#tw overstimulaton

[nicksbestie]

could you do one where someone's autistic and fireworks sucks and there's some flavor of comfort in there bc fireworks suck 🤩 (I was gonna ask for this the other day but I didn't wanna over load you in case you had too many requests haha)

Holiday

word count : 823

warnings : talk of autistic overstimulation, meltdown, crying

<3

Despite being American, you hated the Fourth of July.

Luckily, you had an Australian boyfriend, who didn’t mind the dislike of the holiday. But regardless of you not liking it, a lot of the country did, and that caused a ton of problems. 

You had autism, and your sensory issues went off the rails when it came to loud noises like gunshots, or fireworks, making July 4th one of the worst days of the year for you. You never went out to see fireworks or shows on that night, and neither did Ashton, for obvious reasons. He didn’t dislike the noise, but he would never take you out into a situation that you would be uncomfortable in. 

For your most recent birthday, Ashton had gotten you noise canceling, ear defending, headphones, and they had easily become your favorite thing to keep on you at all times. You were more sensitive to noises than most, and regular earphones just didn’t do the best for you, so these were absolutely top tier. 

And that brings you to tonight, July fourth, 2023. It was just nearing four in the afternoon, and you knew a lot of the fireworks from the houses around you would be starting soon. Ashton was also due to be home soon, but you couldn’t find your headphones for the life of you. You spent forty five minutes searching, only stopping when your phone dinged, lighting up with a message from Ash. 

“Will be home a little later, got a rush of motivation. I love you! <3”

A text that would normally make you happy for Ashton made you nearly cry. You could hear people beginning to set off fireworks, and not only did you not have your headphones, you now didn’t have your boyfriend, and those were your main two sources of comfort, especially when you were overwhelmed. Curling up in your bed, shoving a pair of regular earphones in, you turned up music so loud to drown out the fireworks, but the volume of the music began to hurt you as well. 

It felt like an eternity until you saw Ashton’s car pulling into the drive, and by this point, you were nearing a full breakdown. Tears were streaming down your face, and you were holding a pillow around your ears to try and drown out the loud popping of the fireworks outside. By this point, it was nearing half past five, and Ashton unlocked the front door and rushed in. 

He had no clue that you couldn’t find your headphones, but he did know that fireworks were terrifying for you, and he was hoping you were doing okay. Walking into your room, his heart dropped when he saw you sobbing and curled up on yourself, attempting to drown the noise out. He gently placed a hand on your back, softly letting you know that he was there without scaring you. 

“Baby, where are your headphones?” 

Ashton had a soft, yet worried look in his eyes while he asked the question. You frantically shook your head, trying to get words out through the sobbing. 

“I- I don’t know! Can’t find them. Ash, please help.” 

His heart was breaking for you as he quickly rushed around the house, desperately trying to find your headphones. He found them, sitting in the kitchen. You must’ve not remembered setting them in there, and he immediately brought them back. His hands were cool in temperature, but any touch felt like it was burning hot. He was gentle as he pulled the pillow away from your ears, sliding the earphones out and helping you adjust your headphones to shut out the noise. 

Now that you didn’t have to hear the fireworks, your brain was relaxing, but the crying didn’t stop. You were so overwhelmed with the entire ordeal that regardless of the silence, you were struggling to calm down. Ashton tested the waters by placing an arm around your waist, and when you pushed into his arms, he wrapped them around you and held you tight. The deep pressure of being held helped you relax even more, but it still took about fifteen minutes for you to stop crying and for your breathing to return to normal. 

Ashton pressed soft kisses to your forehead, running his hand through your hair, as that was one of your biggest things that helped you rest. The crying had absolutely exhausted you, and it didn’t take very long for you to fall asleep in his arms. He held you for about two hours, before gently waking you up to eat a late dinner. Fireworks were still going off, so he made sure that you didn’t remove your headphones. 

The rest of the night went a lot more smoothly, mainly because Ashton was there to help. You would forever be grateful for having such an accommodating boyfriend, and he was so much more than happy to help you wherever you needed it.