Multifandom Oneshots Collection

guilty party : history of lying ~ overstimulated (hurt/comfort) ~ bella/dan

Dan got bothered by things pretty easily, Bella noticed. Whether it be a social situation that didn't match up with his strict morals or just wasn't right- Lying, people being super spontaneous, whatever. Those all were a quick way to make him uneasy. He also got overwhelmed by a lot of more minor sensory things that she would've never even thought about. How good of a day he had could entirely depend on whether or not his shirt had a tag.

Despite his sensory issues, he was usually pretty okay at parties, especially after he'd had a few drinks. His usual nervousness would leave him, and Bella found he opened up a lot more that way, much quicker than he would when sober. It was always so bittersweet- It was nice to see him open up like that, but unfortunate that it only seemed to happen when he was buzzed. That wasn't to say Bella only liked him when he was intoxicated- No, she really did love him all of the time, it was just sometimes easier to talk to him when he was under the influence, as selfish as that may sound.

At one party, though, he was just not having a good time.

This was an especially big one. Music was blasting, lights were flashing different bright colors in time to the music. Crowds were everywhere, doing things that were very decidedly irresponsible and possibly illegal. Bella tried to coax him into drinking to ease his nerves, but he'd seen someone spike the drinks with something and did not want to know whatever that something was by experiencing it.

Realizing that he was just getting overloaded, she swallowed her feelings about the matter and guided him outside- Most of the people at the party were inside the house, so it was far quieter when you went out of it.

'Thank you' he signed in ASL, not able to find his voice. Bella just smiled at him as she contemplated what else to do. What else would help him in this scenario. She had gotten so used to his quirks by this point that she hadn't thought as much as she maybe should've on accommodations and whatnot. We need to talk about that later she noted in her mind before turning back to the task at hand : Helping her boyfriend.

"No problem" she replied with a sympathetic grin. He didn't meet her gaze but he did return the expression. "Is there anything you need from me right now? Can I touch you?" A frantic shake of his head. "Okay" she assured him. "I won't touch you. I don't know how to help you, though. Could you please just... Communicate what you need in some way so I know what to do?"

Dan contemplated this for a moment. Having his voice turned off was rather inconvenient when communicating his needs, but he'd had enough spells of not being able to talk throughout his life that he kind of got the hang of it, even with people like Bella who didn't know a whole lot of ASL. So, he pointed at her, pointed to the door, pointed to himself, and then made a downward motion with both of his hands.

"You want me to leave so you can be alone?" she asked, getting a nod in response. "Okay" she agreed, standing up. "I'll check on you in a few minutes, yeah?" Another nod, followed by another sign of 'Thank you'

So, she left. Dan calmed down. All was well in the world once again, and Bella realized she should do a lot more research into the Autism thing.