Pairing: Brian Cole (Fantasy Island 2021) x fem!reader
Summary: After Brian leaves you because he loves being a survivalist more, he finds himself on Fantasy Island. While he learns that there is more to life than surviving, you chase a pipe dream involving a second chance you'll never get.
Warnings: angst, injury (broken leg), spoilers for 1x07 of Fantasy Island, very brief soulmate connection thing, fluff and reconciliation
Word Count: 2.3k+ words
A/N: I finally wrote Brian. His smile has been in my head for months and this idea forced its way out tonight.
Brian inhales deeply, taking in the serenity and beauty of the island.
“Welcome,” someone calls, “to Fantasy Island.”
“Hi,” he greets awkwardly, turning from the plane to face the beautiful woman welcoming him. “I’m-“
“Brian Cole. Did you come alone?”
“Yes. Was I not supposed to?”
The woman laughs, then explains, “It’s an island, Mr. Cole, there is often more than one visitor.”
“Oh, yeah, of course. No, it's just me.”
“I’m Elena Roarke,” she introduces, offering her hand and a warm smile. “You can leave your backpack.”
He drops her hand and then sets his backpack in the sand before he follows her. A white beach house sits between palm trees, and the curtains on the large windows flutter in the salt air breeze.
“Tell me, Mr. Cole, what is your fantasy?” Elena asks, gesturing for Brian to sit.
He lowers onto a light-colored sofa and fans his shirt gently. It’s humid but not uncomfortable. Despite his history as a survivalist and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on the island, Brian is nervous face-to-face with Elena. Suddenly, he wonders if the people who said his fantasy would kill him were correct. If you were right. The last time you spoke to Brian, you had tears running down your face as you begged him to tell you why his obsession with surviving was more important than you. Why he would rather die than come home to you.
“I want the ultimate physical and mental challenge there is,” he answers, looking out at the waves to forget about you. “I want to know if I can overcome it.”
“Why?” Elena inquires. She gestures to the other side of the house, where a large sliding glass door reveals a grassy clearing surrounded by tropical foliage. “What about the outdoors and the dangers it holds makes it a fantasy for you?”
“I’m a survivalist,” he explains. “It’s part of you I am, and the uncertainty makes me feel alive. My… my ex called it an obsession, accused me of having a death wish and loving it more than her.”
“And you’re here to prove her wrong?”
“I’m here to be tested in ways I haven’t before. I want you to put me through the worst so I can show myself I can do it.”
“The island knows your fantasy,” Elena says. “When you exit this door, you’ll be where you want to be.”
“Don’t- don’t send any help. I have to do this alone. There can’t be rescue,” Brian says quietly.
“Of course, Mr. Cole.”
Brian nods and wipes his hands on his pants as he prepares to exit the beach house. Without his backpack, he’s more unprepared than usual. It’s the ultimate challenge, the survivalist fight he’s dreamed of for years. So, without thinking of you or the life he’s leaving behind should anything happen, Brian steps into the grass and the world changes.
“Hey, my friend wants to go on a hike this weekend,” your favorite coworker says. “Do you think Brian could recommend a trail?”
“He’s not into hiking,” you explain. “Dangerous survivalism is more his thing.”
“Oh, wow. That’s intense. It doesn’t concern you?”
You pull your bottom lip between your teeth, and when she tuts and moves closer to rub your back, you admit, “I think my concern is what made him leave.”
Brian moves through the forest, gathering items he can use as supplies. The multi-purpose tool and knife he keeps on his person serve useful, and by the time the sun dips behind the trees and sends long shadows across his path, he’s prepared to make camp for the night. In a clear space against a rock, Brian builds a small bed of leaves and stacks several dry branches to build a fire. He isn’t hungry, so he decides to find food later.
Something moves in the trees nearby, and Brian calls out, “Hello?” No one answers, so he tries, “Elena?”
The forest silences; only the wind in the branches answers him. He chalks the noise up to an animal and returns to work, determined to make a safe camp for the night.
When you get home, you try to forget the reminder of Brian and his obsession. Losing him hurts, and you think it always will. With a warm drink and a new book, you hope to move forward with your life, starting tonight. By the end of the second chapter, you can’t focus because you’re still thinking of Brian. You don’t know where he is, if he’s okay, or if he thinks about you. The first tear falls onto the page, and you slam the book closed. Brian loves to save himself, and you owe it to yourself to do the same.
The following morning, after a small breakfast of double-checked and properly identified berries and a cooked fish, Brian climbs a tree to get a better understanding of the forest around him.
“Does it feel better up here?” a small voice asks.
Brian looks down quickly. He barely catches himself on a nearby branch when he sees the young boy sitting beneath him.
“Who are you?” Brian demands.
“If you’re not going to use the knife, can I have it?” the boy inquires.
“No, it’s mine,” Brian argues.
“Then it’s mine too.”
“You’re saying that you’re me, what? 20 years ago.”
“Gosh, you’re old.”
“Watch it, kid.”
Brian looks away, convinced that he’s imagining his younger self.
“Are you married?” young Brian asks.
“No.”
“Have a girlfriend?”
“I did.”
“But you messed up? Why?”
“Shut up. I can’t answer your questions and get out of this jungle.”
“Apparently that’s not all you can’t do.”
“Okay, fine, I messed up!” Brian snaps. “I lost her, is that what you want to hear?”
His younger self watches him, then says, “I’d like the hear what you’re going to do about it.”
Brian doesn’t have an answer, but that realization doesn’t bother him as much when his foot slips from the branch, and the rock that gave him shelter last night seems to rush up toward him.
You wake a few hours later with a sharp pain shooting through your leg. Standing quickly, you wait for it to pass, then notice that the sun is rising, so you open your back door and sit on the porch to watch the day begin, entranced by its beauty.
Brian groans, clutching the top of his thigh before he cries out in pain. He looks down hesitantly and immediately knows he won’t walk away from this.
“Now the hallucinated company disappears,” he groans as he uses the rock to pull himself into a seated position. “Okay,” he grunts. “Compound fracture.”
After he looks around, he calculates how much time he has. He estimates six hours before sepsis sets in, and doesn’t doubt it will progress rapidly in the heat and humidity.
Brian closes his eyes. He doesn’t know how much time passes before something rests against his shoulder, and a featherlight touch trails up his arm. He mumbles your name, and a fleeting memory of a sigh answers. The touch and the weight disappear on a gust of wind, and Brian opens his eyes. Elena stands before him, frowning at the sight of his broken leg.
“Have you changed your mind about being rescued?” she asks.
“No,” he answers immediately. “You sound like my ex.”
“She was concerned about your death wish. Why are you really here?”
“Being trapped is the purest state of being,” Brian states. “This is how life is supposed to be.”
“Dying alone because you refuse to let people close?”
“You don’t understand.”
“Sounds like I’m not the only one. Good luck, Mr. Cole.”
Brian blinks, and Elena is gone. His younger self returns, carrying fruit and boiled water.
“I wasn’t this resourceful at your age,” Brian says.
“Why do you put yourself in dangerous situations over and over, then?”
“When I was a little older than you are now, I was abandoned in the woods with nothing. It was cold, and I couldn’t do anything but walk. A hiker found me; that’s the only reason I survived. I thought I got over it, and refused to feel that weak or lost again. Maybe I just buried that humiliation. My need to be out here, to survive, is what drove the only woman I’ve ever loved away.”
“The same girl I like?” young Brian asks hopefully.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Brian closes his eyes and expects a sarcastic reply that doesn't come.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” he assures. “I’m sorry I was harsh earlier.”
“The secret’s safe with me,” young Brian says softly, wiping tears with the back of his hand. “I’ll be fine. You will too.”
Brian nods, and the sun shines brightly above him when he opens his eyes. Only there are no trees to block the light. He sits up quickly, shocked to find himself on a cliff with no broken bones. Brian stands and follows the sunset through the forest and toward the beach. He smiles and runs faster when the air smells like the ocean again.
The plane descends as you near the destination of the one-day trip your friend insisted you take. Waves lap onto the sand as the sun glints beautifully off the water.
“What is this place?” you ask the pilot.
“Anything you want it to be. That’s why people love the island, I hear,” he replies.
You nod and sit back. After the plane lands, you pull your bag onto your shoulder and open the door.
“Welcome to Fantasy Island,” a woman greets as you drop into the sand. “I’m Elena Roarke.”
You say your first name, wondering who the woman is.
“Your friend tells me that you have a wish no one can grant,” she continues. “This island has a way of doing things like that.”
“I doubt it can do what I want,” you argue.
“You never know. Follow me.”
You walk through the sand as she leads you to a beach house. Inside, you run your fingers across the linen curtains.
“Has the island ever given someone a second chance with a person who doesn’t want one?” you ask. When in Rome - or on Fantasy Island, you think as you hint at your deepest desire.
Elena looks down the beach and then asks you to excuse her. You nod, and she walks out. Alone, you stare out at the ocean. Maybe you should have tried to be more adventurous instead of asking Brian to be less so.
“Welcome back,” Elena says, smiling as Brian emerges from the jungle. “And ahead of schedule.”
“Thank you,” Brian responds. “Thank you for showing me.”
“It’s the island. What now, Mr. Cole?”
“I’m going home. I’ve got… I have to apologize to someone.”
“Good luck.”
Brian hugs Elena as he thanks her again, and he feels complete now that he remembers why he started living like this and realizes that life isn't the same as it was back then.
“Before you leave,” Elena says, “stop in the house. There’s one more thing I think you should see before you leave.”
Brian nods and makes his way toward the coastal building, smiling as he takes his time, enjoying the beauty without thinking about how to use his surroundings for survival.
You hear footsteps, so you turn away from the photos displayed on the shelves beside the couch. When the approaching person steps through the door, you freeze.
“Hey,” Brian says, his smile dropping as his eyes widen in surprise.
You swallow and look at his muddy pants before you say, “Hi.”
Brian watches you as you pull your hands behind your back. He has so much to say that he doesn’t know where to start.
“I should… go. I don’t even know why I’m here,” you murmur.
You step toward the door, toward Brian, but he moves forward to stop you. Looking into his eyes, you wonder why he’s suddenly acting like he doesn’t want you to leave.
“You asked if I loved it,” he begins. “That night you asked if I loved going out on these adventures more than I loved you.”
“And you didn’t answer,” you remind him.
“I was running,” Brian interrupts. “I’ve been running since I was a kid, but keeping that from you, letting it get between us, was the worst mistake of my life.”
“What are you saying?” you whisper.
“I do love it,” Brian says. “Because it makes me feel in control. But I don’t love it more than you... And you shouldn’t believe me.”
You watch Brian, but his eyes are steady on you. He seems genuine. Yet the reminder of how much he hurt you eats at you.
“I messed up, too,” you confess. “I should have accepted it as part of you.”
“No,” Brian argues, shaking his head as he lays his hands on your forearms. “You are part of me. I’ve never told anyone this but the survivalism was a response, a way to feel strong and in control after a terrible experience and abandonment. It’s not an excuse, but it’s a reason.”
“I didn’t want to lose you,” you whisper. “I lived in constant fear that you would die and never come back to me.”
“I’m back,” he insists. “It took me too long, but I’m here now. As long as you want me, I’m here, and if you don’t want me, I understand.”
You raise your hand to Brian’s face and wipe a streak of dirt from his cheek. He leans into your touch, and you move closer to him. Tipping your chin up, you kiss Brian.
He pulls back when he feels a tear hit his thumb. Wiping your cheeks, he matches your smile. You can see it, feel it, and you wholly believe Brian when he says he loves you. This island deals in fantasies, you realize, but not always in the way you expect.
“I keep making you cry,” he murmurs.
“Do you want to go to the beach with me?” you ask.
“I’ll go anywhere with you.”
Elena watches Brian help you into the plane. He seems like a different man when he turns and waves at her before he joins your side.
“I’ll teach you to spearfish when we get there,” Brian says.
“Oh, no,” you reply, laughing before Brian cups the back of your head and kisses you.
Brian Cole is accused of planting bombs near the RNC and DNC headquarters the night before the 2021 Capitol riot.
Alex Nguyen at Mother Jones:
The man who allegedly planted two pipe bombs in Washington, DC, the night before the January 6 Capitol riot told investigators after his arrest earlier this month that someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed that the 2020 election was stolen, according to a court filing on Sunday.
Federal prosecutors said that the defendant, Brian Cole, felt “extreme acts of violence” were necessary as Cole told them he placed the bombs near the RNC and DNC headquarters because “they were in charge.”
The bombs were not discovered until the afternoon of January 6 and did not detonate. Following his arrest this December, Cole initially denied making or planting the bombs but later confessed to transporting and planting two improvised explosive devices when presented with evidence of himself on surveillance video. In the filing, the Justice Department requested that Cole be detained until his trial, as his offense is listed as a federal terrorism crime.
Cole told investigators that although he “has never really been an openly political person,” he felt “like something was wrong” in the 2020 election and began following discussions on YouTube and Reddit. He said that “the people up top,” including “people on both sides, public figures,” should not “ignore people’s grievances” or call them “conspiracy theorists,” “bad people,” “Nazis,” or “fascists.”
“If people feel that their votes are like just being thrown away, then…at the very least someone should address it,” Cole was quoted as telling investigators.
These events came as Trump repeatedly lied about winning the presidential election.
Cole denied that his actions were “directed toward Congress or related to the proceedings scheduled to take place on January 6.” The election was being certified that day when rioters stormed the Capitol building, halting the count of Electoral College ballots.
According to the court filing, Cole bought many items needed to construct the bombs between 2018 and 2020. He told investigators that the idea to use pipe bombs came from his interest in the Troubles, a three-decade conflict in Northern Ireland beginning in the 1960s over whether it would remain within the United Kingdom or unite with Ireland as a single state. Bombings of public places, including detonating pipe bombs, were common.
RNC and DNC pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr. was motivated to do those terroristic deeds by speaking up for the election deniers who falsely believed that the 2020 election was “stolen.” Such an idea was inspired by his interest in the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles.
