Archive of Our Own

1.

Penelope walked down the corridor, following the directions from Eloise, taking her to two doors down from the right to, which should be, the bathroom. 

It was Penelope’s first time sleeping around the Bridgerton home, the size of the place being completely overwhelming compared to her own house - though she shouldn’t have been surprised considering her new friend had seven siblings afterall. 

Penelope’s family, The Featherington’s, had just moved to the area and at the age of sixteen Penelope was already very much a wallflower, her shyness overcoming her true personality making her shrink into her chubby figure, and had already accepted she’d no doubt end up alone as she started her new school. But her saving grace came in the form of Eloise Bridgerton, the boisterous girl gravitated towards her on her first day and took the time to get to know the true her, and she hadn’t left her side since. 

With her bright pink toothbrush in hand, she pushed open the bathroom door and stopped short as she realised someone was already in there. 

Colin, the third eldest Bridgerton brother, stood at the sink in his plaid pyjama bottoms and tshirt, with his toothbrush half way to his mouth. At the door opening, he had turned towards her, his green eyes meeting her blue ones and a blush overcame her so suddenly she didn’t even want to know what impossible shade of red she had turned. 

“Oh my, I am so sorry, I didn’t realise anyone was in here, the door was unlocked,” she spoke hastily in her embarrassment, his eyes widening as they both realised that was probably the most she had spoken to him the entire time so far, “I just came in to brush my teeth.” 

She held up her toothbrush as some sort of explanation, cringing at herself and her awkwardness. 

She was just thankful she hadn’t walked in on him using the toilet. 

He nodded his head to indicate for her to come in, so she did, and once she was close he picked up the toothpaste and squirted a small dollop onto her toothbrush. She swallowed, before running the brush under the tap to dampen it slightly before popping it into her mouth and brushing. She stared forward at the mirror as Colin did the exact same. 

The silence was awkward, the sound of their brushing reverberating around the room, and it made her shoulders tense and unable to relax. 

She hadn’t really spoken much to Eloise’s brothers, mainly interacting with her sisters, apart from when they all had dinner together. Mainly because they were all at least a few years older and quite frankly… very handsome . And the words and conversations Penelope had wanted to initiate with them, or funny quips to add to their own conversations, seemed to struggle making it from her mind and out of her mouth. A true reflection of how Penelope spends the majority of her life. 

Her eyes darted to Colin’s reflection in the mirror where his own eyes quickly darted away from her. 

Had he been looking at her? 

Her brows furrowed… and then his did the same. 

So she raised her eyebrows and then he followed her exact movements again. 

She spat out the excess toothpaste into the sink and then Colin copied. 

Finally gaining some semblance of confidence she turned to him, “Are you copying me?” 

“Are you copying me?” His voice echoed her words, just like a child would. 

But it worked because she giggled, the awkward tension in her muscles finally realising, and he smiled as if it had been his plan. 

To play along she popped her toothbrush back into her mouth and started to brush in large dramatic motions whilst picking up speed. As he now faced her, he created the perfect mirror image even though he had to look down at her shorter stature, and he copied her movement with the biggest cheesiest grin on his face. 

There was something about Colin, he had a way with people that made her feel comfortable… more herself. Whatever that meant. 

She raised her left hand and he raised his right, their palms a couple of centimetres apart, and then her bravery really coming to effect, she did a little shimmy with her shoulders. A bark of laughter erupted out from the boy before her before he did the same shimmy, making her giggle again. 

Then breaking the mirror image, he spat the rest of his toothpaste out before rinsing his mouth and toothbrush, then popping it back into the cup holder with the other eight toothbrushes there. 

“Goodnight, Penelope.” 

He shot her a charming grin before closing the door behind himself, leaving her blush to wash over her again like she had left the tap running and couldn’t turn it off. 

Oh god, she had a crush on Colin Bridgerton.

2.

It was the height of summer at Aubrey Hall, the Bridgerton’s summer home out in Somerset. It was Penelope’s first time joining the Bridgerton’s out there, though she had been invited every year since her and Eloise’s friendship bloomed, her mother had never allowed her to go. But now she was eighteen, she was technically an adult, and Violet Bridgerton no longer demanded she needed a guardian’s permission to join them. 

And though she adored the Bridgerton’s, and how they had practically welcomed her into their family with open arms, she forgot how exhausting all of them in the same place at the same time can be. Which was why she was glad it was finally time to get ready for bed. 

She made her way out of the room she and Eloise were sharing and walked down the hall to the closest bathroom. She had only made it a couple of steps before Colin appeared at the opposite end of the hall, heading straight towards her. 

They arrived outside the bathroom at the same time, both of them holding up their toothbrushes as their answer of what they were doing there. Neither of them needed to use their words and Penelope entered the bathroom first and he followed. 

It had become an almost habit - or even a tradition - of theirs that they ended up brushing their teeth together if she stayed around and he was home from his travels for once in a blue moon. At least that’s how it seemed in Penelope’s mind, when really it probably all just boiled down to coincidence, or the fact that if she was feeling confident enough she’d deliberately go there at the same time as him. 

Her crush only seemed to grow and take deeper root over the years as she steadily spent more time in his presence. 

There were two sinks in this bathroom, located on a large counter that spanned the length of the wall. Penelope headed over to the furthest sink as Colin went to the first, both wetting their toothbrushes at the same time and then adding toothpaste. 

She hopped up, rather ungracefully, onto the counter so she could sit down, her body grateful to take the pressure off of her feet as she sighed. 

Colin looked over at her, scanning her from top to bottom, and she blushed as she restrained herself from looking over her shoulder at the mirror there. She knew she looked like a complete and utter mess with her hair piled onto her head like a lion’s mane, her mix-matched aged Pingu pyjamas that were now slightly too small for her and dark bags probably heavy under her eyes. 

No wonder he’d probably never fancy me back. 

“Long day?” He asked her, popping his toothbrush into his mouth. 

“You Bridgerton’s are all savages,” she jabs her toothbrush at him for emphasis before beginning to brush her own teeth, “El had told me all about the ‘Bridgerton Games’ but I didn’t think they’d be as intense as the bloody Olympics!” 

She had spoken around her toothbrush but she knew he had heard every word as he chuckled at her slight dramatics. 

“Honestly,” she spat out in the sink, making her words more clear again, before carrying on, “I’m surprised you don't have news reporters out there commentating, considering how competitive you all are.” 

Colin spat into his sink before straightening with a gleam in his eyes, then he held his toothbrush up to his mouth like it was a microphone, “So Miss Featherington, how are you finding your first ever Bridgerton Games?” He put on a perfect reporter voice, his tone dropping an octave slightly. 

She grinned, ready to play along with this silly game as he pointed the fake microphone at her, “I’m just happy I can still walk after I was tackled by Hyacinth to the ground!” 

“Yes, that pesky youngest Bridgerton does not mess around - no one will get in her way to claim glory. But what do you think of the other competitors?” 

“All very promising,” she got a sparkle in her eye and then leant forward in a whisper as if sharing a secret, “Though I was always told that Anthony was one of the ones to watch out for but he seems to be a bit distracted this year…” 

Between each question and answer, Colin had been moving his toothbrush microphone between them, keeping up his perfect reporter persona. 

But at her teasing whisper she saw the excitement behind his eyes as if he was glad that he wasn’t the only one who had made the same observations. It was Colin who had invited the new neighbours to join them for some games after all. 

“Ah yes! You are referring to one Miss Kate Sheffield. They seem like the perfect match, don’t they?” 

“Definitely,” she agreed, remembering the way the beautiful dark haired woman had ferociously  whacked her ball right into Anthony’s to knock him off course during whatever game they were playing, “It’s about time someone beat him at his own game.” 

“I couldn’t agree more.” 

She hopped off the counter, making their own game come to an end, both of them rinsing out their mouths and toothbrushes at the same time. She tried to ignore the feel of his body heat so close to hers whilst he seemed completely oblivious. 

The silence between them was now comfortable, nothing like the awkwardness they had experienced years ago, and they left the room together. 

“See you tomorrow, Pen,” he spoke softly, not wanting to wake anyone, as he started to walk backwards down the corridor so he could keep her in view. 

Her stomach erupted into a wave of butterflies as they were released from their net at the nickname he just gave her. 

“Night, Colin.” 

Then they went their separate ways back to their rooms, Penelope’s heart feeling rather full. 

3.

Penelope clung to the toilet seat in her and Eloise’s flat, vomiting everything she had drunk that night into it as she tried to keep her hair back over her shoulders. Her head felt fuzzy but really she was thankful that she was throwing up whilst still drunk, rather than it happening the morning after, because at least there’s a chance she won’t remember it. 

She really shouldn’t have done that last tequila shot Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton brother, had given her. He had always been a terrible influence. 

She hadn’t even gotten this drunk at her own twenty-first birthday, or her eighteenth when she came to think of it, but as this was a large Bridgerton bash for Eloise’s own mile-stone birthday she had gotten carried away. 

There was a knock at the door. 

“Pen?” Colin’s voice reached her. 

Before she could answer another wave of nausea hit her and she clung to the toilet seat again, empting whatever was left in her stomach into the bowl. She heard the door open and close as Colin entered without any prompting. Then his hands were in her hair, holding back the waves of curls so she wouldn’t have to worry about them. Once her tendrils were safely in his hold, he freed one of his hands to rub up and down her back in a soothing motion. 

Any other time she would have swooned at his attention. 

He was mumbling words of encouragement to her but she couldn’t process them, her skin feeling awfully hot with a sweat gathering on her brow. 

With one final retch, she collapsed back onto the floor, her back leaning against the bath beside Colin with their shoulders brushing as he settled beside her. He passed her a glass of water that she took gratefully, taking a sip to cool her throat and then rinsing her mouth round with it before spiting it into the toilet and flushing. 

If this was a few years ago, Penelope would have been mortified at Colin seeing her this way. But from their little moments together, stemming from the very first time they brushed their teeth, they had formed their own friendship. So, though she would still feel a tiny bit embarrassed over her current predicament - her childhood crush growing and changing into what she couldn’t only describe as love - it no longer felt like the end of the world. 

“Thank you.” She leant her head on his shoulder, it feeling far too heavy to hold up itself.

They were blanketed in a serene silence and she was thankful for the closed door as it muffled the loud beating music and people chattering in her and Eloise’s apartment. 

Though her stomach still churned, keeping her on edge, all she could focus on was the movement of Colin’s chest as he slowly breathed in and out. 

“You, Colin, are my favourite Bridgerton.” She spoke quietly but she was so close to him she knew that he had heard her. 

He rested his cheek against the top of her head, “Oh really?” 

“Mhm.” 

“I won’t go tell the birthday girl that,” a teasing tone laced in his voice. 

She sat up as quickly as she could without making herself sick, “No no no, Eloise is different, she’s a completely different category. She’s my wife, y’know? We’re Peneloise.” 

At her quick succession of words she must have gasped in too much air as it made her hiccup, making him chuckle. 

“Peneloise, I like that. You can never seem to have one of you without the other.” He said it with such fondness but there was something else lying there between the lines - that he sometimes wished they weren’t always joined at the hip. 

Though she couldn’t work out why. 

“But you are my favourite Bridgerton brother,” she whispered like it was a conspiracy theory and jabbed him in the chest for emphasis, his heart sparking against the tip of her finger making her pull it back. 

He turned fully to face her, his arm coming up to rest on the rim of the bath, “And why’s that?” 

“Because of that right there! Your face!” She pointed at him accusingly. 

“My face ?” 

And it was in that moment that she realised just how close his face currently was to hers. 

Is it possible for a face to get more attractive the closer you get to it?

“Yes! You’re your stupid charming face, especially when you get that glint in your eyes!” 

He threw his head back in laughter, “What glint?” 

But his words contradicted his actions as he shot her his famous charming smile, the very one she sees him always share with other women, and his eyes practically sparkled brighter than any star she had ever seen. 

He knew exactly what he was doing. 

If she wasn’t so drunk she probably wouldn’t have allowed him to get away with fishing for compliments. But she was drunk and the alcohol pumping through her system was making her brave in a way that made her not think about the second hand embarrassment she’ll get in the morning. Or maybe, it was just being in Colin’s presence. 

“That one! I honestly can’t look, it’s too much,” and she dropped her head dramatically forward onto his shoulder, before deciding to pull back again as she really wanted to make the most of seeing him this close up, “But I’ve got to look, I can’t not look.” 

His laughter had died down but his smile remained and it was so bright and powerful that Penelope thought there was no energy on earth that could match it. 

His free hand came up and started to run his fingers through the curls at the ends of her hair, the tendrils wrapping around his fingers like he was playing with an open flame, he was enamoured with the motion as if he was discovering something completely new.

“You are something else, Penelope Featherington.” 

His words were light, barely even whisper, and Penelope swore she wouldn’t have heard him if he wasn’t sat so close in the first place. She closed her eyes to allow his words to wash over her and set into her bones, hoping it will commit them to memory. But with her eyes now closed, and the darkness behind her lids offering nothing to focus on, her head felt heavy again and it collapsed onto the side of the bath. The feel of the cheap tile cool beneath her cheek and making her sigh. 

“Penelope Featherington is tired and wants to go to bed,” she whispered, knowing if she spoke any louder her head would pound in resistance. 

Wordlessly he nodded, got up and grabbed her toothbrush and put toothpaste on it before offering it to her, “You’ll be thankful for it in the morning.” 

All she did was pout at the offending item he was trying to give her, “Nooo, you’ve got to brush your teeth with me! It’s our thing.” 

She was met with the briefest of frowns on his face before it dawned into realisation as his mind played back their memories together, his eyes and rapt smile practically agreeing ‘yes, I suppose it is our thing.’ 

“But I haven’t got a toothbrush here?” 

“There’s some spare ones under the sink, you know for guests,” and she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively making herself chortle. 

He seemed serious all of a sudden, closed off in contemplation that he himself couldn’t make sense of, “Oh, do you often have ‘guests’ round?” 

“El uses them mainly, but I have had a f -” she tried to stand up, to go to him, but she stumbled and he caught her in his arms, helping her to lean against the counter. 

Once she was steady he tried to finally hand her her toothbrush but she just opened her mouth in response, making him shake his head fondly at her before popping her toothbrush in for her. 

He then bent down and opened the cupboard beneath the sink, getting out a new toothbrush and running it under the tap before adding some toothpaste and finally starting to brush his own teeth. 

Usually one of them would always face the mirror but this time their eyes locked, neither one of them able to look away. The sound of their joint brushing flowed around them and brought a harmonious comfort to Penelope as she realised she wasn’t alone. Colin was there and he was looking after her - it was almost everything she had ever wanted. 

Almost. 

She spat into the sink, putting her toothbrush back into the holder, causing a splodge of toothpaste to land on her chest, just above her cleavage that was emphasised by her low cut dress. She giggled, scooping it up with her fingers and licking off the excess without a second thought. She looked back up at Colin and her breath caught, a blush hot on her cheeks and the back of her neck. His eyes were fixated on her chest, just where the toothpaste had fallen, before following the path laid out by her sudden flush up her neck and to her mouth, which was still around her finger. 

A new kind of tension flooded into the room that Penelope couldn't tell if it was really there or if she was imagining it in her tipsy haze. The hopeful side of Penelope, the completely head over heels in love her, hoped it was something . But the rational side of her, the side that knew he would never ever return her feelings, told her it was the tequila clouding her judgement.  

He swallowed but she could tell he instantly regretted it as the mint went down his throat, making him spit into the sink and rinse his mouth out. 

The moment was broken. 

She felt her eyelids begin to close, her body slumping with exhaustion. 

“Right, let’s get you to bed.” His voice sounded far away even though he was right beside her and he wrapped his arms around her waist to support her.

Sound erupted around her, making her wince and a headache pound, as he guided her out of the bathroom and over to her bedroom. Her body sank into his side as she allowed her weight to be lifted by him, her legs almost stumbling over her feet with each step. 

Without even having to open her eyes, they made it to her bedroom and all of a sudden she was in the sanctuary of her bed with Colin taking off her shoes before tucking the duvet around her. 

“Sweet dreams, Pen.” 

His fingers brushed some of her hair away from her face as he leant forward and lightly placed a kiss on her temple. 

Then he left.

And the next day, Penelope was left wondering if it had even happened at all. 

4.

Colin laid in his bed, staring up at the plain ceiling, as he strained his ears for any sounds out in the corridor. He was holding his breath in anticipation, not even wanting his breathing to halter the sound of any movements, waiting to hear her footsteps. 

He knew what they sounded like - could easily distinguish hers against any one of his family members. 

Penelope had practically been an extension of their family for over fourteen years now, her steps becoming an integral part of the group, even out here in France at their ski chalet - her presence was always a welcome and constant one. 

And now he has ruined it. 

They hadn’t even arrived at the holiday home for more than an hour, Colin meeting the rest of the family there as he came from Spain on his most recent travels, when he had lost his frustrations with his mother. She had kept pestering him about his current love life and how he should have a serious girlfriend by now at the age of thirty one. The truth was, he didn’t want one, he was happy with the way his life was right now. Even though he was known for his devil-may-care attitude and charming smile, he was jet lagged and tired and just wanted to spend time with his family without all this drilling. Then his mother had mentioned Penelope and he had snapped. 

“I’m not going to date Penelope!” 

“Oh.” 

He hadn’t meant for her to hear, he hadn’t meant for it to sound like he was so disgusted by the thought. Because in all honesty that was far from the truth… 

Though Penelope had come into his life as Eloise’s best friend, she had quickly grown to become his friend, and now that he thinks about it she was probably his best friend as well - she was easily one of the dearest people in his life. 

When his mother had mentioned about the prospect of dating her, of being something more with Penelope, he had panicked. Because Penelope deserved the absolute best and Colin didn’t trust himself not to fuck it up and, maybe he was being selfish, but he couldn’t lose her. Couldn’t lose this friendship that they had built and that he relied so heavily on throughout the years. 

The image of her in the doorway, looking so small and closed in on herself, was seared onto the back of his eyelids, making it hurt to close his eyes and sleep being refused to him. Before he could even say anything to her, to try and explain, she had shared a teary smile with them both, creating an awkward air to surround them, before squaring her shoulders and walking away. 

She had somehow managed to avoid him ever since. 

Which was why he was currently laying in silence, waiting for any sign of her so he could just apologise to her and go back to the way things were. Because, even though it had only been a few hours, Colin already missed her. He missed making her laugh, her blush forcing her to look away from him, the feel of her shoulder against his as they sat next to each other at the dining table, or their legs pressed against one another on the sofa as they all watched a film. 

He heard a door open from across the corridor and he immediately sat up, as if that would improve his hearing in any way. 

Immediately recognising her familiar footfall and pace, her little legs making her steps short and close together, followed by the sound of the bathroom door opening. 

Colin had never moved so fast as he jumped out of bed, grabbing his own toothbrush on the way, and practically ran out to the corridor.

Penelope turned as he exited his room, the light from the bathroom creating a halo around her as she stood in the doorway. She stared eyewide at his abrupt appearance and Colin found he was lost for words as it was the most she had looked at him all evening. 

Her eyes scanned him but her usual smile that followed never came and his breath caught in his throat. Her focus darted to his toothbrush in his hand and she nodded, opening up the door for him to enter - an olive branch between them. 

He stepped over the threshold and, though he could now breathe easier beside her again at the double sink, his heart had begun to pound instead. 

The silence was stifling. He had never ever felt this uneasiness around Penelope. Not even the very first time they had brushed their teeth together all those years ago, even when he hadn’t known her he was able to make her laugh. 

Maybe he could do the same thing again? 

Using the reflections of the mirror, he darted his eyes over to Penelope, hoping that she was also looking forward or even already looking his way. But instead her focus was purely on the sink as she brushed. 

Please, look at me. Please, look up.

Penelope.

Pen.

Pen.

Pen.

Pen. 

She pulled her hair over one shoulder, containing her unruly curls, as she spat into the sink and rinsed her toothbrush and mouth. Then she headed for the door. 

For the second time that night, Colin moved faster than he ever thought possible as he finished brushing his teeth to catch up with her. 

“Pen?” 

She stopped, her shoulders going tense as she braced herself, before turning back to him. 

“Pen, I’m sorry, I was just tired and grouchy after the flight -” 

She began to nod, and for a moment he felt lighter like everything would be ok between them. But then she thought better of it as her brow furrowed instead, “I never said I wanted to date you.” 

“I know -” 

“I’ve never even said to anyone I wanted to go out with you.” 

“Of course, it was just mum - you know what she’s like with trying to set me up. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” 

“No feelings were hurt. Goodnight, Colin.” 

But he didn’t believe her, not with how far away she felt to him in that moment even though there were only a couple of feet between them. 

So he stopped her again by desperately calling her name, “We’re friends, right?” 

Then he saw it, a new resolve settling in her eyes that he instantly detested, and she tried to smile but it barely reached the corners of her plump mouth. 

“Of course.” 

He was left alone in the bathroom, thinking about everything that had transpired, hating himself with each minute that passed. 

And he realised - he was so intent on not fucking it up that he had gone and fucked it all up anyway. 

5.

Colin sat in the empty living room of Penelope and Eloise’s apartment, his eyes darting to the clock for the millionth time that night, his irises practically ticking along with every second that passed. 

He was surrounded by silence with only a small lamp on, the shadows of the room only assisting with his brooding mood. 

Eloise was currently staying at her girlfriend’s house whilst Penelope… was out on a date. With her boyfriend. 

He hated himself for not even thinking about her having a boyfriend (Because why wouldn’t she? Penelope was beautiful, funny and smart, she was everything, and not all men were bound to be as blind as him). That he had just assumed he would turn up to find her waiting here for him. He couldn’t even be mad that she hadn’t told him, they hadn’t spoken for months. Over six months exactly - ever since the Ski Chalet. 

He had been a damned fool. 

Because all those months without her presence had finally made him realise - Penelope was worth the risk. There was something tying them together, pulling him back to her that he could only follow willingly. But now he was too late and he wanted to go back and shake himself for being the blind coward that he was. 

The time read 11:45pm and with a resigned sigh Colin finally gave in and headed to the bathroom. He guessed she wasn’t coming home and he would have to spend the night with this heavy weight on his chest anchoring him down. 

He went to close the door behind him but stopped - he was the only person in after all, so it’s not like he needed to close it. Something was telling him to leave it open, an invitation instead of a finality that he couldn’t accept just yet. 

He stared at himself in the mirror, sighing at the bags under his eyes, and rustled his hair making it stand on end shooting in different directions. He looked tired, he felt exhausted , yet the last thing he wanted to do was go to bed - alone. 

Especially with this feeling of turmoil bubbling up inside of him that he knew only the sight of Penelope coming back through that door would solve. 

He grabbed his toothbrush, his movements lucid with the taxing task, and applied some toothpaste before beginning to brush. 

He hadn’t even brushed three times when the front door opened and then slammed shut. 

He immediately halted his movements, alert to the sound of her footsteps as she kicked off her shoes with a sigh before the sounds of her bare feet padded closer and closer towards him. 

Suddenly she stood in the doorway, the bathroom light shining on her and playing with the burnt embers of her hair as her dress swished around her hips, for a moment as her body tensed with unexpected awareness of his presence. 

Then her muscles relaxed as she took a resigned step over the threshold and closer to him, making his heart soar. He didn’t dare move, in case he made her flee again - which he wouldn’t survive again. 

His eyes followed her movements, her lips were uttering grumblings to herself, as she joined him at the counter and grabbed a cotton pad to start removing her make-up. She rubbed at her eyes, removing the mascara and light eyeliner there, before moving the pad across her skin and taking off the little bit of concealer and blusher she had applied. Slowly she revealed the freckles adorning her nose and cheeks, making Colin fall towards her slightly as he tried to count each one, and the natural colour returned to her lips, the plumpness calling out to be kissed. 

Once she finished, she began to wash her face over the sink then dabbed it with her towel, her skin now slightly red with freshness. He hadn’t even realised she was staring at him in the reflection of the mirror, his own eyes too focused on her being right before him, before she spoke out into the silence. 

“I broke up with Tom.” 

Her voice startled him, waking up his movements again like pressing play on a film. 

“Oh?” 

“Something was just missing.” 

She kept her gaze locked onto him through the reflection as if physically turning to him would make this all too real. 

He finished brushing, spitting into the sink and rinsing his mouth out, “Like what?” 

As he finally drew his eyes away from her side profile to meet hers in the mirror she looked down at the sink, grabbing her own toothbrush and bringing it to her mouth to brush. 

She pretended to be intent on her task, avoiding looking at him and, in turn, now avoiding his question. 

He could feel the air around them, pulsing with their joint energy, as the string that he just knew connected them was pulling them closer and closer in anticipation. He was already completely at her mercy but he needed to wait - wait for her. 

She spat into the sink as she finished, rinsing her mouth and putting her toothbrush away. 

Finally, she turned to him, tilting her head up towards him as she realised how close he truly was. His eyes darted to her throat as she swallowed her courage, whilst her gaze went to his lips for a second before back up to his eyes. 

“Goodnight, Colin.” 

She turned to leave but the pull to her on the invisible string was too much for him and he went with her, wrapping his hand around her wrist and pulling her back towards him. Then his lips were on hers, showing her just how much he wanted her - how much he wanted them . 

She sighed against his mouth as the tension of the thread subsided between them, softly pressing her lips in answer to his. The taste of mint matched on their tongues and made him groan as he realised this was where he belonged. An outsider would laugh at him saying it’s because they used the same toothpaste, but Colin knew it was so much more than that. 

This was Penelope and this was love.

They parted, resting their foreheads together as they caught their breath. He clung to the flesh of her hips, gripping her closely as he never wanted to be far from home again, and her dress gathered beneath his fingertips but he knew she didn’t mind as her own arms were wrapped around his neck, with her fingers running soothingly through the hair at the nape of his neck like she had always dreamed of doing it. 

“Penelope, tell me. What was missing?” 

He was a weak man with a craving, he needed more - needed to hear her say it. 

“You.” 

He crashed their lips together again, the tap now turned on and overflowing with his affection for the redhead in his arms. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” he spoke between kisses, his hands coming up and cupping her face as he tenderly traced his lips over her cheeks, nose and eyelids, “I love you.” 

Her own kisses met his with such fervor, her devotion and love for him sinking into his bones, that he realised there was never going to be anyone else. 

It had, and always will be, Penelope. 

6.

Even though their bathroom had matching his and hers sinks, one of the reasons they bought this apartment in the first place, Penelope still stood in front of him as they shared the same mirror and basin whilst they got ready for bed. 

He smiled down at the redhead in the reflection, even after their one year of officially being together and six months of living together, he knew he would never tire of the simplicity of these moments spent in her presence. 

Her eyes sparkled back at him as they brushed silently in union and he couldn’t stop his free arm from circling around her, pulling her back even closer to his chest. He rested his chin atop of her head and the scent of her strawberry and coconut flooded his senses. 

He grinned mischievously around his toothbrush before slowly drifting his hand up from her waist, brushing against the worn fabric of her baggy t-shirt, until he cupped her breast in his palm. He kneaded her flesh as he grazed his thumb over her nipple, making her head fall back against his chest and her eyes close with a sigh of content at his touch. 

He never imagined loving someone as much as he did Penelope. 

He could never get enough of her. She was everything he wanted for the rest of his days. 

“Mawwy mee,” He asked, though the mix of toothpaste, saliva and brush in his mouth muffled his words. 

“Whah?” She spoke around her own minty froff and brush. 

“Whull yoh mawwy me?” 

Her eyes finally opened with an exaggerated eye roll as she leant forward and emptied her mouth into the sink as she finally finished brushing, “I don’t know why you’re trying to talk to me with your mouth so full, I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” 

He leaned over her shoulder, spitting into the sink himself and rinsing his mouth before placing his toothbrush in the holder beside hers. 

“Penelope Featherington, are you going to marry me or not?” 

She turned abruptly in his arms, his hips now pinning her to the sink, and he realised the reflection never does the ocean in her eyes justice. She stared at him wide eyed for a few moments, scanning his face as if she was trying to make sense of his words like she hadn’t suddenly been in a dream for the last couple of years. 

Then she pulled his head down to meet hers and their lips came together in bliss and happiness, ascending with a new hunger as their hearts danced together. 

“Is that a yes?” He smirked against her lips. 

“Yes!” She grinned back at him, tears pooling in her eyes, “I love you, Colin Bridgerton.” 

Her hand came round to softly cup his cheek, the stubble there delightfully scratching her palm, and he turned his head to kiss the pad of her fingers, “I love you too, Penelope Bridgerton.” 

+1

“Ready?” Colin asked as he lifted little Aggie Bridgerton up and onto the bathroom counter, “What do we do first?” 

He watched as his five year old daughter huffed some of her fiery red hair out of her face, the spitting image of her mother, as her green eyes, the matching shade of his own, gave him her full focus. 

“Toofpaste!” She gleed back at him and he nodded, taking her small bright purple - her favourite colour - toothbrush and applying a small pea sized amount of toothpaste onto the brush. 

“And now what?” 

“Big cheesy grin!” Aggie beamed up at him, proudly displaying her baby teeth. 

He feigned a gasp, “Aggie, I don’t think that grin is big or cheesy enough; quick think of something happy to make it grow!” 

He watched as her little eyes screwed shut, her nose scrunching up adorably as her freckles hid in the creases, and her smile grew even bigger. His own smile grew in response, imprinting this memory into his mind. 

“What happy thing are you thinking of?” He brushed some of her hair back with his spare hand. 

“Puppies eating eclairs!” She opened her eyes, the joyful orbs sparkling at him as if she knew he would enjoy her answer. 

Colin chuckled because of course that was what she was thinking of - she was his daughter after all. 

“That is the perfect happy thing,” he popped the toothbrush into her mouth, allowing her to take control and brush her own teeth. 

He kept an eye on Aggie making sure she brushed them properly, reminding her not to miss the ones at the back. 

He rested his hip onto the counter, just beside his daughter, when another flash of auburn caught the corner of his eyes and he turned to find Penelope standing watching them in the doorway. She glowed as she leant against the doorframe, a fulfilled smile on her face as her eyes shone with affection at them both, her hands cradling her rounded bump as she entered her seventh month of pregnancy.   

Realising that he had caught her, she made her way into the bathroom to join them at the sink, placing a tender kiss to Aggie’s head, then reaching for her own toothbrush. 

He watched as his wife and daughter faced each other, both matching heights with Agatha raised on the sink counter, and they entered some sort of brushing game with who can go the fastest. He laughed at their playfulness before helping Aggie spit out her toothpaste and rinse her mouth out, her toothbrush going back into the holder. 

“Right, baby,” He lifted Aggie up and sloppy pressed kisses onto her cheek to make her squeal and squirm in his arms, “Go and pick out a story, me and Mum will be in in a minute.” 

“Okay, papa,” she grabbed his face and placed her own wet kiss on his cheek before he lowered her to the ground. 

He watched as she toddled out of the bathroom and towards her own bedroom across the hall. By the time he turned back to Penelope, she had finished with her own teeth, and was holding out his own toothbrush, toothpaste already placed on the bristles, for him. 

He went to take it but she stopped him with a teasing smile, “What do we do?” 

“Big cheesy grin?” He laughed, his grin coming as naturally to him as breathing when in his wife’s presence. 

She beamed happily back at him, content with his smile just as she always had been, “And what happy thing are you thinking of, Mr Bridgerton?” 

She tried to pass him his toothbrush but instead he reached for her, pulling her towards him and turning her around so she was standing in front of him, staring back at their reflection in the mirror like they have done many times over their years together. 

He crouched slightly so he could rest his head lightly on her shoulder, placing a loving kiss on her cheek, just so he could whisper in her ear, “You, Mrs Bridgerton.” His arms wrapped around her, resting his hands adoringly on her bump as her own came up to rest on top of his, “And our family.” 

“Ah yes,” She met his eyes with her own, both of them smiling contently at each other, “That is the most perfect happy thing.”