#fo4preston

[zirawrites]

Hi ~ Companions reacts: Finding out FSole is crying quietly (trying to hide that they’re sad).. Thank you !!

Trigger warning: Brief mention of Preston’s past with suicide

This is exactly 3,591 words of pure angst. I didn’t mean it to be so wordy, but I hope you all enjoyed the various scenarios I put female Sole and her companions in.

Cait: Cait was always eager to scavenge buildings with Sole. They got to steal some useful shit, and occasionally rough up a few raiders. Sole liked getting the scum off the street. As for Cait, she got to go home with arms full of things that were now her own. She didn’t get a lot of those moments back in the cages.

“Clear!” Cait had swept the top floor of the department store for enemies. This was usually the part when Sole ran up to meet her, but they didn’t make a sound. “Sole?” Cait called down from the top of the stairs. “I said the floor was - shite. Do I gotta do evrythn’ by myself?” She made her way downstairs and combed the isles for her partner. Something quiet was mewing from another isle. Cait readied her gun. It could be an inured animal, and Cait wasn’t beyond eating it as long as it wasn’t too irradiated.

Instead, Cait saw Sole whimpering and staring at the display. “Wuts with the tears?” she asked. There wasn’t any sympathy in Cait’s expression until she realized they were in the nursery isle. Sole stared at a new crib; its tiny mobile covered in layers of post-apocalyptic dust. Slowly, Cait placed a gentle hand on Sole’s shoulder. She wasn’t good with words, so she let Sole have a moment. “It’s okay, dear,” she whispered. “You take yer time. I’ll be here.”

Codsworth: The power in Sanctuary had cut off again. Sole and Codsworth had worked diligently with the other settlers to restore it, but as night fell, they figured it would be safer to save the problem until morning. After Sole instructed more guards to be posted by the bridge, they told Codsworth it was time to reward their hard work. Sole had plans to go home and drink a bottle of wine by themselves until their sore body drifted off to sleep. Codsworth laughed at Sole being “cheeky as always,” then bid them goodnight.

Though Codsworth didn’t sleep, he liked to spend nights with Sole back at home. His mistress made excellent company, and he felt better knowing she was safe. After an adequate amount of time had passed for Sole to get drunk, Codsworth went home to tuck them in.

“Hi honey! Listen… I don’t think Shaun and I need to tell you how great of a mother you are. But, we’re going to anyway.”

Was there a man in Sole’s house? Codsworth pushed open the front door to see Sole sitting by candles in the dark, holding her pip-boy on her lap. She listened to a holotape Nate must have left her before the war. Again. And again. And again. Hi honey. Hi honey. And again. But everything we do no matter how hard, we do it for our family. And again. Now say goodbye, Shaun. And again. Bye bye, say bye bye.

Codsworth floated next to her. Sole was crying so hard she didn’t even notice. When Sole tried to place the holotape in for the twentieth time, Codsworth softly used his arm to take it from her hands. “I think… I think we’ve both heard enough of the master for one night, mum.” His voice seemed equally as mournful as Sole’s. “Why don’t we sleep off this hangover? You can visit Mr. Nate in your dreams.”

Curie: One reason Curie admired Sole so much was because she always let her ask as many questions as she wanted. If Curie thought of something she needed to ask about philosophy or human anatomy, Sole always tried her best to give her an answer. Once the two women were being pinned down by gunners and Curie wanted to know which philosophical discipline did dualism belong to. She had been reading a textbook in the caravan that took them to their current outpost, and Sole stopped lighting her Molotov cocktail to answer her. That just was the kind of friend Sole was.

It wasn’t strange for Curie to pop in to a settlement she knew Sole would be tending to. Curie had been reading “The Great Gatsby” and wanted some aspects of symbolism clarified. By the time Curie made it to Starlight Drive-In, Sole was already packing up her gear. Suddenly, Sole dropped to her knees behind the counter. Thinking Sole had hurt herself, Curie rushed through the door and knelt down. Sole looked up with tearful eyes; obviously not expecting anyone to see her. Curie moved a strand of hair from Sole’s eyes and smiled. “Madame, if you need me to listen for a change, I can.” Curie sat down next to Sole and held her hands. “If you don’t mind me saying so, I learned from the best.”

Danse: It was obvious that Sole hadn’t want to leave the Prydwen. She was usually excited to go off on an impromptu mission with Danse, but Sole had dragged her feet all morning. Honestly, the paladin was taking it personally. Danse knew he wasn’t the most exciting man to spend the day with, but he assumed he and Sole were friends. Instead, Sole complained the entire vertibird trip across the Commonwealth. She antagonized Danse at every raider outpost they took down. Hell, she even questioned his choice of shelter as night fell. He was so frustrated he insisted they sleep on opposite sides of the gas station.

Danse was a light sleeper, so at the first sounds of sniffling, he sat up in his sleeping bag. That alerted Sole, who immediately stopped crying. “Sole?” Danse asked. Even though he was whispering, his voice sounded booming in the empty room. Sole didn’t stir, and he figured they were pretending to be asleep. He called out her name again to no avail. When it was clear Sole was going to fake being asleep, Danse stood up and walked over to where she lay. “You don’t… have to talk about it, soldier,” he said. This time Danse’s voice was calm and sweet. Sole had never felt more reassured by him, even when he had her back in a firefight. “Just know I recognize you are going through a difficult time. When you’re ready to talk about it, I’ll be here. Not as your superior, but as a friend.”

Deacon: It was a shitty time to get split up from Sole. A dark storm had unleashed an ungodly amount of heavy rain, and the two partners somehow were split up in the confusion. Deacon took refuge in a shed, but as the wind howled and poked holes in the wood, he knew it would blow off the ground any minute. That wasn’t anything he wanted to get trapped inside. He took a deep breath and sprinted for a nearby church just in the distance. The mud from the graveyard he ran through was up to his knees, and sucked his left boot right off his leg. Soaking wet and out of breath, Deacon crashed through the door and barely had the strength to push it closed.

His shaking hands wiped his face clean of water, and he took off his sunglasses that were smeared with sludge. His shirt was too wet to clean it, so the accessory would need to air dry. What Deacon wasn’t planning on in his disheveled state was meeting Sole’s sorrowful gaze. She was sitting in the front pew, and had been staring at a large cross on the wall. Her hands were folded in her lap as she shook from both the freezing rain and her own tears. Sole had never seen Deacon without his glasses, and Deacon had never seen her as anything but the fearsome Charmer. Both of their facades were crumbling.

“Did… did something happen?” he asked softly, trying to forget she could see his naked eyes. Sole tried to answer him, but her lower lip began to quiver, and he just… Well, shit. Deacon couldn’t just leave her hanging. He set his sunglasses on a counter and sat down next to his shaken partner. He angled himself in her direction and hesitated briefly before taking her hand. Deacon ran his thumb over her knuckles and forced a smile. He was such a liar. “We’re both okay,” he soothed. Deacon wasn’t sure if Sole was crying over him or if it had something to do with the church, or maybe she was cracking under pressure. Either way, he held her hand until she eventually rested her head on his collarbone and drifted off to sleep. They couldn’t go out in the storm, and Deacon wasn’t complaining. 

Dogmeat: It was a damn good day to be a dog. The sun was shining over Sanctuary, and Sole took Dogmeat out in a patch of grass to play fetch. She threw the baseball as far as she could, and the mutt faithfully returned it each time. With every throw, Sole got the ball to go further. With every catch, Dogmeat ran faster. On one particular throw, the baseball went out of sight. How exciting! Dogmeat sniffed the ground to find it, but to his horror the ball was stuck in a tree. He jumped and snapped at it, but the branch was just too high. This was a problem Sole could fix.

Dogmeat sprinted back to his master, but instead of the usual smile she greeted him with, Sole was wiping tears from her cheek. Dogmeat stopped in his tracks, tilted his head, and let out a sad whimper. “Oh no,” Sole sniveled, and crouched down to pet Dogmeat behind the ears. “You didn’t do anything wrong, boy. I’m just having a bad day.” Dogmeat returned Sole’s words with a hearty face licking, which elicited some giggles from her. The two headed back home to take a nap; the baseball in the tree long forgotten by both friends. 

Hancock: Hancock knew he wasn’t the best influence, but even he had standards when it came to exposing others to chems. Sole had never even taken Asprin before the war, so he was hesitant to let them puff Jet with him on a hot, sticky Friday night. It was so bad outside that people were walking around Goodneighbor without shirts. Sole just needed to take her mind off of the disgusting weather, so the two of them sat in his office - Sole in shorts and Hancock without his jacket - discussing how much she should take her first time.

“Darln’, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” he said. “You’re way tougher than me, I won’t deny that. But chems can be a slippery slope. You sure you’re ready?” Sole teased him about not really knowing what he was doing, which made him scoff. He knew the exact dose she should take for a small trip, so he handed her the canister and told her how hard to inhale. Of course she messed that up. At the first gravely feeling in her lungs, Sole sucked in too deep, and Hancock ripped the Jet from her hands. She was laughing and coughing as he pat her back, and both of them knew she was in for a wild night.

After an hour of Sole, well, tripping complete balls, Hancock went downstairs to make snacks. When he returned, Sole was dabbing her eyes with the handkerchief he left behind. He watched her from the open door for a while, until his heart couldn’t take it anymore. Hancock offered her his hand, which Sole struggled to take, and led her to the couch. He sat down and let Sole rest her head in his lap as he absentmindedly stroked her hair. She wouldn’t remember this in the morning, and he wouldn’t bring it up. But for now his best friend needed him. It was time to be a good influence.

MacCready: MacCready and Sole didn’t have a lot of downtime to talk about non-survival stories, so whenever the opportunity arose to be lazy, they gladly took advantage of it. Preston was handling the settlements, Nick and Piper were running errands in Diamond City, and even Danse was helping with repairs around Sanctuary. The two partners decided to spend the evening at the Third Rail drinking booze and watching Magnolia sing. 

Sole saved MacCready a seat on the couch as he handed her a drink from the bar. He casually slung his arm behind her, and the two talked about personal matters they never got to bring up. Sole told him about her career as a lawyer. MacCready explained how Little Lamplight worked. Sole reminisced about the day her and Nate bought Codsworth. MacCready, now tipsy, pulled out a picture of Duncan from his coat pocket. “This is my boy,” he slurred. “This… this is Duncan. Isn’t he -?” MacCready let out a sharp hiccup. “Isn’t he cute? He loves to draw. He’s gonna be an artist, Sole. Just wait. Duncan once drew a picture of Lucy and I when he was four and holy crap did it look just like us. If we were stick-figures, of course. But it was still really good.”

When Sole didn’t respond, MacCready looked down at where she was snuggled in to his arm. She was looking down at her drink which rippled from her tears. When her shoulders shuddered from her soft crying, MacCready knew she was thinking about Shaun. He pulled her closer to his side and placed a hard, chaste kiss to her temple. “M’sorry, Sole,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. You just let it out. Nobody’s watching, okay? I promise.” Even if they were, his glare alone would definitely scare them off.

Preston: Preston had bared his entire past to Sole, so there wasn’t much she didn’t know about him. Sole knew his favorite song on Diamond City radio (it was “One More Tomorrow,” he thought the song was romantic). They knew about his morning routine habit of needing to get out of the right side of bed for good luck. Hell, Sole could tell you everything from Preston’s favorite color to why he has a small scar shaped like a hook on the back of his neck.

But sometimes Preston wondered if he knew anything about Sole at all. He was walking the Castle when he heard a muffled noise behind Sole’s chamber doors. Even though she might get upset, Preston had to check on her. He was shocked to see Sole wiping away tears as they looked in the mirror. She was wearing her general hat, and didn’t seem to like the reflection in the mirror staring back. Preston knew what that felt like; he had his share of demons that Sole knew all about. It always made him worry about losing Sole. Depression was so easy to fall in to, and he didn’t want Sole to get as lost as he had been.

Preston lightly knocked on the door frame, which startled Sole. Before she could yell at him, he took off his own had and smiled sheepishly. “Need some company, General?” he asked. “It’s about time I start asking you about your day.”

Piper: Both women couldn’t believe they had never had a girls’ night in together. Piper cleaned up her office and Sole brought the booze. The two gossiped about the snobs of Diamond City, ate Fancy Lads, and braided each others hair. Piper never had a female friend like Sole, and she felt as carefree as a pre-war child when they snuggled up on the couch to read each other’s palms. Sole said it was a fun child’s game she used to do at sleepovers.

“The heart line on your right palm is curved. That means you freely express your feelings,” Sole said. “And your life line swoops in a semi-circle. That means you are full of strength and enthusiasm.” Piper wasn’t sure if Sole was just blowing smoke up her ass, but she appreciated the compliments anyways. “You also have a fate line. Not a lot of people have that.” Sole held Piper’s hand closer to her face and softly ran her fingernail along the indent in her skin. “It’s joined to your life line. You’re a self-made individual whose always had aspirations.”

“Okay, okay, your turn!” Piper laughed. She flipped Sole’s hand over and bit her lower lip as she concentrated. “Your heart line begins in the middle of your hand. Doesn’t that mean you fall in love easily?” Sole nodded and rolled their eyes. “I’m flattered, Blue. Really.” Both women chuckled. “Your life line, it… breaks in the middle. So… you’ve had a sudden change in lifestyle.” Sole said ‘no shit,’ but it was hard to lighten the mood. “Hey, Blue! You have a fate line, too.”

“Let’s not read that one,” Sole said. She pulled her hand back, and Piper instinctively grabbed her wrist. The motion caught both of them off-guard. “I already know what it is, Piper. It starts at my thumb. It means I have the support of my family. Nate used to…” Her words were broken by an unexpected sob. Sole covered her mouth, but Piper wasted no time lunging forward to pull her in to a tight hug.

“Oh, Blue…” Piper said in to Sole’s hair. “This game is no fun. Let’s play a different one, okay?”

Nick: Sole kept complaining she was bored. Nick didn’t know how the busiest survivor in the Commonwealth could have any downtime, but they offered Sole a job at his detective agency. Sole jumped at the chance to help more people, which was part of why Nick loved her. From day one Sole was giving it her all. There weren’t a lot of people like that in Diamond City, and sometimes Nick wondered if they were the only pre-war souls left.

Nick forgot his hat on his desk, so he entered the office in a bit of a mood. He was supposed to meet Hancock in Goodneighbor to go over a case of a recent kidnapping that happened near the Third Rail. As luck would have it, Sole was thumbing through the file. “It’s a tricky one, isn’t it?” Nick noted as he grabbed his hat from the hanger. “Kid just goes missing wandering the streets while his mom was getting loaded. Some people just shouldn’t be parents. Who just leaves their son like that?” Silence, and then sniveling. “Sole? Are you alright?”

Sole looked up with tears down her red cheeks. Nick immediately cursed himself for talking about a mother that way. “I didn’t mean you, dear,” he said. “Honest.” Sole said something about knowing Nick didn’t mean it, but Nick pulled her in to a hug anyways. “You’re a great mom. And an even greater partner. I’m sorry fate would be so cruel to such a flower in a garden full of thorns.”

Strong: “Human is weak!” Strong roared as he picked the tire off of Sole’s chest. Sole caused an explosion when she accidentally shot a fuel pump aiming for some raiders. It certainly did the job, but an entire truck launched at both her and Strong. The car fell apart in the air, but its tire landed right on Sole as she tried to back away. Strong wasted no time freeing his companion, but he had some choice words for her. “You shot fire box. Human knows fire box makes fire. Why would puny human do something so stupid? Even Strong knows not to do that.”

He charged ahead of Sole to begin scavenging the truck. From experience, Strong knew sometimes humans stored food in there. As he ripped off the door, Strong heard a cooing noise behind him. It was Sole who turned her face in shame. She was crying - either from being in pain or having been humiliated - and that hurt Strong. The supermutant touched his heart because there was this aching he had never felt before.

Strong pat Sole’s head several times, which made her chortle through the tears. “Strong is sorry he yelled at his friend. You are good fighter.” Sole squeezed his hand, and Strong squint his eyes. It was the closest to a smile Sole had ever seen him give. “But human must stop crying. It makes Strong’s heart hurt.”

X6-88: It was official: Shaun was dying. The meeting went as well as X6 had expected. Most of the Institute scientists had absolutely no faith in Sole’s ability to become Father’s successor. Sometimes X6 doubted her whenever she used too many Stimpaks or was caught reading MacCready’s comic book collection. He wondered why someone who grew up without constant war could lead the future with Shaun’s vision. In fact, X6 was so concerned he decided to visit Sole’s private quarters and talk about it with her.

When X6 opened the door, he saw Sole crying in to her pillow. She obviously thought she was alone. X6 thought Sole was probably more upset over Shaun’s terminal disease than having to lead the Institute, though it was definitely a combination of both. Without warning, he sat down on the edge of her bed. Sole shot up and began rambling excuses about why she was crying, and X6 listened patiently. When Sole ran out of breath, X6 reached out to touch her knee. “I respect you a lot, ma’am. You don’t need to hide your feelings from me.” Sole blinked away some tears. “I’m upset about Father’s passing as well. He’s my mentor. And one day when you are long gone, I will be just as upset as you are now.”

[zirawrites]

companions react to sole catching bullets mid air and sending them back

Cait: “Holy fuckn’...!” Cait was too in awe to finish her sentence. Sole stared back at her as their bloody hand squeezed a raider’s bullet. “No wonder you were able to get me outta those cages,” she said. “How long have ya been able to do that, Sole? Shite. We’re gonna make a lot of caps off this trick, I’ll tell ya that!” Cait then asked how hard Sole could throw the bullet back.

Codsworth: Stunned. Honestly, he wanted to deactivate himself. Every time Sole blew his proverbial mind, he told himself they couldn’t top whatever blasphemy they just did. Sole survived nuclear fallout. Their son was leader of the Institute. They played all the factions of the Commonwealth like puppets. But catching bullets? He had officially seen his master do it all.

Curie: “Can I do that as well?” Curie didn’t know humans were capable of catching something at such a high velocity and then projecting them back at a target. As the raider screamed in agony, Curie fixated herself on her friend. She hadn’t found a book that explained what Sole just did, but Curie was determined to find it.

Danse: Sole was a fucking synth, weren’t they? His mouth hung open as Sole threw the bullet back. Their enemies began to retreat as Sole searched the ground for fallen ammunition. Danse stood in his tracks and watched them. Sole was so casual about their... abilities. Yeah, he knew they had to be a synth.

Deacon: Deacon’s head tilted back as he brought his hands to his mouth to stifle a gasp. He watched like a little kid as Sole threw the bullet back and hit the Brotherhood soldier directly between the eyes. “It looks like you really are the Railroad’s secret weapon,” he gaped. “Can you shoot lasers out of your eyes? Do your fingers turn in to little chainsaws?” Deacon badgered Sole about superpowers the entire way back to HQ.

Dogmeat: He didn’t know people weren’t able to do that. Dogmeat just assumed Sole was being their regular badass self. Honestly, that poor dog has seen a lot of freaky shit in the Commonwealth. 

Hancock: When Sole hurled the bullet back at a thug in Goodneighbor, the crowd began to cheer. Hancock had been watching from his balcony. Outwardly, he cheered with everyone else. But when he got Sole alone? He had a lot of questions as to why they kept such a crazy secret weapon from him. He didn’t like not knowing every crevice of his best friend.

MacCready: “Did you really just do that?!” MacCready didn’t even listen when Sole tried to talk poorly about his sniping skills compared to their own agility. What Sole just did was some straight-up witchcraft. He kept them a reasonable distance away for the next few weeks, and definitely didn’t allow them to participate in a firefight.

Preston: Sole may have just impressed the group of Minutemen at the Castle, but Preston was extremely cautious. He knew Sole always exceeded his expectations, but catching bullets? “Look, Sole, I know that was very impressive. But how did you learn to do that? I’m... not sure you’re completely human.” He didn’t want to offend the General, but he needed to make sure they were the original Sole before he let them command a militia.

Piper: One second, Sole was catching bullets and sending them back. The next, Piper had a notebook and pencil shoved in their face. They had no idea how Piper pulled that out so quickly. They weren’t even near her office in Diamond City. “Okay, Blue, my first question for this article is...”

Nick: Nick knew exactly who was responsible for this. Sole didn’t even need to explain themselves. He made a little quip about Sole always blowing his fuse, but when he got back to Diamond City he was elbow deep in files. This had to be the work of the Mysterious Stranger.

Strong: “Puny human has unfair fighting advantage!” Strong yelled after Sole threw the bullet. “Humans cannot catch bullets and use them with fists. You are NOT a real human!” How could Sole lead him to the milk of human kindness if they weren’t even that species?

X6-88: X6 didn’t react. He didn’t say a damn thing. It unnerved Sole who actually wanted to talk about their special ability, but assumed X6 was just uncomfortable. Sole had no idea he was shedding a tear under his sunglasses. His companion was such a badass it shook X6 to his core.

[zirawrites]

HC: companions decide to do a secret Santa. it’s everyone’s first time so things get a bit rocky. Deacon gets Cait so he tries to get her a deathclaw’s head to hang in her room but he ends up getting chased out of the den by 4 mother deathclaws, he settles for a new shotgun instead. Piper interrogates everyone to find out who picked her. Preston willingly tells Piper he picked her (he didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to) Hancock and Cait keep trying to trade names, it’s a wonderful mess.

Cait ends up thinking that Deacon’s story of trying to obtain the deathclaw head is an even better present than the gun. Everyone knows he embellished it a bit, but the thought and creativity that went in to telling it made it more special.

When Sole finds out Piper got Preston to snitch on himself, it takes her a long time to convince Sole that she didn’t TRICK Preston in to telling. Sole asks who would be stupid enough to give themselves up during the game. It makes Preston embarrassed. Piper buys him a second gift to make up for the whole ordeal.

Hancock doesn’t want to give a gift to Paladin Danse. Are you shitting me? He continues to threaten that if Sole doesn’t let him switch, he’s giving Danse pre-war anger management holotapes and a vial of the chems that ghoulified him. Cait says that if she has to give X6 a gift it’s going to be her heavy foot up his hollow ass.

Sole lets Hancock and Cait switch. Hancock gets X6 a coat similar to his own, but in black. Cait gives Danse her address if you know what I mean.

[zirawrites]

4 + 5 for both Preston, Nick, and Deacon but 13 and 16 for your OC

Send me a character + a number and I’ll tell you my headcanons

You sent me the fluffiest ones, I was so excited to write this!

4. Best places to kiss on their body

Deacon: Anywhere you could do it secretly in public. As the self-proclaimed master of disguise, Deacon loves being pulled in to a hug and then being nibbled on his neck. Whisper close to his ear and as you’re pulling away, peck his nose. He always manages to blush and give away the act.

Nick: He’s old-fashioned. When Nick wants to be kissed, he likes doing it with his lips. The second best is hand kisses like the pre-war movies. He loves picking his date up by gently taking their hand and planting his smooth, pale lips to it. Doing it in return makes his synthetic heart melt.

Preston: If you want to be sweet, take Preston’s hat and kiss his forehead. He’s already frazzled by the theft. Catching him off-guard and letting him know you’re just teasing puts him in a good mood. But if you want to turn him on? Anything below the neck. Resting your head on his shoulder as you lounge on the couch? Kiss his chest. Laying on his lap? Kiss his thigh. He isn’t used to that kind of attention, and instantly becomes flustered.

5. Guilty pleasures

Deacon: He’s secretly a huge foodie. Deacon would never let anyone go hungry if he can help it, but if he knows HQ is well-stocked and all the safehouses have groceries, he’ll sneak up to the roof and eat a can of beans or munch on some Fancy Lads. Dez always catches him with powder on his mouth. He tells her its gunpowder because he’s a manly man. No one is fooled.

Nick: Mystery novels. Nick loves reading. It’s part of his job, and the majority of his leisure (when he has it). There are a few post-war mysteries that interest him, but he prefers the ones before the war. Anything from Sherlock Holmes to a sci-fi murder-mystery on an alien planet. If it has a rugged detective and a pretty woman, he’s hooked.

Preston: He will never, ever admit it, but Preston pretends he is General of the Minuteman. When Sole is off saving the world, they always put Preston in charge of the castle. He acts exactly how he always does - kindness and an open mind - but has an extra pep in his step. He holds his head a little higher. His posture is straighter. There is a huge chance he is imagining himself in Sole’s General coat.

13. What gets them flustered

Draper: Having quicker wit or a smarter mouth than she does. Draper doesn’t need to be the smartest person in the room, but she usually is. She can’t help being the only one who went to an actual law school. So if you manage to one-up her in a dick measuring contest, she’ll fall silent. She isn’t brooding over her loss. She’s just thinking whether she should compliment your achievement or draw her gun.

15. What it takes to make them cry

Draper: The first time Draper cried in the Commonwealth was when she lost Shaun. As the floor to the vault rose to the surface, she found herself wiping heavy tears on her vault suit sleeve. The second was after the Institute fell. She grabbed a bottle of wine, headed up to the church roof, and bawled her eyes out. 

Draper cries when she has failed someone she loves. She would do the same if a companion died on her watch. She feels uncharacteristically responsible for the well-being of others that it becomes crippling. It keeps her awake at night. It makes her chew her nails and pull her hair and kill people who didn’t deserve it. If you see her crying, someone has just died, and someone else is going to pay for it.

[zirawrites]

how do you think companions spend most of their time while Sole travels with someone else? ❤️

Cait: Cait was a naturally anxious person. Hell, who wouldn’t be after the abuse she’s been through. If she didn’t keep busy, nasty thoughts would run through her head about Sole getting hurt. Cait wouldn’t get piss drunk like she warned Sole she would, but she could be found at lowkey dive bars like the Third Rail. If Sole was only gone a short time, Cait would mostly drink and shoot the shit with drifters. But on an extended mission? Cait got restless and eventually started picking some fights in Goodneighbor. Sole would be exasperated when they returned from the wasteland to see Cait more banged up and bruised than themselves. 

Codsworth: Everything had to be spic and span for their master’s return. Codsworth mostly cleaned their quarters and gardened to cook Sole a homemade meal. You could find him humming to Diamond City radio as he buzzed around Sanctuary barking orders for settlers to clean up their messes. And, above all, he spent a lot of time missing them. There was always the chance they would be gone for another 200 years.

Curie: Sole always left Curie books to read for them to discuss when they got back. Sometimes it was nonfiction about topics Sole held dear to them. Occasionally they would give Curie something different like a romance novel. Curie would sit under a tree and read for hours. When Sole returned, she always had plenty of questions for them.

Danse: As a solider, Danse always tries to keep himself busy. There are always power armor to clean or documents to file. He just hates feeling useless. When Sole leaves him on a mission, he’s usually grumbling about how foolish they were to anyone who would listen. He does little things around Sanctuary to make life easier for the civilians. Anything to keep himself occupied.

Deacon: The first thing Deacon does is try to follow Sole from afar. He knew them weeks before they found HQ, and figures he can do it again. When Sole puts an end to that, he’s left to his own devices for awhile. Deacon will take up odd jobs for HQ like grabbing Tinker Tom supplies or picking up a dead-drop. When he’s off the clock, Deacon goes deep, deep in to the woods. When he KNOWS he’s alone… he breaks out a guitar he salvaged a few years ago. He’s actually pretty good. Maybe one day he’ll share his music with Sole. Maybe.

Dogmeat: At first, Dogmeat just wines to all the companions. Where is Sole? Only constant head pats and reassuring voices will put Dogmeat at ease. He will play around Sanctuary and pick up unique salvages for Sole when they return.

Hancock: As mayor, Hancock never has any time to himself anyways. He’ll attend to matters in Goodneighbor. Settle a fight. Make sure everyone is properly misbehaving. And, of course, he’ll get high. Surprisingly, Hancock watches his chem intake when Sole isn’t around. He would hate to miss seeing them come home and be unable to give them a warm welcome.

MacCready: Without Sole to vent to, MacCready gets a little crabby. He takes his mind off their absence by keeping to himself. He’ll go out shooting, or stay indoors and read comic books. It always makes his day when he sees Sole left him behind some new comics to read. What a nerd.

Preston: Preston wants to make Sole proud. He is put in their place as General while they are gone. His time is spent training new recruits and helping settlements. And at night, Preston climbs to the top of the Castle. He listens to the slow songs on the radio and wonders if his best friend is doing the same thing.

Piper: Sole is the majority of Piper’s adventure. Without them, it’s harder for her to come up with article ideas. She spends her time writing new stories, interviewing different wastelanders, and taking care of Nat. She hopes that she can pump out a new issue before Sole gets back so her friend can read the completed version. Sometimes there’s a little story cheering Sole on their latest mission.

Nick: Nick stays busy by going back to his agency and picking up cold cases. He has a cabinet full of unsolved murders and missing people. They completely take is mind off of Sole being gone. Sometimes Sole will be back for days before Nick notices. He’s embarrassed and always apologetic. They caught him reading about the Mysterious Stranger again.

Strong: Smashes things. Tells every damn person that makes eye contact with him that he’s bored. His puny human has been gone for ages.

X6-88: Everyone hates seeing X6 without Sole because he just kind of… stands there. He has no reason to help other settlements and Father specifically told him to do what Sole says. Since he can’t return to the Institute, X6 will stay in the vicinity of where Sole last left them. When everyone else is asleep, he will sneak in to Sole’s home and play their holotapes. X6 knows he isn’t supposed to, but there is one of Sole singing and he just… really misses them.