1,3,6,16,17,30,33,34
Ship questions for Danse/Deacon, here we go! Headcanons here are drawn mostly from the fic Duke and I have collaborated on (Kinktober, so be warned about the rating) and the RP we've done together.
What, specifically, was the catalyst for their physical attraction (if applicable) to the other character? In other words, what in particular had them like “Oh, they’re...hot...”
I've always headcanoned that Danse is attracted to physical qualities he doesn't have himself, so he's drawn to men who are built more for agility than strength. I think he really likes the leanness of Deacon's muscle and the way he can pull off graceful stealth, and I definitely think that seeing him coolly take something out with a sniper rifle for the first time would have gotten Danse a little hot and bothered in spite of himself.
Also, it's a long-established headcanon of mine that he likes redheads, so noticing those ginger eyebrows up close (or in some timelines, a bit of ginger body hair) and realizing Deacon is one is always an "oh" moment for Danse. He genuinely likes the bald shave and prefers it over the wig, but he still nudges Deacon to grow his hair back a little once the Institute is gone and the disguises become less necessary.
Also also, scent is a very intense emotional/arousal trigger for him, so I've written it a few times where fighting alongside Deacon on a mission, or helping him plant crops in a settlement, and getting a good whiff of fresh honest labor sweat, was an immediate unexpected turn-on for Danse. It's just A Thing for him and he's really into it.
3. By contrast, what was the moment that first made their ~heart~ Soft for the other person? Not necessarily a conscious realization of “I love this person,” but a moment that had them like “Oh...I adore them...”
I think it would have been surprisingly early on, for Danse. I can think of a lot of things Deacon might do that Danse would admire on a more platonic level once they started spending more time together, things that would make him realize "wow, he really is a good person with a strong conscience, I never gave him enough credit for that before."
But for romantic sentiment, it was really about Deacon recognizing how starved for softness Danse was, and being willing and able to fill that void with things like tender nicknames and endearments that nobody else had ever seen fit to give him.
Basically, Danse was his from the moment Deacon first called him "Baby Brahmin Eyes," and there was no going back.
6. How do they react to the realization that they like the other character? Is it an “oh my god I’m never going to think about this again” thing, or are they pretty comfortable with it?
I wouldn't say Danse was comfortable with realizing it, but a lot of his unease about it came from knowing how closed-off and paranoid Deacon is and thinking (not inaccurately) that he wouldn't want to open up in the way Danse craves from a partner.
The beginning of their relationship occupied this weird space where it was kind of roleplay and kind of not--it was this thing that they were keeping at a deliberate remove, which allowed both of them to go further with it than they would if they weren't thinking of it as an act, but then it became real when they couldn't deny any longer that they really wanted it to be.
Danse is ordinarily too honest and earnest and straightforward for that, but he rationalized it as kind of akin to the Silver Shroud thing in order to wrap his brain around it. And Deacon was thinking of it as another one of his personas that wasn't really him--until it was. So it wasn't immediate acceptance or necessarily a healthy way of handling the realization that they wanted each other, but they were at least on a similar page about it.
16. If they had the ability to just spend free time with their partner, what would they do? Would they go out or stay inside?
Danse is perfectly content to be a homebody and cuddle on the couch while reading together or listening to the radio, but that doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy the occasional Diamond City date night.
Just ambling around town while Deacon points out all the places he's done fake guard duty and talks Danse into trying on clothes at Fallon's and lies to get him out of trouble with Myrna, and Danse awkwardly apologizes to Takahashi and teaches Vadim some paint-peeling Brotherhood cocktail recipes so that he can take Deacon for what he thinks of as a proper nice dinner.
It is very important and kind of soul-healing to Danse that they get to hold hands in public.
17. Under what circumstances would they want to be left alone by their partner?
There aren't a lot of them, really. Even when Danse thinks he wants to isolate himself because of guilt or shame or depression, he's self-aware enough by now to realize that it does him a lot more harm than good. Possibly if he was just physically sick and afraid of being contagious, but I don't think that happens to him often if ever.
The only situation I could think of in which he would really not want Deacon around him, and not be able to stomach talking to him, would be if the Railroad destroyed the Prydwen--and that's if Deacon wasn't directly involved. If Deacon actually took part in it himself a la the canon Railroad ending, that would be the end of the relationship. If he wasn't part of the operation, Danse could forgive him, but it would take a long time and he would be alone and catatonic with misery for weeks.
(This is why I always go for the Minutemen-as-peacekeepers ending myself, but I know that's a controversial decision. It's just the best one you've got when you ship the Railroad and Brotherhood faction reps and you don't want them openly at war. As an upside, it technically works out better for the Railroad.)
30. What completely petty topic (music taste, favorite food) do they find themselves completely at odds with their partner about?
The correct condiment to put on mirelurk steaks. You eat them with bloodleaf aioli, Deacon, not salsa.
(I really like the thought of them both loving mirelurk because they've both spent so much time in the Capital Wasteland and Danse still considers it his home, but in keeping with his love for country and bluegrass music, he prefers a more Appalachian-style preparation of the dish.)
33. Under what circumstances would they feel jealous?
I think Danse is someone who will usually trust a partner enough not to jump to conclusions or be too quick with jealousy. And he trusts Deacon in particular enough that it would take a lot for him to get sincerely upset, because he knows Deacon wouldn't sleep with anyone else, or trust just anyone the way he's come to trust Danse.
So I think something like that is what would make him jealous--feeling like someone else had become a confidant to Deacon, or seeing Deacon treat someone with more personalized or sincere-seeming affection (rather than just surface-level flirting as part of a bit or a persona, which sets off a few little sparks of jealousy when Danse sees him do it, but isn't a major deal.) Danse would be kind of beside himself if he heard Deacon give someone else a tender nickname.
34. Under what circumstances would they feel protective?
Danse's tendency toward protectiveness is an interesting point of contention between them, because he's really used to doing it in a self-sacrificing physical sense, and that's literally the last thing Deacon needs from him. Danse putting his own safety on the line, the way he'd want to do for anyone else he cared about, would be the worst thing he could possibly do for the man who still hasn't recovered from feeling responsible for the death of the last synth he loved.
So Danse has been essentially forced to overhaul his protective instinct into something that can't get him killed, and it tends to manifest in two ways: first, being somewhat uncharacteristically willing to throw hands if someone (like X6) really talks shit about Deacon, and secondly, fretting gently over any age-related aches or pains or slowing down that he notices. If he's not allowed to fight raiders or super mutants or whatever for his man, he will fight time itself. Try and stop him.
@please-do-not-perceive-me ❤️!!
