The Knight and the Paladin - A series of Oneshots

17 Seven days of Vacation, Day 1: Comfort

 It was loud at the Dugout Inn. The majority of the patreons from the bar were already drunk and in no further state to have decent conversations. Kathryn and Danse sat in a far corner, trying to avoid the looks of the other guests. It was their off-time, Maxson had given both a full week of relaxation, and they decided to visit Diamond City. Nate and Piper were there too, dancing somewhere in the middle of the bar. Kathryn sighed out loud, wishing she was somewhere else. She looked through the room and was more and more disgusted by the people around her. Mostly although with one of the Bobrov brothers, Vadim. He didn't try to hook up with her once, but several times. She always declined in a gentle way but soon had enough of it.

Danse always tried to intervene the man, but his subordinate was faster and pushed him behind her back every time. She knew that he only tried to protect her, but it was for the sake of all that she put Danse out of the way as fast as possible. She always used her most charming smile and Vadim left her for another hour, telling her that she only had to come to him if she needed anything. Kathryn stopped counting on how often she rolled her eyes that evening. Another hour had passed and the stubborn bartender came over again. Danse popped his knuckles and was standing up. A gentle pat on his bicep let him stop and he looked at the woman attached to the hand touching him. She shook her head "It's not worth it." He frowned and rose an eye brow "If you say so.", he shrugged and sat back again. "Trust me on this one. I want to leave anyway."

"Aahh isn't that my favorite most beautiful woman?", Vadim said with open arms and a big smile which revealed yellow teeth. "Sorry Vadim, but we're leaving now.", she put on her charming smile again. "Oh you have no kiss for me?" Kat sighed and Danse glared at the man a vicious growl erupting from his chest. "No, Vadim." Kat tried to walk past the bartender without getting embraced by him. She pulled Danse on his arm with her. "Not even a little goodnight smooch on the cheek?" "You know what? Sure, why not!" Vadim's eyes glistened but instead of him Kat pulled Danse to her chest and gave him the most passionate kiss she was able to. "There you have it. Good night." And she left the bar, tugging at the baffled Paladin's arm.

The air outside was fresh but still warm. With all it's lights Diamond City wasn't even dark at night. Kathryn kept walking until they were at Homeplate, a place she recently bought for visits at the city to meet up with Piper. Oh... Piper... Kat totally forgot about her friend when she stepped into the makeshift home, still full with old junk to scrap into more useful things. Although Danse had visited Homeplate before, he still stood outside, his face bright red and his eyes glossy and staring into the nothingness of his thoughts.

"Uhm, earth to Paladin. Are you there?" She waved a hand in front of his face and he looked at her and blinked. "How did we get here?", he just asked. Kat chuckled, realizing that the kiss must have completely wiped out his ability to think straight. "I almost dragged you here. You come in now or are you going to camp outside my door?" His face grew even hotter and he stepped inside without any further words. Kat closed the door behind them and flicked on the light. A couch with a table stood in front of them, behind the furniture were stairs leading to the double bed and the stairs there led to the roof. Kat also had a kitchen with a working refrigerator and on the other side of Homeplate was a bathroom. And that was were Kathryn was going. "Make yourself a home Danse.", she said as she walked past him. He nodded.

She closed the door behind her and sighed. A smug smile showed at her face as she thought how Vadim was looking when she kissed her CO. The smile grew even wider as she thought of that face he made after she kissed him. She loved that she was able to disarm him so easily. And so she had set a plan for the rest of the night. She looked into the mirror checking if she looked alright. She applied a little bit of eye liner and red lipstick. She fluffed up her hair a bit and then went back into the living room. Danse sat at the couch and heard her coming back. He looked up and gawked at her. "Wow...", he whispered. Kat let out a small chuckle and put a strand of hair behind her ear.

He stood up and his hand was at his neck immediately, where it rubbed the short hair. Kat walked over and turned on the radio. Slow music was playing and she came closer to the rooted Paladin. "Relax Danse. It's our week off. Let's do things we can't do normally." Her hands were on his biceps and she looked up into his brown eyes. He swallowed down a lump in his throat. "Like what?", he then asked. "Like enjoying our quiet togetherness.", she whispered. "Dance with me." He look a little terrified but to his own surprise he began to move with her. Her hands were around his neck while he placed his on her waist. They slowly swayed back and forth and Kathryn smiled at him. It was warm and bright and he felt how the confidence in him began to wake.

"You look beautiful.", he said, looking into her blue pools. Her cheeks gained a rosy tint and she chuckled a bit. "Well, thank you. Where does that come from?", she asked jokingly. Danse looked down with red ears and sighed. Kat moved closer to him and laid her head onto his chest. She had to smile as she heard the wild heartbeat of the man she was leaning on and wrapped her arms tighter around him. He copied her and closed his arms around her a bit more, not trying to squeeze her too much. He turned a bit stiff but Kat didn't mind. She enjoyed the closeness they both shared at the moment. "Kathryn."

She looked up to him. "Yes?" His right hand slowly moved up to caress her left cheek. She closed her eyes sighing and melting into his touch. "Danse...", she whispered. He softly stroke his thumb over her cheekbone. "Don't... I'm really enjoying this." Kat opened her eyes and met his gaze. It was hazy and his eyes flicked between hers. She couldn't help but look at his lips as they slightly parted and his tongue darted out to wet them. She swallowed. "Kiss me.", she whispered. They both leaned in, closing their eyes. First it was just a light brush of skin on skin. But then his lips collided with hers and the sensation exploded. She really could taste him now, not like in the Dugout, where she put on a show to get away from the bartender.

It was slow and gentle and they both had their mouths open, exploring each other with their tongues. Danse thought that Kathryn tasted like sweet nectar and enjoyed it very much. His left hand moved to her head, entwined in her hair and she sighed into the kiss. She pressed him further against her chest trying to gain as much body contact as possible. And suddenly the kiss grew needier. Like a dam was broken and they both began to roam each other. A moan escaped Kat's mouth and from one second to the other Danse stopped abruptly and broke the kiss. They both catched their breath. "I... I'm sorry..." He let go of her and walked to the other side of the room. Kat looked after him, undecided if she should follow him or not. Why did he broke this moment..?

Sadness overwhelmed her and she ran upstairs and opened the door to the roof. She stepped out and gently closed the door behind her, leaving Danse downstairs to his own thoughts. A panic closed around her throat and she desperately tried to breath. Tears pricked her eyes and her breathing was erratic. Where does this come from? She asked herself. She sat down at the chair and began to take slow and deep breaths. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down as best as possible. Ten minutes later she was able to open her eyes again with steady breaths. "Are you okay?" His soft voice startled her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude what ever that was." He sighed. "It's okay. I don't even know what that was..." When did he come out here? "Can I join you?", he then asked. "Uhm... yeah why not." Kat replaced the chair with a blanket where both sat down. They both were careful enough not to touch each other and it was awkward. They just kissed a few minutes ago and now they behaved like school kids. "It's nice here.", Danse said after an uncomfortable while of silence. "Yeah...", Kat sighed. She shifted a little and laid back on her elbows, watching the light covered night sky. Danse still sat up, his arms leaned on his knees and eyes focused forward. He was lost in his thoughts again.

A gentle touch brought him back. He looked down at the hand. He understood and also laid back one arm tugged under his head, the other resting on his chest. Kat came closer and placed her head on his arm, embracing Danse with one arm across his torso. She could feel how he was tensing up. "Relax. We're not school kids on their first date." She chuckled again. He sighed. He knew she was right and tried to relax himself. "Move your head.", he said. She looked up at him, a questioning look on her face. He placed the arm she was resting on around her and tugged her head on his chest and hugged her to his side. Kathryn giggled and squealed. "That's it.", she said, the smile audible in her voice.

And together they enjoyed the now comfortable silence. Soon Danse realized that Kathryn had fallen asleep. He softly trailed his fingertips over her arm and smiled. He could get used to this. And it was just their first night in the security of Diamond City, several were still to follow. Nate and Piper were long forgotten, the only thing that mattered was Kathryn and Danse. He promised himself to make this week the best time of their lives. And with a smile on his face he also fell asleep, dreaming of the woman sleeping on his chest.