Afire Love- Paladin Danse x Reader (COMPLETE)

the molecular level, part 2

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The sky was almost pitch black, the only thing lighting your way the wall lights, when you stepped onto the Flight Deck. You turned the light of your Pip-boy on so you could see the ground in front of you.
Danse wasn't in the usual place where he would wait for you. You decided to search the deck for him. You walked all the way down the catwalk and saw nothing. Not until your light caught a flash of metal. You turned back and walked closer to it. Soon, you saw him, sitting with his legs dangling over the edge, his arms resting on the rail. He had left his armor somewhere. You sat down and slid to his side, letting your legs fall over the side of the ship. You head fell onto his shoulder, and your hand rubbed his back. He suddenly sighed deeply.
You moved you head so you chin rested on his shoulder. "Danse? What's wrong?" He looked more tired than usual.
"Nothing, I just didn't sleep. I'm only tired," he told you.
"Why didn't you sleep?" you pressed.
He sighed- again- and said, "I don't want to get into it. We have to go, anyways."
You blew a raspberry. "Please, tell me. I want to know." You met his eyes. He was already looking at you.
"Alright, I'll tell you. I didn't want to."
You sat upright. "You didn't want to?" you asked, eyebrows shooting up in disbelief. "Why not?"
"I've been having these really weird dreams," he admitted. "I'm in an entirely new place, but I can't remember any of it when I wake up."
"What's wrong with it? Why do they keep you from sleeping?"
"I don't know. It's a place I don't know anything about, and I have no idea what to do. Scares the hell out of me."
You thought for a moment, not knowing what to say to comfort him. "You know, I can always spend the night. If it makes you feel better."
He stopped. All the emotion left his face. "Y/N. You know you- you know we- can't-"
"I know that. But you're my friend, too. And I want to be there for you," you finished, cuddling up to him again.
He put an arm over your shoulder."Okay, if that's how you feel. Are you ready to go?"
"Course. Where are we going?"
"We're getting dropped off at the Boston Common. That's where the trail should start."
"Wait," you said, getting a sudden memory. "The Freedom Trail? I know where that goes."
(a/n: wow that's some pure laziness god damn)
Danse looked confused. "You do? How?"
"When I first moved here. I remember seeing it at our terminal when we left the plane," you explained. "I know where it goes!"
"Excellent! That saves time. Where does it go?"
"It goes to..." you paused to think, digging deep in your memory. You saw Nate, and Shaun, and your parents. Flashes of your old life filled your head, and then your heart started racing, your breaths went fast and shallow, you were lost in the memories. Then you felt a hand on your shoulder.
"Y/N? Are you alright?"
It was the voice that made you open your eyes. Danse was there, holding you, pulling you out.
Too deep, you told yourself, heart slowing down to a steady pulse.
"Yes, I'm okay now. It went to the Old North Church."
"We don't have to leave right now, if you're not feeling well."
"No! No. I'm okay now. I'm ready."
He shifted his jaw with concern. "Okay, let's head out. You're one hundred percent sure, right?"
You glared at him playfully. "Yes, soldier boy. Let's move."
"Soldier boy?" he asked, pretending to be hurt, as you boarded a vertibird.
"Boston Common?" the pilot said over the intercom.
"Old North Church," you corrected him. The plane lurched as it disconnected from the Prydwen and glided off.

The vertibird touched ground in front of the church, near a few collapsed buildings.
"This is it," you laughed as it flew away. You observed the statue of a man on horseback, whose name you had forgotten. "Not a lot's changed."
You turned around and saw Danse smiling at you. You smiled back and approached him.
"Ready to go in?" you asked.
"Sure, let's go."
The door creaked open and light flooded into the room, exposing chunks of dust floating through the air.
You brought a hand to your mouth to filter through the musty air. "How long has it been since this place was used?"
"Who knows?" Danse coughed.
You walked the a busted-out doorway into a long hall lined with pews. Then you heard a long, drawn out groan. Movement in the corner of your eye caught your attention, and you turned and pulled out your pistol. A feral ghoul was prying itself out from underneath a seat, while another dropped from a hole in the ceiling. In an instant, you pulled the trigger and sent a bullet directly into the feral's chest. The second one had begun to sprint into Danse. He waited to shoot until it was just a few feet away and pulled the trigger. It fell, but its momentum carried it forward until it collided with his leg. He looked disgusted for a second, but brushed it off and kept going.
You found another doorway, this one intact, under a collapsed pillar. You turned around to make sure Danse was with you before going through. It lead to a hallway that spiraled around before you saw descending stairs. The further down you went, the more stone replaced the wooden walls. Soon you were walking through a maze of catacombs.
"Creepy," you commented quietly.
"Just watch were you put your feet. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a minefield," he said scornfully. A chill went down your spine as you imagined it. You shifted your attention to the ground in front of you.
The winding turns led to a large, blank wall. The only thing on it was a seal connected to a wire.
"Hold on," you said. "I think this is a code." You motioned toward the seal. "Let's see."
You approached it and examined it. There was a large gap between the symbol in the middle and the words written around it. Pressing a hand to the outer ring, you tried sliding it to the side. To your surprise, it rotated quite easily.
"Hey!" you whispered. "It moves. I think there's a password. What do you think it is?"
Danse thought for a minute. "Try Freedom. As in Freedom Trail."
"Good idea," you said, spinning it around until the letters spelled freedom.
Nothing happened.
"I don't think that was it. Got anything else?"
"Try... Railroad. As in... the Railroad."
You spun it around again, this time spelling railroad.
Suddenly, the floor started shaking. You heard stone scrape against stone as a section of the wall opened up. A dark tunnel had opened up in front of you. Nodding to Danse, you proceeded down into the dimly lit hall.
"How far does this go?" you commented just before blinding lights flashed on.
"Stop right there!" a woman's voice shouted. Once your eyes had adjusted, you saw the ginger-haired girl standing on a platform with two others. One was aiming a pistol at you, the other a machine gun.
"You went through a lot of effort to arrange this meeting. But before we go any further, answer my questions." She paused to scan over you two. "What the hell is the Brotherhood of Steel doing in our headquarters?" she snarled.
"Desdemona ," Danse said, stepping forward.
"What, Danse?"
"We've recovered a Courser chip, but our current technology isn't strong enough to break into it. We thought that since you're against the Institute as well, you could lend a hand. We need your help."
Desdemona scoffed. "Cut the crap, Paladin. Where are the rest of you?"
You could see fire in his eyes, ready to spit out a crude retort. You stepped in front of him and interrupted them.
"Please, ma'am. It's just us two. We came alone. We saw that we shared common ground, and hoped you could help us-"
"Hey," the girl with the machine gun said. Her hair was silver, swept to the side of her face. "What did you need help with?"
"The courser chip. We need to decode it..."
"What are you going to do with it? What are your plans? What will we get in return? How do we know you're not doing this to spy on us?" the ginger pressed, tension rising in her voice. You felt a bead of sweat trickle down your face and saw Danse's jaw clench.
Then you heard footsteps echoing through the hall behind the three, and a tall man with jet black hair emerged onto the platform.
"Woah, what'd I miss?" he asked obliviously, breaking the silence.
"Deacon, where have you been?" she said quietly.
"Desdemona, you're having a party?" Deacon said, observing both of you. "What gives with my invitation?"
"Deacon, who is this? I need intel," Desdemona said impatiently.
"Wow," he said, pulling the rim of his sunglasses down to look at you. "News flash, boss. These two are kind of a big deal out there. These are the ones who took out Fort Strong, you know. For the Brotherhood? Yeah, they're like, the power couple of the wasteland," he joked.
In other circumstances, you would have laughed at the irony, but now wasn't a time for that.
"Please, you have to help us," you begged.
"Alright. This changes things," she said. "But you have to tell us what you're plans are with it."
You looked at Danse, not sure if he was ready to tell them.
"We're going to get into the Institute, but like we said, we need a courser chip decoded. We need your help with that," he said. You were surprised he gave the information up so easily.
"So you two are Courser killers, too?" Deacon exclaimed. "You really are the real deal. We're missing out, Des. Might as well let 'em in."
Desdemona let out a breath. "Okay. We'll help them. All of you, keep close watch on them," she addressed the three. "You guys, follow me. This way." She turned around and went down a tunnel. You followed her through a creaky wooden door that led to a huge chamber. It was littered with small tables and stony pillars. In the front, there was a big circular table.
"Come in, you need to meet Tom," Desdemona urged you. She took you to a man with a strange hat made from metal scraps. He was typing rapidly on a keyboard.
"Hey, Dez," he said without turning around. "You brought visitors?"
"Tom, they need our help to decode a courser chip."
"For real? Oh, man, it's been ages!" He was getting excited, like he'd just won a grand prize.
"There's some ground rules we need to discuss," Desdemona said, facing you. "Tinker Tom can get you the code, but we get the chip."
You looked at Danse. He seemed unsure.
"We'd like to discuss that," you said, turning around. You and him took a few steps away from them.
"If we let them keep it, we won't have to do anything in return," you said i a hushed voice. Besides, they don't have any idea about how to get in the Institute."
"That's true," Danse reasoned. "I think they should keep it, but only so we don't have to help them."
"Okay, we'll give it to them."
You turned back around and approached the two. Danse lifted a hand to pull the chip from his pocket.
"It's yours to keep," he added.
Desdemona smiled with satisfaction let him drop it in her hand.
"Tom, make it happen," she said, passing it to him.
"Alright..." Tom said to himself. "Let's have a circuit analyzer take a crack at you..."
He fiddled with the device, looking at it through of few lenses and connecting it to his terminal. He punched to few keys, his eyes scanning the green text constantly appearing onscreen.
"And we're in! Chip accessed," he said, cracking a grin. Suddenly he looked concerned, and he started muttering things you couldn't understand. Then his face lightened again.
"We got it! We got the code," he laughed. "Let me load that onto a holotape for you two."
"Good work, Tom," Desdemona praised him.
"Hmm-hmm. Not sure our luck will hold up next time."
"Start working on the rest of the chip," she ordered him. "And you two. We're done here. You can leave now, but know that if you reveal our location to your zealous friends, we have the strength to bring your Brotherhood to its knees." She handed you a holotape to you and walked away.

"Does she mean that? They can destroy us?" you asked. Your voice echoed around the catacombs.
Danse scoffed. "No, of course not. Desdemona's all mouth."
You looked at him inquisitively. "How do you know her so well?"
"I've met her before. I'm not sure how, but I know I did." He slowed his pace and stared at the ground with his thick brows furrowed.
You stopped completely. "Are you okay, Paladin?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes. Let's keep moving," he said, swinging his head back up.
Once you left the church, you threw down a signal grenade.
"I think we should go straight to Virgil," Danse put out.
"Really?" you asked in surprise. "Shouldn't we go back to the Prydwen?"
"No- I mean, we should, but I have a feeling the Railroad is a threat to us now. They have a piece of Institute technology. Who knows what's on that thing?"
"You're right," you said. "They could get to the Institute first. They'll have their way with them."
Danse nodded as the vertibird flew into sight. It touched down, kicking up dust, and you entered it.
"Glowing Sea," you told the pilot before settling into your seat.
"Clear for departure," she said as the plane lifted off the ground and began its flight south.

The pilot tried landing multiple times before you were able to direct her to Virgil's cave. You couldn't blame her- everything here looked the same.
"Wait for us," you commanded, exiting the aircraft. Right next to you were the remains of the deathclaw you'd slaughtered last time you were here. You shivered looking back on the panic that day.
"Got the holotape?" Danse asked.
"Mhmm." You pulled the device from your pocket.
"Great, let's go."
You walked side by side into the cave.
"We're back!" you yelled, walking straight through the chain chimes. They clanged against each other, making lots of noise.
You walked through the second tunnel and saw Virgil struggling to type at his terminal. He looked up, saw you, and his mouth dropped.
"Wasn't sure I'd see you again. Did you manage to get what you need?"
"We have the code," you told him, holding up the holotape.
"Well. How'd you manage to get it decoded?"
"We have our... sources," Danse said, clenching his jaw.
"All right, it doesn't matter, I guess. As long as you have the code. You're not the only one who's been busy. I did as best I could, from memory and what I've overheard. Came up with some schematics for you two. It wasn't easy, these hands are ridiculous. Fine motor skills have gone to shit," he said sadly, handing over a piece of paper. A messy diagram was drawn on it, captioned with almost legible words. It made you feel bad for him.
"Here's the simple explanation: you need to build a device that can hijack the signal the Institute uses to relay its Coursers to the surface and send you instead." He laughed to himself. "You know the craziest part of the design? That classical music station... that's the carrier signal for the relay. All the data's on harmonic frequencies. You've been hearing it all along."
"Wow," you said with shock. "That's incredible. Thank you."
"No problem. Remember- if you get in there- get the serum. I've helped you as much as I can, it's the least you can do. It's my only hope. So you find it," he growled. "Now go get to work. Do whatever it takes, ask whoever you you know to help build it."
"Thank you, Virgil. We'll find your serum," Danse said graciously, which made you do a double take. He had never been so friendly to him, not even when he saved his life.
The pilot was still there when you left. Without a word, you climbed in. "Take us back to the airport," you told her.
"We are clear for takeoff," she said over the intercom as you flew off.

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