Archive of Our Own

Penelope had to admit, even though she’d read plenty of fanfictions about the friends with benefits trope, she’d never anticipated ever being in one herself. 

And she’d certainly never anticipated being in said friends with benefits relationship with the man she’d been in love with for more than half her life. 

And yet, here she was, in Colin Bridgerton’s bed, recovering from a pretty intense orgasm courtesy of Colin’s fingers. Penelope never saw it coming. One random Friday night, they were hanging out like they normally did, and then all of a sudden, he kissed her. And kept kissing her everywhere as his hands slipped under her dress and between her legs and-

Well, you get the picture. 

They hadn’t talked about it afterwards. Penelope had fully expected the morning to be filled with awkward small talk and even more awkward silences. She assumed Colin would skirt around what happened, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted without hurting her feelings.

“I’m sorry, last night was a mistake, it never should have happened, we should forget about it. I care about you, but not in that way, I don’t want this to ruin our friendship.”

And Penelope prepared herself to hear that, she really did. Yes, it was going to sting like hell, but Colin wouldn’t know that. Penelope knew he would just be trying to protect their friendship. It was fine, it would hurt, but she knew she would be able to handle it. 

Except she never had to, because he never said it. 

Actually, he’d behaved the exact opposite of how she expected. There was no awkwardness, no skittishness, none of it. Instead, he simply beamed at her, kissed her forehead as he said good morning and then went to make them both breakfast while she kept him company in the kitchen. Instead of making some flimsy excuse to get the hell out of there, like she’d originally planned, she spent the day with him. There was a brief conversation about keeping everything between them, not getting families involved, but that was about it.

 It made sense to Penelope; keeping things secret was a pretty standard rule for these sorts of arrangements, and on top of that, she and Colin both came from extremely meddlesome families (a nice thing on his side… not so much on hers). Pen had to admit, she’d sort of broken that rule, as she’d told Edwina, which led to Kate and then somehow Sophie and Michaela finding out, and now there was a group chat. She supposed telling the former two counted as telling people from Colin’s family, but they were his in-laws, not Bridgertons by blood, so… Loophole? 

(Maybe. Probably not. Okay, don’t judge her. She needed to spiral about her situation to someone, and she was hardly going to talk about the mind-blowing sex she was having with Colin with one of his sisters.)

Weirdly enough, Penelope found that she liked not talking about it. She knew that what she had with Colin was too good to be true, something that was never meant to last, and eventually, he would realise that too. There was a rejection coming her way somewhere down the line, but that didn’t mean Penelope couldn’t enjoy herself in the meantime. They found a pretty natural rhythm together (not like that, but also yes, exactly like that ), they were friends in public, and they explored their benefits in private. They still went out to dinner and watched movies at each other’s flats, though they also went to the cinema a bit more frequently than they used to. 

It was like nothing changed and everything changed, and it worked for them. 

So yeah, Penelope was in a friends with benefits situation with the love of her life, and so far, it had been nothing like she expected. She’d always assumed friends with benefits was something kind of impersonal, but she should have known better. This was Colin. He was incapable of doing anything without some level of feeling. He treated her so wonderfully, made everything between them feel so intimate and made her feel safer and more cared for than she ever had in her entire life. Penelope always thought that, once the sex was done, she was supposed to leave and go home, but every time she tried, Colin simply pulled her into a cuddle until they both fell asleep. After the first few times, she stopped trying. 

Penelope never expected friends with benefits to involve so much cuddling. 

It was what they were doing now, her head resting against his chest, playing idly with his chest hair. He had one arm lazily slung around her, drawing patterns on her arm as he showed her random pictures from his camera roll on his phone.

“Wait, wait,” she said, tapping on a picture and getting a closer look at a teenage Colin in a rather fancy suit. “I remember this. Isn’t that your prom suit?” 

“Yup, mum found the pictures the other day and sent them to me,” he admitted with an embarrassed blush that had no right to be as endearing as it was. “I’ve been meaning to delete them.”

“Why? You looked great,” she said, swiping again, and promptly freezing. Another picture of Colin, but not just of him. He was with Marina in the classic prom picture pose. She swallowed. “Oh.”

“I wish she hadn’t been my date,” Colin muttered with a rueful grimace. 

“Colin,” she sighed gently. “You didn’t know back then.” 

“I know, I know, but still, things were already going downhill between us by that point. I’m pretty sure we’d been arguing like half an hour before that photo got taken. I found out about her and George the day after prom. Honestly, we should have broken up long before that picture was taken.” 

Penelope stroked his arm, hoping that it was providing him with some sense of comfort. She wished there was something she could say, but no words came to mind. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay, I’m over it. It was years ago. And besides, prom itself was still pretty fun, even if the day after wasn’t,” Colin replied, clearly trying to add a little levity to the atmosphere.

She snuggled into him a little closer, and he traced a tiny heart on her skin that made the one in her chest light up. “Prom’s overrated.” 

“Absolutely, but hey, it’s a fun chance to look fancy,” he chuckled before pausing. “Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen pictures of you in your prom dress.”

“Of course you haven’t, they don’t exist,” she deadpanned. “I didn’t go to prom, remember?”

He blinked at her. Clearly, he didn’t remember. “You didn’t?”

“Eloise didn’t want to go. She thought the whole thing was stupid, so we had a movie night in her room instead.” 

“Did you think prom was stupid?”

She hesitated for a moment. “I wouldn’t have had fun without El there.”

“Pen,” he murmured quietly, his eyes burning into her. “That’s not what I asked.”

Ah, so he caught that. Of course he did. 

“Okay, if I’m being honest, I was kind of looking forward to going to prom,” she admitted. “I don’t know, maybe it was just the idea of getting to wear a beautiful dress, or maybe it was because I’d seen prom in so many films and TV shows- I thought it was kind of exciting. But, like I said, the whole thing would have been terrible without Eloise. It’s not like I had that many friends outside of her, and there was no way in hell anyone was going to ask me to go–”

“-What the hell does that mean?”

“So it’s not like I would have had a date,” she continued, ignoring the borderline offended look on Colin’s face. “It would have just been another night of me living up to my wallflower label, except I would have had no one to keep me company in the corner. Besides, my mum probably would have bought me some hideous yellow dress that Cressida would have made fun of all night. Not to mention the fact that Cressida won prom queen that night, she was already unbearable on a normal night, but with that amount of power? God, she would have made me miserable.” 

It was the list that she’d curated over the years whenever she felt that sliver of disappointment creeping in about the fact that she’d missed such a monumental night. By now, Penelope knew the list off by heart, and she believed it mostly, but there would always be that one corner of her heart that stored her longing. 

“You could have asked me,” Colin told her. “I would have been your date.”

A scoff dropped from her lips instantly. “You were in Thailand.”

“I would have come back.”

“I never would have asked you to do that, you were having so much fun.” 

“Well, yeah, but I would have had just as much fun with you at prom.”

She couldn’t help but look at him incredulously. “You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m not. Why would I be?” 

Colin seemed genuinely confused, which would have been sweet if Penelope believed it. “You can’t seriously think going to some silly prom would be on the same level of fun as being in Thailand. ”

“Well, it wasn’t some silly prom, it was your prom, and it absolutely would have been just as fun because we would have been hanging out the whole night, and we wouldn’t have had Eloise bugging us, added bonus.”

“Colin,” she chided, though her smile gave her away. 

“Hey, I stand by it,” he shrugged, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her hair. It sent a little thrill through her. 

Honestly, Penelope could picture it, though maybe it was an easy thing to picture because she already had countless times. Colin going to pick her up with a beautiful corsage just for her, spending the night talking, laughing and dancing together, fast and slow songs. She pictured the two of them on the dance floor, getting completely lost in each other, letting the rest of the world fade away, maybe even sharing a kiss at the end of the night. It was a beautiful image, and it would have been wonderful, but it simply wasn’t meant to be.

“I had fun with Eloise,” she reassured him, and to be fair, she wasn’t lying. That movie night had been great. “And, you know, I get that prom is meant to be a big deal and everything, but it’s just one night, and a prom dress is just a dress. I’ll admit, going to prom and getting to wear a nice dress would have been great, but it’s not the end of the world that I didn’t.” 

“I just think it’s a shame that you didn’t get to go to yours when you wanted to.”

“Maybe, but it’s done now. And prom was years ago, it’s not like it’s something I think about all that often.” Colin nodded, but she could see that maniacal gleam in his eyes that sparkled even more when his grin widened. “What? What’s with that smile?” 

“Oh, nothing, just thinking of something.”

“Well, what were you th-”

But before Penelope could get the question out, he kissed her. She was going to pull away and continue with her mini interrogation, but then he shifted so that she was on her back as he trailed kisses down her body, lower and lower until eventually she forgot that she had a question to ask in the first place. 

xxx

Penelope didn’t think much of her conversation with Colin after that night. In fact, she forgot about it almost entirely. 

But then, about a week later, she was at work, eating her lunch and checking her email when she saw it.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

The Bridgerton class invites you to 

A Night In Paris

A magical night of music, dancing and fancy French foods!

Saturday, 19th July

At 7pm

Aubrey Hall

Even though it was such a short invite, Penelope couldn’t help but read it over and over again. There was no way this was real. Colin couldn’t actually be throwing a prom just because she mentioned in one conversation that she hadn’t been to hers. That was insane.

But it was also somehow just insane enough that it felt exactly like something Colin would do. 

That night, when he came to stay the night at her flat (he always did nowadays, she tried not to question it too much), after he greeted her with a cheery kiss on the cheek, she couldn’t help but bring it up. 

“So, about that invite I got in my email at lunch today…”

“You saw it?” he grinned at her. “What did you think? Did you like it? Night in Paris is a pretty good theme, right?”

“Y-yeah, it was all great,” she replied. “But Colin- you can’t actually be serious about this.”

All he did was furrow his brows at her. “What do you mean?” 

“You’re throwing an entire prom? ” she questioned incredulously. “You know, when I told you I never went to my prom, I wasn’t suggesting that you throw one.”

“I know, I know, but I wanted to,” Colin said with all the earnestness in the world, it warmed her heart as much as it made it ache. “You deserve to have a prom night, Pen. Besides, I mentioned it to my siblings and they thought it was a great idea, it actually works out for all of us, in a way.”

“It does?” and now she was the one furrowing her brows. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, apart from Frannie, we all basically had bad experiences with prom. Anthony got into that fight with Siena and they broke up right before they were supposed to leave. Benedict got so drunk he can barely even remember his prom. Me going with Marina was a total mistake. Daphne punched one of her chaperones in the face at her prom because he was being creepy. Eloise obviously didn’t go. Greg got involved in some stupid prank on his prom night and spent most of the night in the headteacher’s office. And Hyacinth caught her boyfriend kissing that other girl at her prom night-”

Penelope winced at that one. It was last year, Hyacinth came home crying her eyes out, a truly heart-wrenching sight. Anthony, Benedict and Gregory stormed out to find the idiot who broke their sister’s heart, whilst everyone else tried to cheer the youngest Bridgerton up with ice cream and break-up playlists. “God, when you lay it all out like that, it really seems like Bridgerton prom nights are cursed.” 

“Maybe they are.”

“For everyone except Francesca, apparently.” 

“Makes sense, she’s the best of us,” he shrugged. “But this is a nice thing for her too. She got to have one lovely prom with John, and now she gets another one with Michaela.”

“That does sound pretty lovely,” Penelope had to admit. “But still, this is going to take so much effort, Col-”

“Perks of having a professional event planner for a sister,” Colin replied readily. “She’s already gotten in touch with some of her contacts, she’s super excited about this. It’s like a do-over prom for her.”

“And not just her by the sounds of it,” she said. “But what about Eloise? Is she on board with this?”

“Yeah, I think dating Philip has made her a lot softer, though she’d never admit that,” he replied amusedly. “Plus, the idea of a prom with her friends and family and boyfriend is more bearable than your classmates from school.”

“Oh, it’s definitely a huge upgrade,” Penelope agreed instantly. “So, why the Night in Paris theme?”

“I remember you saying how much you want to go to Paris, and don’t get me wrong, we definitely will go one day,” Colin began as if he wasn’t giving Penelope one of the biggest heart attacks of her life. “But until then, I think this is a pretty close second, don’t you think?” 

She nodded, still processing everything. “I just can’t believe this is actually happening.”

“Well, believe it, Pen,” he said with a soft smile, leaning in and pecking her lips. “It’s happening, and it’s gonna be the best night of your life. I’m going to make all of your prom dreams come true.” 

“Oh yeah?” she scoffed, a little amused. “I’m gonna hold you to that, Bridgerton.” 

“I hope you do,” Colin replied, completely unphased before he held up the bag in his hand. “Now, I’ve got all the ingredients with me to make you an authentic French dinner, but I’ve got an appetite for something else first.” 

And the next thing she knew, she was in the air, her legs wrapped firmly around his waist as he carried her to her bedroom, kissing her all the way. 

One day, Colin Bridgerton wouldn’t be able to distract her so easily. 

Today was not that day. 

xxx

Colin is DOWN BAD for Pen truthers

Edwina: So apparently Colin is throwing you a whole ass prom???

Pen: He’s not throwing it FOR me!

Pen: It’s for everyone! 

Pen: He just had the idea because of a conversation we had, that’s all

Michaela: Sure

Pen: It’s true!

Michaela: Suurreee 

Pen: How do you manage to sound so sarcastic over text???

Michaela: A gift 

Michaela: Now back to the matter at hand

Michaela: Colin is obsessed with you

Pen: You’re exaggerating

Edwina: If anything she’s downplaying it

Pen: How is obsession downplaying it?

Pen: What’s more intense than obsession?

Edwina: Idk

Kate: But whatever it is, that’s what Colin is

[Edwina reacted “ 💯”]

Edwina: Yesssss thank you Kate!!

Pen: As if Colin would ever be obsessed with me

Michaela: He literally already is but okay

Sophie: I think this whole thing is so sweet! I can’t wait for this do over prom! Xx

Sophie: (Which Colin is definitely throwing for Pen btw)

Pen: Et tu Sophie?

Sophie: Sorry but it’s so clearly the truth xx

Pen: This prom is for everyone! Not just me!

Edwina: Pen you’re killing me here😭

Pen: I’m just being realistic

Pen: That’s all

Pen: And while we’re all here

Pen: Petition to change the name of this gc

Kate: Petition denied

xxx

“I can’t believe I’m actually shopping for a prom dress in my mid twenties,” Penelope snorted, looking through all the dresses on the hangers. 

“I can’t believe you still won’t admit he’s throwing this prom for you.”

“ Because of me-”

“Not for me,” Edwina, Kate, Sophie and Michaela finished for her. 

Penelope blushed, just a little, as she mumbled, “Well, it’s true.”

Michaela put a solemn hand on her shoulder, “You know, Penelope, the first step is admitting you have a problem.” 

“Admitting I have a problem with what?” 

“Denial.”

The other women burst out laughing as Penelope rolled her eyes. “Can we please drop this?” 

“Drop what?” Daphne curiously asked, coming to join them, Hyacinth at her side. 

“The fact that Colin is throwing Penelope a prom,” Kate informed her. 

“Why would we drop that? It’s the cutest thing ever!” Hyacinth exclaimed, a starry look in her eyes. 

“Because it’s not true, Hy.” 

Hyacinth stared at her. “You’re joking, right?” She then looked at everyone else. “Tell me she’s joking.” 

“Unfortunately, she’s not,” Edwina shook her head solemnly. 

“God, shopping for prom dresses is a pain,” Eloise complained as she joined the group. “I knew there was a reason I skipped this the first time.” 

“Mmm,” Daphne hummed, clearly not believing her. “And if you hate this so much, why are you holding five dresses, El?” 

Eloise looked at the dresses in her hand and then back at her sister with a glare, “I wanted to have some options, sue me.”

“I’ve got a few dresses too,” Frannie said, sitting next to Michaela.

“And you’re going to look beautiful in all of them,” Mich said, giving her girlfriend an adoring look. 

Penelope smiled at the couple, so obviously in love. She went back to looking at the dresses and sighed. “I haven’t even found one dress yet.”

“What kind of dress are you looking for, Pen?” Sophie asked. 

“Honestly? I have no idea,” she admitted. “I was kind of hoping I would see a dress and I would just… Know , you know?” 

“I get it, it’s how I felt when I saw the dress I met Ben in,” she said, a nostalgic look on her face. 

“Maybe it would help if you picked a couple of colours you might want to wear? Narrow it down a bit,” Francesca suggested. 

“I don’t know what colour I want exactly, I just know I don’t want it to be yellow,” she practically shuddered at the thought. 

“I think you look pretty in yellow, Pen,” Edwina told her kindly. 

“Thanks, Ed,” Pen replied. “You might be the only person who thinks that, though.”

“Not true,” the other women chorused instantly. Penelope was torn between being so grateful for this group of people who championed her so thoroughly and readily, and not quite being able to believe them when they did. 

“Not just us, Colin thinks it too,” Kate said. “When I first met Anthony, I think you were wearing something yellow, Colin couldn’t take his eyes off of you the entire night, I thought you guys were together.” 

She tried to ignore the way her face burned at that comment. “Yellow is just his favourite colour, that’s all.” 

“Hmm, I wonder why,” Hyacinth commented with a grin. 

“Yes, such a mystery,” Edwina said with an identical expression to the youngest Bridgerton. “Hey, Pen, weren’t you saying that you were wearing yellow when you met Colin?” 

“I hate you,” she glared with no real ire as she grumbled, “but, yes, I was.”

“To be fair, he did love yellow before he met Pen,” El pointed out. 

“Yeah, he did, but he always used to say that his favourite colour was blue, remember?” Daphne countered. “But the day he met Penelope, he came home saying he had a new favourite colour and it hasn’t changed since.”

“Wait, really?” Penelope couldn’t help but question. Daphne nodded, and surprise jolted through her. She never knew that. “Oh.” 

“And you say he’s not obsessed with you,” Michaela mumbled under her breath. Francesca nudged her. “What? I’m just saying.” 

Penelope chose to ignore that comment as she looked through all the dresses. If she was being honest, she was having trouble getting Portia’s voice out of her head, telling her that one dress would show her stomach too much, another wouldn’t be flattering to her arms, she needed something that would hide her curves. To Portia Featherington, Penelope was never good enough, and by extension, neither was anything she wore. It was hard for her not to internalise that constant criticism, it was even harder not to carry it with her wherever she went. 

But then she saw a dress, one that silenced her thoughts. It was a beautiful sage green, made from tulle that was a dream to touch. The decorations on the dress made it look like it was fit for a forest fairy, the kind of dress the Penelope of even a year ago would never have believed herself capable of wearing. She never would have thought herself beautiful enough for a dress like that, but now, she didn’t care about any of that, didn’t care to have Portia’s voice in her head ruining what should be a nice moment. All she wanted was to wear the dress

“Oh, Pen, you have to try that on!” Eloise exclaimed, startling Penelope. When the hell did she even get there? 

“She’s right, Pen, it would be a crime if you didn’t,” Michaela agreed. 

“You have always looked smashing in green,” Kate joined in.

Eventually, all the women were encouraging her to try it on. Penelope laughed, taking the hanger off the rail. “Okay! Okay! I’m going!”

A part of her wondered if the dress was too good to be true, if the perfection of it would go away the second she saw herself in it, but then she turned to look at herself in the mirror and the first words out of her mouth were a soft, “Oh, wow.”

She stepped out of the fitting room gently, and the response was instant. Beams and grins fill the room. Penelope felt the warmth of the room immediately, and she basked in the glow of it. It was a moment when she forced herself to stop thinking about years ago. A dream she’d made herself content with never coming true. Yet, here, surrounded by the women she loved most in the world, their smiles more supportive than anything Penelope’s family had ever said to her her whole life, she felt so unbelievably lucky that she was getting to have this experience at all, that she wouldn’t have to spend the rest of her life forcing herself to forget the what if.

“Penelope,” Eloise was the first to speak, smile so wide she almost “ This is the fucking dress.” 

“Yeah,” Pen beamed, almost wanting to cry from excitement. “It is.” 

She officially had a prom dress, and she couldn’t be happier. 

xxx

Colin: Heard through the grapevine that you found your prom dress today 👀

Pen: You heard correctly lol

Colin: That’s awesome!!

Colin: Can I see pics of the dress or is that bad luck?

Pen: Pretty sure you’re thinking about weddings col

Colin: Right right

Colin: Will have to remember that for the future lmao

Pen: ???

Pen: haha yeah

Pen: I’ll send pics of the dress when I get home

Colin: Actually don’t

Colin: I want it to be a surprise

Colin: But do me a favour

Colin: Tell me the colour of the dress? 

Pen: I think the official colour is dusty sage or something like that

Pen: But basically light green

Colin: Got it

Colin: Thanks!

Pen: Why did you need to know the colour??

Colin: You’ll see soon :))

xxx

The first thing Penelope spotted when she got home was the book on her table. 

Though, in fairness, it was hard to miss. The table was covered in fairy lights after all. 

“What the…” she trailed off, going over to the table and inspecting the sight before her. Aside from the lights, the table was covered in… pictures of her and Colin?

Okay, seriously, what the fuck was going on?

The pictures on the table practically spanned decades, going from pictures of them when they were just kids to pictures they just took a mere few weeks ago. It was strange to see the pictures all together like this; it almost felt like a reminder of how far she and Colin had come. She looked at the photos with a fond smile on her face. She could still remember the exact day some of the pictures had been taken, memories she didn’t even realise she had were flooding her brain. It wasn’t just pictures, tickets from movies they’d watched together, a mini golf score card where she’d destroyed him (that one always made her smirk), other little bits and pieces stuck to the pages, memorabilia of their friendship, were stuck in pages, things she didn’t even know Colin still had. The pages had fun titles, little annotations, and she couldn’t even imagine how long it must have taken to put together. Finally, she got to the last page, but it was completely blank save for one sticky note. 

‘I’d like to fill this page with the prom pictures that you never got to take.

What do you say?’

It was only then that she realised Colin was there.

She turned around to see him standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hand and a hopeful expression on his face. “So, Pen? Will you be my prom date?” 

“Yes!” she exclaimed instantly, putting the book down and throwing her arms around him. “Oh my god, Colin, that book must have taken forever.”

“I may or may not have gone to a scrapbooking class,” he admitted with a bashful chuckle as the hug ended. He handed her the flowers. “These are for you.” 

“Thank you,” she grinned, admiring their beauty and inhaling their sweet smell. His words registered with her, and she blinked at him. “Did you just say that you went to a scrapbooking class?” 

“I wanted to get the book right,” he explained. The blush on his cheeks was adorable. “It was actually really fun, we should go to one.”

And just when Penelope thought she couldn’t blush any harder, Colin proved her wrong. “Sounds like a plan,” she used her free hand to hold his. “I’m glad you had fun, but you really didn’t have to go to all that trouble, you know.”

“I wanted to,” his reply came without missing a beat. “I wanted to give you the perfect promposal, Pen.” 

“Well, you definitely did that,” she grinned as he pulled her into a kiss. For a moment, she almost forgot that they weren’t actually a couple. “Aren’t promposals more of an American thing?”

“Yeah, but I know you, Pen, are you going to tell me you didn’t imagine getting a promposal when you were a teenager?”

Her blush transformed into an embarrassed one. “Maybe.” 

Colin chuckled, giving her a peck. “I told you, I’m making all of your prom dreams come true.” 

She bit her lip; she was going to have to remember that for the future. Yes, Colin was being incredibly romantic, but it was coming from a place of kindness, not… It was him wanting to give her- give both of them- the experience of a good prom that they missed out on. This prom was fine, unintentionally motivated by her, but it was still for everyone. Colin was one of the kindest people she knew. Of course, he would do everything he could to make it a good experience for her. He cared about her. 

But care wasn’t love, and Penelope knew that. 

Still, when she caught the way Colin looked at her sometimes, it was easy to forget. 

xxx

Colin is DOWN BAD for Pen truthers

Kate: @Penelope @Sophie Did you know that Colin, Ant and Ben all helped each other with their promposals? 

Pen: Wait what???

Pen: No I literally had no idea lol

Sophie: Ben just told me about that!

Sophie: Apparently he told Colin about the scrapbooking we went to months ago on date night

Michaela: Wait wait wait

Michaela: Penelope Anne Featherington

Michaela: Colin PROMPOSED to you???

Michaela: And he made a whole ass scrapbook for you??????

Pen: … Yes?

Michaela: Girl 😭😭😭

Michaela: see the light im begging you

Edwina: ^^ !!!!!

Pen: That’s just part of some list he has

Pen: He’s just trying to help me fulfil some old teenage fantasies

Edwina: Well he’s definitely doing that

Edwina: In more ways than one 😏

[Kate, Michaela and Sophie reacted “ 💯”]

Pen: …

Pen: I had that one coming, didn’t I?

Edwina: Yup

xxx

Penelope had definitely thought about ending her arrangement with Colin before. Multiple times, in fact. She figured it would be to quit while she was ahead, protect her heart while it was still intact, let her memories of her time with Colin be joyful ones instead of ones glossed over with heartbreak.

There were two problems. 

One was that Colin was addictive, someone she just couldn’t get enough of- and that was a problem that only got exacerbated by the second one- she was madly, deeply in love with him.

“Colin, oh fuck- yes, right there.”

He moved inside her like a man with purpose, like he was on a mission to bring her to a third orgasm (as if the first two hadn’t already been absolutely incredible.) He was hitting all the right spots, smirking down at her. She scrambled to cling to his shoulders, her legs tightening around his waist. Through his pants, he said in a breathless voice that increased her arousal tenfold, “You like that, darling?” 

“Yes, ” she nearly sobbed, throwing her head against the pillows. He instantly dipped his head down to kiss from her shoulder to her neck. “Oh god, yes, yes, yes!”

“Touch yourself,” he grunted against her skin. Mindlessly, she snaked her hand down to rub circles against her clit, she nearly screamed at how good it felt. “There we go, just like that.” 

Her moans increased in volume. “Oh- Oh, mph- god, that f-feels amazing.”

 “ You feel amazing.” He lifted his head up, eyes boring into hers. “You going to be a good girl and come for me one more time?”

Penelope honestly wasn’t sure if she had another one in her, but she couldn’t find the words to say it. “I… I…”

Colin seemed to sense what she wanted to say. He started fucking her into the mattress. Hard. She felt completely possessed by pleasure. “Come on, gorgeous, I think you’ve got another one in you.”

She writhed against the sheets, one hand still touching herself, the other desperately gripping onto Colin’s hair. He was moaning and grunting in her ear, which only spurred her on. Their bodies moved in perfect harmony as she felt herself climbing higher and higher. She whimpered, “Colin, mmm, I’m so close.” 

“I’ve got you, Pen,” he said, his face the picture of determination as he continued thrusting into her roughly. Colin let out a moan, a loud one . “Oh fuck, you feel so good, baby.”

Baby. That was the word that did her in. 

Stars sparked in her vision as her orgasm overtook her, pleasure coursing through her body as she melted into the sheets. She wasn’t sure she’d ever come so hard in her life. Penelope was so consumed by euphoria that she barely noticed Colin coming too. He practically slumped on top of her, both of them grappling to catch their breath.

They lay there for a moment and let the silence surround them. It wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable- it was simply peaceful. The kind of silence that didn’t need to be filled with pointless words, a silence that spoke for itself. 

But then a thought occurred to her. 

“Colin?” 

“Hm?” 

“I’ve thought of one prom cliché we can’t make come true.” 

His head whipped up instantly, eyes narrowing. “What? Which one?”

Penelope giggled, pushing some hair off his forehead. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to take my virginity on prom night.” 

There was a beat of silence as he stared at her, and then they both burst into laughter. Penelope always found the moments after sex to be annoyingly difficult, even with long-term boyfriends. It was always just… weird, like neither of them fully knew what to do with themselves until one of them got out of bed and then life continued on as normal. But no, not with Colin. Everything was easy with him; they could laugh and joke around, and nothing ever changed. 

She supposed that that was the ‘friends ‘part of friends with benefits. 

“I suppose I can’t do that, no,” he laughed, pulling out and rolling off of her. She missed him instantly. He disposed of the condom and then hopped back into bed, pulling her into a cuddle just like she knew he would. When he looked at her, his eyes were sparkling. “I am taking your virginity in a way though.” 

“What?” she raised an eyebrow. “How?”

“Your prom virginity,” he explained mischievously. “You’ve never been to prom before, it’ll be your first time, and you’ll be going with me. So when you think about it…”

He trailed off as she laughed even harder. “Okay, that’s a really weird way to think about it- but you’re not wrong.”

“So you agree that I’m taking your prom virginity?”

“I mean, I still think saying it like that is insane, ” Pen said pointedly before conceding. “But yes, fine, you’re taking my prom virginity.”

“So technically it’s a prom cliche that we’re making come true,” Colin grinned at her before joking, “I’m so honoured to be your first, Pen. I promise to make it special.”

He already was. Every moment with him was special. That was part of the problem.

But she didn’t want to think about that right now, so she laughed. “You’re so ridiculous.”

Colin smirked, rolling on top of her, leaning down to brush his nose against hers, their lips a breath away from each other. “That may be true, but at the end of the day, you’re still in my bed , aren’t you, darling?”

She was ready to quip something back, but he swallowed it with a kiss, and continued to do so until she forgot what she’d wanted to say in the first place.

xxx

Prom night snuck up on Penelope. 

God, she couldn’t believe that she got to say that in her mid-twenties. 

One minute she was reading an email from Colin about a prom happening in Aubrey Hall, questioning if she was reading it correctly, and the next she was at Aubrey Hall, staring at herself in the prom dress she never thought she’d get to wear. 

Behind her, Daphne was doing her hair, delicately weaving some flowers into her curls. She said it would match the vibe of her dress, and so far, she’d been absolutely right. Penelope truly felt like the forest fairy she’d always dreamed of being. At this point, she just needed the wings. Daphne leaned down and gently said, “You look amazing, Pen.” 

“Thanks, Daph,” she blushed. “You look incredible too.”

Daphne always had been the picture of grace, but never as much as she was right now, in her Bridgerton blue gown and pearls. “Thanks. Honestly, I’m so excited for tonight! When you have three kids, the fanciest you can dress is an old t-shirt and joggers without stains on them.”

Penelope couldn’t imagine her in joggers, but that being said, “I’m sure you pulled them off.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” she laughed in response. “But seriously, I was always quite disappointed in how my prom turned out. I’d dreamed about it for so long, you know? And then the real thing…”

“Was nothing like your dreams?” Pen finished for her.

“Not in the slightest,” she laughed. “It’s funny now, but I was devastated at the time. I’m just happy I get a chance to have a good prom with the love of my life. I never thought that would happen.”

Penelope smiled. “It was really nice of Colin to do this for everyone.”

“Hmm,” the Bridgerton woman hummed teasingly. “ For everyone, yeah.”

She had to bite back a groan. “Not you too, Daph.”

“I didn’t say anything,” she replied in the same tone as before. She took a step back and announced. “Okay, Penelope’s ready!” 

All the women in the room turned to look at her, Penelope felt her cheeks heat up immediately. Hyacinth squealed and ran towards her, engulfing her in a hug. Penelope had to hand it to her, for a seventeen-year-old, she was pretty strong. “Oh, Penelope, your whole look is magic!” 

She felt silly for wanting to tear up a little bit. She pulled away and took in the youngest Bridgerton’s appearance. “Look at you though, Hy. You’re gonna be such a showstopper tonight, you look beautiful,” she looked around the room. “All of you do.”

Francesca smiled at her, her arm wrapped around Michaela’s waist. Her cream coloured dress perfectly complemented and contrasted the dark purple of Michaela’s. “Hyacinth’s right, you kind of look like a fairy.”

“That’s the exact vibe I was going for,” she laughed. “Thanks, Frannie.” 

The compliments went on for a while, with everyone exchanging various praises about each other’s dresses. Truthfully, she could have stayed in that room complimenting everyone all night; they all looked wonderful. Sophie dazzled in a silver dress, staying true to the ‘Lady in Silver’ nickname Ben had given her after they first met. Kate and Edwina looked positively radiant in their teal sari and light pink anarkali. She could hardly believe she got to see Eloise in a prom dress at all, but she was stunning in her dress, a shade of blue that was a bit darker than Daphne’s dress. Hyacinth truly did look like a showstopper with her hot pink gown. And then there was Violet, the definition of regal in her dress that matched her name. They were all so incredibly beautiful, and for the first time in her life, Penelope felt beautiful too. 

“My dear, you are absolutely enchanting,” Violet stepped forward, squeezing her hands. “Colin is a very lucky man.”

Penelope could feel her cheeks getting redder by the second as she stuttered out, “Thank you, Violet, but Colin’s not- I’m not- I mean we’re not-”

“Damn right, he’s lucky,” Eloise cut her rambling off, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t grateful for it. El came over and gave her a hug, keeping her arm around her as she pulled away. “How about you ditch Colin, I’ll ditch Phillip and we can be prom dates, yeah? Honestly, we should have done that the first time.”

“Colin would murder you if you stole Penelope from him, El,” Daphne said amusedly. 

“You say that like I wouldn’t duel him for Pen’s hand,” she retorted. “Believe me, I would and I’d win.”

A laugh escaped her lips. “I’m sorry, El, Colin did ask me first. Besides, are you really telling me you don’t want to go with Phillip?” 

“Touche, Pen,” she chuckled in return. “We’re still gonna rule the dance floor though, right?” 

“Oh, definitely.”

Hyacinth suddenly squealed. “It’s time! I’m going to go downstairs, you guys stay up here, and don’t come out until I’ve called your name!”

“Why?” El asked. “What the hell are you planning, Hyacinth?” 

“Nothing! I’m just giving you guys the prom entrances you deserve!” she beamed. “I may or may not have planned some introductions for you guys before you come down the stairs?”

“Aww, that’s sweet,” Sophie said with a smile. 

“But what about you, Hy?” Frannie followed. “Maybe one of us could quickly come up with an introduction for you before you go downstairs?”

“Don’t worry, Fran, that’s not necessary,” Hyacinth said with a rather trendy hair flip. “Have you seen this dress? It’s all the introduction I need.” 

She bounded out of the room, pure excitement radiating off of her. The rest of the  women exchanged smiles as Edwina commented, “I envy her confidence sometimes.”

“Don’t we all?” Penelope said with a giggle. 

They all waited as Hyacinth shouted out her compliments for each woman in her introduction. One by one, they left to make their entrance at the top of the stairs. Penelope could feel her nerves dancing around in her system. She’d always dreamed about a moment like this, a Cinderella moment. She used to dream about being the girl that people couldn’t take their eyes off of when she entered the room, taking everyone’s breath away. She used to imagine Colin coming to her, sweeping her off her feet and dancing the night away with her. It was one of her favourite dreams growing up, the one she would turn to for comfort when she needed it. But then she got older, beauty standards started getting more prevalent in her life (beauty standards that her family and Cressida Cowper seemed determined to remind her that she didn’t fit), insecurities began to kick in, and at a certain point, the dream felt so unrealistic it stopped helping and started hurting. Piece by piece, the fantasy faded away. She honestly forgot all about it until this prom thing came up. Now that it was happening, it was exciting, but it was also terrifying. Penelope was a wallflower, albeit a reluctant one, by nature. As much as she longed to be the girl who stole the attention of the room when she walked in, she didn’t know if she could really be that person. She was the girl who stayed in the corners, not the girl in the centre. Still, she might never have this sort of opportunity again, so she had to forget her fears and make the most of it.

“Hey, Pen?” Eloise said, bringing her out of her thoughts before she could spiral any further. “Do you have a second?” 

“Yeah, of course,” she nodded, taking in the anxious expression on her best friend’s face. Her brows knitted together with concern. “What’s up?” 

“I just- I wanted to say that I’m sorry.” 

Pen’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “You’re sorry? For what?”

“For stopping you from going the first time around,” she explained with a little frown. “Honestly, as bad as it sounds, I didn’t even realise you wanted to go, I just assumed that you thought it was stupid like I did.”

“Oh, El,” she smiled, going over to her. In a weird way, Penelope was proud of her. Eloise acknowledging that, let alone apologising for it, was huge progress for it. It wasn’t even necessary, but she appreciated it all the same. “I didn’t mind not going to prom, really.”

“But you wanted to-”

“Maybe a little, but it wouldn’t have been any fun without you, and I think we had way more fun with that movie night than we ever would have had at prom,” she grinned. “Don’t you remember how awful some of our classmates were?”

“God, they were the worst, ” she shuddered and then frowned. “I still feel bad though, we could have had fun together, and I spoiled our chances.”

“You didn’t, we still had a great time, El. Seriously, you don’t need to feel bad. I’ve never been upset with you about that. Not once. I mean it,” she squeezed her hands in reassurance. “Besides, we’re getting to go to prom now, and this one is going to be infinitely better than the one we missed out on. I would say everything worked out the way it was supposed to.”

“That’s true,” Eloise conceded. “Ugh, I can’t believe we have Colin to thank for this. I don’t want to give him credit.”

“I’m afraid you might have to,” Penelope laughed. “This whole night wouldn’t be happening without him.”

“Ugh,” her best friend repeated, lips curled in disgust. “I hate that you’re right.”

“Eloise, you’re up,” Sophie said. 

Eloise rolled her eyes, “Better get this dumb entrance over with.”

“You know, you didn’t have to wait. If you’d gone down those stairs, it’s not like Hyacinth could have stopped you,” Penelope pointed out with a knowing smile. El, ever the stubborn Bridgerton, would die before admitting she liked any of this stuff.

“Well- well then she would have whined at me the whole night, not worth it,” El shrugged, but Penelope could see the faint excitement in her eyes as she glanced at the door. “Right, I’ll see you out there.” 

Eloise did a little salute before she left. There weren’t too many more people to go before it would only be Penelope left. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach that Hyacinth had left her last. And as she heard all the other names called out, it only confirmed her suspicion. Eventually, she was the last person in the room. With a shaky breath, she went over and pressed her ear to the door. 

“And last, but certainly not least, get ready to see the most magical sight you’ve ever seen! She’s got the heart of an angel and the dress of a fairy! Hold onto your jaws and get ready to have your breath taken away, she’ll enchant everyone in the room, just you wait. Greek goddesses wish that they could be her… Penelope!” 

Jesus Christ, Hyacinth was giving her a lot to live up to. Penelope had to give it to the youngest Bridgerton, she really was the ultimate hype woman. 

With one last deep breath, Penelope stepped out to the top of the stairs and was immediately captivated by the room. It was absolutely gorgeous. covered in starry lights with lots of little decorations to resemble Paris, mini street signs and floral arrangements that mimicked the pictures of the florists in France that he’d sent her. There was even an Eiffel Tower decoration in the corner of the room. She could hardly believe her eyes. She was so taken with the whole thing that she almost forgot that she needed to walk down the stairs. 

 Penelope finally looked at everyone else. Colin’s eyes were wide, and his jaw was open slightly, it made her want to laugh. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Slowly, she walked down the stairs, silently praying with every step that she wouldn’t trip on her heels. Everyone was giving her proud smiles as they watched her. Colin’s expression was different, he looked completely awe-struck and it made Penelope feel breathless. He was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her when she reached him. For a brief moment, the rest of the world faded away. 

“Hi,” she said quietly with a little smile. 

“Hi,” he returned with the same expression. His gaze raked over her appearance, drinking her in. “Pen, you look… I mean you are… You’re just… Wow. ”

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she giggled, holding his tie, a near perfect match to her dress. “I see why you wanted to know the colour of my dress now.”

“What kind of prom date would I be if I didn’t match my tie to your dress?” he said, a little sparkle in his eyes. “I got this for you.”

Penelope looked at the tiny floral arrangement in his hand that she hadn’t even realised he had. “Is that a corsage?” 

“It’s a prom classic,” Colin said, tying it to her wrist gently. “Another one for the list.”

The list. Right. 

She smiled. “I love it, thank you so much, Colin.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he insisted. “You look beautiful, Pen. Absolutely gorgeous.” 

“Thank you,” she hated how quickly her cheeks heated up, but Colin seemed to love it, given how his face lit up at the sight.

Michaela suddenly spoke. “What are we all standing around for? We’ve got a prom to enjoy!”

The group shared a chuckle before dispersing to various areas of the room. Some went straight to the dance floor, some to the snack table, which was decorated to look like a French bistro filled with food that had fancy names she probably couldn’t pronounce. Others simply milled about the room. Colin turned to her and held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Penelope smiled. He could have all of her dances, always. He just didn’t know it. “Of course.”

xxx

“So, tell me,” Penelope began curiously as she and Colin swayed to a slow dance (God, she was slow dancing with Colin Bridgerton , she wished her younger self could see her now.) “How much of this was you and how much of this was Daphne and her contacts?”

“I don’t know what the exact balance is,” he said, humble as ever. “I’ll admit I got a lot of the decorations, and I put this whole room together with some help from the guys, but I still wouldn’t have been able to do it without Daph, if I couldn’t find something I needed, she was on it. I mean, she was the one who used her contacts to get the eiffel tower, and it wouldn’t really be a night in Paris without that, so…”

“I see,” she smiled, looking around the room. “Everything looks incredible, Colin.”

“Yeah,” he grinned, twirling her and then pulling her back into his arms. She couldn’t help but giggle as he did it. “So, you're happy with it? It’s the prom you always wanted?” 

He asked it casually, but she could hear the underlying insecurity in it, the fear that he’d somehow gotten something wrong. Honestly, she didn’t know how he could possibly be afraid of that. The night was a raging success. “Colin, it’s perfect. Everything I wanted and more.” 

“Really?” he asks, eyes sparkling like the lights above. She nods in response, and he pulls her closer. “Good, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

She noticed it then, the way Colin was looking at her. He had that soft look in his eyes, the one that made her think this could be real, that he might actually…

No, no, she wasn’t going to go that far. This night was a dream come true, a real-life fantasy. Penelope wanted to live in the euphoria of it all, but she also didn’t want to get too swept up in it. 

“This is a really lovely thing you’ve done for everyone, you know,” Pen smiled. “Look at how much fun everyone’s having, you said you were giving them a do-over prom, and you definitely succeeded.” 

“I’m glad they’re having fun,” he nodded, glancing at his siblings and then looking back at her. “But, Pen, you uh- you know that I did this f-”

“Colin!” Anthony suddenly stormed towards them. Penelope raised an eyebrow at the sudden interruption, but Colin seemed weirdly prepared. “What is Marcus Anderson doing here?”

“I invited him, he said he would be late,” Colin replied casually, feigning innocence as he looked at his brother. “Did I forget to mention that?” 

“Yes, you bloody well did,” he seethed through gritted teeth. Penelope looked to the corner of the room to see Marcus flashing a charming smile at Violet, who was blushing in return. It was a pretty sweet sight, though clearly not to invite him. “Why the hell would you invite him?”

“Oh, come on, Ant, everyone can see what’s going on with those two-”

“Um, I most certainly don’t-”

“Everyone except you, then,” Colin amended, clearly holding back an eye roll. “My point is, Mum deserves to have a prom date.”

Anthony pulled a face and glared at the couple on the other side of the room. “I’m going to be keeping an eye on them.”

“No, you won’t,” Kate said, popping up behind him.

He turned to his wife, “But Kate-”

“No, Anthony, when was the last time you saw that look on your mum’s face?” she pointed to the bashful expression Violet wore. “Don’t you want her to be as happy as we are?” 

Ant faltered at that. “Okay, when you put it like that…”

“Your mum is happy, our whole family is happy, just let it be,” she smiled, pulling him in for a brief kiss, “and don’t be a pain in the arse about it.”

“Kate!” he complained as she dragged him away, but Penelope caught that lovestruck look in his eyes as he went. 

Colin and Penelope stared after them for a moment before looking at each other and bursting into laughter. Through his chuckles, Colin said, “Thank every god out there for Kate.”

“She’s really changed him, hasn’t she?” Penelope said. “I mean, he’s like a totally different person now. The old Anthony never would have seen reason that quickly.”

“Pen! What a barb!” Colin smirked amusedly, though it quickly softened into a different kind of smile. “I get it though, love changes people for the better.”

It was true, loving Colin was such a beautiful feeling, and he’d always supported her in her comfort zone, whilst encouraging her to push the boundaries. She’d always felt that she was a better person for having loved Colin for so long. “It does.”

Colin looked at her, the air suddenly going heavy for a moment, his eyes glazing over with something she couldn’t quite name. “Hey, do you think anybody would notice if we disappeared for a few minutes?”

“Uh, no, probably not wh-”

“Good,” he replied before promptly and stealthily dragging her out of the room, his hand gripping hers tightly. He was moving so fast, Penelope almost struggled to keep up with him. Before she knew it, he was taking her to his room, pushing her against the door as soon as it shut, and pressing his lips to hers eagerly. “I was going to wait until the end of the night, but- fuck- I need you, Pen. ”

Who was she to say no to that?

She kissed him back with fervour, wrapping one arm around his shoulder while her hand went to play with hair at the nape of his neck. He moaned into her mouth, kissing her harder, his tongue sliding over hers roughly. Colin’s earlier words came back to her, and she couldn’t help but smirk against his lips. “Disappear for a few minutes, huh?”

“More than a few minutes,” he grunted, hooking his hands under her thighs and hitching her up against the door. Her legs wrapped around his waist instinctively. “ Definitely more than a few minutes.”  

Her arousal was growing stronger by the second. Colin kissed her breathless, and when she pulled away, his lips instantly found the path from her chest up to the spot behind her ear that made her squirm. He started to shove her dress up around her waist while she fumbled to undo the buttons of his trousers. As soon as they were undone, she wasted no time, shoving his trousers and boxers down in one go and taking him in her hand. 

“ Fuck, Pen,” he hissed out, head dropping to her shoulder. “Holy shit- warn a guy next time.”

“Now where would the fun in that be?” she couldn’t stop herself from teasing, running her hand up and down his length in slow strokes. 

His breath got heavier and heavier, he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pinned it against the door, he leaned and practically growled into her ear, “If you keep doing that, this is going to be over before it can begin. We wouldn’t want that, would we, darling?”

She shook her head, watching as the lust and satisfaction glazed his eyes. Colin slid her underwear down, kissing her as he ran his fingers through her folds. She squeaked into his mouth, “Colin!”

“You’re already so wet for me,” he murmured, voice low in that way that drove her crazy. Slowly, he pushed one finger in. “So ready for me.”

Colin started thrusting his finger in and out of her at a pace he knew that she loved, smirking as he did it. Smug bastard. He was quick to add a second finger, his thumb pressing against her clit. “Oh- oh. ”

“God, you have no idea how badly I want you,” he said, his gaze locked on hers, and his fingers continued their blessed movements against her core. “You’re so gorgeous, Pen.”

Penelope tugged at his tie to pull him in for a kiss. “Colin, I’m ready.”

“Yeah?” he said, crooking his fingers so he hit that spongy spot that always managed to send a wave of pleasure through her. “You sure?”

“I’m sure,” she replied firmly. “Get inside of me, Bridgerton. Now. ”

“So bossy,” he smirked, kissing her neck. “I love that about you.”

If Penelope had had the brain capacity to overanalyse that sentence, she would have, but she was simply too caught up in the moment to care. Colin removed his fingers from her core before hurriedly grabbing a condom from his pocket, tearing it open and rolling it on. He notched his cock at her entrance and looked at her one more time, a question in his eyes, waiting for that final confirmation. She nodded, and he speared into her with one thrust. Penelope had to bite her lip hard to stop herself from screaming. Colin set a punishing pace, thrusting into her with a fierceness that had her seeing stars. He buried his face in her shoulder, her skin muffling his grunts and moans. The only sounds that filled the room were his hips snapping against hers and their breathy sighs and whimpers. 

“You feel so good,” he groaned. “Fuck, Pen, you always feel so good.”

“So do you,” Penelope replied, hand tightening in his hair as he hit that spot. 

“I’m close,” Colin said through pants. “Are- are you-”

“Y-yeah, I’m so… so…” her sentence trailed off into a moan as she felt her peak hurtling towards her. 

Colin snuck his hand down, rubbing at her clit in time with his thrusts, and before Penelope knew it, her climax was rolling over her in waves, spreading through her whole body and making her feel like she was sparkling all over. Colin crashed his lips against hers as he thrust into her, once, twice and then a final third time before he finished, groaning into her mouth. For a moment, they stayed there, frozen in their embrace, before the rest of the world faded back into view. Penelope whimpered as Colin pulled out of her and set her back on the ground. She felt a little shaky on her feet. 

They readjusted themselves in a comfortable silence. Penelope looked in the mirror as she assessed exactly how fucked she looked. Colin came up behind her, hugging her from behind and pressing a kiss to her hair, which wasn’t quite as neat as she wanted it to be. She turned in his arms. “I look a right mess, don’t I?”

“Maybe a little,” Colin laughed, his eyes soft. “But that’s okay. You’re my mess.”

‘But I’m not, am I?’ her mind screamed. In her heart, she was, she always had been. But in reality…

Penelope tried to push the thoughts from her head. This had been such a lovely night so far, she really didn’t want to ruin it with her irritating overthinking tendencies. 

Her conflict must have spilled onto her expression because Colin’s brows furrowed when he looked at her. “Are you okay, Pen? What’s up?” 

“Yeah, no, I’m okay I just…” she trailed off. A part of her wanted to lie and tell Colin everything was fine so they could go downstairs, but a bigger part of her knew it would be pointless. Colin would see through her in a second flat. “I’m a little confused, I guess.”

He rubbed comforting circles on her hips, something that actually only served to make her confusion grow. “About what, love?”

“About this, about you…” Penelope confessed, and then in a softer voice, she added, “about us. ”

Worry filled his eyes as he stared at her. “What are you talking about?” 

“It’s just- I know what we are, and I’ve been trying to tell myself that it’s okay, that what we’re doing is enough for me, but you…” she trailed off, trying to find the words. “You do all of these things ! You cuddle me, and you make me dinner sometimes, and you just called me love, which I’m pretty sure is your first time using a name like that for me out of the bedroom. You- you threw this whole prom- and I know that that wasn’t just for me, and that you did it for your siblings too so that they could have a good prom experience-”

“Wait a second-”

“But still! You gave me the most romantic promposal ever, and you’re making all of my prom dreams come true, and I know you’re only doing it because of that list, because you’re an amazing guy and you want me to have a good experience like everyone else, and I’m trying so hard not to look into it, but Colin, you… You do all of this, and you look at me sometimes in this way that makes me feel like this could be real. Like you might actually have feelings for me.”

“I do have feelings for you.” 

“And I should really know better than to think that because after years of being in love with you, I know that you would never-” Penelope cut herself off, his words hitting her with so much force, it almost made her feel winded. “ Wait, what?”

“I have feelings for you, Pen. Very real feelings,” he repeated. Penelope wanted to respond to that, but all the words in the English language fell out of her brain. He tilted his head at her. “Is it really that surprising to you that I have feelings for my girlfriend?”

She blinked once, and then twice, and another couple of times after that as she tried to comprehend what he just said with her melting brain. 

“Your what? ”

“My girlfriend,” he said, as if she was supposed to already know that. 

How- in what world-

“Since when have I been your girlfriend?” 

“Uh- since the first time we slept together?”

Okay, her brain was officially broken. Time and place of death, twenty to eight in Colin’s bedroom at Aubrey Hall, rest in peace to her brain. 

“Huh?”

“Yeah, we’ve been together since we slept together, I thought that we- did we not-” he stuttered momentarily. “Pen, we talked about it.”

“Oh, you mean that conversation where we agreed to sneak around and not tell anyone about the fact that we were having sex?” 

“No, I mean the conversation where we agreed to keep our relationship between us for now so that our families wouldn’t be all… them about it and start meddling,” Colin said, sounding about as confused as she felt. “Hang on, if you didn’t think we were in a relationship this whole time, what did you think we were?” 

“I thought- I thought that we were friends with benefits,” Pen admitted, suddenly feeling strangely embarrassed.

“What?!” he exclaimed in a strangled voice. “But Pen, we… I’ve been making you dinner, and we’ve been going on dates, and I- I threw this prom for you! Not my siblings, you! I made all of your prom dreams come true! Do you think I would do that for just anyone?”

“I mean, you are a really great guy, so…” she hesitated, and he threw a look of disapproval. “I don’t know, Colin! When we had that conversation, you never said anything about a relationship- just that you didn’t want people to know about it, and it’s not like I’ve been seeing anyone else but… Yeah, I assumed you wanted it that way because you wanted a friends with benefits relationship, not a real one.” 

“Oh, Pen,” he cupped her face in his hands, looking at her with so much love it overwhelmed her. “I’m sorry, darling, I should have been more clear, I just assumed we were on the same page about where we stood. But let me be clear now, I’m absolutely, insanely in love with you, Penelope Featherington, you’re the most important person in my life, and I want everything with you. I very much intend to make you Penelope Bridgerton one day- unless you want to keep your own name- I don’t care as long as you’re my wife.”

“Colin,” she smiled through the tears forming in her eyes. “I love you too- and I’m definitely taking your name, you have no idea how bad I want to give up Featherington.”

“Well, I’m glad we’ve got a common goal, my love,” he smirked, pulling her closer and kissing her nose. “Did you- did you really mean it when you said you’ve been in love with me for years?”

Penelope grinned, covering his hands with her own. “Colin, I’ve been in love with you since the moment we met.”

“ That long?” he asked incredulously. “You mean we could’ve gotten together years ago? Oh my god, I’m so dumb.”

“I mean- you threw me a prom and I still thought that we were friends with benefits, if there’s a dumb one between the two of us, I don’t think it’s you.”

“Maybe it’s both of us,” he mused. “Maybe that’s why we’re made for each other, because apparently we’re both kind of dumb about each other.”

“Trust you to make being dumb sound romantic,” Penelope laughed, honestly a little impressed. “At least we’ve come to our senses now.”

“True,” Colin agreed, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to it. “I’m assuming this means I can call you my girlfriend now?”

She giggled even harder. “Yes, Colin, I would love to be your girlfriend.”

“Just making sure,” he smirked, intertwining their fingers. “Wait, so is today our anniversary or the first time we slept together?”

Penelope thought about it for a second. “It’s gotta be today, right?”

“Or we could just have two anniversaries,” he suggested casually. “One for the day I asked you to be my girlfriend and one for the first time we made love.”

“Okay, that’s definitely not an anniversary people celebrate.”

“Maybe, but who cares about other people? When the sex is that good, it deserves to be celebrated,” he leaned in. “We could celebrate it again now, if you’re up for it.”

“We literally had sex like ten minutes ago.”

“Perfect amount of time to wait before round two.”

“Jesus, you’re insatiable,” Penelope laughed. 

“When it comes to you? Obviously,” his answer was instant. 

Her smile softened. “No, seriously, we should get back downstairs.”

“I hate that you’re right,” he groaned. “You know, I’m actually glad you told me that you didn’t realise we were together, imagine how you would’ve reacted when I told you I wanted to tell my family about us tonight.”

“Yeah, that certainly would have been something,” she snorted before his words caught up to her. “Wait, what did you just say?”

Colin smiled, his thumb stroking her knuckle. “I want to tell people about us, Pen. It’s time, I really think we’re ready.”

“Are you- are you sure?” Penelope asked, hating the little bit of insecurity welling up inside of her. 

“Never been more sure,” he promised her.  Honestly, I’ve been dying to tell everyone for a while now, I was just waiting for the right time to bring it up with you. But if you want to keep it a secret, we can definitely do that-”

“I don’t want to keep it a secret,” she interrupted. “I’m all in, Colin.”

Her boyfriend ( boyfriend! ) grinned and kissed her. “I’m all in too, love.”

Butterflies swooped through her stomach. “So, should we get going?”

“Yeah,” he said, leading her out of the room. “Let’s go.”

They walked back down the stairs, hand in hand, identical lovestruck expressions on their faces. 

“Oh, good, there you guys are,” Eloise said, coming over to them instantly. “Daphne said she wants to announce prom king and queen.”

“Um, well, before she does that, we actually have something to-”

“No, no, it’s okay, let her make the announcement,” Colin told her, far too calmly. Something was up.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re planning something, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” he grinned. “Come on, let’s go find out who won.”

“Did Eloise even realise that we were holding hands?” Penelope murmured as they made their way over to the centre of the room. 

“I don’t think so,” he chuckled. “But she’s always been a bit oblivious when it comes to us, hasn’t she?”

“Says the guy who was best friends with me for years without realising I was in love with him,” she scoffed.

“Says the girl who watched me throw an entire prom without realising I was in love with her,” he retorted instantly. 

Penelope wanted to argue that, unfortunately, she had no defence. “Touche.”

“Okay, it’s time for the announcement everyone’s been waiting for! Our prom queen is…” Daphne slowly opened the envelope in her hand, an excited grin on her face. “Penelope!” 

Wait, what?

Penelope looked around the room, everyone had knowing smiles as they clapped for her, she turned to Colin, who wore the exact same expression. She should have known. 

She tried not to let her nerves show on her face as she went to the centre of the room and let Daphne put the tiara on her, never in a million years did she think she would ever get to be prom queen, let alone in her twenties, she just never thought of herself as the kind of person who could win such a thing, it never felt like a possibility worth considering. Of course, Colin would prove her wrong, she loved him all the more for it. 

“I’m pretty sure we all know who the prom king is, but for the sake of tradition,” Daphne joked, looking at the other envelope she was holding. “And our prom king is… Colin!”

He was at her side in a second, bending down so Daphne could put the crown on his head. Once again, there was not a single person in the room who looked surprised, but they all looked thrilled, and even El wore a begrudgingly happy smile. Colin held her hand. When she turned to look at him, his eyes were asking a question. She nodded immediately. 

Colin grinned at her one last time, taking her face in his hands and kissing her. The gasps were immediate, followed by total silence. For a moment, Penelope was so consumed by Colin’s kiss she didn’t even remember that his family was there, she just pulled him closer and enjoyed the moment. 

When they finally pulled away, Colin turned to their little audience and casually said, “Oh yeah, by the way, guys, we’re in love.”

Penelope nearly choked on air, she was prepared for him to say that they were dating, but she didn’t realise he would jump straight to telling them they were in love. Really, though, she should have seen that coming. Not that she was complaining. 

“Fucking finally!” Michaela cheered.

“We told you he was down bad!” Edwina exclaimed with a grin that could rival the Cheshire cat. 

“Damn right I am,” Colin agreed instantly. 

There were other cheers and congratulations, but through it all, Eloise was silent. Penelope looked at her best friend hesitantly. “El? Are you… Are you okay? I’m sorry, I should have told you about me and Colin-”

“It’s okay, Pen, I’m not mad,” Eloise reassured her. “I mean, I will be grilling you about this later and Colin, if you hurt I’ll kill you-”

“If I hurt her, I’m killing myself first.”

“Good answer,” she replied. “Look, I’m… I’m being serious, I’m not angry. Surprised and confused for sure, maybe a little miffed that I’m going to have to deal with him hogging you from now on, but I’m happy for you guys. Honestly, I think a part of me always knew, I just didn’t want to think of my best friend and my brother being in love because- well- gross.”

Penelope laughed, pulling her in for a hug. “I love you, El.”

“I love you too,” she replied. “And you’re sure you want to be with Colin of all people?”

“Hey!”

“Yeah, I am,” Pen replied, looking at her boyfriend. “He’s the one.”

She watched as Colin’s scowl turned into a smile. He beamed at her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her to his side, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her temple. 

“God, you guys are already being disgusting,” El fake gagged, but Penelope knew better, her best friend was secretly happy about it, even if she’d die before admitting. 

“God forbid a man be in love,” Colin said, amusedly. “I’m afraid you’re gonna have to get used to it.”

“Ugh,” she said, leaning into Phillip. “You’re gonna be unbearable, aren’t you?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“You better treat her like the queen she is, you hear me?”

“Of course I will,” he responded quickly, turning to look at her. “She deserves the entire world, and that’s what I want to give her.”

Penelope smiled, but before she could say anything, Daphne spoke up, “Alright, guys, I think it’s time for your first dance!”

Colin held out his hand for her, eyes sparkling. “May I have this dance, my darling?”

‘ She giggled as she took it. “Of course you can.” He led her to the middle of the makeshift dancefloor, and they slowly began swaying to the music. There was something new in the way that he looked at her, something happy, but gentle. “You seem… extra smiley.”

“You called me the one,” was all he said, a goofy, wonderful smile on his face. 

Penelope softened, resting her palm on his cheek. “You are the one, Colin, the love of my life… You’re it for me.”

“You’re the love of my life too, Pen, my always and forever,” he replied. “I love you. So much. ”

“I love you too,” Penelope said, still adjusting to the fact that she could, that she didn’t have to keep that truth hidden in her heart anymore. 

Colin smirked. “So, I think it’s safe to say that prom has been a success?”

“Yeah, definitely,” she confirmed. “Best prom ever.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Penelope squealed as he dipped her. The whole room cheered as he leaned down and kissed her, and it was glorious. 

She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have found such a wonderful man to love, to be loved by him too, what a wonderful gift she had been given. This prom night was the beginning for them, and what a beautiful way to start. They had an entire future to look forward to, but right now, Penelope just wanted to savour the moment with him.

She was in love with Colin, he was in love with her- it was perfect. 

Seriously, best prom night ever.