The Outburst of Love: A Bunch of Polin One-Shots

The Outburst of Love: A Polin Story

His heart skipped a beat every time she was near him. Every time that she was in the same room. Every time they danced together. These feelings were strange to him. Colin Bridgerton always thought of Penelope Featherington as his friend, his little sister Elosie's friend. They had known each other for years. He always thought this was the feeling of friendship. But, he started to realize when he was off on his second tour of Europe that these feelings were different. He had missed her terribly. He loved her. He loved the girl with the fiery red hair, who always wore yellow dresses to please her mother; no matter how much she despised them. Despite it taking years for him to realize, Colin was determined to make Penelope his wife.

He came back to London for the social season with the intention of courting her. But, she would not talk to him. She heard him at her mother's ball last season say:
"I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington. Not in your wildest fantasies Fife."

Of course, he was an idiot for saying that when it was not true at all. He spent weeks making it up to her. He agreed to help her find a husband no matter how much it hurt him.
Which is what led him to open his mouth and tell him he loved her.

The pair was in the drawing room with Colin's whole family. He had been teaching her ways to compliment a suitor; when she said something that would change the turn of events forever.

"Your eyes. They are a lovely shade of blue; but somehow shine brighter when you are kind" Penelope says, smiling at him like she is in some sort of trance.
His heart soared at the smile that she gave him and he smiled back.

"I would say something like that if you were a suitor" she said, knocking herself out of the trance.

He clears his throat, "that's a little forward but good."

It was killing himself inside that she was looking for someone who wasn't him. But, of course she didn't like him romantically, he was only a friend to her.

"You're a good friend for helping me find a suitor to marry" she says.
Something inside him broke that very moment and he just blurted out.

"I don't want to be friends."

"What?" She was clearly upset.

He looked around and his whole family was staring at them. Benedict, Kate, Anthony, and Daphne were looking at them curiously to see what this conversation was going to turn into. Eloise looked shocked. His mother, Violet, smiled at him encouraging him to go on and tell Penelope how he felt. Gregory and Hyacinth were just staring at each other knowing faces about what he was going to confess. Daphne's husband, the Duke of Hastings, Simon, just sat confused about his outburst.

"I mean that I don't want to just be friends anymore. Please don't go looking for a suitor. Please don't marry someone else. I love you Pen. I love you with all my heart, with my past, my present, and my future. I love when you smile at me, your quick barbs, dancing with you, doing everything with you. I love you with who I am, who I was, and who I want to be. So please Pen please marry me instead" He confessed to her.

"You do?" She asked, confused.

"Yes absolutely. I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize." He stated.

"Colin, I have loved you since the day that we met. I thought that you didn't love me back so I thought that I would move on and try to find a suitor" she said lovingly.

"You love me!" He exclaimed.

Colin finally gets down on one knee and says "So Penelope Featherington, will you make me the luckiest man in all of London and marry me."

"Yes! Yes! Of course I'll marry you!" She exclaimed, crying.

He stood up and kissed her. They were finally going to get married after months of pining that their families had to go through