Afire Love- Paladin Danse x Reader (COMPLETE)

semper invicta

just to warn y'all me trying to write cute shit is the cringiest thing ever ok bye
Night had fallen fast. You followed the paladin as he led you back into the police station.
"Wait," you said before he pushed open the doors. "What will they think?"
"What do you mean, soldier?"
"What if they think I'm not ready to join you? What if it's too soon?"
Danse walked up to you and put his hand on your shoulder. Even with this gentle contact, you could feel the strength of his arm.
"Listen. We all understand that if you hadn't come when you did, all of us would be dead. That's enough for me. But not only that, we secured the transmitter thanks to you. If I were in charge, I'd have you promoted to Knight immediately." His his face was relaxed, his eyes soft and comforting. You felt safe looking into them.
"Come on. We don't have a moment to lose," he said, breaking the silence. You straightened your back and followed him into the station.
"Paladin! Thank God!" Haylen exclaimed. "Were you successful?"
"Of course," the paladin said. "Thanks to this one."
"That's great," Haylen replied. "And you," she said, looking at you. "We owe you a lot. If there's anything you need, please. We'll be happy to help." You smiled gratefully.
Rhys stepped into the room. "You got it?"
"Yes, we have the transmitter," Danse told him.
"That's the best news I've heard in a while."
"We have more good news, too. Our friend has decided to join the Brotherhood," Danse said happily.
"Really?" Rhys said with a sarcastic tone. "I was getting used to the thought of you leaving..." he mumbled.
"Knight Rhys!" Danse yelled. "This woman is a part of us now. She's proven herself multiple times, and is more than capable."
"Are you kidding? She doesn't even know what 'Ad Victoriam' means!"
"Ad Victoriam... Latin. To Victory," you interrupted. Everyone stared at you in confusion.
"I've studied abroad. You pick up a few things," you said, trying to make the situation better, until you realized they had no idea what studying abroad- or Latin- was.
"Is there something you're not telling us, soldier?" Danse questioned.
You let out a deep sigh. "200 years ago, before the Great War, I lived in Sanctuary Hills. I was happy. I had a good home. A good husband. And we had a baby. But on the day the bombs fell, we were all rushed into Vault 111. We thought we would all live in there as a family and get through it together, but we were cryogenically frozen."
"Wow," Haylen said, astonished. "Do you think you could point that place out to me? We'd have a-" Danse cut her off with a finger to his mouth. "Sorry. Continue."
"200 years later, a glitch in the mainframe opened up my pod, and I... I escaped... but..."
"No, no, I've got him!"
"Let the boy go. I'm only gonna tell you once."
"I'm not giving you Shaun!"
Your stomach twisted as your ears began to ring. You put your fingers to your temple as you began to feel dizzy with weakness.
Danse ran up behind you and put his hands around your waist to steady you. "Are you going to be okay?" He whispered to you.
You nodded, even though you felt sick to your stomach.
"No, you're not. I won't let you go anywhere like this. You need to rest," he said, leading you down the hall to a room with a mattress on the floor.
"Get some rest," he said gently. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you talk about it. I'll see you in a few hours." He made sure you had laid down, then turned off the light and closed the door.
You couldn't go to sleep. You were scared and alone. You turned to your side.
I could have saved him.
You flipped over again.
If I slammed the door hard enough, it could have opened.
You curled into a tight ball.
I could have knocked on the glass harder. It would've distracted them...
You laid face up, staring up at the ceiling, looking through a hole in the roof, barely holding back tears.
Oh, god, Nate...
You couldn't help it. You burst out crying, not crying because he was dead, not because Shaun was gone, but because you didn't try hard enough to stop it.
A small knock came from the door. Your first instinct was to fake sleep, act like nothing happened. You rolled to your side so your back faced the door.
You heard a creak as yellow light flooded into the room.
"Hey." You recognized Danse's deep voice. "It's okay, I know you don't want to talk. I just want to know if you needed anything."
You rolled over to face him. He wasn't wearing his power armor. You blinked out a few more tears and ran up to him, pulling into a hug. He pulled you into his chest, letting your tears stain his uniform. He stood there, holding you, not saying a word.
"I can't go to sleep," you sniffled. "I'm sorry, I can't..."
"It's okay, I'll help you fall asleep."
You walked to the bed and laid down with him. He laid on the ground next to you.
"Hey, see that star?" He pointed through the hole. You saw one star shining brighter than the rest of them. You sniffled and nodded.
"My mom said that's called the North Star. If I ever lost my way, no matter where I was, it would take me North. It would take me home."
"Yeah," you mumbled. "It's called Polaris."
"Polaris..." he echoed.
You soon stopped crying and had drifted off to sleep, cradled in Danse's arms.
And with Scribe Haylen, who witnessed everything through a crack in the door.