Afire Love- Paladin Danse x Reader (COMPLETE)

the glowing sea, part 2

ok but does anyone else think it's weird that we never learn Danse's first name? because i do
Danse led the way up the hillside.
"Danse, she does have a point," you told him. "He's running from the Institute. The freaking Institute. He's gonna have a lot of defense."
"Right. Don't let your guard down. Especially now." You reached the peak and shuffled down the other side.
You kept watch, turning around when you felt like you needed to check, combing through the land to see what Danse might have missed. You swerved around a glowing pond. In the distance, you saw a tall cross, a church.
"Hang on, I think this is it." You'd arrived at a space enclosed by three rocky ledges. He rested a hand on the stony face and looked around the  space. "This has to be it. Come on."
You followed him in. There was a small incline leading up to the cave. You walked up onto the higher ground.
Suddenly, the earth gave a small shudder. Danse turned and looked at you like you were making the shaking. You readied your weapon and backed yourself into the cliff face, scanning the area. You saw Danse pacing around, gun drawn and readied at his shoulder.
There was a shower of dust as a huge deathclaw revealed itself from underneath a pile of rubble. A rock flew at you so fast that it dented your armor. The beast roared and started charging at you.
"Shit!" you shouted and opened fire. You hands were trembling. You missed nearly every shot you put in. In no time it was upon you. It pinned you down with one massive claw and swiped at you with the other, knocking the rifle from your hand. Your ears started to ring as you reached for your sidearm and targeted its scaly head. It was enough to get it off of you and switch targets.
"Danse!" You cried as it ran for him. He fired his laser rifle continuously, but it didn't show weakness. With one swipe, it tore through his armor like a tin can. You heard him gasp in pain. You saw the blood on its claws.
Your stomach twisted at the sight. First there was fear, then there was rage. You took out your automatic pistol and a grenade. You pulled out the pin to cook it and threw it straight at the beast. Lucky for you, it exploded on impact, making it stagger. You switched to the gun and held down the trigger. Bullets flew at the deathclaw as it ran at you, mutilating its hide until it collapsed at your feet.
"Damn it!" you yelled, sprinting to Danse. He had fallen to his knees, blood pouring out on the ground beneath him.
"Nice... work, Knight," he said slowly. He was slipping into unconsciousness, you could feel it.
"Come on, we'll fix this. You're going to pull through." You took his arm and dragged him to his feet. His weight was all on you as you carried him into the cave.
"Is anyone here?" you yelled as you rushed inside. "Hello?" There were spotlights and turrets inside, none of which fired at you, so you ignored them. You stumbled through a tunnel into the inner sanctum. "Hello?" 
The first thing you saw was a Super Mutant at the other end of the chamber. Looking around, you saw all kinds of equipment, even a terminal. You reasoned that he was different. He could help. He was your only hope. "Sir?" you said hastily.
He turned around in shock. "Who the-"
"Please sir, you have to help us."
Danse grumbled. "Not that... thing," he groaned into your ear. At least he was staying with you.
"Please. You have to. He's going to die," you pleaded. He grunted again.
The mutant stared at you with apprehension. He had mixed emotions on his face. His hands were balled in fists. "Fine! But only because this is a life or death matter. After this, you're going to tell me exactly how you found me, who you are, and what you're planning to get from me. Alright?"
Tears gathered at your eyes. "God, thank you! Thank you so much!"
The mutant cleared off a large table and brought out a dirty plastic box. "Get him out of his armor, he commanded.
You laid him down on the table and removed his helmet. His cheeks were flushed red. His forehead glistened with sweat. A trickle of blood ran from his nose. Putting the helmet aside, the mutant helped you pick him back up and held him in place while you twisted open the lock to his armor. He fell out of it into your arms as you lifted him back on the table. His uniform was tattered in three long gashes and stained red all over. His chest heaved. He was going into shock.
"Hey, Danse. Stay with me, okay?" You cradled his cheek in you palm and kissed him on the mouth. Okay, he mouthed as you took his hand into your own.
The mutant had gotten a mismatched pair of gloves and a bottle of alcohol. "Can you leave? I'll do better alone."
You nodded and squeezed Danse's hand before slipping away. I love you, his lips said. You mouthed it back and left the room.
You exited your own armor and sat down in the dirt. You pressed your palms to your face. Your heart was racing. You tried your best to listen in but only caught bits and pieces.
"Huh. This is gonna be harder than expected," you heard the mutant say. There was only murmurs for a few moments.
"... I used to work in BioScience, not Advanced-"
"...pick up a few things, I guess. Damn these fingers..."
You reasoned that the mutant was actually Virgil, and Virgil was the Institute scientist. If that was right, Danse was probably going to pull through. You began to calm down. He was in good hands, even if Virgil was a mutant.
It felt as if hours had passed. The occasional grunt or gasp assured you he was keeping Danse alive.
Finally, you heard footsteps in the hall.
"Your friend will be okay," Virgil said, looking down at you. "You can come back."
"Oh, my God," you said springing to your feet. "Thank you." You hugged him and sprinted into the other room, where Danse was sitting at the table, dangling his feet off the edge. He wore a long white robe with a strange symbol on the front, his bloodied uniform nowhere to be seen. He was pale as a sheet. He looked up at you, smiling, his cheeks still rosy.
"Paladin..." your voice trembled. "Are you alright? You look like shit..."
He nodded. "I don't remember a lot of it. He probably just stitched me up," he said, loosening the robe to show you the off white cloth that was taped over his stomach. His voice was raspy.
"Okay, enough of that," Virgil grumbled, walking in. "Who are you two?"
"We're with the Brotherhood of Steel," you told him.
"Oh, not you guys..."
"We're here because we know you ran from the Institute like a fu-" Danse stopped when you glared at him. "-we heard you left the Institute. Is that true?" he finished hastily.
"What?" he thundered. "How do you know about that? How do I know you're not here to hunt me down?"
"We wouldn't be having this conversation if we were here to hunt you down. Besides, we trusted you with his life. Why can't you trust us?" you asked, keeping your composure.
He sighed. "I suppose you're right. Yes, I used to work there."
"But... you're a Super Mutant. What happened?"
He furrowed his eyebrows, angry again. "You don't need to know that! What do you want from me, anyways?"
"Calm down!" Danse crackled. "We just want to know where it is and how to get there."
"Why would you do that? You'll get yourself killed!"
"What we're going to do doesn't matter," you told him.
"You know what? Fine. It doesn't matter to me. You'll die all the same. But if I help you, I want something in return."
"What is it?"
"It's a special serum in my old lab, in the Bioscience division. It's the only thing that can... fix me." Panic suddenly filled his voice. "You have to get it! It's the only thing left!"
"Okay, okay, we'll grab it. Now how do we get in?"
"All right. All right," he said, calming himself down. "Let's talk details. First thing's first. Do you know how synths get in and out of the Institute?"
Danse spoke before you. "They teleport."
"Well. You've done your research. It's referred to as the 'Molecular Relay.' I don't understand it, but it works. De-materializes you in one place and put you back together in another. It's crazy, but it's real. And it's the only way you'll get in there without blowing the place sky high. Understand?"
You nodded.
"Good, because you'll have to use it. Now, have you ever seen an Institute Courser?"
"Probably."
"Coursers are specifically designed killers. They're hunters. Something goes wrong, a synth goes missing, a Courser is dispatched. They're very good at their job. You're going to have to kill one."
"What do they have that we need?" You weren't catching on.
"Every Courser has special hardware that lets them access the Relay. It's a chip in their heads. You're going to have to kill one to get it. But first, you need to find a Courser."
"Where can we find one?" Danse asked.
"I don't know exactly where to find one. You could sit around here, waiting for them to send one after me, but I'm sure you have better things to do. You'll have to hunt one down. I can get you started, but you'll have to do the dirty work."
"What do we have to do?" Danse pushed.
"The primary insertion point is in the CIT ruins, just above the Institute. That's a good place to start. Now, the Molecular Relay causes some heavy interference on the EM spectrum. You have a radio on that Pip-boy, right? When you get to the ruins, turn it to the lower band. You'll be able to hear the interference." What he was saying was starting to make sense. "Follow the signal. It'll lead you right to the Courser."
You saw Danse smirk out of the corner of your eye. "Then we just kill it."
"Right. Or... not get killed. Honestly, the odds are against you. If you make it, remember what I said. About the cure..."
"We'll make sure to help you," you reassured him.
"Thank you. I hope you find what you're looking for," he said appreciatively.
You went to Danse's side. "Can you walk, or do you need time?" you asked, resting a hand on his thigh.
"I can, I'll just need my Power Armor." He motioned to it on the other side of the room.
"Here, I'll walk you there," you offered, resting your hands on your thighs to brace yourself.
Danse hopped off the table, his hand across your shoulder for support. He would have knocked you over if you weren't ready. He shuffled through the dirt to his armor and entered it.
"Okay, I'm ready." The steel plates supported him. He could walk normally. His fingers traced the warped metal on his chest. You looked at the damage, clenching your teeth in concern. "Proctor Ingram can fix it," you told him.
You left the room, down the hall, where you picked up your own Power Armor and left the cave.
"Okay, you need to get back as soon as possible. I'm signaling a vertibird," you said, pulling out a signal grenade and throwing it to the ground. Pretty soon it erupted into a cloud of bright crimson. It would be here soon.
Then you saw it, a black dot against the discolored sky. It came closer and closer and landed a few yards away. You jogged alongside each other and boarded it. The blades began spinning until you were airborne. You flew across the Commonwealth, back to the Prydwen to report the good news.
The moon had just risen when you arrived back. It felt good to breathe in the clean air. You jumped off the vertibird and removed your helmet. Danse was fast to join you on the catwalk.
"We need to get you to Ca- I mean, Haylen, before seeing Elder Maxson," you told him. "Okay, if you think that's best," he agreed. You went up the stairs to the Command Deck and into the main deck. He followed you into Haylen's new room.
"Hey, you two." She gasped suddenly. "Paladin! Radiation hit you a little too hard out there?" she remarked with a grin.
Danse was still looking pale. Probably from the blood loss, not the radiation.
"No, Haylen. I need help," he coughed.
She just seemed to notice the tears in his armor. "What the hell happened to you?"
"Deathclaw," Danse said casually, as if getting mauled by one of them was an everyday thing. "Now help me."
"Alright, alright, get out of your armor and sit down."
He had regained his strength incredibly fast. He left his armor and went to the table without any support. He was still wearing the white robe, but had started unbuttoning it for Haylen to start working on him.
"I'll let you work on him," you said, leaving the room and going to your power armor station. You left the armor there for later and went to wait outside Haylen's door. You backed into the wall and stood, leaning on it, waiting.
Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours. Doubt creeped into your mind. Would he turn out okay? What if the wound had gotten infected? You began to sweat thinking about all the bad things that could have happened. Your hands were shaking by the time the door shifted open and Danse stepped out with Haylen behind him. He smiled when he saw you.
"Oh, thank God," you breathed and went to greet him.
He was wearing a new orange uniform and had a patch of gauze secured to where he had been hit.
"Will you be okay?" you asked him, resisting the urge to bury yourself in his chest.
"He'll get through it. He's already regaining
himself," Haylen spoke for him.
She was right. His face had regained its color, and he looked strong as ever.
"Right. I should be ready to head back out in a day or two, with power armor," he informed you. Even his voice was stronger. "Anyways, we need to give Elder Maxson our report. Are you ready?"
"Yeah, let's go," you agreed and started walking to the Command Deck. You were halfway to the ladder when you stopped. "Wait," you told Danse and turned back. Haylen has gone back inside the clinic. You found her at a large table, wiping up red stains on the white surface.
"Haylen."
She turned around in surprise. "Yeah?"
"Thank you. So much. You don't understand what you did for me."
She smiled appreciatively. "No problem," she said kindly.
You turned and left to join Danse by the ladder. He let you climb down first, then went down himself.
"Got it?" you asked once he'd reached the bottom. He looked like he was losing his balance. He put a hand to the wall to steady himself.
"Got it," he echoed and continued on.
Maxson was standing there, looking out his window as usual. You got his attention. "Elder?" 
He turned around. He didn't look that surprised that you were back. "And you're back. Did you locate the runaway?" He took no notice to Danse's injury. He was only focused on the mission's turnout.
"Yes, we found him," you said. "And there's no front door to the Institute. They use teleportation to get in and out. It's located somewhere underneath the C.I.T. ruins."
"Incredible," he remarked. "But dangerous in the wrong hands. What else did you find out?"
"There's hardware in Coursers that can allow us to hijack the relay and teleport inside the Institute," Danse said.
"Excellent." He brought his hands to his face in thought. "All we need to do now is find a Courser."
"We know how to find one," Danse continued.
"We just need to follow its signal," you finished.
Maxson seemed impressed. "You two make an incredible team. I'm glad you're on our side, both of you." His serious expression left his face. "Take a day off tomorrow. You need it."
"Really?" you exclaimed. "Thank you, Elder."
He saluted you and Danse. You mimicked him and followed the paladin out.
"We have a day off?" He asked in a whisper, as if having a day off was forbidden.
"Yeah, I guess. So we can rest up," you said.
"I've never had a day off!" He exclaimed, baffled.
"You do now. We should get some sleep, it's been a long day."
"You're right," he said, stretching. "I am a bit tired."
"The hell you are!" You looked at the white cloth around his abdomen. "Let's go. It's late."
He nodded and followed you into the main deck. You walked him into his room.
"Good night," you told him as he pulled you close and kissed your forehead. Your listened to his heartbeat, the simple rhythm putting your mind at ease. You wanted to spend the night here, but you knew he needed rest.
"Good night," he mused. "I love you very much, you know."
"I know," you said softly. "I love you, too." He loosened his arms around you so you could leave.
You went to bed by yourself, but you didn't feel alone at all.