Work Text:
Nick’s office felt more crowded than usual- Ellie perched herself up on her desk tersely while Dagna stood rigidly by the door, her arms folded over her chest. Danse hadn’t told her why he’d wanted to see the detective, only asking after they’d woken up at Bunker Hill to return to Diamond City. All he’d told her was that it was something he had to do.
He stood now, his face set in that stern way of his, holding out his hand to Nick. The detective looked at Dag, who shrugged helplessly. She wasn’t sure what was happening; every time before this that she’d mentioned Nick, Danse had assumed his Brotherhood scowl. Even when she’d told him that Nick had helped her track down Shaun with no strings attached, and admitted that she just couldn’t see him the way the Brotherhood saw him, Danse had been set.
Even after finding out that he was a synth, he maintained that Nick shouldn’t exist.
And now he was standing there like he wanted to shake hands.
“I’m sorry,” Danse said, seeming to realize that he hadn’t actually said anything yet. Just walking in and asking for a handshake from the synth was… out of character. “I believe Dag has told you about my… dismissal from the Brotherhood,” he continued.
“I hadn’t,” she piped up. It was his business, and secretly she was a little afraid to tell people. As a Paladin of the Brotherhood, Danse was afforded scorn but also fear. It was enough to keep him safe- as a synth that was potentially replacing a real man, that safety would be yanked out from under him.
So she didn’t discuss it.
Danse took his hand back, looking uncomfortable. “Well, I’ll keep this brief then. We recently discovered that I am… not a human man,” he said, and Dag bit back her reassurance that yes, he was. She thought she was starting to understand where he was going with all of this. “I’m a synth, but my purpose is… unclear. I wasn’t aware of the fact until Dagna uncovered some data, which the Scribes interpreted. She spared my life and the Brotherhood exiled me. It has given me time to… think.”
“And people say karma doesn’t exist,” Ellie said wryly. Dag would have argued with her, but Danse didn’t seem affected by the jab.
“Dagna told me that you helped her track down the man who took her son without asking for payment, and that you travelled with her to help her take him out. I admit that my first thought was that it was expected of you, or that you were gathering data on her, or… any number of things. Now that I’ve had time away from the Brotherhood, and now that I’ve had to deal with realizing that I am not… me…. I wanted to apologize. I’ve been unfair to you and sometimes outright cruel.” He offered his hand again.
Dag was glad they came. Even if Nick rejected the gesture, it’d been important for Danse to offer it. It was a sign of things to come, she hoped- the Brotherhood could be a true force of goodness and order if they would just let go of some of their more… zealotous opinions, and maybe reached out with more compassion than they did iron and lead.
“You got a hard road ahead, Paladin,” Nick said, accepting the gesture (and she was relieved- it would have meant something still if he hadn’t, but for Danse’s pride she was glad he did).
“Just Danse. Dagna is the only Paladin here now,” he said with a smile. Nick looked at her.
“Big promotion,” he said.
“As it happens they recently lost one of their best men and had a spot to fill,” she returned. Danse dropped the handshake and turned to her, looking meaningfully at the door. She nodded- the room was suffocating even without the emotional baggage he’d just unloaded.
“Danse?” Nick stopped them before they could make a break, and he turned to answer. “You’re still you, no matter whose memories are rattling around in there.” Dagna had told him as much, but she thought that it meant more coming from another synth.
“Thank-you,” he said, then all but shoved Dagna out the door. For every gain they made, she could see that there were still some things Danse couldn’t bring himself to do, and break face in front of Nick Valentine was still one of them.