johnnie guilbert & jake webber imagines

recovery

all credits to @/thugpugs4lrh on tumblr!!

Summary: reader (gender neutral) comforting jake after an autistic meltdown

Pairing: Jake x gender neutral reader

Warnings: Autistic meltdown, overstimulation

Word Count: 1k

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Jake had always prided himself on being extremely level-headed (off camera, that is). Even though he was autistic, he was a very logical person, and was usually able to separate his emotions from what the situation actually was. But still, he was autistic, and there were days where all the overstimulation and the feeling of being unaware of society or "too different" got to him and led to an autistic meltdown.

Unfortunately, today was one of those days. He had been planning to film a Dunkin' taste test with Johnnie for over a week now, only for Johnnie to wake up with a stomach bug. He wasn't mad at Johnnie in any way; that wouldn't be fair. Instead, he was just stressed by the change in schedule and the lack of structure that was now in his morning. Jake had decided to make himself a bowl of his favorite cereal, which was his current safe food. But as soon as he opened the pantry, all he was met with was an empty box.

"Fuck this." he groaned, opting to grab a can on Monster and sit on the couch under his weighted blanket.

Jake scrolled on his phone for a while, stuck in the "doom scrolling" habit, until he realized his skin, and specifically his new tattoos, was horribly dry. He wanted to scratch, but knew that wouldn't help, and he just didn't have the energy to get up. Just as he was shifting on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position that didn't hurt, the lawn care people began their work outside.

By this point, Jake was so overstimulated from the awful feeling that had taken residence deep into his bones and the sound of lawn mowers and weed eaters outside that he didn't know what else to do besides cry. He could've simply gotten up and gotten some lotion and his sensory headphones, but when you were in the midst of an autistic meltdown, nothing was logical. The lack of structure in his morning, lack of safe foods, and overstimulation had gotten to him by this point and it was just too much.

He continued to sob, plugging his ears and pulling the blanket over his head to block out the noise. Thankfully, his mind was clear enough that he was able to send you a quick text with come over :(? i need you...

On the other side of town, you frowned when you read your boyfriend's message, knowing this was out of the ordinary for Jake. He hardly ever texted, preferring to call people, and the little sad face was worrying you. You sent him a quick 'be there soon' text and jumped out of bed, quickly getting ready and beginning to speed to his house. If you had it your way, you two would be living together, but unfortunately, you were still working through classes at the community college, and thus, still lived with your parents.

As soon as you pulled into Jake's driveway, you knew why you were here. Your boyfriend despised lawn care days, and usually made a point to not be home when they came. Something must've happened that kept him here. You quickly hurried inside, thankful for your spare key. The house was rather quiet, which worried you more. There was no screaming from Jake or Johnnie and no music playing either. As soon as you stepped into the living room, though, you figured out what was wrong. Jake was still on the couch, buried under his weighted blanket. His sobs had stopped, but tear tracks still marked his cheeks and he was sniffling.

"Oh bubba," You whispered softly, sitting beside him on the couch. "Bad day?"

Jake nodded, taking his time before speaking. "Everything's going wrong today and I just got overstimulated."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" You offered. "It's okay if not."

Your boyfriend nodded, moving to lay his head in your lap as he spoke. "Johnnie woke up sick, which meant we couldn't film, which messed up the plans I had for the morning. Then we were out of safe food. Then my skin was dry and itchy and the lawncare people were here and I hate it."

Jake got more emotional as he spoke, tears flowing again. You made note of certain parts of his sentence, realizing specifically that he probably hadn't eaten anything today and it was almost one pm.

"Tell you what," You told him. "I'm gonna Instacart you your safe foods and I'll get the lotion and your headphones, 'kay?" You hummed, running your hands through his hair.

Your boyfriend nodded, mostly nonverbal after his meltdown, but that was okay. You knew how much energy meltdowns took out of him, and all you cared about right now was that he was resting. You stood up, planting a kiss to Jake's head and starting towards his bathroom. As you walked, you used your phone to order your boy some of his favorite cereal, mac n cheese, and strawberries, all of which he considered safe foods.

In the bathroom, you sidestepped Johnnie, who was asleep against the bathtub, hugging the trash bin. You searched high and low for some lotion, finally finding some tucked in the very back of the cabinet. You quickly retrieved it, along with Jake's sensory headphones from his bedroom, and made your way back to the couch.

Jake had found his sensory slug under one of the couch pillows and was fidgeting with it softly, still fighting tears. He appeared somewhat better now, knowing that you were going to take care of him, but still, recovery from autistic meltdowns could take hours or in some cases, days.

"Lift your shirt up, bub." You instructed gently.

Your boyfriend did as told, and you softly set the headphones on his ears comfortably. Once you had done that, you pumped a few squirts of lotion into your hand and began to gently rub the cream over his new tattoos. Jake was visibly relaxing as his dry skin was soothed away and your hands worked magic on him.

Once you were done, you sat down on the couch with him, and Jake curled up into you. You two sat for a while, just enjoying each other's presence as he calmed down and waited for his food. You knew that you couldn't take away Jake's pain, but you could let him know he was loved. And so, you softly spelled out 'I love you' into his palm.