Chapter Text
Colin B
So I hear that my sister has abandoned you?
Pen
The traitor has left me for another woman
The cats will be moving in soon…
Colin B
Cats?
Pen
They can sense my impending spinsterhood
I’m no longer a cool young thing living with her best friend / flatmate
Colin B
Calm down Bridget Jones, have you been speaking to your mother?
Pen
Maybe
Colin B
Thought so
I might be able to help with the potential cat invasion though.
How do you fancy another flatmate of the Bridgerton variety?
I’ll be in the country for a while and I’d rather not stay in my childhood bedroom
Pen, you still there?
Pen
Yes sorry
The room is yours if you promise not to eat the stash of chocolate I keep in the fridge
Colin B
Deal x
“What have I agreed to?” Penelope whispered to herself, still staring at the messages on the screen. That little x at the end of his last message taunting her. She had agreed to live with Colin Bridgerton. Colin, her best friend’s brother. Colin, who she has been in love with since she was a teenager. She’s going to see him in the morning with his sleepy bed head, she’s going to see him when he’s just been in the shower, she’s going to see him bring dates home. Was she some kind of a masochist?
~.~
“Oh my god! That smells divine, what are you making?” A heady scent of spices mingling with something sweet hit her as soon as she walked through the door. She followed her nose through to the kitchen, dumping her winter outer layers along the way.
“Chicken tagine, here try this and tell me if you think it needs more salt?” She couldn’t help but moan in appreciation as he spoon fed her some of the sauce. He smirked as she blushed at her own reaction.
“I’ll take that as a no to more salt,” he laughed as he turned back to the stove. “I thought I’d give you a taste of my travels, and convince you that you’ve made an excellent choice of flat mate”
“If you cook like this every day then I’ll never want you to leave”
“Well luckily for you I haven’t gotten any foreign assignments lined up any time soon so you’ve got me for a while yet”. Colin had been in and out of the country pretty often over the last decade; at first simply chasing his wanderlust, later working as a freelance photographer. His travels both personal and work related had taken him to some of the most breath-taking places all around the globe but recently he’d become a bit restless with his nomadic lifestyle. When his most recent job had brought him back to London he had decided some work closer to home for a while might be just what he needed. As he sat across from a smiling Penelope as she enjoyed the meal he had made them he decided he’d made a good decision. There was something about the simple domesticity of sharing a home cooked meal with her that made him feel warm and content. Yes, it was good to be home.
~.~
“For God’s sake!” Penelope complained to herself as she unfolded the towel she had grabbed from the hallway before her shower. Only now realising as she was dripping wet that she had accidentally grabbed two of the smaller hand towels folded together rather than one of the big ones. She stood in front of the mirror trying to arrange the two so that all the important bits were covered before she remembered with some relief that tonight was Tuesday night. Colin had recently joined a 5 a side football team and on Tuesday nights they usually went for a drink after playing. Safe in the knowledge that she still had the flat to herself she took her time at the bathroom mirror, turning this way and that to analyse her body. She had nice skin, it was one of her best features, even flushed from the shower the colour was even and the texture was smooth and soft. Soft was a good word for her, she was soft all over. Her mother called her pudgy. Eloise declared her curvaceous. Over the years Penelope’s attitude towards her body had shifted so that while she still wasn’t completely happy with all her rolls she could appreciate her assets. She shifted her arm which was holding the towel up and giggled at how her 'assets' now threatened to escape from their fluffy confines. If she had been born in a different era she’d have killed in a corset. With a wide smile on her face at the thought she opened the bathroom door and almost crashed into Colin.
Colin froze with his hand still raised from where he was about to knock on the door, his eyes widened as he took in her appearance. Her skin was still flushed and wet from the shower and the towel she had wrapped around her left a lot of that skin on show. His eyes fixed on her ample cleavage when she squeaked “Colin, what are you doing home already?”. This was enough for him to drag his eyes back to her face but his brain seemed incapable of forming a full sentence so he mumbled something about “rain, cold, shower” before Penelope dashed past him and disappeared into her room.
Penelope stood in her room with her back against the closed door. She should probably feel mortified right now after having all her wobbly bits on show for Colin, and in a few minutes she probably will do. For now though, all she can think about is that even post exercise Colin Bridgerton smelt intoxicating. There truly was something wrong with her.
“So this is where you’re hiding? Colin said from the doorway to Penelope’s bedroom.
“I’m not hiding,” she replied quickly. She most definitely was hiding, she hadn’t left her room since their run in outside the bathroom an hour earlier.
“I’m bored, want to watch a film?”
She hesitated briefly, looking at her tv “Jumanji is just about to start if you fancy it?” She’d been planning to make herself a cup of tea and watch it in bed before he’d appeared at her door but now he’d sought out her company she couldn’t think of an excuse to avoid him.
“Robin Williams or The Rock’s version?” he asked his face lighting up with her suggestion
“Robin Williams”
“A classic, don’t mind if I do” he said as he settled himself next to her on the bed.
Penelope sat frozen, Colin Bridgerton was on her bed. She had naturally thought that they would relocate to the neutral area of the living room to watch it. She was very aware that there was only a few inches separating them as they sat side by side resting against the headboard, Colin on the other hand seemed oblivious. She spent the first ten minutes sitting very still, conscious of every breath they both took and how they were now in sync. But by the time Alan had been sucked into the game on the screen she had relaxed enough to have slouched down comfortably against the pillows, their shoulders brushing, her right foot angled towards his left.
It was dark when Colin woke up, confused at first by the unfamiliar surroundings. He was still half sitting up in bed, the tv in front of him now on standby, and Penelope’s head resting against his shoulder. The moonlight was streaming in through the open curtains, highlighting her skin and causing her eyelashes to cast long shadows over her cheeks. She looked so peaceful but he knew he couldn’t stay like this for the rest of the night, as much as that thought appealed right now. Carefully he slid out from his place next to her, making sure to ease her down onto a pillow as he moved. In her sleep she reached out and cuddled the pillow closer to her and Colin couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked in that moment. He took the blanket that was folded across the end of the bed and pulled it up to cover Penelope, pausing to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face he bent down and kissed her temple before he could second guess the impulse.
“Night Pen” he whispered as he left her room.