Fallout Preferences Collection (3, NV & 4)

#17

romanced reactions to sole being afraid of radstorms + comfort

- codsworth, deacon, dogmeat , nick valentine, strong, & x6-88
+ gage

Sole and their companion were just leaving their newly acquired settlement, Outpost Zimonja, when it suddenly started getting dark. The sky had also turned a yellow/green hue. A rad storm was rapidly rolling in. Sole and their companion decided to stay at the Outpost for the night to wait out the storm. As soon as the storm started, Sole huddled in the corner of the makeshift shack, near the foot of the bed. They began shaking violently.

Curie
"Oh, my love. What's wrong?" Curie sat down next to her shaking lover and gave them little pecks on the head. She then ran her hand through their hair and pulled them close. "Oui, these storms can be quite frightening. But do not fret; we are safe." She continued to pet her partner's hair and plant gentle kisses on the top of their head. "These storms are intimidating, but if you close your eyes and ignore the thunder, it can be quite beautiful; I find the pattering of the rain to be calming." Sole listened to Curie and closed their eyes, focusing on the sound of the raindrops tapping on the roof of the shack. It reminded them of the old days when Sole would lie in bed with [Nate/Nora] and listen to the sound of the storm outside. This memory put them to sleep. Several hours later, Sole awoke to a sweet kiss on the forehead. They opened their eyes and saw Curie staring right back at them. She giggled, "I hope you enjoyed your siesta, love. The storm has already passed."

Preston
"General? You okay?" Preston cautiously approached a fear-stricken Sole. He sat down next to them. "Babe?" He wrapped an arm around Sole, "It's going to be okay. We're safe in here. I promise." The two sat in silence and listened to the storm. With each roar of thunder, Sole shook more violently. Preston knew he had to do something. He suddenly remembered a recent trade he made with Trashcan Carla. He reached into his inventory and pulled out the game Blast Radius. "Hey, look what I got," Preston laughed as his partner raised their eyebrow quizzically. "Wanna play? I'm the Blast Radius master." Sole accepted the challenge and engaged in a heated game with Preston. The first game lasted around 5 minutes, with Preston easily defeating Sole. "See, I told you," he bragged, "no one's ever beaten me." Sole challenged him to a rematch and Preston won yet again. "Best 6 out of 10?" He joked. Sole accepted. The two continued to play for about an hour when the storm started to clear up. "Look, General. The rad storm passed!" Preston commented. "Do you still want to continue playing?"

Cait
"Aw come on now! Don't tell me you're scared of a little thunderstorm!" When Cait noticed that her partner didn't acknowledge her teasing like they usually did, she knew something was wrong. "Don't worry, darlin. A little storm never hurt anyone. How many times have ye heard of someone dyin from a rad storm?" She waited for Sole to answer. "Well, I've never. Now, how many times have you heard of people dyin in the hands of raiders and ferals? I'd reckon a lot, yeah?" Sole looked at Cait. She smirked. "And ye fight those bastards every day! So what are ye doin cowering over a boom in the sky and a little light show? This ain't nothin to cry over, [beautiful/handsome]." Sole smiled and Cait ruffled their hair. "There's that sexy smile I love!" She planted a rough kiss on their cheek and laughed. "Next time you cry over a little rain and rumblin, I'll give ye somethin to blubber about!"

Hancock
"What's up, doll?" Hancock sat next to his lover and pulled them close. When he felt how much they were shaking, he was immediately concerned. "Woah, woah, hey now. It's going to be okay. Chill out. Deep breaths." Hancock gently rubbed his partner's back as he guided their breathing. "One in...one out...one in...one out." When Sole had regulated their breathing and stopped shaking, Hancock looked at them in the eyes. "Are you okay now? Do you want jet or somethin to get you through this?" Sole answered, and Hancock gave them a loving kiss on the forehead. "I'm just lookin out for ya, gorgeous." He grabbed Sole's hand and held it tight. "I feel ya. I used to be scared of these shitstorms too. But I just kinda got used to them. I'm sure you will, too." A few minutes later, the rain subsided and the sky started to clear up. Hancock smiled, "Looks like the ride is over. And see? You made it out just fine."

Gage
"Boss, you're really letting a little thunder bangin and lightning flashin get to your head?" When Sole didn't answer, the raider sighed. He then had an idea. "This shed is mostly wood, right? If ya want, I can show you how to carve some art with a switchblade. Knife art, I like to call it." Sole nodded and watched their partner meticulously carve gang signs into the woodwork of the shack. When he had finished his first carving, he turned to Sole, "Ya wanna give it a shot?" Sole agreed and accepted the knife. Gage held Sole's carving hand and steadily guided them. "Good work, boss," Gage said, admiring the skull he and Sole had carved together, "That's some impressive shit right there." The two continued to decorate the wooden frames and walls when the storm eventually ceased. "Looks like it cleared up." Gage looked around, admiring the art that he and his partner created. "And look at these carvings." He gave his partner a quick peck on the cheek, "Some of the best I've ever seen."

Danse
"Soldier? What's the matter?" When Sole didn't respond, Danse sat down next to them and put a protective arm around them, dropping his usually stiff demeanor. "You're scared of the storm?" Sole nodded and Danse pulled them close. "You're okay," he reassured, "I'm going to teach you a skill I learned in boot camp, alright? We're going to look at the sky and we're going to count the number of seconds between each flash of lightning and each rumble of thunder. Understand?" Sole nodded. "If you do that and then divide the number by 5, you can figure out how close the storm is." He and Sole counted together. The number of seconds between the sounds of thunder quickly dropped from ten to six, to four. When the count reached one, Sole latched onto their lover, burying their face into his chest. He gently pet their hair and continued to count. Sure enough, the seconds between the thunder grew, from three to seven, to eleven. The rain started letting up, and the sky started returning to its normal shade of blue. Danse let go of his lover, looked at them, and smirked, "I knew you could brave the storm, soldier. Outstanding job. I'm proud of you."

Piper
"Aw, it's okay Blue! Come here dollface." Piper opened her arms to her lover, which they gratefully crawled into. "We just need to find a way to distract you from this storm, right?" The reported racked her brain for some ideas, and then lit up. "Oh! I know! I play this game with Nat all the time. It's called Story Switch. I'll start off telling a story, and then when the thunder roars, we switch off and you have to finish where I left off. Then, when the thunder roars again, I pick up where you left off! Ready?" Piper dramatically cleared her throat. "Once upon a time, there was a Supermutant named Reginald. Reginald was—" the thunder roared. "Okay, Blue! Your turn!" The two continued this game for about an hour; when one narrative died, they began another one. Eventually, the storm moved out. Piper smiled and kissed her partner lovingly. "Look! We're all clear! We survived the big, bad rad storm!"

MacCready
"Hey, hey , hey," MacCready began, "You've fought ferals, supermutants, stingwings, deathclaws...don't tell me you're scared of a little rad storm!" Suddenly, thunder sounded and lightning lit up the sky. Sole grabbed onto MacCready's arm and buried their face in his shoulder. He could tell his lover was truly terrified. "Shh, it's okay," MacCready reassured, rubbing Sole's back. He thought for a moment and then smiled. "Hey! You know what I found here while you were building up this settlement?" Sole looked up to see their partner fishing through his bag. He pulled out a comic book. "Astoundingly Awesome Tales #7: Sinister Seafood Strikes Back. One of my personal favorites. I think you'd like it too. Let's read it together." By the time the couple had finished the comic, Sole had learned how to do more damage at night and the rad storm had completely passed. MacCready pecked Sole's cheek. "See? That wasn't bad, now was it?"

The Dansing Queen