Every Version of You (Part 1)
“Okay guys, ready?” Julian beamed at Bradley and Edward, who was their guest star for the episode, playing an evil magician, bent on ridding Camelot of Arthur.
Both men nodded, taking their positions. Bradley shifted in his chainmail, stretched his neck from side to side and tightened his grip on his sword as he fell into the persona of Arthur, while Bradley remained in the back of his head, focused on the dialogue and blocking.
The scene itself was short enough: Arthur had just found the rogue magician Diarmuid, and was attempting to capture and thus imprison him. Diarmuid however would then cast a spell that would send Arthur to another world - one in which he was not prince of Camelot, and therefore, would never be King.
“And the best part,” Julian had told them excitedly, “is that the spell is real! I thought it would be fun to do the same as those Supernatural chaps and found a ‘real spell’. Well,” he had chucked ruefully, “as real as a spell could be.”
“ACTION!”
Bradley sprang into action, diving at Edward and bellowing, “Halt! You are trespassing on my lands, where the practise of magic is forbidden. You shall be taken back to Camelot Castle and imprisoned.”
“You know not what you are trifling with, young king,” Edward growled. “Camelot IS magic, as are you. To ban it is to ban the wind from blowing, or tree taking root.”
“That may be, but it is still the law.”
“And as king, so too is your word.” Edward smirked. “Still cowering behind your father’s words - too scared to speak your own?”
Bradley yelled in anger and lunged, bringing his sword down. Edward raised his hand and shouted out the deep guttural words of the spell. All at once there was silence, and everything went dark.
Bradley landed, his sword completing its swing, and looked around in bewilderment. Instead of being in the forest, he found himself in the middle of a very fancy but tastefully decorated living room.
“What the…” He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and spun around several times, alternating between examining the room and examining himself. Had he been knocked out? Drugged? Abducted by aliens? Maybe he’d been kidnapped! By rabid fangirls!
“Oh God I’ll be stuck in a sex dungeon forever,” he moaned dramatically, sinking into a (oh my days so comfortable) nearby couch, head in hands.
He put his head between his knees and took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. There had to be some sort of logical explanation for this, no matter how weird. He just needed more information.
“Right,” he muttered decisively. “First I find out where I am, and then I figure out how to get back to work. Simple.”
That decided, he placed his sword on a coffee table, and set off to find clues. And immediately found some rather startling ones: photographs. Of him. But not stalkerish ones, rather they were proper ones he himself would, and did, own. Some, he recognised; there were family photos, photos of him and mates from school and college, all of which he had at home. Then there were photos of him with people he didn’t personally know - footballers, celebrities, a few random men (who looked like they could be his boyfriend the way they were wrapped around his side). There were none of him with the Merlin crew (strange) but there were quite a lot of him and Katie. Strangest of all, there were photos of him in the Arsenal kit - playing football, standing with the Arsenal players.
Even more confused and slightly perturbed, Bradley moved on. He explored the kitchen (stocked with all his favourite food), bathroom (with all of his products present), and the bedroom (where he found quite a lot of his clothes, and quite a lot of football gear). There was a definite theme here that Bradley was having trouble accepting, and it was confirmed when he found post in the hall - bills, and letters, all addressed to Mr. Bradley James.
He stood in the hallway frowning down at the letter, and then very slowly, sampling the idea, said aloud, “I live here.”
It sounded completely insane, but it was the only thing that made sense. It must be a prank, something Katie had designed. And yet… and yet there was another possibility, a terrifying and inexplicable one that he couldn’t accept, not until he talked to someone.
“I need Colin,” he mumbled, dropping the letters and reaching for the house phone. He dialled Colin’s number and waited, his expression terse.
Something twisted unpleasantly in his stomach when he got a wrong number tone, and it intensified when the same happened for Angel and Katie.
“Okay, okay, no need to panic,” Bradley said to himself, even as he felt the hysteria approaching. “I have photos of Katie and myself, we must be friends…phonebook!” He cried, and dashed for the bedroom, where he found his phonebook in its usual place.
“Ha, I guess it pays to be old-fashioned now, doesn’t it McGrath,” he muttered in a mocking tone, as he thumbed through the book, goggling at the amount of numbers it contained, most of which he didn’t recognise. There was no Angel or Colin, but there was a Katie M.
“Please please please,” he whispered, as he dialled the phone once more.
He gave a shout of triumph when it started ringing, and then after a moment a familiar voice said, “Hello?”
“Katie? Katie is that you?” Bradley babbled, overjoyed to have contact with someone he knew.
“Bradley, sweetie, are you okay?” Katie asked in a concerned tone.
Woah. Where was the snarky, sneery sarcasm?
“You’re not my Katie,” Bradley said sadly.
“Your what?”
“Oh God it’s true, I’m in a parallel universe!” He bemoaned piteously.
“Sweet Jesus Bradley, I warned you about drunk dialling me.” Katie snapped. “I swear it’s like dealing with a puppy, you ought to be leashed and muzzled.”
Oh no wait. This was definitely Katie.
“Katie wait,” he said urgently. “You have to listen to me - its sounds weird but I swear, I just suddenly found myself in his house and all my stuff is here, and I think I live here but I don’t know where here is and there’s photos of the two of us so I found your number and-“
“Bradley shut up.” Katie interrupted imperiously, and then asked in a strange tone, “Are you telling me you’re ringing me from your house?”
“Yes. Well I believe so.”
There was a moment’s silence, and then Katie barked in a commanding tone, “I’m coming over. I’ll come in the back. Do NOT leave the house. And if you’re pulling a prank on me Bradley James, so help me I’ll have your balls in a vice by sundown.”
With that she hung up, leaving a confused Bradley to hang up the phone and wander back into the sitting room. Not sure what to do, or how to process what was going on (parallel universe!) he went to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich and cup of tea.
He was halfway through eating his sandwich when he heard a car pull up, and a moment later, there was the sound of a key jiggling before the back door opened and in stepped Katie. Only it wasn’t Katie - her face was more gaunt and her hair was blond. Still, it was someone he knew. Somewhat.
“Katie.” He smiled in relief.
“Good heavens Bradley, what are you wearing?” She asked incredulously.
Bradley frowned and looked down at himself, only then realising he was still in his chainmail.
“Oh, I was filming a scene just before I ended up here.”
“You were filming a scene,” Katie said dubiously, raising a brow.
“Yes, and in it a sorcerer sends me to an alternate universe, and the spell must have worked, because, well here I am. I know it sounds crazy Katie, but I swear I’m telling you the tr-“
“I believe you,” Katie said in a soft, decisive tone.
“You do? Why?”
Katie rolled her eyes and walked into the living room, Bradley following curiously. She grabbed the remote from a hidden location, switched on the TV and switched to Sky Sport, where there was a live football game on. Bradley frowned and was about to ask her what exactly this was supposed to explain, when he saw himself. Passing the ball down the field. Playing football. For Arsenal. He let out a (completely manly, of course) shriek and fell back onto the coffee table, sending his sword skittering to the ground.
“That’s why I believe you.” Katie smirked.
“I…wha- that’s me,” Bradley said weakly.
He gaped at the TV, his mouth flapping open and shut. Katie regarded him for a moment, and then said in an unimpressed tone, “I can see you’re as quick on the uptake as my Bradley. I’m going to make tea.”
She sauntered off to the kitchen, and Bradley trailed after her, needing to sort everything out in his head.
“So…I’m a footballer.”
“Mmhmm.” Katie hummed as she put the kettle on.
“I play football.”
“That’s what footballers do,” Katie replied, all snark and dripping sarcasm, making Bradley feel comforted.
“I play football for Arsenal.”
Katie sent him a death glare, then sighed and said with a gentle smile, “Ever since they took you on at eighteen.”
This Katie was strange; one minute she was all snappy and snarky, and then there was this unexpected layer of…softness and fondness that his Katie never showed, well, not for him anyway. Bradley contemplated this as he watched her bustle around his kitchen. He noticed how at ease she was in his house, and remembered all the photos of them together. Something very unpleasant began to curl in his stomach.
“Katie?” Bradley ventured, not sure if he wanted to go through with this. “Are we…dating?”
Katie sent him a sharp look, and promptly burst out laughing.
“Not unless my tits have fallen off and I’ve grown a cock.” She smirked.
“Wait. I’m gay?”
“You’re not?”
“No, I mean, I am. I - it’s just…no one knows,” he finished softly.
“Ah, well that’s not the case in this world.”
Bradley blinked uncomprehendingly, and then blurted, “But I’m a footballer.”
“I know,” Katie said, and then took a sip of tea, eyes sparkling mischievously.
“That’s just not…heard of.”
Katie took another gulp, put her cup down and said, “Come on.”
She led him through the house and into a room he hadn’t noticed earlier, a study of sorts, full of books and medals, and a wall covered in newspaper clippings. All centered around one theme.
“Bradley James: paving the way for LGBTQ sports people,” one clipping proclaimed, over an article and interview with Bradley about coming out.
“The Trevor Project: Gay Footballer Tells Young People: Never be Afraid to be Honest About Who You Are.” There was a picture of Bradley standing in front of the Trevor Project logo with other LGBTQ celebrities.
“Wow,” Bradley gasped, looking over the multitude of articles.
“Yeah,” Katie smiled. “You’ve done a lot of work for gay rights.”
“What made me come out? When did I come out?” Bradley asked wonderingly.
He’d always been honest with himself and his family, and his close friends from college and uni had had a good inkling about his preference, but Bradley couldn’t imagine ever having the guts or motive to come out to the public.
“Two years ago,” Katie replied, in an almost sad tone. “You fell in love with a teammate, and said you just couldn’t hide it anymore, didn’t want to live in secret. So you came thundering out of the closet in your typical manner,” she finished, eyes crinkling in mirth.
“And what about the teammate?” Bradley asked, already knowing the answer from the look in Katie’s eyes.
“He broke it off with you and transferred to a different team. Couldn’t hack the pressure to come out too and the reactions from the public.”
“But it seems like it went really well.” Bradley frowned, gesturing to the newspaper clippings.
“Overall, yes it did,” Katie replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “Initially though, there was quite a bit of negative feedback. Plus you’ve got to remember Bradley,” she added fondly, “that not all of us are as open and honest as you…or rather the you in this world.”
Bradley shrugged and replied, “I haven’t ever had a reason to. What about you?” He quickly asked. “What way do you swing?”
“Any way.” Katie shrugged. “Call me greedy, but I don’t want to miss out on love simply because of something as silly as gender.”
“Ah, I never could tell. I mean, first there was Angel, but then you and Eoin seemed really close…”
“What are you talking about?” Katie asked in a bemused tone.
“The guys from the show.”
“Ah yes, this…show,” Katie murmured, eyes flocking down over Bradley’s costume. “Pray tell, what show is this?”
“Merlin,” Bradley explained. “It’s how we know each other, we’re both actors on the show. I play Arthur and you play-“
“Morgana,” Katie finished, blanching.
“Yes. How…how did you know?”
“I auditioned for it - got the part too,” Katie answered with a humourless laugh. “You…well you obviously didn’t.”
“What happened?” Bradley asked curiously.
Surely it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference - anyone could wield a sword and act like a prat.
“We didn’t get past the pilot, couldn’t find the right Arthur.” Katie explained. “Eventually they cast this guy…he was a total eejit, and Colin and he had zero chemistry, bordering on him being quite mean to poor Colin.”
Bradley, lost in the revelation that he was important to the show, that his decision to pursue football had cost his friends the most important gig of their lives thus-far, snapped his head up at the mention of his co-stars names.
“Colin? You know Colin?”
Katie smirked and replied, “Yeah, we kept in touch after the show was cancelled. You and he are…close?”
“Yeah,” Bradley said, a goofy smile on his face, before he quickly added, “I mean, he’s my best friend. Colin’s - we’re not - Colin’s not gay.” He finally stuttered out.
Katie’s grin grew to Cheshire cat proportions, before she snapped back to herself and said in a business-like fashion, “Right, well obviously you can’t stay here, people will see. I’ve a friend you can stay with until we figure stuff out.”
“I can’t stay with you?” Bradley said, putting on his best puppy dog eyes.
Katie rolled her eyes, smirked and replied, “Nah, too many paparazzi around there.”
“Pap…wait, what do you do? And how do we even know each other?”
“I’m a model,” Katie answered with a toss of her hair. “I’d gotten offers, and had done small bits of work. After the Merlin disaster…I decided to go for it full time. You and I met at a charity function and clicked; mostly because I figured you were gay, and you figured I wasn’t interested. It helps that we actually get along,” she added teasingly.
“Oh yes, what with the fact that we’re both so devastatingly beautiful,” Bradley smirked in return.
“You’re a lot more smirky than my Bradley.” Katie observed.
“And you’re a lot less smirky than my Katie,” Bradley retorted.
Katie barked out a laugh and then said, “Come on, let’s get you some clothes.”
“You mean I can’t keep wearing these?” Bradley gasped.
Katie rolled her eyes and walked out of the study and into the bedroom, Bradley following. She pulled open a trunk beside the wardrobe and pulled out a few pairs of jeans and t-shirts.
“Here you go, and we’ll buy you some more stuff when you get sorted with a place to stay.”
“Are you sure that…the other me, won’t miss this stuff?”
“Nah, the clothes in here are surplus, he’s rarely worn them. Okay, get changed, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” Katie ordered before marching out of the room.
Bradley chuckled and shed his costume as quickly as possible (dammit but armour was difficult to remove by yourself) and put on a pair of jeans and a random t-shirt. He gathered up his things and the other items of clothing Katie had pulled out and made his way to the kitchen, where said friend was waiting with a large bag.
“Much better,” Katie nodded, as she moved forward to help him put his things in the bag. “Okay, put these on,” she instructed, handing him a cap and sunglasses, “and follow me. Quickly.”
With that, she opened the back door, let him out, closed and locked it, and then jogged over to her car, looking around furtively. Bradley glanced around, and, seeing no one, dashed towards the car and threw himself into the passenger seat, Katie laughing at his antics.
“Steady there Indiana. Just keep them on and your head down. Everyone knows you’re in a match, so no one should recognise you.”
“Got it,” Bradley replied, slouching down in his seat as Katie started up the car and pulled around the house and out onto the road.
They drove in silence until Bradley said, “I gotta say, you are handling this remarkably well. It’s kind of freaking me out.”
“Me too,” Katie confessed with a sheepish laugh. “I’ve always been a ‘sort out the problem now, freak out later’ person though, so I’m guessing this will all hit me later on after I’ve gotten you settled with my friend.”
“Ah yes,” Bradley mused. “This, friend…are you sure he…she, will be okay with having me over? I’d hate to be an inconvenience…”
“Don’t worry, he’s playing poor and starving artist at the moment, he’ll be delighted to have you over. He’s very nice,” Katie said reassuringly.
Bradley smiled and nodded, and fiddled with the radio for the rest of the journey, right into the heart of London City and out to the north side. She pulled up outside a block of apartments, which looked horrendous on the outside, but which were, “perfectly lovely inside, trust me Bradley.”
Bradley hauled himself and his bag up four flights of stairs after Katie, and whipped off the cap and glasses when they finally made it to the apartment so he could wipe the sheen of sweat off his forehead. Katie rapped on the door.
“Just a minute Katie!” a familiar voice yelled, and Bradley felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
There was a slamming sound, followed by a muffled curse, before the door was thrown open by a man. A man with a mop of dark hair, shaggy sideburns and killer cheekbones. Both he and Bradley sucked in a surprised breath and gaped at each other, Katie smirking at each of them.
“Katie,” the man finally said in a strangled voice. “When I said bring Bradley James over for tea, I was joking.”
Bradley was frozen, his eyes hungrily devouring every inch of the man in front of him, before he finally breathed out a single word.
“Colin.”
*****
Colin was feeling completely out of sorts, and didn’t know what to do about it. On the one hand, Bradley had been back for two weeks, and everything was working its way back to life’s normal rhythms. On the other hand, now that Bradley was back, it was like he was more distant than when he had been gone. The whole time they had been trying to find a way to bring Bradley home, the weeks that Colin had spent fervently reading book after book and trying spell after spell, the one thing that had kept him motivated had been imagining how things would be once he had his best friend back - they would hang out in his room watching Buffy or badly dubbed foreign films, or just talking while Colin tried to bribe Bradley into rehearsing with him for the twentieth time. They would prank the other cast members and have drinking contests and tell each other all about their experiences while Bradley had been missing. They would go back to being Colin-and-Bradley, just like before. He’d have his best friend back.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Bradley was perfectly normal during filming, charming and obnoxious and professional as usual, and was lovely and friendly with everyone, more so really. Except for Colin. Colin, who he supposedly has “bromance” with, was now the last person Bradley wanted to be around, or at the very least, alone with. Every time Colin tried to corner him or have a quiet word with him on set, Bradley managed to find something else he has to do or someone else to drag into the conversation. Every time Colin invited Bradley out, Bradley brought at least two other people, usually Katie and Angel. And every time Colin went to Bradley’s room, Bradley was either too tired to hang out, or suddenly had to go out, or “wasn’t in” (even though Colin could hear him trying to be silent).
It hurt far more than Colin cared to admit, mostly because he didn’t understand why Bradley was acting this way.
“Have you noticed Bradley acting…a bit off?” Colin asked Katie and Angel during lunch one day, feeling that he was going to get an answer he wouldn’t like.
“If you mean, acting slightly more loony and affectionate than usual, then yes,” Katie replied, waving her fork menacingly.
“He hugged her yesterday,” Angel told him, eyes sparkling teasingly. “For no reason.”
“He hugged you too,” Katie snapped.
“Yes, but I happen to enjoy being hugged,” Angel retorted smugly.
“Oh…did he say why?” Colin asked, slightly nervous.
“He missed me apparently,” Angel replied, with a happy smile. “He wasn’t able to find Parallel Angel, before we brought him back.”
“And apparently, Parallel Katie was slightly nicer to him than I am, so he’s decided I’m actually hiding a heart of gold under my snark and it’s up to him to bring it out with hugs and affection,” Katie added with a vicious eye roll.
“He’s told you about what happened to him?” Colin gaped.
He’d only ever seen Bradley frown and offer a few short words whenever anyone had asked him about the other Earth he’d ended up in. Hell, Bradley would barely speak two words to him, but he’d told Katie and Angel everything?
“Only a few bits and pieces,” Angel told him. “He’s oddly tight-lipped about the whole thing, and he gets really uncomfortable if anyone presses for details.”
“I’m a model - a famous one,” Katie smirked. “Which is more than you can say, Mister Poor-and-Starving Theatre Artist.”
“He - he met me?” Colin asked slowly, his mind reeling.
“Well duh, he stayed with Parallel Colin the whole time he was there.”
Colin could feel the blood draining from his face as his expression froze into one of shock. Bradley had stayed with him, with Parallel Universe Colin, the whole time, and now wasn’t speaking to him. Something had happened in another world, with another Colin, and now, Bradley couldn’t even look him in the eye, could barely stand being around him.
“Colin…did…did Bradley not tell you?” Angel asked gently.
“No,” Colin replied hoarsely, feeling his throat tighten. “He hasn’t said anything…in fact, he’s barely said two words to me since he’s come back.”
His hands were shaking and he was blinking rapidly, and he couldn’t comprehend it, couldn’t think of what it was he could have done to irreparably damage their friendship. Vaguely he noticed Angel and Katie exchange a look he didn’t quite understand, and before they could say anything, he was up, walking off rapidly, ignoring them calling after him.
He was going to find Bradley, and he was going to get the answers he deserved.
*****
“So…he’s not Bradley James,” Colin said, his tone a mixture of confusion and slight disappointment.
They were standing in the middle of his living room, Katie having ushered them inside when she’d had enough of them gaping at each other. She’d barked at Bradley to stop gawking, and then had turned to Colin and told him that this wasn’t the Bradley James.
“No,” Katie said.
“But…he looks just like him,” Colin said doubtfully.
“That’s because he is him,” Katie explained.
“But you just said he isn’t,” Colin replied in a frustrated tone.
“I’m Bradley from a parallel universe,” Bradley piped up helpfully.
“A parallel universe,” Colin said flatly, finally looking at him for the first time since the door gaping incident.
“Yup.” Bradley smiled reassuringly.
“Am I being punked?” Colin asked, giving them both the stink eye. “Because this is not fucking funny.”
“We are not punking you Colin,” Katie said, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. “This Bradley is from a parallel universe. The Bradley James of this universe is currently playing a football match, which I could show you if you had Sky Sports, which you could afford if you’d go do some work.”
Bradley couldn’t contain his chuckles at Katie’s words, and found two pairs of eyes staring at him inquisitively.
“I’m sorry,” he said in an amused tone. “It’s just that (a) Colin doesn’t really watch TV unless he’s forced to, and (b) Colin and sports? Colin doesn’t watch sports unless it’s a GAA match or the Olympics. I mean,” he quickly added as Colin’s brows furrowed, “that’s the way the Colin in my universe is, I don’t know if it’s the same for you…”
“No,” Colin said softly, cutting him off, “no you’re right.”
He sat down, head in hands, alternating between looking at the floor, looking at Katie (who smiled and nodded) and looking at Bradley as if he had ten heads, while Bradley shuffled awkwardly on the spot, trying desperately to think of something to say to Colin to make him feel better. But he had a feeling that anything he said would only freak Colin out more, and the last thing he wanted was to make him feel uncomfortable. So he clamped his mouth shut and tried not to stare at Colin and will him to be okay. He felt torn; in this universe they were virtual strangers, but in reality Bradley knew Colin, parallel universe or no parallel universe.
Finally Colin said, “I need tea.” He stood and said as he made his way into the adjoining kitchen, “Anyone for tea?”
“I would if you had actual proper tea Morgan.” Bradley joked without thinking, and then blurted, “Oh no wait, do you have that minty tea?”
He just as quickly came to his senses and took a step back, eyes wide. So much for not making Colin uncomfortable. Colin was staring hard at him with a variety of expressions flitting across his face, before he suddenly burst out laughing. The tension in the room immediately vanished, and Bradley breathed a sigh of relief.
“If you’re talking about peppermint tea, then yeah sure.” Colin chuckled, grabbing the kettle to fill it.
“Cheers,” Bradley replied, following him.
“So, you’re from a parallel world,” Colin stated, flicking the switch on the kettle.
“Yup.”
“And I would hazard a guess that we know each other?” Colin asked, eyes crinkling.
“You know each other very well,” Katie leered, and Colin turned a (very lovely) dark red.
“We’re best friends,” Bradley clarified, nudging Katie in the ribs. “We work together.”
“We work together?” Colin echoed in a bemused tone.
“On Merlin.”
“Mer-… Merlin?”
Colin’s face blanched, just as Katie’s had earlier, and Bradley felt a faint echo of heartache at how badly this had affected his friends.
“Show him your costume,” Katie told Bradley quietly.
Bradley retrieved his costume from the bag in the living room and laid it out on the kitchen table.
“Oh my God,” Colin breathed, reaching out hesitantly to touch the chainmail. He ran his hand reverently down the red fabric and said, “You - you were Arthur.”
“Yeah.”
“And the show’s a success?”
“We’re filming season five at the moment,” Bradley told him.
Colin nodded and continued to stroke the costume, an unreadable expression on his face. Bradley fidgeted, fighting the urge to cover the other man’s hand with his own. ‘It isn’t fair,’ he thought. ‘Colin’s so…’
“It’s not right,” he blurted.
When the other two in the room looked at him perplexed, and Colin snatched his hand back, Bradley coughed, feeling himself blush, and hastily explained, “I mean, I’m sorry that it didn’t work out for you. The show,” he clarified, and was suddenly thrown slightly forward by Katie who gave him a big hug from behind.
“Aw, you’re just as sweet and considerate as my Bradley,” she cooed teasingly.
“Argh! Wench!” Bradley yelled instinctually, struggling away from her, while Katie laughed and clung on, replying, “But I thought you loved my hugs!”
Bradley paused, and allowed himself to soak up the warmth of her hug.
“Hmm…that is nice,” he said in a surprised tone.
“Has your Katie never hugged you?”
“Not for the sake of hugging no,” Bradley replied with a shrug. “Usually she would call me a sap and poke me in the ribs if I tried to hug her…although to be fair, when I say hug, I mean headlock.”
“You should try hug her,” Katie declared, with a snarky grin, which Bradley returned.
“Sneak up on her from behind,” Colin added with a smirk. “Also, there’s no need to apologise for something that isn’t your fault, although it is nice to know that it wasn’t completely my fault the show never took off.”
“It really wasn’t,” Bradley said earnestly, picking up on the opportunity to reassure the other man. “Everyone loves you.”
Colin turned that lovely shade of red once again, and Bradley cleared his throat, most definitely not staring at where the blush disappeared below the collar of his t-shirt.
“To quote Torchwood - this is quite homoerotic.” Katie smirked, earning glares from the two men. “What? You’re both gay, and at this particular moment I could cut the sexual tension between you with a knife. A sexy one.”
Colin and Bradley looked at each other with shocked expressions, and Katie went to make tea with a mischievous smile on her lips.
“You?” Bradley spluttered. “Gay?”
“Well yes.” Colin shrugged. “And, you? I mean, I know that the Bradley in this world is…”
“I am.” Bradley nodded. “But…the Colin in my world, he’s… well, I guess I don’t know. He’s never said.”
“I can imagine that if he’s famous or in the public eye a lot, he’d never say anything,” Colin said. “I’m only out here and with friends because I know it won’t get back to my family.”
“They don’t know?”
“My brother and mam know…but my mam’s asked me not to tell my dad or other relatives… she doesn’t think they’ll take it well… not that she took it great either.” He snorted derisively.
“My family know,” Bradley said softly. “I’m lucky, they were really supportive. I just don’t want to deal with all the publicity of coming out to the media,” he finished quietly, feeling a little ashamed of himself as he thought of what the Bradley in this world had done.
“We all have our reasons,” Colin said, giving him a small grin, which Bradley returned.
“Yes yes, let’s all bond over our closet status,” Katie said briskly, as she returned with cups filled with different coloured liquids. “Meanwhile, tea!” She announced, placing the cups in front of their respective drinker.
Bradley took a sip and smacked his lips happily at the minty flavour.
“So Colin, what do you do?” He asked, glancing up at Colin, who quickly averted his gaze and stared fixedly at his cup. Something hot curled in his belly at that, and Bradley found himself staring down at his cup too.
“I, uh, I work in theatre,” Colin replied offhandedly. “Nothing big or famous, but I enjoy it.”
“Nonsense! You’ve been getting lead roles and really good reviews on your last few plays.” Katie pointed out proudly.
“Yeah, but it’s just theatre.” Colin shrugged, and from his tone, Bradley could tell that they’d had this conversation before.
“A lot of famous actors started - “
“That’s true, but I want to stick with theatre,” Colin said firmly.
“You always did seem to enjoy it more,” Bradley agreed.
“I… I did?”
“Well, I only saw you in one play, but you did love to go on and on about it,” Bradley teased.
Katie hooted with laughter, and the three fell into an easy conversation for the next two hours.
Despite the fact that they were strangers in this world, Bradley was glad to discover that he and Colin fell back into the easy camaraderie and banter, just like when they had really gotten into Merlin. It helped that he could now understand what Colin was saying, could read his moods and expressions better, and knew what Colin found funny and what he was downright offended by. It was uncanny how similar to his Colin this one was, but, Bradley supposed, there was only one difference between this Colin and the one in his world - Merlin - so it shouldn’t be that surprising.
Actually, there was another difference, his mind supplied slyly, but Bradley shoved it away, just as he always shoved away thoughts like this, about how he may or may not feel about Colin.
Eventually, Katie stepped back from the counter, stretched and said, “Okay, I’m knackered. Colin, obviously Bradley can’t go running around outside unless he wants to cause a media frenzy, and he can’t stay with me for paparazzi-based reasons, so can he please stay with you until we figure out what to do?”
Colin spluttered and Katie quickly added, “I know you’re taking a break from work at the moment. Plus you’re the only person I trust with this, and who Bradley knows. Sort of.”
Colin had an uncomfortable look on his face, like he wanted to say no, but would say yes anyway because of how nice he was; Bradley couldn’t stand to be the reason for that look so he blurted out, “What about Angel?”
“No,” Katie replied immediately. “She’s doing a job on some show up north.”
There was something in her tone of voice and the tightness of her expression, that made Bradley drop that train of thought without question, and he replied, “I guess I could go visit my mum, though I’ll um, I’ll need money for the train…”
“No,” Colin barked, then sighed and added, “You can stay here, of course you can Bradley. I’m sorry if I made you think otherwise, it’s just… it’s been a long time since I’ve shared a space with anyone.”
“Excellent!” Katie beamed. “Okay, I’ll be gone on a shoot the next few days. Bradley, don’t go outside, and Colin, take care of him.”
She kissed both of them on the cheek, tossed them a wink and then breezed out of the apartment, tossing a cheeky, “Have fun boys!” over her shoulder before she slammed the door shut.
Colin and Bradley shook their heads, identical expressions of fond exasperation on their faces.
“So… more tea?” Colin queried, after a moment’s silence.
“Please.”
“Take a seat, I’ll bring them over,” Colin said, waving a hand towards the living room area.
Bradley nodded and plopped down on the couch, taking a look around. The walls were covered in posters of bands and films he’d never heard of, a massive bookcase took over a wall, and a record player stood on a small table, surrounded by records. Bradley snorted in amusement; it seemed this Colin was even more indie and retro than his one.
“Here you go,” Colin said, as he walked into the living room.
He handed Bradley a cup and settled beside him, curling his legs under him and holding his own cup close. Bradley sipped at his tea and hoped that things wouldn’t be awkward now that Katie wasn’t around to act as a buffer. Bradley wanted to say something funny and cool, something to get rid of the last lingering bits of awkward politeness between them.
“You’re taking this all rather well.”
Well. So much for that.
“Yeah I know,” Colin replied ruefully, throwing Bradley a small, bashful grin. “I think it’s mostly because you and Katie are so calm about it. It’s helping me to not freak the fuck out.”
“Well Katie’s gone home to freak out over a glass or four of wine, and I think that it hasn’t really hit me yet,” Bradley replied dryly. “Just wait, I’ll probably be freaking out in a day or so.”
“And at that point, I will have freaked out in the privacy of my room, and will be there to help you through it.” Colin grinned, and Bradley couldn’t help but grin back.
The two men continued to sip their tea, but tiredness was hitting Bradley like never before.
“Okay, it’s time for bed,” Colin suggested after Bradley yawned deeply for the fifth time.
Bradley blinked sleepily, and then replied, “Yeah okay. I take it this is a one-bedroom?”
“Yes, but the couch folds out into a bed,” Colin told him.
“Excellent.” Bradley yawned and stood up.
He took his and Colin’s cups into the kitchen and washed them while Colin folded out the bed.
“Okay, I’ll see you in the morning,” Colin said, eyes darting between Bradley and the fold-out bed.
Bradley nodded, hesitated and then went up to Colin and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “This is really decent of you, especially as you don’t really know me.”
“It’s strange, but I feel like I already do.” Colin chuckled.
He flashed Bradley a sweet, shy smile, all crinkled eyes and teeth before he said, “Goodnight Bradley,” and left the room.
Bradley stood there in the daze, his heart and stomach absolutely not doing strange things because of that smile. Eventually, he shook his head furiously, stripped to his boxers and climbed into bed. Sleep came quickly, thank God, and as he drifted off, he thought of how lucky he was that, despite the situation he was in, he’d managed to find Colin.
*****
(Part 2)