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It was a Bridgerton Sunday Tradition that after dinner, the family would watch a movie together. All curled up with their significant other, or if your Gregory, with the bolster that Kate gave him for Christmas last year.
Each of the siblings rotated to select the movie, and tonight it was Hyacinth's turn. This made everyone groan because the last time she was up, she forced everyone to watch Shrek 3, which to be fair wasn't the one in the franchise. However, tonight the protests seemed to die down when Head Over Heels by The Go-Go's started playing on the screen.
"Oh my god! Hyacinth you did not!" Franchesca almost leaped out of her seat out of excitement.
She turned to Michaela with an excited smile and said "It's 13 going 30, babe."
As a response, Michaela smiled at her and pulled her closer in her arms so they could cuddle.
"Oh, but I absolutely did." Hyacinth turned her head away from the television to look at Franchesca with a smug smile.
"God, I love this movie" Sophie barely whispered, but it was enough for Benedict to hear.
"and, I love you" he whispered into her ear, making her giggle. Maybe the exchange wasn't that quite after all, because it has caused Eloise to shout at her brothers and sisters.
"Oh, shush! the lot of you. The movie is starting and I wanna watch the 13 year old part without interruption! Thank you very much!" Eloise said to the room.
"Does everyone know this movie except me?" a very confused and very shocked Anthony asked the room.
"Okay, grandpa," Gregory said with a laugh while putting his arm up in the air, attempting a high five with Hyacinth, but was brutally ignored with an eye-roll.
"Hey! he may be older, but he's still my baby" Kate puts a pause in between old and er as a joke. This made the siblings laugh, except Eloise who really wanted to watch the movie in peace. Apparently, they all underestimated just how much she loved this movie.
"Okay, that's it! I'm playing the movie from the start" Eloise said, getting up from her seat and walking up to where Hyacinth was sitting. As the official movie liaison, Hyacinth was alo in control of the volume and remote control. Eloise snatched the remote from Hyacinth's hand and grumbled about not having her way with this family.
“Hey! I get to control the remote!” Hyacinth protested.
This caught Colin’s attention, who beforehand was not necessarily watching the film so much as staring at a certain someone who was on a date with a certain blonde boy.
"Oy, stop being pissy, El" Colin said in a joking tone.
"Oh, sod off, Col" El responded with an eye roll.
Penelope, who was on Colin's right side, felt the couch shift a little bit as Colin came closer and whispered something in her ear.
"Pissy as always. It's like Jenga all over again" This made her laugh partly because it was Colin and partly because the great Jenga incident was just hilarious.
Hearing her laugh at his joke made Colin's aching heart sooth a little.
An aching heart which he couldn't explain without being honest with himself, because why would his heart hurt this much if Pen brought a date? All his siblings have done the same thing, even before they had settled down.
The Bridgerton Sunday Tradition was like a right of passage to see if someone fits right in and so bringing a date wasn’t that out of order. So far, that blonde and smug, Alfred Debling, doesn't have a space for future dinners, as far Colin is concerned. What grown man would have the name Alfred, anyway?
Frankly, Colin should’ve seen this coming, because even if Penelope wasn’t technically a Bridgerton, she had grown-up with them. She was an honorary Bridgerton, she even gets a slot in between Eloise and Frachesca in selecting the movie, something that was only given to the in-laws.
Even Edwina brings a date once she thinks things are going serious and that didn’t make Colin feel like he wanted to skin himself alive. So why was it different now?
"Hey! stop giggling! I know you guys are talking about me" Eloise said from across the room who was still going round about rewinding the movie. This made Pen and Col laugh even harder.
“This is so typical of you, guys” Sophie said, which made Debling curious.
“What does she mean that it’s typical?” Debling asked a question that was directed at Penelope, who up until now seemed to be in a trance with Colin.
“Huh? I’m sorry. What was that?” Pen broke their trance and turned to face Debling.
“What she means is that it's typical for Pen and Colin to be laughing at some inside joke they have created about us.” Franchesca answered the question for Pen. She felt Debling stiffen against her. It seemed like Deblinghad underestimated just how close the two were.
Franchesca’s answer made Penelope blush because, i t was true. Somehow, along the way she and Colin did speak in a language of their own, filled with references and inside jokes only the two of them could decode. Sometimes, even Eloise couldn’t understand what they were laughing and going on about. It didn’t matter that no one else understood, what mattered was that they had understood each other. Just Pen and Col
“Remember that one time we went to the park and they just started laughing when Benedict asked for some tea? Like, what was that about?” Simon added to Franchesca’s answer.
This made Penelope turn her head to where Colin was sitting, only for her to see that he was already looking at her. Of course, no one knew that Benedict once drank Colin’s hallucinogenic tea from Greece, only to make a fool of himself during the first dinner with the Sharma’s. It wasn’t until after the dinner that Colin made her promise and told her the story of how Benedict was actually high during dinner.
“Wait, you told Pen about the tea! Does the brother code not mean anything to you, now?” Benedict told Colin in an accusatory tone, which once again broke the trance they were in.
“What’s this about tea now?” Anthony asked in his stern tone. Benedict grumbled something that no one could actually hear. He was dodging Anthony’s question because he knew he would both get in trouble for doing that during dinner with the Sharma’s.
“A good story must be told, Ben. Don’t blame the messenger, blame the message” Colin responded with a defensive tone. It was only partly true, because what he really wanted to say is that of course, he told her, because she was Pen. She was the first person who he thinks of when something happens to him, good and bad. It was a no-brainer that whatever secret Colin knows, Pen must know too.
“What’s the tea story! Even, I don’t know about that and I know everyone’s business” Hyacinth complained to Colin.
“Oh, it's hilarious. Benedict told me the story during our first date, totally breaking the ice. Not that it matters, but I can see why Colin and Pen would laugh” Sophie said smiling at the both of them.
“Okay! Enough. Pen, Colin, Park, Tea, Story- Whatever! We have a more important story on our television, people!” Eloise said while stomping back to her seat. Eloise sat right back on Colin's left side and slapped his arm.
"Ouch! Hey! Pen laughed too" Colin said in defense.
"Oh please. She only laughed because of you!" Eloise said in an accusatory tone.
Colin thought that's right, only I can make her laugh. That bloke, Debling can go fuck off. Colin smiled to himself. Eloise thought her brother was going crazy, because suddenly smiles like a love sick puppy while bantering with your sibling.
His smile dropped when he heard Penelope trying to suppress a laugh from something Debling whispered in her ear.
Colin thought who was that bloke anyway? making His Pen laugh? Wait, his pen? Where did that come from?
"Just watch the movie, El" Colin said coldly before standing up and going to the kitchen making the excuse of getting more popcorn.
From where he was standing in the kitchen, he could still see Pen, who was apparently his Pen, and Debling cuddling on the sofa/makeshift bed situation they always do during the movies. He started to get flashes of his Pen and Debling laughing while having a picnic, his Pen and Debling getting married, having sex, getting married. His Pen and that pompous blonde laughing at the park with their own secret joke. It was like the room ran out of oxygen, when he felt an arm on his shoulders.
He was surprised by the hand, but felt relief that it was only Daphne and not Eloise, because he wouldn't be able to explain why he was spiralling at the thought of his best friend laughing with another person that wasn't him.
"Hey, you okay?" Daphne said, clearly sensing Colin's distress state.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Never better" Colin said, lying through his teeth and giving her a fake smile.
They were silent for a moment. While, Colin was pretending that there is something particularly interesting with a packet of popcorn.
Of course, Daphne knew him better than that. He wasn't okay. He looked like a man who just discovered something great, only to lose it immediately after.
"He's a friend from her office, apparently. He was asking her for months, but Pen only said yes like three weeks ago." Daphne paused, hoping to get a reaction out of Colin. He only continued dissecting that packet and so Daphne went on.
"You know? Three weeks ago when you decided to go on that 3-month spontaneous Greece holiday, only to come back" Daphne said.
This made Colin, finally, stop fidgeting the packet and looked up to meet Daphne's eyes.
"I don't know what you're trying to tell me here, Daph" He said before walking towards the microwave and tossing the packet.
"Don't even try to deny it, Col. I see the way you look at her. It was the very same thing I saw with Anthony and Kate when he brought her to Aubrey Hall. The very same thing with Benedict and Sophie when he brought her to Bridgerton House. This house." Daphne said with her signature calm, yet stern voice when her brothers are being difficult.
Of course, Colin remembered three weeks ago. If he could relive that day he would.
The day he met heaven and sin only to be left with a "Thank you for the kiss" and a terrified Penelope running back inside the Featherington house.
Like she didn't just rearrange his very being. Like the taste of her lips didn't send chills all over his body. Like her small gasps and moans didn't haunt him every night. Like that wasn't the best thing that had ever happened to him. Like she wasn't everything he wanted and more.
Like she didn't break his heart for leaving him standing in the garden. Only, to be broken once again when he cut the trip short for her only to be greeted by that blond vegetarian.
Despite Daphne's best efforts, Colin didn't utter a single work, or even a sound for that matter.
"Be honest with yourself, Col. So you can be honest for the both of you" Daphne said giving Colin a soft smile.
Colin pulled her in for a hug which only ended when the microwave went off and the smell of popcorn invaded the room.
From the couch, Penelope could see Daphne and Colin sharing a hug after what seemed to be a heartfelt conversation.
Penelope knew she was supposed to be focusing on the movie and on the man curled up beside her. She shouldn't be stealing glances and searching for Colin Bridgerton who was distance away from her. And she really should not be imagining what it would feel like to kiss Colin again.
She almost turned into a puddle when his lips grazed her ear earlier. Like those lips didn't fill up her most inner desires. Like those lips didn't make her lose her mind. Like wasn't thinking about how it would feel like to be pressed against her lips, her neck, her body, her soul.
Like those lips didn't break her heart for running away to Greece after touching hers.
When Colin and Daphne went back to the room. Hyacinth suddenly pressed pause causing Anthony, who was now invested, to groan.
"Oh, so dramatic. I need to pee and since it's my night! no one can watch without me. I'll be quick" Hyacinth said while sprinting out of the room and into the nearest bathroom.
"Gross! Just go, hy!" Gregory shouted at her.
“This is why I always tell her to go easy on those sodas, love.” A very concerned Anthony complained to Kate.
"Are you okay?" Penelope said with a small voice that he could barely make it out.
Colin looked at her confused and a little surprised by her sudden question.
"Yeah. Of course, I am. Why do you ask, Pen?" He said, giving her a fake smile.
Penelope knew it was a fake smile, she could spot it a mile away, even without her glasses.
"Oh, okay. I just saw you and Daphne hugging just wanted to make sure you were alright" Penelope said in a soft voice making his heart melt. Because, even if she broke his heart, she was still Pen. She will always be his pen. The kind hearted girl who made him fall off his bike. His confidant, best friend and greatest love. The one that can make a broken heart continue to beat.
Suddenly, all he could see was her. Nothing matters, not even the fact that she has a date who doesn't seem to be catching on with everything that is going on. All he could think about was their kiss and how he badly wanted to do it again.
Suddenly, all she could see was him. Nothing matters, not even the fact that her date seems to be more interested in his phone than getting to know the most important people in her life. Nothing matters cause all she could think about is Colin and his lips that taste like forever.
Their eyes were locked. No one dared to look away and no one wanted to look away. The sound of the Bridgertons bickering over whatever thing that was just faded into the background. All they could hear was their own heart beats, pounding and pounding and pounding.
"Okay! I'm back!" A running Hyacinth shouted breaking the trance Pen and Colin were in. Colin gave her a soft smile and turned his head back to the television.
"Finally!" Anthony shouted not before turning on his dad mode and ensured she indeed washed her hands
"Oh my God! Of course, I did! What do you take me for? I didn't know everyone felt this strong about 13 going on 30. I mean do all of you believe in friends to lovers?" Hyacinth asked the room as the movie was playing in the background.
“Of course, we do. Mom always says that the greatest foundation for love is friendship” Daphne responded as a matter of fact and all of her siblings nodded.
“True, she said the same thing to me after bringing Michaela during the dinner, back when we were still friends” Franchesca answered.
“I believe in it, but love comes in different forms. Kate and I didn’t begin with friendship” Anthony said making the siblings scoff, because who could ever forget the great Kate and Anthony rivalry.
“But, I guess we always end up with friendship, Because, now, Kate is my best friend.” Anthony continued and Kate was looking at him with so much love and admiration. Kate placed a kiss on Anthony’s cheek making him smile and press a kiss on her lips. At this point, the siblings aren’t even bothered by the very public displays of affection, because it seemed like everyone understood love.
While everyone was talking all Colin could hear was that this is that, Debling was friends with Penelope before they started dating. They were literally the Friends to Lovers trope, it didn’t help that all of his siblings seemed to be indirectly encouraging Penelope by saying how romantic it would be to end up with a friend.
Colin knew he needed to do something to discourage Pen from believing that friends to lovers work. He would even go against his own beliefs just to try and stop her from marrying that man.
“How about you, guys?” Hyacinth asked in the direction from where Eloise, Colin, Penelope, and Debling was sitting.
"What? No! That crap isn't real" Colin scoffs with an incredulous tone.
At the same time, Penelope answered "Yes. That shit is romantic."
Both their hearts drop at the response of the other.
“I’m with Colin on this one. I just don’t see it. Theo was a friend and look at me now. Screw friendship. Back me up on this one, Col.” Eloise said with much more conviction than the others. She broke up with Theo a week ago after finding out that he got a girl pregnant.
Colin who was on the verge of a crash out, coughed at the sound of his name. “Ah, yes. There’s too much too lose if one starts with friendship” Colin said in a small voice, sounding less confident that before.
“But, isn’t there also so much to earn when it actually works out? I didn’t take to be such a pessimist when it comes to this, Col.” Penelope responded
“I just don’t see it, Pen.” Colin responded with a much harsher tone this time. By that, what he really meant is he doesn’t want to see it be Penelope and Debling in love. Debling being her best friend, just like how Kate was Anthony’s.
“Okay, that’s enough of that. Continue the movie, Hy” Daphne said, trying to break the tension in the room.
Colin felt like his world was about to crash out, because Pen was convinced that friends to lovers work, which means she thinks that she and Debling would work. He knew he would be losing her forever.
Meanwhile, Penelope’s heart was breaking. All she could think about was how Colin would never love her. He didn’t even believe that friendship could turn into love.
When she heard Vienna playing as Jenna went back home to her parents. Penelope saw herself in her. Broken. Lost. Aching. Like the earth swallowed her and spit her out broken hearted. Colin would never love her. He didn’t believe their friendship could turn into something more wonderful. He didn’t believe that he could ever fall for a friend like her. She knew that now.
Penelope was surprised to feel a cold tear running from her eyes.
“Hey, are you crying? I’m sorry earlier I didn’t know you really believed in that” Colin pulled Pen into his arms and removed her from Debling’s hold.
“No, I’m fine, Col. I just really love the Vienna scene. It’s a girl thing” Penelope's muffled voice said as she was pressed up against Colin’s soft and warm sweater.