And so, on an otherwise unremarkable Friday afternoon, in the heart of Mayfair, in a quiet drawing room on Mount Street, Colin Bridgerton kissed Penelope Featherington.
Bridgerton: Penelope/Colin, 3.5k, modern au (E, one-shot)
Penelope lets him go, but not before shaking her head. “Make sure not to sing too well, or else I’ll have to seduce you and drag you to the bathrooms.”
Or, Colin and Penelope do karaoke... and take a detour to the bathroom.
-
Happy @polinweek ! Written for Day 2′s prompts of “Mirrors” and “Polin Songs”
Polin Week Day 4: favorite headcanon and domestic fluff
+ touching prompt: pushing a strand of hair behind their ear for @sofisanchez
Headcanon: Penelope can spot any pregnancy with nearly perfect accuracy
Themes: fluff, married! Polin | Length: 1.5k
ao3 link | masterlist | or read under the cut
Penelope Featherington Bridgerton had a wide array of talents. She was a graceful dancer, knew how to carry a tune, and was fairly adept in arithmetics.
But likely her most impressive talent? Penelope had a remarkable ability of being able to fish out pregnancies, particularly those of her very extended family. And once upon a time, when she called herself Lady Whistledown, she’d practically made spotting pregnancies an art form.
And so it came to be on a December afternoon when, with a small tug on her husband’s hand, Penelope pulled Colin into their bed-chamber at Aubrey Hall. Wearing a proud little smirk, she leaned towards him. “I know a secret.”
Colin bit back an amused smile, running his hands down the lengths of her arms. “And that is...?”
“Lucy’s pregnant again.”
Colin blinked at her, his hands stopping at her elbows. “Excuse me?”
“Lucy, our sister-in-law, is pregnant.”
He paused for a moment before his hands slid down to meet hers, interlacing their fingers. He gave her a look that was part-dubious, part-indulgent. “And what makes you so sure?”
Penelope fought the urge to huff in exasperation, swinging their hands. “Trust me, I know. I was right about Kate with Mary, and Eloise with Frederick, and even Francesca with Janet, and not to mention all the times when I was Lady Whist-”
“Yes, yes, you’re always right,” Colin interrupted, squeezing her fingers. “What makes you so sure though?”
She looked at him carefully for a moment, eyes narrowing as if deciding whether or not she wanted to let him in on a secret. After what felt like an irritatingly long time, Penelope answered in a matter-of-fact tone, “She had kippers with toast and marmalade at breakfast this morning.”
Colin didn’t say anything for about ten seconds, merely stared at her. And then, in a tone that was bland and very clearly effortful, he asked, “Pardon me?”
Penelope gave him a dry look, lips pursed just enough for him to find absolutely adorable. “Trust me. What person in their right mind eats kippers with toast and jam?” And just before Colin opened his mouth, she gave him a pointed look and added, “I said person in their right mind.”
The corner of his lip twitched as he nodded for her to continue.
“I noticed that the last two times Lucy was pregnant, she mixed her breakfast foods in the same way. And she’s more talkative than usual- that’s one of her tells as well.” Penelope had taken back her hands to tap her fingers as she listed off her examples, speaking at an alarmingly fast pace. “There’s also just the probability that in a family as big as ours, someone has to be pregnant, and it’s definitely not Daphne, Sophie, or Francesca. And I don’t think it’s Eloise, Kate, or Hyacinth either. And it’s obviously not me.”
Though Colin had done a fairly admirable job of looking placid as his wife laid out her suspicions, it was when her widened, shrewd eyes moved up to meet his, awaiting a response, that his facade completely fell away and he let out a roar of laughter.
“Is this how you reported on pregnancies as Whistledown? You inspected everyone’s eating patterns? How much they spoke at parties?”
Penelope sent him a scowl. “It was more than that. I looked at who was of proper age, which couples actually appeared enough in love to be producing children, their energy levels, complex-”
“Alright, alright. More science than guesswork, is that a fair assumption?” He was still grinning down at her.
“You may laugh, husband, but I have never been wrong before.”
Colin let out a humored sigh before leaning down to kiss her cheek and wrap both arms around her. “Believe me, I would never doubt the brilliance of my wife.” He flashed her another grin before resting his chin on the top of her head.
He heard Penelope grumble against his chest even as her hands moved to meet on his back.
Two months later, the couple’s illustrious butler, Dunwoody, glided into the drawing room and delivered a letter from Gregory informing them that Lucy was, in fact, expecting once again. As Colin read the missive aloud to his family, he couldn’t help but spot Penelope’s small smirk over the top of her book.
So, naturally, later that evening, Colin paid fortune to his wife’s brilliance in only the best way he knew how.
And, naturally, one additional month later, he came to his very own conclusion as he watched as his wife finger-combed her hair at her vanity.
Penelope smiled at him in the reflection, her hand moving methodically as she swept through the locks. He watched the amber highlights he loved so much get picked up in the candlelight- making them look like little flames themselves. Softly, he returned her smile before stepping around her, leaning against the table to look at her directly.
She blushed slightly, looking back to her own reflection in the mirror as Colin continued to watch her, his mouth tilting upwards. His eyes roamed her face, taking in the rosiness of her cheeks and the steadiness of her focused brow. He noticed the light sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks, which though technically unfashionable for the time, were absolutely beloved by him because they reminded him of the sun- and even more so, of her in the sunshine.
After a few minutes, when Penelope looked as though she might burst with color, she glanced at him with a bashful smile. “What is it?”
“Am I not meant to gaze adoringly at my wife with every passing opportunity?” His grin only grew as her blush deepened and Penelope looked down to smooth the skirts of her nightgown.
Slowly, he stepped closer to her, kneeling down as he cupped the bottom of her chin. When her eyes met his, Colin let out a humored sigh before whispering, “I know a secret.”
Almost instantaneously, Penelope’s shyness melted away, replaced instead by an excited expression. “And that is...?”
Colin grinned, one finger gently reaching up to stroke her warm cheek. “I’m not sure I should tell you.”
And even though her face leaned into his touch, Penelope’s eyes narrowed. “And is it not a wife’s prerogative to know all of her husband’s secrets?”
“Hmm,” he moved his hand to push a lone curl out of her face, gently tucking it behind her ear. And then he whispered, “You’re glowing.”
Penelope flushed once again, her tongue reflexively reaching across her lips. “What?”
He leaned in a bit closer, just enough so that she could feel his breath against her ear. With a slight growl in his voice, Colin repeated, “You’re glowing, my darling.”
And just as Penelope sucked in a breath, he moved back, studying her with a small smile. “You glow when…” He trailed off, gently running a finger along the side of her face.
Her head tilted a bit, staring at him with wide, confused eyes. Colin chuckled under his breath. “You glow like this when you’re pregnant.”
And that was when he lost her.
Penelope’s eyes seemed to grow even as her brow furrowed together, her lips parting in surprise. “Pregnant? ” She let out a small laugh. “Colin, don’t be silly. I’m not pregnant.”
He raised his own brow, still grinning. “Yes, you definitely are.”
She laughed again, giving him a little incredulous shake of the head. “I’m not! Don’t you think I’d know if I were pregnant?”
“And don’t you think I know you better than you know yourself sometimes?”
She smiled at him affectionately, placing her own hand on his cheek. “I do love you, but I know I’m not pregnant.”
And even despite her conviction, Colin smirked, equally convinced in his own. “What makes you so sure?”
Penelope blushed despite herself, despite their literal years of marriage. “I keep a log and…”
And then she trailed off. Because suddenly, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d opened her little book.
And then her wide eyes lifted to meet his. “Oh my-”
“Baby,” Colin cut in, grinning, and Penelope let out a small huff that was part annoyance and part amusement. “I told you that you glow.”
Penelope rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “I appreciate the sentiment, but there is no such thing as a five-week glow.”
He shrugged, beaming at her. “Well you have it, believe me.”
Leaning in, Colin met his nose with hers until all he could see was the beautiful brown of her eyes. “You also have another tell.”
Penelope smiled. “And that is?”
Colin grinned as his eyes trailed downwards. “When you’re pregnant, you develop incredibly voluptuous bre-”
Please enjoy the random headcanons that usually live in my notes for my own amusement 😂
- Penelope and Colin act like love sick newlyweds for at least the first five years after they are married. Much to the annoyance of the whole family. The sisters all try to get Penelope to play along making googly eyes at Michael to annoy their husbands, but Penelope’s just like yeah Michael is great, but did you see Colin eat that eclair? 😍
- Violet thought disciplining Colin was hard. Disciplining his children was impossible. With Penelope’s quick wit, Colin’s charming smile and calming presence,Violet was helpless.
- Benedict paints a couple portrait for all his siblings and their spouses. Colin and Penelope’s is the only one where they aren’t looking at the viewer but instead they are looking at each other, laughing together. It is proudly displayed in Colin’s office.
- If they don’t go to Number 5, Penelope and Colin have afternoon tea together at home. It’s their favorite time of day because they update each other on any ton gossip they may have heard. Essentially they enjoy spilling tea over tea 😂
- Colin likes to pout and pretend to ignore Penelope whenever she’s spending a lot of time with Eloise or has a busy work schedule and he feels neglected. He’s our dramatic king after all. She once grabbed a chair and stood on it so they would be looking at each other eye to eye and he couldn’t pretend to ignore her. Colin thought it was hilarious and laughed about it for ten minutes.
- Colin and Penelope are always requested by their nieces and nephews to attend all their sporting events. Nobody trash talks better than a writer Aunt and Uncle with a big vocabulary. Both are usually easy going, but are very protective of some of their favorite tiny humans. Colin almost raced another players uncle once simply because Miles told the kid “ I bet my uncle is faster than your uncle.”
- Colin and Penelope have a picnic somewhere outside every week after they get married. Except for the time he had to go get Eloise when she ran away to meet Phillip. Colin was very annoyed their tradition was broken.
