Chapter Text
"I don't want to do this."
It's been fifteen minutes and he's still struggling with his cravat.
"Just let me do it," you groan, reaching for his neckline.
"Man, fuck the tie." He throws it down before you can touch it. "I mean this." He gestures vaguely. "All the dress-up bullshit, and... and marriage." He takes a seat on the edge of the bed. You sit beside him.
"I thought you liked Kanaya." That sounded more bitter than you had intended it to. You hope Dave will just read it as more impatience for his shenanigans.
"She's nice." He takes off his glasses and starts cleaning them absently. "I don't love her."
"Well, no shit. You just met her."
"I don't think I could love her. She's not exactly my type." He pauses in his polishing and stares at nothing in particular, then mumbles, "And... I've been thinking about someone else."
You say flatly, "Oh, yeah?"
Dave looks you in the eyes. For the first time since you've met him, a third of his face is not obstructed by shades. The irises are a not-so-subtle hue of red, and you can kind of understand why he would be self-conscious. You won't admit out loud that you find them as attractive as any eye color. He holds your gaze longer than you expected, and you're trying not to appear visibly uncomfortable. Instead, you blink suspiciously. Dave slowly leans closer and causes your heart to speed up. You know where this is going, but you have no desire to stop it.
He kisses you. You find yourself kissing him back until you are hit with a realization and you shove him away. He nearly falls off the bed.
"Fuck," you pant. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't be." He places his glasses back on his face, masking some amount of shame. "I'm sorry. That wasn't cool."
You'd be lying if you said you didn't want him in the same way. But he's a prince, and you're the lowest a commoner can rank. And who the hell even knows what kind of trouble you'd both be in if anyone found out about this? And on the night before his wedding, too? Then there's Kanaya. She's your friend. You respect her. Even if Dave isn't her type, she still sees this wedding as necessary to the survival of both of your species, and you're not about to destroy all that.
"Help me with the damn cravat," Dave sighs, retrieving it from the floor. You nod before fastening it properly. You linger longer than you should, conflicted.
High-ranking trolls such as Kanaya have a tradition of swapping a close servant with that of their betrothed for a month before the ceremony. Dave, out of stubbornness, didn't exactly have a servant. His twin sister, Rose, helped him with anything he couldn't do himself. In honor of the trolls' tradition, you and Rose swapped places. You had met Rose briefly, and found her intimidating, but Kanaya could handle anything.
Tomorrow Dave would be married and become King Strider. Kanaya would be seen as a queen, and you would go back to being a regular servant, a short memory in Dave's otherwise elegant life. But tonight is different, somehow. Tonight, he's just Dave.
You can feel him watching you through his shades expectantly. This time, you initiate the kiss, and he does not resist.
It's at that moment that the door opens.
You stumble away from each other a moment too late. It's a human servant that you don't recognize. He is staring wide-eyed at the both of you, and then he quickly retreats.
“Wait!” Dave is already sprinting after him. You're left standing there alone in shock, wondering if your execution will be a quick one.