doing here???!!"

[laurenairay]

You Say I Am Loved - C. Makar

Summary: 4 times Cale Makar comforted Katerina Stewart and 1 time Katerina Stewart comforted him.

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: hurt/comfort, anxiety, fluff, established relationship

A/N: thanks @antoineroussel​ for asking me to fill in as a pinch-hitter for the summer fic exchange! This story was written for @blueskrugs​ – I hope you enjoy this Cait! I haven’t written for Cale before so this was a great challenge for me (and I really enjoyed the hurt/comfort element!).

Also, big thanks to @tippedbykreider and @danglesnipecelly for their encouragement - you guys are the mvps 💖 inspired by the song You Say by Lauren Daigle.

*

Katerina Stewart didn’t believe in coincidences. Everything happened for a reason; every missed bus, every rainy day, every conversation with a stranger – they all meant something. By embracing the random chances in life, she knew that she’d never miss out on something she would later regret. Perhaps that was the art student in her, seeing the positive in a world that would love nothing more than to stomp out her hope, but she didn’t care. Kat saw the world from a glass half full perspective, and she wouldn’t change that for anything.

So she walked home instead of waiting for the next bus, seeing the world in real-time speed that would otherwise have sped by. She danced in the rain and smiled as it soaked her clothing to the bone, knowing her painting supplies were tucked away safely in her waterproof rucksack. And she spoke to every stranger who spoke to her – the little old lady in the grocery store, the newlywed couple in the dog park with the cutest Pomeranian…and Cale Makar in the coffee shop.

Cale Makar, with his shy smile and his earnest everything and his complete inability to speak to her the first three times he saw her, apparently.

That had been a shock, to say the least. Sure, she hadn’t approached him, but that was because she had recognised him from posters around the city, and she didn’t think it was actually her he was looking at. Kat prided herself on being an approachable friendly person (see: little old lady in the grocery store and the couple in the dog park), but even her warm smile and open nature hadn’t been enough to override Cale’s shyness. But it only took that one chance from Cale, that opening line of “they’re really rushed off their feet in here today, aren’t they?”, to start a conversation that just kept on rolling, leading to them sitting down at a vacant table together. By the end of the hour in the coffee shop, Kat had given him her number with strict instructions to actually message her.

And he had.

A couple of days went by with them messaging constantly, whenever they each had a spare moment (and sometimes even when the moment wasn’t spare, much to the delight of EJ and to Cale’s despair when the team caught him), until Cale had asked if she was free on Friday night. Without hesitating, Kat had said yes. Embrace all the random chances, right?

Along came Friday night and Kat was excited. Actually, that was an understatement. This guy, this incredibly sweet and seemingly genuine guy, made her feel giddy and gave her butterflies, and even just thinking about him put a smile on her face. Already he affected her like this, before their first date – and she couldn’t wait to see how the night went. And what was the date? Well, Cale has suggested they go to the local outdoor ice rink. It was December, all the pretty lights were out in preparation for Christmas, and it was an easy distance for them to get to – what wasn’t to like? She had wanted to tease him for playing to his strengths, but the hopeful tone in his voice when he’d called her to ask had stopped her – he really was so adorable. And besides, she had the cutest winter outfit with coordinating hat, gloves and scarf that would be perfect to wear (and the light blue colours made her dark hair pop), so why not just roll with it?

Welcome the unknown. And she’d never known any guy like Cale before.

Cale picked her up from her campus apartment, immediately complimenting her outfit (she knew it was a winner!), making her glad that she’d put so much effort into looking good. Looking good for him? No, looking good for herself. Not that Cale couldn’t appreciate it…

And by the sideways glances he kept giving her as they drove, he definitely did appreciate it.

It had been years since Kat had ice skated, but after Cale helped her choose the right skates and even helped her lace them up properly – the sight of him on his knees in front of her was one that wouldn’t leave her mind for a while – the two of them headed onto the ice. As expected, she was a little rusty. But there was no way she was going to give up this early. The air was crisp, the fairy lights were twinkling, and she had the cutest guy next to her – this was heaven.

“I can, um…would you like to hold onto my arm?” Cale offered.

It was the light blush on his cheeks that made her smile. “I’d like that,” she nodded.

Biting her bottom lip, she looped her hand through his extended arm, clutching at his bicep as they started to move again. Much easier. Cale smiled down at her as they slowly skated side by side, Kat holding onto Cale like a lifeline, making her smile back up at him. Never had things felt so easy with anyone else. Never.

“You’re an artist, right?” he asked, glancing down at her.

Kat clutched at his arm a little tighter, making sure she was as secure as she could be before she focused on talking to him. He deserved her full attention.

“An art student, yeah,” she nodded, swallowing a little heavier than she intended.

When people asked her what she did, saying ‘art student’ tended to go one of two ways. One option was that people seemed impressed at the creativity. But the other, the more common option, was that people frowned as if to say really?

She really hoped Cale wasn’t one of those people.

“You must be really talented to pursue a degree in it!” he said sweetly.

Oh wow. She felt her cheeks heating up, her olive skin doing nothing to hide the blush that flooded her cheeks. She hadn’t been expecting that.

“I do okay,” she eventually shrugged, cheeks still warm.

“Are you really going to be modest with me?” he teased.

Oh two could play at that game.

“How could I not be, when I’m next to the guy who was called up from college to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs?” she teased back.

Now it was Cale’s turn to blush. Hah. Good.

“I think I’d rather talk about you,” he said softly.

It was his gentle sincere eyes that made Kat’s breath hitch in her throat, her head nodding in agreement before she could stop herself.

“Um, sure. What do you want to know?” she asked, a little stunned.

For the rest of their 45-minute skating session, their conversation didn’t stop. Back and forth they talked and asked questions, learning more about each other that their texting hadn’t covered. To be honest, Kat was a little astounded when it came for them to leave the ice – time had flown by, without her even noticing. When was the last time conversation had been so effortless like this on a date? Or ever, with anyone?

But when she sat down to unlace her skates, she found that her fingers were too numb to untangle the knot. Okay so maybe her cute new gloves weren’t as warm as they could be.

“Everything okay?” Cale asked, frowning as he noticed her not moving.

“Uh, my hands are too cold to untie my skates?” she offered, wincing at how silly it sounded.

Cale’s frown slipped to an expression of alarm and he quickly knelt down in front of her (again, whew).

"Here, give me your hands,” he murmured.

Kat wordlessly did as he asked, gasping softly as he cupped her frozen fingers between his hands and blew against the useless wool. His breath filled the material covering her hands, warming her instantly, and she bit her bottom lip as he blew again. No-one had ever comforted her like this, ever. No-one had even offered. So for Cale to just do it instinctively on their first date? Wow.

“Hopefully that takes the edge off?” Cale said, looking up at her with wide eyes.

Kat wiggled her fingers, smiling at the lack-of-pain in the movement. “Much better, thank you,”

Cale just grinned – before reaching for her laces. She was too surprised to refuse, sitting still in shock as he carefully unlaced and loosened her boots, until he winked up at her when he finished. Oh that boy knew exactly what he was doing. How smooth.

Somehow, Kat didn’t find herself minding all that much.

“Last person with their shoes on buys the hot chocolate?” Cale suggested playfully.

Kat looked down at his skates, which were still tightly laced, before laughing. “Oh you’re on,”

Naturally Cale lost. And yet Kat was charmed, her hand having found its way to curl over his bicep once more, despite not needing the assistance at all. Cale didn’t seem to mind, funny enough, smiling shyly down at her after he ordered a hot chocolate for them both. Kat huffed out a laugh, her breath curling into mist in the cold air, but smiled back up at him, sweetly, effortlessly.

What an incredible date. What an incredible guy.

“I think this is the start of something beautiful,” Kat said softly.

The pink flush of Cale’s cheeks only made Kat smile wider. “I really hope so,”

*

Kat and Cale’s relationship only flourished from there. One date turned to two to three to ten to six months down the line in a relationship that was only going from strength to strength. He built her up and supported her just as much as she did to him, him attending as many art shows and exhibitions as he could while she went to every home game as well as some official Avs events as his girlfriend – it was a partnership of equals, something that Kat had only ever hoped for. And Cale was more than she could ever have dreamed.

For Cale, Kat was a breath of fresh air. Her positivity was so refreshing in a world that could be so stressful and bleak, and her go-with-the-flow nature helped him appreciate the smaller things in life. It was so easy to get caught up in his head sometimes, with the pressure he put himself under, as well as the pressure with hockey and the team in general, but Kat was always there with a sweet smile and warm words to bring him out of that fog.

She was always there, by his side, ready to cheer him on, just like he did with her. So when Kat didn’t answer his texts or calls for three days straight, Cale got worried fast. Both of them had been busy lately – Cale was out of the playoffs now, and Kat had been to all of his home games in this first round, even though it was coming to the end of her degree. He’d done his best to encourage her with her portfolio creation and selection on the days he’d been home, and he thought she’d appreciated it – so after the locker cleanout days and team admin things he needed to sort out, he’d given her some space (and taken some for himself, to be honest), always sending her texts to check in.

But he hadn’t received anything in return. And three days was more than long enough. So on the evening of that third day, he drove over to her campus apartment to see if she was there. He didn’t know what he’d do if she wasn’t there. It was all he could do to channel a bit of that positive hope she always tried to instill in him.

“Oh thank fuck,”

Cale blinked in surprise at the greeting from Kat’s flatmate Sarah, earning a wincing smile back. Oh thank fuck. Was that a good thing?

“Is Kat home?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, she’s in her room. Full on zombie mode. I don’t think I’ve seen her leave in literally three days,”

Three days. Shit.

“Has she eaten?” he frowned.

“Not that I can tell, sorry man. Feel free to come in, I need to grab some groceries anyway,” Sarah shrugged.

Zombie mode. Hasn’t left her room. Hasn’t eaten.

Where was the cheerful positive girl he’d come to know? Damn it, he should’ve come sooner, he shouldn’t have given her the ‘space’ he thought she’d want. Damn it. He didn’t even register the front door closing behind Sarah as he walked towards Kat’s room, knocking twice on the door before opening it.

“Cale?”

He looked at Kat and tried not to let his jaw drop in surprise. She was sitting at her desk, clear of sketchpads for once, but hunched over a laptop that he rarely saw her use, her legs pulled up tight to her chest. Her dark hair, usually so glossy (thanks to an expensive conditioner she tried to ration) and tumbling down her back was thrown up into a greasy bun. Her eyes were clearly straining at her laptop, her lips her chewed and chapped, and she looked exhausted. Sarah was right. This was full on zombie mode.

“Hey Kat. It’s been a few days,” he said, hesitating a little before perching on the end of her bed.

Kat winced, tongue darting out to wet her dry lips.

“Has it really?” she grimaced, “I guess I lost track of time,”

Cale stayed silent as she fished in the pocket of her (his) hoodie, locating her phone – which was dead. She winced again.

“Damn it,” she groaned.

Well at least that explained why she hadn’t responded.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, reaching out a hand towards her.

Kat bit her bottom lip but took his hand anyway, uncurling her feet from her desk chair to sit down next to him on her bed instead. If it had really been three days…she could only guess what she looked like. And she would put money on none of the other Avs partners ever looking like this. Great. Great job Kat.

“I’ve been better. Just got this final assignment to finish, that’s all,” she shrugged.

One final essay, explaining the themes of her essay and why she chose all her pieces and just everything she hated about being in college. Essays!

Cale let out a breath of relief – was that all that the problem was?

Kat watched him let out a breath of relief and frowned – what did he have to be relieved about?

“I thought you weren’t talking to me for a bad reason,” he admitted.

It was all she could do not to let her jaw drop.

“You think this isn’t bad? You think this isn’t serious?” she said incredulously.

“I didn’t mean that, you know that. I just…I haven’t heard from you. I was really worried,” he said, trying to reassure her,

“This is it, Cale. It’s the final of everything I’ve worked on for the last four years,” Kat shot back, “I have to put all my focus on it,”

Cale just smiled, trying to diffuse her mild temper, and squeezed her shoulder. Her passion was one of the things he loved most about her – even when it translated to this intensity. She just loved so much, especially her art.

“You’ve already finished your portfolio – all of those incredible drawings and paintings, they’re all done. It’s just this one last thing,” he soothed.

“This last thing is a ridiculous essay and I am not a writer. I am an artist. My art speaks for itself,” she groaned.

“I know. You know. We all know. But you’ve just got to do this one last thing for the stuffy dinosaur administration who couldn’t understand art if a child explained it,”

She couldn’t help but laugh, her frustration melting away at his words.

“You have been listening to my wine rants,” Kat giggled, unable to keep her bad mood up.

He cares. He really cares.

“I always listen,” he mused, “Even when you and the other halves are slurring and stumbling as bad as Josty on rum,”

The cheek! Accurate, but still!

“Lies! Slander! I won’t stand for it!” she said dramatically.

Cale just laughed, rolling his eyes fondly (there was his girl), before leaning forward to press a kiss to the side of her head. Kat immediately frowned, pouting up at him until he laughed again, leaning down to kiss her lips this time, earning a soft happy sigh from his girlfriend.

“That’s better,” she said, smiling up at him once he’d pulled away.

Cale smiled back, but not as fully as he usually would. All he could focus on were the bags under Kat’s eyes, the tension in and around her eyes too, and he hated how pale and tired she looked. What he hated even more was that she wasn’t going to do anything about herself. So it was up to him.

“Time for a break,” he announced.

“What? No! I still have so much to do,” she insisted.

“Kat, sweetheart, when was the last time you ate a full meal? Or even slept more than just passing out at your desk for an hour?” Cale frowned.

She opened and closed her mouth, unable to give an answer that didn’t sound awful. Because the truth was that she didn’t know when she last did either of those. Her wince told Cale all he needed to know.

“This isn’t healthy for you. Going over the same thing, over and over again, it’s only going to mess with your head. And you need food and sleep to fuel your brain to write in the first place. How about we drive back to mine, I’ll make you a light dinner, and you can take a break while you eat it?”

“Cale, I don’t know…”

“I wasn’t finished,” he teased.

She huffed a laugh, nudging him with her knee, earning a nudge back.

“Why don’t we read it together when you’ve finished eating? That way you can get an outside perspective, and you can go through your line of thinking?”

Kat bit her bottom lip in hesitation. Cale…reading her essay? She wanted to shudder at the thought. Like she said, there was a reason she was an artist and not a writer. But he did have a point about the outside perspective. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? He wouldn’t be rude about it after all…

“I just want to help you, Kat. That’s all,” he said softly, drawing her back out of her head.

“I know you do babe. And I appreciate it, I really do,” Kat said, smiling tiredly.

Cale stayed silent, raising an eyebrow, making Kat laugh softly. He always could read her so well. So, she nodded, admitting defeat.

“You can feed me. And read my essay,” she sighed.

Cale just grinned at her, darting forward for another quick kiss. “You won’t regret this, I promise,”

His earnest nature, as always, melted her heart just that little bit more.

“Embrace the chances, right? I trust you,” she said, huffing out a breath, “Pinky promise,”

“Pinky promise. I just want to look after you, in the ways that you’ll let me. If I can give you a bit of comfort with some food and a hug, then I’m going to,” he beamed at her.

To be honest, with him that would be all she needed. He always knew how to make things better.

*

Summer passed in a happy daze. Now that she was no longer a student, Kat had the whole summer free before she needed to be back in Denver. Cale had insisted that she take the time off to relax before looking for jobs – and with her agreeing to move in with him when they went back to Denver together, she knew she was lucky to have that security. So after moving her belongings from her campus apartment to Cale’s apartment, she flew back to New York to spend some time with her family. She’d seen her parents at her graduation, them having met Cale in person then too. Her mom adored him, obviously – and her dad, surprisingly, was won over immediately. Not that it was possible to dislike Cale, but as his only child and daughter, her boyfriends through high school (and the one guy she dated in college freshman year) had faced a much sterner treatment.

But not Cale. Never Cale.

So back to Queens she went, celebrating her graduation with her parents and aunts and uncles and cousins and childhood friends, having planned two weeks at home by herself before Cale joined her for a few days. They then had planned to spend another few days with her family before heading to Rome for a week, their first holiday away together (and Kat was unbearably excited), before heading up to see Cale’s family for a week. After that, they would head back to Denver together, to start the next chapter in their relationship.

That was the plan anyway.

And that was exactly how their summer went. Kat kept up with her sketching all the way throughout, inspired by the sights and the surroundings and the people around her, and she bolstered her resumé by submitting freelance to various magazines as well as creating an online profile for her portfolio, keeping her digital skills sharp on the many journeys she travelled.

Somehow it paid off. Kat kept up the freelance work while applying for jobs – as her professors and tutors had suggested – and while she got a fair few rejections for all kinds of reasons, after two months she got that lucky break. A graphic design company, specialising in the realism designs that she herself preferred, took a chance on her portfolio, inviting her to an interview for an entry level position – and she got the job.

Embrace the chances.

They had taken a chance on her, and she had taken a chance on them – now, it was time for her to start her first day. Kat couldn’t remember the last time she was this nervous. Her usual positivity was in short supply. Her glass half full nature was teetering. Her cheerful seize the day mentality was shaky at best.

But what was the best thing about living with her boyfriend? He was there by her side, ready to be her rock.

“Are you ready?” he asked, smiling.

“As I’ll ever be,” she nodded, trying to smile back.

Cale grinned at her attempts to keep her confidence up. He’d never met anyone like her, that was for sure.

"Remember to breathe," he teased.

Kat took a dramatic deep breath in and then out, making Cale laugh, and she couldn’t help but laugh herself.

Maybe that was his intention all along.

They were standing by the front door, Kat dressed in a new outfit that Cale insisted she let Mel Landeskog take her shopping for. To get her in the right mindset, he explained. Well, it had kind of worked, until it was time for her to pick up her bag and head out of the apartment. But Cale had been waiting for her, ready to give her that goodbye good luck kiss, and now it seemed, a confidence boost.

He smiled sweetly at her, taking both her hands in his, making her look up at him. “I believe in you, okay? You’re going to be amazing,”

Kat felt her cheeks heat up in a blush and she shook her head, earning a tsk from Cale.

“I’m just a junior associate. Not even a designer yet,”

“It’s a foot in the door. They hired you because of your portfolio – clearly they saw potential in you. This is the first step of many and you’re going to show them just how incredible and talented you are,” he said firmly.

She bit her bottom lip, looking up at him shyly. “You really do believe that, don’t you?”

Cale beamed and nodded, that genuine sincerity shining through as always.

“I believe it and I know it. You’re special, Kat. It’s time for you to show the world. Pinky promise,” he said softly.

Kat huffed out a laugh but squeezed his hands, still feeling a little dazed. How did he always know what to say? Even after all this time, how was he so wonderful?

“Pinky promise. You always know how to make me feel better,” she murmured.

“You deserve it. You deserve to be happy, to feel confident, to be secure, everything. All the time. If I can do that for you, then it makes me the happiest and luckiest guy in the world,”

Kat’s heart sped up just that little bit more. “You wonderful ridiculous man,”

“Your wonderful ridiculous man,” he grinned.

She just laughed. That he was.

*

“Kat, sweetheart, you’re burning up,”

Kat groaned and swatted at the hand that Cale placed on her forehead, trying to ignore her boyfriend as she pushed herself upright. Woah, dizzy. No, that was temporary, she was fine.

“Now is not the time for your stubbornness,” he mused.

“Now is the time for me to get up and go to work,” she grumbled, trying to hide her grimace at the feeling of the sweat at her hairline.

She had gone to bed feeling fine, that much she knew. And this definitely wasn’t fine. This was…ugh, this was awful. Her body ached, her head was groggy and she’d already sneezed three time in the last 15 minutes. Great. Just great. She didn’t have time to be ill!

But Cale’s gentle hand on her shoulder kept her from getting out of bed, and she just sighed as he crawled over to sit beside her.

“It’s a nasty flu sweetheart, you should be resting,” Cale said softly, eyebrows pinched together in concern.

“But it’s January!” she huffed, “I never get the flu past Christmas! I’ll be fine,”

Cale just laughed, shaking his head. “Guess you hit the jackpot this time. And no, you won’t be fine, you need to rest,”

Kat just pouted, eyes wide, making Cale laugh again.

“Don’t you pull that face at me,” he warned playfully, “you shouldn’t go to work and that’s final,”

“I’ve only been working there a couple of months, Cale. I haven’t even passed my probation yet. I can’t just take a day off!”

“Firstly, you told me last week that the flu has been going around your office, so this isn’t unexpected. And secondly, you absolutely can take a sick day. It’s a Friday and you haven’t got any deadlines for today or Monday – you can take one day off to let your body rest,” he insisted.

Damn it. She hated when he was right.

“I hate when you’re right,” she sighed.

Cale just pressed a kiss to her hair to hide his grin. “I know,”

She huffed out a laugh, ignoring the way it scratched her throat.

“Do think you can make it to the sofa?” he asked.

Kat bit her bottom lip, considering his question properly like she knew he wanted her too. Her head was foggy, but she wasn’t dizzy. Her legs were shaky, but her knees weren’t weak. Her runny nose and sore throat would be the same no matter where she was in the apartment. Yeah, she could make it to the sofa.

“Yeah, sofa sounds good,” she nodded.

Cale smiled and helped her stand up slowly, waiting until she was steady to release his hold on her.

“I’ll change the sheets and then come join you, okay?”

“I don’t want you to get sick though,” she frowned.

He just laughed. “This came on overnight for you, and we’ve been sharing a bed since I got back from the roadtrip three days ago. If I’m going to get it, then it’s already started,” he shrugged.

Kat grimaced. Disrupting Cale’s games, his chance to get on the ice, was the last thing she wanted. How could she not have planned better for this? As if he was reading her mind, Cale cupped her face with a hand, sending her a reassuring smile.

“None of that. No feeling guilty. I could just have easily caught a cold from one of the guys. Some of their kids picked up the flu in school this week,” Cale said firmly.

Kat sniffed but nodded, trying to push the negative thoughts away. That would do neither of them any good. “Are you sure you want to risk it?” she said softly.

“In sickness and in health, right?”

“Oh my god Cale, we’ve been together for just over a year,” she gasped, giggling.

What a thought though.

Cale just grinned. “Got your mind off things though, right?”

Kat just rolled her eyes playfully, sniffing again.

“Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know why I put up with you,” she teased.

Cale laughed, tugging her against his body, making her shiver (in a good way, for the first time since she woke up). “Oh I can think of a few reasons. But for now, how about because I’m going to change the bedsheets while you walk yourself to the sofa, and then I’m going to join you with fresh orange juice and more medicine?” he offered.

Kat groaned, thunking her head against his collarbone. “You are a dream, Cale Makar. People as good as you don’t exist in real life,”

Cale just grinned, pressing a kiss to her forehead before stepping backwards. “Sofa, now. Go get comfy. Call your boss,”

She smiled at him, as sweetly and as genuinely as she could. Some day she would figure out what good thing she did in a past life to deserve this man.

“I’ll be waiting,”

“I’ll be quick,”

*

Playoffs were different this year. Firstly, last year Kat had been in her final year of college, struggling through her own pressure, whereas this year she experienced everything with The Avs full-on. Secondly, the team had made it to the second round, meaning the intensity ramped up to another level. Cale had been looking more and more exhausted as each game went on – now she understood why he was so upset with her lack of sleep last year, she got it – and there was only so much she could do to make him feel better. It was all she could do to be there if he needed her, offering that silent support, being that rock for him like he always was for her. As much as she wanted to do more, there just wasn’t more she could do.

She did her best to boost him with positivity, to hype him up before games, and for the most part it worked. He left their apartment with a smile, albeit a tired one, and always gave her a hug and a kiss whenever he saw her and left her.

It was enough and it was everything. Until it wasn’t.

The Avs battled until Game 6, hard fought and worn to the bone, but again it wasn’t enough. Kat could feel the devastation all the way from the family box, clutching at Cale’s mom’s hand for a lifeline, tears springing to her eyes. All of this intense pressure, these injuries, these sacrifices, without the ultimate prize to show that everything was worth it.

Playoffs were different this year. But she was still Kat and he was still Cale, and together they would work out a way to make it through. Somehow. Embrace the unknown, right?

Eventually, everyone trickled out of the arena. It was a blessing that they were playing at home, so they didn’t have the long journey back. Cale’s dad had offered to drive, so Kat had stayed with Cale in the back seat, Cale clinging to her hand with no intention of letting go. Not that Kat minded in the slightest. She didn’t want him to let go either. It was all too soon before Cale’s parents dropped them off, returning to their hotel and leaving Cale and Kat by themselves. They stayed silent, barely moving away any distance from each other as they shuffled through the apartment to their bedroom, Cale kicking the door shut behind them, shutting out the rest of the world.

Eventually when they had both fully stripped off and crawled into bed, Cale let out a weary sigh.

“I really thought this was our year,” he said quietly.

Quietly, as in trying to hold back tears. Quietly, as in devastating Kat all over again.

“You fought so hard,” she whispered back.

“Just not hard enough,” he muttered.

“Hey, no, you pushed yourself to your limit. No-one can ask more than that,” she insisted.

Cale laughed bitterly. “I bet the media and the fans and management have something different to say,”

Kat scowled, a rare expression on her face, and looked at him head-on, making Cale pay attention. “Anyone that tries to say different doesn’t know their shit. You worked your ass off, played to the bone, fought tooth and nail to get this far. How many of you played through injuries, hm? How many injuries did you yourself play through?”

Cale winced, trying not to think about the twinge in his shoulder or the dark bruising on his ribs, both of which had needed rest for some time now. Kat sighed, running a hand through her hair, before cupping his face with her hand.

“I love you Cale. You were amazing. Are amazing. I couldn’t have asked for more from you and I am sure as hell not disappointed in you,” Kat said firmly.

“You’re not?”

It was the hesitation in his voice that broke her heart a little.

“Not even a little bit. I’m so proud of you,” she murmured.

Cale let out a shaky breath, moving to bury his face against her bare shoulder, allowing her to run her fingers up and down his bare back.

“Hey, what can I do?” she asked softly.

“Just hold me for a while. Please,” Cale said quietly.

“Of course, anything you need. Pinky promise,” she replied.

Katerina Stewart didn’t believe in coincidences. Everything happened for a reason – every choice she made, every direction she had gone in, had led her to this moment. It had led her to Cale Makar. And there was nowhere else she would rather be.

[nukacoola]

Companions react to Danse stepping out of power armor for the first time!

Cait: 

She would look Danse up and down very obviously and grin which would make him extremely uncomfortable. 

“Ya’outgha get out of that thing more often Dansey. Who knew there were cookies in that tin can of yours.”

She obviously isn’t actually interested in Danse. Way too boring. But she’s not one to toss out eye candy just cause it isn’t her favorite flavor. She wouldn’t actively follow him but for fun and also to get on his nerves she would definitely cat-call him everytime he was in hearing range. Deacon and Hancock might join in for a few comments if they don’t have anything better to do.

She would not stop unless sole made a convincing plea or reason for why she should and maybe not even then.

Danse would not respond or look at Cait but he would be very red and never get out of his suit in front of her again.

Codsworth: 

“Why Paladin Danse I dare say you’ve been keeping up your workout routine! Cheers to your excellent health whether in or out of your power armor!” Codsworth is reassured that his owner is traveling with someone so equipped for the struggles of the wasteland.

“Uh, thank you, Codsworth.” Danse would feel a bit awkward but he would appreciate the compliment. 

“Might I polish that for you while you're otherwise engaged? It seems to be in a just dreadful state and I would like nothing more than for you to be looking your best in your wasteland escapades!” Though he is reassured by Danse’s physical state and abilities, he is mortified by the state his armor is in. All the scratches, dings, and dirt? It’s just horrible. Codsworth has always wanted an opportunity to fix that suit up and is pretty happy that the day has finally arrived.

“I- If you’d like to you can.”

“Oh good! I do so love a difficult task!” With that Codsworth would zoom away to procure the necessary supplies to return Danse’s armor to it’s original state. Danse didn’t really know whether or not he should be offended at the robot’s comments but he decided to just continue about his business and not think about it too much. 

Curie:

“Oh Monsieur Danse, you are quite zee lovely specimen! I would be eager to do a physical examination if you would allow me to.” Ever since leaving the vault, Curie has been astounded at how many different sorts of humans there are. Danse is particularly interesting to her because of the amazing athletic feats he does so regularly. She is also interested in studying the effects of constant power armor usage on the human body. When she sees him step out of his suit for the first time and sees his overly muscular physique, it just tacks on another reason she wants to study him. 

Before Blind Betrayal:

“The only specimen that needs examining is you, synth. Don’t talk to me unless you’re submitting yourself to the Brotherhood.” The only reason Curie isn’t already on the Prydwen is because Sole thinks it’s their friend. It bothers Danse immensely that Sole hasn’t destroyed or used this inhuman thing already.

(Don’t get mad at me he literally says this in game.)

Curie is very hurt, she expected this reaction but it still hurt. She was still getting used to feelings such as the pained ones she felt in moments like these.

After Blind Betrayal:

“No. Thank you.” Danse’s words were strained. Being around Curie was pretty awful for him. He had treated her so terribly before and he still had strong feelings of disgust towards her despite what he knows now. Everytime he sees her and has those feelings of hate and disgust, he remembers that he and Curie are the same. He’s still struggling to overcome the years of propaganda that were drilled into him. 

Curie is disappointed. Did Danse not see they are the same? If he didn’t believe in her humanity then he would have to not believe in his own. It is very confusing for Curie. She hopes that he will eventually go back on his denial of her offer. He would be a very interesting specimen.

Deacon:

He would be surprised that Danse would be able to wear that clunky thing so much in the first place. He wouldn’t be surprised at how muscular he is under the suit though. It takes a lot of strength to operate those suits. He’d read that before they were fully developed, a lot of trial runs had resulted in really terrible accidents. The kind of accidents that crush all of your bones at once or remove your top half from your bottom.

Deacon would definitely make a few jokes. “Hey the sardine’s outta the can!” “Isn’t getting out of that bulldozer against Brotherhood policy or something?” “And I thought it was glued on! Learn something new everyday.”

Danse would scowl at his comments but say nothing. He did not like Deacon one bit. That man’s hiding something and if it turns out what he’s hiding will harm Sole or the Brotherhood’s mission, there was gonna be hell to pay. Danse could’ve sworn he’d seen him on the Prydwen a few times but whenever he looked back again to check, he was gone. Danse didn’t much like the idea of leaving his power armor alone with Deacon around but Sole assured him he’s harmless. We’ll see...

Whenever Danse returned to his suit Deacon would stand suspiciously close to it and act like he was trying to play cool after almost being caught doing something nefarious. He would never get tired of watching Danse carefully inspect every part of the armor before apprehensively getting in. Man that guy’s fun to mess with.

Dogmeat: 

He was so surprised! He thought this human was just made of metal! But now Dogmeat can play and jump and lick! Yes!!

Danse has no idea how to deal with a dog he wasn’t allowed to kick so he would just try to awkwardly push the pup off until Sole took care of it.

Hancock: 

Oh HELL YES! Hancock has wanted to punch this fucker since he first laid eyes on him. “HEY SOLDIER BOY, TIME TO SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO OUT OF YOUR DAMN COWARD COFFIN!” He would make a beeline towards the paladin and the paladin would speed walk towards the ghoul as well. Sole barely let him insult the damn freak but this was a direct attack of which he was most definitely gonna defend himself from.

Sole would freak out a bit and try to get in between the two. They would both try to get Sole out of the way so they could pummel each other. A brief alliance in order to facilitate their battle. This was too sweet of an opportunity to miss. 

“Sorry Sunshine, this is happening.”

“Sole, it has directly started an altercation with me and I intend to see it through.”

If they both had a great relationship with Sole after a bit of panicked begging to both parties, the men would begrudgingly back off. They would, however, insult each other viciously despite Sole’s protests. 

“You have no fucking idea how lucky you are meathead. I swear to god if they weren’t here…”

“You call me a meathead but you’re the one who’s rotting, ghoul.”

They would continue to jab each other until Sole dragged Danse off to do what he got out of his suit to do in the first place. 

If one or both of them didn’t have a close relationship with Sole, well, it wouldn’t be pretty. They would forcibly move Sole out of the way and fight for a while. Though Danse is much bigger than Hancock, Hancock is quicker and better at hand to hand. Danse, being unused to fighting outside of his armor, was ultimately unable to beat the ghoul. Hancock landed one final blow to his face, knocking Danse flat. When he stayed down Hancock laughed loudly and spit at him.

“Done in by the best, lucky you.” It would be a huge blow to Danse’s ego and he’d resent Hancock even more now. Hancock would gloat constantly when Danse was around. “Heyyy, there’s my favorite punching bag!” “Come on over Dansey I won’t bite!” He wouldn’t out of shame, but if Danse ever did try to retort, Hancock would just taunt him. Saying something like “Oh yeah? Ya know my favorite way to settle conflicts is by beating the other asshole into the dirt. Hop outta that suit and we can go for round two.”

MacCready:

Mac’s always thought of Danse as an annoying asshole. He still thinks of him this way but when he stepped out of that armor for the first time. Ho lee sh-crap. MacCready might have to look into joining the Brotherhood if the rest of those guys looked the same as Danse. He had expected him to be strong cause of the whole carrying 500 pounds of steel everywhere but his body was something Mac was not expecting and something he could look at for a while. 

If Danse came near the merc he would probably clam up and blush a bit. If Danse caught him staring, he would annoyedly ask, “Is there a problem, civilian?”

“I- uh no.” any other day he would’ve fired back some snide remark but he couldn’t quite seem to think of one right now. 

Nick:

Nick really couldn’t give less of a damn. He hated Danse, Danse hated him, and the two did their best to ignore each other. 

Piper: Piper didn’t really care either. Sure he was muscular but she was very turned off by the everything else about him. All she really payed attention to was the possibility of an exclusive interview or an inside look at the Brotherhood’s workings. Danse would never agree to either of those though. Preston: Preston didn’t care. He already knew you had to be strong to wear power armor especially if you wore them as much as Brotherhood Paladins did. He didn’t like the Brotherhood and by extension, he didn’t trust Danse. Preston was mannerly of course, for Sole, but he knows Danse thinks very little of the Minutemen so he didn’t try too hard to be kind. Strong: Strong thinks this is good time to smash strong human. He has killed many brothers but he wears metal suit. He is weak without metal suit. Human friend tells Strong that if Strong smash, Strong will not find milk of human kindness. Strong angry, Strong want to smash, but Strong not smash.

Danse would never get out of his suit near Strong unless he absolutely had to. Sole insisted that the abomination wasn’t going to be a problem but he didn’t believe it for a second. It took all of his willpower to not open fire on the thing whenever he saw it. Sole has poor taste in companions...

X6:

X6 wouldn’t care. He would consider taking this opportunity to get rid of the high ranking Brotherhood soldier, but it would make Sole upset and would do relatively little to the Brotherhood as a whole. 

Ask and ye shall recieve! I decide the winner on Hancock’s one by their special stats. How the hell does Hancock have such good stats and he’s still terrible in a fight??

[gold-and-rubies]

Companions and Sturges, Proctor Ingram and the Minuteman Radio Freedom guy (we call him Saxon in this house) react to Sole giving them a gift on a special day, please!

I decided to go with a mix of anniversaries and birthdays. It’s a bit long, so I’m doing this in two parts, and everything is under the read more thing. It’s in alphabetical order from Cait to Dogmeat. Don’t worry, MacCready will be in the next one.

Part two can be found here

Cait: Cait sat on the couch of her and Sole’s shared home, unwrapping her hand wraps. Sole had insisted that she use them when she fought or practiced. Cait had scoffed at that. Bruised knuckles were the least of her worries, but she complied. After all it was to protect her, and Sole was the one who asked.

She hummed quietly as she inspected her hands. She looked up as someone opened the door, ready to fight. She calmed when Sole walked through. No one but them ever just walked in, but she was still getting used to that.

“Hey, I got something for you,” they greeted, holding up a somewhat long box.

She raised an eyebrow at them. Sole getting her stuff wasn’t out of the ordinary, but there was never an air of mystery to it.

Sole stepped over to the couch and sat beside her. They set the box on the coffee table in front of them.

“Open it,” they smiled, “but be careful. It’s sharp.”

Cait sat forward and took the lid off of the box. Inside was an aluminum bat with metal spikes welded to it. It looked like it was brand new. She picked it up by it’s leather wrapped handle. It was heavy in her hands, but not too much. It felt like it was the perfect weight to do some real destruction.

“Happy birthday, Cait. I hope you like it. Took me a while to find what I need, and to make it. I was worried it wouldn’t be done in time,” they explained.

Birthdays. She never understood why someone would want to celebrate them. Just another year they survived in the wasteland, but this...

She set it back in the box, close to tears. She fought them back. They were happy tears, but tears nonetheless. In her mind she had spent enough time crying. So instead she enveloped Sole in a bone crushing hug.

“Thanks, love. I’m sure it’ll be put to good use. Raiders will regret lettin’ me live this long.”

Codsworth: Codsworth floated around the kitchen in the old home in Sanctuary. Although the definition of clean changed, his job had gotten a bit easier now that Sole was living in it again. He actually had things to clean up now.

Sole poked their head through the glassless window. They had installed shutters to keep out critters and the elements, but it was a nice day so they were open.

“Hey, Codsworth. You know how you were complaining about some of your joints needing work, and your thruster needing an upgrade,” they said.

“Yes?”

“Well I found the parts, so If you want, I can do those repairs now.”

He paused, unsure how to respond, “Now? But I am in the middle of cleaning the dishes.”

“Yes, now, that is if you want. The dishes can wait. Especially today.”

“Today?”

“You don’t remember? Today is the day I brought you here,” they explained.

Codsworth swore if he was a human or synth he would have blushed.

“That is very kind of you. If you don’t mind, I will finish the dishes, then we can get started on the repairs”

Curie: Curie stood in her makeshift lab trying to get some work done, but her mind was elsewhere. Sole had been gone for about a month with Mister Valentine. While she trusted him to keep them safe, she still missed them dearly.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” she said. 

Maybe it was someone who needed help. Maybe she just needed to try to focus on a different task.

She did not look up right away. She tried to make a final observation on the stingwing venom she was working with.

“What? Giving me the cold shoulder?” a familiar voice asked.

She looked up to see Sole Standing in the door frame smiling at her. She gently set down the vial of venom, then rushed over to greet Sole with a hug.

“I’m sorry, my love. I did not know it was you.”

“It’s alright. Looks like you were in the middle of something. I got you something, by the way.”

“What? A gift for me? Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I felt like I needed to. I was gone for a while, and today is a very special day.”

“Special day?” she repeated.

They reached around to one of their back pants pockets and produced a small box that made a rattling noise as it moved. 

“Happy anniversary, Curie. They’re aster seeds from Far Harbor. I know it isn’t much, but I thought you’d like to study them, and some living flowers.

“Oh my love, they’re wonderful,” she gasped, “I’m sure they will look beautiful as well.”

She smiled fondly at the box. Observations, discoveries, and experiments were waiting to be made.

Danse: Danse sat at the weaponry workbench at the Red Rocket just outside of Sanctuary. It had been a little over a year since his departure from the Brotherhood. Most of the people there had come to accept him now, but he still preferred to be alone most of the time. Well, alone with Sole.

But Sole was not there at the moment, instead it was just him and the project he was working on. Sole had talked him into joining the Minutemen, and he had some time off so he decided to make some adjustments to his personal laser musket.

He was so focused on his work that he did not hear Sole approach. He jumped slightly when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see them smiling at him.

“Hey,” they said, cocking their head to the side. A soft smile was on their face.

“Hey,” he said back. His voice cracked slightly. He was still adjusting the casual affection. 

“How’s the project going?” they asked.

“Good. Luckily, I think we already have the parts to make a stronger beam. How’d the trip to Diamond City go?”

“It went well. I got you something.”

He raised an eyebrow at them. They produced a small box, and handed it to him. He opened it and his eyes widened. Inside were old school dog tags. They looked brand new. His eyes started to tear up as he picked them up. He looked up at them.

“I know your old holo tags meant alot to you. There’s a jewelry maker in Diamond City now, so I got him to make these for you. I hope you like them. Happy anniversary.”

He put them back in the box and set it down on the workbench, before standing up and pulling them into a hug. He kissed the top of their head.

“They’re great. Thank you so much.”

Deacon: Deacon was sitting in their current hideout that doubled as a sniper's nest. He was up against the farthest wall from the vantage point, so the glowing end of his cigarette.

He heard someone starting to approach the door to his right. As he reached for his rifle he heard the knocking pattern that he and Sole had agreed upon as to not startle each other. 

Sure enough, they stepped through the door, but they were carrying a box they had not left with. It was somewhat flat and medium sized. It didn’t seem to be heavy. He wondered what was inside. 

“A present? For me? Aw you shouldn’t have,” he joked.

“Actually, it is a present. For you,” the responded, mimicking his tone. Despite that they were completely serious.

“Wait, what?” he blinked. It was hard to surprise him, and this certainly did the trick. 

“Here,” they handed it to him, “open it”

He took it, suspicious of what they were up to. While he didn’t think it would hurt him, neither were strangers to playing pranks… on each other.

When he opened it, it took him a bit to realize what he was looking at. For a terrifying moment he thought it was some sort of dead animal, but when he picked it up he realized it was actually a rather high quality wig. It was dark brown styled into a simple hair style.

“What…?” 

“Figured you could use a new one. One that doesn’t stand out as much.”

“Uh thank you, but why do I think there’s more to this,” he narrowed his eyes at them.

“I don’t know when your birthday is, so I figured I’d use the anniversary of us meeting to celebrate you surviving another year,” they shrugged. 

“You know, today is actually my birthday,” he said. He kept his mask up, but he was incredibly touched. No one had gone out of their way for him like this in a long, long time.

“I don’t buy that for a second.”

“I taught you well,” he laughed.

Dogmeat (From Soles perspective): Sole picked up the leftover brahmin meat, and put it in a bowl. It was the good stuff. Stuff that cost a lot that they hardly ever got to have. They placed the bowl in front of a very excited Dogmeat. They had never seen such a happy dog.

“Happy birthday, buddy.”

“Is it really his birthday?” MacCready asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I have no idea. Today’s just the day I found him. Rather celebrate that than think about the War.”

“Right, well I think celebrating his birthday is a great alternative,” he laughed.

[memepipboy]

In order, which companions would be your favorite to least favorite (also ur great btw)

OOO great question (also no u omg)

Nicholas Valentino - who’da thunk right

Paladin Danse - I really love his story and character progression, at the time of playing it literally blew my mind to learn about danse and go through the story with him, the only thing is that I wish it was more attentive to his voice lines afterward blind betrayal. He also has a fat ass

Hancock - this man literally owns my entire actual heart everytime he talks I’m like uwu who you callin sunshine you little man. He’s a fun traveling companion and adheres most to my play style. I wish he had a personal quest and a little more depth in game but besides that 9/10. Give us a kiss

Dogmeat - dog good. Good boy dog, best big boy

Deacon - dude what a fun guy. He makes me genuinely laugh and is a wild time to keep with you, also interesting person altogether. But because of the whole compulsive liar thing it’s hard to tell if he’s genuine so that makes him a little shallow to me in that aspect, especially with no personal quest, but his personality more than makes up for it

Piper - ok I’m putting piper dead in the center (ish) because I really love her and her quips and snark, but lack of personal quests really kills it for me and I hate it!! She’s such a great character!! MORE DEPTH AND CHANCES FOR INTERACTION PLEASE!! And compared to the other previous companions feels just a little blazé to travel with. But I still love her

Cait - I put Cait in middle ish too because I like her journey of coming out of addiction and how you can change and how she warms up to the player character, but I’ve never travelled with her tbh so I don’t have any stories that make me like attached to her or anything. She’s fun tho I like her accent and spunk

Preston Garvey - LISTEN I LOVE PRESTON but unfortunately the game just be like it is and just makes him a fetch quest guy which SUCKS because he’s genuinely one of the best people in the game and I love his story and who he is but...the game just makes me not wanna talk to him :(

Curie- IVE NEVER TRAVELLED WITH CURIE but I mean, French accent. She’s really really too good for this world and is so nice and caring. Obviously new to the world so kinda naïve but so wholesome. But that’s not who I am I’m here for angst. Love you cutie-pie

Robert MacCready - I really like his backstory and why he’s doing what he’s doing, but the first time I met him he was mean and I was like >:0 and he’s too mean for my play style. We just don’t mesh well. Sorry rob. I think we need to see other people

Codsworth - I love you codsworth but...I just...compared to all the other options I never really have a want to travel with you. I’m sorry. Nothing against you I think you’re cute and a great way to keep the player reminded of who they were prewar

X6-88 - What a cool guy tbh. He has so much more emotion and feeling than what people take him for and I really like him, it’s just, by the time I get to him I’ve been traveling with someone else (nick) for way too long and I’m attached and I’m like...noooo I wanna keep my buddy with me. I wish he had just a little extra meat on his character development bones tho. I think he was done dirty

Strong - where’s the flavor? Where’s the flavor in this? I don’t taste anything

[mojavehearts]

Fallout 4 Companions react to synth of soles spouse

ROMANCED 

REQUESTED!

(Did only the romanceable companions for this one! I’m sorry if anyone’s upset that others like nick, deacon ECT weren't included :((( I would happily add them if it was really wanted though :)) ) 

(also to who requested it I’m sorry it took so long ! xx)

I tried to base this one on their personalities/how ive seen them ingame deal with things

(also ‘some’ of these assume that Sole took in Synth Shaun but if your sole didn’t just...Disregard it hsjdkfj)

Cait:

Cait LOVED just walking around with Sole, every-so-often fighting some raiders or supermutants or feral ghoul. But she never thought that on their way back, upon entering Sanctuary their Spouse would be standing right at the gate waiting for them, but this couldn’t be ? They were dead...Right? Sole took Cait to see their body...Cait was unimaginably scared and already heartbroken, would Sole leave her now? what would happen to them, to her and the person she loved so much, her rock. Sole was just as shocked as Cait was turning to Cait and then back to their presumed dead Spouse, but sole knew deep down it wasn’t them, couldn’t be. ‘’Cait, go home and wait for me can you? I promise ill be back soon’’ every bone in Cait’s body wanted to refuse but she didn’t she walked on and hated herself for it, she sat on the couch legs shaking, picking at her nails and biting at her fingers for what felt like forever until she heard the door open, she immediately turned her head to the sound, sole stood there eyes deep and murky Sole flopped down beside Cait with a sigh and then turned to her with a sad smile ‘’Synth...Shaun definitely has his father/mother’s sense of humour..’’ they laughed dryly and Cait swallows deeply ‘’So ..You just gonna throw me away then?’’ Sole raises an eyebrow at Cait ‘’Why in gods name would I do that Cait? ‘’ ‘’Synth or not they’re your husband/wife, that would mean more to you than me’’ Sole shook their head, pulling Cait close with a sigh ‘’It’s not like that, you’re what matters to me now alright?, I love you Cait’’ That was enough for cait, usually she would be flying off the rails, breaking things, beating on their spouse, but the way Sole said what they said she believed it.

Curie:

(why aren't there enough gifs out there of this BEAUTIFUL woman I cant omg)

Curie stood there, frozen. staring deep into the eyes of Soles ‘dead’ spouse as they looked around the room curiously, Sole had gone out for the day and Curie was just doing some housework when they casually walked in, she didn’t make a sound and they finally turned and jumped with a yelp, making curie scream out, then they both just looked at each other wide eyed and breathing heavy, she had half expected them to hurt her or yell at her or something for being in their spouses house, pictures of Curie and Sole were framed basically all over the house, it didn't take a genius to realise what was going on, but their spouse smiled at her ‘’Thank you, for taking care of Him/Her, when I was created I was just made to help...But I got free I wanted to know who ‘I’ was or who I am or who I was meant to be but I know now that I may be have the same body, same memories. But I assure you I’m not here to damage this relationship I may have the same body, but I’m a different person’’ Curie was pleased and looked back to them with a soft smile, maybe just maybe it would be okay ‘’Let me make you something to eat’’

Danse:

Danse wanted to take Shaun out for the day, teach him how to shoot and how to hunt. Sole had insisted that he and Shaun bond more and Danse NEVER says no to Sole, not that he’d want to Shaun was a lovely kid, a little soft around the edges but he’s sure he would...Uh grow? into a fine man

Danse had helped Shaun learn how to make his bullet land better from afar and he was doing quite well shot a mongrel dog from a few feet away behind a bush ‘’Congratulations soldier, Ill go bring it over maybe your mother/father will mount it, ‘Shaun’s first big kill’ you know that sounds pretty violent actually’’ Shaun laughed a little and took a seat in the ground Danse smiles at him and ruffles his hair ‘’Ill be right back buddy, you keep practicing’’ It wasn’t exactly to far and he made sure Shaun was still in his sights and that he could hear more practice shots but as he was walking back he noticed them stop he walked a little faster and then dropped the carcass ...Was that...Shaun was laughing and smiling up at the man/woman ‘’Danse! look! they must have made them too!’’ Danse was shocked and quite disturbed he watched as their spouse stood and turned to him, a slight smile on their face ‘’Shaun was telling me all about you, you’re raising him well’’ Danse felt his chest slowly untighten, the BOS paladin in him wanted to believe this was a way to hurt him, hurt Sole, but he knew he and this person were one and the same now, but it still stung so he just brushed them off and walked past them to check up on Shaun ‘’I wouldn’t hurt him, I know he’s not technically my son, but he’s still just a boy’’ for some reason the words ‘my son’ struck Danse hard in the chest and he stood ‘’I don’t know why you are here but you’d better leave, Sole has moved on. For good’’ Danse couldn’t control himself in that moment and the other just sighed ‘’I understand, but there is not were else for me, I thought, I think maybe Sole can help’’ Danse’s nostrils flare slightly ‘’You get your help but you stay away from my family alright’’

Hancock:

(im sad the only gif of him smoking I could find was a modded version of him :(( )

Hancock was back in Good Neighbour ‘Mayoral’ business and such, he was just enjoying a cigarette when his doors slammed open, Fahrenheit immediately jumps up to defend Hancock, when he then notices who it is ‘’What the-’’ ‘’You stay away from my wife/husband!’’ they yelled at him, practically spewing venom Fahrenheit turns to Hancock eyes wide as if to say ‘what the fuck I thought this guy/chick was dead!’ he just waves her away ‘’It alright, I’m sure we can talk about this like adults’’ he puts out his cigarette and stands slowly ‘’You stay away from my partner!, you...UGH what even are you’’ Hancock was used to people saying things like this so it didn't really affect him all that much ‘’Hey, don't piss me off are you forgettin’ I got guards here?, look I don't know why you’re so upset you’ve been ‘dead’ for years now, me and sole got a whole thing goin on’’ ‘’dead?...I’m not...dead!’’ Hancock tilts his head to the side, what the hell was going on here ‘’Sole saw you die friend, back in the vault’’ ‘’what?! no we got out and then the institute took us in but they went missing and they couldn’t fine them!, that's where I woke up and then someone destroyed it! after asking around I find out they’re this whole new person and that they’re with...You?!’’ Hancock knew then what was going on and sighed softly, leaning up against the wall ‘’hate to break it to ya buddy you’ve been dead for 60 plus years’’ he then chuckles ‘’come to think of it I think its 69 now...Damn I’m old’’ their spouse had had enough ‘’stop with this funny business! I was in the army/I was a lawyer!’’ Hancock groaned slightly and stood up straight ‘’You want proof? then deal with me for a little while and ill show you’’

it was...Long and tedious and frankly very awkward but they were finally in the vault, staring back at the ‘real’ spouse ‘’I...Oh my god I think I’m going to be sick..’’ Hancock nods in agreement ‘’Sole wanted to bury ya but things always get in the way, listen I never met to take em from ya but there’s some things you gotta know now’’

MacCready:

MacCready and Sole were having a great time together, watching Shaun and Duncan play when suddenly someone came running up to them embracing Sole quickly Mac gasped out and pulled out his sniper ‘’Oh honey! I’ve been looking everywhere for you I just woke up, somewhere I-I I don’t even know how to explain I...You look so different-’’ they then trail off and turn to Mac holding a gun to their head in shock ‘’Hey buddy put it away this is my wife/husband’’ Maccready looks at them and then Sole helplessly and then to Duncan and Shaun and then frowns deeply slowly holstering his weapon ‘’I get it...’’ he didn't know if he should laugh or cry, frankly he didn’t even know what he would have done if Lucy had come back would he go back? he loves Sole with his whole being but...’’No, I’m not’’ Sole blurts out ‘’What!?’’ both their spouse and Mac say at the same time in shock ‘’I’m married Nate/Nora, to Robert.’’ Sole takes MacCready’s arm and holds it, their spouse looks at them both in shock and Mac could have just melted at that moment, he was on cloud nine but his conscious spoke out ‘’But...Sole they’re your-’’ ‘’I don't care who they are or were or... whatever!, I saw them DIE so I know for a fact that its not...Really them anyway, even if they were that isn't me anymore, I love YOU’’ and here comes the heart eyes, he couldn't help but to be real smug about it either smirking slightly at their ex they look on in confusion, this was gonna take a lot of explaining

Preston:

It was during the raid on the institute people yelling and shooting, Preston was full of fury and love his newly found relationship with sole had really helped him gain a lot of confidence back in himself, they helped him become the man he wanted to be, well the man he always was and he couldn’t thank them enough for that really.

They ran together into a room guns at the ready to fire but when they walked in there was a man/woman holding up their arms 

Sole puts their weapon down in shock ‘’Preston...look’’ Preston takes a good look at them and his eyes widen he turns back to sole and they share a glance ‘’P-Please don’t kill me’’ they didn’t recognise him/her, Preston felt bad for feeling relief that they didn't but he was weighing the odds of Sole leaving him already ‘’Lets take them with us, get them to safety...Please I can’t think of them dying again, even if its not them’’ Sole whispered to Preston softly, the flawed part of him was anxious and wanted to leave them there, but the better part of him knew that wasn’t what he was like and he nodded at Sole, they went through the rest of the Institute wiping it clean at the end Sole had even seen the synth version of their son, which made them go into hysterics, sobbing and holding him close. It was a good and bad day for them both

but also relieving 

Preston strutted around Sanctuary later that day, anxious as hell, worrying if Sole wanted to leave him and start again with their son and husband/wife so when a hand came down on his shoulder he jumped ‘’Oh god preston im sorry didn’t mean to sneak up on you’’ Sole stared at him with gentle eyes and he could have fallen inlove all over again ‘’Babe I-’’ Preston sighed not being able to let out the words he wanted to, Sole shook their head slowly ‘’You’re an open book you know that? I love you, now come home Shaun needs to formally meet you’’ Sole kisses him softly on the nose and pats his chest, walking away slowly

and his worries all melted away

Piper:

Piper was writing a new paper, it was all she had seemed to do lately since sole was out on this strange railroad mission (if your sole didn’t side with the railroad/didn't join it or anything just change it to B.O.S or whatever you’d like) that they knew they would be gone a while for, it had been two weeks or so now and Piper missed them ...Like really bad, so she was writing paper after paper to try and keep her mind elsewhere, but resting up on their bed at Homeplate she just couldn’t tonight, she wondered if they were okay if they were eating or sleeping enough, if they were hurt. It was a lot to take and she wondered if she needed a cigarette 

but then the door squeaked open ‘’P? you here?’’ 

‘‘Blue!’‘ 

Piper jumped up excitedly and raced down the stairs squeezing Sole into a tight hug ‘’I missed you too Piper, but hey you better look at what I found’’ Piper was confused and slowly let go of Sole, her eyes widen when she’s met face to face with an exact copy of their ex, she knew it couldn’t have been them, because sole buried them in Sanctuary ages ago ‘’Blue I- what’’ she was lost for words to be honest 

‘‘Oh believe me I was just as shocked when I found them, there was this whole synth refuge up in the capital wasteland! they all had the mind wipe but no face change ...I had wondered why and then realised all of those people were replicas of dead spouses from my time...a bit Sick right? they were the newest one’‘ Sole almost chuckled as their ‘ex spouse’ walked around eyeing everything ‘‘I just ...wow Blue! wait... you ain’t leaving me right...Right?!’‘ Piper joked at first but then realised the gravity of the situation Sole laughed and took her hand softly raising it up to kiss her knuckles ‘‘oh my god P’‘

(the fact that you can tell which ones I wrote first and then which I wrote after I woke up from my intense sleep fjfhfffdhsj) (Im sorry again for the wait! )

[x688plsloveme]

Companions React To Sole Giving Them A Present

ADA: When presented with an entire "spa-day" of sorts by Sole as a thank you, Ada was...shocked. She was presented with every kind of oil, paint, and polish that she could think of. Sole told their companion that it meant a lot to them that she decided to stick around after avenging her old boss. She was free to use the workbench whenever she wanted to, to apply whatever she wanted to. Ada didn't know what to say. She hummed in the way she does when she's indicating a smile. "Thank you Sole."

CAIT: What better present to give their rough and tough friend than a nearly new customized super sledge? Sole held it out to her while Cait could just look with her jaw on the floor in disbelief. Sike smiled smugly at rendering her speechless. "Go ahead and take it. It's getting heavy." Cait didn't need to be told twice. She snatched it from her friend's grasp and swung it around a couple of times to get a feel for it. "This is amazing! Where d'ya get it?" Sole shrugged. "Off of a gunner captain who didn't know how to use it right, and I knew just the person that could use it properly." They finished with a wink. Cait turned around with an almost manic look on her face and happily exclaimed, "I'm gonna go kill something. Don't wait up." Sole laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

CODSWORTH: Sole's faithful robot butler wasn't big on material items, but that wouldn't stop them from trying to get him the best present ever. And after many weeks of trial and error with a certain bedroom safe, they finally got it. But when they presented it to Codsy, he was confused, they knew he would be. He had plenty of bowler hats already anyway. "Sir/Madame... I truly appreciate everything you give me, but I don't think I need any more hats..." Sole tried and failed to surprise their smile. "Ah, but this isn't just any old bowler hat Codsy, this belonged to me/my husband. It's been cooped up in that safe with the rest of our nice clothes, but I finally cracked it. I wanted you to have it to remind you that no matter what, you'll always be apart of my family." If Codsworth could cry he would. He settled for his "crying voice" and loudly saying thank you while trying his best to hug Sole. They just let him go through it while patting his head and hugging him proper.

CURIE: As a scientist first and foremost, Curie was always interested in animals. But Sole knew that she also really really loved them. And they seemed to live her right back. She was like a modern day snow white or something, but at least that made it easy to decide what to give her for being such a good friend all this time. As soon as they held up the bunny, Curie grabbed it and started cooking over it in that famous baby voice of hers that gets even angry deathclaws to calm down. "Awwwww. Aren't you just precious! Mon dieu! You need a name! What about Cotton Tail? Or Koo Koo?" This went on for some time and Sole was just watching her, endeared to no ends by one of their best friends. It took a little while before Curie even remembered that they were there at all. "Oh I am so sorry!" She gave them a quick hug, careful not to squish the bunny in-between them. "Merci beaucoup mlle/m! I must go and tend to this little darling." She started to leave in a hurry to get everything prepared for her new little friend and waved bye to Sole. They knew she'd react that way, and they were glad she liked it so much.

DANSE: Being a synth was wearing down Danse. Sole and everyone else could see. He wouldn't eat or sleep, and he would hardly move for days. Everyone did what they could, but nothing seemed to help. But that little detail  couldn't stop Sole from trying. They made a meal with all of Danse's favourite foods, deathclaw steak topped with muttfruit puree and a side of mashed potatoes, courtesy of their mutual friend, The Lone Wanderer. All Danse did for a long time was just stare silently at his food until Sole insisted he started eating. He broke down crying. "It doesn't matter! It wouldn't be real! My enjoyment, my full stomach, even these tears are fake! Just a program put in me. Nothing about me is real." Sole was heart broken to see their friend in this state. They hugged their friend and walked him through some breathing exercises until he calmed down enough for them to speak. "Don't say that Danse. You hurt, feel, and cry just like any other human. All your feelings are 100 percent genuine and if anyone says anything otherwise, they'll have to go through me!" Sole puffed out their chest and tried to look as tough as possible, which forced a laugh out of Danse. Even after crying, he still looked tougher than them. But he gets what they were going at. He pulls them in for a hug, his tears finally having dried up. "Thanks Sole. You're the best friend I got. Thanks to you I'm alive and thanks to your kindness I think I want to stay that way."

DEACON: There's not much that comes to mind when it comes to personal details on Deacon. He doesn't reveal much thanks to both his job and insecurities. There is one thing that they're sure of however. That Deacon really loves pranks. Or he just does them so much and laughs with such glee to completely fool everybody. Either way, he's gonna love his gift. If his laughing and hugs have anything to do with it, a prank kit really was the right idea. Sole gives themself a mental fistbumb and start brainstorming ideas with Deacon right away. This might start a prank war between everyone, but at least they'll have fun before Piper kills them all for replacing her shampoo bottle with a dead rat for the third time. Deacon and Sole snicker at that idea.

DOGMEAT: No dog will say no to anything you give them, especially not post-apocalypse dogs. So it's not very hard to spoil a dog, and boy is Dogmeat spoiled. With no shortage of wild, aggressive animals, he always gets fresh cuts of meat instead of kibble bits and bones to chew on. When they can, Sole collects bone marrow from deathclaws, arguably the best part, and dries them into dog treats for their dog. He can come and go as he pleases, but he'll always come to sleep next to Sole on their bed at night. He is their favourite person after all.

GAGE: Gage always seemed jealous that Sole had a dog and he didn't. He always dreamed about fighting alongside an utmost loyal companion that he could spoil rotten when they're not out killing things. After finding a beautiful pitti mutt scavenging on the outskirts of Nuka-World, Sole bought the information on when Gage's birthday is from the Operators, thankful that it was soon because they don't think they could keep the dog a secret for long. On his birthday, Sole brought in the dog and despite both parties' nervousness, they took to each other quite nicely. Gage started crying when she finally let him pet her. "Never tell anyone about today or I'll kill ya. Also... Thanks boss." Sole just laughed. "No promises."

HANCOCK: The only suitable present for a guy as wild as Hancock would be something as equally as wild. And what's better than a completely unhinged party with all the best booze and chems and closest friends? In the end, about 50 different people from all over the wasteland, including The Lone Wanderer and some of their friends from the Capitol Wasteland came to the party. It was the best the world's ever seen and by the end of it, Hancock was clinging to Sole drunken and high, telling them that they're the greatest thing that's ever happened to him and he's never been luckier to have such an amazing best friend.

MACCREADY: For such a scruffy looking guy, MacCready had a lot of caps saved up. He bought tons of stuff for his son and any other kid he comes across and wasn't lacking in necessities but there was one thing MacCready couldn't readily get with caps. And that was comic books. No one sold them, and a lot burned up or otherwise disenegrated during the last 200 years or so. Thankfully, Sole's collection of mint condition, first editions were still in tip top order when they dug them out of the safe they had burried a lifetime ago. They knew MacCready would flip when he saw their collection and they were right. He almost didn't believe that Sole would let him read these whenever he wanted. (as long as he washedhis hands first)

PIPER: Sole had never been short on caps after opening Nuka World back up to non sociopathic killers. It was about time to spend some of their excess wealth on one of their best friends. All Piper wanted was to expose the truth and give a better life to her sister. Sole decided that the sisters deserved something good. When Nat's birthday came around, Sole took her and Piper to a trip to the Capitol Wasteland where all the fancy clothing stores are. They let both of them pick whatever they wanted and introduced them to Lone while they were at it. Nat was in awe. She's heard stories about the famous Lone Wanderer, but to actually meet them up close? Was a dream come true. On the long trek back home, while they were setting up camp for the night, Piper came up to Sole and hugged them. "Thanks Blue. My sister hasn't had this much of a good time in a long, long while." Sole smiled at her. "Anytime Pipes."

PRESTON: Anyone who has spent 5 minutes with Preston knows that if asked what he would want for a gift, he would just say, "More food and water for the Commonwealth's people." If you haven't left within the next few minutes because he's asked you one to many times to help a settlement out, then you would know that he is completely genuine about it. He's just that kind of person. Enters Sole, who has absolutely no clue what to give him, so far he has been the hardest one to gift something too. 'If it was a material thing, he'd just donate it, so that's out. What about...? No. Too much excitement for him. He'd have a heart attack. Oh! I got it! I'll take him to Nuka World!" After liberating the raider base and giving it back to the settlers, Sole enlisted some help and fixed almost everything enough so that it wouldn't collapse immediately. Rollercoasters didn't phase Sole much, but the real entertainment was watching Preston's reactions to every loop or swirl that a coaster made. They don't think they've ever heard a man scream that high in their life. At the end of the day, Preston was smiling and couldn't seem to stop. "This is probably the best day of my life, thank you so much General!" Sole knows that feeling of excitement of being at an amusement park for the first time. "No problem Preston. It was my pleasure."

STRONG: Sole knew strong genuinely liked poetry even though he doesn't know how to read all too well. So when they found a cache of poetry books, Sole was quick to invite Strong so that they could read some to him. Needless to say, he didn't exactly like the idea of sitting still for a long time, but relented when they threw in a glass of brahmin milk as an incentive. To everyone's surprise, Strong actually really enjoyed himself, often acting out some of the more violent - and in his opinion, the best - scenes by himself. Sometimes the others would join in on their poetry reading nights and it would be a great time all around.

VALENTINE: Sole has been wanting to get Nick something since visiting Far Harbour an meeting DiMA. Today, they finally got together all the parts and are ready to present it to him. Nick I taken aback when he sees the storage room filled with memory hard drives just like the on this brother has. "Kid...I don't know what to say." Sole pats their friend on the back. "Don't think anything of it. I know how worried you are about forgetting important things. Like your friends..." They trail off for a bit like they were afraid of the exact same thing, but continue in a much more chipper voice. "This will make sure you don't! You can pick and choose memories you want to back up so it won't be clogged with how to make a brahmin steak or something useless like that. It was tough to get together, but definitely worth it." Nick smiles at Sole. "You're the kindest person I've ever met, you know that kid? And I know Preston!"

X6-88: X6 likes cats. X6 doesn't like dogs. What about reptiles? Hopefully he'll at least take care of it. "Dammit Lone! Always giving me weird things... It's fine. When you think about it, this tamed deathclaw that I'm currently dragging by a leash is just a really big chameleon. . I had one when I was young. They're friendly, and cute, and are funny cause they hold on to little swords and the like when you hand it to them-" The deathclaw snorts and Sole can clearly feel it's breath on the back of their head. "Yep. Nevermind. This is not going to work. I gotta get rid of this thing." When they get to X6's house, a little ways past Sanctuary's borders - he prefers being alone - they're met with the most surprise they have ever seen on their friend's usually stoic face. Sure, all X6 is doing at the moment is raising his eyebrows but it's not usually that high. He just silently waits, obviously waiting for this decidedly crazy person to say something. Sole coughs nervously. "Um... Surprise?" X6 just keeps staring, compelling them to keep speaking. "It-It was a gift, all right? I couldn't say no, I actually think he's kind of cute, but u do not trust myself to not accidentally get killed, but I don't want to just murder it without it giving me a reason ya know? It's perfectly tame though! My friend keeps one as well and they're not dead yet!" X6 releases a sigh. "Sir/ma'am. Why did you think I would want to take care of a giant lizard that may or may not try to kill me in my sleep?" Sole started scratching the back of their head and looking anywhere but at him. More nervous ticks. "Honestly you're the only person I can think of that could handle a deathclaw as a pet. Please~~~ X? It's kinda cute once you get past the razor sharp teeth and claws." They looked up at him with hopeful eyes and X6 sighed once more. "... Fine. Only because it's you. Having a trained deathclaw would be useful to have around too I suppose." Sole's whole demeanor lit up. They leaped foward and hugged their friend. "Thanks X! I knew I could count on you!" The courser rolled his eyes slightly, but despite what he was showing, he was actually rather excited about having a pet deathclaw. It sounded...fun. He pat his friend on the head. "Anytime Sole."

This was actually requested by @mysticfaust ! Their patience knows no bounds considering I think they sent that prompt in a year ago. I hope you see this and enjoy it! It's the first thing I've written in a while so I may be a little rusty, but there are some parts I genuinely like.

[returnn-of-the-mac]

Swap Dialogue With Nuka Leaders (Part 2: Mason)

Part 1: Mags

Part 3: Nisha

Part 4: Gage

MacCready

MacCready: Looks like a highlighter threw up all over this guy.

Mason: Looks like a trash can threw up all over you.

...

Mason: You think a small fry like this is gonna be a good replacement?

MacCready: I think I can hold my own just as well as a talking marker.

Cait

Cait: What a sexy beast.

Mason: That ain’t a lie. I am an Alpha.

...

Mason: Boss, you’re replacin me with her? ...Least she looks like she can fight.

Cait: Got that right, handsome. Anyone messin with us is gonna get an arse kickin.

X6-88

X6-88: You’re eccentric.

Mason: The fuck does that mean?

...

Mason: Look at this guy. Thinks he’s all cool behind those shades.

X6-88: Don’t look at me.

Preston

Preston: General, why are you siding with the raiders?

Mason: Cuz [he/she] ain’t a chump.

...

Mason: Ain’t ya the Minutemen guy? Whatta buncha losers.

Preston: Right. Because backstabbing, murder, and looting is such commendable behavior.

Curie

Curie: My, what a beautiful outfit!

Mason: Beautiful ain’t what I was goin for...

...

Mason: Can she even fight? Looks weak to me...

Curie: Pretending to be a dog doesn’t make you any stronger!

Strong

Strong: Is painted human fruit flavored?

Mason: Bout as fruity as blood n bones.

...

Mason: [to Strong] Quit lookin at me like that.

Strong: Human... you citrus flavor?

Longfellow

Longfellow: What in the world are you wearing?

Mason: They’re my Alpha prints, old man.

...

Mason: Shame I’m being replaced by a senile old man.

Longfellow: Shame my friend here had to put up with your childish yammering.

Codsworth

Codsworth: You’re...awfully colorful, good sir.

Mason: Cuz I’m the leader. Gotta stand out.

...

Mason: A robot butler, huh? Gotta get me one of those.

Codsworth: Yes sir, it’s a great investment. Mr. Handy will leave your residence looking spic-and-span!

Gage

Gage: You’ll have fun with this one.

Mason: Hope your not messin with me.

...

Mason: Can’t complain bout the new Overboss, Gage.

Gage: Yeah. I know what I’m doin.9

Nick

Nick: Interesting outfit choice.

Mason: Bold, ain’t it?

...

Mason: Shit. A robotic cop?

Nick: Yeah, yeah. Don’t get too excited.

Piper

Piper: So. You’re traveling with a raider now, Blue? Ooookay then.

Mason: What’s the matter, pup? Gotta problem with out kind?

...

Mason: Why’re ya replacin me with her?

Piper: Probably cuz I’m a step up from a freak who thinks he’s a dog.

Deacon

Deacon: Nice getup. I personally can’t pull off neon.

Mason: I’m the leader of my pack. The Alpha. Ya shouldn’t be surprised I can pull this look off.

...

Mason: Replacin me with a popcorn kernel? Alright, boss.

Deacon: Yeah, yeah. Pick on the bald guy.

Danse

Danse: That habiliment looks ridiculous.

Mason: Habi-what? Whatever. Says the guy in a robot costume.

...

Mason: Ain’t it a hassle luggin that heavy suit all day?

Danse: It’s a good burn.

Hancock

Hancock: You look like a personified Daddy-O trip.

Mason: You look like a raison.

...

Mason: Nice pirate costume.

Hancock: Nice fursona.

Dogmeat

Mason: Replaced by another Alpha dog? I can respect that.

[shitty-fallout-art]

I request a breakdown of how each companion would dress dogmeat if they had to make him a little costume.

Codsworth: 

-oh would he put those sewing skills to use. He wants to do something classic and stylish, He makes him a Sherlock Holmes costume. Sherlock Bones? god he cracks himself up. The costume is complete with a miniature overcoat and little cap. He fusses whenever dogmeat gets too playful and gets it messy.

Preston:

-He decides to dress up dogmeat as the silver shroud. Little trenchcoat and fedora. Its a bit patchy and worn out looking, but dogmeat seems to love it. So does kent, who won’t leave the dog alone. 

Hancock:

-Hes stuck between doing a really cool costume or a really funny costume. The choice is made when he blacks out after a medx hit and wakes up to find dogmeat dressed as a hooker. Damn that dog can pull of a pair of fishnets.

Nick Valentine:

-Sherlock Holmes was taken? Well shit. He asks elli for ideas and thats how dogmeat ended up dressed like nick. Everyone gets a rise out of it except for myrna. fuck her.

Strong:

-Whats a costume? you mean armor? he puts the heaviest, spikiest armor he can find on dogmeat. He made the dog practically unpettable. He looks so proud.

Piper:

- She paints him up as a skeleton! using fur safe natural paint of course. Wait? Acyrillic paint isn’t safe for dogs? oH FUCK-

Curie:

-would Einstein be a bit too predicable? guess not since nobody except for nick and danse recognize the wig. 

Cait:

-She shaves a mohawk onto dogmeat and from that point on shes not allowed near him.

Maccready:

-oooooo he wants to dress him up as gronac. no wait, the shroud. no wait! Manta man. No wai- he can’t decide. theres too many good choices. Ends up going with manta man as per duncans suggestion. its literally the worst costume ever made but hes so happy with it.

x6-88:

-He dresses dogmeat up as a deathclaw. its a really nice costume, the hide almost looks real! wait, is it real? x6 wear did you get an ENTIRE deathclaw hide?

Deacon:

-Deacon wheres dogmeat? what do you mean by “hes around” where the fu-....you look over at the table as it starts to move. Deacon has dressed dogmeat up as a table. a realistic table that blends into the room. The ultimate disguise, he says. How did you get a dog to look that square and flat?

Paladin danse:

-Why is everyone laughing at the nice princess costume he made for dogmeat?

[nukagalreacts]

This is for nya-for-you who requested romanced Fo4 Companions reacting to Sole throwing them a surprise party Part-One

Hope you enjoy this first part! I really enjoyed writing it! And thank you again for the request 

Hancock: Sole had been planning this surprise party for well over a month, making sure to invite everyone in Goodneighbor, getting the Third Rail stocked up on the best booze and stocking up on the chems for a night as wild as Hancock was. Now the night had finally come and they had The Third rail all set up just the way they wanted and they double checked that everyone on the party list was there before telling everyone to stay low and get quiet while they ran and got Hancock for the surprise party. Trying to hide all of these preparations and getting things set up without their lover noticing had been a bitch, but they couldn’t wait to see the look on his face once he saw everything, it would all be worth it to see that damn smile of his. They led him by the hand into the eerily silent bar before everyone jumped out yelling surprise and nearly giving him a heart attack, before he burst into laughter and a huge smile. He couldn’t believe Sole had done all of this for him and was sure to give them lots of hugs and smooches the whole night while mingling with everyone else. Between the drinking and hits of jet they also squeezed in lot’s of dancing together while Magnolia sang in the background, and Hancock couldn’t stop smiling as he looked in Sole’s eyes before pulling them in for another kiss.

MacCready: Sole had set up a small surprise party just involving his son Duncan and a few other friends like Hancock, Cait,and even Dogmeat! Sole had arranged to surprise him by having Duncan come to Sanctuary and throw a little party to celebrate them reuniting and Duncan no longer being sick. They managed to get everyone together at the house MacCready and them now lived in and help clean up and gather up every delicious snack and beverage needed for such a festive occasion, and even managed to get the ingredients to bake a delicious cake. Once everything was set up Sole went and grabbed MacCready saying they had a surprise at home for him, and covered his eyes as they led him him back to the house and into the living room. Soon as they moved their hands and Mac saw his son he rushed towards him pulling him into a bear hug, crying tears of joy. After the hugs and tears where done he was sure to kiss Sole, long and hard and remind them how much he loved them. The others were sure to congratulate Mac on having his Son back, before everyone started fighting over who go what piece of the cake before Dogmeat made the decision for them and eat the whole thing off the table.

Nick: Sole thought Nick deserved some kind of surprise party for all the hard work he does and the little he gets in return for risking his life all the time, so they worked with Ellie to plan something out. They even called in a few favors from some of the settlers to get everything they wanted to give to Nick as a sort of thank you gift. What Sole didn’t expect though is how many gifts and thank you letters they had to keep hiding in the office from Nick that grateful citizens he had helped in the past kept sending in, they were starting to have to get creative so Nick didn’t know what was happening. When the day came Sole had Ellie distract Nick and get him out of the office for awhile while they arranged everything and made sure to grab everyone who wanted to be their for the occasion into hiding before he came back, and of course little Shaun was there to, which wouldn't have  even be possible if Nick hadn’t helped them to find him in the first place. When Ellie brought Nick back they all jumped out to surprise him with Sole being quick to wrap their arms around him saying they thought they deserve a little party and a break from detective work and what better way to do that than with friends and loved ones. Nick was speechless and couldn’t believe that Sole did all this for him, and the amount of people here to celebrate him, but he smiled the whole party and couldn’t stop telling Sole how much they loved them!

Piper: Sole was excited to celebrate Piper’s newfound success at being a genuine full time journalist , with the Institute gone and people more relaxed in the Commonwealth and changes brought to Diamond city, Piper had seen the purchase of her newspaper skyrocket and was making a huge amount of caps which was exciting for Sole and her. Sole even helped Piper purchase a bigger building so they could live together and run the business, and it was the happiest both had been in a long time. Sole wasn’t about to let this huge milestone go un-celebrated so they immediately began making plans, getting Piper’s sister Nat to help set things up in secret because what else are sisters for! It was going to be kinda like a surprise party but also a romantic evening between the two of them. The surprise came when Nat led Piper up to the rooftop of their new home and Piper found it transformed into a place of soft glowing candles, and a table set up with red wine, and a tasty dinner prepared by their favorite robot chef Takahashi. Once Nat left Sole was quick to pull Piper into a soft kiss and a hug telling her how proud they were of everything she had accomplished, making Piper smile and squeeze Sole a bit harder, feeling lucky to have someone as supportive and caring as them in their life.

Preston: As General of the Minutemen what better way to use your soldiers then to have them help you set up a giant surprise party for Preston at the castle! Everyone was on board and did what they could chipping in and gathering up Preston's favorite foods and Nuka Colas and decorating the castle, while Sole distracted him by taking him out on a trip far away from all the action. Preston was a little suspicious for the reasoning of going out to the middle of nowhere but was happy to play along if it meant getting some alone time with Sole, which was rare. Occasionally Sole would sneak off to get radio updates on the party set up progression and give directions on different things, before they finally got the green light to bring Preston back to the castle. They felt giddy the whole time as they held Prestons hand leading him back home and seeing his eyes light up as he saw the castle fully lit up and decorated! He asked Sole what the occasion was and they just squeezed his hand saying it was for everything he had done for them and for dedicating his life to rebuilding the Minutemen. The rest of the evening and night was spent with food and drink, and close friends, telling stories and looking forward to the future.

Strong: Sole wasn’t sure how the super mutant would react to a surprise party, but they where dying to find out and even got MacCready involved since him and Strong got along so well. They of course had to have it outside somewhere and got a huge bonfire going where they could cook up some of Strong’s favorite meats like radstag steak and mirelurk egg omelettes. They weren't able to keep Strong away for long though with all delicious food smells wafting in the air which led Strong right to their location. It was even funnier when Sole tried to explain this was supposed to be a surprise party, Strong didn’t get the concept at all and wasn’t sure why Sole felt the need to surprise him at all, super mutants don’t like surprises unless it’s in battle. He was happy about all the food though and dug in tearing away at the large chunks of radstag and stuffing the mirelurk egg omelettes into his mouth. Sole and Mac where barely able to grab any for themselves and laughed at how eager Strong was and the huge mess he was making, Sole was glad they were able to have someone as great as Strong and how fortunate it was they had run into him when they did, it never hurt to have a super mutant on your side out here.

X6-88: Sure their had been celebrations held at the Institute for various reasons over the years but X6 had never been apart of them, and in all honesty he had very little interest in parties. Sole was determined to do something nice for him though and really wanted to hold a surprise party for the courser so they worked with some other synths and coursers and a few others they had befriended to help them out with the plans. It was kinda cute really because X6 actually knew what Sole was planning because he had heard about it from some others synths, but he loved Sole and played along pretending to not know anything. When the day came Sole was bubbling with excitement and was quick to pull X6 along by the hand to the room where the party would be, and he still pretended to be surprised though the whole thing really did make him smile, which was a rarity in itself. Sole had even made them a cake which X6 actual enjoyed because he had never had one before, and that’s when he also discovered he had a sweet tooth and Sole laughed when he ate about half of the cake.

Dogmeat: Sole wanted to celebrate their favorite furry friend so they had been in the kitchen all day whipping up some dog friendly sweet treats they knew Dogmeat would love! They also made up enough for all of Dogmeats other doggy friends he had made over the year in Sanctuary. They also gathered up a bunch of chew toys for all of them and dog proofed their house, so it didn’t get destroyed. Sole even got Dogmeat to wear a party hat, and they couldn’t stop smiling at how cute he looked, and they got a few of the other dogs to wear party hats as well. Once the party got into full swing and all the dogs were having a good time playing together and running around, Sole presented them all with dog bone shaped treats and  Dogmeat got his own little cake which he happily chowed down on as Sole gave him head scratches and belly rubs calling him the best boy ever!  

Part two will be out late tonight or sometime tomorrow 

[fallout4reactsblog]

hi!!! i'm a huuuuge fan of this blog, tysm for doing this!! i was wondering if you could do the companions & sole finding the wounded dog random encounter!! tysm! 💖

Cait: “We don’t have time to waste. We need to keep moving on.”

“I know, Cait.” Sole knelt down and pulled a stimpak from their bag.

“We don’t have stimpaks to waste, either. One of us is going to need that.”

“I know, Cait.”

“You’re not even listening. You’re just repeating the same words to acknowledge I’m speaking without hearin’ the words.”

“I know, Cait.”

She threw her hands up in dismay. “I don’t know why I bother.”

“Cait, look.” Sole gestured to the dog who was now on her feet, jumping up to try to lick their face. “Look at how happy she is. We did something good.”

Cait sighed heavily. “Yeah, okay. It is kind of cute.”

Sole absolutely beamed. “I know. Let’s keep her.”

“Well, if you’re gonna keep her, you ought to name her.”

“Any suggestions?”

She frowned in concentration. “Scrapper.”

“I like it. It’s tough, like her. Also, like you, and I like you.”

Cait flushed. “Come on, then. Let’s get back to Sanctuary.”

Scrapper trailed them home.

Codsworth: “Oh, dear. We can’t just leave the poor thing here to die.”

Sole nodded vehemently, already searching for a stimpak in their bag. “I agree.”

Codsworth hovered nearby as sole gently administered the medicine, fretting about the animal’s condition. Thankfully, she was on her feet in no time, albeit a little unsteadily.

“Most excellent work, mum/sir. I think she’s right happy to have your help.”

“You think?” Sole reached down to scratch the dog’s ears. “What should we name her.”

Codsworth searched for a good name. “How about Lady?”

“Like, from ‘The Lady and the Tramp’? I loved that movie as a kid. I watched it a lot.”

“As I recall, young Shaun saw it more than once as well.”

Sole nodded, distantly. “We were gonna get a dog when he was older. A best buddy for him, you know? Teach him responsibility, how to care for something besides himself, the like. We read about it in some parenting book or another.”

“I remember.” He floated a little closer. “Don’t worry, mum/sir. We’ll find young Shaun eventually. We just need to have patience and stay hopeful. Now, why don’t we take Lady to the nearest settlement?”

Sole nodded again, eyes still far away. “Starlight Drive In isn’t far. We’ll take her there.”

Away they went.

Curie: “Oh, mon dieu! Zhis is not good. Not good at all.”

Curie dug through her pockets for a stimpak, hands shaking. Sole silently handed her one of their own from their bag, and she carefully applied it before turning back to them.

“Merci, merci. It is important to help those in need, no?”

“You’re right, Curie. Good eyes to spot her laying here.”

She nodded, stroking the dogs head. She scooted closer and into a better position to receive the affection. “Perhaps we should keep her?”

Sole nodded. “Sure, if you want. Would you like to pick a name?”

“Oh, yes! Perhaps we could choose something classic, like Rosalind? For the famous scientist?”

Laughter filled the clearing. “I like that name. Rosalind it is, Curie.”

She grinned broadly. “ We should take her back to Sanctuary. Zhat way she will be safe, and something like this will not happen again.”

Sole mused on that for a moment. “Having a dog might boost morale, and we could train her to be a guard dog…” They nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. We’ll take her back to Sanctuary.”

They both stood, and Curie linked arms with sole as they started down the path.

“Come along, Rosalind. Let us show you to your new home.”

Danse: “Hold a moment, soldier.”

Sole froze in place. When Danse called for a hold, it was never anything good. “What do you see? Ferals? Raiders? Gunners?”

“No danger, stand down. Come have a look at this.”

They followed him over to where the dog was lying just off the road. Instantly, sole dropped to their knees to inspect the wounds. “Danse, can you get a stimpak out of my bag?”

He exited his power armor so as not to startle the poor creature too much before fetching the stimpak and placing it in sole’s outstretched hand. He knelt down beside them as they administered the medicine, gently petting the dog’s head.

“She seems to be fairly calm.”

He was forced to amend his statement when the dog tackled him to begin placing doggy kisses all over his face. Laughing, he tried to push her off, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

“She’d cause absolute hell on the Prydwen,” sole quipped. “Think of the reaction Quinlan alone would have.”

“Maxson would be pissed. He hates dogs. Do not bring her onto the Prydwen.”

“Okay,” sole said, but he saw the mischievous glint in their eyes.

“I’m warning you, Knight. This is not smart.”

When the dog appeared on the Prydwen, with a dog tag proclaiming it was Elder Maxson himself, Danse was nice enough to not report the newest Knight.

Deacon: “I have a suggestion for what we should do with the dog.”

Sole bent down to administer the medicine in their hand, a look of pure concentration on their face. “I’m listening.”

“We should take her back to HQ and make her the new mascot of the Railroad. We could sew her a little train costume or something. Just imagine what the look on Dez’s face would be.”

Sole laughed softly, petting the dog as she slowly got to her feet. “She would absolutely flip. Carrington would complain nonstop about the fact that she kept eating his paperwork.”

“Exactly.” Deacon snickered. “We could even name her Glory to get the three-in-one, effectively pissing off all three of the Railroad officers.”

They laughed for a while, petting the dog and just imagining the chaos that would ensue. Eventually, their eyes met, and they sobered up.

“Are we actually going to do this?” Sole asked.

“I think we absolutely should. It’d be a crime not to take advantage of this opportunity.”

They looked at each other, nodded, then scooped up Glory and started running for the Old North Church as fast as they could manage.

Hancock: “Shit, she looks to be in an even worse state than I am.”

“Don’t say stuff like that.” Sole bent down to help the dog, but not after glaring at him.

“You’re right,” he said, searching in his pockets for a handful of mentats. “The dog’s in a little bit better shape than me.”

They brandished a stimpak threateningly. “Really, Hancock? Because she’s getting one of these. Do you need one of these?”

He flinched, not keen on the idea of having that thing stabbed violently into his arm. “I think I’ll pass, sunshine.”

“Then stop with the jokes.”

He sighed, scuffing at the dirt with his boot as he kept digging. “So, what’re you gonna name her? I assume you’re gonna keep her.”

“I was thinking Joan.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because Joan sounds like John, and I love both of you, no matter what you look like.”

He was glad that he couldn’t blush anymore. “That’s real sweet of you, sunshine. Romantic. Now I just gotta get her hooked on, I don’t know, mutfruit so she can live up to the name.”

Sole shot him a second glare. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

MacCready: “You’re gonna bother with healing this old mutt?”

Sole shot him a withering glare. “I bother with healing you, don’t I?”

He frowned, clearly disliking that. “We could really use those stimpaks. Giving them away isn’t gonna do anybody any good.”

“It’s gonna do her some good.”

He huffed. “I can’t believe you’re really-”

He was silenced by the dog tackling him to happily lick at his face. He tried in vain to shield himself, but was of course unsuccessful.

“Oh, gross. I’ve got dog spit all over me.”

“I don’t know, you’re hair’s looking better than it ever has before.”

“Ugh, even worse.” He tried to wipe some of it off.

“What do you think for names, huh?”

“You’re really gonna-” The look on sole’s face let him know he was going to get another scathing remark if he finished that sentence. “Buttface.”

They burst out laughing. “Real mature, MacCready.”

“Hey, you asked and I answered. My vote is for Buttface.”

“Perfect,” sole said. “You named it after yourself.”

He frowned. “My name sounds nothing like- Hey, wait a minute!”

Sole’s laughter echoed for miles.

Nick: “Look, kid. I get that you’ve got a bleeding heart, but you can’t help every single creature in the Commonweath.”

“I know,” sole sighed, “but I can’t help it. I love dogs, and if it were my pet…”

“I understand.” The old Nick had absolutely adored dogs, so he knew where sole was coming from. “I’m not telling you you shouldn’t I’m just saying that, for future reference, you need to pick your battles.”

“I’m picking this one,” they declared, bending down to care for the creature. He felt a smile twitching at his mouth.

The dog was up and running in no time, barking happily and even chewing a little on Nick’s metal hand before she decided she didn’t like that. She settled for licking sole’s fingers instead.

“We should name her,” sole said. “Maybe we can even take her back to the agency. She might be able to calm some of the more hysterical clients, as well as protect Ellie.”

“I like that idea,” Nick said. “Should we call her Bones?”

“What, like that pre-war detective show?” He nodded, and sole grinned. “I like that.”

Bones happily joined their little party, following them all the way back to the agency.

Piper: “Oh, Blue. She doesn’t look to be in good shape.”

Sole pursed their lips, clearly conflicted. “I know. I’m gonna try to heal her, but you should stand back, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt if she attacks us as soon as she’s healed.”

“Sure,” Piper said, and she even adhered to the rule for a few seconds before stepping forward once again. As sole administered the stimpak, she gave the poor creature a few scratches behind the ears.

“She seems friendly,” sole noted once she was back on her feet and trying to lick Piper’s face.

“Yeah? Maybe we could take her back to Diamond City. I know that Nat was talking about getting a pet, and a dog would be able to keep her company while I’m gone.”

Sole smiled softly. “I think that’s a great idea, Piper. Should we let her name her, then?”

“I don’t see why not.” Piper gave the dog one last pet before standing. “Come on, girl. Nat’s gonna be so excited to meet you.”

Preston: “General, can I borrow a stimpak?”

Sole screeched to a halt on the road, hands instantly flying to their bag. “Preston, why didn’t you tell me you were hurt? We’ve been walking for hours. How bad is your pain? Where-”

He cut them off. “It’s not for me.”

They froze. “Then who is it for?”

He led them off the road to where a mongrel dog was curled up in the grass. “She’s hurt pretty bad. She can’t even move, so I thought-”

Sole pressed a stimpak into his hand. “You’re such a good man, Garvey. Do what you need to.”

He flushed a little at the complement, but bent to take care of the animal, petting her head while she recovered. “She might make a good guard dog for one of the settlements, don’t you think?”

“I think you’re right. We should give her a name.”

He paused for just a second. “What do you think about Angel?”

“I like it.” Sole patted their leg twice. “Come on, Angel. It’s time to stop slumming. Get a real job. Contribute to society.”

Preston laughed. “Help us get the Commonwealth back on its feet.”

Angel seemed more than happy to oblige.

Strong: “Why human stop? Dog weak. Strong crush dog?”

“No, Strong.” Sole bent down to help the injured creature. “You don’t need to hurt her. She’s alright.”

“Some dogs not alright. Dogs hurt human.”

“Not this one, buddy.”

He hummed noncommittally. “Human not need to help dog. If dog is strong, dog will survive.”

“This one is hurt. It won’t survive without our help.”

“How Strong help?”

“Just watch for bad guys, okay? Let me know if anything comes by.”

Strong turned to the road. “Strong not understand why human help dog, but Strong help human. Strong will watch.”

“Thanks.”

In just a few seconds, the dog was back on her feet, and sole patted Strong’s arm as they went by. “Come on, big guy. Let’s get Mutt back to Sanctuary so she doesn’t get hurt again.”

Strong followed them. “Strong still crush most dogs, right?”

Sole laughed, head tipped back, though Strong didn’t understand why. “Sure. Crush any dogs that aren’t Mutt or Dogmeat.”

Off they went, new group member trailing behind.

X6-88: “Ma’am/Sir, I wouldn’t advise going near that thing. You don’t know that it’s friendly. It’s clearly injured and injured animals are usually dangerous.”

“Relax, X6.” Sole approached the wounded creature with a stimpack in hand. “It’ll be fine.”

“You should really just put it out of its misery. It’s a mongrel. It’s probably going to attack you as soon as it’s physically able to.”

“Why do you always see the worst in everything, X6?”

“I don’t. I’m being realistic.”

Within a few moments, the dog was back on its feet, jumping around. Sole turned to him. “What should we call it?”

“It’s a mutt.” He cocked his gun. “Now that you’ve done what you felt you needed to, let me do my job.”

“X6!”

When his vision cleared, he was on the ground, knocked their by a punch to the face from sole. The dog was sniffing at him, licking his face, and he tried to shove it off to no avail.

“I like the name you came up with,” sole said above him. “Mutt will do just fine.”

He grumbled, still trying to avoid getting dog slobber on his face. “Mutt, I hate you.”

[haledamage]

 Pairing: Female Cousland/Nathaniel Howe

Story Summary: Cathain Cousland had been in love with Nathaniel Howe for as long as she can remember. It doesn’t take long after they reunite in Amaranthine to realize she still is.

Chapter Summary: A series of conversations, during a brief respite between fights.

We’re up to 10 chapters! and over 42k words! thank you so much for all the support <3

“I thought this place would be bigger. Grander. The way you spoke of it, I expected a fairy tale castle covered in climbing roses.”

“Of course you did,” Cait said, picking another wildflower out of their basket and weaving the stem with the others. “You’re a romantic. Even when I said ‘Avvar fortress’ and ‘built for function over form’ all you heard was pretty things.”

“I like pretty things. Like your Nathaniel,” Leliana said with a cheeky grin. “He is very handsome, isn’t he? He must take after his mother, no?”

Cait smiled as she placed her completed flower crown on Leliana’s head. “I can’t even imagine how you must have pictured Nate, the way I used to talk about him.”

“He does not quite live up to expectations, that is true.” Their eyes followed Nathaniel, over at their makeshift archery range. He was having what was probably a very dour and taciturn conversation with Loghain and Stroud. “How could he? True love makes everyone appear more magnificent than they really are.”

Cait fought the urge to roll her eyes. True love was a fairy tale. The love she felt for Nathaniel was no greater or more 'true' than the love she had for Leliana, or Fergus, or Anders; it was just a different kind. But they’d been over it before and she didn’t feel like rehashing it today. “It seems like you and our dear General have grown close.”

Leliana laughed her lovely, musical laugh and placed her flower crown on Cait’s head. “For someone whose job demands so much subtlety, you are not very good at it. But it is not like that. Loghain is… a friend. It is more than I expected when we met. It is enough.”

“He gave you the ‘old soldier’ speech, didn’t he?” She did a passable impression of his low, grumbling voice. "‘I’m old enough to be your father, girl. You have better things to do than waste time on an old soldier like me.’ He tried that on me too and I wasn’t even romantically interested in him. But you are, aren’t you? I’m not reading that wrong?” Leliana didn’t answer, just laid her head back on Cait’s shoulder. They both stared up into the canopy of her tree. “I can see why you would be. He’s handsome enough, and charming despite his attempts not to be. Maybe because of his attempts not to be.”

“You find him handsome, do you? I suppose you would.”

Cait shrugged the shoulder that her friend wasn’t leaning on. “I have a type. I’ve learned to accept it. Do you want me to talk to him?”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that, Caitie,” Leliana said lightly.

Cait shook her head, then had to catch her flower crown as it slid off her head. “You didn’t. You would do the same for me.”

“Do you need me to?”

“No. Nathaniel isn’t the issue in our relationship. I’m the one holding back.” Leliana found her hand and laced their fingers together, a silent show of support. “I’m just not any good at words. I have them, in my head clear as day, but when I try to say them… nothing.”

“You do not need words to show someone you love them. These,” Leliana touched her flower crown, held up their joined hands, “are how you tell me you love me. This is how you prefer to speak to us. I understand because I love you too. He understands too. He has had much more time to learn your language.”

“Maybe, but I want to tell him in his language. He’s… he’s a romantic. Like you.” Cait paused as Leliana giggled. “I know. He’s good at hiding it. I told you none of this, okay?”

“Well, if it were me...” Leliana said, and Cait could hear the ideas already forming in the bard’s head. “Perhaps something big is in order. You are very good at grand gestures. I think I know a good place to start. I will help, it will be fun.”

They didn't make any real effort to get up yet, though. They'd both spent the last few months surrounded by grumpy men and it was nice to be around another woman for a while. Maybe they should get Sigrun and have a girls' night; Cait was sure the three of them could find some trouble to get into, something more fun than their usual brand of trouble.

“Mrow,” a tiny voice said from the tree above them. Cait and Leliana exchanged a glace.

“Hello…?”

“Mreep eek.”

Cait scrambled to her feet to come face to face with a tiny ginger cat on one of the low branches. It was young, in that midway growth stage where its legs and tail were all much too long for the rest of it. Maybe six months old or so. It stared at her with bright green eyes. “Hello, sweetheart. Where did you come from?”

“Eep mrrr.” She reached out a hand and the cat leaned so hard against it that it almost fell out of the tree. She picked it up gingerly and it grabbed onto her shoulders, tiny needle claws digging into her skin. It bumped its face into her chin in a friendly kitty hug.

Leliana giggled. “I see you’ve made another new friend.” She scratched the cat between its ears and Cait almost dropped it as it tried to lean into the new source of attention. “I think he is hungry, poor thing. You take care of him and I will go to my room. I have something for you. I will go get it and see you in your room later.”

After she left, Cait stared at the cat. The cat stared at her, squinting its eyes happily. “I think I know exactly what to do with you, sweetheart. What do you think of mages?”

-------

“Anders, are you awake?” Cait banged on his door. “I have a present for you.” As soon as the door started to open, she held up the little cat.

Anders blinked at her over the cat’s head. His hair was down around his shoulders and he was shirtless; Cait could clearly see his ribs, but he looked much healthier than he had when they’d met. He looked like he had just woke up, even though it was early afternoon.

“Moooow rrp,” said the cat, and Anders’ bleary eyes finally focused on it. He reached forward very slowly and scooped it into his arms. It smooshed its face into his.

“I found him in my tree out in the courtyard,” Cait said, grinning. Anders looked completely smitten; he barely even acknowledged she was there. “He’s yours, if you want him.”

“Mine? You mean I can keep him? Here in the keep?”

“Of course you can.” She scratched the cat on top of its head as it thoroughly inspected Anders hair; seemingly approving, it bumped its face into Anders chin again. “You’re responsible for keeping him fed and happy. If he comes near my dog, Byron will adopt him immediately and try to teach him how to be a good mabari, so maybe keep an eye on where he roams. The rest is up to you.”

Anders walked over to his bed and gently set the cat down, who curled up immediately on his pillow and closed its eyes. He then stalked back to Cait and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. “May I point out that you’re all right?”

She smiled. “Go ahead.”

“You’re all right.” He stared at the cat as it stretched out its front paws, taking up a remarkable amount of space for a half-grown kitten. “Now I guess I need to get you a nice gift, ey?”

Cait stared up at him, confused. “What? No. Of course you don’t. Why would you?”

“No one’s ever just… given me a gift before,” Anders said in the smallest voice she’d ever heard from him.

“Anders, you’re my friend.” She hugged him again. She wanted to hold him until he understood what the meant and understood that she meant it. “You’re family. This isn’t some kind of one-upmanship. If you want to think of it that way, think of it as thanks for saving my life. Or thanks for being obnoxious and pushing Nathaniel and I together again.”

He was quiet for a very long time before he nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Caitie.”

“Can I make a request, though?”

“Anything.”

“Give that cat the most ridiculous blighted name you can think of.”

Anders grinned. “I think I have some ideas.”

-------

Her room had been empty when she returned. No Leliana, no Nathaniel, just Byron napping in the sun. She'd waited a while, but the bard had never come around, so Cait went down to the training cellar, hoping to hit things until she could think straight.

Grand gestures, Leliana had said. She could do that. She just hoped it didn't backfire.

They still hadn't set up any decent combat dummies, so Cait walked through a few basic training drills to warm up. Then she worked her way through a series of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and lunges, just trying to work up a sweat and get her heart rate up.

“I should have known I'd find you down here,” Loghain's quiet, amused voice said behind her. “Nice to know you aren't letting yourself get complacent now that you've got a roof and a title over your head.”

“I am hiding from my emotions,” Cait said honestly, dropping from the hanging bar to land toe to toe with the former teryn.

“Would you like some company?”

She picked up a sword and shield and he grabbed a pair of daggers, switching roles to keep them both out of their comfort zones. They already knew who would win in a normal fight, after all, and they both still bore the scars from it.

Cait felt off balance, the shield much heavier and less maneuverable than she was used to. The daggers looked comically small in Loghain's large hands.

She swung her sword, in much too wide an arc. Loghain parried easily. “So what are you hiding from?” she asked bluntly.

“They spotted a woman matching the description of the marsh witch at the border to Orlais,” he said, swinging at her but missing entirely, used to a longer blade. “Heavy with child.”

Cait paused. Whatever she had expected, it wasn't that. Loghain slapped the flat of a dagger to her shield arm and the shock of pain brought her back to the present. “Morrigan is a lot of things, but a liar isn't one of them. Chances are we'll never see her or her child again. We're both alive. Concentrate on that.”

He laughed dryly. “I have missed your unique brand of optimism while I've been away.” His tone changed to that of a patient instructor. Ever the general, even here. “Try switching the shield to your right arm. You're left hand dominant, you'll feel less off balance with your sword there.”

She did as he suggested, rolling her shoulders to loosen them up and adjust her footing. “You're right, that does feel better.” When she pressed the attack again, she was quicker, less clumsy.

“I've spoken at length with your Howe,” Loghain said, moving close to try and get past her guard.

Cait kept her shield resolutely between them. “He has a name, you know.”

He smiled a little, looking much more relaxed now that they were alone. “Yes, but you still knew who I was talking about.”

“And?”

“And I think if I'd had him at my side instead of his father, I would have had a much more successful campaign during the Blight,” he said wryly.

“If you'd had him at your side instead of his father, you and I would never have been enemies.” She swung her sword again, but was much too slow.

“Indeed.” He watched her face, easily sidestepping and ignoring her attempts at attacking. “He asked for my blessing to marry you.”

“He what?” Cait's sword clattered to the floor. Loghain dropped his combat stance until she picked it back up. "That's cheating, Loghain," she snapped. "A low blow."

He wasn't impressed or intimidated by her display. "Maybe you shouldn't expose your weak points quite so obviously."

She finally lifted her sword again. “I--Shouldn't he have asked Fergus? He's my only living blood family.”

“Perhaps.” Loghain waited until she was clearly ready before stepping forward to harrow her again. “When's the last time you spoke with your brother?”

“The coronation,” Cait said, half-hiding behind the shield. “I see your point, I guess you would be my closest family, these days.”

“Is that what we are?”

“Aren’t we?” Loghain's expression didn't change, but there was a softness around his eyes that hadn't been there before. “So what did you tell him?”

“That he had my blessing for as long as he makes you happy. That I know several very skilled assassins if he ever stopped.” He hit her shield a certain way and her whole arm went numb. “But I assume that’s what you’re down here hiding from.”

“You assume correctly.” Loghain sliced forward with a dagger and her sword clattered to the ground again. He picked it up and handed it back. As they started over, she said, “Do you ever feel like an impostor? Like every positive thing anyone sees in you is just… window dressing? Like you’ve fooled them into thinking you’re a good person and it’s only a matter of time until you slip up and they see through it?”

“You’re too young to be so jaded, Cait,” he said, disarming her again easily. She held up her hands in surrender. “Even at your absolute worst, you’re still a better person than most. You’ll never have a normal life, but you can still have a little normalcy in it. That’s what Howe is offering you.”

He helped her unstrap her shield and stayed close, studying her with that intense stare that she found so intimidating when they first met. Maybe she still found it a little intimidating. Loghain continued, “If you don’t mind a bit of advice from someone who’s been where you are: take it. Be happy in spite of the burdens placed on you.”

“I wish you’d take your own advice,” Cait whispered.

“Cait…”

“At least take her to dinner or something, Loghain. Give her a chance.” Cait knew how petulant she sounded, but she didn’t care. “She's an amazing woman, and you'd be good for each other.”

Loghain scoffed and turned away under the pretense of putting the weapons away. “She's barely older than my daughter.”

“Anora would absolutely be agreeing with me if she were here.” She followed him across the room, not letting him escape that easily.

“She's Orlesian,” he sneered.

“Loghain…”

He finally turned back to face her. “She deserves better than me.”

“Maybe,” Cait said plainly. “But she wants you.”

“She told you that, did she,” Loghain muttered, but he looked pleased at the thought.

Cait was pretty sure if she hugged him she'd start crying, the torrent of emotions rolling in her belly finding the only outlet they could. Instead, she laid her hand on his arm, thumb resting over a knot of scar tissue just above his elbow. He sighed, a small, frustrated sound, and found the matching scar on her arm from the same fight.

Friendship forged in blood and pain. Maybe she was good at grand gestures. Maybe Leliana understood her more than she gave her credit for.

She smiled at him, starting to finally feel calm again, and said, “Maybe it’s time for us old soldiers to stop running from the chance at a little peace.”

-------

She ran into Leliana in the hall on the way back to her room, who held out a small box for her. "It's a gift from the Drydens. They said you would find a use for it. I think I have an idea, but let us see if we are thinking the same."

Cait opened the box and stared at its contents in awe. "I know exactly what you're thinking," she said. She pulled Leliana into a hug. "It's perfect. Thank you."

"You are so welcome."

"I actually have something for you too. Will you come with me a moment?" She grabbed Leliana's hand before she could answer and pulled her along.

They made a quick stop at Wade's forge. He was hammering out a sword, but stopped as soon as they approached, visibly grateful for the distraction. When Cait said “I have a commission for you!” in a sing-song voice, he even looked a little excited. She left the box and a down payment, as well as a promise for double the pay if he and Harren kept it secret, and then she took Leliana’s hand again and led her back inside.

Nathaniel was in her room again when they walked in. He sat at the little desk under the window, a quill in hand and Byron asleep on his feet. His hair was down and loose around his shoulders and his bow was propped up in the corner by her armor stand and it was all so unexpectedly, breathtakingly domestic that Cait couldn’t help pause in the doorway and stare.

Then Leliana elbowed her in the back and Byron barked happily when he spotted her and the moment was lost. She stepped into the room, Leliana on her heels. “Sorry to bother you. We’ll be out of your hair in just a moment.”

“Cait, it’s your room,” Nathaniel chuckled. “If I didn’t want you in my hair, I could go to my own room, couldn’t I?” He grabbed her arm as she moved past and pulled her back to him. “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon.” She kissed the top of his head, then squirmed free to get back on task. She found her bags in the corner by the bed and dug through until she found what she was looking for.

Cait held the green-gemmed ring out to Leliana. “I think this is supposed to be yours.”

“It’s… lovely,” Leliana said slowly, studying the ring. “What is it for, exactly?”

“A pretty thing with a sad, romantic story attached.” Cait told an abbreviated version of their trip to Blackmarsh, of the scavenger hunt with the ring and the note at the end and the villagers, trapped in the Fade for decades. “I know how cheesy this sounds, but I think I was meant to bring it to you. To tell you their story so you could carry it with you.”

Leliana grinned playfully. “You’re right. That does sound cheesy,” she said, but she put on the ring. “I hope they are together, wherever they are now.”

“That’s what I said,” Nate said softly.

“Good,” Leliana laughed. “Then I do not have to worry that Cait will get too serious and grumpy without me here.”

“You like serious and grumpy,” Cait pointed out.

“I have a type. I have learned to accept it.” Leliana gave Cait a quick hug. “I should go find your General. He is likely to find something reckless to do so he doesn’t have to think about his feelings, no?”

“I can see why you and he get along so well,” Nathaniel said dryly. “So much in common.”

After Leliana left, Nate turned back to the desk and Cait tried not to go back to staring at him. She busied herself sorting through the pile of now clean and dry clothes on her bed and putting them away. A remarkable number of them weren’t her clothes.

"Do you even use your room anymore?" Cait said softly, putting another of his shirts on a hanger and putting it in the closet. "Maybe we should just move all of your stuff in here."

Nathaniel turned to look at her. "I can’t tell if you’re joking or not."

"I’m not. But we can pretend I am if you’d prefer." She gave up the pretense and walked over behind his chair and sliding her arms around his shoulders. “What’re you writing?”

“Calling in some favors from my time up north. Trying to find some information about the Architect or any historical mentions of talking darkspawn.” He leaned against her and took her hand, holding it over his heart. “The First Warden is understandably slow to share information with me, but the Wardens can’t be the only ones with records dating back that far. I know a girl in Kirkwall, Charade, who has contacts as far north as Tevinter. Told her I’d help her track someone down if she did the same for me.” He tapped the top sheet of paper and added, “This one’s to Delilah. I promised I’d keep in touch.”

“I should probably write to Fergus,” Cait said with a sigh. “He’ll ask me to come visit him. I’m not ready.”

“Have you been back to Highever at all?” He turned his chair around and pulled her close. Sitting down, he was still barely shorter than she was standing.

She shook her head. “Not since Duncan dragged me out. I just… I can’t.”

“I understand.” Nathaniel touched his forehead to hers. “I could go with you, if you want. Once you're ready. Assuming Fergus would even let a Howe through the gates.”

He was probably right. Cait wasn’t even sure Fergus really wanted to see her either; she knew he blamed her at least a little for the deaths of their parents, of his wife and son. As if she wouldn’t bring them back in a heartbeat if she could.

“He’ll come around,” was all she said, “sooner or later.”

“That’s more patient than I would normally expect from you,” he said.

“Yes, well, I had a good day. I’m feeling a bit generous.” She tilted his head up so she could kiss him. “Don’t worry, I plan to go back to being obtuse and difficult first thing in the morning.”

“I’d better take advantage of it while I can, then.”

-------

She ran into Stroud in the hall the next morning on the way to breakfast. "Good morning, Ser Stroud."

"Good morning, Warden-Commander. Might I take a moment of your time?"

“Of course. Do you want to take a walk?” she gestured down the hall and fell into step next to him.

“As you wish.” He didn’t say another word until they were outside. Stroud kept his hands clasped behind his back, every movement poised and professional, and Cait found herself mimicking his posture as they walked. “You have done good work here, Commander. Especially considering the… unique circumstances surrounding your recruitment.”

She nodded her head in a small bow. “Thank you, Ser Stroud.”

“Call me Jean-Marc.”

“Only if you’ll call me Cait,” she said with a smile.

His mustache twitched. “On second thought, perhaps just Stroud will do.”

Cait laughed. “So you do have a sense of humor after all. What was it you wished to discuss?”

They turned a corner, moving farther away from the forge and the crowds in the courtyard. Stroud spoke in a hushed voice to discourage eavesdroppers. “Have you had any direct contact with this Architect?”

Cait shook her head. “No. Just minions.”

“I have been reading your reports and these confrontations you’ve been having do not seem accidental.” He pulled her to a stop behind a half-repaired wall, dark eyes somber and intense. “I think the Architect, whatever it is, is targeting you specifically.”

She thought about that for a moment. “Targeting me, or targeting the Commander? Because the Commander could be anyone. If I were to walk away tomorrow and leave for… I don’t know, vacation in Antiva, would I meet talking darkspawn there or would they be the new Commander’s problem?”

Stroud’s mustache twitched again. Cait was starting to suspect he had it so people couldn’t read his expressions. “Are you planning a vacation to Antiva, Commander?”

They started walking again. “No. But if they're targeting the Commander of the Grey, the Architect has a grudge against Wardens and is just trying to cut off the snake’s head, as it were. If they're targeting me, it’s for something I’ve personally done.” She shrugged. “And since I’m not the one who killed the archdemon, I don’t know what else they could possibly want with me.”

Stroud was quiet for a long time. “I hadn’t considered that. I don’t think I like the implications either way.” A merchant cart came barreling down the road toward them, and they stepped to the side to let it past. Once it was gone, he continued, “I’m concerned about the way his subordinates keep finding you. How did they know you would go to the Blackmarsh? To Kal’Hirol?”

Cait’s blood ran cold. “You don’t think there’s a spy here, do you?”

“Not among your Wardens. I have spoken to all of them. Their loyalty is not in question. Neither is that of your seneschal,” he said, and Cait deflated with relief; she knew that her people could be trusted, but convincing a man like Stroud of that would be impossible if he’d decided otherwise. He was still talking, seemingly not noticing her momentary distraction. “I’ve heard rumors of a conspiracy against you.”

She heard what he was trying to infer. “You think Esmerelle is working for the darkspawn?”

“Or perhaps they work for her.”

“Esmerelle isn’t smart enough to be the Architect,” Cait sneered. “Unless someone hired her, too, to try and split my attention. Blight and damnation, I don’t like the connotations there, but… I’ll look into it. That would be my blighted luck, wouldn’t it?” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Stroud.”

“You are welcome, Commander.” They walked for a while in silence. “I will be heading back to the Free Marches soon, I think. You have things well in hand here.”

Cait had figured he wouldn’t be staying long, but she was surprised that she was a bit sad to see him go. Curious and knowing she might not get a chance to ask later, she asked, “What’s your job like up north?”

“Scouting, mostly. There are several places where the Deep Roads open directly to the surface, like at Kal’Hirol. We patrol to make sure the darkspawn don’t try to amass at any of them.” Stroud’s mustache twitched again. He was clearly proud of his work. “I do some recruiting as well. A lot of promising people come to and from the Marcher cities.” He paused, then added, “Perhaps I will start sending them your way instead of to Orlais.”

Cait smiled. “If I find any promising scouts, I’ll send them your way.”

“Thank you, Commander.” As they turned to head back to the keep, Stroud continued, “Sigrun in particular shows great promise, if she would be amenable. After this Architect business is concluded, of course.”

Her gut reaction was to say no, but she stopped to think about it. Even with this Architect stuff, it was pretty quiet in Ferelden on the darkspawn front. Sigrun would get bored with too much downtime between fights. She conceded, “I’ll talk to her about it. The decision would be hers ultimately.”

“Of course.” Stroud watched her closely as he said, “Lord Howe would be of considerable use as well.”

“I’m sure he would,” Cait said, fighting hard not to sound hostile. “He and I are a package deal, however.”

He huffed, a sound dangerously close to a laugh. “If I am honest, you would be a boon to my work too. A woman of your talents is wasted on paperwork. But that is not up to either of us, is it.”

“I suppose it isn’t,” she said, relaxing a little.

“Thank you for your time, and for your hospitality,” Stroud said, and after a very long pause added, “Cait.”

“The honor was mine, Jean-Marc,” Cait grinned, only tripping over his name a little. “I hope we get to work together in the future.”

“As do I.”

[pinkletterday]

Oh thank God they aren't waiting till shit goes down to brief Team Flash.

LMAO Iris "what the newspaper says some shit? That's like Tuesday for us, bro."

Seriously though I'm tired of Iris being "tough". The best thing, maybe the only good thing, about Season 3 was that she was allowed to be soft and vulnerable and scared and sad. We badly need to roll back on this stoic tough chick trope. LET WOMEN BE EMOTIONAL FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

I miss Soft Princess Iris. :(

SINGH. I missed Captain Singh. He's like Barry's number one stan. "You got an intern working a crime scene without going through any hiring protocol whatsoever, Allen? Good job!"

Incidentally how can you "hire" interns if you don't pay them?

So. Now that we've seen a man become compressed into a block of meat, can we have some PG 13 post-coital Westallen nookie? This show's attitude to sex is so fucked up. Shishkebab people 96 times per season but zero hints of a sex life between a loving, committed couple.

Nora, I love you but you may actually be worse than your Dad at showing up to crime scenes with flimsy excuses...*flashes back to introductory episode on Arrow 2x8* nvm

That block of meat is making me hungry. Need breakfast.

"Please stop caring about me" LOL

Ralph is sort of growing on me. Granted, so could fungus.

Okay that was mean.

I really hope Barry also tables his family drama for five minutes to be there for his best friend. Caitlin and Cisco keep being deprioritized since S2 - S3 and its grating on me. Be there for your friends too, Barry.

Excuse you, going to Thailand and painting your toes is a great way to get over a break-up. However, I strongly advise against any drastic hair decisions.

Oh. Poor guy. Be gentle, Mad Dog West-Allen

(Get it? Mad Dog Lane? TNAOS? Ok then)

I do like when they show civillian casualties. It makes what they do seem more impactful.

Is Joe on paternity leave?

I like these West family subplots. Joe and Cecile are v cute.

Cecile reading the mind of your child without their consent is the opposite of being the perfect parent. Wait till she's out and raid her room for drugs like everyone else.

Barry is like me with teenagers. "When I was your age it took five minutes just to connect to the internet and your search history turned up on your phone bill shut your gob."

Oh Nora. *facepalm*

Idk why Barry always calls his villains out. He's a speedster with the advantage of surprise. Its stupid.

"Denser than people who still believe in love." I feel you so much Cisco.

I see the CW is still forcing us to be minutely acquainted with people's chins.

SERIOUSLY just let Barry take five seconds out to give Cisco a comforting pat on the back Im so tired of this.

LOL Barry you're giving Nora math homework? That's just harsh.

Lmao Cisco is getting Anne Hathawayed HANDS OFF THE HAIR BRUCE. **proteccs lush beautiful Cisco curls*

"Does that mean you think there's something wrong with me?" NO BABY YOU ARE THE MOST PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL

"You cut my hair I cut you" YOU TELL HIM

Oh. Oh my. Oh.

I have never been so attracted to Cisco Ramon before. Clearly I have been a fool.

Heee she raised her hand. "But Dad, I wanna punch stuff!" Most precious bean.

Errm pretty sure your Dad killed the Sand Demon, Nora. I don't care about DC's no-kill rule but that was not his finest moment.

Lmaoooo welcome to fatherhood, Barry.

Maybe a stern little talking-to wouldn't hurt at this point.

Whenever she says "Dad" my insides melt a little more.

Okay, Barry and Iris need to draw some hard lines between their professional lives. The investigative journalist cannot just waltz into her husband's CCPD lab and look through his laptop. Literally you could have done this at home instead of the lab. One day they're going to be accused of evidence tampering.

Shit like this takes me out of a scene unnecessarily.

Barry: "NORA ISN'T LISTENING TO ME SHE THINKS SHE CAN DO ALL THESE THINGS BUT SHE CAN'T, NEMO!"

Joe: *internally laughs himself stupid*

So this is why parents want their kids to reproduce. The sweet, sweet karmic payback. xD

(Fourth grade? Barry came to live with them when he was eleven. Also pretty sure Barry kinda hated Joe for a while what with having arrested his Dad and being traumatized. I can see him hero-worshipping Joe a couple of years later maybe.)

I can't get over how hot Cisco is. Bruce better not have burned his iconic t-shirts tho.

Aww, Caitlin. That sucks. :( I know the theme this season seems to be fathers and daughters but you should really talk to Iris about absentee parents who faked their deaths.

No seriously this is a great bonding opportunity for them! I need to see a solid friendship between the two main female cast members so bad it's been four seasons please throw me a bone

Oh, step twenty seven is hitting me hard too. I think I might actually like Ralph soon.

Okay, real talk. Yeah the superficial stuff can't distract you from the truth that your relationship tanked. But that whole cry on your couch for two weeks, get away to a seaside with friends, getting a makeover, buying new clothes, redecorating your living space - these are also rituals of grief and helps you cope till you get enough emotional distance to deal with reality. Superficial stuff is what makes life bearable, okay?

The other thing is to give relationship advice nobody asked for

Moving on.

I love that Cait and Cisco are always there for each other.

Awww Barry's showing Nora what a fuck up he truly is loool.

Oh my God. Season 1 Barry. "Sometimes for people with our abilities the most impressive thing is restraint." WE HAVE COME SO FAR. I'M LOVIN' IT! *prouds*

Yessss Iris being as smart as the nerd herd!

GO TEAM WEST-ALLEN!

Young lady, you roll your eyes at your mother one more time and we're gonna have words.

Kinda hate that in order to give villains a chance against speedster powers you gotta significantly bring the latter down several IQ points.

Baby got moves! Nice!

Barry! What about those moves you used to lay out the ARGUS guards??

This fight would be more impressive is I could see jackshit. Lighting, people!

Hmm. Did Cicada just have a "Save Martha" moment?

Nora is so scared and worried for her father, poor babb.

YES MARVEL REFERENCE!

Wait, so they got their powers back?

Y'know he didnt have to vibe that to realize the obvious next step is confronting Caitlin's mother.

Actually that sounds like respiratory problem. New villain - Halitosis.

Oooh Future Spoilers Girl knows who Cicada is

Aaand that's a wrap folks.

Ngl I had hoped for more "West" in Team West-Allen but this was a solid ep.

Please have Nora call Barry "Dad" as many times as possible k.