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“Is this a bad time?”
Colin looked at the sight with raised eyebrows. Upon hearing his comment, Anthony shot him a deadpan look. On any other day, the younger would have been more fearful of his eldest brother, but it was quite difficult to be afraid of someone when they’re covered in baby food.
“You’ve got a little something on your-” Colin began, pointing to the food on the other’s temple.
“What do you want?” Anthony ground out, his jaw clenched as pumpkin purée slid down his cheek. His younger brother tried not to laugh at the sight. “I'm here to pick up little Eddie. Kate asked me to fetch him to school today.”
“What? No, I said I'd do it," Anthony insisted, his brows furrowed. Colin only shrugged just as his sister-in-law showed up to the front door.
“Good morning Colin!” Kate greeted, giving him a quick hug before turning to her husband, “I called him since you can’t take Edmund today.”
Anthony scoffed, the movement making purée splatter everywhere. “Of course I can!”
“What about the Lego set you promised Miles to build? And Charlotte's tea party? Not to mention the fact that you have yet to feed Mary…” Kate's eyes trailed down the food on Anthony's face, “ …successfully .”
Her husband maintained an angry look, but the splash of orange across his face really makes it difficult to take him seriously. “Fine. Ed’s all dressed and ready in the living room. Drive safely,” he mumbled, walking away to finish feeding his youngest child.
Kate smirked knowingly at his retreating figure, shaking her head at his antics before turning back to Colin. “Come in. Have you had breakfast yet?”
“No, but it’s alright. I had a cup of coffee, so I'm good to go. Eddie and I best get going, actually," Colin replied, checking his watch. Just then, a burst of shrieks and giggles echoed through the halls, along with Anthony yelling “BE CAREFUL- oh, why do i bother…” and some other unsavory words.
“Unca Cowin!'' Charlotte giggled as she bolted at him. Colin grinned as he caught her right before they collided, swooping her up in his arms and lifting her into the air, making the girl laugh jovially. “You hewuh!”
“I am here,” Colin repeated, resting her against his hip with one arm, the other hand swiping Charlotte's dark wavy hair out of her face. “Hello Lottie. What have you been up to?”
“Tea patie!” She squealed happily, making her uncle’s heart melt. “A tea party? Why, how fancy of you, Miss Charlotte.'' Colin replied, putting the girl down to stand on her feet. Charlotte beamed at his response, before swaying back and forth shyly. “You come?”
Her uncle asked, “You want me to come to your tea party?” to which she nodded fervently. He sighed and shook his head. “I'm sorry love, but I've got to take your big brother to school today. Maybe next time, hm?”
The little girl pouted, raising her arms and making grabby hands at him, making Colin lean down to her height. She cupped his face with her tiny hands, “you no wan patie wiff me?”
Colin's heart clenched, folding immediately at her words because, let’s be honest, who could say no to that? “Of course I do, Lottie.”
His niece only pouted further, the inner part of her eyebrows pointing upwards as her eyes seemed to be twice as big as they usually were. Colin couldn’t handle it, and he was quite convinced that no one could. “Alright, I promise I will be there later." Charlotte squealed happily once more, kissing her uncle’s cheek and then running off.
“She tricked you, you know.” Little Edmund Bridgerton II entered the room, looking up at his uncle judgmentally. Colin smiled, facing his body towards the boy. “Did she now?”
“Yes, she is very good at it.” Edmund affirmed. Colin laughed, throwing his head back in amusement. “Good morning, Eddie. Are you ready for school?”
The young boy nodded, spinning around and showing his backpack as well as his well-pressed uniform. “Yes, Uncle Colin.”
Colin had to suppress a grin. Edmund was just a shrunken Anthony— formal, neat, sharp. It was uncanny. “Good man. Let’s go then.” As they went down the front steps of the house, Colin held Eddie's hand protectively. The two went to the car he parked in the garage, the one that Eddie already knew how to get into by himself.
“Uncle Colin?'' Eddie asked as he buckled his own car seat, which Colin learned was best for him to do on his own. The kid was very particular. “Yes, mate?”
“Do you know where my school is?” the boy asked curiously. Colin nodded, “That I do. I was a student there too, just as your father was.”
“Did Uncle Ben and Uncle Greg go there as well?” Colin nodded at the question as he pulled out of the driveway, “They sure did.”
“Who was your favorite teacher?” Edmund asked curiously, observing the passing surroundings to make sure his grown uncle was not going the wrong way. One can never be too sure, his mother always said.
Colin hummed, trying to remember the faces of his old teachers. “My favorite teacher was probably… Mr. Byron. He taught English.”
“Is he the reason why you’re a writer now?” Edmund asked, his interest now piqued. He knows of his uncle’s travel books. Granted, he wasn’t very interested in them as much as he was with comics, but he reads them with his parents every now and then.
“He's one of the many reasons, yes,” Colin answered. Edmund nodded, before remarking “I don't know him, he probably doesn’t work at the school anymore.”
“Probably not,” Colin agreed, keeping his eyes on the road, while also checking on his nephew every now and then in the rearview mirror. “Who is your favorite teacher, Ed?”
The boy immediately grinned, his entire face brightening immediately. “Miss Pen! She is my favoritest teacher.”
“Miss Pen?” Colin asked with curiosity. His nephew nodded almost violently. “Miss Pen is wonderful! She reads us all kinds of stories and she draws our imaginary friends and she gives us a sticker everyday!”
Surprised by his nephew’s uncharacteristically animated tone, Colin continued to ask questions. “My goodness, is she everyone’s favorite teacher then?”
“Yes, she’s the best! You might see her later when you come pick me up.” Edmund said with a toothy grin. Which was a big deal, because the most one would get out of little Eddie was a small polite smile. “You will pick me up later… right?”
The driver returned his nephew’s grin. “Of course, mate. And I’m sure I will like your teacher just as much as you do.”
~ that afternoon ~
Colin didn’t know what he was expecting. Perhaps he envisioned a frail, old lady who could be somebody’s grandmother that liked baking cookies and gave you candy. Maybe even a new overly eager teacher, one who looked like a teenager fresh from graduating.
“Come now, Eddie, it’s time to go home.”
“I don’t want to go yet!” Edmund pouted, gripping his teacher’s hand tighter. She smiled softly at his words, crouching down to meet his height. Her green dress pooled on the floor around her as she did so, and her long hair waved down her back even further.
No, she was not what Colin Bridgerton had expected at all. She was a woman around his age, he assumed. She had flaming red hair unlike any shade he had ever seen. Her voice was soft and sounded kind, whatever the hell kind was supposed to sound like.
“You’ll be back here, darling. I will see you here tomorrow morning, at 8 o’clock, won’t I?” she asked, her smile growing wider as she looked at the boy expectantly. Edmund sighed in the most dramatic fashion, something Colin did not know he was capable of doing, before nodding defeatedly.
Satisfied by her student’s reaction, the woman stood up and locked eyes with Colin, who had been staring the entire time. Then again, who could blame him? Especially now as she looked at him with those eyes – dear God, those dazzling blue eyes – and all he could think about was how gorgeous she looked, how gorgeous she is.
“Are you here for anyone?” The woman asked politely. It took Colin a good five seconds to realize she was talking to him. He swallowed the lump that almost made him go ‘gah, gah, gah’, clearing his throat before speaking. “Er, yes. I’m picking up Eddie here.”
“Ah right, his mother called to say someone else was picking him up today. You’re his Uncle Colin then, yes?” she said with such enthusiasm, the man almost melted. That enthusiasm was for him, can you believe it? Him! “I’ve heard plenty about you.”
“You have?! Wh– you have? How?” Colin asked, a flurry of emotions flashing through his face. Her eyes widened as she realized how that sounded, before replying, “I mean– the class and I have heard plenty about you. Eddie brought one of your books for show and tell.”
“Mummy said it would be cool, but Father thought it was ridiculous,” Edmund replied out of the blue. Colin shook his head, making a mental note of making Anthony pay for that later. At the same time, he knew he had to get it together and pay attention to what the teacher was saying, so he stared intently at the way her lips formed the words.
“It was cool,” she said to reassure Colin. “Your stories are amazing. I read the book that Eddie brought afterwards and it was magnificent.”
Nevermind, the staring-at-her-lips thing was a bad idea. Now all he can think about is how easy it would be to lean down and ever so softly press a ki–
“-gerton? Mr. Bridgerton?” Upon hearing her calling out to him, Colin had the audacity to blush profusely and slightly nodded in acknowledgement. “Oh! Uh, thank you very much for your kind words, Miss…?”
“Penelope,” she answered with a smile that made her eyes turn into upturned crescents, as she extended her hand for him to shake, “Penelope Featherington, but the kids call me Miss Pen. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Bridgerton.”
“Penelope,” he echoed, taking her hand as he couldn’t help but notice how much smaller and softer it was compared to his. Oh, he was losing it, that much was clear. “Please, call me Colin. Or Col, or whatever you like actually. I-It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Edmund raised a brow at his uncle, glancing up at his face with one of his signature judgemental looks that made one question their existence. Penelope noticed her student’s expression and looked down to realize that she and Colin were still holding hands. Her face flushed slightly and she pulled her hand away.
As if breaking out of a daze, Colin flexed his dropped hand at the side and glanced back at his nephew, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Er, so how was Eddie at school today?”
“Wonderful as always,” Penelope replied, ruffling the boy’s hair as Edmund puffed out his chest with pride, “he’s one of the brightest in the class. Always has a hand raised during discussions.”
Colin shook his head in amusement. Just like his father , he thought to himself. He lifted a hand for Eddie, who immediately high-fived it with a proud smile on his face, “Nice one, mate.”
The little boy beamed, before pulling away from Penelope’s side and going to his uncle’s. “Shall we head back home now, Uncle Colin? You promised Charlotte a tea party, remember?”
“Ah, yes,” Colin nodded, looking up to direct his words to Penelope, “My niece. She’s throwing a tea party–”
“And the theme is fairy princesses, so she’s going to make you put on a crown and wings and tutus,” Edmund added. Colin almost throttled his own nephew before hearing Penelope giggling, which made him smile automatically. He could have passed away right then and there, and would have died a happy man after hearing her giggle.
“Sounds like a delightful afternoon, indeed,” Penelope teased with a playful grin on her lips. “Might I suggest some glitter to go with the outfit? You know, pixie dust and all.”
“Brilliant.” Colin smirked, before taking his nephew’s hand. “Perhaps you can come to the next one. We could use an expert on wardrobe.”
“Perhaps,” Penelope replied, a mischievous glint flashing in her eyes. She turned to look back down at her student. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Eddie.”
“See you tomorrow, Miss Pen!” the boy replied enthusiastically, waving his hand like a maniac. Penelope waved back fondly, and turned to his uncle, “And I suppose I’ll see you some other time as well, Colin.”
“Indeed you shall,” Colin said, before ushering his nephew to the car. Once he had his back turned to her, the kindergarten teacher almost swooned. Goodness, he was just as good-looking as he was in those pictures online, if not better. Not that she stalked him or anything… She was just curious.
Right before he entered the driver’s seat, Colin looked back up and called out to the teacher, who snapped out of her giddy trance. The man smirked coyly, looking devilishly handsome as he did so, before hollering “See you tomorrow, Miss Pen!” just as his nephew had done, which earned an amused smile from Penelope who flirtatiously sent him a flying kiss.
On the drive back home, Colin had an entranced smiley look on his face, the way someone does when they have a few too many bottles to drink. Eddie decided to ask his uncle something out of curiosity. “Uncle Colin, will we really have Miss Pen over for tea some time?”
“Maybe,” Colin replied, “if she says yes.” Edmund hummed before asking another question. “I should enjoy that very much. Do you like her as much as I do now? Like you said you would earlier?”
Colin grinned like a man who just won the lottery. Hell, he felt like it too. “Let’s just say, she is our favorite teacher now.”