Little Penguin - (a Brolin ficlet)
Title: Little Penguin
Rating: PG (fluffff and cuddles)
Word count: 760
Characters/Pairings: Bradley/Colin
Summary: Outside, it's freezing cold and pouring with rain and Colin can't stop shivering - so Bradley keeps him warm :)
Disclaimer: this sooo happened...in my mind. Bradley and Colin aren't mine, sadly.
Rain pelted down in diagonal sheets, beating an incessant military tattoo on the tin roof of Angel’s trailer. Filming had been abruptly halted when the spattering of deviously innocent raindrops had exploded into a torrential sky-tantrum. Bradley, Colin and Katie had sprinted, in full costume, to the nearby shelter of Angel’s trailer, where she had bundled them into the welcome warmth, albeit giggling at their misfortune. Inside, they had dried off, set the water to boil, and stripped the trailer of anything remotely-blanket-like to bundle up in. They collapsed onto the soft, carpeted floor and huddled up while the kettle whistled pleasantly in the corner.
“Poker?” Angel offered, pulling out a pack of cards. Bradley and Katie agreed enthusiastically (although Katie turned down Bradley’s suggestion of ‘strip poker’, pointing out that, as irresistibly tempting as it sounded, they had just spent all this time rugging up.)
Bradley noticed Colin’s hesitation at the mention of ‘poker’. He prodded Colin.
“Whasamatter, Colin?” he demanded. “Does Mummy Morgan not like her wittle Colin playing grown-up games?”
Colin unclenched his jaw, and promptly began to shiver. Bradley noticed Colin’s teeth clattering together, and an inevitable rush of pity surged through him.
“I-I c-c-can-can’t f-feel my f-f-fingers,” Colin chattered, violent shakes racking his slender frame. Immediately, Katie and Angel rose to give Colin their blankets - but Bradley beat them both to it. In a single, Prince-Arthur-esque motion (he was starting to get the hang of this whole “chivalry” business), he pulled his own woollen blanket from his own shoulders, and tucked it around Colin’s. Colin shivered his thanks.
Angel got up to make the hot cocoa, and Katie began to shuffle the cards. Keeping an eye on both of them, Bradley decided it was safe to subtly get a little closer to Colin. He cast a sidelong glance at Colin, whose chin was tucked into the nest of woolly folds at his chest, like a little penguin hibernating.
“C’mere,” Bradley beckoned, unable to suppress the fluffy little creature in his chest called Tenderness which had just awoken from hibernation. Colin the little penguin just shivered in response again, so Bradley scooted over and put an arm around his shoulders, drawing him in close.
Even beneath the thick layers of blankets, Bradley could feel that sleek upper torso, those bony shoulders, the lean muscles shifting between Colin’s shoulder blades…Bradley felt the heat rush to his cheeks, and then travel downwards, elsewhere. He fervently hoped that nobody would notice his suddenly flushed face.
Angel gently set down two steaming mugs of dark cocoa, the white gleam of marshmallow just visible over the rims. Bradley moaned in appreciation.
“Angel, you’re an angel,” he informed her. “I hope you know that.”
Angel smiled and settled down next to Katie, who had sunken cosily into the beanbag, her feet in a pair of Angel’s fuzzy slippers. Katie instantly went into cuddle-mode and put her arms around Angel. Bradley grinned. The only time Katie retracted her claws was when Angel was around. Then she went all soft-kitty-warm-kitty-little-ball-of-fur.
Bradley glanced down. Colin’s head had come up from his chest, and was now resting gently on Bradley’s shoulder. Bradley marvelled at the way Colin’s head fit perfectly into the nook between Bradley’s neck and shoulder, a comfortable weight. His breath hitched in his throat as he gazed down at those long, curling dark lashes like a doe’s, and felt Colin’s soft mess of slightly damp, cocoa-coloured hair tickle his chin.
He inhaled deeply, lightheaded with the combination of Colin’s sweet scent and the smell of that earthy, British rain. Bradley realized they were his most favourite scents in the world.
“Colin?” he murmured. “Col. Give me your hands.”
Colin stirred, struggling briefly to extricate his hands from the swaddle of fluffy blankets. Bradley took them in his own broad, warm hands, marvelling at the delicate shape of Colin’s fingers, like a piano-player’s.
He rubbed Colin’s hands between his palms, first slowly, then gradually faster, willing all his warmth to leave his limbs and warm up Colin instead, trying to melt those icicles back into soft fingers again. Although his shivering had eased, Colin still couldn’t quite speak; instead he gazed up at Bradley sweetly, his dark blue eyes silently thanking him.
Bradley didn’t need to hear a word to know exactly what Colin was saying.
He hummed a smile into Colin’s hair, turning his eyes upwards in his own silent gratitude to the God of Weather.
Perhaps these miserable winter days won’t be so unbearable after all.
Rating: PG (fluffff and cuddles)
Word count: 760
Characters/Pairings: Bradley/Colin
Summary: Outside, it's freezing cold and pouring with rain and Colin can't stop shivering - so Bradley keeps him warm :)
Disclaimer: this sooo happened...in my mind. Bradley and Colin aren't mine, sadly.
Rain pelted down in diagonal sheets, beating an incessant military tattoo on the tin roof of Angel’s trailer. Filming had been abruptly halted when the spattering of deviously innocent raindrops had exploded into a torrential sky-tantrum. Bradley, Colin and Katie had sprinted, in full costume, to the nearby shelter of Angel’s trailer, where she had bundled them into the welcome warmth, albeit giggling at their misfortune. Inside, they had dried off, set the water to boil, and stripped the trailer of anything remotely-blanket-like to bundle up in. They collapsed onto the soft, carpeted floor and huddled up while the kettle whistled pleasantly in the corner.
“Poker?” Angel offered, pulling out a pack of cards. Bradley and Katie agreed enthusiastically (although Katie turned down Bradley’s suggestion of ‘strip poker’, pointing out that, as irresistibly tempting as it sounded, they had just spent all this time rugging up.)
Bradley noticed Colin’s hesitation at the mention of ‘poker’. He prodded Colin.
“Whasamatter, Colin?” he demanded. “Does Mummy Morgan not like her wittle Colin playing grown-up games?”
Colin unclenched his jaw, and promptly began to shiver. Bradley noticed Colin’s teeth clattering together, and an inevitable rush of pity surged through him.
“I-I c-c-can-can’t f-feel my f-f-fingers,” Colin chattered, violent shakes racking his slender frame. Immediately, Katie and Angel rose to give Colin their blankets - but Bradley beat them both to it. In a single, Prince-Arthur-esque motion (he was starting to get the hang of this whole “chivalry” business), he pulled his own woollen blanket from his own shoulders, and tucked it around Colin’s. Colin shivered his thanks.
Angel got up to make the hot cocoa, and Katie began to shuffle the cards. Keeping an eye on both of them, Bradley decided it was safe to subtly get a little closer to Colin. He cast a sidelong glance at Colin, whose chin was tucked into the nest of woolly folds at his chest, like a little penguin hibernating.
“C’mere,” Bradley beckoned, unable to suppress the fluffy little creature in his chest called Tenderness which had just awoken from hibernation. Colin the little penguin just shivered in response again, so Bradley scooted over and put an arm around his shoulders, drawing him in close.
Even beneath the thick layers of blankets, Bradley could feel that sleek upper torso, those bony shoulders, the lean muscles shifting between Colin’s shoulder blades…Bradley felt the heat rush to his cheeks, and then travel downwards, elsewhere. He fervently hoped that nobody would notice his suddenly flushed face.
Angel gently set down two steaming mugs of dark cocoa, the white gleam of marshmallow just visible over the rims. Bradley moaned in appreciation.
“Angel, you’re an angel,” he informed her. “I hope you know that.”
Angel smiled and settled down next to Katie, who had sunken cosily into the beanbag, her feet in a pair of Angel’s fuzzy slippers. Katie instantly went into cuddle-mode and put her arms around Angel. Bradley grinned. The only time Katie retracted her claws was when Angel was around. Then she went all soft-kitty-warm-kitty-little-ball-of-fur.
Bradley glanced down. Colin’s head had come up from his chest, and was now resting gently on Bradley’s shoulder. Bradley marvelled at the way Colin’s head fit perfectly into the nook between Bradley’s neck and shoulder, a comfortable weight. His breath hitched in his throat as he gazed down at those long, curling dark lashes like a doe’s, and felt Colin’s soft mess of slightly damp, cocoa-coloured hair tickle his chin.
He inhaled deeply, lightheaded with the combination of Colin’s sweet scent and the smell of that earthy, British rain. Bradley realized they were his most favourite scents in the world.
“Colin?” he murmured. “Col. Give me your hands.”
Colin stirred, struggling briefly to extricate his hands from the swaddle of fluffy blankets. Bradley took them in his own broad, warm hands, marvelling at the delicate shape of Colin’s fingers, like a piano-player’s.
He rubbed Colin’s hands between his palms, first slowly, then gradually faster, willing all his warmth to leave his limbs and warm up Colin instead, trying to melt those icicles back into soft fingers again. Although his shivering had eased, Colin still couldn’t quite speak; instead he gazed up at Bradley sweetly, his dark blue eyes silently thanking him.
Bradley didn’t need to hear a word to know exactly what Colin was saying.
He hummed a smile into Colin’s hair, turning his eyes upwards in his own silent gratitude to the God of Weather.
Perhaps these miserable winter days won’t be so unbearable after all.