Fanfic - It's a Little Bit Funny (This Feeling Inside) - 2/6
Part One
The first thing Bradley does when they arrive is give Colin a tour of his flat.
“You realise I’ve been here before, right?” Colin points out, about thirty seconds into the grand tour.
It’s true. He has been to Bradley’s. Twice. But this is entirely different. Then, he was just stopping by briefly; now, he’s staying for an extended visit. There are things he needs to know - like where the towels are kept, how to work the faucets on the shower (because they can be a royal pain in the arse), and other such important information.
Bradley huffs, folding his arms as he turns to stare at Colin. “I’m not sure what your point is.”
Colin quirks a shoulder, grinning. “I have no point, I was just saying…”
“There are things you need to know while you’re rooming at Chez Bradley. For example, what will you do if you want to watch a DVD with surround sound and I’m not here? Or if you’re in the shower and suddenly the water is scalding and you don’t know how to fix it? Do you really want to find out what that feels like, Colin? Do you?”
The amused bark of laughter is answer enough.
Giving himself a mental pat on the back, Bradley leads Colin down the hall to the bedroom. “You can throw your luggage wherever you like, but I cleaned out a drawer for your things there-” he points to said dresser drawer, “-and you can hang whatever you want in the closet.” He’d made some extra space there as well.
Colin smiles appreciatively at him, dropping his bags at the foot of the bed, then gets this uncertain look about him. “Thanks, Bradley. That’s really kind of you. But are you sure you don’t want to sleep here instead? I can sleep on the sofa. I mean, I’m already putting you out as it is-”
But Bradley holds up a hand, putting a stop to that line of thought immediately. “Like I told you two days ago, the sofa is comfortable, and I wouldn’t have offered my flat if I didn’t want to. So from this point on there’s no more discussion about it, all right?”
Colin nods, raising both hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. I won’t bring it up again. Thank you.”
With that out of the way, Bradley carries on with the tour slash instruction session.
“You can help yourself to anything in the fridge,” he says, pulling it open. “I’m not sure if I have anything you want, exactly. I, uh, went shopping this morning. I picked up a bunch of vegetables, except for the ones you’re allergic to, of course, and, um, that tofu that I think you said you liked, though it might be the wrong kind-”
He stops, glancing over at Colin, and reaches up to scratch the back of his neck, suddenly feeling a bit awkward, though he’s not sure why. Colin is staring into the fridge, expression unreadable, so Bradley does what he’s best at and keeps talking. “And I bought some soy milk, though I also have real milk, because I can’t live without it, but obviously that’s not for you. Oh, and, like, those fake eggs, ‘cause I know you can’t eat real ones, but I make a fantastic omelette, so I thought maybe you’d like to try it while you’re here…? Or, uh, you could just go out and buy stuff that you actually eat, because I’m not really good with the whole vegetarian thing…”
Bradley trails off, then, fully aware of the fact that he’s now rambling, and Colin hasn’t said anything yet. Probably because he’s trying to figure out a way to tell Bradley that he’s an idiot, without being rude, because Colin’s much too polite to tell Bradley straight out that he doesn’t know the first thing about being a vegetarian, even though he’s spent three years listening to Colin talk about what he eats and doesn’t eat. He should know something about this by now, should’ve done some research before he went shopping.
A hand on his arm pulls Bradley out of his self-deprecating reverie and his gaze darts up to meet Colin’s.
“No, this is great, Bradley. You’ve really-You have basically everything I would’ve thought to buy. I didn’t expect you to do this. I- thank you.” His voice is thick, and something about the way Colin’s looking at him fills Bradley with an unexpected warmth that travels from his feet all the way to the tips of his ears. He finds that he likes it. It feels familiar, and pleasant, especially because he’s made Colin happy. And has actually done something right.
Bradley smiles and shuts the fridge door. “I imagine you’re probably tired and hungry, so I was thinking we could maybe grab some take away and watch a movie or something tonight?”
Colin nods. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
Half an hour later, they’re seated comfortably on either end of Bradley’s sofa, food spread out on the coffee table and Labyrinth starting up in the DVD player. Bradley didn’t even have to work to convince Colin that it would be a brilliant idea to watch it. He always knew there was a reason he liked Colin, not just for his dark sense of humour and easy friendship, but also for his obviously amazing taste in films. Toby and John could learn a few things from him, that's for sure.
Just before the movie starts, Bradley’s mobile buzzes and he notices a text message from John: hey! u busy? we’re going to the pub 2nite for mike’s bday. let me know.
He contemplates the idea for all of five seconds before deciding against it. He should probably ask Colin what he wants to do, but considering he needs to be up early to meet with that friend of his tomorrow morning, Bradley sort of assumes that he won’t mind staying in. Also, for completely selfish reasons, Bradley would prefer to just spend the night in, catching up with him. They haven’t even really spoken in over a month. Besides, Bradley’s mates can turn into complete idiots when they’re pissed, and he sort of wants to keep Colin away from them in that state.
He fires a quick response back - sorry, can’t. busy, but thanks for the invite - before starting up the movie.
They both chuckle when Sarah starts crying about her bear Lancelot. “We should make Santiago watch this, the next time he’s on set,” Colin suggests with a grin, and Bradley can do nothing but agree. You can never watch Labyrinth too many times, if you ask him. Plus, Santiago has a good sense of humour; he’d probably enjoy it.
Just after Jareth appears on screen, there is a knock on Bradley’s door.
Colin turns to look at Bradley, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Are you expecting someone?”
“No,” Bradley says, shaking his head. Reluctantly, he pauses the movie and goes to see who's shown up at his flat, unannounced.
“John?” Bradley blinks, staring at his friend standing on the other side of the doorway. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the pub celebrating Mike’s birthday or something?”
John shrugs casually and smiles. “I am, but your flat happened to be on the way, and I thought I’d see if I could change your mind and drag your arse out with us.”
“I suppose that text where I told you I was busy didn’t get through that thick skull of yours then?” Bradley asks, folding his arms and shooting John a pointed stare.
“You don’t look busy,” John says, attempting to peer over Bradley’s shoulder in one of the most completely obvious moves Bradley’s ever seen.
“I am.”
“You have a girl in there?” he asks suddenly, smirking, and wiggles two eyebrows suggestively.
Bradley laughs heartily, shaking his head. “Not exactly.”
“Hey, Bradley, what’s going on?” Colin’s voice wafts in his direction, and Bradley turns his head at the same time that Colin rounds the corner.
“Ahhh, now I see,” John says, voice laden with innuendo, but he’s clearly taking the piss. Bradley reaches over and punches John in the shoulder. Hard.
Before John has a chance to say anything else stupid, Bradley steps back away from the doorway and proceeds with introductions. “Colin, this is my idiot friend, John from school. John, this is Colin.”
“Nice to meet you, mate,” John says, extending his hand.
Colin accepts, shaking it firmly. “Likewise.”
“So, how long are you in town?”
“At least a week, possibly longer,” Colin replies. “Bradley kindly offered to let me stay with him while I’m in London.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Bradley I know.”
Bradley’s expression sours, and he narrows his eyes at John. Colin simply laughs. “Hilarious, mate,” Bradley growls, though he’s grinning too. “So, what are you doing here again?”
“Well, I wanted to see if you could join us at the pub, but since you’re so busy, never mind.”
“You’re more than welcome to go out if you want, Bradley. I don't mind at all,” Colin says, before Bradley even has a chance to get a word in. “I need to be up early tomorrow, so I think I'll stay in. But I brought several books and now that I know how to work the DVD player I think I'll be just fine on my own.”
Of course Colin would tell him to go out while he stayed in for the night, alone. It is so very typical of Colin. He's the kind of bloke that'd offer someone the last bite of his sandwich, give a person the shirt off his back if it was needed, or stay up an extra few hours to help someone (mainly Bradley) with their lines, even if he had to be up at five the next morning to start filming. He's one of the most selfless people Bradley has ever had the pleasure of knowing and it's one of the numerous things Bradley adores about him, even if he is hesitant to use the words 'adore' and 'Colin Morgan' in the same sentence outside of his own mind.
“Thanks, mate, that's kind of you to offer,” Bradley says, patting Colin on the back, twice, jovially. “But I'm not going to go to the pub and leave you here. Not only is it rude, but we have prior plans anyway.”
“What plans?” Colin looks confused.
Hitching a thumb in the general direction of the living room, Bradley says, “Take away, movie, remember?”
“Ah, yes. Right. Didn't realise that counted as 'plans'.”
“It does,” Bradley asserts with a sage nod.
John takes this opportunity to insert himself back into the conversation. “What movie are you watching?”
“Labyrinth,” Colin says, and very clearly tries not to laugh when John's face scrunches up in obvious displeasure.
“He's managed to talk you into watching that, has he?” John wonders, sounding simultaneously awed and amused. “You're a stronger man than I.”
Colin merely shrugs, smiling shyly, hands burying in the pockets of his hoodie. “I don’t mind, actually. We’ve watched it before. Once you take into consideration the year in which it was made, and remember that it’s supposed to be a bit of a ridiculous fantasy movie, then it really is quite entertaining.”
“Plus, David Bowie,” Bradley feels the need to add.
Raising both hands for a second before shaking his head, it’s clear when John finally accepts that he’s lost this round. He and Colin are a force to be reckoned with, so powerful that not even five David Bowies could touch them. Well, that and the fact that John’s smarter than he looks sometimes, and knows how to pick his battles.
“Your loss. I’ll be out getting pissed and having a blast, thank you. Have fun watching that ridiculous film,” he says with a grin, giving them both a teasing salute before sauntering off down the hall.
“Oh, we will,” Bradley calls after him, not because it’s the least bit necessary but simply because he enjoys driving John mad.
They return to the television and continue watching the movie, Bradley quoting along with nearly everything Jareth says, and the two of them either singing along to the songs or making up their own lyrics, when it seems more entertaining (which is virtually the entire length of the movie). By the time they’re finished, Bradley’s sides hurt from laughing so much. In fact, he can’t remember the last time he had this much fun.
“Only you could make watching this terrible movie that enjoyable,” Colin says, and Bradley knows there was a jab somewhere in there, but he’s too distracted by the compliment to care all that much.
They smile dumbly at each other for a moment - because what else is there to say to that, really? - before Colin glances down to check the time on his watch. “It’s not that late, but I told Nick I would meet him first thing in the morning, and by the time I take the Tube…”
Bradley nods in understanding. “Of course. I’m knackered myself actually, so I’m sure I’ll be going to sleep soon as well.” There’s something else he wants to say or do, something else he had planned since the morning, but now he can’t for the life of him remember what it was.
“Well, good night,” Colin says with a smile, after nearly a minute passes and neither of them make any attempt to move.
Bradley returns the smile automatically, like it’s a natural response. “Good night.”
Colin disappears from the living room and is likely halfway down the hallway when Bradley suddenly remembers. “Col?”
A beat, and then, “Yes?”
“Hold on one second.” Jumping up off the sofa, Bradley retreats to the kitchen, meeting Colin at the bedroom doorway a minute later.
“Here,” Bradley says, depositing the object in Colin’s waiting hands.
“What’s this?” Though it’s obvious, when Colin extends his fingers and peers down at what rests in his palm.
“Keys to my flat,” Bradley says simply, and tries to ignore the little unexpected flutter in his heart that appears when Colin meets his gaze, just a touch of uncertainty in his eyes. “Since you’ll be off doing your thing and I’ll be off doing mine. That way I don’t have to stay home, and you don’t have to stay away until I return. Makes the most sense, wouldn’t you agree?”
Colin nods, understanding lighting up behind his eyes, which seem even bluer than usual, if that’s possible. “Oh, okay. That’s probably a good idea, thanks.”
“Of course it is. It was my idea, after all,” Bradley says, folding his arms and smirking arrogantly.
“Yes. The epitome of brilliance. Bradley James. Right,” Colin deadpans, and Bradley laughs heartily in response. Colin’s just jealous, that much is painfully clear.
“You only wish you were as fantastic as me,” he says, nudging Colin’s ankle with his foot, and Colin’s gaze immediately drops to the source, briefly, before meeting his eyes once again.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to get through the day,” is Colin’s only reply, and unfortunately, Bradley isn’t sure how to argue with that.
Fingering the keys, Colin eyes them curiously, as though he’s having some deep, secret thoughts, and then finally shoves them into the pockets of his jeans. “Thanks, Bradley. Night.”
“Good night,” he says, a moment too late, to the door gently closing in his face.
It feels significant, somehow, Bradley handing over the spare set of keys to his flat, even though it’s a gesture born entirely of necessity and nothing more. Still, some weird part of his brain feels that this is a good thing, and at this hour, he isn’t too inclined to try and argue with it.
~*~
As it turns out, Colin is actually a fantastic house guest. He’s quiet in the morning, cleans up after himself, actually hangs his towel to dry after taking a shower, and unlike Bradley, never leaves the refrigerator door open or the lights on unnecessarily, even if he’s going right back into the room in a couple of minutes. Of course, he eats a surprisingly large amount of food - more than Bradley remembers, anyway - and occasionally forgets to lock the door when he leaves, but all in all, it’s a pleasure to have him around.
Within the first several days, a pattern begins to emerge. Colin leaves first thing in the morning, but starts a pot of coffee for Bradley so that it’s ready when he wakes up. An hour or so later, Bradley finally hauls his arse off the sofa - sometimes it takes him a long time to fall asleep on the couch, despite what he’d told Colin - and downs a cup or two of coffee before starting his day. It usually consists of running errands, visiting friends, playing sports at the gym, or sending e-mails that border on harassment to his agent about finding him a script for the new year.
Sometimes, partway through the day, if his sleep that night was particularly poor, Bradley will take a quick nap in his own bed. It sort of smells faintly of Colin - even if he hasn’t occupied it for very long - but this doesn’t particularly bother him. All he usually needs is twenty minutes and he’s feeling much better.
By the time Colin arrives back at the flat, it’s usually just following dinner time. Bradley is most definitely not a chef, but he’s always prided himself on making real meals when he’s at home as often as possible. The only difference this time is that he’s using all vegetarian items. He’s not especially fond of tofu, but seeing as how he needs to make something anyway, it feels pointless to cook a separate meal specifically for Colin. Therefore Bradley does the only logical thing and decides to use the week to experiment with an online vegetarian cookbook he finds.
They typically eat dinner together - complete with feedback from Colin about the meal; thankfully Bradley’s cooking abilities have passed every day so far - and then they spend the evening hanging out.
On Monday they go to a nearby park, then design and race through obstacle courses using trees, bushes, swing sets, and even sometimes dogs or other people in the park (who are less than impressed, usually). By the end, Colin is beating Bradley three races to two, but he’s determined to have a rematch before Colin leaves to rectify that situation.
On Tuesday they decide to see The Social Network, even though they’ve both already seen it. Therefore, they spend the vast majority of the time commenting on Justin Timberlake’s rugged good looks (well, that’s mostly Bradley), how Jesse Eisenberg is incredibly awkward but still does an amazing job in the role, and how little actually occurs in the movie in terms of plot. There might also be some - okay, a lot - of discussion about how awesome Andrew Garfield is, though that’s largely Bradley (again). It’s possible that they piss off a few people around them, but in the end they’re having too much fun to really care.
Wednesday night’s plans revolve around prank calling Katie, which takes over an hour to plan and only three minutes to completely fuck up. Even disabling the caller ID on Bradley’s mobile does nothing to help maintain their anonymity. Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on your perspective - Katie only figures out that Bradley’s involved, and threatens to exact sweet, sweet revenge. She hangs up before Bradley can add Colin to her hit list, but somehow he doubts she’d believe him anyway. Those damn Irish always stick together, Bradley’s noticed.
However, Thursday evening ends up playing out quite differently than the other nights.
It’s more than two hours earlier than usual when Bradley hears the careful clicking sound of his front door unlocking, followed by the shuffling of someone entering the flat. Having just finished showering, Bradley pulls a t-shirt over his head so he’s fully clothed - he double checks beforehand just in case, because wouldn’t that be embarrassing? - and makes his way towards the front entrance.
“Colin!” he says in surprise. “What are you doing back so early?”
“There wasn’t as much to do today as expected.” It isn’t much of an answer, but Bradley supposes it probably doesn’t matter. Colin shrugs noncommittally, tossing his rucksack beside the pile of shoes on the floor and makes his way into the kitchen, a brown paper bag in his left hand. Naturally, Bradley follows.
Glancing at Bradley over his shoulder, Colin eyes him in amusement. “Nice hair,” he remarks with a smirk, setting the bag down on the kitchen table.
“What’s wrong with it?” Bradley grumbles good-naturedly, reaching up to run fingers through his still damp and obviously un-styled hair.
“Nothing,” he says, and Bradley will be damned if Colin hasn’t perfected the art of feigning innocence down to the most minute detail. He does it so well, it should almost be illegal. Except for the fact that over time, Bradley has learned when Colin’s taking the piss and when he’s being genuine, so at least he’s able to suss out the difference now.
“Well, you returned earlier than anticipated, so it’s not my fault that I didn’t have time to make myself gorgeous for your arrival,” he says, layering on as much sarcasm as he can muster and grins devilishly at Colin.
It doesn’t appear to faze Colin whatsoever. Waving a hand around aimlessly, he says, “Nah, you’re always gorgeous.”
The comment is so natural, so casual, that Bradley almost misses what Colin’s just said. Except that he doesn’t. It’s instantly obvious that Colin is teasing him, if the mischievous smirk is any indication, but even still, Bradley feels heat pooling in his belly for just the briefest of moments anyway.
There are so many possible ways to respond to a comment like that, but he decides to go with cocky arrogance, because it’s the only thing that feels appropriate. “Damn right. I’m bloody fit.”
Colin chuckles loudly, voice filled with a mirth that warms the room, and it’s then that Bradley actually notices the extra item Colin’s brought in with him.
“What’s in the bag?” Bradley asks, folding his arms across his chest and eyeing it curiously.
“Oh, right!” Colin reaches out for the bag, picking it up and holding it out to Bradley. “There’s this tiny little restaurant a couple of blocks from the theatre where we’ve been ordering lunch every day, and I thought you might enjoy the food, so I brought something back for us. Figured you’ve done enough cooking the last few days and I should probably return the favour.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” Bradley says, taking the proffered bag, noting for the first time the delicious smell wafting from inside, and he’s suddenly immensely curious as to what it contains. Setting the bag on the counter, Bradley opens it and begins to rummage through the contents, almost immediately surprised by what he finds.
“Burgers? Are these vegetarian?” he asks, raising both brows.
Colin shakes his head. “No, they’re real. Or, um, real for you. Genuine beef burgers, just how you like it.”
There’s a dirty joke somewhere in there, Bradley knows, but he’s too distracted at the moment to pull one together.
“Seriously?” Bradley says, excited, sounding like a child on Christmas all of a sudden. It’s only been four days that he’s gone without meat, but apparently that’s long enough. “It smells great.”
Colin shuffles his feet and looks at Bradley with a sort of bashful awkwardness. “Er, I obviously haven’t tried them myself, but I hear that they’re incredible. If you like that sort of thing,” he says, and then scrunches his face up as though even the mere thought of anyone eating meat is disgusting, though Bradley can that tell he’s joking. Mostly.
“Thanks, Col,” he says, feeling genuinely touched. “But what are you going to eat?”
“There’s a salad hiding in the bottom of the bag somewhere for me. I also bought both French and yam fries. I figured we could share.”
Even though Colin’s arrived back at the flat earlier than anticipated, all of Bradley’s errands for the day are finished, so they decide to move straight into their evening plans: marathoning series one of The X-Files.
Over the past three years, they’ve managed to make it through Buffy, Angel, both the original and the American versions of The Office and all the Doctor Who episodes and specials since David Tennant took on the role. In another life, Bradley thinks that he might’ve also made a fantastic television critic.
While Colin pops the first disc into DVD player, Bradley scans the episode list for the entire first series.
“Can you believe some of these episode titles? ‘Deep Throat’, ‘Squeeze’, ‘Gender Bender’?” Bradley chuckles to himself. Honestly, they make it too easy sometimes.
“Very mature,” Colin retorts, but he can’t quite hide his own smirk. “Is your mind constantly in the gutter, or does it just visit frequently?”
“Did I say anything about the titles being sexual euphemisms, Colin?”
“Big word, there. You know what it means?”
Bradley tries not to scoff. “Of course I do. And you never answered my question, which I assume means that your own mind was in the gutter as well.” He tsk, tsk’s Colin, shaking his head and shooting him a look of mock disapproval.
“You know what they say about assuming,” Colin shoots back, before settling back against the sofa and tossing the DVD remote in Bradley’s general direction.
As it turns out, the pilot episode is just as bad as most pilots tend to be, filled with overly cheesy dialogue, awkward first interactions, some terrible acting by a few of the guest stars, and a bit of a ridiculous storyline. Still, while Bradley has always appreciated action and close friendships to romance, he enjoys the bathrobe scene perhaps a bit too much.
“Wow, getting naked in the first episode. How’s that for sexual tension?” he jokes, but Colin just laughs and waves a hand at him to be quiet.
However, by the time they’re four episodes in, Bradley is starting to believe that he could really end up enjoying this show. The effects aren’t fantastic, but considering this was the early '90s, Bradley decides to let it go. The storylines are fun, and he’s enjoying the paranormal aspect of things. Plus, the dynamic between Mulder and Scully is nothing short of intriguing. He knows firsthand how important chemistry and a strong dynamic between the leads on a programme can be.
Partway through the fifth episode, Bradley decides he has the characters completely figured out. “Scully won’t go on that date,” he predicts, casting Colin a sidelong glance.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because she fancies Mulder. Somehow something’s going to stop that date from happening, trust me,” he says sagely.
Colin’s brows furrow. “You can’t possibly know that. You’re just making things up based on the little you know about the show.”
“Well, don’t they end up shagging eventually?”
“I think so.” Colin squints thoughtfully. “But it’s only five episodes in, Bradley.”
“Fine. But be prepared to apologise to me when I’m right,” he says, stretching his legs out and leaning back against the cushions.
By the time the episode finishes, Bradley is gloating. “See? Told you Scully wouldn’t go on that date. She’s head over heels for Mulder. She wouldn’t date someone else when she fancies another bloke. Goes against her style,” he says, in a display of true maturity. But that’s what Colin gets when he tries to doubt Bradley’s superior observation skills.
Colin merely rolls his eyes. “Yes, well, aren’t you a genius?”
“I quite thought so.”
Neither moves to grab for the remote to start the next episode, but Bradley is still startled when Colin suddenly says, “We should go out somewhere, get some drinks or something, yeah? Nick doesn’t need me tomorrow, so we have all evening. I think we should get out for a while, get some air.”
That certainly hadn’t been expected, but Bradley isn’t opposed to the idea either. And he supposes he could benefit from getting out of the flat for a bit too. “Er, I guess so. Where did you have in mind?”
Colin shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. Didn’t you say there’s a pub close by that you and your friends like?”
~*~
Fifteen minutes later, they find themselves tucked into a booth at the back of the pub, both nursing a beer. It’s a relatively large pub, which helps to afford them some privacy. It’s not as if Bradley is recognised on a daily basis when he’s out in the city; in fact, he still manages to remain in relative obscurity while in public, save for the odd moment here and there when a group of people - often girls, as luck would have it - spot him and come over to say hello. Still, the frequency of being recognised has increased as the popularity of the show rises.
And even though when they’re out in public together and no one notices Colin, for some strange reason, when the two of them are in the same place at the same time, the likelihood that Bradley will be noticed increases exponentially. He has yet to figure out how this works, but he finds himself being spotted with a much higher frequency when he’s in Colin’s company, even though half the time Colin isn’t even noticed immediately.
So, needless to say, Bradley is grateful when they manage to find a small booth to keep them relatively hidden from everyone else who happens to be out drinking that night. And for a while, they even remain unnoticed. But of course, with Bradley’s luck, it doesn’t last nearly long enough.
It happens after he sends Colin up to the bar to get a third round of beers.
“Bradley James? Is that really you? Wow, it’s been so long!”
Dragging his gaze away from the bar, Bradley jerks his head over to the source of the sound and is immediately met with the sight of Elizabeth ( Beth) Miller, a girl he’d dated for just over two years prior to accepting the role of Arthur on Merlin. She still looks exactly like how Bradley remembers her - tall, with dark wavy brown hair that hangs just past her shoulders, wire-rimmed glasses framing her face and dressed from head to toe in what was probably designer everything. Ever the fashionista, but one of the most down-to-earth girls Bradley’s ever met.
“Beth,” he says with a smile, rising to greet her properly with the hug he knows she’s waiting for.
This is certainly an unexpected surprise, though not an unpleasant one. Their break-up had been mostly amicable at the time. Beth is several years younger than Bradley, but neither had been ready to even start thinking about settling down back when they’d been dating. They’d been discussing the idea of taking a break from one another just prior to his audition for Merlin, and the day following that, they mutually decided to end things. Beth wanted to go to university and she wanted Bradley to concentrate on his career without being ‘tied down’ to someone. They’d promised to keep in touch, but hadn’t, though Bradley knows he’s mostly to blame for that.
“It’s been a while, but it’s great to see you. You’re looking good,” he says honestly.
“Far too long,” she agrees. “Weren’t you supposed to give me a ring? Did you forget about me after becoming a big, famous star?”
Bradley blinks. He knows that she’s joking, but alternately, she’s also completely correct, and he feels a small stab of guilt. Even though the break-up had been mutual, he’d still been hurt by the whole thing. But before he can find the words, Beth bats playfully at his arm.
“I’m just teasing, don’t worry. You’ve been busy, so I’ve seen, and I could’ve just as easily rung you up myself, but I didn’t.” She shrugs.
Smiling sheepishly, Bradley ducks his head for a moment anyway. “I suppose so. I meant to phone you, but I obviously never did, so I’m sorry.” He meant it, too. Or at least he did now.
Laughing lightly, Beth waves her hand dismissively. “Let's call it even? We're both to blame?”
“Sure, all right.” Bradley nods, relieved. “So, how have you been? What have you been doing these past few years?”
Beth reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, a perfectly manicured nail gliding against her scalp. Again, just how he remembers her. “Oh, you know, just finishing up at uni. It's been busy, but hopefully I'll be finished within the next year or two and will finally be ready to enter the workforce.”
“That's great,” he tells her with a smile. “Hopefully the last stretch won't be too difficult for you. You're finishing your law degree still, I assume?”
“I am,” she confirms, pride evident in her voice.
Bradley is poised to ask how Beth's family is doing - specifically her brother, whom Bradley got on with quite well, back when he and Beth were dating - when out of the blue she interjects with, “You know, maybe it's fate that we ran into one another here.”
“What do you mean?” he asks dumbly, though he suspects he knows exactly where she might be going with this.
“Well, I was just thinking about you the other day. Some of the fun times we had, so it seems significant that we both ended up here at the same time, wouldn’t you say?”
Bradley bites down on his tongue to prevent the automatic response he wants to give, which he assumes probably won’t be received overly well. Instead he says, “You’re right, we did have a lot of great times in the past. Perhaps this is fate’s way of helping old friends catch up.”
That answer seems to please her, even though Bradley’s not fully sure what he even just said. “Are you involved with anyone right now?” she asks, head tilting to the side as she folds her arms loosely across her chest. Sure enough, he was right.
Something uncomfortable unfurls in his chest. “Erm, no. It's sort of hard, what with working on Merlin for eight months of the year. I barely have time to sleep, let alone date anyone.”
It's technically the truth, mostly, but it's also equally an excuse, and he bloody well knows it. If he truly wanted to date, he could find a way to make it work, somehow. Granted, their filming schedule is hectic and he works ridiculously long hours during the year. Still, it's nice to have handy when he's trying to fend off unwanted affections from fans (or even acquaintances), or defend himself against his mum's questions about when he's going to 'find somebody nice to settle down with'. Beth is a lovely girl and it's not that he's opposed to the idea of dating her again - they had some incredible times when they were younger - but he just can't envision himself with her right now, at this time in his life, even though he doesn't exactly have any logical reason for the decision, save for the feeling in his gut.
Out of the corner of his eye, Bradley can see Colin making his way back over to the table with their drinks, and he feels something like relief well up inside him.
“Hey, Bradley,” Colin says carefully once he arrives, glancing between Bradley and Beth, and shooting him a silent question with his eyes. Colin grips both mugs, holding them close to his chest a bit uncertainly, as if unsure whether he should stay or go.
“Colin,” Bradley says with a wide smile, and reaches out to take one of the drinks from his hands as he gestures towards Beth with the other. “This is Beth. She’s an old friend of mine.” Colin quirks an eyebrow at the name curiously, but Bradley gives him a pointed stare that he hopes says: ’Not now.’ Before Colin has the opportunity to open his mouth, Bradley continues. “Beth, this is Colin-”
“-Morgan,” Beth finishes, eyes widening in obvious realisation. “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen the show. I’m a huge fan. How nice to meet you.” She holds out her hand.
“You too.” He accepts the proffered limb, shaking it firmly.
Both turn to Bradley then, as if they expect him to say something. Except, he’s not sure what, precisely, they want from him.
Thankfully, Beth saves him from having to say anything. “Well, I don’t want to interrupt, so I suppose I should be on my way.”
“You don’t want to stick around for a while? I can make myself scarce,” Colin offers, but Beth shakes her head. Bradley lets out an internal sigh of relief at her response for reasons he’s not quite certain of.
“No, that’s all right. I’m meeting up with a few friends myself, so I really should go find them. But it was nice to meet you,” she says to Colin. And then, to Bradley she adds, “Give me a ring when you have some free time, all right? Might just be fate after all.”
With that, she turns and strolls away.
“So, that was the infamous Beth, was it?” Colin asks as they slide back into the booth.
“Yeah.”
“She seems nice.”
“She is.”
Colin gives him a look. “So, what did she want?”
Suddenly Bradley is beginning to regret telling Colin all about Beth a few years back, instead of just leaving well enough alone. Of course, at the time, he never could have foreseen that Colin might actually meet her. He takes a long swig of his beer, relishing the faint buzz it thankfully provides him with as it slides easily down his parched throat.
“Nothing. She just saw me and came over to say hi. That’s it.
“Didn't look like nothing to me.”
Bradley tries not to roll his eyes at the implication. “You're ridiculous, Colin. Just because I happened to be talking to an ex-girlfriend, doesn't automatically mean anything was going on.”
Apparently, the words don't penetrate Colin's thick skull. “So, did she ask you out on another date?”
“No,” Bradley instantly responds. Then he stops, and corrects himself. “Well, not exactly. I think she was about to, but then you showed up.”
“Oh, I'm sorry!”
“Don't be. I wouldn't have said yes anyway.”
Colin reaches out to flick the back of his hand, and Bradley tries not to jump in surprise. “Why not?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs absently, and then downs the last of his beer. “We don’t have time for dating with the kind of schedules we have during filming.” Belatedly, Bradley remembers that Colin might be the one person for whom that excuse won’t work.
For a second, Colin looks like he’s about ready to say something, but then, he appears to check himself. “Yeah, that’d be difficult. But it wouldn’t be impossible if you really wanted it, and we both know that. I don’t think you’ve dated anyone since we first started working together.”
“So?”
Colin shrugs, fingers tapping idly on the table. “I’m just saying. If you wanted to date her, now might be a good time to start, since we have lots of time from now until filming for series four begins.”
And suddenly, out of nowhere, Bradley feels just a little irritated by Colin’s insistence on talking about this.
“I would’ve said no because I don't want to, plain and simple. Beth was great, but she’s my past. Things are different now than they were back then,” he asserts, sounding more frustrated than is strictly necessary. But there it is. He's said it now, and Colin can make of that what he will.
Something unrecognisable flashes in Colin’s eyes briefly before he smiles, placating, and kicks Bradley’s foot lightly under the table. “Easy there. I was just winding you up, yeah? No hard feelings.”
And then Bradley is feeling like an idiot, because he’s being silly about the whole thing, and the last thing he wants is to upset Colin in any way. “I know, don’t worry. I’m sorry for over-reacting.” He has no idea why he’s getting so defensive all of a sudden. It’s not that important.
“So, how come whenever we’re out together, I’m the one who always gets recognised?” Bradley whines then, as much to put voice to the question he’s had sitting at the back of his mind as it is to change the topic entirely. It’s not that he’s uncomfortable with talking about Beth, per se. He just wants to look towards his future, not get sucked back into memories from his past.
Colin lifts a single shoulder and shoots him a lazy grin. “I don’t know. Maybe because you’re so damn loud all the time? You probably call all the attention to yourself purposefully, trying to steal my glory.”
“You don’t even like being recognised, so you can’t pull that card on me, Morgan,” Bradley points out helpfully, especially since it’s true. He’s become so much more comfortable with being in the spotlight since Bradley first met him, but Colin would still rather remain hovering around in the background, if he could. And then, remembering the first part of that original comment adds, “Also, I’m not that loud.”
“Then it must just be the appeal of your stunning good looks that draws the crowds,” Colin suggests, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Bradley grips the mug of his beer tightly, laughing with more enthusiasm than he feels. “Yeah, right. Whatever you say. And don’t sell yourself short. I hear the women screaming ’oh, Colin, you’re so hot, Colin, we love you so much Colin, swoon, swoon, swoon’ when we’re at any sort of fan event.” He uses his best high-pitched, screaming female fan voice, and is quite proud of how accurate he sounds.
And Bradley will be damned if Colin isn’t looking slightly embarrassed by his comment. “Heh, well, then maybe I’m just better at hiding than you are.”
Colin tilts his head back then, gulping down the rest of his beer, and Bradley finds his eyes are inadvertently drawn to the bob of his Adam’s apple as Colin swallows, suddenly mesmerised by the way it dips and rises. Curious eyes trail up his long neck to the strong line of Colin’s jaw, his beer-moistened lips, the sharp angles of his cheekbones-
“Bradley?”
Blinking sharply, Bradley’s eyes dart back up to meet Colin’s inquisitive gaze, and he is grateful for the dim lighting in the pub that hides the unexpected heat he feels pricking at the back of his neck all of a sudden. “Yes?”
“You don’t look too well. D’you think we should head back to your flat now? Continue watching X-Files, yeah?”
He’s definitely had enough alcohol tonight, Bradley decides. Maybe a bit too much. Swallowing heavily, he nods, trying not to look as guilty as he inexplicably feels. “Sure, yeah. That’d-that’d probably be a good idea. Yes, let’s do that.”
~*~
By the time late Saturday afternoon rolls around, they’ve managed to finish the entire first series of The X-Files, and Bradley feels like he might go a bit cross-eyed if they watch anything else.
So instead, they take a break to have a vegetarian cook-off. Even though Bradley knows he’ll lose - because he’s not even that much of a cook to begin with, never mind having to make meals without meat - he still puts forth a valiant effort. While there’s no impartial judge to decide who won, they both agree that Colin’s vegetable casserole is better than Bradley’s vegetarian lasagne. But Colin still eats two helpings, so Bradley thinks that he must have done something right.
They end up destroying Bradley’s kitchen, and it takes nearly two hours to clean everything up, but he hasn’t had this much fun cooking in a long time, so it seems worth the effort.
“We should watch Merlin together,” Colin suggests a little while later. He’s sprawled across Bradley’s sofa, one arm slung over his eyes, the other dangling off the edge of the cushions, and feet hanging over the end of the couch.
Just managing to pry himself off the floor, Bradley crawls over to Colin and pokes at his feet. “Yeah, fine, but you need to shove over. I’m not staying on the floor.”
With an exaggerated groan, Colin moves just enough for Bradley to squeeze in beside him, and Bradley very pointedly ignores the way Colin’s toes accidentally brush against his thigh. More than once. Turning on the TV, he flips through the channels until he lands on BBC One, just in time.
Almost unconsciously, Bradley finds himself paying extra attention to any scenes where Arthur interacts with Gwen. He knows he’s probably being silly and just a bit paranoid, but he can’t help but wonder. He hasn’t even formulated any sort of concrete theories to coincide with his unidentified suspicions, just feels like a bit of extra vigilance might not be a bad thing.
Every time Arthur and Gwen appear in the same scene, Bradley pays careful attention, trying to see if there is anything off about the scene, or remember if Colin happened to be there. But he doesn’t notice or recall a thing that might be suspicious. Of course, he is also notorious for having a terrible memory, so it might not be the most reliable of indicators.
They only half pay attention to the actual episode, talking throughout - sharing stories from set, reminiscing or poking fun at themselves. It’d be the sort of commentary that the producers would scold them for, but the fans would probably love.
“Well, that was fun,” Colin says at the conclusion of the episode.
“Bloody fantastic,” Bradley retorts, smiling over at him. Relief settles in his chest with the knowledge that the last two weeks must have just been a coincidence after all.
“Hey, do you remember when they were rearranging the set during the filming of one of the corridor scenes, and you tripped and fell backwards because you didn’t realise they’d moved that bench closer?” Colin asks, accidentally toeing Bradley again.
“Hey, mate, keep your stinky feet to yourself, yeah?” Bradley grumbles good-naturedly, glaring at the offending limbs, and then, “Oh yeah. I landed flat on my arse. That was embarrassing.”
“But hilarious. Don’t forget hilarious.” Colin laughs and pulls his knees up to his chest, smiling so brightly that Bradley can’t really find it in him to be annoyed.
He reflects on his memory of that incident, chuckling to himself, when suddenly something dawns on him, mid-thought. “Wait, wasn’t that a scene I was filming with Angel?”
Colin shrugs. “I dunno, maybe?”
“Then why were you there?” He narrows his eyes at the same time that the uncomfortable feeling returns, settling deep within his chest.
“No idea, Bradley. But I definitely remember you falling on your arse.”
And now that he’s really thinking about it, Bradley definitely remembers that he was filming with Angel, and that Colin was there. Of course, Colin’s presence on set doesn’t necessarily mean anything at all, but considering his recent discoveries, Bradley strongly suspects that something else is going on here, though he’s not so sure he even wants to find out what it is.
~*~
Colin leaves the following Tuesday, and Bradley tries not to think about the fact that they might not see one another again until the new year, because the idea of going another six weeks without seeing him is highly unpleasant.
With a wide grin and a squeeze to Bradley’s shoulder, Colin boards his train, while Bradley tells himself that the tightness in his chest is a normal response when saying good-bye to all of his mates.
That evening, Bradley's flat feels decidedly empty, and he tries very hard not to dwell on that fact. The reality is that he's enjoyed having Colin around, and living by himself does get lonely at times. Bradley's always been a social person - surrounding himself with family and friends whenever he has the opportunity - and while he does need the down time every now and then, he hasn't fully grown accustomed to living on his own. A few years ago he might have imagined himself moving in with Beth, but those days are long gone now.
While channel surfing a short while later he sees a commercial advertising the next episode of Merlin, and he’s reminded once again of The Situation (as he’s just now started referring to the Colin-being-present-in-all-of-his-scenes-with-Angel thing).
There are a million different ways Bradley could choose to utilise his time, but in the end he spends the next several hours going back over the last three episodes on his laptop with a fine-toothed comb. By the time he’s finished, there is only one conclusion that can be drawn: Colin was present for the filming of every single Arthur-and-Gwen scene, but only twice was actually part of the scene in question.
Which means… Well, Bradley’s not exactly sure what it all means, but there’s no doubt that this extends far beyond mere coincidence. Especially since he can’t recall a single incidence of the opposite occurring - when Angel watched an Arthur-and-Merlin scene, or when Katie was present during an Uther-and-Arthur scene. But even if they'd had, it was most definitely not a regular occurrence.
The entire thing is very peculiar, and something about it just doesn’t sit right in Bradley’s stomach. It’s probably nothing, except that it might be something, and once Bradley gets an idea in his mind, it’s hard to let it go.
~*~
Two full days pass and Bradley’s desire to figure out what’s going on finally gets the best of him, so he decides to seek out a second opinion. Naturally, since he can’t ring up Colin and is hesitant to discuss it with Angel, he turns to Katie.
This, unsurprisingly, turns out to be a rubbish idea.
“Bradley James, I can see your name on my call display,” is how she greets him, with all the warmth of a lion stalking a gazelle just before it attacks. It makes him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “I swear to God, if you’re calling to prank me again, I will send your picture to the Irish mafia and put a hit out on you.”
That seems a touch extreme, even for Katie, and several sarcastic responses immediately come to mind: ’Nice to hear from you too, Katie’, ‘How’ve you been since we last spoke?’, ‘Keeping busy now that we’re on break?’ But of course, he doesn’t say any of them, because fighting Katie with sarcasm is about as productive as fighting a fire with a match.
“There’s no such thing as the Irish mafia,” he points out.
“How do you know?”
“Colin would have told me if there was.” Not that it’s ever come up, mind, but he’s sure Colin would have if such a thing existed.
“Are you confident about that? You know how we Irish stick together, and we never reveal our secrets to our English enemies.”
Laughter spills from his mouth at that, and Bradley shakes his head in disbelief. “’English enemies’, Katie? Really?”
She can’t help but chuckle in return before quickly sobering. “Yes, well, either way - is that a risk you’re willing to take?” He can almost see her smirk, wicked and smug, and inwardly grumbles.
“Yes,” he mutters at length, but in a manner that seems to imply the exact opposite.
A beat passes, and then, “So why did you actually call, now that we’ve established that you’re not trying to prank me and wouldn’t dare risk it?”
Bradley sighs with exaggerated exasperation. “Maybe I don’t want to tell you any longer, after you insulted me.”
Another peal of laughter ripples through the line. “Oh, please, Bradley. What are you, ten years old? Besides, the last time you called, it was with the intent of pulling a practical joke on me, so you can hardly blame me, can you? You obviously called me for a reason, so let’s hear it.”
If it wasn’t for the fact that he genuinely did want her opinion - because when she wasn’t being an evil harpy, she actually gave moderately good advice - he would hang up, just to prove a point. However, seeing as this wasn’t a topic he could ask his non-Merlin mates, Angel and Colin were out of the question, and it felt like far too silly of a reason to ring up Richard or Tony, Katie was his best bet.
“Have you ever, er, hung around the set and watched a scene being filmed that you weren’t in?” Bradley asks, at length.
“Um, yeah. Once or twice, I think. Maybe more, when I haven’t been filming a scene myself, but not all that often.”
“Okay, but you’ve never, uh, been on set for, like, several similar scenes you weren’t a part of before, have you?”
“Bradley, what are you on about? What does this have to do with anything?”
Suddenly he’s feeling a little dimwitted about the whole thing. “Er, well, it’s just that-Have you been watching Merlin the last few weeks?”
“No, but I heard there was some editing error a few weeks ago. My mum called me to ask about it the next day. Said she went online to see if she could find anything out. You probably don’t want to know what some people were saying…”
No, he is quite certain that he doesn’t.
“So I guess you know that Colin was in that scene for a few seconds before it cut back to Angel, then?”
“Yes, hence my previous comments. I’m not even going to ask how that happened-”
“Yeah, so, anyway,” Bradley interrupts, before she does start talking about things he doesn’t particularly want to hear right now, “I’ve been watching the show and I couldn’t help but notice that Colin’s been present during the vast majority of the scenes with Angel and myself.”
“And this is significant why?”
“Because he wasn’t in any of those scenes. Or, well, he wasn’t in most of those scenes. And yet he was still there while we filmed. Don’t you find that a bit odd?”
Silence fills the line for far longer than Bradley is entirely comfortable with.
“I don’t know, I suppose it’s sort of strange. But you’re often filming together, aren’t you? Maybe you had a scene together immediately beforehand or immediately after?” Katie suggests.
“Perhaps.” But he doesn’t believe it’s that simple. Besides, the argument still doesn’t stand if it won’t generalise to other situations and cast members, which, as far as Bradley can recall, isn’t the case.
“Maybe he came by to watch you film?”
“But that many times?” It seems unlikely.
“You said Colin’s only around when you’re filming Arthur-Gwen scenes?”
Didn’t he already say that? Is she not listening to a word he’s saying? “Yes…”
“Then maybe they’re trying to ramp up the sexual tension in those scenes?”
Bradley nearly drops his mobile. “What? Katie, that doesn’t even make any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense, actually. Have you ever even watched the show before?”
Bradley tries not to roll his eyes, though the effect isn't exactly as strong when she isn't there to witness the full extent of his exasperation. ”Clearly I have.”
“Well, despite the fact that you act like one most of the time, you're not an idiot, Bradley.” He opens his mouth to protest the affront to his character, but she doesn't give him the opportunity. “If you don't know what I'm talking about, then I'm not going to tell you. This is the kind of thing that you shouldn't have to be told.”
“You sound like my mum now, Katie. Come on, don't be absurd.”
“I'm not. I'm not even saying that I'm right. But if you can't possibly understand why having Colin around in your scenes with Angel to increase the tension is a logical conclusion to reach, then that's not my problem.”
What Bradley truly doesn't understand is how Katie can be so thoroughly frustrating. Why does she feel the need to talk in riddles instead of just helping him figure this out, like he asked? Glancing down, he notices that his left fist is clenched so tight that the knuckles are turning white, and he forcefully relaxes his hand, laying the palm flat against his thigh instead.
Clearly, things are not going as planned, so Bradley decides that it’s time to pull out his backup plan. “Ka-tie,” he whines pathetically, “why are you being so cruel to me?”
Without a beat passing, she says, “Stop that. Whining won’t work with me. But come on, Bradley, think about it. This isn’t that difficult of a concept.”
So he does. Because Katie is right about one thing - Bradley is not an idiot. Or, at least, mostly not. After about a minute, he arrives at a conclusion, though he’s still not quite sure how everything fits together. “Is this because Colin and I have good chemistry or something?”
Katie makes a noise which seems to resemble approval. “You’re getting there.”
“But what does that have to do with my scenes with Angel?”
The heavy sigh he receives in return is enough of an indication that he hasn’t responded favourably. “Are you really that dense? I thought you were getting somewhere. Honestly, sometimes I wonder about you, Bradley.”
“Thank you for that wonderfully kind feedback. Good to know I can count on you to boost my self-esteem.”
“Look, I’m sure you can figure it out if you just take some time,” Katie suggests, voice softening just slightly. “Or, you know, you could just phone up Johnny and get the information straight from the horse’s mouth, if you’re so convinced there’s some conspiracy going on.”
That seems like the wiser option, at this point. Katie has been no help whatsoever. “Well, I’m glad I decided to call you, Katie. Thanks so much for everything,” he says with as much sarcasm as he can muster (because at this point, it doesn’t matter any longer if he pulls the sarcasm card with her).
Katie simply laughs, though not unkindly, and it should annoy him immensely, but it actually serves to quell his annoyance instead. Stupid Katie and the power of her stupid laugh. “It’s not that big of a deal, Bradley. But feel free to give me a ring again once you sort things out, should you need someone to talk to.”
“Yeah, I will,” he says, even though he probably won’t. “Take care, and stay in touch.”
“Thanks. You too, Bradley. Bye.”
Probably, Bradley thinks after hanging up his mobile, he should have called Rupert instead.
---------------
Continue to part three
The first thing Bradley does when they arrive is give Colin a tour of his flat.
“You realise I’ve been here before, right?” Colin points out, about thirty seconds into the grand tour.
It’s true. He has been to Bradley’s. Twice. But this is entirely different. Then, he was just stopping by briefly; now, he’s staying for an extended visit. There are things he needs to know - like where the towels are kept, how to work the faucets on the shower (because they can be a royal pain in the arse), and other such important information.
Bradley huffs, folding his arms as he turns to stare at Colin. “I’m not sure what your point is.”
Colin quirks a shoulder, grinning. “I have no point, I was just saying…”
“There are things you need to know while you’re rooming at Chez Bradley. For example, what will you do if you want to watch a DVD with surround sound and I’m not here? Or if you’re in the shower and suddenly the water is scalding and you don’t know how to fix it? Do you really want to find out what that feels like, Colin? Do you?”
The amused bark of laughter is answer enough.
Giving himself a mental pat on the back, Bradley leads Colin down the hall to the bedroom. “You can throw your luggage wherever you like, but I cleaned out a drawer for your things there-” he points to said dresser drawer, “-and you can hang whatever you want in the closet.” He’d made some extra space there as well.
Colin smiles appreciatively at him, dropping his bags at the foot of the bed, then gets this uncertain look about him. “Thanks, Bradley. That’s really kind of you. But are you sure you don’t want to sleep here instead? I can sleep on the sofa. I mean, I’m already putting you out as it is-”
But Bradley holds up a hand, putting a stop to that line of thought immediately. “Like I told you two days ago, the sofa is comfortable, and I wouldn’t have offered my flat if I didn’t want to. So from this point on there’s no more discussion about it, all right?”
Colin nods, raising both hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. I won’t bring it up again. Thank you.”
With that out of the way, Bradley carries on with the tour slash instruction session.
“You can help yourself to anything in the fridge,” he says, pulling it open. “I’m not sure if I have anything you want, exactly. I, uh, went shopping this morning. I picked up a bunch of vegetables, except for the ones you’re allergic to, of course, and, um, that tofu that I think you said you liked, though it might be the wrong kind-”
He stops, glancing over at Colin, and reaches up to scratch the back of his neck, suddenly feeling a bit awkward, though he’s not sure why. Colin is staring into the fridge, expression unreadable, so Bradley does what he’s best at and keeps talking. “And I bought some soy milk, though I also have real milk, because I can’t live without it, but obviously that’s not for you. Oh, and, like, those fake eggs, ‘cause I know you can’t eat real ones, but I make a fantastic omelette, so I thought maybe you’d like to try it while you’re here…? Or, uh, you could just go out and buy stuff that you actually eat, because I’m not really good with the whole vegetarian thing…”
Bradley trails off, then, fully aware of the fact that he’s now rambling, and Colin hasn’t said anything yet. Probably because he’s trying to figure out a way to tell Bradley that he’s an idiot, without being rude, because Colin’s much too polite to tell Bradley straight out that he doesn’t know the first thing about being a vegetarian, even though he’s spent three years listening to Colin talk about what he eats and doesn’t eat. He should know something about this by now, should’ve done some research before he went shopping.
A hand on his arm pulls Bradley out of his self-deprecating reverie and his gaze darts up to meet Colin’s.
“No, this is great, Bradley. You’ve really-You have basically everything I would’ve thought to buy. I didn’t expect you to do this. I- thank you.” His voice is thick, and something about the way Colin’s looking at him fills Bradley with an unexpected warmth that travels from his feet all the way to the tips of his ears. He finds that he likes it. It feels familiar, and pleasant, especially because he’s made Colin happy. And has actually done something right.
Bradley smiles and shuts the fridge door. “I imagine you’re probably tired and hungry, so I was thinking we could maybe grab some take away and watch a movie or something tonight?”
Colin nods. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
Half an hour later, they’re seated comfortably on either end of Bradley’s sofa, food spread out on the coffee table and Labyrinth starting up in the DVD player. Bradley didn’t even have to work to convince Colin that it would be a brilliant idea to watch it. He always knew there was a reason he liked Colin, not just for his dark sense of humour and easy friendship, but also for his obviously amazing taste in films. Toby and John could learn a few things from him, that's for sure.
Just before the movie starts, Bradley’s mobile buzzes and he notices a text message from John: hey! u busy? we’re going to the pub 2nite for mike’s bday. let me know.
He contemplates the idea for all of five seconds before deciding against it. He should probably ask Colin what he wants to do, but considering he needs to be up early to meet with that friend of his tomorrow morning, Bradley sort of assumes that he won’t mind staying in. Also, for completely selfish reasons, Bradley would prefer to just spend the night in, catching up with him. They haven’t even really spoken in over a month. Besides, Bradley’s mates can turn into complete idiots when they’re pissed, and he sort of wants to keep Colin away from them in that state.
He fires a quick response back - sorry, can’t. busy, but thanks for the invite - before starting up the movie.
They both chuckle when Sarah starts crying about her bear Lancelot. “We should make Santiago watch this, the next time he’s on set,” Colin suggests with a grin, and Bradley can do nothing but agree. You can never watch Labyrinth too many times, if you ask him. Plus, Santiago has a good sense of humour; he’d probably enjoy it.
Just after Jareth appears on screen, there is a knock on Bradley’s door.
Colin turns to look at Bradley, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Are you expecting someone?”
“No,” Bradley says, shaking his head. Reluctantly, he pauses the movie and goes to see who's shown up at his flat, unannounced.
“John?” Bradley blinks, staring at his friend standing on the other side of the doorway. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the pub celebrating Mike’s birthday or something?”
John shrugs casually and smiles. “I am, but your flat happened to be on the way, and I thought I’d see if I could change your mind and drag your arse out with us.”
“I suppose that text where I told you I was busy didn’t get through that thick skull of yours then?” Bradley asks, folding his arms and shooting John a pointed stare.
“You don’t look busy,” John says, attempting to peer over Bradley’s shoulder in one of the most completely obvious moves Bradley’s ever seen.
“I am.”
“You have a girl in there?” he asks suddenly, smirking, and wiggles two eyebrows suggestively.
Bradley laughs heartily, shaking his head. “Not exactly.”
“Hey, Bradley, what’s going on?” Colin’s voice wafts in his direction, and Bradley turns his head at the same time that Colin rounds the corner.
“Ahhh, now I see,” John says, voice laden with innuendo, but he’s clearly taking the piss. Bradley reaches over and punches John in the shoulder. Hard.
Before John has a chance to say anything else stupid, Bradley steps back away from the doorway and proceeds with introductions. “Colin, this is my idiot friend, John from school. John, this is Colin.”
“Nice to meet you, mate,” John says, extending his hand.
Colin accepts, shaking it firmly. “Likewise.”
“So, how long are you in town?”
“At least a week, possibly longer,” Colin replies. “Bradley kindly offered to let me stay with him while I’m in London.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Bradley I know.”
Bradley’s expression sours, and he narrows his eyes at John. Colin simply laughs. “Hilarious, mate,” Bradley growls, though he’s grinning too. “So, what are you doing here again?”
“Well, I wanted to see if you could join us at the pub, but since you’re so busy, never mind.”
“You’re more than welcome to go out if you want, Bradley. I don't mind at all,” Colin says, before Bradley even has a chance to get a word in. “I need to be up early tomorrow, so I think I'll stay in. But I brought several books and now that I know how to work the DVD player I think I'll be just fine on my own.”
Of course Colin would tell him to go out while he stayed in for the night, alone. It is so very typical of Colin. He's the kind of bloke that'd offer someone the last bite of his sandwich, give a person the shirt off his back if it was needed, or stay up an extra few hours to help someone (mainly Bradley) with their lines, even if he had to be up at five the next morning to start filming. He's one of the most selfless people Bradley has ever had the pleasure of knowing and it's one of the numerous things Bradley adores about him, even if he is hesitant to use the words 'adore' and 'Colin Morgan' in the same sentence outside of his own mind.
“Thanks, mate, that's kind of you to offer,” Bradley says, patting Colin on the back, twice, jovially. “But I'm not going to go to the pub and leave you here. Not only is it rude, but we have prior plans anyway.”
“What plans?” Colin looks confused.
Hitching a thumb in the general direction of the living room, Bradley says, “Take away, movie, remember?”
“Ah, yes. Right. Didn't realise that counted as 'plans'.”
“It does,” Bradley asserts with a sage nod.
John takes this opportunity to insert himself back into the conversation. “What movie are you watching?”
“Labyrinth,” Colin says, and very clearly tries not to laugh when John's face scrunches up in obvious displeasure.
“He's managed to talk you into watching that, has he?” John wonders, sounding simultaneously awed and amused. “You're a stronger man than I.”
Colin merely shrugs, smiling shyly, hands burying in the pockets of his hoodie. “I don’t mind, actually. We’ve watched it before. Once you take into consideration the year in which it was made, and remember that it’s supposed to be a bit of a ridiculous fantasy movie, then it really is quite entertaining.”
“Plus, David Bowie,” Bradley feels the need to add.
Raising both hands for a second before shaking his head, it’s clear when John finally accepts that he’s lost this round. He and Colin are a force to be reckoned with, so powerful that not even five David Bowies could touch them. Well, that and the fact that John’s smarter than he looks sometimes, and knows how to pick his battles.
“Your loss. I’ll be out getting pissed and having a blast, thank you. Have fun watching that ridiculous film,” he says with a grin, giving them both a teasing salute before sauntering off down the hall.
“Oh, we will,” Bradley calls after him, not because it’s the least bit necessary but simply because he enjoys driving John mad.
They return to the television and continue watching the movie, Bradley quoting along with nearly everything Jareth says, and the two of them either singing along to the songs or making up their own lyrics, when it seems more entertaining (which is virtually the entire length of the movie). By the time they’re finished, Bradley’s sides hurt from laughing so much. In fact, he can’t remember the last time he had this much fun.
“Only you could make watching this terrible movie that enjoyable,” Colin says, and Bradley knows there was a jab somewhere in there, but he’s too distracted by the compliment to care all that much.
They smile dumbly at each other for a moment - because what else is there to say to that, really? - before Colin glances down to check the time on his watch. “It’s not that late, but I told Nick I would meet him first thing in the morning, and by the time I take the Tube…”
Bradley nods in understanding. “Of course. I’m knackered myself actually, so I’m sure I’ll be going to sleep soon as well.” There’s something else he wants to say or do, something else he had planned since the morning, but now he can’t for the life of him remember what it was.
“Well, good night,” Colin says with a smile, after nearly a minute passes and neither of them make any attempt to move.
Bradley returns the smile automatically, like it’s a natural response. “Good night.”
Colin disappears from the living room and is likely halfway down the hallway when Bradley suddenly remembers. “Col?”
A beat, and then, “Yes?”
“Hold on one second.” Jumping up off the sofa, Bradley retreats to the kitchen, meeting Colin at the bedroom doorway a minute later.
“Here,” Bradley says, depositing the object in Colin’s waiting hands.
“What’s this?” Though it’s obvious, when Colin extends his fingers and peers down at what rests in his palm.
“Keys to my flat,” Bradley says simply, and tries to ignore the little unexpected flutter in his heart that appears when Colin meets his gaze, just a touch of uncertainty in his eyes. “Since you’ll be off doing your thing and I’ll be off doing mine. That way I don’t have to stay home, and you don’t have to stay away until I return. Makes the most sense, wouldn’t you agree?”
Colin nods, understanding lighting up behind his eyes, which seem even bluer than usual, if that’s possible. “Oh, okay. That’s probably a good idea, thanks.”
“Of course it is. It was my idea, after all,” Bradley says, folding his arms and smirking arrogantly.
“Yes. The epitome of brilliance. Bradley James. Right,” Colin deadpans, and Bradley laughs heartily in response. Colin’s just jealous, that much is painfully clear.
“You only wish you were as fantastic as me,” he says, nudging Colin’s ankle with his foot, and Colin’s gaze immediately drops to the source, briefly, before meeting his eyes once again.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to get through the day,” is Colin’s only reply, and unfortunately, Bradley isn’t sure how to argue with that.
Fingering the keys, Colin eyes them curiously, as though he’s having some deep, secret thoughts, and then finally shoves them into the pockets of his jeans. “Thanks, Bradley. Night.”
“Good night,” he says, a moment too late, to the door gently closing in his face.
It feels significant, somehow, Bradley handing over the spare set of keys to his flat, even though it’s a gesture born entirely of necessity and nothing more. Still, some weird part of his brain feels that this is a good thing, and at this hour, he isn’t too inclined to try and argue with it.
~*~
As it turns out, Colin is actually a fantastic house guest. He’s quiet in the morning, cleans up after himself, actually hangs his towel to dry after taking a shower, and unlike Bradley, never leaves the refrigerator door open or the lights on unnecessarily, even if he’s going right back into the room in a couple of minutes. Of course, he eats a surprisingly large amount of food - more than Bradley remembers, anyway - and occasionally forgets to lock the door when he leaves, but all in all, it’s a pleasure to have him around.
Within the first several days, a pattern begins to emerge. Colin leaves first thing in the morning, but starts a pot of coffee for Bradley so that it’s ready when he wakes up. An hour or so later, Bradley finally hauls his arse off the sofa - sometimes it takes him a long time to fall asleep on the couch, despite what he’d told Colin - and downs a cup or two of coffee before starting his day. It usually consists of running errands, visiting friends, playing sports at the gym, or sending e-mails that border on harassment to his agent about finding him a script for the new year.
Sometimes, partway through the day, if his sleep that night was particularly poor, Bradley will take a quick nap in his own bed. It sort of smells faintly of Colin - even if he hasn’t occupied it for very long - but this doesn’t particularly bother him. All he usually needs is twenty minutes and he’s feeling much better.
By the time Colin arrives back at the flat, it’s usually just following dinner time. Bradley is most definitely not a chef, but he’s always prided himself on making real meals when he’s at home as often as possible. The only difference this time is that he’s using all vegetarian items. He’s not especially fond of tofu, but seeing as how he needs to make something anyway, it feels pointless to cook a separate meal specifically for Colin. Therefore Bradley does the only logical thing and decides to use the week to experiment with an online vegetarian cookbook he finds.
They typically eat dinner together - complete with feedback from Colin about the meal; thankfully Bradley’s cooking abilities have passed every day so far - and then they spend the evening hanging out.
On Monday they go to a nearby park, then design and race through obstacle courses using trees, bushes, swing sets, and even sometimes dogs or other people in the park (who are less than impressed, usually). By the end, Colin is beating Bradley three races to two, but he’s determined to have a rematch before Colin leaves to rectify that situation.
On Tuesday they decide to see The Social Network, even though they’ve both already seen it. Therefore, they spend the vast majority of the time commenting on Justin Timberlake’s rugged good looks (well, that’s mostly Bradley), how Jesse Eisenberg is incredibly awkward but still does an amazing job in the role, and how little actually occurs in the movie in terms of plot. There might also be some - okay, a lot - of discussion about how awesome Andrew Garfield is, though that’s largely Bradley (again). It’s possible that they piss off a few people around them, but in the end they’re having too much fun to really care.
Wednesday night’s plans revolve around prank calling Katie, which takes over an hour to plan and only three minutes to completely fuck up. Even disabling the caller ID on Bradley’s mobile does nothing to help maintain their anonymity. Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on your perspective - Katie only figures out that Bradley’s involved, and threatens to exact sweet, sweet revenge. She hangs up before Bradley can add Colin to her hit list, but somehow he doubts she’d believe him anyway. Those damn Irish always stick together, Bradley’s noticed.
However, Thursday evening ends up playing out quite differently than the other nights.
It’s more than two hours earlier than usual when Bradley hears the careful clicking sound of his front door unlocking, followed by the shuffling of someone entering the flat. Having just finished showering, Bradley pulls a t-shirt over his head so he’s fully clothed - he double checks beforehand just in case, because wouldn’t that be embarrassing? - and makes his way towards the front entrance.
“Colin!” he says in surprise. “What are you doing back so early?”
“There wasn’t as much to do today as expected.” It isn’t much of an answer, but Bradley supposes it probably doesn’t matter. Colin shrugs noncommittally, tossing his rucksack beside the pile of shoes on the floor and makes his way into the kitchen, a brown paper bag in his left hand. Naturally, Bradley follows.
Glancing at Bradley over his shoulder, Colin eyes him in amusement. “Nice hair,” he remarks with a smirk, setting the bag down on the kitchen table.
“What’s wrong with it?” Bradley grumbles good-naturedly, reaching up to run fingers through his still damp and obviously un-styled hair.
“Nothing,” he says, and Bradley will be damned if Colin hasn’t perfected the art of feigning innocence down to the most minute detail. He does it so well, it should almost be illegal. Except for the fact that over time, Bradley has learned when Colin’s taking the piss and when he’s being genuine, so at least he’s able to suss out the difference now.
“Well, you returned earlier than anticipated, so it’s not my fault that I didn’t have time to make myself gorgeous for your arrival,” he says, layering on as much sarcasm as he can muster and grins devilishly at Colin.
It doesn’t appear to faze Colin whatsoever. Waving a hand around aimlessly, he says, “Nah, you’re always gorgeous.”
The comment is so natural, so casual, that Bradley almost misses what Colin’s just said. Except that he doesn’t. It’s instantly obvious that Colin is teasing him, if the mischievous smirk is any indication, but even still, Bradley feels heat pooling in his belly for just the briefest of moments anyway.
There are so many possible ways to respond to a comment like that, but he decides to go with cocky arrogance, because it’s the only thing that feels appropriate. “Damn right. I’m bloody fit.”
Colin chuckles loudly, voice filled with a mirth that warms the room, and it’s then that Bradley actually notices the extra item Colin’s brought in with him.
“What’s in the bag?” Bradley asks, folding his arms across his chest and eyeing it curiously.
“Oh, right!” Colin reaches out for the bag, picking it up and holding it out to Bradley. “There’s this tiny little restaurant a couple of blocks from the theatre where we’ve been ordering lunch every day, and I thought you might enjoy the food, so I brought something back for us. Figured you’ve done enough cooking the last few days and I should probably return the favour.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” Bradley says, taking the proffered bag, noting for the first time the delicious smell wafting from inside, and he’s suddenly immensely curious as to what it contains. Setting the bag on the counter, Bradley opens it and begins to rummage through the contents, almost immediately surprised by what he finds.
“Burgers? Are these vegetarian?” he asks, raising both brows.
Colin shakes his head. “No, they’re real. Or, um, real for you. Genuine beef burgers, just how you like it.”
There’s a dirty joke somewhere in there, Bradley knows, but he’s too distracted at the moment to pull one together.
“Seriously?” Bradley says, excited, sounding like a child on Christmas all of a sudden. It’s only been four days that he’s gone without meat, but apparently that’s long enough. “It smells great.”
Colin shuffles his feet and looks at Bradley with a sort of bashful awkwardness. “Er, I obviously haven’t tried them myself, but I hear that they’re incredible. If you like that sort of thing,” he says, and then scrunches his face up as though even the mere thought of anyone eating meat is disgusting, though Bradley can that tell he’s joking. Mostly.
“Thanks, Col,” he says, feeling genuinely touched. “But what are you going to eat?”
“There’s a salad hiding in the bottom of the bag somewhere for me. I also bought both French and yam fries. I figured we could share.”
Even though Colin’s arrived back at the flat earlier than anticipated, all of Bradley’s errands for the day are finished, so they decide to move straight into their evening plans: marathoning series one of The X-Files.
Over the past three years, they’ve managed to make it through Buffy, Angel, both the original and the American versions of The Office and all the Doctor Who episodes and specials since David Tennant took on the role. In another life, Bradley thinks that he might’ve also made a fantastic television critic.
While Colin pops the first disc into DVD player, Bradley scans the episode list for the entire first series.
“Can you believe some of these episode titles? ‘Deep Throat’, ‘Squeeze’, ‘Gender Bender’?” Bradley chuckles to himself. Honestly, they make it too easy sometimes.
“Very mature,” Colin retorts, but he can’t quite hide his own smirk. “Is your mind constantly in the gutter, or does it just visit frequently?”
“Did I say anything about the titles being sexual euphemisms, Colin?”
“Big word, there. You know what it means?”
Bradley tries not to scoff. “Of course I do. And you never answered my question, which I assume means that your own mind was in the gutter as well.” He tsk, tsk’s Colin, shaking his head and shooting him a look of mock disapproval.
“You know what they say about assuming,” Colin shoots back, before settling back against the sofa and tossing the DVD remote in Bradley’s general direction.
As it turns out, the pilot episode is just as bad as most pilots tend to be, filled with overly cheesy dialogue, awkward first interactions, some terrible acting by a few of the guest stars, and a bit of a ridiculous storyline. Still, while Bradley has always appreciated action and close friendships to romance, he enjoys the bathrobe scene perhaps a bit too much.
“Wow, getting naked in the first episode. How’s that for sexual tension?” he jokes, but Colin just laughs and waves a hand at him to be quiet.
However, by the time they’re four episodes in, Bradley is starting to believe that he could really end up enjoying this show. The effects aren’t fantastic, but considering this was the early '90s, Bradley decides to let it go. The storylines are fun, and he’s enjoying the paranormal aspect of things. Plus, the dynamic between Mulder and Scully is nothing short of intriguing. He knows firsthand how important chemistry and a strong dynamic between the leads on a programme can be.
Partway through the fifth episode, Bradley decides he has the characters completely figured out. “Scully won’t go on that date,” he predicts, casting Colin a sidelong glance.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because she fancies Mulder. Somehow something’s going to stop that date from happening, trust me,” he says sagely.
Colin’s brows furrow. “You can’t possibly know that. You’re just making things up based on the little you know about the show.”
“Well, don’t they end up shagging eventually?”
“I think so.” Colin squints thoughtfully. “But it’s only five episodes in, Bradley.”
“Fine. But be prepared to apologise to me when I’m right,” he says, stretching his legs out and leaning back against the cushions.
By the time the episode finishes, Bradley is gloating. “See? Told you Scully wouldn’t go on that date. She’s head over heels for Mulder. She wouldn’t date someone else when she fancies another bloke. Goes against her style,” he says, in a display of true maturity. But that’s what Colin gets when he tries to doubt Bradley’s superior observation skills.
Colin merely rolls his eyes. “Yes, well, aren’t you a genius?”
“I quite thought so.”
Neither moves to grab for the remote to start the next episode, but Bradley is still startled when Colin suddenly says, “We should go out somewhere, get some drinks or something, yeah? Nick doesn’t need me tomorrow, so we have all evening. I think we should get out for a while, get some air.”
That certainly hadn’t been expected, but Bradley isn’t opposed to the idea either. And he supposes he could benefit from getting out of the flat for a bit too. “Er, I guess so. Where did you have in mind?”
Colin shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. Didn’t you say there’s a pub close by that you and your friends like?”
~*~
Fifteen minutes later, they find themselves tucked into a booth at the back of the pub, both nursing a beer. It’s a relatively large pub, which helps to afford them some privacy. It’s not as if Bradley is recognised on a daily basis when he’s out in the city; in fact, he still manages to remain in relative obscurity while in public, save for the odd moment here and there when a group of people - often girls, as luck would have it - spot him and come over to say hello. Still, the frequency of being recognised has increased as the popularity of the show rises.
And even though when they’re out in public together and no one notices Colin, for some strange reason, when the two of them are in the same place at the same time, the likelihood that Bradley will be noticed increases exponentially. He has yet to figure out how this works, but he finds himself being spotted with a much higher frequency when he’s in Colin’s company, even though half the time Colin isn’t even noticed immediately.
So, needless to say, Bradley is grateful when they manage to find a small booth to keep them relatively hidden from everyone else who happens to be out drinking that night. And for a while, they even remain unnoticed. But of course, with Bradley’s luck, it doesn’t last nearly long enough.
It happens after he sends Colin up to the bar to get a third round of beers.
“Bradley James? Is that really you? Wow, it’s been so long!”
Dragging his gaze away from the bar, Bradley jerks his head over to the source of the sound and is immediately met with the sight of Elizabeth ( Beth) Miller, a girl he’d dated for just over two years prior to accepting the role of Arthur on Merlin. She still looks exactly like how Bradley remembers her - tall, with dark wavy brown hair that hangs just past her shoulders, wire-rimmed glasses framing her face and dressed from head to toe in what was probably designer everything. Ever the fashionista, but one of the most down-to-earth girls Bradley’s ever met.
“Beth,” he says with a smile, rising to greet her properly with the hug he knows she’s waiting for.
This is certainly an unexpected surprise, though not an unpleasant one. Their break-up had been mostly amicable at the time. Beth is several years younger than Bradley, but neither had been ready to even start thinking about settling down back when they’d been dating. They’d been discussing the idea of taking a break from one another just prior to his audition for Merlin, and the day following that, they mutually decided to end things. Beth wanted to go to university and she wanted Bradley to concentrate on his career without being ‘tied down’ to someone. They’d promised to keep in touch, but hadn’t, though Bradley knows he’s mostly to blame for that.
“It’s been a while, but it’s great to see you. You’re looking good,” he says honestly.
“Far too long,” she agrees. “Weren’t you supposed to give me a ring? Did you forget about me after becoming a big, famous star?”
Bradley blinks. He knows that she’s joking, but alternately, she’s also completely correct, and he feels a small stab of guilt. Even though the break-up had been mutual, he’d still been hurt by the whole thing. But before he can find the words, Beth bats playfully at his arm.
“I’m just teasing, don’t worry. You’ve been busy, so I’ve seen, and I could’ve just as easily rung you up myself, but I didn’t.” She shrugs.
Smiling sheepishly, Bradley ducks his head for a moment anyway. “I suppose so. I meant to phone you, but I obviously never did, so I’m sorry.” He meant it, too. Or at least he did now.
Laughing lightly, Beth waves her hand dismissively. “Let's call it even? We're both to blame?”
“Sure, all right.” Bradley nods, relieved. “So, how have you been? What have you been doing these past few years?”
Beth reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, a perfectly manicured nail gliding against her scalp. Again, just how he remembers her. “Oh, you know, just finishing up at uni. It's been busy, but hopefully I'll be finished within the next year or two and will finally be ready to enter the workforce.”
“That's great,” he tells her with a smile. “Hopefully the last stretch won't be too difficult for you. You're finishing your law degree still, I assume?”
“I am,” she confirms, pride evident in her voice.
Bradley is poised to ask how Beth's family is doing - specifically her brother, whom Bradley got on with quite well, back when he and Beth were dating - when out of the blue she interjects with, “You know, maybe it's fate that we ran into one another here.”
“What do you mean?” he asks dumbly, though he suspects he knows exactly where she might be going with this.
“Well, I was just thinking about you the other day. Some of the fun times we had, so it seems significant that we both ended up here at the same time, wouldn’t you say?”
Bradley bites down on his tongue to prevent the automatic response he wants to give, which he assumes probably won’t be received overly well. Instead he says, “You’re right, we did have a lot of great times in the past. Perhaps this is fate’s way of helping old friends catch up.”
That answer seems to please her, even though Bradley’s not fully sure what he even just said. “Are you involved with anyone right now?” she asks, head tilting to the side as she folds her arms loosely across her chest. Sure enough, he was right.
Something uncomfortable unfurls in his chest. “Erm, no. It's sort of hard, what with working on Merlin for eight months of the year. I barely have time to sleep, let alone date anyone.”
It's technically the truth, mostly, but it's also equally an excuse, and he bloody well knows it. If he truly wanted to date, he could find a way to make it work, somehow. Granted, their filming schedule is hectic and he works ridiculously long hours during the year. Still, it's nice to have handy when he's trying to fend off unwanted affections from fans (or even acquaintances), or defend himself against his mum's questions about when he's going to 'find somebody nice to settle down with'. Beth is a lovely girl and it's not that he's opposed to the idea of dating her again - they had some incredible times when they were younger - but he just can't envision himself with her right now, at this time in his life, even though he doesn't exactly have any logical reason for the decision, save for the feeling in his gut.
Out of the corner of his eye, Bradley can see Colin making his way back over to the table with their drinks, and he feels something like relief well up inside him.
“Hey, Bradley,” Colin says carefully once he arrives, glancing between Bradley and Beth, and shooting him a silent question with his eyes. Colin grips both mugs, holding them close to his chest a bit uncertainly, as if unsure whether he should stay or go.
“Colin,” Bradley says with a wide smile, and reaches out to take one of the drinks from his hands as he gestures towards Beth with the other. “This is Beth. She’s an old friend of mine.” Colin quirks an eyebrow at the name curiously, but Bradley gives him a pointed stare that he hopes says: ’Not now.’ Before Colin has the opportunity to open his mouth, Bradley continues. “Beth, this is Colin-”
“-Morgan,” Beth finishes, eyes widening in obvious realisation. “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen the show. I’m a huge fan. How nice to meet you.” She holds out her hand.
“You too.” He accepts the proffered limb, shaking it firmly.
Both turn to Bradley then, as if they expect him to say something. Except, he’s not sure what, precisely, they want from him.
Thankfully, Beth saves him from having to say anything. “Well, I don’t want to interrupt, so I suppose I should be on my way.”
“You don’t want to stick around for a while? I can make myself scarce,” Colin offers, but Beth shakes her head. Bradley lets out an internal sigh of relief at her response for reasons he’s not quite certain of.
“No, that’s all right. I’m meeting up with a few friends myself, so I really should go find them. But it was nice to meet you,” she says to Colin. And then, to Bradley she adds, “Give me a ring when you have some free time, all right? Might just be fate after all.”
With that, she turns and strolls away.
“So, that was the infamous Beth, was it?” Colin asks as they slide back into the booth.
“Yeah.”
“She seems nice.”
“She is.”
Colin gives him a look. “So, what did she want?”
Suddenly Bradley is beginning to regret telling Colin all about Beth a few years back, instead of just leaving well enough alone. Of course, at the time, he never could have foreseen that Colin might actually meet her. He takes a long swig of his beer, relishing the faint buzz it thankfully provides him with as it slides easily down his parched throat.
“Nothing. She just saw me and came over to say hi. That’s it.
“Didn't look like nothing to me.”
Bradley tries not to roll his eyes at the implication. “You're ridiculous, Colin. Just because I happened to be talking to an ex-girlfriend, doesn't automatically mean anything was going on.”
Apparently, the words don't penetrate Colin's thick skull. “So, did she ask you out on another date?”
“No,” Bradley instantly responds. Then he stops, and corrects himself. “Well, not exactly. I think she was about to, but then you showed up.”
“Oh, I'm sorry!”
“Don't be. I wouldn't have said yes anyway.”
Colin reaches out to flick the back of his hand, and Bradley tries not to jump in surprise. “Why not?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs absently, and then downs the last of his beer. “We don’t have time for dating with the kind of schedules we have during filming.” Belatedly, Bradley remembers that Colin might be the one person for whom that excuse won’t work.
For a second, Colin looks like he’s about ready to say something, but then, he appears to check himself. “Yeah, that’d be difficult. But it wouldn’t be impossible if you really wanted it, and we both know that. I don’t think you’ve dated anyone since we first started working together.”
“So?”
Colin shrugs, fingers tapping idly on the table. “I’m just saying. If you wanted to date her, now might be a good time to start, since we have lots of time from now until filming for series four begins.”
And suddenly, out of nowhere, Bradley feels just a little irritated by Colin’s insistence on talking about this.
“I would’ve said no because I don't want to, plain and simple. Beth was great, but she’s my past. Things are different now than they were back then,” he asserts, sounding more frustrated than is strictly necessary. But there it is. He's said it now, and Colin can make of that what he will.
Something unrecognisable flashes in Colin’s eyes briefly before he smiles, placating, and kicks Bradley’s foot lightly under the table. “Easy there. I was just winding you up, yeah? No hard feelings.”
And then Bradley is feeling like an idiot, because he’s being silly about the whole thing, and the last thing he wants is to upset Colin in any way. “I know, don’t worry. I’m sorry for over-reacting.” He has no idea why he’s getting so defensive all of a sudden. It’s not that important.
“So, how come whenever we’re out together, I’m the one who always gets recognised?” Bradley whines then, as much to put voice to the question he’s had sitting at the back of his mind as it is to change the topic entirely. It’s not that he’s uncomfortable with talking about Beth, per se. He just wants to look towards his future, not get sucked back into memories from his past.
Colin lifts a single shoulder and shoots him a lazy grin. “I don’t know. Maybe because you’re so damn loud all the time? You probably call all the attention to yourself purposefully, trying to steal my glory.”
“You don’t even like being recognised, so you can’t pull that card on me, Morgan,” Bradley points out helpfully, especially since it’s true. He’s become so much more comfortable with being in the spotlight since Bradley first met him, but Colin would still rather remain hovering around in the background, if he could. And then, remembering the first part of that original comment adds, “Also, I’m not that loud.”
“Then it must just be the appeal of your stunning good looks that draws the crowds,” Colin suggests, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Bradley grips the mug of his beer tightly, laughing with more enthusiasm than he feels. “Yeah, right. Whatever you say. And don’t sell yourself short. I hear the women screaming ’oh, Colin, you’re so hot, Colin, we love you so much Colin, swoon, swoon, swoon’ when we’re at any sort of fan event.” He uses his best high-pitched, screaming female fan voice, and is quite proud of how accurate he sounds.
And Bradley will be damned if Colin isn’t looking slightly embarrassed by his comment. “Heh, well, then maybe I’m just better at hiding than you are.”
Colin tilts his head back then, gulping down the rest of his beer, and Bradley finds his eyes are inadvertently drawn to the bob of his Adam’s apple as Colin swallows, suddenly mesmerised by the way it dips and rises. Curious eyes trail up his long neck to the strong line of Colin’s jaw, his beer-moistened lips, the sharp angles of his cheekbones-
“Bradley?”
Blinking sharply, Bradley’s eyes dart back up to meet Colin’s inquisitive gaze, and he is grateful for the dim lighting in the pub that hides the unexpected heat he feels pricking at the back of his neck all of a sudden. “Yes?”
“You don’t look too well. D’you think we should head back to your flat now? Continue watching X-Files, yeah?”
He’s definitely had enough alcohol tonight, Bradley decides. Maybe a bit too much. Swallowing heavily, he nods, trying not to look as guilty as he inexplicably feels. “Sure, yeah. That’d-that’d probably be a good idea. Yes, let’s do that.”
~*~
By the time late Saturday afternoon rolls around, they’ve managed to finish the entire first series of The X-Files, and Bradley feels like he might go a bit cross-eyed if they watch anything else.
So instead, they take a break to have a vegetarian cook-off. Even though Bradley knows he’ll lose - because he’s not even that much of a cook to begin with, never mind having to make meals without meat - he still puts forth a valiant effort. While there’s no impartial judge to decide who won, they both agree that Colin’s vegetable casserole is better than Bradley’s vegetarian lasagne. But Colin still eats two helpings, so Bradley thinks that he must have done something right.
They end up destroying Bradley’s kitchen, and it takes nearly two hours to clean everything up, but he hasn’t had this much fun cooking in a long time, so it seems worth the effort.
“We should watch Merlin together,” Colin suggests a little while later. He’s sprawled across Bradley’s sofa, one arm slung over his eyes, the other dangling off the edge of the cushions, and feet hanging over the end of the couch.
Just managing to pry himself off the floor, Bradley crawls over to Colin and pokes at his feet. “Yeah, fine, but you need to shove over. I’m not staying on the floor.”
With an exaggerated groan, Colin moves just enough for Bradley to squeeze in beside him, and Bradley very pointedly ignores the way Colin’s toes accidentally brush against his thigh. More than once. Turning on the TV, he flips through the channels until he lands on BBC One, just in time.
Almost unconsciously, Bradley finds himself paying extra attention to any scenes where Arthur interacts with Gwen. He knows he’s probably being silly and just a bit paranoid, but he can’t help but wonder. He hasn’t even formulated any sort of concrete theories to coincide with his unidentified suspicions, just feels like a bit of extra vigilance might not be a bad thing.
Every time Arthur and Gwen appear in the same scene, Bradley pays careful attention, trying to see if there is anything off about the scene, or remember if Colin happened to be there. But he doesn’t notice or recall a thing that might be suspicious. Of course, he is also notorious for having a terrible memory, so it might not be the most reliable of indicators.
They only half pay attention to the actual episode, talking throughout - sharing stories from set, reminiscing or poking fun at themselves. It’d be the sort of commentary that the producers would scold them for, but the fans would probably love.
“Well, that was fun,” Colin says at the conclusion of the episode.
“Bloody fantastic,” Bradley retorts, smiling over at him. Relief settles in his chest with the knowledge that the last two weeks must have just been a coincidence after all.
“Hey, do you remember when they were rearranging the set during the filming of one of the corridor scenes, and you tripped and fell backwards because you didn’t realise they’d moved that bench closer?” Colin asks, accidentally toeing Bradley again.
“Hey, mate, keep your stinky feet to yourself, yeah?” Bradley grumbles good-naturedly, glaring at the offending limbs, and then, “Oh yeah. I landed flat on my arse. That was embarrassing.”
“But hilarious. Don’t forget hilarious.” Colin laughs and pulls his knees up to his chest, smiling so brightly that Bradley can’t really find it in him to be annoyed.
He reflects on his memory of that incident, chuckling to himself, when suddenly something dawns on him, mid-thought. “Wait, wasn’t that a scene I was filming with Angel?”
Colin shrugs. “I dunno, maybe?”
“Then why were you there?” He narrows his eyes at the same time that the uncomfortable feeling returns, settling deep within his chest.
“No idea, Bradley. But I definitely remember you falling on your arse.”
And now that he’s really thinking about it, Bradley definitely remembers that he was filming with Angel, and that Colin was there. Of course, Colin’s presence on set doesn’t necessarily mean anything at all, but considering his recent discoveries, Bradley strongly suspects that something else is going on here, though he’s not so sure he even wants to find out what it is.
~*~
Colin leaves the following Tuesday, and Bradley tries not to think about the fact that they might not see one another again until the new year, because the idea of going another six weeks without seeing him is highly unpleasant.
With a wide grin and a squeeze to Bradley’s shoulder, Colin boards his train, while Bradley tells himself that the tightness in his chest is a normal response when saying good-bye to all of his mates.
That evening, Bradley's flat feels decidedly empty, and he tries very hard not to dwell on that fact. The reality is that he's enjoyed having Colin around, and living by himself does get lonely at times. Bradley's always been a social person - surrounding himself with family and friends whenever he has the opportunity - and while he does need the down time every now and then, he hasn't fully grown accustomed to living on his own. A few years ago he might have imagined himself moving in with Beth, but those days are long gone now.
While channel surfing a short while later he sees a commercial advertising the next episode of Merlin, and he’s reminded once again of The Situation (as he’s just now started referring to the Colin-being-present-in-all-of-his-scenes-with-Angel thing).
There are a million different ways Bradley could choose to utilise his time, but in the end he spends the next several hours going back over the last three episodes on his laptop with a fine-toothed comb. By the time he’s finished, there is only one conclusion that can be drawn: Colin was present for the filming of every single Arthur-and-Gwen scene, but only twice was actually part of the scene in question.
Which means… Well, Bradley’s not exactly sure what it all means, but there’s no doubt that this extends far beyond mere coincidence. Especially since he can’t recall a single incidence of the opposite occurring - when Angel watched an Arthur-and-Merlin scene, or when Katie was present during an Uther-and-Arthur scene. But even if they'd had, it was most definitely not a regular occurrence.
The entire thing is very peculiar, and something about it just doesn’t sit right in Bradley’s stomach. It’s probably nothing, except that it might be something, and once Bradley gets an idea in his mind, it’s hard to let it go.
~*~
Two full days pass and Bradley’s desire to figure out what’s going on finally gets the best of him, so he decides to seek out a second opinion. Naturally, since he can’t ring up Colin and is hesitant to discuss it with Angel, he turns to Katie.
This, unsurprisingly, turns out to be a rubbish idea.
“Bradley James, I can see your name on my call display,” is how she greets him, with all the warmth of a lion stalking a gazelle just before it attacks. It makes him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “I swear to God, if you’re calling to prank me again, I will send your picture to the Irish mafia and put a hit out on you.”
That seems a touch extreme, even for Katie, and several sarcastic responses immediately come to mind: ’Nice to hear from you too, Katie’, ‘How’ve you been since we last spoke?’, ‘Keeping busy now that we’re on break?’ But of course, he doesn’t say any of them, because fighting Katie with sarcasm is about as productive as fighting a fire with a match.
“There’s no such thing as the Irish mafia,” he points out.
“How do you know?”
“Colin would have told me if there was.” Not that it’s ever come up, mind, but he’s sure Colin would have if such a thing existed.
“Are you confident about that? You know how we Irish stick together, and we never reveal our secrets to our English enemies.”
Laughter spills from his mouth at that, and Bradley shakes his head in disbelief. “’English enemies’, Katie? Really?”
She can’t help but chuckle in return before quickly sobering. “Yes, well, either way - is that a risk you’re willing to take?” He can almost see her smirk, wicked and smug, and inwardly grumbles.
“Yes,” he mutters at length, but in a manner that seems to imply the exact opposite.
A beat passes, and then, “So why did you actually call, now that we’ve established that you’re not trying to prank me and wouldn’t dare risk it?”
Bradley sighs with exaggerated exasperation. “Maybe I don’t want to tell you any longer, after you insulted me.”
Another peal of laughter ripples through the line. “Oh, please, Bradley. What are you, ten years old? Besides, the last time you called, it was with the intent of pulling a practical joke on me, so you can hardly blame me, can you? You obviously called me for a reason, so let’s hear it.”
If it wasn’t for the fact that he genuinely did want her opinion - because when she wasn’t being an evil harpy, she actually gave moderately good advice - he would hang up, just to prove a point. However, seeing as this wasn’t a topic he could ask his non-Merlin mates, Angel and Colin were out of the question, and it felt like far too silly of a reason to ring up Richard or Tony, Katie was his best bet.
“Have you ever, er, hung around the set and watched a scene being filmed that you weren’t in?” Bradley asks, at length.
“Um, yeah. Once or twice, I think. Maybe more, when I haven’t been filming a scene myself, but not all that often.”
“Okay, but you’ve never, uh, been on set for, like, several similar scenes you weren’t a part of before, have you?”
“Bradley, what are you on about? What does this have to do with anything?”
Suddenly he’s feeling a little dimwitted about the whole thing. “Er, well, it’s just that-Have you been watching Merlin the last few weeks?”
“No, but I heard there was some editing error a few weeks ago. My mum called me to ask about it the next day. Said she went online to see if she could find anything out. You probably don’t want to know what some people were saying…”
No, he is quite certain that he doesn’t.
“So I guess you know that Colin was in that scene for a few seconds before it cut back to Angel, then?”
“Yes, hence my previous comments. I’m not even going to ask how that happened-”
“Yeah, so, anyway,” Bradley interrupts, before she does start talking about things he doesn’t particularly want to hear right now, “I’ve been watching the show and I couldn’t help but notice that Colin’s been present during the vast majority of the scenes with Angel and myself.”
“And this is significant why?”
“Because he wasn’t in any of those scenes. Or, well, he wasn’t in most of those scenes. And yet he was still there while we filmed. Don’t you find that a bit odd?”
Silence fills the line for far longer than Bradley is entirely comfortable with.
“I don’t know, I suppose it’s sort of strange. But you’re often filming together, aren’t you? Maybe you had a scene together immediately beforehand or immediately after?” Katie suggests.
“Perhaps.” But he doesn’t believe it’s that simple. Besides, the argument still doesn’t stand if it won’t generalise to other situations and cast members, which, as far as Bradley can recall, isn’t the case.
“Maybe he came by to watch you film?”
“But that many times?” It seems unlikely.
“You said Colin’s only around when you’re filming Arthur-Gwen scenes?”
Didn’t he already say that? Is she not listening to a word he’s saying? “Yes…”
“Then maybe they’re trying to ramp up the sexual tension in those scenes?”
Bradley nearly drops his mobile. “What? Katie, that doesn’t even make any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense, actually. Have you ever even watched the show before?”
Bradley tries not to roll his eyes, though the effect isn't exactly as strong when she isn't there to witness the full extent of his exasperation. ”Clearly I have.”
“Well, despite the fact that you act like one most of the time, you're not an idiot, Bradley.” He opens his mouth to protest the affront to his character, but she doesn't give him the opportunity. “If you don't know what I'm talking about, then I'm not going to tell you. This is the kind of thing that you shouldn't have to be told.”
“You sound like my mum now, Katie. Come on, don't be absurd.”
“I'm not. I'm not even saying that I'm right. But if you can't possibly understand why having Colin around in your scenes with Angel to increase the tension is a logical conclusion to reach, then that's not my problem.”
What Bradley truly doesn't understand is how Katie can be so thoroughly frustrating. Why does she feel the need to talk in riddles instead of just helping him figure this out, like he asked? Glancing down, he notices that his left fist is clenched so tight that the knuckles are turning white, and he forcefully relaxes his hand, laying the palm flat against his thigh instead.
Clearly, things are not going as planned, so Bradley decides that it’s time to pull out his backup plan. “Ka-tie,” he whines pathetically, “why are you being so cruel to me?”
Without a beat passing, she says, “Stop that. Whining won’t work with me. But come on, Bradley, think about it. This isn’t that difficult of a concept.”
So he does. Because Katie is right about one thing - Bradley is not an idiot. Or, at least, mostly not. After about a minute, he arrives at a conclusion, though he’s still not quite sure how everything fits together. “Is this because Colin and I have good chemistry or something?”
Katie makes a noise which seems to resemble approval. “You’re getting there.”
“But what does that have to do with my scenes with Angel?”
The heavy sigh he receives in return is enough of an indication that he hasn’t responded favourably. “Are you really that dense? I thought you were getting somewhere. Honestly, sometimes I wonder about you, Bradley.”
“Thank you for that wonderfully kind feedback. Good to know I can count on you to boost my self-esteem.”
“Look, I’m sure you can figure it out if you just take some time,” Katie suggests, voice softening just slightly. “Or, you know, you could just phone up Johnny and get the information straight from the horse’s mouth, if you’re so convinced there’s some conspiracy going on.”
That seems like the wiser option, at this point. Katie has been no help whatsoever. “Well, I’m glad I decided to call you, Katie. Thanks so much for everything,” he says with as much sarcasm as he can muster (because at this point, it doesn’t matter any longer if he pulls the sarcasm card with her).
Katie simply laughs, though not unkindly, and it should annoy him immensely, but it actually serves to quell his annoyance instead. Stupid Katie and the power of her stupid laugh. “It’s not that big of a deal, Bradley. But feel free to give me a ring again once you sort things out, should you need someone to talk to.”
“Yeah, I will,” he says, even though he probably won’t. “Take care, and stay in touch.”
“Thanks. You too, Bradley. Bye.”
Probably, Bradley thinks after hanging up his mobile, he should have called Rupert instead.
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Continue to part three