#It's is 6K of Anthony making a fool of himself | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

stars-of-kyber · 2 years

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“real smooth, tripping over air.”

Look.... This got completely out of control. I'm sorry lol

So I looked at this prompt and went look this is perfect for the Childhood best friends AU I have in my head so I sat down to it. It is so far 10K words long and I'm still finishing it.

I even made a lil moodboard yay

Doesn't it look cute?

Anyway to bussiness, I'll post the first part in chapter one and then I'll get a chapter two to finish it.

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By the time Anthony, about to turn seventeen years of age, departed from Aubrey Hall for his last year in Eton, he left behind his mother and father, all six of his siblings, the youngest one being little Gregory, who was just a toddler, his beloved stallion and his best friend Kate.

Anthony Bridgerton met Miss Kate Sharma when he was 8 years of age and she was 6. He had walked into his mother’s favourite drawing room, intending on finding her to complain about something Benedict had done, his annoying little brother trailing close behind him, ready to defend himself against any and all accusations, true or not.

He had not expected, of course, to find his mother accompanied in the parlour. Sitting on her favourite chaise, Violet Bridgerton was fanning herself, her pregnant stomach clear against the blue day dress she was wearing. Across from her sat Lady Danbury, who Anthony was rather familiar with and knew well enough to stay politely out of range of her walking stick, a young woman who was probably just a few years younger than his mother, and a young girl munching quietly on a biscuit, her arm tight around a china doll.

“Ah, my darlings.” His mother crooned, beckoning them closer with a wave. “These are my eldest two, Anthony and Benedict.” She patted Anthony’s cheek affectionally, her other hand on Ben’s back, but speaking to the women across from her. “Boys, you remember Lady Danbury.”

They bowed their heads to the older woman, mumbling their hellos and how do you dos at the same time.

“Lady Danbury is visiting the Sharmas, they’ve just moved right next to us.” Violet’s practised warm smile to the Sharmas had not stopped Anthony’s frown.

“To Crake?” His eyebrows were drawn together, and his mouth pushed into a confused line. Violet opened her mouth to reply but Benedict had already beaten her, his puzzlement joining his older brother’s.

“But Aunt Billie and Uncle George live in Crake!” Benedict turned to his mother, perplexed. “Where will they…?”

“Not Crake.” His mother interrupted before the conversation spiralled completely out of hand. “On the other side of the Lake. On Norwood House.” Twin ‘oh!’s’ escaped the boys’ lips. “This is Lady Mary Sharma and her daughter, Kate.”

The introductions were finished and the conversation continued around them as Anthony decided if it would be polite to complain about his brother in front of company when his mother let out an excited gasp.

“Why don’t you and Benedict show Kate around the lake and the edge of the woods, Ant?”

“Oh, it’s a lovely idea.” Lady Mary was already pushing Kate up. The young girl’s eyes were incredibly wide, her brown curls wild around her, her doll clutched to her chest.

“But she’s carrying a doll and all. She’ll slow us down!” Anthony’s whine reverberated in the room, his mother tutting at him. “And she’s a girl!” The way he said it, it did sound like an insult, and Kate most certainly took it as one. Before any of the Ladies in the room could scold Anthony for his rudeness, the young girl ruffled indignantly and stomped hard on his foot, quite on purpose.

That was the moment Anthony Bridgerton fell head-over-heels in love with Kate Sharma. Or that was Ben’s retelling of it. Anthony was not particularly in agreement and, personally, he wasn’t exactly sure how well Benedict’s six-year-old brain could be relied on.

But from that moment forwards, Anthony and Kate became inseparable, Ben tagging along after them, being the, sometimes unwilling, third party to all their silly schemes, and many times the mediator between Anthony and Kate’s endless bickering.

He had sat with her in the tree house a few days before Edwina was born, her hand wrapped tightly in his, her head laying on his shoulder.

“What if Mary does not love me anymore after the babe comes?” Her question was mostly a whisper while her eyes remained firmly shut and Anthony had been quite certain she was trying her hardest not to cry.

“Mary already loves you very much.” It was quite true, he knew. Mary was a devoted mother, always trailing after Kate with her heart in her eyes. “What reason would she have to stop?”

“Well, she’ll be the baby’s real Mama...” He scoffed at her words and she turned to her head to peer at him, her brow in a furrow.

“Mary is your real Mama.” He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, impatient about the fact that Kate could not see it. “She tugs you in bed every night with goodnight kisses, does she not?”

“Yes, but…”

“And she reads you stories and gives you kisses and cuddles when you get hurt, yes?”

“Yes.”

“She asks Cook to make your favourite dish whenever you’re feeling blue and sometimes lets you have more servings of dessert behind your Papa’s back.” He pointed out. “And doesn’t she let you climb into bed with her when it’s storming?”

“She does.”

“She does all the things Mamas do, so why wouldn’t she be your real Mama?” Anthony’s voice was filled with the type of certainty only children could have.

“Well, I suppose…” She mumbled, her voice a little bit less sorrowful.

“You’re actually quite very lucky, I’d say.” He continued conversationally. “You‘ll only have to share the attentions of your mama and papa with one sibling. Soon I shall have four.” His mama had sat him and Ben down a few months previous to announce they’d be having another baby brother or sister soon. To Anthony, the three that he already had were more than enough, but his parents did seem very happy about it. “And anyhow, being a big sibling is really quite fun.”

It really was, even if Benedict sometimes annoyed him endlessly, Colin tried to eat all his cookies and little Daphne had broken his favourite wooden figure Aunt Poppy had brought from her visit to Lisbon.

“Your siblings are really nice.” She nodded, yawning into her hand, her eyes drifting closed, her face much more relaxed than it was earlier.

“I’m most certain your sibling will be just as nice.” He agreed, leaning his head back against the wall of the tree house, allowing her even breathing to lull him.

“I hope I’ll be a great eldest sibling, just like you.”

“Of course, you’ll be. You’ll be brilliant at it.”

That afternoon, they fell asleep sitting in their tree house, her head on his shoulder and their fingers entwined and twin smiles on their lips.

Kate had also been his first kiss. It had been a dare from Benedict, who had not really believed she would actually pull through with it. But he had very badly underestimated eleven years old Kathani Sharma’s stubbornness and competitiveness. He watched open-mouthed as she crossed the space between them to Anthony, who had been skipping stones by the lake shore, with a purposeful stride, tugged him down (he had grown taller than her the previous summer and Kate absolutely hated it) by the lapel of his coat and pressed her lips very firmly to his for a five seconds before storming off to collect her prize from his shocked little brother, leaving Anthony staring at her completely dumbfounded, gaping at her back, both of their faces completely red.

Later, she shared the entire raspberry pie she won from the bet with Anthony. It was only fair.

When he left for Eton for the first time, she stood in the entryway of Aubrey Hall to see him off with the rest of his family and promised she would write all the time and he’d better write back. She hugged him for a very long time and then threatened his life if he ever were to find a new best friend in his time away. He had assured her that the position belonged firmly to her and she should not worry.

And as certain as the sun rose in the sky every morning, Kate’s letter came in weekly. She’d tell him about her days with Edwina and his siblings, about her lessons with her governess, about the books she read and her new hobby of watercolours. In return, he’d tell her about his lessons at school, about the good and bad teachers, about the terrifying headmaster and about the boys in his dormitory. Some of the lads had tried to tease him about it but gave up after they realized how very unbothered Anthony was. He’d have Kate’s letters, he didn’t care about much else.

And every time he returned home, there she was, waiting for him with a blinding smile on her lips.

The summer was theirs. They’d run wild in the countryside, getting up to all sorts of misfits. Benedict had taken up drawing and now he’d always have his sketchbook pulled up to his nose while they sat under trees or on their branches, the tips of his fingers black with charcoal.

There was some feeble attempt to stop them. Kate was quickly turning into a young woman and it was not quite proper to have her run alone with two young men unchaperoned. The concerns for Kate’s reputation were easily dropped and there seemed to be an implicit understanding between their parents that eventually Anthony would end up marrying her. His father had even once said something along the lines of ‘If Anthony won’t I’m sure Benedict will.’ which had Anthony sulking for the following three days.

He’d be lying if he said he did not care for the idea. He would have to marry eventually. He was the firstborn and it would be his duty to continue the Bridgerton bloodline. And Kate was his best friend in the world, the one person he knew his heart and soul, with whom he could trust his deepest fears and wildest thoughts. And his mother had always said the best marriages were the ones forged between very best friends, after all. And she wasn’t really bad to look at, with her wild curls and big doe-like eyes. In his mind, it was all pretty simple. He’d finish his studies in Oxford, return home, marry Kate and live quite happily afterwards. He wouldn’t have to suffer through seasons in London, flocked by silly debutants, he’d have his future viscountess and, if the past years were anything to go about, life with Kate would be really quite fun. But Anthony had dedicated very little time to think about it. He’d rather spend his free days at home with Kate and Benedict than dwell on thoughts about the future and he’d always have so much to do at school, it was quite easy to forget the topic entirely.

His mind was distracted by thoughts of home and his summer before he enrolled in university, Cook’s raspberry pie that always waited for them every time they returned from school, of the seventh baby sibling that would be joining the family by the end of the summer and if Mother would allow them to go swimming in the next few days while Benedict dozed, his head lulling to the side as the carriage made its way back to Kent. He watched absentmindedly as the green fields shone under the summer sun, the landscape growing more and more familiar until they were pulling into Aubrey Hall’s drive, a cluster of people waiting for them in front of the house. As the coach pulled up next to the marble steps, stirring Benedict of his nap, he began to recognise the people waiting for them.

There was his mother, her belly already pronounced under the waistline of her dress, and his father holding little Gregory, who was trying desperately to escape his father’s arms. Lady Mary stood next to his mother, as calm and serene as ever. And there was Daph and Colin side by side. His second brother had hit a growth spurt during the 6 months he’d been away, Kate had informed him in her letters, and had finally surpassed Daphne in height, much to his sister’s annoyance. Edwina stood between Eloise and Francesca, the three sporting girlish smiles and childish joy. And right behind them…

The coach had already stopped and Benedict was climbing out of it by the time Anthony’s eyes locked on Kate. Kate, who he hadn’t seen since the end of the previous summer as she had been visiting family in Somerset when he returned home for Christmas. Kate, who was beaming at him, her entire face lit up with her smile. Kate, whose wild dark curls were trapped in a loose braid over her shoulder, her midnight blue-green dress shining under the midday sun.

Kate, who looked like the most beautiful thing Anthony had ever seen in his entire life.

She was already next to the carriage, greeting Benedict when he moved to get out. Something had changed, and he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what. It was still Kate, the big, brown eyes, the black curly hair, the long legs and slender arms. But there was something new about her. Something new about the way she held herself, shoulders firm and head held high proudly. Something in the air around her made her skin glow and her eyes shine. She was not the scrawny teen he left behind last summer, apparently growing into her long limbs, her dress waist hugging her body beautifully as she moved in fluid, graceful motions.

He couldn’t stop looking at her.

It turned out to be a problem, stepping down from the coach with his eyes glued to her. Worried shouts ran through the open air as his foot completely missed the step, his hand reaching for the carriage’s door in the last possible second, just a hair away from tumbling face-first into the grovel.

“Lost your footing there, did you?” Kate was standing in front of him, laughter in her voice. And by God, he’d give anything to get her to keep laughing like that. He took the hand she was offering to steady him, a thing he’d done a million times, and yet now, as their fingers touched, a jolt of electricity ran up his arm straight to his heart. “Are you alright?”

“Just… lost my balance.” He mumbled, the tip of his ears turning red under her gaze.

“Clumsy.” Her hands reached to fix the lapel of his travel coat, wrinkling her nose adorably before throwing her arms around his neck, crushing her to him. He could barely breathe as he wrapped his arms around her waist, enjoying the way her body fit perfectly into his. It always had. How had he never noticed it before?

He could spend the rest of the day like that, their arms around each other under the sun in front of the house, but they were interrupted by Gregory, who had finally managed to wiggle himself out of his father’s grasp, running straight to Anthony’s legs and he had been forced to let go of Kate to be able to scoop his little brother up. Behind Kate’s shoulder, he could see his father watching them, amusement glomming in his eyes while his mother smothered Benedict in kisses.

“Katie, Ant!” Greg babbled, waving his chubby arms wildly to show her that his brother had arrived. His mother had written that Greggy was very much taken with Kate, always toddling after her as she brought Edwina to visit his sisters at Aubrey Hall.

“Yes, Greggy. Anthony’s back.” She smiled up at the two brothers, patting Gregory’s hair softly. Anthony wished she’d run her fingers to his hair next.

“Love, allow Benedict some space to breathe.” Edmund had his hands softly on his wife’s shoulders as she pulled away, tears glistening in her eyes. “Perhaps save some of those kisses to Anthony, yes?”

“I don’t think it’s Mama’s kisses Anthony wants,” Benedict mumbled under his breath. Both Anthony and Kate’s faces turned completely scarlet as the Viscount elbowed his second son, Lady Bridgerton rushing forwards to greet her eldest, beloved boy.

“Did you notice something different about Kate?” Anthony had been trying to work up the nerve to ask his brother the question the entire way up to their bedrooms to change from their travel clothes, a bit afraid of the answer he would get.

“Apart from the fact that you spent more time staring at her today than usual, you mean?” Benedict shot Anthony a look from the corner of his eyes.

“Yes, Ben, apart from that.” He rolled his eyes, ignoring the teasing smirk on his brother’s lips. He was too dignified to even try denying his brother’s quip. He had spent a good amount of time staring at Kate.

“No, nothing in particular. Why?” Benedict shrugged.

“I don’t know. Something looks different in her.” Anthony tugged at his cravat nervously.

“Perhaps she changed her hair a bit?” Benedict offered, completely uselessly.

“That’s not it.” Anthony sighed, shaking his head dejectedly. He couldn’t say exactly what had changed about her and it was driving him mad. “It’s something about her…”

“I can’t help you, mate.” Benedict shrugged again, stopping at the door to his room. “She looks the same to me.”

Anthony couldn’t help but think that, for an artist, his brother was really quite unobservant.

Dinner was an informal affair. Apart from Gregory, who in his childish excitement managed to fall asleep before it was time for them to sit down, all the Bridgerton and Sharmas were in attendance. Anthony sat amidst the chaos of his family, his eyes still fixed on Kate who was sitting between him and Benedict. She looked breathtaking under the light of the candles, her curls escaping her braid, framing her face in a dark ring of hair.

“Anthony!” Her voice snapped him of his reverie and he noticed she had been talking to him. Behind her, Benedict was grinning humorously.

“What?” She huffed in annoyance at his question.

“I asked you if you are excited to go to Oxford!”

“Oh, Oxford, yes.” He nodded, his mind already flying away from him as he watched her take a bite of her raspberry pie, the sugary red filling tainting her full lips crimson. “At the end of the summer. Right.”

“What’s wrong with you today?” Her voice was laced with amusement. Next to her, Benedict wasn’t even trying to hide his cackling at the interaction.

“I just….” He shrugged, trying to focus on his own desert. It tasted like summer afternoons hiding in the tree house, giggling with dirty hands. “Long day. Travelling.”

“I found it perfectly pleasant,” Ben added, after a huge bite of pie. Kate rolled her eyes and Anthony huffed.

“That’s because carriages lull you to sleep.” She said, at the same moment Anthony grumbled annoyedly:

“You slept the entire way.” The three of them exchanged looks before they burst out in laughter. It felt as if life was back to normal. The three of them laughing together as it always had been.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to relax now that you’re back.” All the air seemed to escape Anthony’s lungs in one quick huff as her hand wrapped around his softly under the table. Anthony’s mouth was open, but his mind was devoid of anything to say back to her. No teasing quip, no thankful remark, not even a silly barb. The only thing on his head at the moment was her bright smile and their bare hands laced together under the tablecloth.

Anthony was saved from having to say anything when his father stood from his seat at the head of the table, raising his flute in a toast for the return of his boys and his eldest son’s graduation. Glasses were raised with cheers and joyous cries, laughter ringing as Edwina and Eloise tried to clink their glasses only to spill half their lemonade on each other.

Throughout the entire chaos of celebration, Kate’s fingers remained tightly entwined with Anthony’s.

“You know, Brother,” Anthony turns on his seat at the edge of his bed to find Benedict staring at him, his face alight with mirth. He was by Anthony’s bedroom door, completely carefree as he leaned on the jamb, only in his partially opened white undershirt and sleep pants. “You used to be better at keeping yourself together than that.”

Anthony considered for a minute if he should play dumb and tell his brother he had no clue what he is talking about, but he decided against it. There was no point. Benedict had already noticed his struggles and denying it would only be a waste of time and energy.

“I don’t understand what is wrong with me.” Anthony dropped back to the bed with a groan, tugging on his hair forcefully with his hands.

“There is a straightforward explanation to it, Ant,” Ben said, sitting next to him on Anthony’s bed. “You are a fool. You’ve always been, especially for Kate.”

“I’ve told you,” Anthony said from between the fingers covering his face. “There is something different about her.”

“Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe there is something different about you?” He lifted his head to stare at Benedict with a confused frown.

“What?” What could have changed within him in the past that Ben had realized and he hadn’t? Could his brother really understand his feelings better than he understood them himself?

“Perhaps you’re simply not so smooth anymore, you know, in your old age.” Why did he ever expect anything serious from his brother? Of course, some teasing barb would come out of it. He dropped his head back to the mattress dejectedly.

“You are ridiculous and I’m not certain why I still listen to you.”

“You could barely get a full sentence out all night.” Benedict’s mirth made him groan.

“I got distracted, that’s all.”

“I just hope that I do not end up like you in my old years.” He added with a dramatic flare of hands.

“I am two years your senior, you arse.” Anthony tossed one of his bed cushions, hitting him on the side of the face which sent both brothers rolling with laughter.

“I am still smooth, thank you very much,” Anthony grumbled as their laughs started to die down.

“I’m sure you are.”

“I am!”

“Well, Brother.” Benedict rose from his seat, tossing the cushion back to Anthony’s side. “I wish you all the luck on your endeavour of speaking a full sentence to Kate tomorrow, you know, with all your smoothness.” Anthony groaned, remembering the whispered promise of her returning tomorrow for their game before she jumped onto her family’s carriage after dinner. Benedict’s humorous laughter followed him out of the room.

The following day would clearly be a long one.

By the next morning, Anthony was very close to deciding on not even leaving his bed at all. He spent his entire night filled with dreams of Kate. Dreams that had him waking up with her name on his lips and his body taunt with desire. Dreams of her body against his, his lips on hers, of his hands under her dress, caressing her long legs, of her nimble fingers tugging on his hair forcefully.

It was not the first time Anthony had woken up to these sorts of dreams, the type that left his body aching and his sleep trousers uncomfortably tight. It was the first time Kate was featured in one of them though. It was always usually some faceless woman, the dream focused sorely on other parts of the body below the neck.

It was much easier to take himself in hand when the dream is about someone he didn’t really know. He felt guilty about doing anything with the image of Kate burned behind his eyelids. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see her plump lips, swollen from kissing, her long tanned legs that went on forever, of the way her body shivered as his hand and mouth explored every single crane and nook of her body.

He tried a million different ways to get his body to calm down, to push her away from his mind enough so he could turn back to sleep, but every time his eyelids fell closed she'd be there, smiling devilishly at him clad only in his sheets. By the fourth time he woke up panting, he’d given up. Shame burned deeply in his chest as he reached to unlace his trousers.

He was standing in the entrance hall next to his mother and Ben when Kate arrived, Edwina having already dashed after El and Frannie in the garden.

“Mama said she’d be over later today for tea, Lady Bridgerton.” She kissed the Viscountess’s cheek.

“That’s quite alright, my dear.” The moment Kate stepped closer to Benedict and him, Anthony’s nose was assaulted by an unfamiliar smell. It grew stronger by the second and at the moment her arms wrapped themselves around him, it hit him so fully it overpowered all other of his senses.

“You smell different.” The words jumped out of him before he could even think about them. His mother gasped, crying out ‘Anthony Bridgerton’ in outrage at his rudeness and Ben’s face was red and breathless as he tried to hold back his roar of cackles, but his eyes remained on Kate. She had taken a step away from him, looking completely taken aback, trying and failing not to look hurt, sending a painful pang through his heart. He hadn’t meant to offend her. “Flowery?”

“It’s probably the lily soap Mama’s cousin got me for Christmas.” Her eyes assessed his face, trying desperately to read him. He could feel his mother and Benedict’s eyes on him as well, but he was still looking at Kate.

“It…” He wracked his brain, trying desperately to get it working enough to form a fully coherent sentence. It didn’t help at all that his body seemed to be conjuring back the images of last night’s dream. “It smells really good.”

“Oh.” Her mouth is parted in surprise, her eyes impossibly wide before her lips curl in a sweet smile. “Thank you.” Her grin turns teasing, her eyes glinting with misfit. “But if you think complements will make me give you my Mallet of Death, you are very much mistaken, Mr. Bridgerton.”

“My mallet, you mean.” Her laugh sends jolts of electricity through his entire body.

“Your Uncle George gave it to me.” She poked a finger at his chest.

“It was not Uncle George’s to give. It was Aunt Billie’s.” This push and pull felt good, comfortable, the two of the bickering as they’ve always done. “And she’s given it to me.”

“But Uncle George named it, so it was his right to give it to me,” She snapped.

“Ah, but the set belongs to Aunt Billie, so it’s mine.”

“We shall see about that in today’s game, I suppose.” And with that, she turned around, Anthony was once again flooded with the smell of lilies from her hair floating behind her as she walked away, leaving them to keep up. And he stood there, his mouth agape, with Benedict dwarfing next to him.

“I do see why these two are Billie and George’s favourites.” He could hear his mother mumble to herself as he scrambled to follow Kate, Benedict right behind him.

Watching Kate with the black Pall Mall mallet clutched to her hand, her coppery skin glistening in the afternoon sun and the wind blowing on her hair is one of the strangest things Anthony has ever experienced. She is a vision in her purple day dress, her arms bare, little beads of sweat forming on her forehead and her most carefree smile adorning her lips.

Anthony managed to snatch the green mallet before Colin dashed for it, Daphne completely comfortable clutching the purple one while Benedict held onto the blue.

Most of Anthony’s concentration had to go to being able to keep up with Kate’s banter without getting completely distracted by the sweet smell of her new soap or her joyous laughter or her bright smile or her beautiful skin or her ridiculously long legs. And as a result, he was being thoroughly trounced at the game.

Every time he aimed a shot, the sound of Kate’s laughter or one of her teasing cheers would reach his ears and his ball would go completely astray. The only person behind him was Daphne and it was her first year playing.

He noticed Ben and Kate seemed to be enjoying themselves at his expense. Kate because she was as fiercely competitive as him and Benedict because he thrived in making fun of Anthony’s newfound inability to have rational thoughts near Kate.

The moment his ball rolled to a stop in the perfect direction to Kate’s, he realized it was all lost. The gleeful jubilation in her eyes was enough to prove he was, as of this moment, completely done for in the match.

“Oh Anthony, it’s such a shame!” It was clear to anyone listening how very not sorry she was for his predicament.

“Kate.” He groaned in warning.

“Wouldn’t it be just horrible if someone hit your ball away from the game?” Her tone was all fake innocence, blinking her eyelashes prettily as she moved to her own ball.

“Don’t.” He warned but it was of no avail. With a triumphant smile, she pulled all her body weight into her swing, forcing her ball to collide with his, sending the green one flying down the sloppy hill and out of sight.

She whooped, jumping in circles around Anthony in joyous celebration, engulfing his world in a blur of dark curls and lily scent.

“Players have to stick to their balls I’m afraid, Ant.” Anthony stared at her as she teased, her blinding smile flashing at him.

There was a whack next to them and they watched as the blue ball hit the black one, making it follow the green’s path towards the valley and trees at the bottom of the hill. Without noticing, Kate had grabbed a hold of Anthony’s bicep, squeezing it angrily as she watched Benedict grin, her mouth open wide.

“You should follow your ball, Kate!” Ben was leaning on the shaft of his mallet, his sleeves, like Anthony’s, rolled to his elbows, his smirk shameless as he mocked her. The murderous glare she was shooting his brother promised hell to pay for his actions. It would be wise for Benedict to watch his back in the following days. Maybe lock his windows before sleep. “Do try to spare Anthony his arm. I think he’s quite fond of it.” All eyes turned to Kate’s fingers around Anthony’s upper arm, turning pale from the force of her grip around his muscle. She dropped his arm with a shake of her head and huffed.

“Come, Anthony.” And with a flip of her head, she was marching down the slope towards their balls, her mallet dangling next to her. Anthony tried to follow, but his legs seemed to be malfunctioning, his body refusing to obey his brain, which in turn was completely taken by the sound of her voice and the smell of her skin.

His legs tangled beneath him, almost sending him straight to the ground. His arms flayed around for a moment before grabbing into Benedict for support to remain standing.

“Real smooth, Brother! Tripping over air.” His entire body was shaking with laughter as he patted Anthony’s shoulder affectionately. “I’m glad to see you still got it.”

Anthony was left with no choice but to follow the path Kate had taken, listening to the sound of her grumbling about their predicament. Even the sigh of her angry frown would send his heart dancing a jig into his chest And he couldn’t even keep his annoyance at her or Benedict for removing him from the game or her theft of his mallet. He wasn’t even really bothered when they both found themselves sitting in a puddle, his laughter joining hers as they ended up on their bums in the mud.

#my writing #my fanfic #Bridgerton #writing #fanfic #anthony bridgerton #kate bridgerton #kate sharma #Best Friends to Lovers #Childhood Best friends AU #Oh no she's hot #It's is 6K of Anthony making a fool of himself #please forgive me #Benedict is having the time of his life

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