Work Text:
Saying It With Food
By: tweety-src-clt9
Anthony Bridgerton glanced at the happily married couple with a grin on his face. Despite taking twelve long years, he always had a feeling that his younger brother, fondly known as their “Resident Idiot”, would eventually end up marrying their adorable neighbor. He wasn’t the first one to notice the special relationship Colin had with Penelope, it was Benedict, but once he noticed the so-called signs, he knew that the short and plump ginger girl would eventually be their brother’s wife. Sure they never thought it would take so long, sadly Colin did live up to his nickname, but at the end of it all, there they were. Happy. Married. Content. And Colin making sickening googly-eyes at his bride like the lovesick blind idiot that he was.
And I thought Benedict was bad, he inwardly rolled his eyes as Colin fed Penelope a bite of his slice of cake, making her giggle as her cheeks flushed. He knew that Colin would always have this besotted look on his face given his brother’s over-the-top penchant for dramatic gestures. He actually pitied Penelope a little, with his brother’s chaotic and mischievous energy, his new sister-in-law was in for an exasperating yet fun married life. In a way, it made perfect sense. She was shy, awkward, and short. He was loud, cheeky, and tall. They balanced each other out which makes for a great marriage, but more importantly, Penelope was probably the only woman in the ton who could understand Colin Bridgerton’s very voracious appetite.
Noticing that the wedding party was now mostly just sipping on their wines or finishing off their dessert, well except for Colin whose plate was still full of course, Anthony gave Benedict a pointed look as if to signal that it was time for their wedding speech. Their late father had passed on for many years, so, in a way, he was now Colin’s father figure while Ben was the male confidante. Because of this, they decided to give their speeches together, a collaboration of sorts. After all, it was Benedict who called it first.
When Benedict nodded in acknowledgment, he smiled at his beautiful wife, Kate, before using his fork to clink on his wine glass to gather everyone’s attention. When the party turned to him, he rolled his eyes when Colin was still feeding Penelope some dessert and she had to literally elbow her husband. Anthony then stood from his seat and Benedict did the same.
Clearing his throat, he smiled to their guests, “It is a tradition at weddings for the father of the bride and groom to give a speech to toast the new couple, however, sad to say, in the case of Colin and Penelope, they have already lost their fathers. So, because of that, it is my and my brother Benedict’s honor, to give our heartfelt felicitations to the new couple.” He glanced at Benedict who nodded once again, as if to indicate that he was ready for their speech.
“I am proud to say that I was literally the first person who noticed that my little brother, Colin, always had a soft spot for his now wife, Penelope,” Benedict started grandly, his eyes twinkling with mischief, and every single member of the audience was focused on him.
Anthony chuckled when Colin’s jaw dropped and Penelope's eyes widened in surprise. She turned to her husband, her eyes asking him if he had a clue on where this speech was going, but Colin only shook his head to mean no.
“I remember fondly, Colin was a young lad of five and ten, he was home shortly from Eton, and Penelope was ten years old... Colin just recently arrived from school when he noticed that Eloise and Penelope, practically attached to the hip even then, were playing in the garden, seemingly lost in a world of their own. Colin, ever the glutton,” Benedict paused with a dramatic roll of his eyes, making the audience laugh at the groom’s expense, “was stuffing his face with a box of eclairs he surely wasted his allowance on... Anyway, I too was at our London estate, most likely begging Anthony for more money that I wasted on art supplies,” again, the audience laughed, “I noticed that in the box that was supposed to be filled with a dozen eclairs, there were only two left. At this point, Eloise noticed our brother’s arrival so she all but dragged Penelope along so they could greet Colin. Eloise was persuasive like that,” everyone turned to Eloise who snorted, “Colin happily hugged our sister and then seeing Penelope, who he treated like a sister as well at this point, remembered that she recently celebrated a birthday... And so, Colin, ever silly, looked at his two untouched eclairs with sadness before saying something along the lines of, ‘belated happy birthday Pen. I know it’s not much, but here you go, these are for you. They really are good, I swear. The finest eclairs within a ten-mile radius around Eton, trust me, I devotedly searched the area...' As you can definitely tell, Colin was ever passionate about food like that, so really, he would walk around just to find the best treats,” he winked at the groom who playfully glared at him, and his new wife giggled at her husband’s pouty face. When the audience laughed once again, he waited when they settled down before adding, “Eloise eyed the two delicious looking treats and attempted to grab one, but Colin playfully swatted her hand away while glaring at her saying that it was for little Pen... Of course, little Penelope at this point, blushed so adorably as she shyly thanked Colin who looked so pleased with himself before leaving the two girls to their business... He never knew that Penelope shared the extra eclair to Eloise and me.” Benedict smiled at the couple who were now looking at each other, most likely trying to recall the memory, before they burst into laughter.
“Of course, since Benedict is a nosy brother, he shared the adorable story to me, and at first, I thought it was just Colin being Colin... But no! Benedict all but declared, give it a year or two of Penelope being out in society, and Colin would be wooing her with food… We all know that it had taken Colin way longer than expected, he’s not really very bright,” Anthony smirked at the groom who looked offended, but then his wife patted his cheek so him being a simp, immediately smiled like a pleased puppy, before adding, “but through the years, Benedict and I, along with our mother, rooted for Colin and Penelope because of our brother’s love language… saying his unrealized feelings with food.” There was a happy smile on his face as he eyed the couple once more, his mother discreetly wiping a stray tear away.
“As you know, Penelope is a frequent guest at our home, always a part of our family even before it became official this afternoon... And every time she was sat beside our brother during dinners, Colin instead of his usual behavior of stocking up his plate like a tower, would always act gentlemanly by gesturing for his now wife to get food first... This is something he never does for anyone, not even his siblings... In fact, if he notices that she has too little on her plate, he would discreetly nudge her, signaling if that’s all she really needs, before adding some more for her to eat.” Benedict continued their shared storytelling and the audience, especially the women, had a wistful look in their eyes while some of the men coughed ‘whipped’ to tease the groom.
“You know, that is actually true,” Eloise, ever having not much care for society’s opinion, voiced her musings out loud.
“You’re just too innocent, El... That you didn’t realize Colin was covertly stealing your Penelope away from you,” Benedict winked at their sister who playfully glared at Colin who smirked back.
“If you think that those are the only stories, there are more… Since Colin travels a lot, Lord knows how many countries he has already visited, he of course has his favorite foods from each of the places he visits… Upon his return, he would gladly regale Penelope with tales of his adventures... She was the only one who could listen to him prattle on and on about it really,” Anthony gave his new sister-in-law a knowing look and she giggled shyly, “he would also talk about how delicious the food he has sampled, hoping that she could taste them from its place of origin as well... So, to simulate the experience, if he was able to, he would ask for recipes of the dishes, and he would bribe our cook to make them when he knew that Penelope would be present for visits... Of course, he never exactly told Penelope that he was doing it for her, but Ben, mother, and I could tell… Our brother was just endearing himself to his favorite dance partner.” This time, he looked at Colin whose cheeks were now tinged pink as he whispered something to his wife, who then pinched his cheek.
“There are so many more stories of how Colin uses his love of food, to unconsciously show his ever-growing and ever-changing love for Penelope... He knew the foods that she liked best, he knew when she wanted more food on her plate… These are just some of the ways he had shown her how much he cared. Although, there is one scandalous moment, right at the middle of a ball, well it was near the refreshments table, but Anthony, mother, and I saw it… Colin was munching on a biscuit, the last one left, and Penelope seemed sad that there was no more... My brother, seeing the sadness and hunger in her eyes, stopped munching on the biscuit, with now only three quarters in portion left, and he handed it to Penelope… When my mother saw that, her eyes widened at the scandalous nature of the moment, but we only shrugged, saying it was Colin being himself… And so, when Penelope bashfully accepted the biscuit, Colin grinned, and then he grabbed a glass of lemonade for her as they stood in their corner, most likely making fun of the ton for the rest of the night.” Benedict shared the rather risque yet innocent moment the couple had shared.
“I never knew you were so sweet, Mr. Bridgerton,” Lady Danbury turned to the groom with a proud look on her stern face. Anthony inwardly rolled his eyes. Lady Danbury had always treated Penelope like a successor of sorts, so she would literally smack Colin with her trusty old cane if their brother would ever do something stupid to hurt his new wife. Which I am certain that he would never ever do, he thought with pride.
Daphne leaned on her husband Simon's shoulder, ever the hopeless romantic, as she smiled brightly at the new couple. Simon raised his glass to Colin who returned the gesture, before lifting his wife's knuckles to his lips.
“It’s the way Colin’s mind works... Food first,” Eloise teased.
“Well, now it’s Penelope and Food... Or is it food and Penelope? Really, who knows how his mind ranks his priorities,” Anthony added slyly while Kate snorted at his barb.
“I can always have both at the same time,” Colin mumbled and Penelope blushed profusely as she nudged her husband, who only wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
“The downside of your brother marrying your best friend, is the fact that your brother is going to be around her all the time,” Eloise grumbled and the audience laughed at the hilarious dynamic of it all.
"You've had Penelope to yourself for many years already, El," Sophie, ever supportive, smiled at the groom who raised his glass to his sister-in-law.
"Hmph! Penelope could do so much better," Eloise teased Colin but her eyes were sparkling with joy for the couple.
"Right on, sister!" Hyacinth agreed.
"So true... I mean it is Colin," Gregory joined the ribbing.
"Very funny," Colin drawled and Penelope ruffled his hair which made him grin.
“We never actually know the details of how Colin courted Penelope this year… For sure, it seemed like it was all so sudden to the rest of the ton, but to Ben, mother, and I, we see their courtship as a very long one... Their courtship is founded on mutual respect, true friendship, and well, a solid bonding over food,” Anthony continued when the audience settled down once more.
“I guess what we’re trying to say is - “ Benedict prodded and Anthony nodded.
“To Colin and Penelope!” The brothers chorused as they raised their wine glasses for a toast, the wedding party all following their lead.
“May you live a long and happy life together,” Anthony smiled at the couple.
“Oh... And Pen, do stock up on groceries. You’re going to need it,” Benedict winked at the bride who laughed out loud as the groom pouted once more.
As the groom continued to feed the bride some more dessert once again, the wedding party could only watch in amusement since it was indeed apparent that Colin Bridgerton expresses his love through food.
Thank God Lady Whistledown has retired or it would surely be the talk of the ton, Anthony thought to himself as he covertly raised his glass to Benedict and his mother who always had this smug look on her face every time she watched Penelope and Colin together ever since their engagement.