Work Text:
It all started with an innocent jab.
As it was tradition, Kate and Anthony were waiting for Gregory and Lucy by the light wooden doors of the small restaurant they have been claiming as theirs every second Saturday night for the past two and half months. Entangled in a casual hug, the couple was enjoying each other's quiet presence when a lively melody reached their ears. Surprise and curiosity painting their features, Lord and Lady Bridgerton shared a look before turning around, seeking the source of the soothing noise. There, in the middle of a rather busy square, was the most stunning carousel any of them had ever seen. A piece of art. With its delicate horses carved in fine wood hanging from the golden ceiling, the intricate ornaments painted in the most vibrant colors, the style so realistic, the animals looked almost ready to take off on a sprint, and the lights, strategically placed, adding an aura of mysticism and magic to it. It was an old piece, too. Maybe from a couple of hundred years ago.
One could close their eyes and hear the delighted laughs of kids and adults alike as they congregated around the magical machine. The women dressed in their fancy dresses, eating popcorn or candy cotton, using their spare hands to keep their hats in place as the wind played with their hair. The gentlemen wearing three-piece suits, the chain of their watches hanging loosely across their bellies, crumbs getting stuck in curled, waxed mustaches. Kids running around, giggling and squealing with excitement as they waited in line for their turn to get on the ride. It was a nice image. Such a bucolic scene it could have been painted by one of those French artists Ben liked so much and whose names Anthony had never been quite able to remember.
A small, warm hand slid into his larger one, bringing him back to the present. The gentle weight of Kate’s head resting on his shoulder made a smile crawl to his face. He could tell she was thinking about her childhood, reminiscing the sweet, unaltered memories of a better time.
“Thinking about stealing a poor kid's spot on the ride, Tones?" The cheeky smile on his younger brother's face blew the air out of him. It was the same smile their father had sported. Now that Gregory was getting older, he looked more like Edmund —and Benedict— with each passing day. He had always shared the same romantic spirit as their father. But ever since his baby features had started to mature, morphing into masculine, sharp lines, leaving the characteristic softness and roundness of childhood behind, the resemblance was painfully striking.
Gregory, with his arm, tucked around his girlfriend's petite frame, hand resting comfortably in the back pocket of her jeans, was blissfully unaware of how much that smile simultaneously hurt and brought joy to Anthony.
He scoffed playfully, lips twitching upwards involuntary. "I may be forced to take your tickets now, Rory" he mused, meeting the younger man halfway in a tight hug. Kissing his temple, he patted his back before letting go, fingers reaching to mockingly trace the subtle dark hair covering Greg's cheeks and jaw. "What's that ugly thing on your face?"
Kate hit her husband friskily in the arm. "Oh, shh, he looks handsome!" Her hands reached to cup his face, giving a little nod, followed by a hum, of approval at the way the thick chestnut fur spread all over his jaw and cheeks, before pulling him into a tight hug. "Pay him no attention," she proclaimed, stealing a glance at her husband, "he is just jealous that his beard has started to gray at the sides."
Gregory's eyes glowed with something a lot like vindication. Cracking a self-sufficient smirk, he stuck his tongue out at Anthony over Kate's shoulder. "Your wife loves it," he tantalized, winking at Lucy before adding, "And my girl enjoys it thoroughly, right Lu?"
Lucy, while greeting Anthony with a light embrace, blushed furiously. Her head snapped to the side, fixing her boyfriend with a warning glare, even if the corners of her lips kept twitching as if she was trying very hard to keep from smiling." Gregory Humbert Bridgerton!"
Kate chuckled. Anthony made a disgusted face. It was no secret the young couple couldn't keep their hands to themselves but Anthony didn't exactly appreciate the mental image the innuendo brought to his mind. Lucy had slowly but steadily crawled her way into his heart and he had come to think of her as just another one of his many sisters. There was something about the young girl that awoke that infamous protective side of Anthony. A tenderness only reserved for those belonging to his family, the softness he had so desperately tried to hide from the outside world for the longest of times. Until Kate. His brother —the youngest, there was always a need to specify with the Bridgertons— had begun to refer to the Viscount as B.M.S Anthony and A.M.S Anthony. Before Miss Sharma and after Miss Sharma. Kate had given him enough courage to be unapologetically himself.
And it seemed Lucy was doing the same for Gregory. Lucy — sweet, shy, endearing Lucy—made Gregory happy, happier than Anthony had ever seen him, and, in return, she had quickly become one of Anthony's favorite persons. So much, that he looked forward to their monthly night out.
He looked down at the petite woman with half a smirk but spared her, and himself, the embarrassment of having to explain further. "How have you been, Lulu?"
Kate had wrapped her arm around Gregory's and was animatedly chalking with him as he escorted her to the restaurant. He marveled at the way she was all action, hands flipping in the air, head tilting to one side, and then the other, mouth moving at an impressive speed. It was a sight he never got tired of seeing. It was a sight that still made his heart beat a bit faster than usual, even after all those years.
Offering his arm to Lucy, he smiled as she promptly took it. Only a few months ago, she would have hesitated, looking shyly about it, but now the fraternal contact came almost like second nature to her. A warm feeling spread across his chest at the realization that, finally, Lucy felt comfortable enough to be herself around him. He was aware Benedict and Colin were far more affable, less imposing. They were capable of flashing a crooked smile or cracking a joke and making anyone in the room relax. It was different for him, there was always that halo of discomfort lacing his interactions with his siblings' significant others until they warmed up to him. Anthony was just glad Lucy didn't look at him as if he was going to reprimand her if she said the wrong thing anymore.
"Did you know the shelter received a very generous donation? From a person that preferred to keep their identity undisclosed," she blurted out pointedly, regarding him carefully.
He waved his head, feigning surprise. But she didn't look impressed. Lucy was a lot more sly than what people gave her credit for. "That anonymous philanthropist surely has the best timing!" There was a little too much excitement in his voice for it to be credible.
Her blue eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Indeed, the best timing. We had just gotten the last warning from the landlord." She made a pause as if pondering her next words. "You know, it is very funny how I had just told you we were surely going to have to close if we didn't get an injection of liquid soon and the next day our bank account went from red numbers to triple digits."
Anthony nodded. "You manifested it."
A loud snort came from his right and Anthony lifted his eyes only to be welcomed with the sight of his little brother openly laughing at him. "Mani-fested?" The word was barely intelligible, coming as it was between loud fits of laughter.
A deep crease appeared on his forehead. "Is that not how you young people say it?" Edmund had taken to saying the tag almost constantly, to the point Anthony had started wondering if his son knew the real meaning of the word. But when he brought it up at night, his wife only nudged him playfully in the ribs, making a joke about how he was too old to understand.
"I — can't breathe!"
"Stop," Anthony growled, glaring at the few people who had started to congregate around the source of the commotion. They fled the scene quicker than Newton when he stole one of Anthony's fluffy slippers at the hard glance he sent them.
But Gregory was rolling with laughter. The incontrollable type. The type of laugh so hard it made your ribs sore and your lungs burn with the need for air. His chortles were so contagious that soon Lucy's high-pitched giggles joined in and Kate's musical titters followed suit, creating a cacophony of pure joy. Despite himself, Anthony heard his own deep cackles adding just the right note, the last touch the symphony needed to become a masterpiece.
For what felt like ages the four of them stood there, in the middle of a crowded street, laughing derisively. A moment of pure joy. One of those moments that made life worth being lived. The kind of moment that made Anthony glad he had not died at the age of thirty-eight.
The laughter died down eventually but the elation remained. It radiated from their pores. It flowed like rivers down the mountain, linking each and every one of them in an invisible clasp. Years would go by but the two couples would always remember the pleasant sensation of being completely and utterly loved and understood.
The walk back to the restaurant was spent in companionable silence. Two almost identical smiles adorning the Bridgertons' unfairly handsome faces. Matching soft ones in each of their partners. Anthony held Kate close to him, their fingers laced together, next to him, Gregory had an arm thrown lazily over Lucy's shoulders, their clasped hands resting over her collarbone.
It was quiet. It was peaceful.
But the dinner was anything but quiet. As soon as each of them took their designated place around the table, the noise returned. They shared stories, they laughed, they teased, jibbed, and joked. At some point, Anthony and Gregory started a contest to see which one could embarrass the other further. Both Lucy and Kate —despite the many years as a Bridgerton — learned a few new things. They had a good time. All of them. As a family.
On the way back to their cars, the four of them entangled together in a blur of limbs, seeking some warmth in the cold evening air, their feet somehow taking them to the same square. The carousel stood out proudly against the night sky, the strings of lines bestowing a halo of magic and mystery around it. It looked like it belonged in a different world as if the gates between reality and fantasy had opened and this hybrid between carousel and the time-traveling machine had slipped out.
Lucy stopped dead in her tracks, eyes shining wide with admiration. The little girl inside her was in complete awe at the vision of —what Anthony had come to name— the magical carousel.
He had to admit it was pure, rare beauty. One of those things one does not expect to find in London out of all places. But even if it was a fine piece of art, the look in Lucy's eyes told there was a meaningful story behind her childish excitement.
"I have never been on one," she admitted sheepishly upon noticing the three pairs of curious eyes on her. Her hands traveled to the cuff of her coat, pulling at the sleeves of her pink jersey. It was a habit she had taken up as a kid and never quite been able to drop.
No one spoke so Lucy kept talking. Her eyes were firmly glued to the floor. "I—I wanted to, of course, I did." A pause. Her voice sounded strained the next time she spoke. "I would beg my uncle to let me go on it. Pull at his pants softly. Flash my best puppy eyes. But he…" She swallowed. "He always said those things were for people who had no ambition." With a sniffle, she looked up and met their eyes. A dry chuckle escaping past her parted lips. "He would always look at me deep in the eye and ask me to look at them. 'Look at them, Lucinda. Do you see those idiots? Stuffing their mouths with sugar, running around like a chicken, taking divertissement in physically torturing each other. They can't tell their right from their left, Lucinda. Do you want to be like them, Lucinda? Or do you want to be successful? To be their boss one day?'" She took a deep breath." I wanted to be like them. I wanted to go on rides and laugh and eat cotton candy until my belly hurt. But I couldn't tell him. Because I knew it would disappoint him. So I shook my head and stared at the floor until he grabbed my hand and dragged me to the closest bookshop."
Anthony, who was the one standing the closest to her, placed a hand on her shoulder. Lucy looked up at him with a small smile and placed her hand over his larger one. The gesture comforted her.
"Richard…?" The tentative question came from her boyfriend. He was staring at her with a mix of emotions in his dark eyes.
Lucy shook her head but this time she didn't break eye contact. "He never wanted to spend his money on me." One of her shoulders raised in a resigned shrug, as if the thought of it had bothered her for the longest of times but had learned to accept the fact that there was nothing that could be done.
It made Anthony's blood boil.
His lips pursed into a very tight line for the briefest of seconds. As an older brother, he couldn't even begin to fathom how Richard couldn't be bothered to spend his money —or time— on something that would make Lucy smile. If money had been tight in the family, it would have been different. But the Abernathys were one of the oldest and more wealthy families in all of Britain. Money was not the issue. The issue was Richard and the fact a pea had more personality than him.
Suddenly, a bulb lit up in his head.
He slid the hand resting on her shoulder to her hand and holding it firmly started walking to the ride. Lucy, frozen with shook, just let herself be dragged.
Kate and Gregory exchanged a look and rushed after the other two. Each of them taking one flank, Gregory on the right and Kate on the left. This didn't make Anthony falter or reduce the pace of his steps. He kept marching decidedly, his eyes fixed on the target.
"What are you doing?" Gregory asked, peeking his head over Anthony's shoulder to look at him, Kate staring at her husband from the other side in bewilderment.
In a tone that lacked emotion but still managed to convey how stupid he found the question. Anthony replied, "We are going to get on the carousel. Over and over again until we are so dizzy we can't walk straight." Because that was, after all, half the fun of it. One trip for each time Lucy had asked and she had been told no. One turn for each of the times she was denied to be a child.
A soft squeal of a surprise coming from behind reminded the three tall adults that Lucy was still there. Gregory slowed his stride and when she caught up with him wrapped his arm around her waist and placed a kiss on the crook of her neck. He noticed her watery stare and promptly promised, "You don't have to…" But the tears in her eyes weren't born out of sadness. It was raw and pure emotion. She was touched. And she let her boyfriend know by hastily getting on her tiptoes and brushing her lips against his in a tender kiss.
The man in charge of the ride eyed them funnily. They surely must make a hell of a view but he had the good sense to not say a word. Anthony fished for his wallet inside the left pocket of his deep brown wool coat, pulled out a stack of notes, and with vehemence placed them in the man's hand. "I would like to book the ride for the next hour. That should cover it."
Gregory couldn't help but huff and roll his eyes at his brother's antics. Who even carried such large amounts of cash on themselves anymore? There was a reason credit cards had been invented.
Honestly, Anthony.
He was such a dad sometimes.
The thought brought a smile to his face.
But the smile dropped instantly when, upon attempting to move past his brother to get on the ride, he was stopped with a raised hand and serene expression.
"Later," Anthony began to explain, "this one is for Lucy and I. Alone."
Gregory regarded him with suspicion, but Kate only nodded. Over the years, they had learned to speak without needing words, and it wasn't hard for her to catch up on his intentions. It was all over his face, after all, one just needed to own the manual to crack the code. And it was as easy as paying attention to him.
Turning to Lucy, he offered her his most charming and bright smile, even going as far as bowing his head when she walked into the little fenced area before him. That made her laugh. It made her feel special. Like a little child bouncing with excitement over getting ice cream on a weekday, barely unable to stay still long enough to pick the flavor amongst the colorful array of options. It was everything little Lucy had wanted; someone who cared enough about her to want to spend time in her company. Someone who would willingly take her to places. Someone who didn't look bothered by her presence, someone that didn't make it sound like it was bothersome to share an evening with her. Someone who did not make her feel like she was a burden. It wasn't about the ride. It had never been about the carousel.
Lucy blinked, and the next thing she knew, Anthony was already on the ride, offering a hand to help her get on it and smiling at her in a way no one had ever smiled at her. It has been fast. And elegant. Not the kind of agility one expected from a man closer to his forties than to his thirties. But when she took hold of his outstretched hand, he pulled her up as if she were lighter than a feather, no signs of strain on his face, and Lucy was reminded, once again, that the two men were more alike than what anyone thought.
"My lady," he bowed overdramatically, letting his stretched arms point to one of the many majestic horses. Lucy placed a hand over her mouth, giggling, but she played along nonetheless by pitching her thumb and middle fingers together in the air as if she were holding the long skirts of her dress and bending her knees slightly.
"My lord." Another chuckle escaped her lips. The situation was ridiculously endearing. Lucy was the type of woman that always pondered her choices, and picking the best seat at the ride was no different. After inspecting all the different figures —horses of different colors, carriages, and swans —that acted as seats, she settled for two black horses with deep blue eyes. Emerald green saddles and white leashes added the final touch to the realistic pieces. Lucy hopped onto the horse with the grace and expertise of someone who had done it many times before, and Anthony briefly remembered a time in which a certain Lucinda had shaken the horse race circuits to its very core. He had just never made the mental connection that this Lucy and that Lucinda was the same person.
He wondered what had happened to make her abandon such a promising career. But that was a question for another day.
Getting on his inanimate horse, Anthony returned the easy smile Lucy was gifting him with. Anticipation sparkled in her eyes, her arms gripping the long metal bar holding the mare in place. Suddenly, the carousel came to life, the round lights painting the night sky in shades of red, blue, orange, and green, the loud chords of the soundtrack of a carnival filling the air. The horse jerked upwards, earning a squeal of delight from Lucy, and then downwards. She clapped with excitement.
On the ground, Kate and Gregory were watching them with palpable fondness. The younger man had his phone out and was recording the scene like a proud parent. Lucy waved every time the ride came to a complete lap, and both returned the wave eagerly. Anthony, on his part, was quiet, silently contemplating the energy and joy zooming out of her. He felt sorry for Richard. He felt very sorry for Richard than he had for anyone before. Sorry that he would never experience how beautiful it was to watch his little sister utterly enjoy herself. No worries, no inhibitions, no responsibilities, or the weight of expectations on her shoulders. Just pure and unaltered glee.
The engines of the delicate machine stopped, and Lucy giggled one last time. Her hand came to rest over his larger one, and still breathless, she stared into his dark eyes. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."
Anthony shook his head dismissively as if it wasn't a big deal. And then, looking at her, added solemnly, "It is what older brothers do."
Lucy's eyes filled with tears.
Anthony panicked. "Lucy—I am so sorry if I…" But she was smiling and shaking her head.
"I'm—I am just touched."
He didn't have time to reply because the loud footsteps of someone running on the wooden floor interrupted him. And then a smiling Gregory was coming in his direction, an amused Kate trailing behind him.
"I would like to have my girl back, thank you so much."
"You are so clingy," Anthony teased, rolling his eyes.
Gregory winked at him. "I learned from the best."