The Knight and the Paladin - A series of Oneshots

38 "What did I do to deserve you?"

Kathryn took her sweet time to recover from her latest suicide attempt. Everyone involved sighed in relief when she finally strolled through the Prydwen again, waving at the squires and hugging each and everyone that ran in her direction. They really loved her to bits, so much was obvious. Danse always stood behind then, giving Kathryn the space she'd need to interact with the children and smiled gently at their display of affection. It was then that deep down inside of him he realized that she really meant the world for him, it wasn't just a threat against Rhys, but nothing else than the truth. Seeing her like this made him think of getting a family himself and blushed at the prospect of Kathryn as the mother of his children. It was a sweet dream that was forming in his mind. But he didn't know how her point of view was. If she ever wanted to get pregnant again after what happened to her all those years ago.

"Paladin Danse!", the kids suddenly called out to him. He uncrossed his arms on his chest and knelt down to them. They overwhelmed him with less to no effort and gave him the tightest hugs their small arms could muster. Everyone was laughing, everyone was happy. Even Kathryn stood there, a big smile plastered across her face, the glint of mischief in her eyes told him that it was her idea that the kids overran him. He smiled back at her with bright eyes and a hearty laugh. Warmth spread across his body, he felt whole again.

"Alright, alright.", he said as he was gasping for air. He still smiled at the children. "It's time that you go back to your former activities." The squires all cried out but did as they were told, leaving him and Kathryn alone. She held out her hand to him and he took it. Together they made their way out to the flight deck's small storage room and sat down onto the crates. It was a comfortable silence between the two of them until Kathryn sighed. "Is something wrong?", asked Danse. She looked at him, suddenly with sad and tired eyes. "I'm sorry Danse.", she answered. She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap all while she was gnawing at her lower lip. A sniff escaped her nose and then she was crying.

"Don't." It was all he said when he moved over to her and encased her with his arms. She held on to him for a while and he just let her cry into his jumpsuit. Gladly she still wasn't wearing any make-up so he wasn't too concerned about the stains she might leave on the fabric. It was enough for him to hold her warm body against his own, to feel her breath fan over him, the beating of her heart against his chest, the soft caresses of her hands on his cheeks. "I love you so much.", he said and kissed her forehead. Five words. They meant the world for both him and her. Kathryn looked up to him, a peaceful look on his face as he softly smiled down at her. It set her at ease and she humbly wondered when the last time was that she saw him this relaxed and peaceful. She came to the conclusion that it might have been the very first time. Yes he often smiled around her, even laughed, but at the moment? It was a piece of paradise.

"Kath, thank you for making me the happiest person in the whole Commonwealth." Wow since when did he start to use a nickname for her? "Kath, huh?", she said wondering. Danse chuckled and gazed at her lovingly and she also began to smile. "I like it.", was her answer then and she finally returned the embrace. The sun began to set and Danse suggested to head inside and up to the forecastle to which Kathryn nodded in agreement. So they stood there at the railings arm in arm and watched the sun go down. It was a beautiful sunset. The deeper it sank, the brighter was the red color the sun spread over the dead land underneath the flying airship. Kathryn nuzzled herself into Danse's chest and he tightened his embrace around her from behind, his head resting on her shoulder.

They stood there for a long while, not able to move out of their comfortable silence and into the noisy bulk of the Prydwen. It was dark now and the stars began to wake up and graze the deep blue sky with their tiny bright lights. Danse felt how Kathryn began to shiver and gently rubbed her arms. She turned around, gazing up at him. "What did I do to deserve you?", she whispered, her hand gently caressing Danse's cheek while she stroke her thumb over his cheekbone. He craved her touch and leaned into her hand, a small sigh escaped his lips, his gaze lingered on hers. He closed his eyes and soaked in every movement from her, how her skin felt on his own, he would memorize it for eternity... or the day he might die. He would die a happy man, maybe even the happiest to ever wander on the whole planet. "Because you taught me how to relax and let go for a while. You taught me to trust again, to form a bond to a fellow soldier. You showed me how to rely on someone again and not to be let down by that person. No matter what bullshit we encountered, we still found back to each other. You showed me love.", he then said softly. Danse now held Kathryn's hand in his own and he looked at her again.

"How did I become so lucky?", he then asked her. Kathryn smiled again. She got lost in his brown eyes so easily, just like he got lost in her ocean blues. "Because you showed me the same, and more.", she then said and laughed shyly. "You showed me that there's more than hurting myself, even tho I still do it. But with you by my side it's more bearable. With you the urge to hurt myself is nothing but a dull throbbing in the back of my head which I can easily ignore. Only if I have you by my side the world doesn't seem to be too fucked up." She had tears in her eyes after the last spoken word. She now held Danse's head in both hands.

"Be my wife then.", he said. Her eyes widened, she couldn't believe what Danse just had suggested. Not until he gently pried her hands off and knelt down, suddenly holding a ring out to her. "Marry me. We're both the same rank. We're allowed to." Her hands flew to her mouth, she shook more of the shock of his proposal than the actual cool breeze of the newborn night. "What do you say?", he asked. He wouldn't take no for an answer Kathryn knew that. And why should she say no to him anyway? She held her hand out for him and he placed the ring on her ring finger. She still didn't say a word but damn did she smile. "So, is this a yes then?" Danse looked curious now, almost impatiently at her but also smiled. "Fuck, yes!", blurted Kathryn. "Yes I want to marry you!"

Danse swept her up in his arms and both were laughing while he spun them in circles.

"I love you."
"I love you too."