Fanfic - It's a Little Bit Funny (This Feeling Inside) - 5/6
Part Four
Six hours later, Bradley is climbing into Beth's car as they head out for dinner. He doesn't even know why he called her, exactly. Perhaps convenience (though the drive she had to make from Bristol to Cardiff isn't particularly convenient by most people's standards), or perhaps because he knows Beth and feels comfortable around her. He doesn't quite fancy trying to pick up some random girl in a pub in order to make his lie slightly less of a lie, so this is the only logical solution he can think of. Either way, she'd been chuffed to hear from him and insisted on coming out that evening, which only makes Bradley feel like more of a prat.
They end up at a little café somewhere on the other side of the city, though Bradley has to actually look at the menu to remind him of the name.
“I’m really glad that you were available for dinner tonight,” Beth says as she opens her menu. “Truthfully, I didn’t actually expect you to contact me at all, but I’m glad you did.”
To be honest, he’s not sure what to say to that, so he opts for, “That’s good,” and buries his face in the menu, hoping that it doesn’t make him sound too aloof.
Several minutes pass in relative silence before their waiter arrives to take orders.
“What can I get for you?” he asks, pen and pad of paper in hand. Bradley tries not to notice the fact that their waiter is tall and thin, with a dark mop of scraggly hair and a pale complexion. He’s a nice-looking bloke in Bradley's perspective, and around his age too, it would seem. Though it figures, he muses sardonically, that he’d be served by the only bloke in the restaurant to remind him of the person he’s desperately trying to forget at the moment.
“I’ll have the fish,” Beth says, pointing to the item on the menu.
“Excellent choice,” the waiter replies, smiling broadly. “You have great taste.” There’s an air of flirtation in his tone, and if this had been a real date, Bradley might have made some comment about it. But as it stands, Bradley’s a little distracted by his uncanny resemblance to Colin. Or, maybe he’s just seeing what he wants to. The idea tugs painfully at his heart.
There is a lengthy pause before Beth nudges him under the table. “Bradley? What are you ordering?”
“Oh. Right.” He realises then that even though he’s been scanning the menu for the better part of five minutes, he hasn’t actually read a single world. There’s a surprisingly large selection of vegetarian dishes here, he can’t help but note.
“Um, I’ll have this,” he says, pointing at a random item, because it doesn't really matter what he picks. It’s all going to taste terrible - he already knows this - so what he orders is irrelevant.
“Very well.” The waiter hurries away after writing Bradley’s order down, leaving them alone again.
By nature, Beth has always been a chatty person, and thankfully tonight is no exception. In fact, it might even be more extreme than usual, considering the fact that they haven't actually sat down for any extended period of time since before the break-up. Bradley asks as many questions as he can think of in an effort to both keep her talking and simultaneously prevent the focus from turning to him, which seems to have the desired effect.
Nonetheless, he is still eternally grateful when their food arrives, though less so when he sees what he ordered. It’s a rather large salad of some sort. Though considering his lack of an appetite, this might be the perfect meal for him.
Beth continues prattling on while Bradley mostly picks at his food, pushing it around the plate and reorganising it more than actually eating anything. It has weird items in it - things Bradley doesn't think really belong in a salad - such as apples and dried cranberries. Since when do people put fruit in salad anyway? Unless you're making a fruit salad, of course, but there are definitely lettuce and onions in this. Bradley thinks Colin would probably love something like this salad, all healthy and lean and delicious. Well, Bradley can't say for certain what it tastes like, since he's only had a couple bites and those tasted like sawdust. But maybe he'd be willing to come back and try again. As it turns out, eating vegetarian isn't so bad after all, even if he still loves his steak. Though, the veggie burgers Colin made for him last November were surprisingly satisfying, and he's been forced to concede that perhaps Colin isn't completely mad when it comes to choosing this lifestyle.
“Bradley?”
The sound startles him and his head shoots up. “Yeah?”
“Are you all right?” Beth asks, brow furrowing in concern.
“I'm fine.” He blinks. “Why?”
“Because you've barely said two words all night,” she says. “You've spent the last five minutes pushing your salad around on your plate, and I sincerely doubt you've heard a single word I've just said. In fact, it sort of feels like I'm not even here at all.”
“That's not true,” he lies, then hopes that she doesn't call him on it.
“Okay, then tell me what I was just talking about.”
Well, shit. How the hell is he supposed to know? It's not that he hasn't been trying to listen to her, he just hasn't been able to maintain his attention for, well, the majority of the evening, truth be told. But damn it, he's made the attempt, and surely that has to count for something. Vaguely, a memory returns of something she's mentioned at some point this evening and he mentally crosses his fingers that it'll be enough to convince her that he's been listening at least somewhat.
“The trip to the States with your sister?” He shoots her what he hopes is a charming smile.
“Bradley, that was fifteen minutes ago.” Beth folds her arms and gives him a look. “What's going on with you? And don't you dare try and tell me that you're fine, because we dated for two years, and I know you. You are not fine.”
For a moment he wants to deny it, but similarly to Katie and Stephanie, once Beth gets an idea in her head, she's hard-pressed to change it without swaying evidence to the contrary. Seems to be a theme with the women in his life, it would appear. But even more than that, he rang Beth on false pretences, dragging her out for dinner in some ridiculous attempt to avoid the real issue of his feelings for Colin, and that's not fair. It wasn't fair when he called her, it wasn't fair when she drove all the way out here, it wasn't fair when she picked him up from the hotel, and it isn't fair now that they've been here for close to an hour and Bradley's done little more than spend the entire time with his mind anywhere but here. At the very least, he owes her the truth, or as much of it as he can comfortably share.
Instead of answering immediately, Bradley's gaze drops to land on his dinner plate, suddenly finding it fascinating. There's a cranberry attached to one of the apple slices. Bradley pokes at it with his fork, but they remain stuck. Maybe it's meant to be, that the fruit would stick together, clinging to one another in a vegetable world. Seems symbolic, somehow, Bradley muses. That, or he's looking for some existential sign that everything will work out in the end, that he'll be okay. Though admittedly, seeking explanations in salad doesn't exactly seem like the wisest, most informed way of obtaining the answers he needs.
“You're right,” he admits, sighing heavily. “I'm sorry. I never should have rung you up in the first place.”
“No, no, don't say that.” Beth reaches over and pats his hand gently, lips pulling into a smile. “If you're having a difficult time, then you need friends to help you through it, yeah? You know I'm here for you.”
That's the thing about true friends; they're there for you, even when you're behaving like an arse, and Bradley knows that he's lucky to have such great ones. That being said, telling Beth the truth is a risk, not just because he'll be laying out private details of his current love life to an ex, but because of who he is. Bradley knows he's not any more bloody important than the next person, but the reality is that there are certain hazards that come with his line of work, and this is the type of information that could potentially come back to haunt him if the media were to get wind of any of this. But the truth is that he trusts Beth, has known her for many years, and she's one of few people who knew and cared for him long before he became slightly more noticeable in the world. If he can't trust her with his secret, then he probably can't trust anyone.
“All right. I'll tell you. But this is just between you and me,” he says.
Beth nods solemnly. “Of course.”
So he tells her. Everything. In as much detail as he can handle sharing, because if he's doing this, then he's going to do it properly. At first, he tries to tell the story without giving away identifying information as to who he's fallen for, but that lasts for all of about thirty seconds before he's forced to start naming names, unless he wants to fabricate a whole new set of lies. Beth sits across from him, picking away at her food as she listens intently to his story, nodding and humming and commenting in all the right places. It's unclear to Bradley what she's thinking about the whole thing, at least from the perspective of having dated him for a significant period of time, but he doesn't sense any shock or condemnation, so for that he is grateful.
When Bradley's finished telling his story, he leans back in his chair expectantly, both anticipating and dreading what she's going to say about the whole situation. Oddly, he feels as though a weight has been lifted from his shoulders, even if he hasn’t exactly done anything to resolve the problem. But even talking about it, getting all of his thoughts and feelings out in the open, makes Bradley feel better. Beth’s eyes flitter away from his to focus on something over his shoulder, and he can tell by her distant, glazed-over look that she's lost in thought.
Finally, after what feels like hours, she leans forward and folds her hands.
“I’m sorry for all the distress this has clearly caused you,” she says, eyes filled with sympathy. “But I guess the thing that stands out to me is the fact that you’ve already condemned Colin without ever hearing his side of things. There could be hundreds of reasons why Colin didn’t tell you about the kiss, but you haven’t given him the chance to explain. And for that matter, you don’t even know with absolute certainty that he did snog anyone at all in the first place.”
Bradley supposes she makes a decent argument, but it’s not enough to sway him just yet. “Yeah, but Angel wouldn’t lie about something like that. She sounded convinced herself.”
“I’m not suggesting she lied, Bradley. All I’m saying is that you don’t know Colin’s side of the story. Are you really willing to just walk away from this without knowing for certain what it is you’re walking away from?”
In spite of the heartache he feels, that question isn’t difficult to answer. “Of course not. But what do I do if he’s not interested? What if I ruin our friendship by telling him everything?”
“It sounds like you might be doing a good job of that without talking to him,” Beth points out, and the truth of her claim stings just a little. “At least if you admitted your feelings, you’d finally feel some semblance of relief. And you don’t know how Colin will react. Maybe he feels the exact same way about you as you do about him and the whole thing was a big misunderstanding, but how will you ever know unless you do something about it?”
It’s a fair enough point, and for the first time, Bradley has to concede that she’s probably right. He hasn’t exactly been straightforward with Colin through all of this, and even if he is with Lila now, Bradley deserves to know that too.
“You’re right,” he admits, and is surprised by the ease with which the words come out of his mouth.
Their waiter returns to the table a few moments later with their bill in hand, looking mildly impatient. That’s when Bradley realises that it’s almost ten and they’ve been in the restaurant for over two hours.
“Do you want me to drive you back to your hotel?” Beth asks once he's paid their bill (it's the least he can do under the circumstances).
But Bradley shakes his head. “No. No, it’s okay. I think I’d rather walk.”
“Are you sure? It’s so far.” She frowns, propping her chin on her palm.
“I know. But I need some time to sort things out. Look-” Bradley gives her other hand a squeeze. “I’m so sorry for dragging you out here on false pretences, and then being the worst possible company I’ve ever been. It was a terribly rude and selfish thing for me to do, and I apologise for forcing you to put up with me.”
Beth waves a hand at him. “No, it’s fine. I meant it before when I told you that I was glad you’d given me a ring, and I stand by that. It was nice to see you again, and it’d be great if we could do this more than once every three years.” She smiles warmly at him. “Anyway, I hope everything works out all right for you in the end.”
She hugs him good-bye and carries on her way, and Bradley steps outside, preparing for a very long walk.
Rain pounds against the window of Colin’s flat, storm having really picked up since Bradley arrived. Thankfully, soaked though he may have been, he’d managed to miss out on the brunt of it. He watches the trails of raindrops forming patterns against the window pane distractedly as he finally reaches the end of his story.
Bradley swallows, tongue thick and nerves frayed as he risks a glance over at Colin, who has been listening to him recount every last detail of the past four months of his life with frightful honesty, and the idea that he's all but admitted to being in love with Colin makes him feel reckless and more than a little terrified. But in some ways he also feels a sense of relief, because the truth is finally out there. And even if Colin takes his heart, stomps it to the ground until there's nothing left, Bradley thinks that it probably can't hurt much worse than he's already been hurting.
“And so you spent the next three hours walking around Cardiff?” Colin asks with a mild sense of disbelief, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.
“Er, yeah. Basically. I had a lot to think about,” he says and cards a hand through his hair. That is an understatement, but he doesn't consider it necessary to bore Colin with the details of every single fear and possible scenario that had tumbled through his mind in a never-ending cycle.
“Am I allowed to speak now?” Colin asks, fingers still slowly sliding back and forth across the back of Bradley’s hand in a deliriously distracting manner. How he managed to share this story in the first place without falling apart, he will never quite know.
He wants to say no, to keep living in this fantasy world where it’s still possible that Colin’s interested in him, but once he has his say then Bradley will finally have to accept reality, even if reality is not what he hopes it will be. But he didn’t come to Colin’s flat in the middle of the night to walk away again before he’s had a chance to at least respond to Bradley, so he pushes aside those worries in favour of giving Colin a chance to at least respond to everything he’s said.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Much to Bradley’s surprise, Colin pushes up off the sofa.
“Stand up,” he orders with a small gesture.
This can’t be good. Colin’s probably about to kick him out of his flat for being an idiot, tell Bradley that he’s sorry, but he just doesn’t feel that way about him.
“Colin, look,” Bradley starts, but he stands anyway. “I know what you’re going to say, and I just-”
But Bradley is cut off when Colin pulls him into a tight embrace, wrapping one arm around his shoulders and the other around his waist. It is so completely unexpected that for a moment, Bradley doesn’t even know how to react. However, when Colin buries his face into the crook of Bradley’s neck, it’s almost as if his body can’t help but respond, and he feels himself sink into the hug, hands fisting in Colin’s shirt. He has no idea what’s going on, but he simply can’t find it in himself to care. Colin’s fingers slip under Bradley’s shirt, rubbing soothing circles into his lower back, and the sensation sends a shiver through his body.
“Fuck, Bradley, I’m so sorry,” Colin murmurs into Bradley’s neck, giving him one more squeeze before reluctantly pulling back.
Bradley blinks, so many thoughts tumbling through his mind as to what Colin could be apologising for.
“Why?” he asks, as Colin indicates for him to sit again.
However, instead of returning to his spot on the sofa, Colin perches on the edge of the coffee table, sitting directly across from Bradley.
“Shit. I knew there was something going on. I knew and I- Well, I just assumed you'd talk to me when you were ready, but I shouldn't have left it for so long when it was obvious,” Colin sort of rambles, staring hard at his hands. ”I wish you'd come and talked to me sooner.” He shakes his head and curses again.
At this point, Bradley still has no clue as to what Colin's reaction means, exactly. Nor is he clear on whether or not Colin actually reciprocates his feelings or if he just feels guilty for not being honest and admitting the truth about Lila earlier. But at the very least, he hasn't been kicked out of Colin's flat, so he's hoping that implies he hasn't ruined everything by finally coming clean.
All the same, he needs to give them both an out, should Colin need it, because Bradley doesn't want to lose him, no matter how much the idea of Colin loving someone else stabs painfully at Bradley's heart. “I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but I'm sure I'll get over it in no time.” It's a lie, of course, but he feels compelled to say it anyway. ”Just needed to air things out, you know? And if you'd prefer, we can just pretend like this conversation never happened at all and go back to how things were before.”
He is aware, of course, that they've already done this dance before, and it didn't exactly have the desired effect, but he's sort of reached the point where all rationality has been taken off the table.
“Bradley, shut up. It's my turn to talk now,” Colin says, and reaches over to take one of Bradley's hands in his own.
Bradley swallows and nods, forcing himself to listen over the sound of his pounding heart, thrumming like a drum against his skull. Colin strokes his thumb over the top of Bradley's knuckles, and concentrating becomes even more of a challenge.
“I don't know how everything became so fucked up, but since we've wasted so much time already, I'm going to keep this short. I'm not dating Lila, I don't want to date Lila, and I never did.”
Bradley eyes him somewhat sceptically, even as he feels hope rising in his chest for the first time in days. “How is that possible? It seemed like you two were perfect for each other.”
“Just because we had a few interests in common? That's not enough to make a good relationship. She was a very sweet girl, and we hit it off right away, but only as friends.”
“Why?” The words leave his mouth before he can filter them out.
Colin shrugs one shoulder as heat rises in his cheeks for the first time. “Er, well I sort of had to tell her that I had, feelings. Very strong ones. For someone else. You don’t honestly believe that I just kissed you because it was New Year’s, do you?” he asks, staring purposefully at Bradley.
For a moment, Bradley forgets how to breathe. But he forces himself to take a step back before he loses control. “But what about that note you left for me on New Year’s Day?”
A thoughtful look passes over Colin’s face, and he turns away for a moment. “Oh. That. Well, I knew you’d managed to get yourself quite pissed that night and I didn’t want to hold you to something you didn’t want, when the hangover wore off.”
That couldn’t have been further from the truth, but how was Colin supposed to know that? Still, relief washes over Bradley at the knowledge that he hadn’t misinterpreted everything the first time around, and in fact had been correct all along. If only he’d been able to trust himself.
There is only one thing remaining, one final detail that needs to be sorted before Bradley can finally release the relief and joy that’s ready to burst in his chest. “But then why did you get together with Lila recently? I, uh, well, I overheard Angel and Katie talking about it, and Angel was under the impression that you’d gone on a date. And that you’d- um, that you’d kissed her.”
“Oh, Bradley,” Colin murmurs soothingly as he leans close and reaches up to brush his fingers against Bradley’s jawline. “There must have been some miscommunication between Angel and Lila, because it was never a date, and we both knew that. In fact, she was passing through and we thought it’d be fun to have dinner. Plus, I sort of wanted to get her advice on what to do about our date… get-together… whatever this night was supposed to be. She’s become a good friend in the last few months, so at least something came of Angel attempt at setting us up.”
“And the kiss?” Bradley prompts, trying not to sound too eager to have the final piece of the puzzle.
“After we ate dinner, in which she’d given me some very sage advice about what to do, I kissed her on the cheek as thanks. It never even occurred to me to tell you, because it meant absolutely nothing to me. It was about as romantic as kissing my nana.”
“Then what happened?” It sort of slips out, unintentionally. “With Lila, I mean? Why did she tell Angel you’d been on a date and kissed?”
Colin shrugs a shoulder, appearing unconcerned. “I asked her to keep what we’d spoken about to herself. I suspect she was just trying to protect me and assumed that Angel wouldn’t say anything.”
“But by pretending you’d been on a real date?”
“Not the wisest choice, I agree. But she’s not that type of person, I can assure you. Either way, I’ll talk to her about it.”
The sincerity is obvious, both in Colin’s tone as well as in his expression, blue eyes piercing Bradley’s, and he knows without a shadow of a doubt that everything he’d assumed about Colin and Lila had been completely incorrect. The realisation fills him with unfettered joy as his chest swells and his eyes well up with unshed tears. Relief doesn’t even begin to describe how he’s feeling at this very moment.
“I am such an idiot“ Bradley groans, burying his face in his hands, letting the weight of the truth settle fully over him. “God, Cols, I’m so sorry for the way I’ve been acting. Hell, I’ve been making Arthur look like an emotionally sensitive bloke in comparison. Arthur, Colin. So you know it has to be bad.”
“No, you’re not, Bradley,” Colin says, then taps his chin, smirking. “Well, maybe you’re kind of an idiot. But at least it didn’t last too long, yeah?”
Bradley can’t stop himself from smiling back, acceding with a single shoulder shrug. But then Colin’s face suddenly sobers as quickly as it’d brightened.
“But just so we’re completely clear, the person I’ve fallen for is you, Bradley, and no one else. There hasn’t been anyone else for a very long time.” It's no more than a whisper as Colin leans forward, a silent invitation through the warm exhale of breath, and Bradley can do nothing but fall into the gravity of his lips.
The kiss is eager, enthusiastic, as their mouths finally meet, the culmination of months of dreaming about this moment making it even better than his wildest fantasies. Colin opens his mouth to Bradley immediately, licking at his upper lip until he's granted access. Their tongues slide and dance against one another, playful, needy, teasing. Bradley's arms encircle Colin's waist, fisting in his shirt as he tries to pull Colin closer. There's too much distance between their bodies, and he needs to feel every part of him that he can. Without breaking contact, Colin shifts forward, adjusting himself so he's straddling Bradley's hips, one hand slipping beneath the front of his shirt and the other curling into his hair. Bradley shivers when Colin’s fingers brush across his chest, as heat continues to pool in his groin, and he knows he’s already painfully hard.
They continue for what feels like hours, tasting and touching and moving against one another. It is wet and hot and just a bit filthy, which is perfectly fine with Bradley. Fantastic, even. He could do this for hours, days, even months. Bradley’s hands roam around Colin’s body, exploring, wanting to touch as much as he can, before they finally settle on his arse, squeezing and pulling him down to meet the gentle thrust of Bradley’s own hips. The first time their cocks rub against one another, it is as though Bradley’s been set on fire, even with two layers of clothing between them, and he moans enthusiastically.
“Bradley, fuck- I need you, I need to taste, I-” Colin groans as his fingers slip to the waistband of Bradley’s sweats.
Before he even knows what’s happening, Bradley’s - no, Colin’s - sweats and boxers are pooling at his ankles, and Colin is kneeling between Bradley’s thighs, pupils blown wide and filled with such lust that the image alone is almost enough to make Bradley come. And then Colin is taking him in his mouth, and it is all Bradley can do to not thrust his hips forward with wild desperation. It’s almost too much to handle, as his head lolls back in pleasure, and Bradley has to focus on simply taking one breath, another, keep going, don’t pass out.
His hands instinctively move to fist in Colin’s hair, tugging, not enough to hurt but enough to show his enthusiasm. Colin’s hands come to rest firmly on Bradley’s hips, preventing him from thrusting too intently as he fucks Colin’s gorgeous mouth. Bradley’s breath is coming out in short stutters now, and he accidentally lets an obscenely loud moan slip past his lips that can probably be heard in every surrounding flat, and possibly even in the basement. He’s no stranger to this, but Colin is bloody amazing at it, and it’s never felt quite this incredible before. Colin’s tongue is doing all sorts of wicked things and Bradley thinks that if he were to die in this very instant, he would die happier than he’s ever been.
It doesn’t take long to develop a steady rhythm, especially with the sight of Colin sucking his cock flooding his vision, and he’s close, so close to coming, when suddenly Colin pulls off him with a wet pop, grinning lecherously from his perch between Bradley’s thighs. Much to his embarrassment, Bradley hears himself whimper, his entire body protesting the loss of contact acutely. He curses loudly.
“Not here,” Colin says, as if he can read every one of Bradley’s thoughts, and presses a soft kiss to the inside of Bradley’s thigh before standing. “Come on, let’s go.”
And then Colin is tugging Bradley off the sofa, leading him by the hand as he walks towards the bedroom down the hall.
They barely make it into the bedroom before Colin has Bradley pinned against the wall, hands sliding under his shirt and pulling it off in one swift, and impressively coordinated, motion.
“Wow, that’s-” Bradley starts, but he’s cut off by Colin’s lips pressing a bruising kiss to his mouth, and he promptly forgets what he was about to say.
In a matter of seconds, Colin’s tongue plunges into his mouth, both arms wrapping around his waist, and Bradley clutches at him, craving every touch, every sensation he can get. Slipping his own hands beneath the fabric of Colin’s shirt, he manages to pry their mouths apart long enough to remove the barrier between their chests.
They stand there pressed up against the wall, a mess of lips and tongues and hands, tasting and experiencing each other with unending enthusiasm. The kiss is hot and wild, a flurry of emotions driving every touch, and Bradley thinks that they could remain like this for the rest of their lives and he would be content.
“God, Bradley. Can I-? I want-” Colin groans, pressing further into him as he runs his tongue down the length of Bradley’s jaw and plants a wet kiss to his neck.
Anticipation rises in Bradley’s chest, sending a jolt of heat straight down to his groin.
“What do you want?” Bradley manages to force out as his head falls back against the wall, even as his fingers are clumsily fumbling with the button and zipper on Colin’s jeans.
One of Colin’s hands slips down the back of Bradley’s sweats, running over his arse and then dipping between the cheeks until Colin’s fingers brush against his sensitive opening, asking the question he hasn’t been able to verbalise. Bradley’s cock twitches and he nearly falls over with the realisation of what Colin is asking him for. The mere idea of Colin touching him, filling him in that way - fucking him open and reducing him to nothing more than a quivering mess - is enough to make him weak in the knees.
“Yes,” he breathes, without hesitation. “Yes, Col. Please.”
Colin pulls back just as Bradley manages to undo his jeans, and he whines a little when the pressure of Colin’s body against his own retreats. All he wants is to feel Colin’s cock in his hands, to wrap his fingers around him and see what kind of noises he can coax Colin into making.
Taking his hand once more, Colin leads them to the bed and gently pushes Bradley down into the mattress, climbing on top of him. Soft lips trail hot kisses down Bradley’s neck and chest, every touch and every caress burning into his skin, etching the memory of Colin’s mouth into every pore of his body. Bradley moans loudly, pleasure coursing through his veins, and his hands fist in the hair at the nape of Colin’s neck as his tongue moves in wicked ways against Bradley’s chest.
He stops at the waistband of Bradley’s sweats, nuzzling his face against Bradley’s cock, rock hard and straining against the constraints just barely containing him.
“God, Colin, just-” he forces out, overcome with desire and fighting every instinct in him that begs to thrust his hips up, seeking more friction. Colin simply smiles, chuckling lightly.
In a matter of moments, Bradley finds himself stripped of the last of his clothes as Colin is fumbling to remove his own jeans and boxers, both Bradley’s body and heart laid bare and open to whatever Colin wants.
“Have you ever done this before?” Colin asks, crawling back over to lie beside Bradley on the bed, a look of concern passing briefly across his features.
“Yeah, a few times,” Bradley says, though he’d be lying if he claimed he wasn’t slightly nervous. It’s been a very long time since his last time having sex with another man, though he feels oddly embarrassed at his own inexperience.
It must come across in his voice anyway.
“Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of you, I promise. You’re going to love it, but you just have to trust me, yeah?” Colin leans in and kisses Bradley softly, thumb brushing soothingly against his jaw before pulling back, and all of his anxiety instantly melts away.
“I trust you. Completely.”
“Good,” Colin says, beaming. “Good. I’m glad.”
With a mixture of reluctance and excitement, Colin rolls off of Bradley and makes his way over to the dresser, rummaging through it before returning to the bed with lube and a condom.
For a moment, Colin sits back, staring at Bradley with something resembling wonder, and Bradley takes this temporary pause to drink in the vision before him. Colin truly is a sight to behold - all lean muscle and sharp angles, dark curls a stark contrast against his milky skin, cock thick and leaking with pre-come. A crooked smile rests on his swollen lips, hair sticking out in unruly tufts, and eyes so dark with lust that Bradley can barely make out their usual luminescent blue. He’s perfect, Bradley thinks, and not for the first time does he wonder if he’s just stepped into a dream and could wake at any moment. But then Colin is kissing him again, hot and deliciously slow, as he lowers himself onto Bradley until every inch of their bodies are pressed together, nothing but skin on skin.
Eventually, Colin pulls away, reaching back for the lube as he coats his hand with a generous amount. Tentatively, he pushes Bradley’s legs apart, brushing his finger over his opening. Bradley shudders visibly, biting back a groan.
“Just relax, yeah? I’ve got you,” Colin assures him, free hand rubbing Bradley’s thigh encouragingly, and Bradley nods.
Colin’s finger continues to trace his hole, before pressing in experimentally. Bradley clenches for a moment before letting out a shaky breath, allowing the tip to slip in. After one more successful attempt, Colin’s finger slides all the way inside, pushing past the tightness as Bradley forces himself to relax. He takes his time, stretching him wide, one finger becoming two as he opens Bradley up. It feels foreign, but not unpleasant, burning with a slow ache that has him begging for more. A third finger joins the others until Colin’s hand is buried up to the knuckles, and Bradley is almost mad with desire.
“Colin… Col, I need you inside me. Now,” Bradley attempts to command, but it ends up coming out desperate and a bit strangled instead.
The sudden loss of physical contact is only satiated by the sight of Colin, preparing himself. Bradley holds back a moan as Colin rolls the condom over his swollen cock, slicking himself with the lube, hand moving deliciously slow. For a moment, Colin’s eyes close and his head tilts back, revealing the expanse of his neck - the muscles taut and inviting - and Bradley longs to press his lips there, sucking and biting until it bruises.
When Colin finally pushes the tip of his cock past Bradley’s entrance, Bradley’s breath hitches in his throat. It’s tight, so very tight, but he wants nothing more than to feel Colin fill him until there is no distinction between where his body ends and Colin’s begins. Colin moves slowly, easing carefully inside, pulling back and then pushing in further with each gentle thrust. Bradley’s hands reach for his hips, guiding the process along until Colin’s balls are pressed flat against his arse. Their eyes lock, a silent conversation passing between them, before Colin starts to move his hips with tender care.
The pace is agonisingly slow, until they establish a rhythm, adjusting to one another for the first time. But when Bradley begins to arch his back, encouraging Colin’s movements, he takes the hint, increasing both the speed and intensity of their pace. Shifting just slightly in order to alter the angle, Colin suddenly hits something in him that causes Bradley to cry out in pleasure.
“Fuck. Yes. Do that. Do that again,” Bradley begs, breathless.
“Gladly,” Colin says with a satisfied smirk, jerking his hips upwards in the same manner as before. Something explodes behind his eyes, and a litany of words - shitfuckyesthispleaseohgodyes - whirl through his mind in a never-ending loop. Bradley’s hands clutch at the sheets, knuckles white as they grasp the soft material.
Wrapping his legs higher around Colin’s waist, Bradley rolls his hips upwards to meet Colin’s thrusts as they become more erratic, more frantic, desperate. At this angle, he’s hitting that spot almost every single time, and Bradley feels himself slowly coming undone, pleasure soaring through him as Colin pounds into him with reckless enthusiasm. Panting heavily, a light sheen of sweat covers Colin’s body, dark hair clinging to his forehead as he quickens his pace, driving Bradley further into the soft sheets with every thrust. Bradley’s never felt so high, so utterly blissful in his entire life, and he never wants this to end, wants to stay like this in this moment forever.
Tugging Colin back down, Bradley kisses him with near bruising force, teeth clacking against one another before he softens the intensity, sucking Colin’s tongue into his mouth instead. Unexpectedly, he feels Colin’s hand wrap around his cock, tugging and stroking as he continues to thrust into Bradley, and he knows they’re both close now, so gloriously close.
He jerks his hips wildly once, twice, and then Colin’s coming with a strangled cry, the sound muffled only by Bradley’s mouth on his. A moment later, Bradley joins him, stars bursting behind his eyes as he comes harder than he can ever remember, Colin’s name on his lips as he strokes Bradley through the aftershock of his climax. Bradley is wrecked, utterly wrecked, feeling overwhelmed by the pleasure and joy he feels bursting from his chest.
Colin pulls out carefully, removing and tying the end of his condom before tossing it into the rubbish bin as he staggers to his feet. There is a bit of a dull pain as Bradley repositions himself, and he knows he’ll be tender come morning, but every second was worth it, and he’ll gladly offer himself up again and again. Slipping into the bathroom, Colin returns with a damp washcloth.
“Was that okay for you?” Colin asks, nervous little smile forming on his lips as he wipes the come from Bradley’s stomach. It is such a sweet and gentle gesture, so unexpected and touching that Bradley can’t help but reach up to run his fingers down Colin’s jaw affectionately.
“It was amazing,” Bradley whispers, gazing up at Colin with a look he’s sure reveals just how much of a love-sick sap he truly is.
The grin he receives in return is nearly blinding in its intensity. “I’m glad. I told you it’d be great, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.”
Colin tosses aside the cloth once he’s finished, and climbs back into bed beside Bradley. Reaching out, Colin pulls Bradley into his arms until his head is nuzzled in the crook of Colin’s arm, face resting on his chest. Content silence falls in the air around them, their breathing slowing as sleep begins to descend.
“You can’t imagine how long I’ve dreamed about doing this with you,” Colin whispers into the dark, lips pressing into Bradley’s temple like a soft caress.
Happiness washes over Bradley, even as he fights back sleep, filling him with a warmth that extends from his cheeks right down to the tips of his toes. “Me too. You have no idea.”
The last thing Bradley is aware of before falling asleep is the tightening of Colin’s arms around his shoulders as he settles comfortably in the embrace.
~*~
The shrill ring of a mobile phone is what eventually pulls Bradley from a very deep and very contented sleep. Flinging an arm out from under the warm bed covers, Bradley gropes blindly for his phone while simultaneously trying to remember when the hell he'd actually brought it into the room in the first place.
A vague memory of stumbling out to the loo sometime in the wee hours of the morning floats back to him. That must have been the point where he retrieved it, he decides. Now if only he could find the damn thing before it makes both of them deaf.
Finally - finally - his hand closes around the infernal device, and he fumbles with the buttons until he manages to hit the right one.
“'Lo?” he grumbles gruffly.
“Brad? Did I wake you?”
He tries not to groan. Really he does. But hearing his sister's perky voice, at who knows how early in the morning, is a little more than he's ready to put up with at the moment.
“No. I've been up for hours,” he deadpans.
“Ha ha, very funny. It's just past ten in the morning, you know. How are you still sleeping?”
“I had a late night.”
“Doing what?”
Bradley closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Exercise.”
Technically it's true. He walked for a good three hours yesterday evening. And then, of course, there was the sex. Which they may have had a couple more times throughout the night, much to Bradley's delight.
“Seriously? Who the hell stays up late exercising?” She continues to grumble to herself about Bradley's general ineptness, while he takes a moment to burrow further under the covers. Colin is a warm lump beside him and he instinctively leans back, seeking more contact.
“Anyway,” Bradley cuts in, effectively ending her rant. “Was there a reason you called and woke me up, or do you just live to torture me?”
“I do not live to torture you,” she says, scoffing loudly. “That's just a nice added bonus.”
“Steph,” he says in his warning tone of voice.
At his back, he can feel Colin shift, moving until he's pressed right up against Bradley from their shoulders down to their feet. An arm slips under his, wrapping around Bradley's waist, and he can't stop the content smile from forming on his lips as he entwines his free hand with Colin's.
“Fine. I'm sorry. I just needed to know if I left my mobile at your place when Mum and I visited the other day. I've looked everywhere for it, and that's the last logical place it could be.”
“I don't know. Maybe.”
“Well, can you go and check, please?” The exasperation in her voice is obvious, as if she thinks Bradley is a complete idiot.
“I'll check later, when I actually wake up, and get back to you, all right?” He hopes that's enough. It'd better be, seeing as how he's clearly not in the hotel and doesn't particularly fancy revealing his actual location to her. Though, now that he's thinking about it, he does recall seeing a foreign mobile sitting on the end of his sofa. He'd meant to ring her about it the other day, but had been rather distracted by everything else going on and it'd slipped his mind.
But of course, this would the one time when she absolutely can't wait. “No, I really need you to check right now. There's an important message I'm waiting for and I need you to read it to me.”
“Steph, come on,” he whines.
“No. Stop complaining and just haul your lazy arse out of bed and check for me. You can roll over and go back to sleep after.”
“It's not here,” Bradley lies, even though he knows she's not going to believe him.
“Yes, it is. It has to be. Just stop being so difficult, for once, and check for me. Please.”
He heaves a sigh. It's starting to look like he's not going to be able to weasel his way out of this one after all. “I can't, Steph.”
“You mean you won't. You know what-”
“No, I'm serious,” he interrupts. “I really can't get your phone for you right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because-” He chews on his bottom lip for a moment before spitting it out. “I can’t because I’m not at the hotel right now.”
“What are you talking about? You just woke up. Where the hell else would you be?”
“Out?”
She scoffs. “Out where?”
“At Colin’s flat?” he offers up as though it’s a question instead of fact.
There is a disturbingly long pause that follows, and for a moment, Bradley wonders if they were cut off. But then, he hears something resembling a snort, and his worries dissipate. “You spent the night at Colin’s and you were up late exercising… ?” There is another pause, and Bradley swears he can hear the very instant when his sister figures it out. “Oh! Oh, God. Shit, Brad, the visual images. I can’t even handle this. I think I need to bleach my brain. Did you have to tell me you were ‘exercising’?”
He tries not to take offense to her claim that him having sex with Colin is anything other than amazing, though he knows she’s referring to him having sex in general, which is understandable. He doesn’t exactly want to know about her sex life either, assuming she has one (which Bradley doesn’t even allow himself to consider, so obviously it must not exist). Naturally, it’s difficult to stop himself from laughing at her reaction, and even Colin chuckles softly into his neck, clearly having heard every word.
“I thought it was bloody fantastic, personally,” he says, grinning as she continues to sputter.
Colin presses a kiss to Bradley’s neck and pulls his hand free to start trailing his fingers lightly across Bradley’s chest instead. It causes Bradley to shiver and his cock to twitch in anticipation, never mind the fact that he’s been pointedly ignoring Colin’s erection poking prominently into his back for quite some time now.
“Ugh. Well, that was far too much information,” Stephanie says, once she manages to regain her composure, even though he’s barely provided her with any details whatsoever. “Anyway, I’m really happy for you, though. Glad you finally decided to man up and take what you wanted. Just, like, try not to be disgustingly obvious in front of me, all right?”
“Sure thing,” he says, holding back another amused laugh.
“Okay, so about my mobile…”
“Yeah, I’ll head back some time this afternoon and call you when I do. I think it’s on the sofa.”
“Great. Then I’ll talk to you soon.”
After he hangs up the phone and tosses it somewhere on the floor, Bradley rolls over to face Colin, tugging him closer and capturing his mouth in a wet, messy kiss.
“I assume you heard what she said about needing that message on her mobile?” Bradley murmurs when they break for air.
Colin grins wickedly, sneaking another kiss. “Mmm, yeah. Guess that means we’ve got a busy couple of hours ahead of us, yeah?”
Bradley rolls them over until he’s pinned Colin to the bed. Colin’s hair is sticking up in various places and he has the filthiest expression on his face. “I guess so,” he agrees with a matching grin, and presses their mouths together.
~*~
It takes Katie and Angel a grand total of three days to find out about Bradley and Colin’s newfound relationship.
It’s not as if they’re trying to hide anything, per se. But everything is still so new, and truth be told, they both sort of enjoy having this secret between just the two of them. They just want to wait for the perfect time to start telling people.
Which both would agree isn’t a mere few days into their romance. But, well, it has been a long-standing theory that Katie actually possesses superpowers, so they suppose it isn’t entirely impossible that she would find out about them. Especially when their behaviour is so blatantly obvious.
“Col, I swear if I have to spend another day doing nothing but fight scenes in full armour, I might just pass out. Every single muscle aches in my entire body,” Bradley whines, shifting on the too-small sofa in Colin's trailer to try and alleviate the pain.
They are curled up together on the couch on a short filming break towards the end of the day, Colin sitting at one end with Bradley’s head resting in his lap, the rest of the space filled with his stiff and sore body. Bradley’s finished for the day and out of his Arthur wardrobe, but Colin has one more scene to do before everyone can head back to the hotel.
One of Colin’s hands clutches tomorrow’s script while the other threads slowly through Bradley’s hair, gently massaging his scalp in a way that somehow seems to sooth his frayed nerves. It’s strange how affectionate Colin actually is, now that their relationship has progressed beyond that of just mates, but Bradley’s definitely not complaining.
“Are you sure it has nothing to do with the copious amounts of sex we’ve been having?” Colin teases. Bradley’s eyes are closed but he can practically feel the smirk forming on Colin’s lips, the smug bastard.
“Maybe it’s the combination of the two, but I don’t think I’ve ever had to do such intense fight scenes for this many days in a row.”
“Mmm, poor baby,” Colin says, fingers still kneading his scalp.
“Damn straight. Don’t they know I need this body for things other than being abused on set?”
Colin tuts disapprovingly. “We’ll have to talk to someone about that, then, won’t we?”
“Yes, we will.”
The sound of Colin's laughter does embarrassingly mushy things to Bradley's innards, and he smiles in spite of himself, feeling like a complete sap but not particularly caring.
“Roll onto your side,” Colin says, pressing lightly on Bradley's shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to?”
Bradley huffs, but rolls over anyway, now facing the opposite side of the trailer as he settles back down in Colin's lap.
There is a brief pause while Colin flips another page of his script, before Bradley feels fingers playing at the neckline of his shirt. Then a hand slips between the fabric and his skin as Colin starts rubbing Bradley's back, tracing the curve of his spine and working his thumb into the knots at his shoulders, his touch firm yet soothing.
“What are you doing?” he asks, tentative, curious.
“You said you're sore, so since we don't have the time for anything extensive - never mind the fact that it's sort of risky - I figured this might help ease some of the pain. But you'll have to wait until tonight if you want a real massage,” Colin says casually, as though this is nothing significant. Bradley, on the other hand, thinks it's a ridiculously endearing gesture, and he loves Colin all the more for it. Plus, it feels fantastic, even if it's not doing a hell of a lot to alleviate his symptoms.
“God, you're amazing,” Bradley practically purrs, eyes slipping shut once more as he leans into the touch. “I can't believe I waited so long for this, to be with you.”
There is a little gasp, that sounds suspiciously feminine, and then, “Oh. My. God.“
Colin's hand stills instantly at the sound, as they both jerk their heads towards the intruder at the doorway to Colin's trailer.
Intruders, it would seem. Standing with a foot in the door is one Katie McGrath, Angel tucked in behind her shoulder. Both are staring, eyes wide and mouths literally hanging open as if they've just witnessed the most shocking sight of their lives.
“You two- you're-” Katie stammers out, pointing dramatically back and forth at each in turn, “Together?”
“Katie, be quiet,” Colin says, removing his hand from Bradley's back and gesturing them inside. “Come in here, and we'll answer your questions. Just don't start screaming where people can hear you.”
Bradley sits up as the girls hurry inside, faces alight with excitement and surprise.
“So, what happened?” Katie demands, the second they're all squished inside Colin's trailer and the door is closed. Apparently whatever they came to Colin’s trailer to discuss in the first place isn’t nearly as important as this.
Glancing over at Colin, he just makes out the slight nod of his head, indicating that he's all right with the girls knowing the story. So he does, giving them the shortened version.
When he's done, Angel is grinning like a proud mother, and Katie is nearly exploding with joy.
“So, you're really together, then? Like in a shagging each other's brains out sort of way?”
“Katie!” Angel scolds, smacking her on the arm affectionately. But she still gives them an eager look, as if she's dying to hear the answer as well.
“I refuse to answer the question due to the potential for supplying you both with incriminating evidence,” Bradley says, fully aware that he's done just that.
But when Colin reaches out to grab Bradley's hand, entwining their fingers, the squealing starts up again, and he thinks that maybe it isn't so terrible that they know the truth after all.
---------------
Continue to part six
Six hours later, Bradley is climbing into Beth's car as they head out for dinner. He doesn't even know why he called her, exactly. Perhaps convenience (though the drive she had to make from Bristol to Cardiff isn't particularly convenient by most people's standards), or perhaps because he knows Beth and feels comfortable around her. He doesn't quite fancy trying to pick up some random girl in a pub in order to make his lie slightly less of a lie, so this is the only logical solution he can think of. Either way, she'd been chuffed to hear from him and insisted on coming out that evening, which only makes Bradley feel like more of a prat.
They end up at a little café somewhere on the other side of the city, though Bradley has to actually look at the menu to remind him of the name.
“I’m really glad that you were available for dinner tonight,” Beth says as she opens her menu. “Truthfully, I didn’t actually expect you to contact me at all, but I’m glad you did.”
To be honest, he’s not sure what to say to that, so he opts for, “That’s good,” and buries his face in the menu, hoping that it doesn’t make him sound too aloof.
Several minutes pass in relative silence before their waiter arrives to take orders.
“What can I get for you?” he asks, pen and pad of paper in hand. Bradley tries not to notice the fact that their waiter is tall and thin, with a dark mop of scraggly hair and a pale complexion. He’s a nice-looking bloke in Bradley's perspective, and around his age too, it would seem. Though it figures, he muses sardonically, that he’d be served by the only bloke in the restaurant to remind him of the person he’s desperately trying to forget at the moment.
“I’ll have the fish,” Beth says, pointing to the item on the menu.
“Excellent choice,” the waiter replies, smiling broadly. “You have great taste.” There’s an air of flirtation in his tone, and if this had been a real date, Bradley might have made some comment about it. But as it stands, Bradley’s a little distracted by his uncanny resemblance to Colin. Or, maybe he’s just seeing what he wants to. The idea tugs painfully at his heart.
There is a lengthy pause before Beth nudges him under the table. “Bradley? What are you ordering?”
“Oh. Right.” He realises then that even though he’s been scanning the menu for the better part of five minutes, he hasn’t actually read a single world. There’s a surprisingly large selection of vegetarian dishes here, he can’t help but note.
“Um, I’ll have this,” he says, pointing at a random item, because it doesn't really matter what he picks. It’s all going to taste terrible - he already knows this - so what he orders is irrelevant.
“Very well.” The waiter hurries away after writing Bradley’s order down, leaving them alone again.
By nature, Beth has always been a chatty person, and thankfully tonight is no exception. In fact, it might even be more extreme than usual, considering the fact that they haven't actually sat down for any extended period of time since before the break-up. Bradley asks as many questions as he can think of in an effort to both keep her talking and simultaneously prevent the focus from turning to him, which seems to have the desired effect.
Nonetheless, he is still eternally grateful when their food arrives, though less so when he sees what he ordered. It’s a rather large salad of some sort. Though considering his lack of an appetite, this might be the perfect meal for him.
Beth continues prattling on while Bradley mostly picks at his food, pushing it around the plate and reorganising it more than actually eating anything. It has weird items in it - things Bradley doesn't think really belong in a salad - such as apples and dried cranberries. Since when do people put fruit in salad anyway? Unless you're making a fruit salad, of course, but there are definitely lettuce and onions in this. Bradley thinks Colin would probably love something like this salad, all healthy and lean and delicious. Well, Bradley can't say for certain what it tastes like, since he's only had a couple bites and those tasted like sawdust. But maybe he'd be willing to come back and try again. As it turns out, eating vegetarian isn't so bad after all, even if he still loves his steak. Though, the veggie burgers Colin made for him last November were surprisingly satisfying, and he's been forced to concede that perhaps Colin isn't completely mad when it comes to choosing this lifestyle.
“Bradley?”
The sound startles him and his head shoots up. “Yeah?”
“Are you all right?” Beth asks, brow furrowing in concern.
“I'm fine.” He blinks. “Why?”
“Because you've barely said two words all night,” she says. “You've spent the last five minutes pushing your salad around on your plate, and I sincerely doubt you've heard a single word I've just said. In fact, it sort of feels like I'm not even here at all.”
“That's not true,” he lies, then hopes that she doesn't call him on it.
“Okay, then tell me what I was just talking about.”
Well, shit. How the hell is he supposed to know? It's not that he hasn't been trying to listen to her, he just hasn't been able to maintain his attention for, well, the majority of the evening, truth be told. But damn it, he's made the attempt, and surely that has to count for something. Vaguely, a memory returns of something she's mentioned at some point this evening and he mentally crosses his fingers that it'll be enough to convince her that he's been listening at least somewhat.
“The trip to the States with your sister?” He shoots her what he hopes is a charming smile.
“Bradley, that was fifteen minutes ago.” Beth folds her arms and gives him a look. “What's going on with you? And don't you dare try and tell me that you're fine, because we dated for two years, and I know you. You are not fine.”
For a moment he wants to deny it, but similarly to Katie and Stephanie, once Beth gets an idea in her head, she's hard-pressed to change it without swaying evidence to the contrary. Seems to be a theme with the women in his life, it would appear. But even more than that, he rang Beth on false pretences, dragging her out for dinner in some ridiculous attempt to avoid the real issue of his feelings for Colin, and that's not fair. It wasn't fair when he called her, it wasn't fair when she drove all the way out here, it wasn't fair when she picked him up from the hotel, and it isn't fair now that they've been here for close to an hour and Bradley's done little more than spend the entire time with his mind anywhere but here. At the very least, he owes her the truth, or as much of it as he can comfortably share.
Instead of answering immediately, Bradley's gaze drops to land on his dinner plate, suddenly finding it fascinating. There's a cranberry attached to one of the apple slices. Bradley pokes at it with his fork, but they remain stuck. Maybe it's meant to be, that the fruit would stick together, clinging to one another in a vegetable world. Seems symbolic, somehow, Bradley muses. That, or he's looking for some existential sign that everything will work out in the end, that he'll be okay. Though admittedly, seeking explanations in salad doesn't exactly seem like the wisest, most informed way of obtaining the answers he needs.
“You're right,” he admits, sighing heavily. “I'm sorry. I never should have rung you up in the first place.”
“No, no, don't say that.” Beth reaches over and pats his hand gently, lips pulling into a smile. “If you're having a difficult time, then you need friends to help you through it, yeah? You know I'm here for you.”
That's the thing about true friends; they're there for you, even when you're behaving like an arse, and Bradley knows that he's lucky to have such great ones. That being said, telling Beth the truth is a risk, not just because he'll be laying out private details of his current love life to an ex, but because of who he is. Bradley knows he's not any more bloody important than the next person, but the reality is that there are certain hazards that come with his line of work, and this is the type of information that could potentially come back to haunt him if the media were to get wind of any of this. But the truth is that he trusts Beth, has known her for many years, and she's one of few people who knew and cared for him long before he became slightly more noticeable in the world. If he can't trust her with his secret, then he probably can't trust anyone.
“All right. I'll tell you. But this is just between you and me,” he says.
Beth nods solemnly. “Of course.”
So he tells her. Everything. In as much detail as he can handle sharing, because if he's doing this, then he's going to do it properly. At first, he tries to tell the story without giving away identifying information as to who he's fallen for, but that lasts for all of about thirty seconds before he's forced to start naming names, unless he wants to fabricate a whole new set of lies. Beth sits across from him, picking away at her food as she listens intently to his story, nodding and humming and commenting in all the right places. It's unclear to Bradley what she's thinking about the whole thing, at least from the perspective of having dated him for a significant period of time, but he doesn't sense any shock or condemnation, so for that he is grateful.
When Bradley's finished telling his story, he leans back in his chair expectantly, both anticipating and dreading what she's going to say about the whole situation. Oddly, he feels as though a weight has been lifted from his shoulders, even if he hasn’t exactly done anything to resolve the problem. But even talking about it, getting all of his thoughts and feelings out in the open, makes Bradley feel better. Beth’s eyes flitter away from his to focus on something over his shoulder, and he can tell by her distant, glazed-over look that she's lost in thought.
Finally, after what feels like hours, she leans forward and folds her hands.
“I’m sorry for all the distress this has clearly caused you,” she says, eyes filled with sympathy. “But I guess the thing that stands out to me is the fact that you’ve already condemned Colin without ever hearing his side of things. There could be hundreds of reasons why Colin didn’t tell you about the kiss, but you haven’t given him the chance to explain. And for that matter, you don’t even know with absolute certainty that he did snog anyone at all in the first place.”
Bradley supposes she makes a decent argument, but it’s not enough to sway him just yet. “Yeah, but Angel wouldn’t lie about something like that. She sounded convinced herself.”
“I’m not suggesting she lied, Bradley. All I’m saying is that you don’t know Colin’s side of the story. Are you really willing to just walk away from this without knowing for certain what it is you’re walking away from?”
In spite of the heartache he feels, that question isn’t difficult to answer. “Of course not. But what do I do if he’s not interested? What if I ruin our friendship by telling him everything?”
“It sounds like you might be doing a good job of that without talking to him,” Beth points out, and the truth of her claim stings just a little. “At least if you admitted your feelings, you’d finally feel some semblance of relief. And you don’t know how Colin will react. Maybe he feels the exact same way about you as you do about him and the whole thing was a big misunderstanding, but how will you ever know unless you do something about it?”
It’s a fair enough point, and for the first time, Bradley has to concede that she’s probably right. He hasn’t exactly been straightforward with Colin through all of this, and even if he is with Lila now, Bradley deserves to know that too.
“You’re right,” he admits, and is surprised by the ease with which the words come out of his mouth.
Their waiter returns to the table a few moments later with their bill in hand, looking mildly impatient. That’s when Bradley realises that it’s almost ten and they’ve been in the restaurant for over two hours.
“Do you want me to drive you back to your hotel?” Beth asks once he's paid their bill (it's the least he can do under the circumstances).
But Bradley shakes his head. “No. No, it’s okay. I think I’d rather walk.”
“Are you sure? It’s so far.” She frowns, propping her chin on her palm.
“I know. But I need some time to sort things out. Look-” Bradley gives her other hand a squeeze. “I’m so sorry for dragging you out here on false pretences, and then being the worst possible company I’ve ever been. It was a terribly rude and selfish thing for me to do, and I apologise for forcing you to put up with me.”
Beth waves a hand at him. “No, it’s fine. I meant it before when I told you that I was glad you’d given me a ring, and I stand by that. It was nice to see you again, and it’d be great if we could do this more than once every three years.” She smiles warmly at him. “Anyway, I hope everything works out all right for you in the end.”
She hugs him good-bye and carries on her way, and Bradley steps outside, preparing for a very long walk.
Rain pounds against the window of Colin’s flat, storm having really picked up since Bradley arrived. Thankfully, soaked though he may have been, he’d managed to miss out on the brunt of it. He watches the trails of raindrops forming patterns against the window pane distractedly as he finally reaches the end of his story.
Bradley swallows, tongue thick and nerves frayed as he risks a glance over at Colin, who has been listening to him recount every last detail of the past four months of his life with frightful honesty, and the idea that he's all but admitted to being in love with Colin makes him feel reckless and more than a little terrified. But in some ways he also feels a sense of relief, because the truth is finally out there. And even if Colin takes his heart, stomps it to the ground until there's nothing left, Bradley thinks that it probably can't hurt much worse than he's already been hurting.
“And so you spent the next three hours walking around Cardiff?” Colin asks with a mild sense of disbelief, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.
“Er, yeah. Basically. I had a lot to think about,” he says and cards a hand through his hair. That is an understatement, but he doesn't consider it necessary to bore Colin with the details of every single fear and possible scenario that had tumbled through his mind in a never-ending cycle.
“Am I allowed to speak now?” Colin asks, fingers still slowly sliding back and forth across the back of Bradley’s hand in a deliriously distracting manner. How he managed to share this story in the first place without falling apart, he will never quite know.
He wants to say no, to keep living in this fantasy world where it’s still possible that Colin’s interested in him, but once he has his say then Bradley will finally have to accept reality, even if reality is not what he hopes it will be. But he didn’t come to Colin’s flat in the middle of the night to walk away again before he’s had a chance to at least respond to Bradley, so he pushes aside those worries in favour of giving Colin a chance to at least respond to everything he’s said.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Much to Bradley’s surprise, Colin pushes up off the sofa.
“Stand up,” he orders with a small gesture.
This can’t be good. Colin’s probably about to kick him out of his flat for being an idiot, tell Bradley that he’s sorry, but he just doesn’t feel that way about him.
“Colin, look,” Bradley starts, but he stands anyway. “I know what you’re going to say, and I just-”
But Bradley is cut off when Colin pulls him into a tight embrace, wrapping one arm around his shoulders and the other around his waist. It is so completely unexpected that for a moment, Bradley doesn’t even know how to react. However, when Colin buries his face into the crook of Bradley’s neck, it’s almost as if his body can’t help but respond, and he feels himself sink into the hug, hands fisting in Colin’s shirt. He has no idea what’s going on, but he simply can’t find it in himself to care. Colin’s fingers slip under Bradley’s shirt, rubbing soothing circles into his lower back, and the sensation sends a shiver through his body.
“Fuck, Bradley, I’m so sorry,” Colin murmurs into Bradley’s neck, giving him one more squeeze before reluctantly pulling back.
Bradley blinks, so many thoughts tumbling through his mind as to what Colin could be apologising for.
“Why?” he asks, as Colin indicates for him to sit again.
However, instead of returning to his spot on the sofa, Colin perches on the edge of the coffee table, sitting directly across from Bradley.
“Shit. I knew there was something going on. I knew and I- Well, I just assumed you'd talk to me when you were ready, but I shouldn't have left it for so long when it was obvious,” Colin sort of rambles, staring hard at his hands. ”I wish you'd come and talked to me sooner.” He shakes his head and curses again.
At this point, Bradley still has no clue as to what Colin's reaction means, exactly. Nor is he clear on whether or not Colin actually reciprocates his feelings or if he just feels guilty for not being honest and admitting the truth about Lila earlier. But at the very least, he hasn't been kicked out of Colin's flat, so he's hoping that implies he hasn't ruined everything by finally coming clean.
All the same, he needs to give them both an out, should Colin need it, because Bradley doesn't want to lose him, no matter how much the idea of Colin loving someone else stabs painfully at Bradley's heart. “I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but I'm sure I'll get over it in no time.” It's a lie, of course, but he feels compelled to say it anyway. ”Just needed to air things out, you know? And if you'd prefer, we can just pretend like this conversation never happened at all and go back to how things were before.”
He is aware, of course, that they've already done this dance before, and it didn't exactly have the desired effect, but he's sort of reached the point where all rationality has been taken off the table.
“Bradley, shut up. It's my turn to talk now,” Colin says, and reaches over to take one of Bradley's hands in his own.
Bradley swallows and nods, forcing himself to listen over the sound of his pounding heart, thrumming like a drum against his skull. Colin strokes his thumb over the top of Bradley's knuckles, and concentrating becomes even more of a challenge.
“I don't know how everything became so fucked up, but since we've wasted so much time already, I'm going to keep this short. I'm not dating Lila, I don't want to date Lila, and I never did.”
Bradley eyes him somewhat sceptically, even as he feels hope rising in his chest for the first time in days. “How is that possible? It seemed like you two were perfect for each other.”
“Just because we had a few interests in common? That's not enough to make a good relationship. She was a very sweet girl, and we hit it off right away, but only as friends.”
“Why?” The words leave his mouth before he can filter them out.
Colin shrugs one shoulder as heat rises in his cheeks for the first time. “Er, well I sort of had to tell her that I had, feelings. Very strong ones. For someone else. You don’t honestly believe that I just kissed you because it was New Year’s, do you?” he asks, staring purposefully at Bradley.
For a moment, Bradley forgets how to breathe. But he forces himself to take a step back before he loses control. “But what about that note you left for me on New Year’s Day?”
A thoughtful look passes over Colin’s face, and he turns away for a moment. “Oh. That. Well, I knew you’d managed to get yourself quite pissed that night and I didn’t want to hold you to something you didn’t want, when the hangover wore off.”
That couldn’t have been further from the truth, but how was Colin supposed to know that? Still, relief washes over Bradley at the knowledge that he hadn’t misinterpreted everything the first time around, and in fact had been correct all along. If only he’d been able to trust himself.
There is only one thing remaining, one final detail that needs to be sorted before Bradley can finally release the relief and joy that’s ready to burst in his chest. “But then why did you get together with Lila recently? I, uh, well, I overheard Angel and Katie talking about it, and Angel was under the impression that you’d gone on a date. And that you’d- um, that you’d kissed her.”
“Oh, Bradley,” Colin murmurs soothingly as he leans close and reaches up to brush his fingers against Bradley’s jawline. “There must have been some miscommunication between Angel and Lila, because it was never a date, and we both knew that. In fact, she was passing through and we thought it’d be fun to have dinner. Plus, I sort of wanted to get her advice on what to do about our date… get-together… whatever this night was supposed to be. She’s become a good friend in the last few months, so at least something came of Angel attempt at setting us up.”
“And the kiss?” Bradley prompts, trying not to sound too eager to have the final piece of the puzzle.
“After we ate dinner, in which she’d given me some very sage advice about what to do, I kissed her on the cheek as thanks. It never even occurred to me to tell you, because it meant absolutely nothing to me. It was about as romantic as kissing my nana.”
“Then what happened?” It sort of slips out, unintentionally. “With Lila, I mean? Why did she tell Angel you’d been on a date and kissed?”
Colin shrugs a shoulder, appearing unconcerned. “I asked her to keep what we’d spoken about to herself. I suspect she was just trying to protect me and assumed that Angel wouldn’t say anything.”
“But by pretending you’d been on a real date?”
“Not the wisest choice, I agree. But she’s not that type of person, I can assure you. Either way, I’ll talk to her about it.”
The sincerity is obvious, both in Colin’s tone as well as in his expression, blue eyes piercing Bradley’s, and he knows without a shadow of a doubt that everything he’d assumed about Colin and Lila had been completely incorrect. The realisation fills him with unfettered joy as his chest swells and his eyes well up with unshed tears. Relief doesn’t even begin to describe how he’s feeling at this very moment.
“I am such an idiot“ Bradley groans, burying his face in his hands, letting the weight of the truth settle fully over him. “God, Cols, I’m so sorry for the way I’ve been acting. Hell, I’ve been making Arthur look like an emotionally sensitive bloke in comparison. Arthur, Colin. So you know it has to be bad.”
“No, you’re not, Bradley,” Colin says, then taps his chin, smirking. “Well, maybe you’re kind of an idiot. But at least it didn’t last too long, yeah?”
Bradley can’t stop himself from smiling back, acceding with a single shoulder shrug. But then Colin’s face suddenly sobers as quickly as it’d brightened.
“But just so we’re completely clear, the person I’ve fallen for is you, Bradley, and no one else. There hasn’t been anyone else for a very long time.” It's no more than a whisper as Colin leans forward, a silent invitation through the warm exhale of breath, and Bradley can do nothing but fall into the gravity of his lips.
The kiss is eager, enthusiastic, as their mouths finally meet, the culmination of months of dreaming about this moment making it even better than his wildest fantasies. Colin opens his mouth to Bradley immediately, licking at his upper lip until he's granted access. Their tongues slide and dance against one another, playful, needy, teasing. Bradley's arms encircle Colin's waist, fisting in his shirt as he tries to pull Colin closer. There's too much distance between their bodies, and he needs to feel every part of him that he can. Without breaking contact, Colin shifts forward, adjusting himself so he's straddling Bradley's hips, one hand slipping beneath the front of his shirt and the other curling into his hair. Bradley shivers when Colin’s fingers brush across his chest, as heat continues to pool in his groin, and he knows he’s already painfully hard.
They continue for what feels like hours, tasting and touching and moving against one another. It is wet and hot and just a bit filthy, which is perfectly fine with Bradley. Fantastic, even. He could do this for hours, days, even months. Bradley’s hands roam around Colin’s body, exploring, wanting to touch as much as he can, before they finally settle on his arse, squeezing and pulling him down to meet the gentle thrust of Bradley’s own hips. The first time their cocks rub against one another, it is as though Bradley’s been set on fire, even with two layers of clothing between them, and he moans enthusiastically.
“Bradley, fuck- I need you, I need to taste, I-” Colin groans as his fingers slip to the waistband of Bradley’s sweats.
Before he even knows what’s happening, Bradley’s - no, Colin’s - sweats and boxers are pooling at his ankles, and Colin is kneeling between Bradley’s thighs, pupils blown wide and filled with such lust that the image alone is almost enough to make Bradley come. And then Colin is taking him in his mouth, and it is all Bradley can do to not thrust his hips forward with wild desperation. It’s almost too much to handle, as his head lolls back in pleasure, and Bradley has to focus on simply taking one breath, another, keep going, don’t pass out.
His hands instinctively move to fist in Colin’s hair, tugging, not enough to hurt but enough to show his enthusiasm. Colin’s hands come to rest firmly on Bradley’s hips, preventing him from thrusting too intently as he fucks Colin’s gorgeous mouth. Bradley’s breath is coming out in short stutters now, and he accidentally lets an obscenely loud moan slip past his lips that can probably be heard in every surrounding flat, and possibly even in the basement. He’s no stranger to this, but Colin is bloody amazing at it, and it’s never felt quite this incredible before. Colin’s tongue is doing all sorts of wicked things and Bradley thinks that if he were to die in this very instant, he would die happier than he’s ever been.
It doesn’t take long to develop a steady rhythm, especially with the sight of Colin sucking his cock flooding his vision, and he’s close, so close to coming, when suddenly Colin pulls off him with a wet pop, grinning lecherously from his perch between Bradley’s thighs. Much to his embarrassment, Bradley hears himself whimper, his entire body protesting the loss of contact acutely. He curses loudly.
“Not here,” Colin says, as if he can read every one of Bradley’s thoughts, and presses a soft kiss to the inside of Bradley’s thigh before standing. “Come on, let’s go.”
And then Colin is tugging Bradley off the sofa, leading him by the hand as he walks towards the bedroom down the hall.
They barely make it into the bedroom before Colin has Bradley pinned against the wall, hands sliding under his shirt and pulling it off in one swift, and impressively coordinated, motion.
“Wow, that’s-” Bradley starts, but he’s cut off by Colin’s lips pressing a bruising kiss to his mouth, and he promptly forgets what he was about to say.
In a matter of seconds, Colin’s tongue plunges into his mouth, both arms wrapping around his waist, and Bradley clutches at him, craving every touch, every sensation he can get. Slipping his own hands beneath the fabric of Colin’s shirt, he manages to pry their mouths apart long enough to remove the barrier between their chests.
They stand there pressed up against the wall, a mess of lips and tongues and hands, tasting and experiencing each other with unending enthusiasm. The kiss is hot and wild, a flurry of emotions driving every touch, and Bradley thinks that they could remain like this for the rest of their lives and he would be content.
“God, Bradley. Can I-? I want-” Colin groans, pressing further into him as he runs his tongue down the length of Bradley’s jaw and plants a wet kiss to his neck.
Anticipation rises in Bradley’s chest, sending a jolt of heat straight down to his groin.
“What do you want?” Bradley manages to force out as his head falls back against the wall, even as his fingers are clumsily fumbling with the button and zipper on Colin’s jeans.
One of Colin’s hands slips down the back of Bradley’s sweats, running over his arse and then dipping between the cheeks until Colin’s fingers brush against his sensitive opening, asking the question he hasn’t been able to verbalise. Bradley’s cock twitches and he nearly falls over with the realisation of what Colin is asking him for. The mere idea of Colin touching him, filling him in that way - fucking him open and reducing him to nothing more than a quivering mess - is enough to make him weak in the knees.
“Yes,” he breathes, without hesitation. “Yes, Col. Please.”
Colin pulls back just as Bradley manages to undo his jeans, and he whines a little when the pressure of Colin’s body against his own retreats. All he wants is to feel Colin’s cock in his hands, to wrap his fingers around him and see what kind of noises he can coax Colin into making.
Taking his hand once more, Colin leads them to the bed and gently pushes Bradley down into the mattress, climbing on top of him. Soft lips trail hot kisses down Bradley’s neck and chest, every touch and every caress burning into his skin, etching the memory of Colin’s mouth into every pore of his body. Bradley moans loudly, pleasure coursing through his veins, and his hands fist in the hair at the nape of Colin’s neck as his tongue moves in wicked ways against Bradley’s chest.
He stops at the waistband of Bradley’s sweats, nuzzling his face against Bradley’s cock, rock hard and straining against the constraints just barely containing him.
“God, Colin, just-” he forces out, overcome with desire and fighting every instinct in him that begs to thrust his hips up, seeking more friction. Colin simply smiles, chuckling lightly.
In a matter of moments, Bradley finds himself stripped of the last of his clothes as Colin is fumbling to remove his own jeans and boxers, both Bradley’s body and heart laid bare and open to whatever Colin wants.
“Have you ever done this before?” Colin asks, crawling back over to lie beside Bradley on the bed, a look of concern passing briefly across his features.
“Yeah, a few times,” Bradley says, though he’d be lying if he claimed he wasn’t slightly nervous. It’s been a very long time since his last time having sex with another man, though he feels oddly embarrassed at his own inexperience.
It must come across in his voice anyway.
“Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of you, I promise. You’re going to love it, but you just have to trust me, yeah?” Colin leans in and kisses Bradley softly, thumb brushing soothingly against his jaw before pulling back, and all of his anxiety instantly melts away.
“I trust you. Completely.”
“Good,” Colin says, beaming. “Good. I’m glad.”
With a mixture of reluctance and excitement, Colin rolls off of Bradley and makes his way over to the dresser, rummaging through it before returning to the bed with lube and a condom.
For a moment, Colin sits back, staring at Bradley with something resembling wonder, and Bradley takes this temporary pause to drink in the vision before him. Colin truly is a sight to behold - all lean muscle and sharp angles, dark curls a stark contrast against his milky skin, cock thick and leaking with pre-come. A crooked smile rests on his swollen lips, hair sticking out in unruly tufts, and eyes so dark with lust that Bradley can barely make out their usual luminescent blue. He’s perfect, Bradley thinks, and not for the first time does he wonder if he’s just stepped into a dream and could wake at any moment. But then Colin is kissing him again, hot and deliciously slow, as he lowers himself onto Bradley until every inch of their bodies are pressed together, nothing but skin on skin.
Eventually, Colin pulls away, reaching back for the lube as he coats his hand with a generous amount. Tentatively, he pushes Bradley’s legs apart, brushing his finger over his opening. Bradley shudders visibly, biting back a groan.
“Just relax, yeah? I’ve got you,” Colin assures him, free hand rubbing Bradley’s thigh encouragingly, and Bradley nods.
Colin’s finger continues to trace his hole, before pressing in experimentally. Bradley clenches for a moment before letting out a shaky breath, allowing the tip to slip in. After one more successful attempt, Colin’s finger slides all the way inside, pushing past the tightness as Bradley forces himself to relax. He takes his time, stretching him wide, one finger becoming two as he opens Bradley up. It feels foreign, but not unpleasant, burning with a slow ache that has him begging for more. A third finger joins the others until Colin’s hand is buried up to the knuckles, and Bradley is almost mad with desire.
“Colin… Col, I need you inside me. Now,” Bradley attempts to command, but it ends up coming out desperate and a bit strangled instead.
The sudden loss of physical contact is only satiated by the sight of Colin, preparing himself. Bradley holds back a moan as Colin rolls the condom over his swollen cock, slicking himself with the lube, hand moving deliciously slow. For a moment, Colin’s eyes close and his head tilts back, revealing the expanse of his neck - the muscles taut and inviting - and Bradley longs to press his lips there, sucking and biting until it bruises.
When Colin finally pushes the tip of his cock past Bradley’s entrance, Bradley’s breath hitches in his throat. It’s tight, so very tight, but he wants nothing more than to feel Colin fill him until there is no distinction between where his body ends and Colin’s begins. Colin moves slowly, easing carefully inside, pulling back and then pushing in further with each gentle thrust. Bradley’s hands reach for his hips, guiding the process along until Colin’s balls are pressed flat against his arse. Their eyes lock, a silent conversation passing between them, before Colin starts to move his hips with tender care.
The pace is agonisingly slow, until they establish a rhythm, adjusting to one another for the first time. But when Bradley begins to arch his back, encouraging Colin’s movements, he takes the hint, increasing both the speed and intensity of their pace. Shifting just slightly in order to alter the angle, Colin suddenly hits something in him that causes Bradley to cry out in pleasure.
“Fuck. Yes. Do that. Do that again,” Bradley begs, breathless.
“Gladly,” Colin says with a satisfied smirk, jerking his hips upwards in the same manner as before. Something explodes behind his eyes, and a litany of words - shitfuckyesthispleaseohgodyes - whirl through his mind in a never-ending loop. Bradley’s hands clutch at the sheets, knuckles white as they grasp the soft material.
Wrapping his legs higher around Colin’s waist, Bradley rolls his hips upwards to meet Colin’s thrusts as they become more erratic, more frantic, desperate. At this angle, he’s hitting that spot almost every single time, and Bradley feels himself slowly coming undone, pleasure soaring through him as Colin pounds into him with reckless enthusiasm. Panting heavily, a light sheen of sweat covers Colin’s body, dark hair clinging to his forehead as he quickens his pace, driving Bradley further into the soft sheets with every thrust. Bradley’s never felt so high, so utterly blissful in his entire life, and he never wants this to end, wants to stay like this in this moment forever.
Tugging Colin back down, Bradley kisses him with near bruising force, teeth clacking against one another before he softens the intensity, sucking Colin’s tongue into his mouth instead. Unexpectedly, he feels Colin’s hand wrap around his cock, tugging and stroking as he continues to thrust into Bradley, and he knows they’re both close now, so gloriously close.
He jerks his hips wildly once, twice, and then Colin’s coming with a strangled cry, the sound muffled only by Bradley’s mouth on his. A moment later, Bradley joins him, stars bursting behind his eyes as he comes harder than he can ever remember, Colin’s name on his lips as he strokes Bradley through the aftershock of his climax. Bradley is wrecked, utterly wrecked, feeling overwhelmed by the pleasure and joy he feels bursting from his chest.
Colin pulls out carefully, removing and tying the end of his condom before tossing it into the rubbish bin as he staggers to his feet. There is a bit of a dull pain as Bradley repositions himself, and he knows he’ll be tender come morning, but every second was worth it, and he’ll gladly offer himself up again and again. Slipping into the bathroom, Colin returns with a damp washcloth.
“Was that okay for you?” Colin asks, nervous little smile forming on his lips as he wipes the come from Bradley’s stomach. It is such a sweet and gentle gesture, so unexpected and touching that Bradley can’t help but reach up to run his fingers down Colin’s jaw affectionately.
“It was amazing,” Bradley whispers, gazing up at Colin with a look he’s sure reveals just how much of a love-sick sap he truly is.
The grin he receives in return is nearly blinding in its intensity. “I’m glad. I told you it’d be great, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.”
Colin tosses aside the cloth once he’s finished, and climbs back into bed beside Bradley. Reaching out, Colin pulls Bradley into his arms until his head is nuzzled in the crook of Colin’s arm, face resting on his chest. Content silence falls in the air around them, their breathing slowing as sleep begins to descend.
“You can’t imagine how long I’ve dreamed about doing this with you,” Colin whispers into the dark, lips pressing into Bradley’s temple like a soft caress.
Happiness washes over Bradley, even as he fights back sleep, filling him with a warmth that extends from his cheeks right down to the tips of his toes. “Me too. You have no idea.”
The last thing Bradley is aware of before falling asleep is the tightening of Colin’s arms around his shoulders as he settles comfortably in the embrace.
~*~
The shrill ring of a mobile phone is what eventually pulls Bradley from a very deep and very contented sleep. Flinging an arm out from under the warm bed covers, Bradley gropes blindly for his phone while simultaneously trying to remember when the hell he'd actually brought it into the room in the first place.
A vague memory of stumbling out to the loo sometime in the wee hours of the morning floats back to him. That must have been the point where he retrieved it, he decides. Now if only he could find the damn thing before it makes both of them deaf.
Finally - finally - his hand closes around the infernal device, and he fumbles with the buttons until he manages to hit the right one.
“'Lo?” he grumbles gruffly.
“Brad? Did I wake you?”
He tries not to groan. Really he does. But hearing his sister's perky voice, at who knows how early in the morning, is a little more than he's ready to put up with at the moment.
“No. I've been up for hours,” he deadpans.
“Ha ha, very funny. It's just past ten in the morning, you know. How are you still sleeping?”
“I had a late night.”
“Doing what?”
Bradley closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Exercise.”
Technically it's true. He walked for a good three hours yesterday evening. And then, of course, there was the sex. Which they may have had a couple more times throughout the night, much to Bradley's delight.
“Seriously? Who the hell stays up late exercising?” She continues to grumble to herself about Bradley's general ineptness, while he takes a moment to burrow further under the covers. Colin is a warm lump beside him and he instinctively leans back, seeking more contact.
“Anyway,” Bradley cuts in, effectively ending her rant. “Was there a reason you called and woke me up, or do you just live to torture me?”
“I do not live to torture you,” she says, scoffing loudly. “That's just a nice added bonus.”
“Steph,” he says in his warning tone of voice.
At his back, he can feel Colin shift, moving until he's pressed right up against Bradley from their shoulders down to their feet. An arm slips under his, wrapping around Bradley's waist, and he can't stop the content smile from forming on his lips as he entwines his free hand with Colin's.
“Fine. I'm sorry. I just needed to know if I left my mobile at your place when Mum and I visited the other day. I've looked everywhere for it, and that's the last logical place it could be.”
“I don't know. Maybe.”
“Well, can you go and check, please?” The exasperation in her voice is obvious, as if she thinks Bradley is a complete idiot.
“I'll check later, when I actually wake up, and get back to you, all right?” He hopes that's enough. It'd better be, seeing as how he's clearly not in the hotel and doesn't particularly fancy revealing his actual location to her. Though, now that he's thinking about it, he does recall seeing a foreign mobile sitting on the end of his sofa. He'd meant to ring her about it the other day, but had been rather distracted by everything else going on and it'd slipped his mind.
But of course, this would the one time when she absolutely can't wait. “No, I really need you to check right now. There's an important message I'm waiting for and I need you to read it to me.”
“Steph, come on,” he whines.
“No. Stop complaining and just haul your lazy arse out of bed and check for me. You can roll over and go back to sleep after.”
“It's not here,” Bradley lies, even though he knows she's not going to believe him.
“Yes, it is. It has to be. Just stop being so difficult, for once, and check for me. Please.”
He heaves a sigh. It's starting to look like he's not going to be able to weasel his way out of this one after all. “I can't, Steph.”
“You mean you won't. You know what-”
“No, I'm serious,” he interrupts. “I really can't get your phone for you right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because-” He chews on his bottom lip for a moment before spitting it out. “I can’t because I’m not at the hotel right now.”
“What are you talking about? You just woke up. Where the hell else would you be?”
“Out?”
She scoffs. “Out where?”
“At Colin’s flat?” he offers up as though it’s a question instead of fact.
There is a disturbingly long pause that follows, and for a moment, Bradley wonders if they were cut off. But then, he hears something resembling a snort, and his worries dissipate. “You spent the night at Colin’s and you were up late exercising… ?” There is another pause, and Bradley swears he can hear the very instant when his sister figures it out. “Oh! Oh, God. Shit, Brad, the visual images. I can’t even handle this. I think I need to bleach my brain. Did you have to tell me you were ‘exercising’?”
He tries not to take offense to her claim that him having sex with Colin is anything other than amazing, though he knows she’s referring to him having sex in general, which is understandable. He doesn’t exactly want to know about her sex life either, assuming she has one (which Bradley doesn’t even allow himself to consider, so obviously it must not exist). Naturally, it’s difficult to stop himself from laughing at her reaction, and even Colin chuckles softly into his neck, clearly having heard every word.
“I thought it was bloody fantastic, personally,” he says, grinning as she continues to sputter.
Colin presses a kiss to Bradley’s neck and pulls his hand free to start trailing his fingers lightly across Bradley’s chest instead. It causes Bradley to shiver and his cock to twitch in anticipation, never mind the fact that he’s been pointedly ignoring Colin’s erection poking prominently into his back for quite some time now.
“Ugh. Well, that was far too much information,” Stephanie says, once she manages to regain her composure, even though he’s barely provided her with any details whatsoever. “Anyway, I’m really happy for you, though. Glad you finally decided to man up and take what you wanted. Just, like, try not to be disgustingly obvious in front of me, all right?”
“Sure thing,” he says, holding back another amused laugh.
“Okay, so about my mobile…”
“Yeah, I’ll head back some time this afternoon and call you when I do. I think it’s on the sofa.”
“Great. Then I’ll talk to you soon.”
After he hangs up the phone and tosses it somewhere on the floor, Bradley rolls over to face Colin, tugging him closer and capturing his mouth in a wet, messy kiss.
“I assume you heard what she said about needing that message on her mobile?” Bradley murmurs when they break for air.
Colin grins wickedly, sneaking another kiss. “Mmm, yeah. Guess that means we’ve got a busy couple of hours ahead of us, yeah?”
Bradley rolls them over until he’s pinned Colin to the bed. Colin’s hair is sticking up in various places and he has the filthiest expression on his face. “I guess so,” he agrees with a matching grin, and presses their mouths together.
~*~
It takes Katie and Angel a grand total of three days to find out about Bradley and Colin’s newfound relationship.
It’s not as if they’re trying to hide anything, per se. But everything is still so new, and truth be told, they both sort of enjoy having this secret between just the two of them. They just want to wait for the perfect time to start telling people.
Which both would agree isn’t a mere few days into their romance. But, well, it has been a long-standing theory that Katie actually possesses superpowers, so they suppose it isn’t entirely impossible that she would find out about them. Especially when their behaviour is so blatantly obvious.
“Col, I swear if I have to spend another day doing nothing but fight scenes in full armour, I might just pass out. Every single muscle aches in my entire body,” Bradley whines, shifting on the too-small sofa in Colin's trailer to try and alleviate the pain.
They are curled up together on the couch on a short filming break towards the end of the day, Colin sitting at one end with Bradley’s head resting in his lap, the rest of the space filled with his stiff and sore body. Bradley’s finished for the day and out of his Arthur wardrobe, but Colin has one more scene to do before everyone can head back to the hotel.
One of Colin’s hands clutches tomorrow’s script while the other threads slowly through Bradley’s hair, gently massaging his scalp in a way that somehow seems to sooth his frayed nerves. It’s strange how affectionate Colin actually is, now that their relationship has progressed beyond that of just mates, but Bradley’s definitely not complaining.
“Are you sure it has nothing to do with the copious amounts of sex we’ve been having?” Colin teases. Bradley’s eyes are closed but he can practically feel the smirk forming on Colin’s lips, the smug bastard.
“Maybe it’s the combination of the two, but I don’t think I’ve ever had to do such intense fight scenes for this many days in a row.”
“Mmm, poor baby,” Colin says, fingers still kneading his scalp.
“Damn straight. Don’t they know I need this body for things other than being abused on set?”
Colin tuts disapprovingly. “We’ll have to talk to someone about that, then, won’t we?”
“Yes, we will.”
The sound of Colin's laughter does embarrassingly mushy things to Bradley's innards, and he smiles in spite of himself, feeling like a complete sap but not particularly caring.
“Roll onto your side,” Colin says, pressing lightly on Bradley's shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to?”
Bradley huffs, but rolls over anyway, now facing the opposite side of the trailer as he settles back down in Colin's lap.
There is a brief pause while Colin flips another page of his script, before Bradley feels fingers playing at the neckline of his shirt. Then a hand slips between the fabric and his skin as Colin starts rubbing Bradley's back, tracing the curve of his spine and working his thumb into the knots at his shoulders, his touch firm yet soothing.
“What are you doing?” he asks, tentative, curious.
“You said you're sore, so since we don't have the time for anything extensive - never mind the fact that it's sort of risky - I figured this might help ease some of the pain. But you'll have to wait until tonight if you want a real massage,” Colin says casually, as though this is nothing significant. Bradley, on the other hand, thinks it's a ridiculously endearing gesture, and he loves Colin all the more for it. Plus, it feels fantastic, even if it's not doing a hell of a lot to alleviate his symptoms.
“God, you're amazing,” Bradley practically purrs, eyes slipping shut once more as he leans into the touch. “I can't believe I waited so long for this, to be with you.”
There is a little gasp, that sounds suspiciously feminine, and then, “Oh. My. God.“
Colin's hand stills instantly at the sound, as they both jerk their heads towards the intruder at the doorway to Colin's trailer.
Intruders, it would seem. Standing with a foot in the door is one Katie McGrath, Angel tucked in behind her shoulder. Both are staring, eyes wide and mouths literally hanging open as if they've just witnessed the most shocking sight of their lives.
“You two- you're-” Katie stammers out, pointing dramatically back and forth at each in turn, “Together?”
“Katie, be quiet,” Colin says, removing his hand from Bradley's back and gesturing them inside. “Come in here, and we'll answer your questions. Just don't start screaming where people can hear you.”
Bradley sits up as the girls hurry inside, faces alight with excitement and surprise.
“So, what happened?” Katie demands, the second they're all squished inside Colin's trailer and the door is closed. Apparently whatever they came to Colin’s trailer to discuss in the first place isn’t nearly as important as this.
Glancing over at Colin, he just makes out the slight nod of his head, indicating that he's all right with the girls knowing the story. So he does, giving them the shortened version.
When he's done, Angel is grinning like a proud mother, and Katie is nearly exploding with joy.
“So, you're really together, then? Like in a shagging each other's brains out sort of way?”
“Katie!” Angel scolds, smacking her on the arm affectionately. But she still gives them an eager look, as if she's dying to hear the answer as well.
“I refuse to answer the question due to the potential for supplying you both with incriminating evidence,” Bradley says, fully aware that he's done just that.
But when Colin reaches out to grab Bradley's hand, entwining their fingers, the squealing starts up again, and he thinks that maybe it isn't so terrible that they know the truth after all.
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Continue to part six