Skyline Gang One Shots and Short Stories

Sensory

Bud has had a terrible day:

Someone (probably Misty) had messed with his alarm clock, causing him to wake up late; all of his robotic assistants went haywire upon activation, so he had to turn them all off to perform maintenance later on; all the milk was gone so he couldn't have a cup of tea or cereal; almost everything, even something small, agitated him; his fidget toy was missing so he couldn't be comforted by it's weight in his pocket; noises scrapped down his ears, causing him to have a severe headache and it was extremely busy in the Skyline. Blurred faces, muffled overlapping noises and the stench of food, sweat and almost everything else just hit him like a freight train. He tried to keep everything for himself, but it got too much for him in the end. One of the Redcoats found him in the corner, huddled up like a terrified child. His hands were clamped over his ears with his eyes screwed shut. This noise that came out of his, was like a whining noise. He was rocking back and forth so much that his head was close to hitting the brick wall. The Redcoats tried to calm him down, but nothing worked. Dude's attention was immediately brought to the situation. He ordered some Redcoats and other members of staff to clear the area while rushed to get Rainbow. Guests would watch Bud's meltdown as it was happening before being moved on by the staff. Some complied, fully aware of Bud's sensory problems. Some thought that it was an act for attention. Some pulled out their phones to take pictures for clout. Some shouted at Bud to "man up" which caused him to spiral further downwards into his meltdown.

Too much!

It's just too much!

Why can't the world just stop already?!

Finally Rainbow arrived. His presence was like a warm fireplace in winter. However, it took Bud a long time to recognise the dog's appearance. He was too far gone in his meltdown that bringing him back seemed like an impossible challenge. By time Bud crawled back to reality, it had been almost a full half an hour. Once he saw Rainbow, he latched onto the soft fur like a limpet. Rainbow sat still, patiently waiting for the tense atmosphere to pass away like a breeze. Dude kept watch, even chasing off the people that were giving Bud a hard time while he was clearly distressed. He went as far as to stop a teenager doing a livestream of the meltdown "as a joke". It was a far cry from a laughing matter.

Finally, the worst of it was over after about five minutes. Bud was more responsive, but refused to let a word out. After Dude asked if he was okay, he only made a vague gesture. After another minute, Dude helped Bud to his unstable feet. He, Rainbow and a Redcoat rook him back to the house. The best place for him right now is his bedroom. Quiet and safe with some security. Rainbow stayed with Bud the entire time since he was taken to his refuge. Dude left Bud and Rainbow with a glass of water for the genius. Bud swathed himself in his weighted blanket and replaced any noise with his noise cancelling headphones and classical music. He sat on his bed, grounded by the soft comfort around him and Rainbow, who had been made a quiet fuss of. All the things that had made him upset since first thing this morning just disappeared. They all seemed like a memory now. He started to occupy himself with some personal work. The first thing he did was maintenance on his machines. Simple problem to fix. The system needed a long overdue update. While that was happening, he absentmindedly pulled out something from his desk drawer. Just a small project. Or at least he believed it to be small. It was still special to him. He wondered why he hadn't looked at it for so long.

Rainbow watched curiously as Bud started to touch up the project with a pencil. His tail wagged a little, anticipating the moment that Bud will put his pencil down and explain his big idea to Rainbow like he often did. Not that Rainbow understood a word of it, but it was nice to allow Bud to be himself more. The moment was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Rainbow glanced at it before looking up at Bud. He was still working, oblivious to the door. Those pesky earmuffs! Rainbow knows that they help Bud at the best of times, but he can never hear with them! Gently, Rainbow nudged Bud's leg. Just a soft touch, nothing t hit warranted an unintentional scare. It caused Bud to pause his work. Rainbow, knowing that he got Bud's attention, pointed at the door with one paw. Bud took his headphones off just as another knock emitted from the door. Readjusting the weighted blanket on his shoulders, he was quick to answer. Dude was there with two cups of tea in his hands. Someone must have found the time to slip away to grab milk.