PYEWACKET - Chapter 1 -
(A Polin Fanfic)
Can also be read on AO3
Ch. 2, Ch. 3 & Ch. 4
Penelope is in love with Colin. Colin is in love with Penelope. Both think that their love is unrequited and don't want to act upon their feelings in case it ruins their friendship Enter, Pyewacket...
Bridgerton Modern AU
Pairing: Colin/Penelope
My submission for Polinween Week 2 - 'What's a Little Fur Between Friends'
Chapter 1 - Birthday Girl
It was on a warm, slightly humid, evening in late July that Penelope Featherington fell completely and utterly, head over heels, in love for the second time in her fairly young life.
He was a handsome boy, brimming with confidence and gorgeous green eyes that bordered on hypnotising. As soon as he’d sauntered in through the open back door of her modest, two-bedroom house, she’d known she was a goner.
She’d always loved cats.
Purring loudly, his black, glossy fur had tickled as he’d rubbed around her bare ankles before he’d jumped up and settled himself down on her old, comfy settee, like he’d lived there for years.
That had been a month ago. She’d put up notices, had him checked at the vets but with no microchip and nobody calling to claim him, he was now officially hers…or maybe she was officially his really.
Whatever way round it was, ‘Pyewacket’, as she’d named him, was here to stay.
“A pie-wotsit?” her friend, Eloise, had quipped with an incredulous laugh when Penelope had told her.
“It’s an old name for a witch’s familiar,” the redhead had explained. At Eloise’s blank look, she’d shrugged and added a little defensively, “Well, I like it.”
“It’s great, Pen, honestly,” Eloise had assured her with a grin. “I would’ve probably called him something boring like John, but Pye…”
“…wacket,” her friend had supplied helpfully when Eloise had trailed off with a frown.
“Yes, Pye, really suits him.”
Penelope had simply shook her head and smiled. She’d take that.
And now, to celebrate, she’d bought Pye a dark green collar with a little bell, a new catnip toy and a small tin of tuna. He ran over as soon as she opened the can and paced around her legs with the odd little mew as he waited impatiently for his treat. She placed his bowl on the stone tiled kitchen floor, then put the kettle on and herself a m ug of tea.
She’d just sat down with her steaming brew when her phone went off and she smiled when she saw the name that flashed up. No matter what continent he was on for work, he never forgot her birthday.
Ever.
“Hi Colin.” A loud rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You’ came back at her and she laughed when he held the last ‘you’ for far longer than she thought was possible. “Thank you for reminding me I’m another year older, but sadly not any wiser,” she quipped when the singing had ended.
“Oh, that sounds rather ominous,” he replied, suddenly serious. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Of course,” she said in what she hoped was a dismissive tone.
Apparently, it wasn’t…
“Penelope, I know you. What’s happened? Is it your mum? What’s she said now?” he fired off, already getting angry on her behalf.
“No, it’s not mum - or Prudence or Philippa,” she added before her friend mentioned her sisters.
“Well, it’s something,” he prodded. Colin paused, but when Penelope didn’t speak, he asked flatly, “Is it Alan?”
Penelope sighed heavily and shook her head at his continuous propensity to get her boyfriend’s name wrong.
Well, ex-boyfriend now.
“It’s Alfie, Colin and yes, if you must know we broke up last week,” she told him unhappily.
“Switch to facetime,” he demanded suddenly.
“Colin…”
“Pen, switch to facetime. I want to see you so we can talk properly,” he told her firmly.
“I’m sure you have better things to do than listen to me having a moan,” she argued without any real heat, “and I thought you said were meant to be filming some secret lagoon today or something?”
“That’s later. So, I’m exactly where I want to be. Talking to you on facetime, Pen,” he retorted.
She tutted but pulled her phone away from her ear and saw that he had already made the call. She hit accept and his face came into view.
‘Well. Happy, fricking, birthday, to me,’ she thought, drinking in the sight of him.
From his chestnut brown hair – that was slightly too long and curling up at the ends in a way that made her fingers itch to reach through the screen and just tug – to his ridiculously deep blue eyes, lightly stubbled chin and golden tan.
He looked gorgeous…and of course he was shirtless.
Her gaze dropped briefly to his chest, skittering over the liberal covering of hair there. Dear God, if he only knew what that did to her, he’d probably wear a polo neck for the rest of his life.
They were only friends, after all. Something that she constantly had to remind herself of when her mind – or gaze – wandered off to their own little fantasies. It didn’t matter that she’d been in love with him for forever.
Well, years, anyway.
And honestly, she’d long since made peace with her unrequited feelings in regards to Colin Bridgerton.
Mostly.
He’d been out of the country for a couple of months now. Said he’d had an idea for a new book and had left with barely a few days notice.
She understood. Like him, she was a writer. Romance novels that sold surprisingly well, considering the lack of any real lasting relationships in her personal life to draw upon. Still, her books had ensured her bank balance was very healthy and when the writing bug bit, she knew you had to go with it, wherever it took you.
For Colin, that just happened to be the other side of the world more often than not. New places to see, new experiences to catalogue. He thrived on the adventure and it clearly showed…if his sun-kissed beach body was anything to go by. Not an ounce of fat anywhere from what she could see…
“So,” he said, drawing her attention back to their conversation. He had a small, sympathetic smile on his face and tilted his head slightly as he continued, “do you want to tell me what happened?”
Not really.
She certainly wasn’t going to tell him that Alfie had become very suspicious of her feelings for Colin and was oddly convinced that the love of her life also felt something back.
She’d quickly brushed that notion off as ridiculous but then, with impeccable timing, several messages had suddenly pinged through on her phone from Colin. It was merely a rundown of his day with some photos of things he thought she might like to see. For her, that was normal. For Alfie, not so much it seemed…not for a long while.
In the end, listening to his reasoning, even she had to begrudgingly admit that, from the outside, it had kind of undermined her argument.
And, to top it all off, Pye hadn’t liked him. Not one little bit.
“There’s nothing to tell. It just didn’t work out and he…we decided it would be better to end it,” she finally replied with a shrug.
Colin’s eyes narrowed as he assessed the truth of her words. He didn’t quite believe her but, at the same time, she didn’t seem particularly upset, so he reluctantly decided not to push the reasons why. He was just unaccountably pleased that the idiot was gone.
“Well, having never spoken to the guy, Pen, I can safely say that he’s a fool,” he told her wryly. He was rewarded with her laugh and grinned. “So, what are your plans for your birthday? Going out somewhere nice tonight?” he asked, changing the subject.
“No, not now. Alfie was taking me out for dinner, but I’m going to get a pizza in and open a bottle of wine instead,” she replied with a smile.
“Sounds like that that’ll be a far more interesting night,” he commented with a chuckle. “Is Eloise joining you? How is she? I haven’t spoken to her recently.”
“She’s good, but I haven’t told her about Alfie and me yet because she’d already made plans with Phillip for this evening,” she explained with a sigh. “I know she’d cancel on him just because it’s my birthday and I don’t want her to. He’s a nice guy and I think she really likes him.”
“Poor chap,” he commiserated with a huff of laughter. He loved his sister but she could be…difficult at times.
“She’s not that bad,” Penelope rebuked lightly.
Colin merely raised his eyebrows at that and they both shared a laugh.
“So, since El is busy, what about one of your other friends?” he asked, bringing the conversation back around to her. “You can’t be alone on your birthday, Pen.”
“Oh, I’m fine. It’s just another day at my age and, anyway, who says I’m going to be alone? I’ll have you know I’ll be spending the evening with a very handsome fellow,” she told him rather smugly.
On the other end of the call, Colin’s hand tightened around his phone as felt his stomach drop – and then churn unpleasantly. She’d met someone else already?
“Well, that was rather quick,” he muttered to himself.
“What was that?”
Colin’s eyes widened as he realised he’d spoken louder than he’d imagined and felt heat start to warm his cheeks.
She was staring at him with an expression that told him she wasn’t quite sure that she’d heard, what she thought she’d heard.
“Oh, uh, nothing, I just said that...um…I’m sure you could have your pick,” he covered relatively smoothly and even managed to summon a charming smile.
At least, he hoped it was charming because it felt like the skin on his face was so taut it might actually tear apart if he tried to force his mouth any wider.
Penelope regarded him for a couple of seconds longer then suddenly giggled.
“I’m pretty certain he picked me.” She glanced away for a moment then looked back at him happily and added, “Hang on, he’s just finished eating. I’ll go get him and introduce you.”
What?
He was there?
All this time?
Colin’s heart stuttered along with his words. In the end all he managed to get out was an odd, strangulated sound that really had more to do with the fact that Penelope had leaned forward to prop up her phone against something on the table. It had afforded him with such an appealing view of her ample chest that he’d been rendered momentarily speechless.
Good Lord, if she knew just how much she affected him, she’d be horrified. Rightly so. Friends didn’t ogle friends – even if one the friends desperately wished they could be more.
The sound of footsteps made him focus back on the screen. She was returning with her new…whatever. Shaking himself mentally, he tried to adopt a neutral expression so that he could at least appear to seem unbothered by this unexpected turn of events.
“Here he is,” Penelope gushed as she came back into view. She sat down on the settee with a big bundle of fur in her arms and turned him so that Colin could see his face. “Meet Pyewacket, the new addition to the Featherington household.”
Oh.
A cat.
If he hadn’t already realised awhile ago that he was in love with his friend, the ridiculous amount of relief that flooded through his system in that single moment would’ve been a huge wake-up call. Even for him.
He watched as Penelope stroked him, the cats back arching under her ministrations. Pyewacket was clearly enjoying all the attention and purred loudly as she scratched lightly behind first one ear, then the other.
Colin smiled a little at the obvious tenderness on her face as she fussed her new pet. He’d be a very happy man indeed if she ever looked at him like that.
Suddenly, Pye stopped purring and stared unwaveringly into the camera, directly at Colin. He wasn’t sure if he’d made a noise or had moved slightly, but whatever the reason, he’d definitely grabbed the cat’s attention and as he stared back, he was taken with how very green his eyes were…and how they seemed to pierce straight into his soul.
It was a distinctly unnerving feeling that had him clear his throat a little in discomfort. He tried to look away but couldn’t. Something held him captive, like an invisible hold and then, one blink, and it was gone.
Pye turned away and after circling in Penelope’s lap a couple of times, he settled down, seemingly falling into an instant sleep.
“Well,” Colin began, still trying to get his head around what had just happened, “he’s a handsome devil.” He forced a grin. “Great name. Witch’s familiar. Suits him.”
Penelope beamed and he relaxed a little.
“I guess that’s my outfit sorted for the Halloween party this year then,” she commented with a chuckle.
“Oh, you’re going as a sexy witch, huh?” he teased, his grin easier now. “Good thing I’ll be back in time. I very much look forward to seeing that costume on the night.”
Her eyes widened as a delicate blush stained her cheeks and he belatedly wondered if he’d overstepped - but needn’t have worried. She was apparently more surprised about him returning.
“You’re coming? Really? But…I thought you said we wouldn’t see you until Christmas?” she exclaimed in confusion.
“I did, but I’ve actually made much better progress than I thought I would, so I should only be gone a few more weeks,” he explained, keeping it vague.
In truth, he’d only just decided to return and it was primarily because her prat of a boyfriend was no longer around.
On screen her expression softened as she smiled.
“That news is probably the best present I could’ve had for my birthday,” she said sincerely. “It’ll be good to have you home again, Colin.”
Home.
Where the heart is...and his heart, he now knew, had always been hers.
“Pen…”
Before he could say anything more, there was a loud knock on his hotel room door.
“I’ll go and let you get that,” she said, picking up her phone.
He sighed and nodded. He wasn’t really sure what he’d been about to say anyway. Although the urge to blurt out his feelings had been strong, there was no way he was going to make that kind of declaration over a bloody facetime call. Penelope deserved so much better than that.
“I’ll be in touch,” he assured her instead, “and let me know when your real present turns up. I think you might like it.”
“Present? What present?” she asked perplexed. “Colin?”
“Happy birthday, Pen.”
Grinning, he gave her a wink and a little wave, then ended the call.
“Infuriating man,” she muttered as she tossed the phone down beside her on the settee.
Pye lifted his head and mewed softly as if in agreement.
“Exactly!” she replied with a curt nod.
Absently, she started to stroke his fur, her mind running over and over the unexpected phone call. After a few moments she let out a groan of frustration and moved Pye gently off her lap so that she could stand. She refused to waste any more time torturing herself by reading anything into Colin’s meaningless flirtations. He probably didn’t even realise he was doing it at this point. They’d known each other for so long it was second nature for him.
Picking up her now lukewarm mug of tea, she took it over to the sink and tipped it away. Flicking the switch on the kettle, she leaned back against the counter and waited for it to boil to make a fresh cup.
She’d just added a dash of milk when her doorbell rang. Answering the door, the postman handed over a small parcel that needed her signature. She duly complied and walked back into the kitchen where she placed the box on the counter.
She could see it was from Colin and a dart of anticipation rose within her as she carefully opened the parcel. After putting most of the packaging to one side, she found a note and a small ornament wrapped in tissue.
She opened the note and read it quickly.
‘For your birthday, Pen. I saw this and knew it belonged with you. Love Colin x’
Intrigued, she pulled off the tissue and stared at the beautifully carved wooden figurine in amazement.
It was of a cat. Seated with its tail curled around its paws. Black, of course, with deep green, painted eyes.
She let out a delighted laugh. What were the odds? He couldn’t have known about Pye because she knew that he hadn’t been in touch with any of his siblings recently. In fact, she was the one that tended to update them as Colin often spoke to her because she was always so interested in what he was doing.
“Look, it’s you!” she declared, turning to show Pye the ornament.
He was sat on one of the breakfast stools and eyed the figure a moment before leaning forward and giving it a cursory sniff. He pulled back and looked at her then let out a little chirrup.
“I agree, it is beautiful.”
Still giggling to herself over the uncanny coincidence, she went and got her phone from where it lay on the couch and quickly typed out a thank you message to Colin. He replied almost immediately saying she was welcome and that he was looking forward to seeing her in a few weeks.
Penelope sighed and sat down. Seeing her. Not simply looking forward to coming home, but to seeing her. And so was she. Looking forward to seeing him. More than she knew she should allow herself too really. She didn’t want get her hopes up anymore.
As if sensing her sudden sombre mood, Pyewacket jumped up beside her and reached out a paw, gently touching her arm. She gave him a scratch on the head and smiled a little sadly.
“Oh, Pye, all these years and I’m still such a fool for him,” she muttered with a shake of her head. “As if this time will be any different from all the other times he’s come home, right?”
He mewed a response and she turned her head to look at him in amazement. It was the damndest thing but she could have sworn that it sounded like, ‘yes’.
She suddenly laughed at the absurdity of the notion and gave him a little pat.
“Come on, let’s find your toy and have a play,” she said, dropping a kiss on the top of his silky head.
Pye regarded her a moment as she went off, then trailed after her, tail upright, the tip twitching slightly.
Humans were a funny lot, he decided. But he liked this one and he knew the other one did too. A lot.
And come All Hallow’s Eve, Pye was determined that she would know just how much the other one did as well.