TACENDA // Technoblade X Reader

21

You tipped another flute of champagne down your throat as you smiled thinly at the Duke of the Dark Forest and his daughter currently holding your attention. It was very obvious that the man was trying to get an in with Colin through you, as it was very obvious that his daughter wanted nothing to do with it. You felt for the poor girl - just looking at Colin, anyone could tell he would be a terrible suitor.

The Duke prattled on. "...and you know your father and I fought in the Skeleton War together; we were in the same regiment even, and that's how I was awarded Dukedom..."

Your eyes drifted away from the conversation and out into the sea of people gathered in the ballroom, catching on a familiar shock of neatly plaited pink hair. You could tell Technoblade was amused at your disinterest in the Duke, and you pinned him with a look until he started over.

You turned back to the Duke, who was still mid sentence. "... a union between our families just makes sense, you see? I'm sure you could put in a good word with your brother-"

A hand on the small of your back alerted you to Technoblade's presence, as did the look of surprise and shock that passed over the Duke's face. 

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid I must steal your Highness away." Technoblade said. "You see, I was promised a dance."

You turned to him, placing your hand in his. "I am terribly sorry, Duke Gnothis, but I must be going." With that, you were whisked onto the dancefloor, your feet picking up the steps as Technoblade wove you into the crowd of people and the Duke was left far behind, still on the edge of the room. 

"You couldn't have come over sooner?" You griped. "I thought my ears were going to fall off if he kept talking about the damn Skeleton war-"

"My apologies." Technoblade said, though you could tell he wasn't really sorry. There was still a trace of laughter on the edge of his lips, peeking out from under the mask. 

The waltz picked up, and you move faster, your free hand moving from Technoblade's shoulder to the nape of his neck for a better hold. You let yourself get lost in the music, memories of the first time you had done this with him coming back. 

"Do you remember the first time we did this?" You asked. 

"How could I forget?" Technoblade said, spinning you away from him only to draw you back in even tighter than before. "You look great, by the way. The rubies make your eyes sparkle."

"Thank you." You said, feeling your face heat up slightly. "You look great too - though I think you'd look better without the mask."

"I wouldn't want to scare the guests." Technoblade joked. "Though I think your brother's doing pretty well on that front on his own."

Your eyes tracked over the floor to where Colin was stood near the front of the room, an almost empty wineglass in his hand. It was obvious he was already raging drunk from the way his face was flushed and his eyes couldn't seem to latch onto anything stable. His laughter was loud and frenzied and rang out across the room as he called for another glass of wine. 

"Every time." You sighed, turning your attention back to Technoblade. 

"He does this often?" He asked, leading you into the next song smoothly. 

"Every time he can get away with it." You said. "If it's not an important event, it's almost a guarantee he'll be drunk."

Technoblade hummed, spinning you in a tight circle. "Looks like we're in for quite the night then."

The song continued, and you swayed along to the music, just enjoying yourself and steady feeling of Technoblade's hand on your back, guiding you as you moved across the floor. It had only been about a month, but this dance was so much different than the first ones - he was more sure of himself around you, and you could feel it in the way he moved. 

You were just getting ready for another spin when a loud crash echoed across the room and orchestra stopped. Where the music had been, confused voices were now, and you stepped away from Technoblade, looking for the source of the commotion.

In the center of the room - Colin, laughing, and holding an empty wineglass as the Duke you had been speaking to earlier picked himself up off the floor, wine soaked into the white of his shirt. 

Anger surged within you. "I can't believe him." You hissed, pushing your way through the now stationary dancers, heading towards your brother with Technoblade in tow. 

When you got to him, Colin was still laughing. You helped the Duke up, murmuring an apology and calling one of the staff members who had been helping around the party over, handing him off to them before rounding on your brother.

"What do you think you're doing?" You asked.

Colin's eyes barely skimmed over yours. "It's a party." He slurred. "It's my party. I do what I want."

"He was a guest!" You said. "And one of the nobles at that! You need to go to bed and sleep this off-" 

Your hand went to your brother's shoulder, but he shrugged you off. "I'm the king, not you." He said. "And this is my party..." He trailed off, eyes catching on Technoblade and mouth splitting into a wide grin. 

You saw it happen in slow motion. The wineglass left your brother's hand as he threw it at Technoblade. Technoblade's arm shot up, and the glass hit his wrist, shattering to pieces. The broken glass shot out from the contact point, and you flinched away as you felt a shard cut across the back of your hand. Technoblade's other hand came up to his face as he winced - a shard had cut across his cheek where the mask didn't cover it. 

Colin laughed, and you grabbed Technoblade's hand, storming out of the ballroom.