Archive of Our Own

"I'm sorry," Penelope paused, halfway through a sentence, her fingers hovering over her keyboard to listen to her best friend. She blinked at him in confusion, hoping she had heard him wrong. While she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to hear in its place, all she knew was that she didn't want to hear that. "You said what?!"

"I said that I lied to the police department and told them that I'm a psychic," Colin repeated, at least having the decency to look sheepish, his face and ears turning a soft pink as he brought his shoulders up in an unsure shrug.

Penelope looked at him like he was crazy, feeling slightly crazy herself for wanting to put him in her pocket from whatever outcome this led to. Being around Colin Bridgerton always made her feel like this, topsy turvy upside down, head over heels crazy. And she certainly wasn't the only one, multiple family members claiming he could get away with murder multiple times.

Why she couldn't be best friends and secretly in love with someone's whose name was never brought up along with murder and the police she didn't know.

"And you did that why?" Penelope asked, closing her laptop. "Why were you even at the police department in the first place? It's eleven o'clock at night!"

"Believe it or not that's actually the best part, I was practically invited," he pointed a finger at her, taking a seat across from her, indulging himself to a sip of her now cold coffee. "It was a usual Friday night of doomscrolling with the TV on. I had randomly selected the channel three news and --"

"Randomly, yeah right, grandpa," Penelope interrupted with a playful scoff.

Colin returned it gracefully, scoffing back. "Excuse you, I am but a mere five years older than you. In my rightful opinion, I don't look a day over twenty five," he said with a flip of his nonexistent long hair.

"Whatever helps you sleep at your self assigned bedtime of 8:30," she teased, nudging his foot with hers. "So you were watching the news?"

"And there was this story on a shop owner who's store was being robbed," Colin continued, taking another drink of her coffee. "He was being interviewed about what happened, when, and a bunch of other stuff and I noticed he was fidgeting. He was playing with his fingers, making a pattern of some sort on his jeans and it wasn't a big deal," Colin stopped, brushing himself off, knowing how he sounded.

"But?" Penelope pressed, leaning in to hear every word, loving how Colin sounded when he was explaining something, how every word had its place and served its purpose.

"But," Colin continued with a smile, leaning in too. "He couldn't look the anchorwoman in the eye as he was talking. Eyes shifting to the side and shifting in place, that sort of stuff. So I, a concerned citizen, called it in as a tip to the police department, even catching the expired license plate to the news van as a freebie."

"How vigilant of you, Mr Bridgerton," Penelope fluttered, impressed by his catch of something as small as the plate.

From a young age, Colin had always been very observant, product of being a middle child stuck between much older brothers and much younger sisters, and not having one specific outlet. Back in school, he was always surprising teachers with his ability to describe (and recall) something in perfect detail when they were of the opinion that he hadn't been paying them any attention.

"Why thank you, Miss Featherington," he remarked, using his posh-est accent (which was just his regular voice plus). "They call me back almost immediately after right, so I assume it's for my reward money, maybe even a little pat on the back."

"A little scratch behind the ears?" Penelope can't help but ask, using her hands as fake ears.

"I would have accepted a belly rub as well," he laughed, smacking his belly in mimic of a happy seal, making her giggle.

"They call me not to give me my rightfully earned maybe fifty pounds, but instead, to arrest me, Pen! As if I not only committed the crime but confessed to it. I'm in cuffs almost the second I step into the lobby," he recalls, mimicking the movement.

"No!" Penelope gasped, this time not pretending for a bit they were doing, but genuinely offended and confused as to why they would ever suspect Colin (winner of the Most Likely to Get Away with Murder award notwithstanding).

"Yes," Colin nodded, solemn. "And having a quote unquote "record" certainly didn't help," he rolled his eyes bitterly.

Penelope winced, knowing exactly what incident he was talking about.

The day after Colin had just gotten his driver's license, he'd thought it be Very Cool and Grown Up of him to take the younger siblings (herself included) for a ride. She can still remember the feeling of the wind in her then shorter hair and the stickiness of the milkshakes as they passed them back and forth.

Unfortunately, Anthony didn't think it was quite so funny when he found the vehicle missing and had gotten him arrested to try and teach him a lesson, ultimately landing on his permanent record.

"Wait," Penelope crossed her arms, "so why did you think lying was the solution to this?"

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time," Colin admitted, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "And it worked pretty good, too! The receptionist promised me that she'd stop going to see palm readers 24/7 since I can speak to her grandma."

"Colin," Penelope sighed.

Colin flinched at the quiet disappointment in her tone, bringing his hands to his lap. "I know how it sounds, Pen, but this is a good thing! They were clearly taking advantage of her, at least my lie keeps her safe from charlatans."

"Regardless of charlatans," Penelope couldn't help but snort at the word in her mouth. "I'm just glad that this whole arresting you thing is over with," she shook her head in relief, her shoulders feeling much lighter despite there being no actual issue.

"Yeah, about that," Colin stopped, not quite looking at her in the eye.

"Colin," Penelope interjected.

"As I was leaving the station," he kept going, this time looking especially guilty.

"Colin," she tried again.

"The chief asked me to tag along to the next one!" He said in one breath, the anticipation rolling off of him in waves.

Penelope's eyes went wide. "Colin Bridgerton!"

"And she said that I could possibly be an asset to the team! Can you believe that?!" Colin exclaimed, full on ignoring her as he waved his hands in every direction, no longer weighed down by her sad voice. "That's practically something out of my Scooby Doo fantasies! Do you think they provide Mystery Machines or do I have to supply my own?"

Penelope loved an excited Colin. He was equally tied with an embarrassed Colin and when mixed with sappy, drunk Colin, sometimes she thinks she'd burst with her love for him like a busted piñata. She hated to be the one to rain on his fake psychic parade but one of them had to see sense.

"I'm not so sure about this, Colin," she worried her bottom lip, a dozen scenarios running through her head. "It just doesn't seem safe to willingly go through with your lie when you could wind up in serious danger, not to mention you could land in prison for your antics!"

He gave her his puppy dog eyed look that only ones of the immortal world and the completely heartless could resist and Penelope sighed. "I just hate to think of something happening to you."

"I understand. You're totally right, Pen. I don't know what I was thinking," he gave her a half smile, a mischievous glint in his eyes making Penelope anxious. "Running around any police investigation, even if I'm just trying to help, would just be getting in the forensic team's way."

Penelope blinked at him, now hearing his words in slow motion. "I'm sorry, but did you just say forensics?" Her eyes sparkling in excitement at the mere thought.

Colin let out a small laugh before shaking his head. "No, Pen. As you said, it's too risky and I --"

Penelope shushed him, shaking her head as if to erase the memory. "Colin, this is literally something out of my Veronica Mars fantasies, okay? Fuck it, I'm in."

"Is it weird that I'm nervous?" Penelope mumbled as they walked side by side into what essentially was their first case.

In order to make a good first impression, non-psychic powers aside, they had decided to rent a car, a blue Toyota Echo to serve as their Mystery Machine (unfortunately still unnamed due to conflicting blue related opinions), to get them to the disappeared person's home in style.

"A little bit, yeah," Colin teased, nudging her shoulder with his arm due to their height difference. "You look cute, though," he referred to her matching lavender set and ballet shoes with little bows.

How very Pen of her to wear bows to a kidnapping case, Colin mused with a smile. It was a far cry from how differently her mother used to dress her when they were kids in eye-catching (and often blinding) neon oranges and bright yellows. Though he had always had a bit of a soft spot for her old wardrobe when asked he would plead the fifth, unwilling to face his sister, Eloise's, wrath of telling women what to wear.

"Thank you," Penelope stopped walking to courtesy. "I got cute for the cool equipment we'll see."

"And here I thought you were getting cute for being my partner in crime fighting," Colin pouted, only half joking as he was always incredibly grateful to her company and relished her presence, crime fighting or no.

Spending time with Penelope had always been a favorite pastime of his, regardless of what they were doing. They could spend the whole day together communicating with nothing but emojis and smoke signals and Colin would consider it a day well spent cause it was time spent with her.

He was really happy they were doing this together.

"Crime lying, you mean," she scoffed loudly, trying to be heard over the sound of someone rolling out a trash bin.

"Oooh, pause on the fun banter," Colin said, running to the side of the house, headed towards where the garbage was kept till pickup.

Penelope quickly followed after him, brows furrowed. "What are you doing?"

Colin rifled through the first bin before he clicked his tongue, moving onto the next one. "Someone hasn't been recycling correctly," he admonished, flicking through a stack of trashed papers.

"To answer your question, Pen," Colin looked back at her. "I'm not too sure. I'm just doing what feels right. Although the amount of magazine clippings and cutouts in here is oddly suspicious, though, no?"

"That's extremely suspicious!" Penelope agreed, shoving past him to get a better look. "Was there any mention of a ransom anywhere?"

Colin shook his head in the negative. "You would think so, considering he was kidnapped, but there was no mention of one in the case file. Which means...."

"Means?" Penelope motioned him to continue.

"I honestly have no idea what it means," Colin sighed, brushing a hand through his curls in a confused manner.

Penelope blinked at him for a second before she started laughing, covering her mouth with her hand. The sound was so infectious that Colin couldn't help but do the same, their shared laughter ringing in the air.

"You're the worst psychic detective I've ever met," she snorted, shaking her head fondly.

"Excuse you," Colin scoffed, reaching over to tug at one of her curls, watching it spring back up in insistence. "I'm the only psychic detective you've ever met. And you better keep it that way, Featherington. I am a jealous man, after all."

"What are you doing here?" Was their very warm greeting into the mansion.

"See, Pen? I told you that they were expecting us," Colin turned to Penelope with a grin on his face.

"We were invited," Penelope piped up.

"Why are you here?" The head detective asked again, ignoring Penelope, rubbing at his temples. "And why are you bringing people with you? This is a serious investigation. Someone is missing and could possibly be in danger."

"Oh, I'm aware," Colin gave a fake smile, a little ticked off that he had ignored Penelope. "That's exactly why we're here; to solve the case."

Now Colin hadn't set out on getting on anyone's nerves when he and Pen had made their way down here, but if he had wanted to, then apparently implying to solve cases faster than the local detectives would be the first step.

Brimsley gave them such a disgusted look that Colin was about one second away from telling him that it might just get stuck that way if he wasn't careful before his partner gracefully interrupted.

"Come on, Brim," she coaxed, dragging him away from the two. "Let's think about your blood pressure."

He looked at her agasp, as if feeling betrayed that she had mentioned such a thing in front of them. "My blood pressure is just fine, Stirling!"

"And let's keep it that way," she scolded, glaring up at him, softening when he conceded. "Hopefully before Reynolds finds out."

"As for you two," she turned her glare at them, making them jump. "Keep your voodoo shit to yourselves and don't interfere."

Colin, growing up with four sisters that he easily disobeyed on the regular after many apologies later, nodded. Pen, on the other hand, he realized, didn't quite share the same experience.

Penelope matched her glare back, tapping one of her feet. "I'll have you know that we have the same right to be here just as you do under the chief's orders. Maybe even more so considering that psychic activity is really hard on the mind and the body," she trailed off purposefully, implying just how dim she thought the police department was.

Michaela's glare softened to an impressed look. "Just," she sighed, looking between the two, ignoring Penelope's glare. "Keep safe, alright?"

"We will," Colin nodded, nudging Pen to answer.

Colin watched her walk away, Penelope fuming to herself at his side. "Sometimes I forget how scary you are," he said, voice fondly.

"I'm taking that as a compliment," she sniffed, crossing her arms.

"I wouldn't want you not to," Colin responded, tugging at one of her curls. "Now, down girl, we have a mystery to solve."

"Colin, what are you doing?" Penelope asked, a hand on her hip as she took in the scene before her; a suddenly glittered and feather boa-ed Colin Bridgerton. As much as she loved seeing him interact with kids, now was so not the time.

Colin waved his pinkie finger at her, teacup in hand. "Having tea, why? What are you doing?"

"And that's helpful how?" She kept pressing. "The detectives were questioning the older sister for info we need to be listening to."

"Oh come on, Pen," Colin exclaimed, inviting her to take a seat next to him at the table he barely fit under. "You know as much as I do that the little sisters are the ones with all the real information," he winked.

Penelope flushed at the mention of the extremely popular gossip blog she used to run when she was in uni. It had started as something just for fun, something to scratch her writer's itch and had completely escalated into a very big deal.

She was glad that they had reached a point where they could joke about it after having included him in one of the articles, remembering how they had stopped being friends for a minute (months) because of it.

Before she could respond, a little girl, no more than six, marched into the room, holding a bright pink teapot. She smiled a toothy grin at her as she walked by, taking a seat in front of her best friend.

"So sorry about that," she apologized, placing an extra play biscuit on Colin's assigned plate as a gift. "Now, one sugar or two?"

Colin pretended to think over his answer, the two of them knowing that if he had the option he'd actually prefer to have three sugars. "One pretty please, Your Highness." He handed over the cup.

She nodded gracefully, plopping crumbled up balls of paper as the sugar into the fake tea. "You have nice manners, mister. But back to Lassie dog," she started, taking a second to readjust her tiara.

"Lassie?" Penelope rose a brow at the girl, this being the first mention of any household pet.

"Interrupting is rude," she pouted, putting her nose in the air.

Penelope flushed in embarrassment as Colin apologized for her, pulling out the chair next to him again. "May my friend join us, Your Highness? She listens better after a cup of tea," he explained.

"Okay!" She agreed instantly, clapping her hands together. "But I don't have another boa..."

"It's fine, we can share mine," Colin quickly offered, unwrapping and then re-wrapping the accessory around them both.

"You smell like peppermint," he whispered in her ear, making her shiver at his closeness.

She elbowed him in the ribs, trying to glare at him instead of melt. "Focus," she hissed, grateful the girl in front of them was distracted by readying her a teacup.

"I am focused. Is it a new shampoo? Perfume?" Colin pressed, nudging her shoulder with his.

"I'll tell you later," she mumbled, looking in the opposite direction, cheeks aflame.

"Big brother would take Lassie everywhere with him, which was SO unfair cause she was supposed to be mine. Daddy got her for me cause I got first in my school spelling bee." The girl came back, words spilling out of her mouth rapidly.

"Hey, Juliet, is it possible we could meet Lassie?" Colin asked, straightening in his seat in interest.

"Can't," she shook her head, eyebrows scrunched. She motioned for them to lean in closer. "She's missing, too. Daddy said not to say anything cause she'll come home, but it's been ages since we've played!"

Penelope exchanged a look with Colin. "Luckily, we're able to play with you!" She raised her teacup elegantly.

"Indeed, Your Highness," Colin put on his fancy accent again. "Do you usually have many guests at these events?"

Juliet shook her head, dropping her gaze to her lap. "No. Sissy doesn't like tea parties anymore and only one of my brothers can attend sometimes so it just me."

"We got all day, Jules," Colin shrugged, watching her smile grow wider at the nickname. "Do your worst," he challenged.

An hour or two of playing tea party and whatever else game Juliet came up with, Penelope was more than cursing out Colin because of his dare, but hey.

At least that crossed Juliet off the suspect list.

"I know who did it," Colin said in between bites of his ice cream, offering a spoonful to Pen in order to have a taste of hers. He had been planning on taking her to this creamery for some time now and what better time than the present!

"Wha," Penelope muttered, blinking at him before taking the offered bite. "It's been a day! We were in the house once and had tea!"

Colin shrugged. "I guess mystery solving isn't as hard as The Hardy Boys made it seem. Huh, no wonder there were so many."

"So, what, we just imagined the kidnapping?" She chewed on her spoon.

"No, of course not. That'd be ridiculous," he waved his spoon at her. "He kidnapped himself."

"Colin," Penelope deadpanned, "are you having me on? What do you mean kidnapped himself?"

"He was a party man, Pen! Cars, girls, alcohol, literally living the high life. Why would he give that up unless forced to? Answer; he didn't," he paused dramatically, watching Pen grow more annoyed.

"And how exactly did he do that, oh great psychic?" She rolled her eyes.

"Cute. You should address me that way going forward, I think." He ducked the crumpled up napkin she threw at his head. "He pretended to be kidnapped, dear Pen, in order to avoid being reformed and still get money out of it."

Penelope bit her lip, thinking on that plan. "That's like, genius-ly evil. Evilly genius?" Her face scrunched up cutely. "So, if he's self kidnapped then where is he now?"

Colin gave her a smirk, finishing the last bit of his ice cream with flourish. "Fancy taking a road trip with me?"

"Remind me of where we are again," Penelope requested, just barely dodging a spider web to the face. They had driven out to a woodsy trail early the next day and while she believed in Colin wholeheartedly, she failed to see how this connected to the case.

"This," Colin gestured with his hands, walking backwards in front of her. "Is where our darling tea party master and her family would vacation on occasion. And since the police don't suspect Wilding -- Juliet's assigned other brother -- they haven't scouted it out."

Penelope let out a barely contained scream, jumping forward to grab his arm. "Colin, that's--! I mean, that's a really good lead! How confident are you that they're over at the cabin?"

Colin smiled down at her, his gaze fond. "Confident enough to bring some spy gear," he half-shrugged, watching her eyes light up.

"Shut up, what did you bring me?" She bit her lip, blinking up at him no doubt with hearts in her eyes.

He laughed at her, taking out some small binoculars, holding them above her head when she tried to swipe them away. "Hey! Whatever happened to the magic word?"

Penelope jumped for the binoculars, pouting as she failed to reach for them. "Please stop being a jerk and hand them over!"

"Good enough, I guess," Colin hummed, passing it to her.

Penelope stuck out her tongue, sticking her nose in the air in triumph.

"Oh my god, Colin," she gasped, peering through the binoculars. "It's them. It's the guys! Look, there's the dog!"

The labrador across the lake from them, as if channeling her excitement, barked and barked and barked.

Colin took out another pair of binoculars (from god knows where) and started bouncing in place. "Oh, shit, Pen! We found them! We did it!"

Penelope shook her head, giggling at Colin's silly dances. "No, you did it, Colin. I was just the sidekick," she joked.

Colin paused in his dancing, shaking his head at her, his eyes looking extra blue in the sunlight. "I couldn't have done any of this without you, Pen. You know that."

Penelope grew nervous at his sincerity, knowing he truly felt that way. "I was just doing my anchor/best friend duties!"

"Yeah, I know," Colin grabbed her hand, giving it a small squeeze, not letting her joke her way out like he usually did. "I really appreciate you doing this with me."

She squeezed his hand in return. "I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."

"Good," he declared, squeezing her hand again. "Because I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else."

"And you never will," she declared, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. "Because I'm easily jealous too, Bridgerton, and don't you forget it."

They stayed like that for what felt like a lifetime, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes before Penelope broke the comfortable silence, heart fluttering in her chest.

"Let's call the police. No, even better! The chief herself," Penelope exclaimed, eyes sparkling at the thought. She had half a mind to start rubbing her hands together like a fly....

"No need, Pen," Colin stopped her train of thought. "I feel a vision coming on," he gasped, left hand moving to the side of his head.

"Do you have some sort of tracker on us?" Brimsley exclaimed, watching them come up with smiles on their faces. He searched his pockets frantically as Michaela shook her head in her hands.

"We solved it," Penelope said sweetly, lowering her sunglasses to reveal her smug look. Colin laughed internally at the way she quote unquote "acted casual."

Michaela rolled her eyes. "Go tell another officer. We're on our lunch break."

"It's kinda urgent," Colin's words came out as a question, confused at how easily they could brush them and their information off.

"And so is my stomach," Brimsley smiled sarcastically and went around him.

Penelope scoffed in disbelief and flicked off his back as he walked away.

"Fine, go ahead and enjoy your lunch and don't believe us," Colin shrugged, turning to get back in the car before he turned back. "Oh, just don't order the chicken."

The detectives exchanged a look before shaking their heads at them before walking away completely.

Colin giggled to himself before making his way to the front of the restaurant, motioning to Pen to follow him.

"You're an asshole," Penelope elbowed him lightly, leaning into his side afterward.

"You love me," he leaned on her back. "Now sit back and watch the show."

They watched as the duo were sat down quickly, luckily somewhere near the window where they could spy. They chatted for a second or two (no doubt about them) before a waiter came by.

Colin would consider himself pretty okay at lip reading, nothing too special but even without reading Brimsley's confident form and cocky gaze, he could sense that he would be ordering something chicken related.

"I really don't understand why they haven't shut this place down yet," Penelope mused from beside him.

Colin, being the extreme foodie that he is, had brought her to this place for a mini celebration of a book deal she had gotten and while the sentiment had been lovely, they both ended up getting severe food poisoning. Later they'd find out Charles Cho, someone with the worst allergies he'd ever seen, was (and still is) manning the grill.

"I'm not too sure but if I had to guess I'd say it's probably so we could get to this exact moment," he turned to look at her, relishing in how perfect she looked tucked into his side.

Feeling his eyes on her, Penelope turned to look at him. "That's a pretty good guess," she murmured, her pinkie finger wrapping around his.

Colin hummed softly, barely noticing as Brimsley stormed towards them.

"Back so soon?" Colin called out not so innocently, using his other hand to cover his smile and twin dimples.

"What is it?" Brimsley sighed.

"Yup, it's exactly how I saw it in my vision," Colin nodded, eyeing up the trees surrounding them, walking further up the trail. He put on a show of not knowing where to step as he looked at the ground floor.

"What are we supposed to be looking for?" Michaela called from behind them, stepping over branches.

"Does anyone have any binoculars of some kind?" Penelope suggested innocently, bringing up the rear. "That'd be helpful, I think."

Brimsley huffed from his place beside him. "Why would we--?"

"Oh, here's a pair in my pocket!" Colin exclaimed, interrupting him as he peered through them. He delayed finding the cabin right away, not trying to look so obvious that he knew where it was. "Well, would you look at that!"

He handed the binoculars over to Brimsley to have a look through, pointing him to where he wanted him to look.

"Stirling," he gritted his teeth, hands clutching the binoculars. "Call for backup."

"It really is all in a day's work," Colin called after them as they headed back to their car.

"How much you wanna bet that we're growing on them," Penelope joked, coming to stand next to him.

"As competitive as we Bridgertons are, even I know that's a losing bet," he tickled her side, making her giggle. "Now," he offered her his arm, which she took readily. "Let's go bask in our victory from a gloating distance."

Before they could do so, maybe order a pizza or two to eat in celebration (Colin's stomach had allowed them to skip breakfast so they could get an early start but now was making itself known), they were called into the cabin by an officer they didn't know.

Instead of the fanfare that they had been expecting, they were met with two dead bodies; Fife and Wilding. Fife was on the ground, blood pooling around his body, his eyes having since been closed. His accomplice Wilding sat at the table, holding a gun pointed directly at his face.

Colin gasped at the scene in confusion at first, unable to disguise it. He felt Penelope tense at his side before silently excusing herself.

Colin took a small second to take in the blood and odd pieces of hair left on the corner of the table and the remains of a broken tea kettle on the stove before he raced out of the door. He hardly noticed as Lassie trailed after him.

"Pen!" He called after her, looking for her in the darkness. His heart had a moment of panic until he found her leaning on their car, hugging herself.

She looked up at him, a small, uncomfortable smile on her pale face. She looked smaller than she usually did, bringing Colin back to the little girl that frantically apologized to his younger self for her kite knocking him off his bike.

Colin walked up to her tentatively, holding his arms out. "Can I-- oof!" He was cut off guard as the redhead rushed into his arms, snuggling into him for all he was worth.

His heart broke a little at the feeling of her trembling in his embrace.

"Maybe," he swallowed, rubbing his hand in comforting circles on her back. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all."

"What do you mean?" Her voice was muffled by his sweatshirt.

"I mean," he pulled her in closer. "Maybe we shouldn't have gotten involved. This is feeling a whole lot more serious than what we were anticipating."

"Wait, Colin, no," she shook her head, distancing herself from him slightly to look him in the eye. "I knew what I was signing up for."

"No, I know," he agreed, so very proud of her. "I just can't believe the thought of never seeing blood didn't cross my mind. I'm sorry, Pen."

"Colin, stop apologizing. This isn't your fault." Her eyes pleaded with him. "I just got a little lightheaded is all. You know how I am around blood, but I'm fine now."

He sighed, knowing that her stubbornness wouldn't allow them to quit just like that, even if he was doing it to protect her. It was one thing that he really loved about her, but not when it put her well-being in the backseat.

"Fine, just promise to tell me when you're not feeling up to whatever crazy thing I'm planning, okay?" He told her seriously, heart pounding at the thought of this happening again.

"By using my psychic powers?" She joked, pouting when he didn't give into her teasing. "I promise."

"Good. I promise, too," Colin nodded, bringing her in close again. "Us against the world, okay?"

She squeezed him tightly, making him pretend to be out of breath when he wasn't really. "Yeah, just us."

"Thank you for your services, Mr Bridgerton," the chief shook his hand in gratitude. "As I predicted, you were a great asset."

"We appreciate this opportunity, chief," his ever graceful best friend thanked back, standing from her chair to leave.

Colin held out an arm to stop Penelope from leaving completely, ignoring her look of confusion.

"As cute as this is, with all due respect, chief, you know as well as I do that this case is not closed. There's a murderer still on the loose."

The chief looked at him in annoyance. "I will remind you that you are not a detective, Mr Bridgerton. This case is closed, and that's that."

"I just need to talk to the witnesses one more time, I promise," he pleaded, putting on his best pout.

"And I promise that you will never help in this station again if you don't leave this office immediately!" The chief shouted indignantly.

Penelope grabbed his arm, pulling him up to his feet. "Would you like the door open or closed?"

Colin followed her out, his mind abuzz, thinking of possible opportunities to talk to the witnesses once more.

"That was completely reckless, Colin!" Penelope reprimanded him once they were outside the office. "Where did that even come from? You never told me that you thought it was someone else!"

"I know, Pen." He fidgeted with his fingers. "I should have mentioned it to you earlier. I'm sorry."

"Hush, it's fine," she waved him off, now bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Tell me your theory!"

He smiled at her excitement. "It's not really a theory as much as it is a gut feeling, if that makes sense."

"Not really, but I trust you so," Penelope shrugged good-naturedly.

Colin nodded his head towards the chief's office where the detectives were talking to MacCallum Fife, who was now sporting an odd cast on his arm.

"I need to talk to him," he eyed the cast.

"The dad?" Penelope hissed, looking at him like he was crazy. "Colin, please don't tell me--"

"That he's suspicious? Why it's elementary, my dear, Pen. He's extremely suspicious, and I'm glad you agree I need to talk to him."

"Colin, that's not what--" she called after him, very obviously cursing at him as he walked away from her.

However before Colin could question MacCallum's new fashion choices, Brimsley stood in front of him, not necessarily blocking his sight because he was much taller, but in the sense that he didn't want him to get past him.

"You better think again," he scoffed in Colin's face, spitting a little. "There's no way in hell you're talking to him.

"Yeah, there's something telling me that you're wrong about that," Colin shoved past him towards the exit.

Colin stared at the door in front of him, hands twitching nervously at his sides before he took a necessary breath and rang the doorbell. It was only a second or two before his brother answered.

Anthony blinked at him, his eyebrows raised in a way that Colin always associated with his brother's impatience. "Colin," he greeted," I wasn't aware you were coming over."

Colin wiped his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans. "Surprise!" He laughed anxiously, already feeling on edge. "I wanted to take you out for lunch."

"Which in Colin language means you need something," he closed the door behind him, heading towards his car. "Come on then."

He took a look at his motorcycle, knowing that Anthony wouldn't approve of him using it before he followed.

They ended up at some diner that Colin didn't recognize, but it felt like he had ended up at confession instead, explaining what he (and Pen) had been up to the last couple of days.

"I can't believe you're not only dragging Penelope into this," Anthony reprimanded, his favorite acquaintance of The Forehead Vein starting to make its appearance. "But are now including me as an unknowing accomplice."

Colin shook his head, already regretting his decision to come here. Anthony had never understood the connection he and Pen always had. "Don't bring her into this. I didn't drag her into anything. She's agreed to everything we've done so far."

His brother gave him another look that Colin expertly avoided by glancing at the drinks menu instead. Hmmm.... were margaritas for three pounds really a deal or was it just being cheap?

"I really think this is what I'm meant to be doing, Ant," he said to his no longer appealing fries. "I could really help people."

"Until you move on to the next thing, sure," he shrugged.

Colin felt his stomach ache at that. It was always nice to see that his brother still thought that he was a quitter and a total loser who couldn't make up his mind.

"Those were perfectly fine jobs," Colin defended, finally looking his brother in the eye. "And I've gained a bunch of experience. Experience that led me to this."

"And yet," Anthony paused, brow raised. "You came to me for help."

"I just," Colin huffed, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't understand what it could mean," he admitted. "What I'm missing."

"Then you're not looking at the bigger picture," Anthony scoffed at him, shaking his head in disapproval.

Colin sat back in his seat, expecting this reaction. Anthony was always scoffing at him. Shaking his head while doing it was, admittedly, new.

"That's impossible," he hissed, feeling like a scolded kid again at his brother's unnecessary attitude. "I'm better than I've ever been," Colin said because it was true. It felt true, at least.

Anthony gave him a doubtful look before picking up a fry. "How many hats?"

He should have known Anthony would ask him that. Colin let out a frustrated sigh, combing his hand through his hair again. He was just hoping that he trusted him enough not to.

When he was really little and recalling everything from memory with a single glance, Anthony would try and "challenge" him to sharpen his mind and further his "talent." He had tried multiple times to try to understand his motives. He was proud of him, or maybe even jealous, and wanted him to go on and do great things, but along the way, the challenges had become suffocating.

Fun puzzles and word games that used to be thrilling would become tiresome and annoying. What was once seen as an exciting skill or sometimes his cool party trick was used against him constantly, making him feel more than a machine than a man. Something to turn on and off for amusement and a quick laugh.

Sometimes, his skill made him feel like a dog.

"Ant, I really don't think that's necessary," Colin tried to appease.

"Close your eyes and tell me how many hats or else I'll suspect you're cheating," Anthony all but sang, making Colin squirm until he did just that.

Yup. Just a regularly trained mutt.

He blocked out the smells of freshly toasted bread and the lingering smell coming off of the grease traps, his mind trying to recollect the amount of hat wearers in the diner.

He thought back to the bright blue trucker hat on the little boy that waved at him at the entrance, the matching beanies with cat ears on the knitting old ladies in the corner booth, and the triplets wearing bucket hats in their high chairs.

Colin furrowed his brows, his eyes still closed, head tilting like a dog hearing a doorbell as what was clearly a pair of cowboy boots walked past.

"Minus the kitty cat beanies cause those aren't hats, duh, and the cowgirl and her hat walking out the door just now," Colin pointed a thumb towards the exit behind him, eyes still closed. "That's four hats."

Colin opened his eyes at his brother's silence, blinking them rapidly to adjust to the brightness.

Anthony let out a thoughtful hum before he nodded. "That was okay," he shrugged, chewing another fry. "I mean, after you changed the rules."

He watched as Anthony collected his jacket from the back of his chair, stood up, and walked away.

"Wait, what?!" Colin called after him, stumbling out of his chair to his feet. "I didn't! That wasn't? I didn't change anything!"

Anthony stopped halfway at the door, turning to face him. "You did, but alright. In my opinion, Colin, I'd quit while you're ahead and go find an actual suitable job. But if you insist on playing detective, then I'd say that you're trusting someone you shouldn't."

Penelope watched as Colin entered her flat, shooting her a smile regardless of the fact that he was not as excited as he was when had left. She made her way over to where he lounged on her sofa, peering down at him from he was resting his head on the armrests.

"You want pancakes?" She asked, tucking her hair behind her ears to see him better.

Colin blinked up at her, a small smile making it's way onto his face. "Blueberry?" He requested shyly.

"With extra syrup," she promised, making moves to go into the kitchen and get started.

He reached for one of her curls, making her freeze in place as he twisted it around his finger. "Can I help?"

"If you promise to flip them then yes," she booped his nose.

Colin crossed his eyes to his nose, looking at her finger. "Deal." 

They ended up using all the blueberries, Colin claiming that since they were both so blue maybe they'd cancel each other out. Penelope threw him a couple to catch in his mouth afterwards.

He threw a pinch of the dry mix over her shoulder after she dropped one of the eggs on the floor. She shook his head at his ridiculousness, laughing at his version of the superstition.

Penelope ohhed and ahhed respectively as he flipped the pancakes perfectly, frying them crispy and golden on both sides. Colin rolled his eyes before he fell to her peer pressure and started to bow.

They plated up the pancakes, eating in silence for a while, the sound of their forks scraping the bottom of their plates the only sound in the room before Colin broke it.

"You know, I think the worst part is that what he said actually helped," he grieved, stabbing into a piece of soggy pancake.

Penelope's eyes widened, her fork halfway to her mouth. "You don't have to--" she cut herself off, unsure of what to say.

"No, I know," he nodded, his eyes finding hers. "I want to, I do. It's just embarrassing to tell you what he thinks of me," he smiled sadly at her.

Penelope watched him with an ache in her stomach, her skin itching at her favorite person beating himself up the way he was. She felt honored that he wanted to share his feelings with her and yet unequipped on how to proceed.

"You know I'd still love you if you were a worm, right?" Penelope asked him quietly.

Colin let out a snort of laughter, no doubt thinking back to when that trend first came out and she and his sisters spent literal months asking him if he'd still love them if they were to turn into a worm.

"Yeah," he smiled, genuinely this time, making Penelope's heart glow. "I know that."

"Good," she nodded, making a mental note to say it more anyway. If anyone deserved to be constantly bombarded with love it was Colin Bridgerton. "And I'd still love you even after hearing Anthony's brainwashed thoughts about you."

"I know he loves me," Colin blurted out. "I just," he sighed, his fingers tightened around the fork. "I just want him to believe in me.

Penelope reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers, quiet but steady.

"He made me do the stupid hat thing and I hate counting the hats but what I really hate is thinking that he just wouldn't make me do it at all. Of course, he'd wanna test me. That's what he's being doing my whole life," he laughed humorlessly.

Penelope was quick to interrupt him. "You can get mad at him, you know. Anthony loves you and wants what's best for you, and Anthony doesn't treat you like you know what's best for you are two statements that can coexist."

"That's exactly how it feels!" he exclaimed, squeezing her hand in gratitude. "He still resents that I didn't finish my degree and started job hopping instead. I can, like, smell the disappointment on him sometimes."

"I'm sorry you feel like he doesn't support you, Colin. I'm sure he thinks he's being helpful but obviously it's been extremely hard on you that it affects your job hunts

"It's just sometimes I get scared that he's right about me," Colin confessed in a small voice. "That I'm walking around, waiting for a purpose that will never happen.

"Just because you haven't found it yet doesn't mean you won't!" Penelope insists, unwilling to see him give up again. "Everyone works at their own pace, right? Things happen at different stages of people's lives, too. Yours is waiting for the right moment is all."

"It just sucks to be waiting with nothing for so long, but thank you for the reminder. I needed it," Colin looked at their intertwined hands. "I just wish I didn't want his approval all the damn time."

"This isn't the same of course, and while I have no doubt that he'll admit it to your face one day -- I would just like to say that I'm proud of you, Colin." She told him shyly. "And I just know that you'll find your purpose one day and it'll not only bring you joy, but also fulfillment."

She watched as Colin's eyes filled with tears, sniffing slightly to prevent them from falling.

"Oddly enough, I think that that's exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks for cheering me up, Pen. You're the best," he said, voice soft.

"Always," she promised, separating their hands to hook his pinkie finger with hers. "Now what's our next steps?"

"I'm not going to fall for your charms, Bridgerton, so you might as well give up now," Michaela said to him, catching him watching her at her desk redhanded.

"You think I'm charming, Stirling?" Colin grinned, leaning on her desk one handed, unable to contain his excitement at a possible new friendship.

She rolled her eyes at him, grinning back at him somewhat reluctantly. "Against my will, I'm finding myself warming up to you and your little girlfriend."

Colin didn't correct her about his relationship to Pen for reasons he'd evaluate later.

"So what I'm hearing is that you believe me that this case wasn't a murder/suicide? And will help me talk to the witnesses?" Colin nodded enthusiastically, trying to trick her into agreeing.

She, quite literally, laughed in his face. "You're cute but not that cute."

"Why, Stirling, that's two compliments back to back," Colin put a hand to his chest, tilting his head earnestly. "Are you feeling alright?"

Michaela scowled up at him, standing up from her chair. "Shut up and follow me."

Colin followed her all too happily.

She brought him to the firing range, handing him a stack of files that he quickly dove into as she prepped a gun.

He mumbled the words to himself, eyebrows nearly shooting to the top of his head as he read something interesting. "Woah, Wilding was in the town near the lake house?"

"Yup," she said, shooting at the targets. "He was spotted twice in one of the stores."

Colin flipped through the papers with his thumb. "How'd they know it was him?"

Michaela reloaded her gun, making a fake gagging noise before she answered. "He has one of those douchebag cars, the ones with the stupid loud engines? You could hear those a mile away."

"Huh," he thought outloud, blinking when he was handed his own gun. "Wait, I've never--"

"Go on, psychic," Michaela nodded towards the now fresh target.

Colin hesitated for only a second before firing all his shots one after another.

She laughed again, snorting into her hand before clearing her throat. "Sorry. Maybe stick to the other dimensional plane stuff though, huh?"

They leaned on the counter as the targets made themselves known, overlapping each other, revealing that Colin's shots all aligning perfectly against Michaela's.

"Please tell me we're here for another tea party," Penelope pleaded as they climbed up the steps of the Fife household.

"Maybe next time," Colin smiled, squaring his shoulders and ringing the doorbell.

A butler greeted them inside, but they weren't waiting long before seeing MacCallum himself walking down the stairs, eyebrows raised at their appearance.

"So I killed my son?" MacCallum asked, after bringing them into what they assumed was his home office.

"But you didn't do it on purpose," Colin recalled the hair on the corner of the table. "No, you just want to teach him a lesson. Ended up knocking him into the table instead."

MacCallum scoffed, looking at him up and down. "You know this how? You're not even a detective."

"I'm a psychic," he declared, bringing his hand to his temple. "Even better since I saw the whole thing happen."

"Imagine your surprise when your son goes missing almost immediately after telling you he'd get his act together. So you pay the ransom to get him back only to find out, it's not real. He tricked you. And Wilding, who was like a second son to you, helped.

"A miscalculated lesson later, he's dead."

The room grew quiet as Colin recounted the events. The mention of the two men's deaths causing MacCallum to grit his teeth.

Penelope gagged into her hand, her mind no doubt taking her to the crime scene. Just like before, she excused herself out of the room.

Colin fought the urge to run after her as he stood tall, presenting the evidence of the case as if he was there.

"Wilding walks in, so you take care of him, too, making it look like a suicide. You finish it off by calling the police and sitting by the phone worried for a call that will never come."

MacCallum seethed, flaring his teeth at him and walking up close to his face. "I refuse to keep discussing this and I will not listen to another accusation that leaves your mouth."

Colin let out a small whistle, chuckling to himself. "Wow, getting threatened already? I'm good at this mystery stuff, after all."

MacCallum growled, clearly not amused.

"Colin," Penelope was suddenly at his side, tugging at his arm. "Let's go."

He looked down at Pen's eyes, reading her face before he nodded. "We'll be back."

MacCallum glared at them as they left, covering his tracks by calling security to escort them off the property completely.

They head into the car, sat beside each other in what was, unfortunately, a defeated silence.

Colin sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair, unsure of what to do now. They were so close to officially closing this case, and now they were more or less back to square one.

"Consumine," Penelope said suddenly, taking her phone out of her pocket.

"Say what?"

"It's for dog bites. And he had a wholeeeeee bottle of it in his bathroom." She told him, typing on her phone.

"Oh, my gosh. Lassie," Colin's eyes widened, thinking back to MacCallum's cast. (Later he'd tease her for how her nosiness came in clutch.)

Penelope looked up from her phone with a smile. "Lassie."

Colin shook his head, watching her, his mind running a thousand miles a minute. "What are you doing?"

"Well, apparently, there's someone harassing that poor Fife family, and accusing them of murder of all things so," Penelope grinned into her phone. "I'm calling the police."

Colin burst out laughing, muffling the sound with his hand as Penelope continued her call in a fake voice.

"You're very good, did you know that?" He couldn't help but tell her.

His words make her blush a bright red for a second before she refocuses on the call, and Colin wishes for all her attention on him forever.

Oddly enough, it's not the first time he's thought something along those lines of Pen nor her attention. He had always been overly protective of her and her affections, but so was she, often times more defensive than he could be. He smiled at the thought of a glaring and huffing Penelope in his corner and loved what he saw.

Penelope turned to him, face aglow with mischief, taking Colin's breath away. "Ready for the performance of your lifetime?"

"OW FUCK!" Colin cried out, grabbing at his arm in pain, suddenly falling to the ground. A worried Penelope hovered for a second or two before he winked at her.

The police arrived to the property in a matter of minutes, the chief herself arriving to apologize to MacCallum for their antics. Brimsley and Michaela were quick to follow orders about arresting them, handcuffs at the ready.

Colin was even quicker about faking a dramatic vision at the dreadful thought of Penelope's skin being marked up.

Brimsley rolled his eyes and grabbed at his shoulders, trying to bring him to his feet. "I've been wanting to do this since we met, and your theatrics aren't going to stop me."

"I feel like I've been bit by a dog!" Colin continued, struggling in the head detective's hold to be in the chief's line of sight. He let out a loud gasp.

"The dog!" He cried, as if hit by with an epiphany. "The killer was bit by the dog after the murder! It, it was someone he knows!"

The chief's eyes widened in intrigue, only dimmed by MacCallum interrupting. "He's talking nonsense!"

"MacCallum! It was MacCallum," Colin continued, slightly muffled as Brimsley placed his hand over his mouth. "Check his arm!"

"Chief, this is an outrage! Who is he to make such accusations? I wish to never see this ridiculous man again!" MacCallum argued with himself, his eyes full of hatred pointed towards Colin.

Colin was still fighting for his life against the surprisingly strong Brimsley when the chief spoke up, effectively making them freeze. "Why?"

MacCallum blinked at her. "Excuse me?"

"Where's the harm in showing us? You're innocent after all, so why not prove him wrong?" She pried further, eyes never leaving his face.

He scoffed at her, letting out a nervous laugh. "I don't have to do anything of the sort!"

The chief narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms. "Then again, we could always get a warrant."

"I'll call my lawyers," he snapped back

"I'll be waiting right here," she told him back.

"Check the bite marks," Colin interrupted their standoff while Brimsley was distracted. "The marks will line up perfectly!"

MacCallum blanched, turning to look at him and then over at the chief. "It, it was an accident," he choked.

"Officers," the chief signalled the arrest with her chin.

Brimsley let him go, shocked still by either MacCallum's confession or Colin's being right, or maybe even both. The second he was released though he rushed over to Penelope for a hug, lifting her off the ground.

"We did it!" He cheered, spinning them around at the sound of her giggles. "Justice reigns supreme! The dark side has been defeated!"

Penelope cheered with him, hands around his neck. "You did it, Colin! I told you could."

"We did it," Colin corrected her gently. "Now, what do you say to victory nachos? I'm starved."

"Hi, chief!" Colin cheered, walking into her office energetically.

"Don't just walk into my office," she told him in indignation, gasping at his audacity.

Colin took a sheepish step back, his hand automatically reaching for the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I got excited."

She hummed at him. "Turn around and wait your turn."

"No, no," a familiar voice rang out, and then Colin was met face to face with his older brother. "I was just heading out."

"Thank you for your input, Mr Bridgerton," she shook his hand before he left the room.

Anthony gave him a nod he walked past him, probably hoping to get a glimpse of him preheart attack.

"Take a seat, younger Mr Bridgerton," she directed, snapping Colin out of his thoughts as he listened to her instructions.

"Even though your methods are a bit much, I do truly think you'd be a big help to our team. However, I wasn't about to do so without a little background check, you understand," she started, taking a seat in front of him.

Colin coughed slightly, extremely worried but trying not to show it. "Of course."

"And according to your brother, your powers were only active once you turned eighteen," she tilted her head at him, eyebrows raised.

Colin let out a shuttered breath, standing straighter, relief taking over him. "You know, older brothers, chief. Always want to discredit the babies," he laughed.

"Anthony!" Colin yelled after his leaving car as they left the station, waving to get his attention.

"So you're continuing with his charade after all, huh?" Anthony asked despite knowing his answer.

Colin nodded, a smile on his face. "I'm really good at this, Ant. I think I owe it to myself to see where it leads, even if that place is nowhere."

Anthony stared at him before he let out a disgruntled sigh. "Okay. Just don't expect me to cover for you again. I'm serious, Colin. I don't like this."

He nodded again, shoulders drooping at meeting his brother's disapproval again before noticing the newspaper in the seat next to him, with him and Pen on the cover.

Colin felt his eyes tear up before he blinked them away. "Yeah," he grinned, his chest feeling a million times lighter. "I understand."

"This surprise must really be something if you're relinquishing your passenger princess duties," Colin teased as they stop at a red light.

"Don't make me turn this car around," Penelope fake glared at him, the grin on her face giving her away.

"Alright, alright," he laughed, his eyes sparkling in amusement. "I'll behave."

The light turned green, and Penelope hit the gas with a wink. "Good boy."

Colin blushed all the way to his toes before he changed the subject by changing the radio station.

"Ta-da!!" Penelope presented the building in front of them with jazz hands, reminding him a little bit of that one Will Smith meme.

He looked at the window like she wanted, reading the word painted on it to himself in confusion.

Colin smiled down at her, not understanding what she meant, getting briefly distracted by how the sunlight reflected on her hair, making it appear to be glowing. "And what exactly is a psych?"

"It's your surprise," she cheered. "And your new business venture!"

He tilted his head. "Business venture?" He repeated.

"I thought," Penelope stuttered, glancing at him and then the building. "Colin, you're good at this. Like, made to do this good. And I thought that this could be your purpose. Your thing, ya know?"

Colin stared at her, speechless, watching her repeat the same words he told Anthony with passion and complete and utterly belief in him.

"But you don't have to, of course!" Her eyes widened, holding her hands up. "I only put my name on the lease, but I'm sure we could --"

"Can I kiss you?" He cut her off, hands flexing at his sides in anticipation of her answer.

Penelope blinked at him, her mouth opening and closing. "W-what?"

"I've been finding myself wanting to do that a lot lately, but especially now, I think. You look really cute rambling on like that," he told her, ears warm.

She blushed prettily, only increasing Colin's need to kiss her.

"Oh," Penelope said, mouth agape.

"Oh," he agreed, tense at her not answer.

"What," Penelope swallowed nervously. "You can't read my mind and see that I've been wanting the same thing for ages?"

Colin laughed, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. "My powers don't work the best when you're around, I fear."

"Sounds like cartoon rules to me," she teased, her cheeks a beautiful shade of pink, making her freckles stand out.

"For god's sake, would you stop with the witty quips and let me kiss you?" Colin groaned, smiling at her giggles.

She nodded her consent.

He leaned down, closing the space between them, cupping her cheek in his hand and pressing his mouth to hers.

The kiss was glorious, Colin's knees going weak at the taste of her strawberry lip gloss on his tongue.

Just as the kiss was getting partically spicy, Colin's phone rang in his pocket, the song I Know, You Know by The Friendly Indians interrupting them.

"Ignore it," Penelope mumbled against his lips.

"You're a genius," he mumbled back, capturing her bottom lip.

They kissed for a couple more minutes before his phone rang again, the song seeming to get louder as it waited them out.

Colin separated from Penelope's perfect mouth with an annoying groan, answering the phone with a rough "Hello?"

"How soon can you and your redhead get here?" The voice on the phone asked.

Colin blinked himself out of his Pen-stupor. "Excuse me?"

Michaela sighed, and Colin could almost hear the addition of her rolling her eyes. "Don't make me regret calling you, Bridgerton. There's a new case with your name all over it."

Colin grinned, bouncing in place. "Stirling, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship which will exclusively make you one of my many emergency contacts."

She laughed in his ear, clearing her throat to hide it. "Just shut up and get down here, will you?"

He saved her number in his phone with a grin, turning to Penelope to tell the good news. Psych was officially in business, and they were being summoned for a new case.

"What are you waiting for?" Penelope called out, beating him to the car at the driver's side. "Looks like we got a mystery on our hands!"

Colin grinned, eyes lit up. "You just read my mind."