fallout x reader one shots

•paladin danse x male reader•

Being a member of the Brotherhood wasn't the easiest job by any stretch. Especially when you feel like the Paladin to your own Paladin...

That's the nicest way I can think of phrasing it, but the truth is, Danse was kind of a mess. Now, that wouldn't be an issue for me, except for he was trying to hide it. Desperately so. It was to the point that the entirety of Cambridge station was on edge, and even the dumbest scribe could sense something was off. Rhys was just yelling at me more than usual, but even that brute was worried!

Things had settled down over the past year as we had continued to further the path of the BoS. Despite Elder Maxson's discovery of Danse's true self, my relentless begging and mild degree of forcefulness had convinced him to allow Danse's status to be upheld. Although, it did result in his identity needing to remain secret from the others. The Elder, Paladin, and I knew of the truth. 

Haylen had been calling me down for "tactical meetings" late at night, but in reality, she was just trying to talk things out with me. She couldn't rationalize why Danse could possibly be so wound up, and she thought that the BoS's most up-and-coming Knight could help out their broody Paladin and restore peace to the Commonwealth!

I didn't have the heart to tell her that it was completely, entirely, and totally my fault. And it all started about 3 weeks ago...

•••••••••••••

"You did well out there today, soldier," Danse stated, slinging his smoking laser rifle over his back. The soft hissing of his armor's pistons filled the silence that followed, soothing me like white noise. 

"Thanks, Danse," I sighed, tugging at my fingers. My heart was tangled up in knots at even the most simple praise from him. Abandoned metal containers burned bright with fire, dusting the path in front of us with its sporadic movements. 

I felt akin to the fire in a sense. My heart and mind were ablaze when it came to thoughts about my Paladin. An obvious, devout loyalty filled my chest, but there were thoughts that seemed to go beyond the typical soldierly bond. The fire danced madly, each movement with the potential of leaving a burn behind; nonetheless, I yearned to move as instinctually as the fire did.

"Hey," a paradoxically stern and soft voice called out, "Let's move back." I tore myself from my introspection, stumbling slightly to get back into motion. The warmth of the fire came and went as we left behind the collection of buildings and rubble, and the expanse of the night sky opened up before us. 

Danse's heavy footsteps and the sounds of various wildlife filled my ears. Despite the peaceful atmosphere around us, my mind was still stirring. Although Maxson had simultaniously demoted Danse to knight and promoted myself to Paladin, Danse was still expected to fulfill his Paladin duties to maintain his façade to the rest of the Brotherhood of Steel. 

I was to act as his superior behind closed doors, instructing him what to say and to whom to say it; but to Haylen, Rhys, and everyone else, he was still the same Paladin Danse. Surprisingly, Danse took the whole situation in stride, but I thought that it was really eating at him deep down. No, I didn't think it was eating at him, I knew it was eating away at him. I had tried to talk him on the issue, but based on his reactions, it was definitely a touchy subject that he would rather leave untouched. 

"The stars..." Danse started, pausing his rhythmic walking to stare upwards. I stopped at his side, our height difference being staggeringly obvious in his armor. As I looked up, I was met with the same stars that watched over me during my long nights of prewar deployment. My stomach lurched as I allowed the repressed memories to trickle back into my mind. Over two hundred years ago, the same stars whispered words of comfort to me on the endless nights. I never thought I could possibly still be able to greet them all these years later.