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"You can barely handle me now, do you honestly think you could handle me prewar, sir?" A scoff came from the man besides her as he continued stripping his rifle, "Just because you're a handful now doesn't mean you're impossible to watch over. That's why I got two hands, right?" The knight smiled at his jest and saw a slight blush creep over the Paladin's cheeks. If she stared long enough she would see the small grin that lingered a second longer. They had been up before the crack of dawn at 0400 to prepare for the long day ahead of them. Rhys had lists of locations for them to clear, and there were numerous old war artifacts to collect for Haylen. Not to mention the groups of raiders and ferals Rodriguez charged towards. Danse had scolded her after each fire fight she dragged then into, and each time she waved it off. She felt simply stating 'We're alive right?!' was enough and moved onto the next objective.
By 1800 hours they made it to Sanctuary with half of their objectives completed. With plenty of day light left they settled into Billie’s renovated home and shared a rack of Yao guai ribs for dinner. It was meals like these that Danse was thankful his charge was a house wife in her past life, the barbecue never tasted so good when he was in charge of food. Billie had thought so too. Despite the added noise from the settlement and small interruptions from needy settlers, the pair quickly fell into their usual night time routine. Take inventory of their loot from the day, distribute said loot, wash up, and discuss what needed to be tackled tomorrow. By the time they were able to relax it was nearly midnight.
"You wanna know something?" Billie had been rifling through a safe she kept underneath the closet floorboards and pulled out old albums. She waited for him to say something as she plopped down onto her bed with her things and looked up at him. He had moved onto his secondary pistol and began disassembling it as he flicked his eyes up at her, "Hmmm?"
"You're still intimidating when you're out of the power armor. Maybe you should change your clothes around the settlers." Billie smiled as Danse furrowed his brows and crossed his arms to face her. With the album in her lap she leaned back and took notice of his reddening cheeks, "Yeah, you'd look good in civilian clothing."
"And what would you suggest I wear then?" He paused for a moment as he walked towards the edge of her bed.
"If I had it my way, Paladin? Oh, absolutely nothing."
"Your thoughts are incorrigible, knight. Absolutely depraved." A light laugh filed the room as he crawled on top of her, slowly dragging his hand up her thigh and onto her hip. His body completely dwarfed her as he hovered above her. One of Billie's hands cupped his stubbled cheek and traced the outline of his lips. While the other tugged on the collar of his fatigues gently. They met softly, on chapped lips and baited breath. It was nothing more then a chaste kiss, but every moment of it sent shock waves through their bodies. It was Danse who broke away first. There was so much he needed to say in that moment. To let her know he felt more than what he could tell her. To let her know there were more emotions in him than he could count in his head. But in that moment, becoming speechless was all Billie needed as encouragement to speak up.
"You wanna know something, Danse?"
"Hmm?"
"You look so vulnerable with those puppy dog eyes of yours, and you still scare the shit out of me. Is your heart beating as fast as mine is?” A nervous chuckle left her as she traced the scar from his eye brow to his cheek. This feeling, it was all too familiar. She almost despised how giddy it made her feel inside. She always scolded herself before, telling herself that these feelings were reserved strictly for Nate. But now? She didn’t know.
“It’s your turn, knight. You want to know something?” His words ghosted over her lips as they quivered slightly, barely able to answer back.
“Hmm?”
“It’s a little unsettling to catch you off guard like this, but I figured you’re as off kilter as I am right now.”
“Off kilter doesn’t begin to cover it, sir.” Billie’s words were whispered with a soft smile, “It feels like I’m floating but I'm grounded here with you. Like the world hasn’t turned to shit beyond these walls and we can take it easy for a second. I’ve known you for a short two years, but when I close my eyes your warmth feels like something I’ve known for a century.”
Her confession leaves him breathless, as his knight usually does. As a man of few words himself he can’t seem to put words together to convey his reciprocation. Billie can see the panic in his eyes and smoothes the wrinkle in-between his brows, “You don’t have to say anything. Your actions speak for you. When you're ready to talk about it, I’ll be here.” Danse exhales slowly and presses his forehead to hers; grateful she knows he isn’t just leaving her hanging.
“You mean a lot to me, Belinda. Don't mistake my inability to answer for a lack of emotion. I depend on you like the armor on my back. I can’t go into this wasteland on my own,” with the softest brush of his lips against her cheek, “so stay with me for as long as you please.”