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detectivecarlosreyes · 4 years

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Waves of Emotion

Ao3 | 1.1k

Day 5: “Stay with me.” + comfort – Empath AU – Buck has never told anyone that he's an empath, that changes when he has to keep his long-standing pizza night schedule with Chris even after an emotionally exhausting day.

There is one part of Buck’s life that he’s never mentioned to anyone before in his life, the funny thing about it is that it’s so blatantly obvious to anyone who knows him, but the thing is even they don’t truly know the full extent of it.

He’s an empath. Not just a person who can convey empathy to another being, but someone who has the innate ability to sense and feel another’s emotions (even the masked one) and take them on as their own. If he’s not careful, the people around him severely affect his moods whether they be positive or negative emotions and all he wants to do is help them, just so he can feel less.

It’s something that he never knew as a child and many people in his life just labeled him as someone who had a sensitive and fragile soul. It wasn’t until later in life that he heard the term empathy and looked it up himself, it was from there that he discovered the indicators of an empath, which most if not all rang true to him.

It took him a long time to figure out how best to set boundaries for himself, to not let himself get overwhelmed by the emotions of others. The thing is though is that even now, he forgets, it doesn’t happen all the time, but it seemed to be a reoccurring theme ever since he started his journey as a firefighter. The more the team became like a family to him, the harder it was for him to maintain those boundaries.

So, when he came into work, immediately Buck could tell that something was off. It didn’t take him much to figure out the reason for it after occupying the same space with Hen for only a few minutes. Outwardly she seemed fine, but he could feel waves of worry coming off her.

When he gets the chance, Buck selects from his locker one of Hen’s favourite candy bar from the collection he keeps in there for everyone and gently nudges her with his elbow before indicating with his head for her to follow him.

All he gets from Hen is a quizzical look, but she follows him, nonetheless. Once they’re out of sight and earshot in the loft he turns to her, presenting the chocolate bar from behind his back, eliciting a puzzled expression from Hen.

“Just something to cheer you up, and if there’s anything you want to talk about it, I’m all ears.” He offers earnestly.

Hen’s brow knits in confusion as she accepts the chocolate, “I didn’t say anything was wrong.” She murmurs half to herself before addressing Buck, “How did you know?”

Buck shrugs, “I don’t know, I just had a feeling something was up.”

“Well, thank you,” Hen sighs and takes a seat at one of the nearby tables, “My aunt is sick, and they took her to the hospital last night. We’re not entirely sure how bad it is yet but from the sounds of it, it didn’t sound good.”

Buck sidles up to Hen and wraps an arm around her shoulder, “If she shares some of the same fighting genes as you. I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

Hen smiles softly, “That she does. Thanks, Buck.” Buck could sense a change in her mood after that, the worry feeling less constrictive.

They don’t get any more time to think on it, because after that, their shift was nearly a continuous stream of calls. Unfortunately for Buck, he’d let down his wall that morning, not expecting the day he was going to have with most of the calls wrought with so many emotions with some of them involving crowds which just overwhelmed him with their energies.

By the time their shift had ended, Buck felt wrung out, unable to distinguish his own emotions from that of the ones that he was bombarded with throughout the shift. All he wanted to do was go home and bundle himself up in his bed, away from the rest of the world to recharge.

He thinks this as he lethargically packs away his gear and gets changed out of his uniform. Not paying attention to the others around him as they leave for the night. He moves on autopilot, arriving at home, immediately throwing on his most comfortable house clothes, not remember what night it was tonight.

That is, until, the father and son let themselves in, pizza boxes balanced neatly in Eddie’s hand as he holds them high enough that they don’t get knocked by Christopher who made a beeline to Buck.

Internally, Buck rouses himself, putting on a mask, remembering he still had their longstanding fortnightly tradition to hang out together at the request of Christopher. Not wanting to disappoint the young Diaz, Buck grin at the two of them, not missing the small downturn of Eddie's lips as he turns his full attention onto Chris who was telling him all about his week.

Buck could tell Eddie wanted to say something, but Chris manages to beat him to it, “Are you alright Bucky?” He asks, concern permeating the room.

How could he explain to a child that the exhaustion wasn’t just physical or mental but emotional? unable to properly explain exactly what was going on with him, he simplifies it instead and says, “I’m fine bud, just tired is all.”

“We can always cut tonight short if you want to turn in early,” Offers Eddie considerately to which he politely declines, stating that it felt like forever since he’d seen Chris even though he’d seen him only a few days ago.

In truth, Buck usually recharged emotionally in solitude, recovering his own senses as he rebuilt his walls. But somehow, having Eddie and Chris there didn’t seem to drain him further, it was nice, it was comforting, making how he felt less heavy and distracting him from it.

He’s thankful that it’s a Friday night, leading into a day off on Saturday, it meant that Eddie and Chris could stay for as long as they wanted without any repercussions for the next day. Chris ended falling asleep on the couch between them and Buck offered up his bed without a second thought.

The rest of the night he ended up closer to Eddie, closer than he would let himself on a normal day, but today he needed his own comfort and it seemed Eddie was willing to provide it pulling him closer for Buck to rest his head on his shoulder.

The line between friendship and something more seemed to blur that night in the glow of the warm lamplight, with neither parties ready to acknowledge what this moment might mean for them. At least until Buck whispered wistfully, “stay with me.”

And Eddie did for the rest of that night no questions asked. It’s after that night that Buck decides that it was about time he told someone of this aspect of his life, and that’s what he does.

#evanweek2020 #ew2020 #jess writes #my fic #911 fic #911 fox #evan buckley #hen wilson #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #userkourt #userkimmy

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radreactions · 6 years

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I love your blog❤so I want to ask how Companions would react to Sole being badly injured & passing out of all the pain😊

Thanks a bunch!

Sole and their companion are in a gruelling firefight with a horde of supermutants from which Sole gets hit hard by a super sledge. The adrenaline keeps them going until they and their companion kill off the last remaining mutants, but just as their companion is walking towards them to see if they’re okay, Sole suddenly drops…

Ada – Immediately ploughs through everything standing between her and her dear friend Sole, not bothering to say anything in favour of diverting all systems to checking Sole’s vitals and administering medical aid. But when she realises they’ve just feinted, she literally picks up a paint can and throws it as hard as she possibly can at a wall because holy hell the scared the absolute heck out of her! She was not aware they had a habit of feinting! What are they trying to do to her, short circuit her systems!? Ohhh she’ll be giving them a stern – but relieved – talking to when they wake up, that’s for damn sure.

Cait – “Oh shite!” She sprints to them, fear coursing through her veins as she just barely manages to catch them in her arms before they hit the ground. “Come on, stay with me Sole. Ya still owe me a fuckin’ beer and I ain’t lettin’ ya get away with it.” She lays them down as gently as she can, her heart pounding painfully as she feels for a pulse at their throat. She breathes a heavy sigh when she finds one and tilts her head up towards the sky, cradling her unconscious asshole of a friend tightly to her chest. “Goddammit.” She doesn’t know whether she wants to punch them or hug them or both, but as she gazes down at them with all sorts of curses on the tip of her tongue, the brawler can’t describe how impossibly relieved she is that they simply feinted.

Codsworth – When Sole hit the ground, the handybot experienced the second moment of terror he’s ever truly felt in his entire life. The first was when the bombs fell, when he couldn’t find his family’s remains out in the fallout, but now? With Sole laying so still right in front of him? “S-sir/m-mum?” Immediately he scans for signs of life, lowering his hull closer to the ground so that he could hold their hand in his pincer. If not for their comfort, but for his. When he discovers a present – although elevated – heartbeat, Codsworth chuckles to himself lightly. “You always did have a flare for exaggeration, didn’t you, sir/mum?”

Curie – She knew what was happening even before Sole hit the ground. A physical trauma like being hit with a sledgehammer could do catastrophic damage to a person, but Sole was hit with a super sledge and even though they were wearing heavy armour that no doubt saved their life, the pain from such an injury would be of the utmost severity liable to causing blackouts. Even though she knew this, even though she had extensive medical training that she believed in with all her heart, Curie couldn’t help but scream when Sole hit the pavement. She ran to them in a flash, immediately checking them all over for an injury that perhaps she didn’t see, that perhaps the blow had broken their rib or sternum. She found none of course, but instead realised it was difficult for her to see. Tears. It was tears. She was crying and she couldn’t seem to stop. She still cries when Sole wakes up, but that’s for a whole new reason.

Dogmeat – He barks hysterically as he watches them fall, helpless to stop it as he bounds over the debris between them and him. Panting, ears back and whining softly, he nudges their hand, then their cheek and stares down at them intently. Are they playing dead? But that’s his trick! And this is surely an odd spot for a nap! Being the good boy that he is, he resigns himself to laying over Sole’s torso, taking comfort in the feeling of their chest rising and falling beneath his own as he watches their surroundings. Hopefully, Sole will wake up soon…

Danse – Immediately, the Paladin barrelled through everything between him and Sole just to get them, jabbing a stimpak into them before checking anything else. His eerie silence was born of shock, dread and guilt for letting them get hurt while in his company, but he finally broke that silence when he realised from the fluttering of their eyes and their lack of wounds that they had simply fainted. “You…” He couldn’t find the right words, just shaking his head and taking in a deep breath. He stared off into the distance for a moment, pondering just what could have happened, before snapping out of it with a relieved sigh. “You are going to have a very stern talking to when we get back to the station, soldier.”

Deacon – “Uhhh, Sole? Now’s not the time to take a nap!” On the inside, he’s chanting ‘no, no, no’ while he’s rushing to them, already feeling the heavy weight of dread and guilt in his chest. He should’ve been paying better attention, he should’ve been there at their side when the big bastard attacked. “Sole?” Their pulse was strong and their breathing – although elevated – seemed unhindered. A fainting spell. That’s all it was. It made him chuckle for a good few minutes in relief. “Oh man, whew. Thank Atom. You know, you had me worried there for a second, Sole. No one can make sweetrolls like you and I’d hate to have to go without them.”

Gage – “Aw shit.” His words didn’t portray his panic as he quickly made his way over to them, grumbling under his breath at how careless they were in battle and that they should know better by now that to try to go toe to toe with the big green ones. He knew it wasn’t their fault, but he needs someone to take it out on now that the damn mutie that hit them is dead. “Overboss?” He nudges their shoulder with a boot and actually smirks when they grumble in annoyance, still unconscious. “Dammit, boss. Now just how in the hell am I supposed to carry your ass back to Fizztop Grille, huh?” As annoyed as he sounds, he’s actually quite relieved more than anything.

Hancock – Because he was high on Jet, he saw the whole damn thing in what felt like slow motion. In one second Sole was standing victorious over the corpses of their enemies, but in the next? Sole was dropping to the ground like a sack of rotten tatos. “Sole!” He couldn’t get to them fast enough, or at least it felt that way anyway with limbs that felt like lead. He tried to remember all the things he’d learned in his life about first aid when he finally reached their side, panting because he knew he couldn’t remember enough in order to save Sole’s life their injuries were serious. So imagine his relief when he found no blood, no bones poking out of flesh or melted skin or even a simple damn scratch! “You can’t seriously be asleep right now, Sole.” Their gentle snoring was enough to both comfort him and enough to make him throw up his hands in fond frustration. “Unbelievable.”

MacCready – “Holy sh-SOLE!” Fear nestles in his belly, crawls up his chest and throat before it spills over in the form of a choked sop as he runs to them. “Sole you better not be dead or I swear to God I’ll-” He stops ranting for a split second as he feels their heartbeat and sees their fluttering eyes, recognising the same sort of look that Squirrel had from Little Lamplight when he fainted almost daily. “Oh you fu-are you serious? Did you seriously just up and faint like that?” He grumbles under his breath for a few minutes after sitting back on his haunches, his hand on his forehead, both relieved and a little peeved off that they had him worry because of something so harmless. Shaking his head, he looks at Sole and chuckles quietly before settling in to watch over them.

Maxson – When he sees Sole drop, he gets angry beyond all reason and he slams those giant fists down on the ground. Rumour has it that windows shattered in Diamond City and a whole section of Lexington came crashing down, just from the shock of it. When Sole finally wakes up, it’s to the sight of a stimpak still sticking out of their arm and whole area covered in the dead bodies of every remaining super mutant in a three block radius. In the centre of it all stands Maxson, still covered in blood and toting that gatling laser like he could take on another thousand muties without breaking a sweat.

Nick Valentine – He’s always been aware of what fear felt like. He remembers how Nick felt when he first heard about what happened to Jenny before her death was officially confirmed by the coroner, but seeing Sole drop like that? That was the first time the synthetic Nick actually felt such terror and to say he didn’t know how to handle it is an understatement. Nothing short of another atomic bomb could’ve stopped him from getting to Sole so quickly and the relief he felt when he found their strong pulse was so overwhelming that he felt the urge to cry. If there was any way that he actually could, he knows he would’ve right then and there. But Sole doesn’t have to know that, and when they wake up he’ll be sure to inform them just how much he disapproves of their reckless behaviour.

Old Longfellow – He himself damn near fell over in his hurry to get to them. Those old bones of his weren’t meant for that kind of punishment, nor was his old ticker that was beating erratically in his chest as he hesitantly felt for a pulse at their neck. He didn’t realise he’d come to care so much about Sole until now, until the moment when he realised they weren’t nearly as invulnerable as they made him believe. “Oh for crying out loud, Cap’in, what are you trying to do to me here? Give me a damn heart attack? Trust my luck…” He’d be a little grouchy for a few hours after Sole wakes up, practically giving them hell for making him worry so damn much, but it was only because the old man cared for them and hated the idea that he’d ever outlive them too.

Piper Wright – “Blue? Blue no!” She screams hysterically as she see’s Sole collapse, sprinting forward with her heart in her throat and tears in her eyes. “Don’t you dare, don’t you dare!” She injects a stimpak and places her head on their chest, heedless of the tears wetting her cheeks because Sole can’t die. Not like this, not on her watch. The pulse is there, their chest is rising and falling and as she checks their ribs for any broken bones, she deflates with a heavy, relieved sigh. “Oh thank God.” She laughs through the tears upon realising that they just passed out and starts wiping away the moisture using the sleeves of her coat, feeling ridiculous for having reacted that way about something so harmless. “Dammit Blue, you scared me.” She murmurs fondly, gently placing a kiss to their forehead before she settles in to guard them.

Preston Garvey – “Oh God!” He’s panicking, his heart thudding in his chest as he sprints over to them in a matter of moments. “Sole!” He immediately injects a stimpak, breathing hard, eyes scanning their face as he gently taps their cheek with his hand. “Come on, General, come on. Wake up. Come back to me.” He stares at them, on the verge of tears and ever so thankful for the pulse he finds at their wrist, but it’s not enough. He needs to see their big beautiful eyes and heartfelt smile before he can fully relax, before he can be fully assured that they’re going to be okay. He waits diligently at their side, talking to them softly while he near constantly checks their vitals.

Strong – He gets mad because this stupid little human always trips and falls! Why are they so damn clumsy? They only have little feet! “GET UP, LEADER! STRONG NOT DONE SMASHING THINGS!” He nudges them with his foot as gentle as he can and peers down at their motionless little frame, eyes suddenly widening because – oh no. Strong lets out a roar of rage upon the assumption that his companion was killed by one of his super mutant brothers and with renewed vigor, Strong storms off with his sledgehammer in a deathgrip. Later – when Sole wakes up – Strong is found nearby smashing the corpses of the mutants that, in his eyes, killed his favourite human.

X6-88 – He’s used to restraining his emotions, but as he sees Sole drop to a heap on the ground, his normally unshakeable grip falters. “No!” He yells, running forward. His programming immediately kicks in and has him checking their pulse, their breathing, but instead of being the unflappable Courser he was meant to be, X6 is panting and on the verge of hysterics because Sole just can’t fucking die. He checks and rechecks, then breathes a short sigh of relief once determining that they only fainted. Trust Sole to make him react like this, the only person in the Commonwealth who could have the fearless Courser nearly breakdown in a matter of seconds. X6 is suddenly very thankful that no one saw his reaction and in a desperate bid to keep up his unflappable façade, he simply stands guard and pretends as though he didn’t have a near breakdown when Sole finally wakes up.

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