Legend of the Alphas

-Notes-

Building up the relationship between Sole & Danse in this chapter. Next is Danse & Maxson. Just going to say straight out I dunno who is going to end up with whom in the end. I guess I'll see where the proverbial wind takes me.

Chapter 2: Initiate

"Now listen here you little fucker" Sole threatened as she grabbed the collar of Rhys' uniform. Rhys' face contorted into a fiery anger as the lean bald-headed man prepared to fight back. She tightened her muscles to get ready for a punch when she felt her body lift off the floor by the back of her shirt. Danse had picked her up easily in one giant metal hand as he pushed Rhys back with the other.

"Rhys! Recruit! That's enough. I told you two last time that I would have no more fighting under my command. When I give you an order, I expect you two to follow it. It's that simple." Paladin Danse bellowed reproachfully at the two very combative soldiers. "Now, like it or not, you are both going to have to work together is that clear? One mission to clear out a section of the Commonwealth and no more disrespect will be tolerated. Knight, Initiate, do I make myself clear?"

Danse looked between the both of them. The second his face turned away from Rhys, the latter shot Sole a dirty smirk. Sole rolled her eyes and threw her hands up, slamming the wall as she walked away.

"Ugh, I hate being the lowest rung on the totem pole!" She griped.

Blasting out the doors, Sole marched out of the Cambridge Police Station in a huff, not even waiting for Paladin Danse who had offered to escort her as her sponsor to Jamaica Plains, to clear out ghouls. The morning sunlight was bright as she jogged out of the building. Even though she was taking as long of strides as her legs would let her, Danse caught up to her easily in his power armor.

"You do not leave the command of a superior until you are dismissed, Initiate. As I have already informed you, once the Prydwyn gets to the Commonwealth we will be able to discuss a promotion. Your outbursts of anger aren't helping make my decision easier" he said, his whole face frowning. Sole said nothing and continued walking.

Their next stop: Jamaica Plains. Although it took a while to get there, the two had their guns out, ready to fire at a moment's notice. Feral Ghouls could run faster than reflexes could pull the trigger sometimes so caution was necessary.

"I'm sorry about before Danse. It's just… why do you keep that insufferable ornery rhino under your command?" She yelled over the blasts of their lasers. The clanking of their armor and the sounds of battle drew out the feral ghouls that were holed up within the nearby buildings. Sole and Danse fired at them side by side, killing them all well before they came within a close range.

"Rhys is…special. I wouldn't put anyone under my command that I couldn't trust; yourself included" he shouted back. She turned and shot a feral ghoul that had managed to sneak up behind Danse.

"Uh huh. I don't see you taking him out with you on missions ever. In fact I daresay you prefer the newbie, and I'm just a lowly initiate!"

She glanced over amidst the firefight to see him smirk, face obscured by metal vestiges. Ever since their wildly successful mission at ArcJet Systems, they had been traveling together non-stop. Paladin Danse claimed it was because he was testing whether or not the recruit he was sponsoring was "Brotherhood material." But she knew better. She knew how to use a damn gun, which was better than half of the imbeciles who had the gall to even pick one up.

The last, legless feral ghoul clawed with one arm on the ground towards them, not stopping until death. Sole fired a laser right in the middle of its head. The two glanced at one another in an understanding before checking the area. All clear.

"Alright Initiate, don't get cocky but you are right" Danse acknowledged when they regrouped. He always smiled at the end of a successful mission. A satisfactory smile on his square jaw. "You seem to demonstrate proficiency on the battlefield that will serve the Brotherhood well. Now this is off the record, but Rhys always seems to get himself hurt in battle. Sometimes that is a liability I cannot afford."

She shined at the compliment. Paladin Danse seemed like the kind of stoic soldier that seldom gave praise so whenever he presented it, she glowed with pride. With every mission it became more and more clear how well they worked together in battle. Their combat styles just clicked. Now if only he would raise her up to Knight so she wouldn't have to be below that insufferable fool Rhys, then everything would be great.

"So basically you're saying that I'm better than a Knight? Do I smell a promotion?" She chided.

"Not a chance soldier."

Paladin Danse ruffled her hair as he passed her by, already starting on the long road back to the Cambridge Police Station. He never needed a rest it seemed like. Years of battle could do that to a person. Even though her feet were killing her, she pressed on without a word of complaint.

The sun started to set and Sole's energy wildly began to diminish. No rest was easier said than done as Danse's long legs kept getting many strides ahead of her before he would even notice and turn around to wait for her.

He was going on about something Maxson something when Sole heard a light banging sound. Instantly her gun came up and her muscles tensed.

"Danse!" she hissed through her teeth, causing him to stop and turn around. "Did you hear that?"

He shook his head and readied his gun as well. Caution was necessary in this line of work. If you assumed you were safe, you were already dead. The clanking of his metal armor sucked for stealth. They followed the noise to some strewn debris off to the side of the road and then a barely audible voice became clear.

"Let me out!" the voice called from inside a refrigerator. Sole and Danse exchanged glances. It sounded like a kid. When they questioned the voice, the kid explained how he had trapped himself before the bombs went off and has been in there ever since. He only wanted to get home. He had been alone, trapped in an enclosed space for years. Fear didn't even begin to cover it.

Sole released the latch of the fridge and a small teenage ghoul fell out. Danse instantly froze up. She saw his brows scrunch together out of the corner of her eye. That's right. The Brotherhood was for the preservation of human kind. Other races such as ghouls, supermutants, and synths all posed a threat to their survival and have thus been treated as enemies. Well this was a kid. Regardless of race or what the Brotherhood thought, kids get a free pass. She bent down to the frightened kid's level.

"Initiate…" Danse started warningly. Sole shot him a glare. She wasn't going to take this Brotherhood bullshit right now. This was the right thing to do and she knew it. Leveling her gaze back with the kid she asked,

"Alright kid where are you from?"

The kid rubbed his hands over his arms, his awkward voice squeaked out, "From Quincy. Everything looks so different now. It's all blown up. I just wanna find out what happened to my Mom and Dad" he fussed.

"Then let's go find your home" she asserted, looking him straight in the eye.

The boy smiled at her as she held out the metal hand of her power armor for comfort. When she turned towards Danse, hopeful he would help her, she saw he still had his gun out, eyes shifting between her and the ghoul. He was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Sole felt anger rise to her face as let go of the kid's hand and marched right up to him, staring him in the face.

"I'm going to bring this child home to Quincy and I don't care what you say. I understand this is not part of the mission but it doesn't matter. You can either join me or leave" Sole growled, making sure she didn't blink as she said it.

Sole had a soft spot for children. They were a symbol of the innocence left in this world. They reminded her of the child she lost and she sure as shit wasn't going to abandon him. Danse stared at her silently for a moment, facial expression unchanging as his brow hung low on his eyes. Then he finally nodded.

"Bringing a child with us could be tactically dangerous, but it's an admirable decision. He isn't safe here" he said.

"I…wow. Thanks Danse" she stumbled, completely taken aback by his admission. "Let's go then."

Danse took the front, scanning the area for them. Even if the Brotherhood was filled with a bunch of closed-minded, power-hungry people, he could still see when a decision was morally sound. That is why she respected him.

As they made their way back to Quincy, Danse made sure he shot everything well ahead of them. He neutralized every possible threat that could easily kill a small child, even a scumbag slaver who wanted to buy him. He did this all for a small ghoul child. Sole inwardly smiled.

The Peabody family collapsed at their knees when Sole and Danse walked through the door with their child. The mother was in tears and the father vigorously shook their hands. After years of believing their son had died, he finally had come back to them. This is what the Brotherhood should stand for. Even Danse was smiling.

"Please soldiers, stay the night. It is getting dark and I'm sure you are weary from your travels. We have a room upstairs where you can spend the night and we have plenty of food to share" Mr. Peabody offered as compensation.

Right on cue, Sole's stomach growled. She covered up as if physical motions could somehow cover up an audible sound.

Danse let out an airy laugh, "I think we will take you up on your offer citizen. My recruit needs a rest and I've pushed her far enough today."

She wanted to argue but honestly a bed and warm food sounded too inviting to pass up. Danse pulled her arm up the stairs following Mr. Peabody as he showed them to the guest room which only had… one mattress.

"I'm-I'm sorry for the inconvenience brave knights but this is all we have. I am sorry this is insufficient but-" the old man started to apologize.

"No, it's okay" Sole cut in. "We will figure something out. Thank you so much for your generosity."

Mr. Peabody shyly shuffled down the stairs, giving the soldiers some privacy while his wife began working on dinner downstairs. Danse looked around nervously at the mattress as the hiss of unlatching clasps filled the room. Sole stepped out of her Power Armor, electric blue vault suit with the golden '111' painted on the back stood out in the setting sunlight.

"I can sleep on the-" Danse started

"You're sleeping on the mattress" Sole assured, already knowing he was going to offer to take the floor, the chivalrous bastard he was. "Besides, how could I let my superior sleep on the floor?"

Sole unlatched her pack from her power armor's back and set it on a nearby desk. She tossed a few pillows over as she yawned. She was acutely aware of Danse watching her every move as she shuffled about the room in her form-fitting vault suit. He had yet to get out of his power armor.

Danse spoke up, "You deserve it. I pushed you and you were clearly exhausted out there. Plus you did a very honorable thing today. You take the mattress."

"Well it seems we have arrived at an impasse." Sole spun around, folding her arms and gesturing towards his suit. "You going to stop staring at me and get out of your armor any time soon? It just looks silly walking around this little house in it."

Danse straightened up, face turning a little red as if he hadn't even noticed that it was still on. The latches on his armor hissed and he stepped out of the back, clad in the equally as form-fitting orange Brotherhood of Steel uniform.

Whoo boy. She had never seen him out of his power armor before but wow. The orange contrasted nicely with his skin tone and thick black hair. As he lumbered over to where she stood, she took stock of his height: probably a little under 6 feet, standing a little shorter than he was in his power armor. His muscles were as thick and solid as a tree and she sucked in a breath to keep herself from ogling his toned abs.

He obviously had no knowledge of her inner turmoil as he walked right up to her and squeezed her arm reassuringly, motioning to the bed. He had that dorky serious expression on his face as if determining who got to sleep there was some virtuous moral dilemma that needed to be handled properly.

"Initiate, I insist" he urged.

Then, Sole thought of a devious idea. The corners of her mouth tweaked into a grin as she broke from his grasp, rummaged through her bag again, and pulled out two bottles of wine. Beer probably would've been better but this was all she could find. Paladin Danse looked at her inquisitively.

"Fine. We'll play for it. Prepare to lose Paladin for I am the drinking champion" she lied, extending a bottle out to him as she plopped down on the mattress.

Danse sighed in resignation and took the other bottle of wine, sitting down beside her. By this time, the sun was gone and stars were beginning to retake the dusty sky. A lovely gaping hole in the roof provided them with a great view.

"I can see that our arguing is going nowhere so I reluctantly oblige to your request. What's this game you speak of? I do warn you; I have partaken in many Brotherhood celebratory functions and I never back away from a challenge" Danse said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Shit, her bluff was going to be called soon then.

"Alright Paladin, this game is called Never have I ever. If I say I haven't done something and you have, you drink. If you haven't done something that I have, then I drink. Simple as that. Whoever finishes their bottle first loses. The winner takes the mattress."

Danse nodded, "sounds fair. Do we take turns or…?"

"Like this: Never have I ever met this Maxson fellow. Now I now you have because you won't shut up about him, so you drink" she gestured towards his bottle.

He frowned, "that was a low blow Initiate, you know you're going to meet him soon."

She laughed, "Those are the rules Danse." He was so unhappy to lose a point in a game that Sole couldn't help giggling as he grumpily took a swig of his drink.

"Alright then. I have never been cryogenically frozen" he said.

"No no, you have to start with 'Never have I ever'" she explained, taking a sip of her bottle. "Good one. Alright, never have I ever slept in my power armor."

Danse furrowed his brow for a moment before clicking his tongue and lifting the bottle up to his supple lips. Classic.

A knock at the door interrupted the game as Mrs. Peabody brought in some grub for them. They hungrily devoured the chow within minutes and then eagerly got back to the game. Danse was getting more into it than she would have thought, him being a soldier and all. Now it was on and neither of them wanted to lose.

The game went on like so for a while until Danse was declared the winner. She certainly had a bunch of pre-war points working against her but hey, it all worked out for the better. They were both quite tipsy and laughing at jokes that weren't even funny. Sometime during the game, Danse had thrown an arm around her that she hadn't noticed in her stupor. Also her hand was resting on his thigh as she rocked with laughter beside him.

"Good job oh deprived child. I guess you win. Ad Victorium!" Sole chuckled as she finally scooted off the mattress and onto the floorboards.

Danse shifted restlessly on the mattress, "I am not comfortable with this. You really should take my offer for your own sake. I don't mind at all. Besides, it's getting cold out and you're shivering."

"I'm not shivering" Sole protested as her teeth clattered uncontrollably. Damn these Commonwealth nights could get frigid. There was an awkward pause between the two of them. She could hear Danse fidgeting behind her. Sole flipped herself over, deciding to come out with the idea that he was so obviously grappling with.

"Danse if you really want, we can share the mattress. Bodies are better heaters anyway." It was definitely the alcohol making her this brave.

Danse's eyes bored into hers, searching for the glint in her eyes that would mean she was joking. She wasn't.

"Initiate, that is wildly inappropriate for a sponsor and their recruit to sleep…together."

"Oh come on, we're not going to do anything!" She protested. He was close enough to touch from where she lay on the ground so she reached a hand out and traced an idle circle on his chest. He definitely must have been drunk too if he was allowing her to do it. "I promise I won't do anything naughty to you while you sleep."

A chilled breeze blew in through the hole in the roof and Sole shivered causing Danse to reach out and clamp a warm hand on her arm.

"Alright Initiate. The last thing I want is a soldier under my watch catching hypothermia." He gave in.

Sole graciously wiggled back onto the mattress and closer to Paladin Danse's warm body. He was so large he dwarfed her. They tried to adjust themselves so they weren't touching but Danse was just so big that he took up more than half the mattress no matter how he moved. It was becoming clear that they were going to have to deal with touching each other.

They eventually settled in a semi-spooning position with Danse trying to create as much space between them as possible. He was getting so skittish it was almost cute.

"You don't need to worry Danse," she giggled. "I won't bite." The alcohol was beginning to make her drowsy so she stretched her free arm up and arched her back. Immediately Danse jerked.

"Don't scoot back" he commanded.

"Wha-"

"Don't scoot back. That's an order Initiate."

"Are you seriously doing this right now?"

"Affirmative."

"Wow, okay. Going to sleep now" Sole said, shaking her head against the pillow.

Paladin Danse went silent after that and the two drifted into a deep sleep, side by side. That night, Sole dreamt of Shaun. She dreamt of how her life would have been as a mother, raising her teenage son, paying for his college, attending his future wedding, greeting her grandchildren. It all played back like a movie, frame by frame, until she lay content on her death bed, knowing that her son would carry on happily. What a life that could have been.

The cawing of a bird woke Sole up with a start. Sunlight filtered in through the roof, making her wonder how she didn't wake up sooner in the brightness. She only momentarily was able to ponder it before returning her attention to Danse beside her. While they hadn't moved much during their slumber, his arm had somehow managed to snake its way across her tummy and his leg was intertwined with hers. His solid body was pressed up against her back and his steady breaths tickled the top of her head. And she was the one he was worried about.

A second wave of sleepiness gripped Sole's senses as her eyelids weighed back down. Maybe she'd enjoy his warmth for a little while longer. She flipped around under Danse's arm to snuggle against his warm body, nuzzling her face into his broad chest. Even though in the Commonwealth they could get killed at a moment's notice, she felt as safe as she had ever been right there in that moment. Danse mumbled something incoherent and pulled her in closer to him. His eyelashes looked so long up close. She would worry about the consequences when she woke back up. With that, Sole drifted back to sleep.

A few hours later Sole reawoke. Danse was no longer beside her, or in the room for that matter. She groggily entered into her Power Armor and went downstairs, graciously thanking the Peabodys for letting them spend the night. Exiting the door to the house, she found Danse doing military push-ups outside, sweat glistening on his brow. Well those flexing muscles didn't come from nowhere.

"Morning there Paladin" Sole said smiling as she put a metal hand on her hip, making a show like she was enjoying the view.

At the sound of her voice, Danse quickly scrambled to his feet and saluted her awkwardly with an unnaturally loud "Soldier!" She certainly wasn't expecting that reaction.

Sole watched him limber into his power armor and start to take off down the road. She thought she saw a tint of pink on his cheeks but she couldn't be sure because the whole way back, Danse refused to look her in the eye.