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danses-with-dogmeat · 3 years ago

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Romanced companions react to an autistic!Sole having a meltdown because of sensory overload?

Romanced!Companions React to Autistic!Sole with Sensory Overload Anxiety

This was a great prompt! I hope I was able to do it justice, I wanted to get it posted, but I also desperately need sleep 😅 But thank you so much for the ask, Anon! I might expand on this more at a later date as well, when my brain decides to function again.

This prompt with FO3 and FONV

Cait:

She understood Sole's reaction more than the specific cause of the overload. It seems like all Cait has ever been around are stressful and overstimulating situations, so it’s difficult for her to differentiate occurrences that will cause Sole distress and those that wont. Once Sole was able to specify what it was that was bothering them, Cait would put an end to it. Preventing whatever it may be from doing her partner any more harm. She’s not a particularly soft person, everyone knows that, but she can’t stand seeing Sole like this. She may not know a whole lot of fancy breathing exercises that are medical journal standard, but she knows enough from her own experience to be able to improvise something in the way of support for her partner.

Curie:

She would be an absolute pro. Like, the perfect combo between health professional, and understanding romantic partner. If their surroundings were secure, she would focus all her energy on helping Sole, doing breathing and grounding exercises to help them through their breakdown in a clinical way. In the aftermath of Sole's overload, Curie would turn back to doting girlfriend as she looks after her love, helping them to come down from their nerves and maybe being just a tad too touchy feely for them in this instance. But she means well!

Danse:

If this were to happen in the midst of combat, Danse would instantly take a more defensive position, and would root himself firmly between Sole and any enemies they may be facing. In other instances, he would use what he had learned in the Brotherhood when it came to PTSD episodes that he would experience for himself. He would remove them from the pressured conditions they found themselves in, taking them for a walk to calm their nerves, engaging in breathing exercises with them, and encouraging speech when it seemed possible. He would try to be supportive in every way he could, but Sole would have to be patient with their partner when it came to more intimate forms of comfort, as Danse tends to turn back to soldier-type tendencies in these situations. As a more preventative measure, Danse would attempt to craft a power armor helmet modification that could aid in depleting noise during combat, and otherwise try and dull the senses to make the outside environment more bearable for Sole.

Deacon:

He would actually be really good at dealing with this situation? Given his own experiences in life, and the many interactions he's had with a variety of types of people (and synths) in stressful situations, he would be able to sympathize with Sole, trying to draw any attention away from them, knowing that'll only make it worse, and helping them recover afterwards. He wouldn't be phased at all by their outburst and would try to help calm them down by making a few jokes here and there, if only to let them know that it wasn't a big deal to him.

Hancock:

His mostly chill demeanor would work wonders on Sole's nerves when they were around him. He was just so easy going, and non-judgmental and he seemed to never strip their energy from them when they spent time with him. Should they get themselves into a situation where sensory overload does occur, he'd do his best to guide Sole to a safe place where they can unwind and focus on returning their breathing to normal. If they think chems will help, he'll be more than happy to oblige, even going so far as to specifically scavenge whatever type of treatment chem that Sole had in mind for these overwhelming instances and would always keep it on his person.

MacCready:

He’s a little panicked himself in these types of situations, but he makes an effort to be the calm one of the two. He finds his way to Sole in whatever way he can, looking into their eyes and trying to ground them with his voice as he desperately tries to keep it from shaking. He’s never had any formal training or anything like that, but when his PTSD episodes flare up, he has a few tricks that he uses to get back to reality; identifying objects around him, breathing in through his nose, sitting down with his head between his knees. He’ll try and suggest a few ways Sole can deal with their overload, going through the motions himself as well, since his partner’s anxiety tends to somehow inject itself into him whenever these meltdowns occur.

Nick:

He’s calm, collected, and used to dealing with people in distress. It’s like he was built for this. Though he isn’t as familiar first-hand with the reactions that the human body has in these types of situations, he knows how to help. He’ll quickly try and get them out of the environment that is causing their meltdown, or eliminate the person or thing responsible for causing their anxiety. Afterwards he will try to help them come out of it easily and on their own terms, trying not to pressure them, but acting as a source of unwavering support for however long it takes for them to settle down.

Piper:

The woman truly tries her best, but it always frightens her when Sole is panicked in this way. She’s just too damn empathetic when it comes to Sole, that she can’t help but dissolve into the same state of discomfort and panic that her partner finds themself in. She would try anything to calm herself down and would frantically gesture for Sole to join her as she works on her breathing, counting, and amateur grounding exercises. As the pair come out of their shared panic, she’ll try to return to her normal self as soon as possible. Once her breathing returned to normal and Sole calmed down as well, she would offer her companion some much needed verbal and physical support, as well as some snack material to replenish their strength in the aftermath of their overload.

Preston:

The man is the definition of “works well under pressure;” he knows what it feels like to let people down, to lose people because of his mistakes, and he doesn’t intend for that to happen again. Ever. Especially when it comes to Sole. When his partner is in a compromised position, feels uncomfortable, or looks like they're about to have a meltdown, Preston is immediately at their side, putting himself in harm's way in order to ensure their safety and comfortability. He tries to use his voice, which for some reason he can keep totally calm even when he's under great stress, to keep them grounded. Counting along with them as they try to stay focused and keep from becoming completely overwhelmed. He is usually able to calm them down before their discomfort can escalate to the point of a meltdown, but if for whatever reason he can’t, he’ll be there to support them through the entire ordeal. Afterwards, he’ll speak softly to them, taking them far away from whatever situation was the cause of their stress, and ask if there was anything more he could have done to help.

X6-88:

X6 tends to notice when Sole is becoming uncomfortable even before they themself know. He’s memorized the types of environments that tend to set them off, and if it’s possible, he tries to usher them away from the cause of their anxiety before it can become an issue. If he is unable to do so, X6 will then take control of the situation as best as he can, eliminating points of stress almost to the point of overdoing it. There may be instances where Sole has to pull him out of his protective frenzy as he relentlessly removes anything that could be causing Sole's distress. In that case, X6 tends to provide enough of a distraction himself to be able to help Sole focus and stay grounded as they try to aid him. Does he do it intentionally? If they ask, he'll insist he doesn't know what they're talking about. He’ll just thank them calmly for assisting him, and begin to tend to their needs in the aftermath of their distress, assessing their physicality and mental state before allowing them to continue their travels.

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danselot · 3 years ago

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Hi! This is my first time requesting a react! How would the companions react to Sole telling them they have ADHD? You don’t have to write this, it’s completely up to you. Thank you! Love your headcanons btw!❤️❤️❤️

I don't want to do this kind of ask on a regular basis, since I'm not *super* comfortable writing asks/headcanons about mental illness or "Sole reveals they are/have ____" identity type asks, but I happen to have ADHD myself and I can imagine my Sole having it too (maybe?) so I can roll with it. Cait - Dismissive and Confused because she's pretty sure that Sole is just describing how everybody's brain works. (Oh honey...) Codsworth - He already knows. That's actually a big part of why Mr. and Mrs. Sole got him in the first place, to help keep track of the little things that slip through the cracks when you have ADHD (like remembering to take your medication, remembering to phone in a request for a refill on your medication, meeting and appointment reminders, etc.) Curie - Intrigued. Asks lots of questions about it. Unfortunately Sole is not a scientist so they have no idea what Curie is talking about with regard to neurotransmitters or receptors. Strictly prohibited from doing any active research on Sole (i.e. experiments or attempted treatments) but that has not stopped her from taking copious notes and trying to do hands-off observational studies. Danse - Doesn't really get it. If he knows Sole well he's more understanding because he KNOWS they aren't lazy (he's seen them work themselves to the bone when they get in focus mode). Post-Blind Betrayal he's even more understanding because he realizes that some of what he takes for granted about how his cognitive processes work might be the result of being a synth, so he shouldn't expect Sole's brain to work in the same way as one created in a controlled environment. Unfortunately, pre-BB, if he doesn't know Sole well, he might be a little dismissive.

Deacon - Honestly just embarrassed he didn't put it together himself. As soon as they say it a lot of things click into place. He totally accepts it and adds it to his mental map of all the variables and factors at play in the people he interacts with. Hancock - Totally gets it. Once he knows, he makes a point to set aside some of the stimulants in his chem stash (and from incoming shipments or new batches in Goodneighbor) in case Sole decides to try medicating it with something close to what they used before the war. (They don’t, but it’s the thought that counts.) Macready - Doesn't make a big deal of it, but he asks some follow up questions that sound like recognition. (Some of the things Sole described remind him of kids he grew up with.) Nick - Old Nick was a simple cop, he left the psychology stuff to expert witnesses and profilers. But after Sole describes it, he starts to see some of the patterns in people he used to work with -- the cops who couldn't sit still behind a desk... the ones who made mistakes on their paperwork or had a habit of losing evidence... the one whose desk was always a mess but had these outbursts of brilliance when they had a hunch... some of the folks he put behind bars, the ones he felt a twinge of pity for because they seemed to be doing their best at the mercy of terrible impulse control or crippling disorganization. Piper - Is floored to learn that there's a name for That. She figured it was just some quirk or defect of hers -- talking at inappropriate times, not having good impulse control, a complete inability to handle self-imposed deadlines, a lifetime of alternating between procrastination and frantic late night bursts of writing & research where she churned out her best work... Needless to say, she's RELIEVED to learn that she's not crazy or bad at her job. Preston - Admits straight up that he's not a doctor and he's not trained to 'get' all that stuff, but he appreciates Sole telling him. He does his best to accommodate Sole after that in the way he gives them Minutemen jobs -- reminding them at times when they're not distracted with other things, putting them in writing, prioritizing with clear deadlines. Strong - The nuances of human psychology are lost on him. X6-88 - Doesn't get it. Cannot wrap his head around why anyone might find things like task management or memory difficult. Any time it comes up he asks frustrating questions, most of them starting with "why don't you just..."

#fallout 4 #companions react #cait fallout #curie fallout #paladin danse #deacon fallout #macready fallout #codsworth #nick valentine #piper wright #preston garvey #strong fallout #x6 88 #fo4 #adhd

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comradeacerbus · 3 years ago

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Danse Headcanons

Because he is a good boy who needs love too okay

- Always needs to be organized, writes everything down.

- To do lists. They’re everywhere, and he always has a notebook on his person.

- Quite likes crosswords. Always needs something to do with his hands, and they help if he starts getting antsy. PTSD is a bitch.

- Smokes. Prefers cigars. Also likes black coffee.

- Is actually gruesomely funny, but you wouldn’t know unless you really get to know him. He’s got a really dry sense of humor so it automatically makes his sarcasm even funnier.

- In spite of the fact that he can be bitterly sarcastic himself, he doesn’t always understand sarcasm immediately. He’s very literal.

- Very much a dad friend. Not to be confused with the mom friend. Don’t expect to be coddled by him. He’s great for practical advice, but don’t expect him to go soft if you go to him about a problem. If he thinks that you’re at fault for your own problem, he’ll make sure that you know it.

- “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed”

- Overall, he’s just brutally honest, almost to a fault. He’s a terrible liar!

- Still, he’s a very good listener and will keep his trap shut. Once you tell himself something, it’s in the vault, so to speak.

- On that note, puns are not typically appreciated.

- He’s good to his friends overall, and is highly reliable, but like a knight of Catarina, he will never forgive a betrayal. The guy can hold a serious grudge.

- As a lover, he’s very shy at first. His other half will have to make most of the moves initially. Once he’s comfortable, he’s actually quite affectionate.

- Turns out the fucker has some serious libido too.

- Gifts and acts of service are his main love languages, though in private, physical touch quickly rises to prominence. A lot of gentle touch, nudging, shoulder pats for reassurance, that kind of thing in public.

- He’s a virgin. Absolutely. He’s shy about banging at first because he’s embarrassed that he’s inexperienced, in spite of the fact that he’s getting into his thirties. It doesn’t take him long to get confident in the bedroom.

- Cuddly sleeper. Also sleeps hot.

- Really likes Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins, but he’s got room for Mel Tillis too.

- He has a habit of slipping right into lecture mode, even after his exile. He gets better about it as time goes on, but it’s really annoying for all parties involved until he does. He’s just so used to dealing with stupid soldiers and having to lecture them as a superior that it’s become second nature.

- He’s very literate and an avid reader. He prides himself on his extensive vocabulary, even if the casuals find it annoying.

- Always eager to learn a skill in case he might need it later. Doesn’t hurt to be a jack of all trades in the wastelands after all. In the immortal words of my father, “Always take the chance to learn something, if you get it. Once that knowledge is yours, no one can take it away from you.”

- An excellent mechanic, and not just for PAs and related things. While he’s not good at coding, he is good at robotics repair and the like and can disassemble and reassemble a laser rifle blindfolded.

- Has fixed up Codsworth a number of times.

- Very literate with guns and ammunition, both with technical as well as historical information. He has a soft spot for old guns.

- Getting kicked out of the brotherhood took a huge toll on him. Aside from his identity crisis, Danse prided himself on the sophistication of the Brotherhood and the fact that he could be a part of it. On top of that, he has no living relatives, so that faction was his only family from the time he joined up. He had a lot of emotions invested in the group overall, even though he refuses to admit the fact that he does indeed have feelings.

- He has trust issues for a while after the whole ordeal. You can’t blame him. One moment, these people would die for him based on principle alone, and the next, they’re trying to kill him.

- He constantly denies the negative emotions that he feels. For a while, he just avoids things that make him think of the brotherhood so he doesn’t have to process what happened to him. He has a sense of abandonment after being thrown to the side by Maxson, but it immediately translates to anger because he just doesn’t know how to deal with it.

- When he finally finds someone who legitimately cares about how he feels and how he’s doing, he doesn’t know what to do, and it sort of gets worse before it gets better.

- He’s very embarrassed of his PTSD because he has a lot of masculine pride, so again, he doesn’t want to face it or his emotions.

- He’s just grouchy and mildly paranoid after his exile until Sole drags him back to the real world and helps him recover. Afterwards, he’s almost like a different person.

- He does still retain some things from the Brotherhood. For example, he always keeps a stiff posture, and when he’s fixated on something, he walks in step, not unlike a soldier. During a fight, specifically shootouts, he’ll use the military codes and signals he was taught.

- He is still very wary of synths (understandable) and very much hates mutants (also understandable), but is okay with Nick, after they come to an understanding between each other.

- He also still has trouble sleeping by himself. He’d never admit it, but he cant stand sleeping alone, since he’s used to sleeping in a military base with a bunch of eyes to watch for trouble. When he eventually does get with Sole to the point they share a bed or room, it’s easier for him to sleep.

- Danse LOVES affection, but he’d never admit it verbally. Sole knows lol but it’s a secret he’ll take to his grave. Cuddling and forehead kisses are his weakness.

- Approval from his lover is like a drug to him. Really, just a “good job” can make his day.

- He’s also weird about asking for sex or affection. He’ll usually get all bashful and quiet, but will sort of hover around Sole. Like, stand behind them or next to them and nudge them, maybe give them a knowing look. Or he’ll just get very clingy in bed or something.

- He blushes very easily.

- Snores. Denies it.

- He LOVES dogs, but is really more of a cat person. He adored Emmett, back on the Prydwen.

- Because he is a workaholic, he opens up a lil store in Sanctuary. Sort of goes back to what he did in Rivet City, but with a more focused goal in that he specifically scavenges for gun parts and the like. Just a warning that he keeps a sawed off shotgun under the counter. Try to rob him and he’ll blow your head off. This man takes the Second Amendment very seriously.

#fallout 4 #Paladin danse #fallout 4 headcanons #headcannons #i’m not stalling you’re stalling #I needed something to do okay #video games

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nukacoola · 4 years ago

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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??

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x688plsloveme · 4 years ago

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Romanced companions helping Sole with come down from nightmares? Helping them to breath again or maybe Sole opens up to them about it?

This was asked over a year (two?) ago so uh. Sorry for the late reply lol

Sole watched as their baby boy was taken from them, yelling and grasping at the glass, banging so hard against it, they could feel bruises. Somehow the glass shatters and they fall through the opening, landing heavily on their shoulder. They stumble towards their baby frantically - the bastard Kellogg has him in his disgusting hands. He smiles and raises his gun to blow their brains out. They hear the gunshot, and close their eyes, expecting the worse, but somehow, they would've preferred it to this outcome. They open their eyes and there their spouse is, bleeding from a wound in their head. Sole can suddenly feel the sticky blood that coats their face just as the lifeless corpse falls on them. Trapped underneath, they can't move no matter how hard they try. They reach for Shaun again, but the bastard is already leaving. No matter how much they try, they just. Can't. Move. Their lungs fill with air as they try to let out one last desperate scream-

"SHAUN!!!" They jerk awake, breathing heavily and sweating enough to convince anyone that they just ran a marathon. The images they had just seen sears itselves in their brain.

CAIT: Despite her upbringing and countless struggles, Cait learned how to be soft, if only for Sole. So when she's stirred awake by her love's scream, she's quick to go to their side and immediately start shushing them, reassuring that she's there and always will be. She knows they love her hugs with how strong she is, so she wraps them up in her arms and rocks them back and forth, all while continuing the stream of comforting words. She doesn't show it on the surface, Sole's well being at the moment taking priority, but she is filled with rage on the inside. She knows what made her lover act like this and she swears she'll kill the bastard himself when they find him.

CURIE: Nightmares are not something she is familiar with, but it doesn't take her above average intelligence to figure out that, that is what Sole has just experienced. She still isn't too good with feelings yet but knows that they like it when she's near during these times, so she gently sits beside them and takes their hand. She lays her head on their shoulder and hums a soft song she thinks they'll like. It seems to do the trick when she feels the tension start to leave their body. They can't go back to sleep after that but she doesn't mind. She doesn't need sleep anyway.

DANSE: No stranger to nightmares, Danse immediately goes to Sole and goes through the breathing exercises that he learned helped a little. He asked them if they knew where they are and who he is. After getting confirmation that they're not stuck in whatever hell scape they woke out of, he hugs them. Once the tension starts to leak out of them, he shifts so they're mostly on his lap, using his size to try and encase them completely so they can't think of any of the bad things anymore. Sole falls asleep like that and he can't help but to smile, thankful for him being a synth for once so he can watch over them the entire night.

DEACON: He panics a bit when they scream awake, thinking that they're about to die before registering what it is they said. As soon as he remembers exactly who Shaun is, he's all over Sole - rubbing their back, going through breathing exercises, doing whatever he can to bring them back to reality. Once they do, he smiles softly and kisses them on the forehead. He's been there done that and knows the chances of falling back asleep are low, so he tries a few jokes until he gets them to laugh. The laugh is mostly empty, but he knows they appreciate any distraction they could get.

HANCOCK: This isn't the first time he's been woken up by a nightmare and it certainly won't be the last. He sticks close to Sole until their breathing evens out and once that happens, he convinces them to eat some of the snacks he keeps by the bed. As they munch on long expired chips, he never lets go of their hand.

MACCREADY: Being a dad has it's perks, one of which is knowing how to comfort someone after a nightmare. He goes through the steps he always does for Duncan with Sole, adding a few kisses here and there. He asks them if it's okay to touch before he does anything. He can tell they appreciate the extra care put into his every action. He's just glad he can help them out.

PIPER: She's constantly reassuring them that she's there with them and that she won't stop until Kellogg's been hurt more than they have. She keeps rambling on about anything and everything so they have something else to focus on. She knows it works when she feels the tension start to leave them from where she's pressed up against her side. She smiles and continues her rambling until they fall back asleep.

PRESTON: Preston is probably the most emotionally intelligent out of Sole's friends, and he pays particular attention to his darling. When they wake up and inadvertently wake him up as well, he immediately knows what's going on. A minuteman must always be ready to step into action even in the middle of the night so he doesn't even feel tired as he gently takes their hand and sits in front of them. He goes through the 5 senses exercise - what they can see, hear, touch, etc - until they calm down. Seeing him in front of them being so kind makes Sole almost start crying again, but they go for a hug instead. Preston hugs them as tight as possible and stays up with them until they fall back asleep.

VALENTINE: Being half exposed wiring doesn't really allow for much cuddling, but he'll be damned if he won't try for Sole when they need him. So he gets extra blankets form their linen closet and wraps himself up. The sight of him does pull a strained giggle form Sole and that's a win all on its own, but he can see they're still shaking terribly. He lays them down and wraps himself around them as best he can. While they cling to him like he's the only thing that's keeping their sanity, he retells some of his best detective stories to fill the silence. It takes a while - almost until dawn breaks - for them to fall asleep.

X6-88: The most inexperienced with any form of affection out of the gang, X stumbles a bit with how to help. But for the only person he cares and respects, he'll do anything to make them feel better. He feels bad that he has to ask what to do, but even through the shaking, they tell him and he does it. He works them through a breathing exercise while hugging them. The gentle kisses he places in their hair aren't something that they tell him to do, but guessing by the way the tension seems to fall out of them as they collapse against him completely, it's the right thing to do.

#WOOOOO #didn't have to add the extra three but valentine Deacon and x6 are some of my favourite romance options so how could I not #doesn't matter that it's not true in game #in my heart they're Romanceable #fallout 4 #hancock #deacon #fallout 4 companions #fallout #paladin danse #curie #maccready #fallout 4 companions react #nick valentine #etc i don't feel like putting everyone lol #minexthree

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fallout-drabbles-n-stuff · 4 years ago

Note

Hi! I love your writing! Can you maybe write companions reacting to Shaun calling them mom/dad, maybe when theyre in trouble (like raiders attacking their settlement/home)? Have a good day!

Cait:

“Yeah! Get them mama!”

Had she not been any better with her reflexes, the little boy’s words may have ended up landing her missing a few teeth. There just so happened to be a raider dumb enough to try to break into your little home, so naturally..Cait goes in for the swinging once she made sure they didn’t have a gun on them.

With one final swift punch to the invaders head, Cait seized victory once again- and yet..all she could think about was the way that the child calling her that made her feel. She probably wouldn’t even outwardly acknowledge it- but once it was just the two of you in your own privacy, she’d confess that she was terrified.

Curie:

“Hey mom, do you need any help with the labs today? It looks really neat- I bet you could teach me all kinds of stuff.”

The second she heard what the little boy said, her heart swelled 10x in size just from pure joy. “Well of course you can, just make sure to wear the proper safety equipment, sweetheart.” She’d respond, giving Shaun a pair of safety glasses and wearing one of the sweetest, most proudest grins ever imaginable upon her face.

Danse:

Even though he wasn’t really a light sleeper, Danse had the ability to wake up as soon as someone entered the room. This was of course true when your son nudged the door open, his blanket slung messily over his shoulder and his eyes wide.

Once he realized who it was, Danse relaxed the slightest bit. “What’s wrong, Shaun?” He’d ask with a voice ladened with a hefty sleepiness.

“I-I’m scared, Dad. I had a nightmare and it- it just seemed..*sniffle*..it seemed so real.”

Suddenly the sleep would be knocked right of Paladin when his mind caught on to what the small child just said. Him? Dad?

Blinking away the shock, Danse tilted his head toward your peacefully sleeping body. “Here, come see son.” He’d urge with a yawn, waiting for the little boy to climb between you and him. Once snug, he’d then wrap his arm around the both of you.

Just when had he become so lucky?

Deacon:

“You’re really the best, Dad.”

Upon hearing such a bold assertion from the child, Deacon would stand in pause for just a mere moment. Chills would race up and down his spine as he stared down at the wondrously kind eyes lovingly peering back up at him. As much as he desired to keep looking back, a smirk would ghost his lips- thankfully he was able to concoct a little bullshit response on the fly.

“Yeah, ya ain’t too bad yourself either kiddo. You take after your dad.” He’d affectionately tease back, patting the child on the shoulder.

Gage:

If there was one thing that kids were, Gage learned that they were inquisitive little shits. Your own child was a testament to that statement. Just when Gage thought he could relax, up comes Shaun with an array of questions ready to shoot.

“Pa, why do you wear an eyepatch? Did something happen or are you just saving that eye’s strength?”

Gage coughed whenever he realized what Shaun used as his opener. Nuka-cola spurted from the raider’s nose, causing him to sputter as he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

“Come again?” He’d ask with one huge green eye, trying not to cough a lung up in the process.

He was happy though, even if he might’ve killed himself choking on nuka-cola.

Hancock:

It was honestly alerting to see how shocked he was that this happened. He knew goodneighbor was no place for his son but..he never expected this to happen. While down at the third rail, some deranged man came down demanding money- pulling out a gun as he spoke.

“Papa, please...are we going to be okay?” Shaun’s terrified eyes bore straight into the ghoul’s very soul, making his heart break despite how happy he should’ve felt after hearing those words.

Putting a hand atop the boy’s shoulder, Hancock made sure to keep both of their bodies below the table. “Of course we are kiddo, you just sit here and don’t make a sound.”

And with that, Hancock would spring up and shoot his way to safety- he had to. His son was there after all.

Macready:

Having two little boys in the house was already bad enough. Having two of them similar in age and just as troublesome as each other? Whew, it was an understatement to say that you and Mac had your plates full.

Luckily with his experience, things weren’t entirely hectic. Just like now..

You had managed to come home right on time to catch Mac mid-scolding. His hat nearly falling from his head as he cashed his gaze down at the pouting children in front of him .

“I don’t care how much fun it is, you two can’t go around spooking the neighbors. That’s the best way to get shot, for fu-..for Pete’s sake.” You couldn’t barely hold in your chuckle at your lover’s choice of words, since when had he become so dramatic?

“Sheesh, chill dad..” Shaun spoke, dismissing his adoptive father with a wave of his hand before he and Duncan promptly ran off- leaving a completely dumbfounded Mac to sit and process what just happened.

Did his two sons really just dismiss him like that? Did Shaun...did Shaun just call him dad?

Maxson:

It was all Maxson had wanted. This feeling of belonging..it was amazing. It was something that even the brotherhood and all it’s devoted members couldn’t provide him.

“Hey Dad, you alright?” Shaun’s little voice pierced through Arthur in a way that wasn’t at all painful, yet somehow hit him like a freight train.

It was then that Maxson realized he had been staring, jaw hanging. “W-what? No, I mean..yes, yes I’m alright Shaun. Is everything okay?” Real smooth, don’t worry, Arthur promptly begins to beat himself up over it.

Though confused, Arthur was so, so very happy.

Nick:

“Da, are you coming or what?”

Immediately, Nick assumed he had overheated. Surely there was no possible way Shaun was calling him...no. Blinking a few times, one could even hear the low whir of his servos fire up as he tried to process what just happened. Once he finally realized that yes, that was indeed reality- a huge smile would grace the synth’s face in response. In an attempt not to “lose his cool”, Nick would just simply nod and follow along- replaying the entire thing in his head over and over again.

Old Longfellow:

He had expected “Grandpa” before he got a “dad” out of the little boy, if he even got that! Honestly he didn’t expect much, he loved the kid but..come on, he’s some old man kissing up on the child’s mama/papa. With that being said, for the first time in quite a while, joy like sparklers- erupted all throughout the old man’s body whenever Shaun tugged his coat one rainy day and-

“Can I please come with you, pa? I’ll need to learn how to fix those condensers up one day anyways!”

Piper:

Piper, of all people, didn’t really think she’d be so happy being so..so domestic. Not a single article written, not a single story hunted down for the day or anything- just family time. Just you, her, Nat, and Shaun.

Much like your day, the night also consisted of this calmness. Only coming to an end whenever it was officially bed time.

“I love you ma, good night.” Shaun sleepily muttered, turning around in the process so he could get comfortable and ready to sleep.

That was probably for the best, for as soon as she heard those magical little words, Piper’s eyes welled with tears without warning- only spilling whenever she was back in the comfort of her own room with you at her side.

Preston:

“Pa, are you sure you and mom won’t be gone for too long?”

The words stopped Preston dead in his tracks. Yes, it was his duty as your lieutenant- and your own as General, to respond to distress calls whenever they were made..so that unfortunately left your poor son in the care of your other companions more often than you’d like- more so, more than Preston would care for.

It was things like this that made him consider retiring all together.

Turning around, Preston would kneel down in front of the child, happiness shining in a luminous way within his dark eyes. “I..I promise you that we’ll be back before you even miss us, son.”

“Impossible, I miss you and mama already.”

Sturges:

“Dad, I’m scared..”

The very second he heard the little boy trembling in his arms whisper, the synth man felt cold fear flow through his veins. Raiders, always fucking raiders.

It was normal at this point for them to show up every now and then, usually you’d just chase them off with your flashy guns and whatnot- and you were doing that- but while you were out being the hero, it was Sturges prime duty to ensure shaun’s safety. As such, he’d take the little boy to their usual hiding spot and try to get him to be quiet...but that? That was enough to make him want to personally go out there and rip a raiders head off. How dare they scare his..his son?

“Shhh, I’ve gotcha little buddy..you just hang in tight.”

X6-88:

(I honestly don’t see how this could happen with Shaun in particular- even with the whole au I use with Maxson and Shaun dynamics- Shaun would still know X6 as that cool dude that teleported him back and forth.)

-sorry this took so long, hope you liked it.

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pain-of-redemption · 4 years ago

Text

Well since we’re getting into a threshold of the comic I think it’s high time I make a post about all the headcanons I have for Fallout 4 (please note some of these may not be used or altered slightly in the future.) I will also explain my purposes behind these head canons so you can see my reasoning behind them.

So here ya go ladies and gentlemen and everyone inbetween to a bunch of Fallout headcanons.

The wasteland has a lot more plants, it’s not as lush as it is today but not a barren wasteland either, a nice middle ground if you will. The plants and vegetation would obviously adapt to the radiation, they won’t be exactly like their prewar counterparts as the radiation would alter the plants appearances.

Gen 3 Synths can age. It is impossible to ultimately stop a living thing from aging, you can expand its lifespan or slow down the aging but you can’t stop it. Now whether Gen 3s age like normal humans or have a significantly increased lifespan I haven’t really decided, but I’m leaning more towards the normal aging process.

The entirety of Jamaica Plain (and I mean the whole town) is a settlement. It was the BIGGEST let down ever when I found out you get this tiny little corner of land and not the whole gosh darn town. I can understand from a gameplay perspective since Jamaica Plain would be almost as big as Diamond City and it would be difficult to maintain, but I want the whole town to be usable so fight me.

Goodneighbor is a lot bigger, maybe not as big as Diamond City, maybe just as big as Sanctuary Hills or a little bigger. I just feel like Goodneighbor should be bigger to house all of the drifters and be home to a lot more shops. Goodneighbor should really be on par with Diamond City when it comes to people, shops, explorable places, etc.

While staying in the topic of Goodneighbor, the Third Rail is a lot more spacious too. There’s a separate dining area, a few waiters/waitresses, and more than just one singer. Magnolia does sing the most at the Third Rail but I imagine when she wants to take a break to rest her voice another person steps up to sing. That person may not be as well known as Magnolia but the people of Goodneighbor still appreciate their voice.

There is a wider selection of music around the Commonwealth. I love 50s music but I will say it does get a little bit stale over a long period of time. So there will be holotapes scattered around the Commonwealth containing different genres of music ranging from 80s hard rock to even Japanese Vocaloid. They aren’t as popular as 50s music (especially in the wasteland) but they are heard of. I’m mainly doing this because I’m addicted to music and I will put a lot of references to songs in the comic.

Nick Valentine knows a bit of Japanese! Ok I know this is really weird and out there but it just makes sense to me. I have no idea how I came up with the head canon, it might’ve just come up from the NPC dialogue between Takahashi and Nick but it’s stuck with me for so long that I just had to include it. Also Nick may not be fluent in Japanese, or it’s just the “oh I can read and write it but I can’t speak it” situation.

Danse can’t swim and has Thalassophobia (fear of bodies of water). Ok ok another weird one but again it makes sense to me. Danse is almost always in power armor and seeing how you can’t exactly swim in power would make him anxious. Can’t imagine he learned how to swim trudging in power armor all day either.

That’s most of my headcanons for now. Knowing my brain I’ll probably come up with more considering my brain never stops thinking. I hope you guys at least like or agree with some of my headcanons, lemme know your take on them and what you think!

#fallout 4 #fallout #fo4 #fallout lore #fallout 4 lore #fallout headcanons #fallout 4 headcanons #headcanons #fo4 headcanons #headcanon #paladin danse #diamond city #goodneighbor #fallout nick valentine #nick valentine #fallout companions #fo companions #fo #jamaica plain

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bottlecapbaby · 4 years ago

Note

Romance Companions reacting to find out sole is pregnant?

COMBO

Daddy?

Cait: Um. Shit. She doesn’t know what babies want! She can scarcely believe she ever was one at this point. She absolutely does not think she’s fit to be a mom, but she also trusts Sole, and would much rather travel down the long difficult road of learning how to child rear than having Sole run off to raise it alone or with someone else. So she’s gonna buckle down and get to work. Maybe even read a book. She knows that Sole has had a baby before, which is a big load off of her mind, but she doesn’t want to admit things like not knowing what babies eat, so MacCready is about to be saddled with a new student.

Curie: Literally ecstatic, so happy she pretty much forgot to be scared about the fact that she doesn’t have all of the necessary skills to raise a human child. She was never a child, and she was never a human, much less a human child. Honestly, she’s probably most excited about supplies and getting together a nursery-- painting a spare room, getting a crib, collecting toys while the two of you are out exploring. Literally every teddy bear you come across, she makes a beeline, going “Oh madame, isn’t this just darling? Don’t you think our little bundle will love it?”

Danse: Danse is surprisingly not so concerned. He’s overjoyed, and he can’t imagine that raising a baby can be that hard, considering how many people he has seen who have become fully mature adults, which implies they survived infancy. He’s excited, he thinks it will be more fun than it is work, and that his strict sense of authority will be able to sway a baby into obedience. MacCready and Sole are constantly looking into the camera like they’re on the office when Danse talks about how he imagines fatherhood.

Deacon: He is terrified. So, so fucking scared. But he wants it sooooo bad. He always kinda imagined he and Barbara having a family, and meeting Sole was one second chance he never imagined he would get, to have a baby as well is just too good to be true. He is constantly waking up Sole in the middle of the night to ask questions about child raising. “Hey, can babies have peanut butter? Oh god, what if our kid is allergic. What if I make him a peanut butter sandwich and he DIES?!” “Deacon, when was the last time we even found any peanut butter? Go the fuck to sleep.”

Hancock: Life is miraculous isn’t it? He’s scared, but like a good scared, like thrilled and anxious, like he’s about to go on a big rollercoaster. He’s not so worried about what it will be like, all that matters is that he and Sole and this kid will be together, and as long as he has Sole with him he knows that things will be just fine.

Gage: The logical, practical side of him is abjectly against it. The side of him that will literally do anything to spend the rest of his life with Sole can’t deny the appeal. Things are a little more complicated with him, because of Nuka-World. If Sole is really set on this, he’s gotta come up with some type of plan on how to deal with things. But on the side of fatherhood? He’s experiencing a constant level of inner panic. He knows how not to be like his own father, but that’s really all he knows for sure. He’s scared to death that this kid will come out hating his guts. He knows he isn’t easy to get along with, he’s not sensitive or caring as far as he knows, but Sole sees something in him, and that’s enough to give him the courage to try this.

MacCready: He’s probably crying just at the idea. His life was so blessed, so perfect when Duncan was born. Things got worse when Lucy died. Now he has Sole, and he thought he’d gotten just about as many strokes of luck as one man was allowed in this life. But holy crap, another kid?! He’s excited as fuck, not to mention he already has experience.

Nick Valentine: Never in his conscious life had he considered family a possibility for him. Not only did he think no one would have him, but he also never counted on himself as the fatherly type. He’s fine with kids, sure, maybe even great with them. But he never saw himself as someone who could raise them. He wants to try, he really does, he wants to do this with Sole. But he’s also painfully aware of the fact that he’s not exactly a spring chicken. He wouldn’t call himself old, not exactly, but he can’t deny the state of disrepair he’s in, and he won’t last forever. Honestly? His biggest fear is that his kid will be scared of him. His ruined face, the gaps in his skin, not to mention his skeletal hand. Sole can deal with it, sure, but a kid? He isn’t so sure.

Old Longfellow: His own mortality hits him in the face, hard. He’s always kind of liked the idea of getting to look after a kid of his own, spend time with them, teach ‘em how to fish and hunt. At this point in his life, he thought that ship had sailed, but with Sole he’s not sure that anything is impossible. He’s happy, but he feels somewhat bittersweet on the whole thing. He might drink less, try to eat a little better, his biggest fear is that he’ll bite the big one while his kid still needs him.

Piper: Oh my god. Really? Like, this isn’t some elaborate joke? Oh my god. Piper is happy, happy in a way she never even imagined was possible, she never realized that this could ever happen in her life, between her dedication to her job and how she’s had to take care of Nat. And she is so scared. Raising a sister out of necessity is completely different from raising a child out of choice. She’s just thinking, oh man I’m an idiot. I don’t know anything about how to do this. Oh god. Until the very minute that kid is born.

Preston: He’s so happy, so excited, and his amount of worry is just a healthy amount. He knows any child of Sole’s won’t have to just rely on the two of them, they’ll be raised by a whole thriving community, and they’ll have only the best. And Preston may do more defending than he does farming when it comes to settlements, but he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. He’s probably one of the companions who is more aware of how much trouble a kid can be, and inside he’s thinking ‘bring it on, general’

X6-88: He’s not worried about any of the practicality of it. He knows what people need, and he knows that Sole has the experience needed to take care of a baby, and he knows that he and Sole have more than necessary in terms of the resources and skills needed to provide and protect. But he’s really worried that he and the kid just won’t connect. He’s a synth, always has been, never existed under the assumption he wasn’t, and he knows it has affected him socially. Sole is patient and wise, and he has learned a lot, but kids have such immediate impressions of people and might not be as understanding, he thinks.

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wastelandlovingscenarios · 4 years ago

Note

Headcanons on how danse and/or gage would raise synth Shaun (and maybe even their own kids) with f! Sosu?

i’m currently watching the nuka world dlc and gage makes my heart stop. please enjoy! 💕

—

Danse:

awkward dad #1

despite his initial awkwardness, he does occasionally say i love you to shaun/his child, just to let them know that they’re never alone and that him and sole are always here for them.

somewhat strict but he will do his best to support shaun/their child as long as they don’t have bad intentions

would be strict with certain areas, like their health, where they go, their morals and to be humble. also definitely no chems, no matter the reason. danse would rather have his system fry than experience them doing that.

will teach shaun/their kid(s) how to tinker with items and build stuff from scratch. he would be especially willing to teach them how to fix and mod power armor.

^ he says it’s for survival purposes but in reality, he just wants to spend time with his kids (of course they know this, but don’t bring it up to save him from the embarrassment)

of course with help of sole, shaun/their child made danse a necklace with a locket completed with a drawing of their family. he almost cried but managed to keep his tough guy persona up.

brings it everywhere and never takes it off, only to polish it. literally showed it off to sole, all proud and shit with his head held up high. sole would never forget that huge smile on his face for centuries.

when shaun/their kid confides in danse, they get an awkward side hug and/or hand on the back, but get really good advice from him. of course, danse tries his best to give them the best guidance he can.

if he has literally no advice, he’d call sole almost immediately. he wouldn’t want the problem to be left alone.

Gage:

awkward dad 2.0

though lenient for the most part, he somewhat stands with danse when shaun/their kid uses drugs. hell, he will push them to stop.

really, really bad with words and doesn’t know how to comfort his kids/shaun, so he ends up using actions, arm around the shoulder and/or patting their back as they cry and vent.

the minute he’s able to teach them how to shoot a gun, he’d be more than ready to do so. the commonwealth is dangerous and don’t even get me started about what lies outside of it.

he doesn’t like to admit it out loud, but would hate to see them injured and/or in pain.

once they’d reach that age, gage would start allowing them to tag along with him to go out in the wasteland. he’d want his child to experience the world and learn how to fight in it. (he would also use it as a secret bonding time.)

gage says he’s not into sappy shit, but sole “once” caught him sneaking into shaun/their childs room and tucking them in and/or leaving a nuka cola on their bedside table.

upon coming home one night from a mission, he caught shaun/his kid crying to sole from an incident where some scum had stolen their caps.

the next morning, sole and shaun/their child woke up to the same guy kneeling on their front door with double the caps he stole in his hands . the only difference was he was very beaten up and afraid. did i mention gage was holding a gun by the mans head as he lit a cigarette?

would teach shaun/his kid how to lockpick just in case they run into an “emergency”.

#fallout #fallout 4 companions #fallout 4 #fallout 4 companions react #fallout 4 reacts #danse #paladin danse #porter gage #gage #companions react #fo4 #react #f!sole survivor #fem!sole #female sole survivor #f!sole

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siribear · 3 years ago

Text

before they leave, virgil reveals he has plans for their relay. a pipe dream, he called it, to get back into the institute. get the serum himself. but now that they’ve come - it’s the most excited, most hopeful, he’s been their entire time here.

by contrast, deacon isn’t happy to learn the plans are on the terminal. with no spare holotapes to download the plans on, she has to interface with the terminal herself. which means she has to step out of the power armor and bathe in radiation until a rad-x pill kicks in.

and it does, but not before she feels the growing headache, the ache in her gums. the plans download to her pip boy quickly in comparison.

‘think we should relocate out here?’ deacon says suddenly. ‘even the institute doesn’t want to come out here. worth it in exchange for the radiation, if you ask me.’

whisper looks over her shoulder to see him fiddling with some scrap on a table. keeping his hands busy, maybe. while one hand pokes at an old typewriter, the other is balled into a fist. his fingers flex, then clench, then flex.

‘i can have sturges draw up a floor plan for your new house when we get back, how about that? we’ll start construction when we bring back virgil’s serum.’

he walks up beside her, puts an arm around her shoulders. ‘this is why you’re my favorite.’ his voice sounds even more distorted through his suit up close, unfiltered through the power armor’s speakers. ‘always giving me something to look forward to.’

before she has time to register and unpack that statement, virgil’s terminal pings. file transfer complete. she has him check for any missing pieces, any file corruption, just in case. it’s all there. every little piece that’ll bring her to shaun.

except one.

‘someone will have to decode the courser chip before it will take you anywhere,’ virgil explains. ‘that’s the only missing piece.’

‘we know a guy,’ deacon says, ushering her back into the power armor. honestly. a girl collapses from radiation poisoning once and now it’s an issue. ‘anything else we need to know?’

virgil ignores him and looks up at her once she’s fully settled within the armor. he considers her, frowning. ‘you look.. familiar,’ he says slowly.

‘i’ve heard that before.’ from the synth she met with danse. he looked at her and said he could trust her.

he hums. ‘how old is your son?’

at that, whisper pauses. she - doesn’t know. the boy in kellogg’s memories has her confused. is shaun still a baby? or is he that ten year old she saw with kellogg? how long after the murder and kidnapping did she really wake up? whisper clears her throat. ‘an infant,’ she answers. ‘why?’

a heavy sigh is her answer before he shakes his head. ‘it’s nothing. the virus,’ he says, eventually, ‘has its side effects. sometimes i think i’m losing parts of myself.’ he knows something, or thinks he knows something. or maybe the combination of the virus and isolation have gotten to him.

whisper lifts her left arm slightly. ‘it’ll take some time to complete all of this, but i promise, i’ll be back with your serum.’

virgil nods. ‘thank you.’

deacon is almost comical in his ushering her out of the cave. ‘i thought you wanted to put down roots here?’

he grunts, slapping his hand against the back of the armor to get her to move faster. ‘right. casa del deacon. that’s after we get back, though. for now, we should go.’

‘alright, alright. i can’t wait to get out of this tin can, anyway.’ she breaks into a jog; the power armor’s strength carries her bounding steps further than deacon’s expecting. he yells hey! as she speeds back toward the edge of the glowing sea.

the return trip is quicker than the initial journey. they opt to keep walking through the night, dodging around packs of ferals and more wandering deathclaws until they’re finally out of the sea. she and deacon remove their respective helmets once her geiger counter finally stops ticking halfway down the road. blood drips onto one of the gauntlets, pooled at the bottom of her helmet collar.

at the edge of a small farmstead, nestled in a grove of dead trees, they treat her bloody nose and rising rads. a man interrupts deacon hooking up her radaway bag, gun raised, he shifts it between the two of them. ‘what do brotherhood bastards want now?’

whisper brings a blood-soaked cloth away from her nose. ‘not brotherhood,’ she explains, nasally. she illuminates her power armor with her pip boy, the area awash in green. ‘have they been through here much?’

the man lowers his gun slightly. ‘asked for supplies. a place to stay. kicked my own kids out of their beds so they could sleep here. if you aren’t brotherhood, what do you want?’

‘my partner here’s got two left feet,’ deacon explains. ‘tripped and fell on her nose. we just need to rest a moment. outside your house. totally out of your way.’

whisper snorts, more blood spurting from her nose. she spits red onto the ground. ‘we’ll move on soon, and we won’t be a burden on you or your children.’

the man grunts. ‘you’re minutemen, right?’ at whisper’s nod, ‘come on. at least i can keep a better eye on you inside, if you’re lying.’

deacon stuffs the ivs and needles back in his bag, and whisper removes the fusion core from the power armor and tucks it in her own. she removes a pouch of caps and hands it over to the man. ‘i don’t know if this will make it up to you, but - ‘

he takes it. ‘didn’t know if you minutemen would know how to find us out here. no caravans. my kids only hear the stories on the radio. my little girl’s a big fan of the general.’

deacon elbows her lightly, then tips her head back again and leads her toward the house. ‘i’ll make sure a patrol makes it down here. supplies, food, anything we can provide.’

‘you’re the general?’ he asks with disbelief. then he laughs, his demeanor changing completely. ‘oh, my little girl’s gonna love this.’

between whisper’s recovery and deacon’s stories to the kids, they end up staying the night. the father ushers the bother and sister back to their rooms once the sun begins to set. the exhausted pair are left alone with a pile of extra clothes on the floor as bedding and frayed blankets draped over a lone couch. broken and open windows allow the cold night air to blow through the small house. whisper sits on the couch, curled in on herself with one of the blankets wrapped around her.

‘you’ve got a little fan,’ deacon murmurs at her feet, wrapped in his own blanket.

‘and you told her i killed the mirelurk queen by myself.’ she kicks him softly.

‘hey, i was knocked out. what do i know?’

she chuckles lightly, drapes her arms over his shoulders and rests her chin on his head. under the ever-present wig, deacon’s now sporting a rough, ginger stubble that scratches against her chin. whisper watches the kids in the other room, smiling, as they sprawl out in their sleep.

deacon runs a finger along her palm, and her fingers curl in response. ‘what’s on your mind, partner?’

‘these kids have to deal with a lot,’ she says, airily. ‘back - back where i’m from, it wasn’t this harsh. certainly not perfect, but nothing like this. but they’re still finding things to be excited about. they looked so happy listening to you.’

‘it’s you everyone’s enamored with, pal. that little girl definitely wants to be you when she grows up.’

‘she’ll have to find herself a mouthy partner, then. wouldn’t be the same without one.’

at some point in the middle of the night, whisper abandoned the couch entirely, and finds herself waking up curled next to deacon on the floor. she sits up, one of deacon’s arms sliding down to rest in her lap. the rest of the members of the house are already awake, despite the sun barely having risen. beside her, deacon stirs.

‘i’m getting too old for this, for sure.’ he stretches out like a cat. ‘the kids are up, too? man.’

whisper notes he isn’t surprised at all to see her next to him. ‘come on, old man. let’s go home.’

they haven’t talked at all about what virgil told them. maybe he’s waiting until they return to hq so they don’t have to repeat themselves when making their plans - and even have more opinions on what’s surely going to be a ridiculous plan. whisper remembers the dead bodies strewn about the switchboard. the names deacon could remember. methodically and easily cut down, only slowed but not stopped by hails of turret fire.

‘a courser,’ deacon says absently. always following her own train of thought.

‘a courser,’ she repeats.

he sucks in air between his teeth. ‘that’s not gonna be easy.’

she sighs. ‘you saw him. if there were another way, he’d know. for now, this is what i’m stuck with.’

‘i’ve seen you do some crazy things, whisper, but this?’ he pauses. ‘tom could probably cook something up with those blueprints. let’s have fighting a courser be the last resort, okay?’

he’s scared. deacon, who led her into a den of synths with just the two of them, who followed her into the glowing sea despite its inhabitants, is scared. ‘you don’t have to do this. i’ve seen power armor take a beating.’

‘what kind of partner would i be if i let you go after a courser alone? if that’s what you want to do, i’ll be there. let’s just explore our options, first.’

‘okay,’ is all she says in return. she can’t allow his nerves to get to her. not since this is for shaun. she’s so close now; whether deathclaw or courser, she can’t let anything stand in her way. but it will be comforting to have him by her side.

sturges greets them at the gates to the castle, and she’s all too eager to hand over the power armor to him. he notes the flecks of blood in the helmet and the dried stain on her jumpsuit, but she waves him off. ‘radiation. where’s preston?’

‘in the armory, working with a few others on building more guns. havin’ trouble keepin’ everyone armed, now.’ he grins. ‘but that’s tons more friends we’ve got, and much less more enemies, right?’

whisper is mostly just glad to get out of the armor. the reminder that she’s now built a militia, an army, doesn’t bring the same smile to her face. with the prydwen looming across the bay, she remembers the words from nate’s speech, the only part she didn’t have to help him write: war never changes.

‘how’s everything going here, then? i see the shops are coming back outside now.’

sturges ducks down into the hallway. ‘yep. we’ve had some caravans out of bunker hill set up inside those old buildings. a family or two are living further down the neighborhood and joined us. all’s goin’ pretty well.’

when they reach the armory, there’s already a group of minutemen standing in the small room. it smells of gunpowder and grease, and a stack of ammunition sits on the middle table along with a series of laser rifles and pipe guns scattered along the other tables. with the slight rumbling from the power armor, one of the minutemen drops a screw for his pipe gun and looks up at the incoming armor.

there’s a scramble of movement as the minutemen move out of the way while also trying to clean up their mess of weaponry. sturges makes it through to the power armor station toward the back. the armor powers down, and after he steps out of the armor, pulls down a series of hooks to hold the frame in place.

with the power armor out of the way, the others finally see her walking down the hallway. the minutemen stand at attention, black-stained hands across their brows. preston, however, moves away from the bench, his jacket slung over a chair in the corner. he approaches her, hands reaching for her but stops himself short.

with a sigh and a soft smile, he says, ‘i’m glad you made it back safe, general.’

whisper looks behind him to the minutemen standing at attention. ‘thank you, preston. i do have something to talk to you about. and you, sturges,’ she adds, noting that he’s already put on a pair of safety goggles and heavy gloves.

after telling the rest of the minutemen to return to what they were doing, whisper leads them down into the tunnels and to sarge’s terminal. deacon startles at the doorway. ‘uh, anyone else see that thing, or did i eat some bad rations on the road again?’

‘he’s deactivated, don’t worry.’

deacon looks him over. ‘he’s facing that terminal. did he deactivate himself?’ whisper takes a deep breath. ‘whisper.’

she shoves his shoulder, but he crosses his arms. ‘you can punish me later, okay? but first - ‘ whisper explains virgil as she loads up the plans onto the terminal. behind her, sturges whistles.

‘complicated, but given some time, i can do it. this part, though,’ he circles a finger around the schematic for a computer, ‘that’s gonna be the hard part.’

‘we know a guy,’ whisper and deacon say simultaneously.

at that, sturges nods. ‘alright. no problemo. give me a few months, and - ‘

whisper nearly chokes. ‘months?’

‘this is a pretty big contraption here, general. we gotta clear out an area, build the thing - and the amount of materials we have to collect. our numbers will help, but it’ll be a while.’

months. her stomach sinks, same as when she walked into kellogg’s empty house and found nothing. a hand suddenly lands on her shoulder, startling her. ‘a vacation. thank you, sturges,’ deacon says, voice pitched higher to match her own. in his voice, ‘we have to coordinate with our other friends, too. and i’m sure everyone will come out of the woodwork with their own problems they want you to solve. it’ll pass quickly, don’t worry.’

whisper takes a deep breath. right. months to finish, months to scratch everything else off her to-do list. she angles her head in his direction. ‘to our friends, then? should we bring them here, so they can work together?’

deacon grimaces. ‘that’s between des and tom. the amount of battery acid injections he’ll make us all take before he agrees..’ he trails off with a wince.

‘battery acid?’

‘carrington wasn’t happy when he introduced it.’ he shrugs. ‘less happy when i let him inject me with it. i might be able to convince him, but it’s up to des.’

preston and sturges look at each other, then to whisper. ‘it’s, um. a long story.’ she shrugs off deacon’s arm and inserts one of the holotapes on the desk. ‘just in case, i’m going to make a copy. that way tom can at least look at it.’ she does and puts the holotape in her bag.

‘alrighty then. you and your friends story everything out.’ he claps whisper on the shoulder, and she’s sure there’s going to be a bruise from all the reassurances today. ‘i’ll get started on this right away. don’t you worry.’

but she worries. back up the stairs, she worries. because it’s months. she barely notices preston still following behind her until he puts a hand on the small of her back. ‘i don’t... mean to add more to everything going on, general, but i thought you should know: mama murphy’s been asking about you. she wants to talk to you, back in sanctuary.’

mama murphy. ‘you don’t think she had a vision, do you?’

‘i hope not. she has to take jet to see anything. can you - can you check in on her, at least? i’m sure the longs would like you see you, as well.’

‘of course. i should see how codsworth and dogmeat are doing, too.’

‘right. uh,’ he removes his hand and takes a step back. ‘i guess i’ll coordinate a few groups to retrieve scrap metal for this project.’ he wipes his brow. ‘after a shower.’

‘i know a few places that might have some useful scraps. i can mark it on - ‘ she pauses, then, ‘did you say shower?’

‘yeah, sturges found some piping after we cleared out a collapsed wing. we put up some curtains and he set up a few showers.’

whisper blinks, then bolts toward the workshop once more. tom and mama murphy can wait. she’s going to take a shower.

#siri drabbles #series: we will all go together when we go #i'm really just writing so i can say i have a rough draft at this point #i'm so close to the institute and all the heartbreak it's gonna be fun

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concussed-to-pieces · 4 years ago

Text

The Mettle Of A Man; Part Eleven

Fandom: Fallout (4)

Pairing: Eventual Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: Enjoy!

Part One: ArcJet

Part Two: The Prydwen

Part Three: Orders

Part Four: Finding Brandis

Part Five: Weston Water And Oberland

Part Six: Meeting Preston And Matthew

Part Seven: Radstag And Radstorm

Part Eight: The Return To Sanctuary Hills

Part Nine: Domestic Ruminations

Part Ten: Institutionalized

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains brief mentions of pregnancy (relating to bodily changes and a C-section) and a graphic depiction of an emotional/nervous breakdown. Stay safe!]

Two weeks and three days.

Danse wasn't exactly certain of what to do. It had taken his squadron nearly three weeks to track down Cutler, so three weeks had become his hard limit almost unconsciously. The paladin had never been overly good at resting on his laurels, but it wasn't like he could single-handedly lay siege to the damn Institute for a retrieval mission.

Returning to the Prydwen without his charge might prove divisive , regardless of how many technical documents Codsworth had procured from the cul-de-sac's abodes.

Speaking of Codsworth…

"Aw, cheer up man." Sturges comforted the robot, who (unless Danse was imagining it) was hovering a bit lower today. "I bet she'll be back any second now!"

"Mister Sturges, as much as I appreciate your optimistic outlook," the robot sniffed dramatically. "I'm afraid that you cannot begin to understand the sadness I feel. I believed for two hundred years that I had lost Miss Vega, and to have lost her once again is...well, it is unbearable , Mister Sturges."

Danse grimaced. Did he actually feel bad for a robot? He was, at the very least, sympathizing with it. What the hell was his world coming to?

Knight Vega certainly kept some interesting company. Aside from the seemingly permanent presence of the elderly Mama Murphy, Sturges, Codsworth, and the married couple of Jun and Marcy Long, numerous colorful individuals had drifted through the settlement over the course of the weeks.

First there was Cait, a woman with hair red enough to put Proctor Ingram's to shame. She blew into town, provisioner in tow, speaking with a thick, caustic brogue and toting a sawed-off shotgun. "I owe Backhand my life." She said shortly when Danse enquired as to what her business was with Vega. "She got me off the chems, so now I keep her goddamn caravans free from pests."

She only stayed for a night, but she insisted that Danse join her for a sparring match. He wasn't afraid to admit that she put him through the ringer , his whole body sore the following morning.

"Tell Handy Cait sends her love!" The woman had called before she departed, giving him a small smile. Danse had ruefully promised to do so, trying not to visibly wince as he waved farewell.

One Robert MacCready followed shortly thereafter, who had acted like Danse being there would raze the town to the ground on nothing but principle. "I dealt with you ass--er, you jerks in the Capital Wasteland." The lithe man scowled up at Danse, pushing the bill of his hat back. He had a sniper rifle slung around his body with a barrel that was almost as long as he was tall, bearing an ornate, quick-slide scope.

"I assume you are used to the charity of former Elder Lyons. The eastern chapter is no longer so benevolent, civilian." Danse growled, pricked by MacCready's blatant disdain for the Brotherhood.

He could tell MacCready wasn't a bad sort, just overly suspicious and prickly. After serving with Knight Rhys for so long, Danse was almost tempted to tell the younger man that he would need to try harder to keep people away from him.

"Backhand saved my kid." Robert admitted one night after he had been drinking by the fire with Sturges. "She...She helped me get the medicine I needed. Helped cure my little boy."

Danse knew he shouldn't be surprised that someone who seemed as young as MacCready had managed to procreate. But as he watched the other man toy idly with a tiny, battered tin soldier that he had pulled from his pocket, Danse felt that perhaps...perhaps Robert had the right to be a bit suspicious and prickly.

The next visitor was a petite, dark-haired woman named Curie who had an incredibly strange accent. She was of the medical persuasion and curious about everything . Danse was a little taken aback by how blunt some of her inquiries were, but he did his best to humor her.

She seemed harmless enough, even if she was hellbent on learning the inner machinations of his entire existence. She asked everything in such a clinical manner, Danse didn't even have the presence of mind to be uncomfortable or embarrassed.

That is, until she asked whether he was sexually active and " when was zee last time you stimulated yourself, Monsieur Danse? " Then he clammed right up, loathing that he could feel his face going hot as he remembered exactly when the last time he had stimulated himself was.

"I will not be answering any more of your questions about my personal matters, civilian." The paladin informed her curtly, caught off-guard by her plaintive cry of dismay at his refusal.

"But Monsieur Danse, I must learn zee secret of your overgrown size! You are so very tall and muscular compared to your contemporaries, my research could result in a breakthrough for your whole species! If you are a genetic throwback, zis could mean-" Sturges finally came to his rescue, ushering the wailing doctor away and shooting Danse a wink that made the paladin huff out an irritated grunt.

Genetic throwback . Dogmeat was a genetic throwback. Danse just...maybe he had good genes. Both of his parents must have possessed more robust constitutions. That was the clear answer.

An elaborately-dressed ghoul had marched down the main road like he owned the joint a few days after Curie had come and gone, only stopping when he realized there was a fully-armored paladin aiming a laser rifle at him. "Whoa! Easy crewcut, you'll harsh my mellow." He exclaimed, taking off his tricorn hat and fanning himself with it. "The name's John Hancock," he continued with a showy little bow. "I'm lookin' for General Vega. She around?"

"Knight Vega is indisposed at the moment, but you're welcome to leave a message, ghoul." Danse gritted out, oddly keen on attempting civility.

Hancock whistled and Dogmeat came running over, immediately flopping onto his back for a belly rub. "Ah, there he is. My favorite of the general's mutts. Sorry, you say somethin'?" The ghoul asked lazily, the pitch-black void of his eyes boring pointedly into Danse's.

The paladin threw his hands up in the air after a moment and stormed off. God damn it, Vega, you could have warned me that you kept such diverse company! he ranted inwardly.

The visitor that had nearly sent him into a conniption was an old synth, its skin ragged and tattered enough to show its inner workings. Sturges chatted away with the damn thing (and its traveling companion, a self-styled reporter apparently named Piper Wright) and Danse just floundered . Backhand made friends with synths?

Ticking mentally over everyone else he had met during his stay at Sanctuary, Danse reluctantly admitted that yes, Backhand would absolutely make friends with synths. Perhaps he should have come to terms with that before everything that had occurred, but now here he was, fully kitted and watching this synth narrowly.

"Come on over and introduce yourself, big fella'. No need to glare from afar." The synth commented wryly. "From what I understand we're all on the same team."

"If it's all the same to you, synth , I'll keep my distance." Danse could tolerate a lot of things. Ghouls, specifically. He had met numerous in his travels and while it was unsettling to converse with them, he knew they weren't all diseased, mindless shamblers despite what the Brotherhood had beaten into him. But synths …

They were the embodiment of mankind's arrogance. Monstrous, uncanny, a mockery of bodily functions. They made Danse's skin crawl.

Piper huffed indignantly, rolling her eyes and pointing a finger at Danse as she remarked loudly to Sturges, "I wasn't aware that Blue had rechristened this place Bigotry Hills."

The synth inclined its head in the meantime, somehow giving off an air of mechanical resignation. "Alright, I'll go first I suppose, since you've forgotten your manners. Name's Nick Valentine. I'm a detective operating out of Diamond City."

Nick Valentine . Danse's mouth became a desert. This , this was the detective Vega sang the praises of when it came to tracking down the man who had stolen her son? "Knight Vega failed to mention that you were a synth." He muttered.

"She probably figured it wasn't relevant. After all, the Institute left me at the curb with another man's memories in my head. Miss Vega did me a good turn after I helped her out with that Kellogg fella'." The synth shrugged. "Let an old bot put a few more ghosts to rest." He dusted off the raggedy fedora he wore, those unnerving golden eyes focused on Danse. "I caught wind that something might have gone a little sour with her infiltration, so Piper and I thought we'd drop by and see if we could offer any sort of assistance."

"And can you?" Danse asked, concern and suspicion making his tone even sharper as he glanced at the woman. Piper stuck her tongue out at him, to his chagrin.

The synth looked regretful for a second and Danse pondered that its face could even convey such a complex emotion. "Probably not, but at least now I know I'm not the only one worrying about our doll Vega." It remarked shrewdly.

Danse blushed guiltily, dropping his gaze from that calculating stare. It felt like the synth could see every damn thing he had ever done wrong in his life and Danse loathed the idea of this machine being able to help where he couldn't. "I'll be watching you, synth ," he blustered. "If you step out of line-"

The synth actually interrupted him, waving a spindly, metallic hand. "You'll what, melt me into slag? I'd be careful, I might do something nefarious like trap you in an intelligent conversation."

…

Danse's sleep schedule had never been anything even bordering on concrete, but now the worry kept him up more than the nightmares. A thousand scenarios ran through his mind, each one worse than the last. His fatalistic tendencies would be the death of him one of these days, and wouldn't that be a poetic end. Death by apoplexy, his heart just exploding under the stress of his own imagination.

No one commented when he ended up abandoning that soft mattress in the front room of Vega's house in favor of planting his bedroll on the floor at the foot of her bed. He spent long hours there every night, disassembling his gun, cleaning it thoroughly and checking over his mods.

When he inevitably gave up on sleep, he would patrol the perimeter. Jun joined him fairly often, the soft spoken man having taken it upon himself to manage the security around the settlement.

"At first, I think Backhand just wanted me to have something to do." Jun mentioned out of the blue one evening, his haggard expression illuminated in the faint light of the moon. "So she told me to uh, walk the property line. Marcy didn't know what to do with me. Hell, she didn't even know what to do with herself . Losing Kyle was…" the man swallowed hard. "Well, the general understood, on account of her own little one. She knew I needed to be kept busy, especially after that close call in Concord. I'm just glad Marcy didn't give up on me." He admitted.

"Why would she have given up on you?" Danse asked, a bit confused that this conversation was even occurring. He didn't do this sort of thing. "Whatever transpired with your child wasn't your fault." He had never asked for the specifics and Jun hadn't volunteered them.

Jun shrugged. "Being married is...full of ups and downs. And sometimes the downs are really, really hard. Too hard. It's terrible, seeing the person you love turn into some kind of...angry husk because of grief and you're grieving too, and you know you can't fix it because-" the man's eyes welled up, his voice hitching. "-b-because you're not strong enough."

Danse's breath caught in his lungs because oh God , that had been him after Cutler. Frustrated, hollow, newly promoted and warming Arthur's bed out of duty as he tried to privately grieve the man he had lost.

It had been Haylen and Rhys who pried him from his depressive, wrathful tendencies. Brandis had suggested that Danse consider sponsoring his own initiates, and recommended him two candidates. The young woman, barely into adulthood, so full of life and eager to learn, and Rhys had been angry like him.

More followed after those two, but they had been his first. He sponsored Dawes, Brach, Keane, Worwick...squire or initiate to aspirant, aspirant to scribe or knight. All the while keeping them at arm's length, reluctant to open himself up again to the suffering that had wreaked its havoc upon him after the loss of Cutler.

Learning about Paladin Krieg's passing during the assault on Adams Air Force Base was a blade twisting in his back. Danse had felt like his entire body was on fire, raw with agony once more as everything he had tried so hard to keep under control collapsed beneath him. He emerged from that particular rubble stoic and grim, and it was shortly after that incident that Recon Squadron Artemis went dark in the Commonwealth.

Brandis was sent to die and you know it! That evening in the barracks had been one of the hardest in his entire military career. Danse had known he was lying, lying to every single man, woman and child in that room that he would pass along any information he learned about Paladin Brandis.

But what else could he do?

"You can't fix everything and every one, Mr. Long." The paladin murmured finally. "You'll only burn yourself out with the effort. All you can do is let time do its work."

"Oh, I know." The other man said calmly, having clearly mastered himself while Danse mulled over his response. "Marcy and I had a long talk about...our son, and even though it still hurts to talk about him, I know someday it won't." He smiled at Danse. "Thanks for listening, Mr. Paladin. I can see why the general likes you."

Danse may or may not have tucked that precious information away, deep down in his heart.

...

Backhand had no idea how many days had passed since she had departed. The Commonwealth was relatively quiet all around the settlement as she took a few steadying breaths after relaying back, bent nearly double with her hands on her knees. Overhead in the night sky, the moon beamed weakly between the thick clouds.

Staggering down the steps that were still attached to the bare foundation, a wave of exhaustion threatened to cripple her. Away from the artificial lighting and brilliant whiteness of the Institute, she abruptly felt like she hadn't slept in weeks. How long had she been awake for?

Bed , Vega decided with a nod. Bed before anything else . With slow, trudging footsteps, the young woman made her way to the house where she had lived before the bombs fell. Whatever time it was, it was obviously late. There wasn't a light on across the whole settlement, and she was incredibly grateful that she would be afforded a few moments of reprieve before she was plied with questions.

Backhand closed the front door behind her, doing her best to be quiet. Danse must be asleep. Either that or he had returned to the Prydwen. Vega was a little startled at how distraught that made her feel, like she had lost somehow.

She stifled a yawn as she jiggled the sticky doorknob to her room and, too impatient to ease the door open, she put her shoulder to it.

The door flew open and she immediately found herself on the business end of a very familiar laser rifle. Vega couldn't help her shriek of surprise and in her haste to retreat, she toppled into the hall and landed hard on her back. "Wait, wait! " She pleaded, throwing up her hands in surrender. "Don't shoot, Danse!"

The paladin just stared down at her for a moment, his brow slowly unfurrowing in recognition as he lowered his gun. "Elizabeth?" He asked, his voice rasping hoarsely.

"Y-Yeah. Hi." Backhand replied, her voice shaky. "It's me." Danse extended his hand, easily pulling her upright off the ground. She half-fell against his body, the large man accepting the weight without a word. "Why are you sleeping in here?" Backhand blurted out the first question she could think of, noticing the disturbed bedroll on the floor at the foot of her bed.

"I assumed that should you return, you would most likely head to your room first." The paladin answered quickly, too quickly for it to be the truth.

Backhand raised an eyebrow. "And the armed greeting?"

"A reflex."

Vega's hands curled into fists on his chest, taking handfuls of his shirt between her fingers. I missed you , she wanted to say, I missed you so much . "How long was I gone for?" She asked instead.

"Seventeen days." Danse replied in a no-nonsense manner. "It appears your infiltration of the Institute was a success." He was watching her closely. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Knight."

Vega wanted to kiss him, not missing the warmth of relief in his eyes despite his neutral tone. She hurriedly peeled herself off of his chest, awkwardly clearing her throat and casting her brain around for an excuse to leave. "I'm...I need to shower." She lied, grimacing. "I was going to go right to bed, but…"

"Take your time. I'll remove my personal effects and return to my quarters." The paladin intoned stiffly.

Backhand grabbed a random assortment of clothing from atop her rickety dresser and fled to the bathroom without another word.

She slid down the door once she had shut it firmly, closing her eyes and hanging her head. What the hell were you expecting, Vega? she chastised herself, starting to unlace her boots. Some kind of fairytale reunion where he sweeps you up into his arms and professes his undying love? And we ride into the sunset? Backhand scoffed, bringing her fist down on the side of the salvaged water heater to get it to function.

Vega stared down at her body as she showered, feeling oddly like a spectator. The faint scar at the bottom of her stomach mocked her, taunting her with the memory of the hospital room, the swaddled Shaun being pressed into her arms…

This was all so wrong.

She pushed the heels of her palms into her eyes hard enough to blind her for a moment, fending off the tears that threatened to close her throat. The scar was placed low enough on her body that the waistband of her underwear concealed it. She didn't have to think about it too often. Usually she avoided looking at it while she bathed, the surgical leftover making complex feelings of grief and resentment war inside her.

Her fingers drew over the faded scar, then rose to brush the stretch marks that striped over her belly from where her body had changed to accommodate Shaun's growing form. And still her eyes were dry.

Backhand emerged from the lukewarm shower and simply sat on the side of the tub, watching the water slowly swirl down the drain. She thought of the Institute, where clean water was just a faucet turn away. Free of parasites and radiation, bearing a faint reek of chlorine that had clung to her hair and skin after bathing.

Her brow furrowed and she toweled herself off briskly, donning the clothing she had grabbed at random. The shirt was too big, unfamiliar, and she realized with a sharp pang of a strange emotion that it must be one of Danse's. Had he done her laundry while she was gone?

The young woman hung her towel up to dry, scooped all her dirty clothes off the floor and padded back across the hall to her room.

Danse, true to his word, had removed his bedroll and pack from the room, leaving no trace of his previous occupancy. Vega dropped her ball of clothes in the corner and sank down on the edge of her mattress, putting her head into her hands.

I believe you will do great things for the Institute.

Her fingers dug into her hair, raking through it in a nervous gesture. She didn't want to do great things. She had never wanted to do great things. All she had wanted was a family.

A child, a husband, a modest house in a quiet neighborhood…

The bombs had taken so much from everyone else, did she even have the right to mourn the life she wished she had? It seemed so selfish, so...petty.

Shaun's crib sat empty by the door like always, but now its vacancy mocked her. Had she ever truly believed she would find her son? Or had she been lying to herself the whole time, trying to convince herself that she could have been a good mother and that it wasn't all her fault Shaun had been taken. Rage bathed her in a comforting blanket of numbness and Backhand clenched her fists, rising from the bed.

With a stilted, furious cry of, " fuck you! " she heaved the empty crib against the wall.

It was a simple enough task to snap the rungs in it, blowing through them one after the other. Next the flimsy headboard, torn from the sides with a shriek of abused screws. Backhand broke it over her knee, pitching the pieces off to land somewhere as the crib teetered on two legs. She grabbed those last two legs, picked the remains of the crib up, and smashed it against the floor with all her might.

It exploded in a cloud of chipped blue pieces, effectively destroyed. Backhand screamed in frustrated anguish, sinking to her knees and wrapping her arms around herself. She hadn't even noticed she was crying, but the tears were hot enough to burn on her cheeks.

She felt running footsteps vibrate through the floor, but she didn't so much as raise her head.

Danse, Danse , those brown eyes so warm and concerned, knelt in front of her. " Easy , Knight." He soothed. Backhand sobbed hysterically, her whole body shaking with each inhale. "Elizabeth." Danse said her name calmly, quietly, his arms falling open.

The woman flung herself into his embrace, gripping his back tightly. Danse held her close, like she was small and fragile and needed to be protected, one hand on the back of her head stroking her still-damp hair. Vega just went limp, weeping pitifully into his shirt.

"By Jove…" Codsworth breathed from the door. "Oh mum, I'm so sorry." She felt a metal pincer rest gingerly on her shoulder and Backhand knocked her forehead against Danse's clavicle when she turned her face to look at Codsworth. "You should have told us, mum. Whatever it is, it's all too much to carry alone." The robot scolded her kindly. "I helped you raise the little tyke, if you recall. We will always have those fond memories, you and I."

"It hurts." Backhand said thickly. "It h-hurts so much. I just wanted him back."

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth." Danse murmured, words laden with sorrow. And he didn't even know what had happened yet!

"I don't want anyone else to be sorry. I-I want to take every one of that smug f- fuck's toys and break them. If he wasn't already on his way out, I would-" Backhand dissolved into seething, nonsensical muttering. "There's good people in the Institute." She said finally. "People who wanted to help. People who need to get out."

"And the Brotherhood will do everything we can to save them." Danse promised solemnly, taking her hands in his own and making a sympathetic noise in the back of his throat as he examined the battered skin. "Christ Vega, you're full of splinters."

"I just...I don't know, I shouldn't have done that." Backhand mumbled, feeling idiotic for letting herself get so out of control.

"Not to worry, mum!" Codsworth cheerily clicked his pincers. "I'll have you squared away in a jiffy!"

Danse didn't let her go as Codsworth painstakingly worked over her abused hands to remove every last sliver. The paladin even assisted when the robot asked, holding her skin taut or flattening her palm out on his own to keep her steady so Codsworth could get a better grip.

Piper appeared in the doorway in the midst of the procedure, wearing a raggedy robe and carrying a steaming mug. "And there's our gal." The reporter said softly. "Heya' Blue."

"H-Hey Piper." Backhand sniffled.

The other woman tipped her head. "Nicky's on his way. You want tea or coffee?"

"Coffee, please. Please." Backhand begged, feeling Danse's hold on her tighten slightly. She was sitting in his lap still, his arms around her while Codsworth worked. She hated herself for enjoying the comfort his proximity provided, hated herself for being too weak to deal with this on her own.

As if he could sense her thoughts, the paladin settled her back more firmly against his chest.

…

She was back. She had come back. Harried and haggard but alive . Danse could feel the tension radiating from her and he wanted to kick himself for greeting her with a weapon at the door. His brain hadn't even registered that it might be her , he had awoken from his uneasy half-doze to someone breaching the door and his body reacted.

Danse wanted to question her. He wanted to grip her to his chest and never let her out of his sight again. He wanted to berate her for being gone for so long. He wanted to lay her down on her bed and--

He shoved that thought away. She was obviously exhausted and worn from whatever it was that she had gone through. Now was absolutely not the time to voice the pesky, budding emotions that warred in his chest.

He could sense the impending explosion hanging heavy in the air like the changing pressure of an approaching storm, but he hadn't expected the rupture to happen so soon. Vega was barely out of the shower when he heard the first crash , her yell of " fuck you! ".

Danse wrestled momentarily with himself, his hands clenching in the fabric of his sleeping bag. Expressing anger could be therapeutic in it's own right, and her getting everything out now might be miles healthier than bottling it all up until she imploded.

But her sobbing cries effectively wiped his plan of inaction. She sounded like she was in agony and Danse didn't even remember tearing the door open. One second he was in his own room and then the next he was on his knees in front of her, " easy , Knight," his voice gone soft and tender in a manner wholly uncharacteristic of the usually stoic man.

He couldn't help saying her name, her first name, even though he felt wrong for doing so. But she pitched forward into his embrace just like Haylen had, weeping as though her heart was fit to break. And all Danse could do, all anyone could have done, he assured himself, was hold her close.

She had no care for the safety and wellbeing of her hands, he realized wryly as he checked them over for broken bones. This was the second time patching up her poor fingers, the first time feeling like a distant memory. Her shredding her knuckles to ribbons on the manual release of his suit, her complete disregard for her own comfort…

Danse didn't move, even when the synth arrived on Piper's heels. Everyone crowded into the room and he knew he ought to feel self-conscious, but now Vega was the one refusing to release him . So there he sat on the floor with her secure in his arms, listening to the entire sordid tale as Codsworth quietly tidied up the mess that had been Shaun's crib.

The Institute was real , and it wound for miles underneath the Commonwealth. They had access to safe food and pure drinking water, all made possible by unimaginable technology. Her son wasn't dead or even a child, but instead old and frail. The years had stretched on longer than anyone could have anticipated between his removal from the Vault and Vega's own awakening.

The advances that made the generation three synths possible had been brought about by utilizing infant Shaun's pre-war DNA, and he was known as Father to all the synths. But he wasn't a father at all, at least not one that anybody would want to have.

"Synths are like lower class citizens to these scientists. Expendable. Seen and not heard." Backhand explained, and Nick muttered something uncharitable under his breath. "They're not people, they're tools. Shit, Shaun even listed them off like that, he called the coursers hammers ." Vega spat. "But they think . They dream. Hell, they grieve even though they don't know that's what they're doing."

She spoke of the courser mourning the loss of his friend, forced to grieve without understanding the feelings he suffered through and Danse was somehow full of sympathy for a damn killing machine. It must just be Vega's compassionate nature transferring to him. There was no way he could actually believe anything like that was even possible.

Spinal recalibration .

Danse wasn't sure why , but he felt a blunt stab of pain at the nape of his neck when she explained the procedure. It was probably psychosomatic, he reasoned. The process sounded gruesome.

Nick flipped back and forth through his notepad, scratching at the side of his head with his pencil. "I'll need some time to look all of this over, sweetheart." He said to Backhand, glancing at Piper. "And you need time to recover," he continued in a gently-chiding tone. "You seem half-dead, doll."

Danse realized with a barely-hidden start that he had begun to refer to the synth as Nick in his mind. What was happening to him? Had he been away from the Brotherhood for so long that he was going soft? Was his moral integrity being compromised?

Or was he just coming to terms with something that he couldn't bring himself to label yet?

Backhand nodded, tugging the paladin out of his reverie. "I really want to sleep." She mumbled. She must have been truly exhausted, because in spite of downing the mug of coffee Piper had procured for her, she was slumped in Danse's arms.

Piper patted Vega's knee, giving Danse a stern glare. The paladin wanted to laugh at her attempt to intimidate him. "You get some rest, Blue. Nicky and I will do our best to compile what you've given us." She assured her.

After the duo from Diamond City had left, Codsworth made a noise like he was clearing his throat. "I'm just so glad you're back, mum." He said, his words weirdly heartfelt for coming from a machine.

Vega reached out and caught one of Codsworth's arms before the bot could leave, the young woman smiling wearily up at the Mister Handy. "I'm glad to be back, Codsworth."

Danse managed to usher her into her bed just as the sun was rising, but she grabbed his hand when he turned to depart. "Wait." Backhand whispered, her eyelids drooping. "Please...please stay? I don't want to be alone, Danse." A lone tear wound its way down her cheek. "Please don't leave me alone."

Danse planted himself in the chair beside the bed, laying his laser rifle across his knees. "I'm not going anywhere, Knight Vega." He promised her solemnly, taking a greedy, selfish moment to push the hair back from her face. "Sleep."

Part Twelve

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