Chapter Text
"I'M GETTING MARRIED!" Colin pulls the phone away from his ear and winces.
"Sorry, could you speak up a bit, Katie?" he teases. "I didn't quite catch that."
"I'M GETTING MARRIED I'M GETTING MARRIED I'M GETTING MARRIED, you berk and you'd better be there."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he says honestly, putting the call on speaker and starting to shift through the pile on his desk for a calendar. "So Daniel finally proposed, eh? When's the big day?"
"July 31st. I know you're probably already booked but take one day off and come see me. We're doing the wedding in Dublin, so it'll be close to home for you. You can visit your family, I know your Mum doesn't see you enough."
"She'll never think I come home enough," Colin laughs. "July 31st...We're filming from June 1st, but I should be able to manage a day or two to come see one of my best friends get shackled."
"Brilliant! That means the whole Merlin group's going to be there! You and Angel and Bradley and even Anthony said he'd come."
"Grand," Colin says, picking up his pencil. "So put me down for one, then."
"Oh, Colin," Katie sounds disappointed. "Gareth didn't work out? Last time we talked it sounded like things were going well for you."
"Ah, well, you know," Colin says. "Filming and never having our schedules line up...it's hard, with two actors."
"Daniel and I did it," Katie points out softly.
"Yes, well, you're a sickeningly cute couple, of course you both made it work. But I'm not ready to settle down yet."
"Well," Katie says after a slight pause, "You'll meet plenty of boys at my wedding. My mate Sean from Trinity, and Daniel's cousin Merle..."
"Merle? What kind of a name is Merle?"
"It's a family name!"
"And yet you got the one with the normal name."
"Give him a chance. Merle's really nice!"
Colin sighs. "I miss you, Katie. I've got to head out now, but congratulations again, yeah?"
"Bye, Colin. Love you."
"Love you too girlie."
--
It wasn't like things had ended badly, per say.
No, they hadn't ended badly.
They just hadn't ended at all.
--
"Colin!" Bradley bellows and jumps to his feet to grab Colin in the one-armed bro hug of American footballers. Colin winces. So it's like that.
"Bradley." Colin nods and returns the hug half-heartedly. He smiles at the rest of the table and hugs Angel and Anthony, who look much the same as they did five years ago.
"How have you been, mate? I haven't heard from you! What's with that, eh?"
Colin doesn't point out that Bradley hasn't attempted to contact him once in the last five years.
"I've been well. Working on some new projects."
"I heard you got an Emmy for that American drama you did! Congratulations, man!" Bradley gives him another back-slapping handshake. Colin tries not to grimace.
"It's been a good few years," Colin continues. "How have you been?"
"Ginger and I are engaged!" Bradley pulls the pretty blonde girl at his side over and holds out her hand so Colin can see the ring. "Just happened! Last night!"
"Oh, that's great!" Colin smiles. "Katie will be thrilled, you know how she is about weddings."
"Yeah, like this one!" Bradley says, gesturing around the room. "Quite a beautiful spread, huh? Did you see the Merlin memorabilia on that wall?"
Colin turns and smiles. There's Merlin's kerchief, and the gauntlet Arthur threw at Tristan du Bois. There's Uther's signet ring and--"
"Bradley? Where's your ring?" Colin asks, looking at Bradley's left hand. Bradley shrugs.
"Took it off. Didn't seem right at a wedding."
Colin nods slowly, and Bradley finally meets his eyes. "Haven't been wearing it as much, actually. It's getting tight."
"He's going to be wearing a wedding ring soon, anyway," Ginger giggles, twisting her fingers into Bradley's hand and rubbing at the callus on his left thumb where the ring used to sit. "That's all the ring he needs, right honey?"
Bradley smiles at her but doesn't reply. Colin feels his stomach churning.
"Excuse me," Colin says, and gets up from the table. "I promised Katie that I would meet someone."
"Oh?" Bradley asks off-handedly. "What happened to Gareth?"
Colin pauses, surprised. Who told Bradley about Gareth?
"Well, I guess it has been four months," Bradley says, almost to himself. He starts counting on his fingers. "Louis, James, Galen, Olutope, Karl, Ankur...yup, you're right on schedule. The three-month wall holds true."
Anthony looks taken aback and Angel seems to be biting her cheek. Even Anthony's wife looks mildly appalled.
Colin grits his teeth. "Excuse me," he says, getting up and pushing his chair in very carefully. Then he nods at Anthony and Angel, turns his back on Bradley, and walks away.
--
Colin's nursing a glass of wine and staring at Arthur's red cape when Angel comes over.
"Colin!" Angel's always had an infectious, sunny smile. Colin gives in and returns it.
"Angel."
"I've missed you, how have you been?" Angel softly squeezes his elbow and lifts her glass to clink with his. "Posh, isn't this? Katie always knew how to do things in style."
Colin smiles a little more genuinely now. "Yeah. Daniel'll never have to worry about dressing for red carpets now."
"She's a brilliant actress, but I think Sean was on to something when he put her up for costume with the Tudors," Angel muses, taking another sip of wine.
"Ach, I dunno - " Colin grins even more widely now. "Remember that time she decided to make everyone sweaters for Christmas?"
"Oh god, yes," Angel giggles. "Point. Maybe acting's safer after all."
"Are you two laughing at me?" Katie runs up from the dance floor, her eyes sparkling and the magnificent diamond on her finger catching every light in the room.
"Us? Never," Angel puts on a serious face and nods solemnly, and Colin nearly chokes on his wine, turning away to hide his broad grin. No one does deadpan quite like Angel.
"I see," Katie says, hiding her own smirk. "Come on, now, Colin, you promised. Time to pay the piper."
Colin nods and sighs, squeezing Angel's hand and dutifully following Katie across the room.
"I'm all paid up after this, right?" Colin says in a low voice as they cross the room. It's slow going because Katie has to stop and greet every Great Aunt, Uncle, and cousin in their path.
"Oh, no," Katie grins mischievously. "You'll most definitely owe me. I predict that by New Years at the latest you'll be erecting shrines in honor of my fabulous matchmaking skills."
"Whatever you say, Kitkat." Colin dodges as Katie swats at him and puts his arm around her shoulders instead.
"You know, when the Duchess of Cambridge got married, she got people to start calling her Catherine," Katie muses. "I wonder if I could at least get certain people -" Katie glares up at him, "-to stop bringing up a ridiculous nickname that no one has used since I left Uni."
"Oh, but you're so sweet," Colin coos. "Like a chocolate bar. And everyone wants a piece of you."
"Berk. I've a mind not to introduce you to Merle after all." Katie lifts her nose up in the air and picks up her pace.
"Merle," Katie says as they approach a tall, good looking fellow with grey eyes and the kind of dark good looks that belong on a Jilly Cooper cover. "This is Colin. He's an absolute brute and if I were you I would stay away from him." Katie crosses her arms and walks off, leaving Merle and Colin alone.
"Call her Kitkat, did you?" Merle grins.
"Guilty," Colin smiles easily and holds out his hand. "I'm Colin."
"Katie said. Call me Em," Em takes Colin's hand and gives it a firm shake. "Merle's my grandfather; no one calls me that except my mother. And Katie."
"Katie would," Colin laughs.
"So..." The silence stretches a little. Em put his hands in his pockets and laughes.
"How are you liking Dublin?" Colin asks, rubbing one hand across the back of his head nervously. God, it hasn't been that long since he's been on a date, has it?
"It's lovely," Em says, smiling. "I've never been to Ireland before."
"Really? Daniel went to Trinity, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but I was doing a course at UVA at the time." Ah. That explains the accent.
"You're American?" Colin sounds surprised. "I wouldn't have guessed. Your accent..."
"No, no, I was brought up in Camden." Em smiles. "But my dad moved out there when I was young, and I decided to try my hand at the hospital there after Uni. I'm a doctor," he says by way of explanation.
"Ah." Of course. A smoking hot doctor who just happens to be related to Daniel, one of the most charming, posh, down-to-earth blokes that Colin's ever met. Katie's cat-got-the-cream attitude is starting to make a lot more sense.
"Any particular area?" Colin asks, because his mother is a nurse and he does remember some things from school.
"Neurosurgery," Em looks faintly surprised and pleased.
"That sounds difficult," Colin says, putting his hands in his pockets. God, what is this? He's a grown man and (he's been told) fairly attractive in his own right. Why is he suddenly fidgeting like a school boy?
"I like it," Em shrugs. "Every day is different."
"That's what I like about acting too," Colin says. "No two days are the same, even on Merlin, where we'd shoot a lot of similar scenes. I'm never bored."
"Exactly," Em's eyes twinkle.
"Colin!" Bradley roars up with another backslapping hug-handshake. He takes the opportunity to wiggle his way between Colin and Em before turning around to face Em. "Hello, I'm Bradley," Bradley says, holding his hand out politely.
"Em," Em says, his voice dry and flat.
"Bradley, we're in the middle of something here," Colin says, poking his old friend between the shoulder blades without any remorse. "If you wouldn't mind..."
"Oh, certainly, certainly," Bradley gives Colin his for-the-cameras smile, all teeth and no eyes. "Wouldn't want to deprive you of your next three months of entertainment. Em," Bradley says, turning to face the other man again, "Give me a call around Bonfire night, would you? Katie has my number, and I'd like to put money on the outcome this time."
"You complete arse," Colin says in a low voice, grabbing Bradley by the shoulders and forcing him away from Em. He notices how unsteady Bradley is on his feet, and curses Ginger for letting him get this drunk at a black-tie wedding. "You idiot. Go and splash water on your face or something and drink at least a gallon of water before you come back here, or you'll want to die come morning."
Bradley nods, suddenly looking oddly compliant. "Go find Ginger," Colin says for good measure. "I'm sure she'll look after you." Bradley just keeps nodding. Colin realizes that his hands are still on Bradley's shoulders. He steps back.
--
"Em, I am so sorry about that," Colin says, approaching the other man and holding out the tumbler of Jameson he's charmed out of the bartender.
Em gives him a weighted look and then smiles, taking the whiskey. "Cheers," Em says, toasting Colin with the glass. "It's fine, weddings are usually awkward affairs."
Colin smiles back, relieved. "Especially this one. I haven't seen most of these people in over five years."
"That bloke who was here just now," Em gestures in the direction of the doorway, where Bradley is stumbling off with a similarly unsteady Ginger supporting his weight. "When did you two break up?"
"We didn't. He's just a drunk idiot."
Em looks thoughtful behind his glass of whiskey, but doesn't push.