❤️ first kiss / realization — Danbecca
This one took me a minute because I had SO many ideas for how this could go, but I'm happy with what I finally decided to write. (Also I'm incapable of writing concisely so enjoy!) Thank you for the prompt!!!!
Ms. Danvers left the party when Rebecca did. Mrs. Abrams released her from observing and training every night when Mrs. de Winter insisted she was needed elsewhere, and the night of her first ball at Manderley was no exception. Ms. Danvers didn’t envy the other servants one bit, though she knew they’d be compensated with leftover hors d’oeuvres and hours of late-night gossip.
By the time Rebecca had wished her guests off to bed and checked in to make sure the cleaning duties had been divided and taken care of, Danny had readied everything for her nighttime routine. It pleased her to see everything laid out in order, to know that the night had gone exactly to plan.
Of course, she only had a moment to appreciate the neatness of her handiwork before her hurricane of a mistress burst through the doors, shattering the calm but warming Danny’s heart just the same.
“What a thrill! What a success! Do you know,” Rebecca said breathlessly, “that we have eight people staying who were planning to leave hours ago? And that’s on top of the ten we were already planning to host. Before Danny could ask, she held up a hand. “Mrs. Abrams is taking care of them all, don’t you worry. She told me she’ll walk you through it all in the morning. You’re with me tonight.”
Before Danny could cross the room to unlace her dress, she pulled it halfway over her head, too excited to wait. And of course, the dress stopped moving with her arms pinned behind her, trapping her in a sheath of fabric.
She squealed and Danny rushed over to her, trying not to laugh.
“Oh but Danny, leave it. I’m trying out a new fashion, can’t you see?”
“If you’d just let me, you wouldn’t—”
“I’m just too excited – I couldn’t possibly wait—”
At last, she stopped squirming and let Danny take over. The best thing about Rebecca, Danny thought, was the way she could be so unaware of herself and the effect she had, half-naked and laughing like this. She practically glowed, and yet this was no performance. There was no one here to flirt with or charm with her banter except Danny, who needed no charming. This was simply who she was: beautiful, carefree, and lovely.
And one of the best things about Danny was that she didn’t ogle, not even a little. She did her job, working at the tight closures with nimble fingers, and simply let the awe glitter inside her as she finally slid the dress over Rebecca’s head.
But then they came to the moment after – the dress bundled in Danny’s hands, both of them pink-cheeked and bright-eyed with mirth, fueled by the afterglow of the party – and their gazes sparked with some new understanding, something like the crest of a wave about to break, and then—
And then Rebecca was kissing Danny. It was a chaste, girlish kiss, sweet in the surprise of it, but Danny met her in the middle, ready for her. She was never surprised by Rebecca any longer, having been in her service for nearly a decade now, but she’d only gained a half-second of anticipation before it happened. She had no time to understand, only to respond on instinct, and instinct drew her to Rebecca as strongly as the sea was drawn to the shore.
They crashed together again, once, twice – a sudden sensation of Rebecca’s tongue wet against Danny’s lip – and then Rebecca pulled back. Her eyes were still closed, and Danny enjoyed the second of watching her smile, the tiny movements of her face and shoulders as she composed herself.
“A favor,” said Rebecca, “for all your help with the party.”
“A very valuable favor indeed,” murmured Danny. “It’s well received.”
At that, Rebecca winked and turned around so Danny could help her out of her shift. Danny was sure she was blushing terribly. She wanted to press her knuckles into her lips and giggle like a schoolgirl, but she only smiled wide at the back of her lady’s head and began untying her underthings as duty dictated.
They didn’t speak of the kiss again that night, but only beamed and cut their eyes at each other, communicating in the silent ways they’d learned over the years. And when Danny was finally released to bed at four in the morning, she walked straight past the group still celebrating in the servants’ parlor, wishing them good night. She didn’t need camaraderie or drink tonight – Rebecca’s kiss still glowed softly on her lips, and nothing else would touch its magic for a long while yet.
