I went into this month with an agenda of about 2 fics a week for December, but I’m realizing I bit off more than my brain can comfortably chew, especially while I’m also pouring so much into Fault Lines. Between juggling both, I’m not hitting the deadlines I set for myself, and I don’t want to force chapters out when they’re not ready.
Echoes on my Mind is still on hiatus, and for my own sanity I’m going to rest for the remainder of this month. I do have one more holiday fic I’m hoping to finish by the end of this week, but after that I’m stepping back to recharge and come back with a clearer head.
I don’t want to force words that feel rushed when these stories deserve better, and I definitely don’t want to run myself into the ground.
I'm still going to be around, interacting, reading and reblogging, but you just won't see anything new from me until maybe mid January, when chapter two of Fault Lines gets posted. It's almost there, just need to read it a million times and hyperfixate on little things.
Thank you so much to everyone who reads, reblogs, comments, and to all the new followers who’ve joined me lately. Your support means more than I can put into words. 🫶🏻✨
so i wrote a fic?? i don't know how it happened but i apparently did, it's here on AO3.
I also did a little scribble to it. It's about Harry's and Jean's first ever meeting, it's rainy and awkward, but that's what may happen when you meet your future bestie for the first time, i guess.
Sometimes, on a particularly shitty day, when you get somewhere an hour early and decide to get wet in the rain, someone might bring some light into your life. Sometimes, it's not even that metaphorical.
(This is a part of my Echoes of Elysium AU/project/comic/whatever is this that i do)
Find it here on tumblr: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1516 1718 19 20 21 22 23
Fic Summary: Feet dangling off the edge of the bed, hands still resting on the earpieces of his glasses, Eggsy opened his eyes.
And promptly shut them again, screwing them shut like a child who had the distinct misfortune of biting into a raw lemon. Breathing harshly in his nose and out his mouth, trying to stave off whatever delusional panic had befallen him, Eggsy reopened his eyes.
‘Harry?’
Or: The Hologram Story Nobody Asked For
Eggsy couldn’t help himself- he knew that he was pressing where he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help but push anyway. He’d heard from his mum about Harry’s visit, and she’d sounded so damn happy that he just couldn’t help it. He’d reached up onto his toes and hugged Harry tightly the next time he’d walked into the house, squeezed around his neck and tucked his head between Harry’s jaw and shoulder, right against his collarbone.
Harry had frozen for all of a breath before bringing his arms down to Eggsy’s waist, squeezing just as tightly in return. He didn’t ask what the occasion was, or try to pull away after a minute because that’s how hugs normally went; instead he simply rested his cheek against Eggsy’s hair. Eventually they parted, shared a small smile, and went back to their normal routine.
Something had changed, then, but neither of them ever spoke about it. Their fingers brushed more often while doing dishes, their shoulders brushed constantly while walking to and from the shop, they ended up falling asleep on each other more often than not during evening films. Maybe it was just a final barrier falling and making them feel more comfortable- but Harry knew it wasn’t so much a final barrier as it was that some unspoken rule that had been tossed out.
Eggsy leant into his shoulder when they sat near each other, he relaxed when Harry clapped him on the shoulder (unlike when Percival did, which had resulted in wide eyes and stuttered breathing) or guided him into a room by the small of his back. And maybe Harry was encouraging Eggsy’s exploration with non-romantic physical affection for his own ends, but where was the harm? It wasn’t as if the two of them weren’t touch-starved, or touch-wary, between Eggsy’s childhood and Harry’s loss of physical control, it was a wonder they let anyone near them at all.
Two puzzle pieces that kind of fit- like pieces of the sky, you could put them together on their own, but when you try to attach them to the rest of the picture you’d discover it’s the wrong combination of bloody blue tiles. At least, that’s how Harry reasoned his lack of active communication. He just let things start happening, didn’t reject anything offered, and rationalised that if he said something it would all fall apart because of the things that made them different.
He should have thought more of Eggsy, the determined little shit, because it was obvious that he was up to something. He began escalating the types of touch he would use, going from the faintest brush of fingertips to resting his hand wholly on some portion of Harry’s body; from that to pressing into the places that stored the most tension, seeing what made Harry react.
It had taken him nearly a month to catch on, and once he did he couldn’t unsee it- but he also didn’t want to stop him. So he let it be, and soaked in the attention as if it were going to stop because after almost dying you don’t take anything for granted if you can help it.
On one rare morning, where they both were home and resting with no obligations, Eggsy came down the stairs looking particularly ruffled. He yawned loudly and rubbed at his face, and when he made it to where Harry was sat at the table he dropped a kiss on his head as he passed by. He didn’t stop his progress to the kitchen, and Harry didn’t dare turn to see if Eggsy realised what he had done.
Harry didn’t even think to return the gesture, but eagerly awaited the next opportunity Eggsy had to do it again. If there was, indeed, anything beside respect and devotion between the two of them, from both directions, then Eggsy needed to be the one to make the first move. Not only was Harry technically his superior, but he was several years his senior and Harry would have felt lecherous making the opening move. But, Eggsy’s actions- planned and non- were indicative that he had ideas, even if they weren’t advisable from the common person’s judgements.
But when had they ever truly cared about the opinions of the outside world, anyway?
But Harry was getting ahead of himself- by a good kilometre- because these were shy or unconscious glances and infrequent touches. There were so many things that needed to happen between there and where Harry’s thoughts were heading. Patience, he told himself, if it’s going to happen, it will happen- it’s not as if he’s going anywhere.
And that, in and of itself, was a new thought process. Being aware that someone had decided you were worth spending time with was different than spending a life together- but they’d already fallen so far off the usual, acceptable, path that what did it matter? They could never do more than hold hands or clasp arms and Harry would be satisfied as long as their home remained such.
Harry went on a solo mission to Antigua, what should have been a quick pick-up went sour within the first 24 hours, and ended up with Harry sporting several bruised ribs, seventeen stitches scattered about his body, and an overnight stay in medical. Surprisingly, it was the first serious injury he or Eggsy had gotten since their house became a home- which meant it was uncharted territory, and Harry wasn’t sure what exactly he was so nervous about. He’d been injured, before- he’d been in medical overnight, before- but this was the first time for him since Kentucky.
Eggsy didn’t run into the room when he arrived, but he did close the door fully behind himself and rest against it for a moment after. He looked to the ceiling, took a deep breath, and then approached the bed- and it was lucky that Harry hadn’t required a heart monitor, because it surely would have given him away. Eggsy sat in the chair Merlin had sat in for debrief, though he pulled it closer, and lifted Harry’s hand in his own- lightly kissing the top of it before rubbing his thumb over the same spot. As if to rub the affection into his skin completely.
‘You’ve got to either stop this shit or give me a bit of warning, luv.’ Harry blinked slowly, as if doing so would freeze this moment in his memory, and huffed out a laugh.
‘You and I are both fully aware that those options are equally impossible. But, I’ve made it home once again in, relatively,’ Harry glanced down at himself before shrugging a shoulder slightly, ‘good condition.’
‘Your stitches say otherwise.’
‘I have all my limbs and have lost an insignificant amount of blood- rest assured, these are entirely superficial wounds.’
‘Harry, bruises are superficial- you got stitches and your ribs are fucked. Tha’s why you’re in medical instead of at home.’
‘The ribs are bruised, actually; and Merlin’s being a stick in the mud about letting me home-’
‘He ain’t letting you go anywhere he can’t see you for a bit- always been more sensitive than he’ll admit.’
‘You don’t say?’ Surely Eggsy, in his far more limited experience with Merlin than his own, hadn’t managed to get Merlin’s number that easily.
‘Well, yeah- you shoulda seen ‘im when you were gone. Oh, he put on a brave face, but he was so quiet. And he was a right arse about makin’ sure everyone was rested and eating and shit. Don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone embody that nurse lady from the Harry Potter books like he did;’ Eggsy chuckled, ‘the Lake was so confused when he started goin’ on about proper nutrition and REM cycles and shit- Rox and I made sure he actually listened to himself every once in a while. Managed to glue ‘im to his chair once, and just… rolled him into medical for a check up.’ Harry laughed, imagining his usually-stoic friend struggling to remove himself from the predicament while keeping some semblance of dignity and authority intact.
‘Yeah, it was funny in the moment, but… lookin’ back and all it makes me wonder- the fuck was wrong with Kingsman before V-Day, Harry?’ Eggsy’s eyes had gone hard, the thin line of his mouth so at ends with his youthful face. ‘It was like no one knew that anyone else cared about them- that they had value outside of mission parametres. Outside of their job.’ He spat the word, and Harry was caught entirely off guard by it.
‘Chester King was very purpose-focused, Eggsy, to put it kindly. The vast majority of Knights never became familiar with one another outside of respect for one another’s skills, and emotional connections have always been construed as a weakness by those of higher stations. If it couldn’t be used to further the agency, then it was unnecessary. The Lake’s betting pools are far more the exception than the norm- their sense of community has been fostered in the shadows for the past twenty-odd years. If it weren’t for the circumstances of Chester’s demise- and those of his ilk- I’m certain that the trend of emotional segregation from one another would have continued seamlessly from one Arthur to the next.
‘I’m not certain of how to explain it to you, Eggsy, but Kingsman has never been about a group uniting to face a common threat, or defend a common goal, in my experience,’ Harry frowned and shook his head, ‘Kingsman was always about individual people being sent to settle individual problems that just happened to be facets of the larger goal. There were only a handful of people in the history of the agency that demanded to work with certain people, and very rarely were there Agent/Handler pairs in the fashion you’re accustomed to.’ Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing up his glasses as he did so.
‘So, what you’re saying is that no one knew that they were important as humans outside of their fuckin’ skills because Chester King was an enormous prick?’
‘That’s about the sum of things, yes.’
‘If Merlin figures it out, can I go back in time and kill him all over again?’
‘Once was quite enough, Eggsy- but you can rewatch the footage ad nauseum, if you’d like.’
Find it here on tumblr: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1516 1718 19 20 21 22 23 24
Fic Summary: Feet dangling off the edge of the bed, hands still resting on the earpieces of his glasses, Eggsy opened his eyes.
And promptly shut them again, screwing them shut like a child who had the distinct misfortune of biting into a raw lemon. Breathing harshly in his nose and out his mouth, trying to stave off whatever delusional panic had befallen him, Eggsy reopened his eyes.
‘Harry?’
Or: The Hologram Story Nobody Asked For
Hey everyone! So I’ve begun working on the alternate ending- which is to say that I’ve finally finished writing the actual story!
Would you all prefer to have updates spaced out, once a week or so, or given to you all at once?
I’ll be updating again on the 18th, so you have until then to vote!
Michelle Unwin was not a proud woman. She was not a pillar of strength, or monumentally kind- but she was loyal. To the point of fault, when she allowed herself to be blind, but loyal nonetheless. She understood the necessity of secrets, of doublespeak and hidden caches, and knew that there was a time and a place for most everything one could imagine.
But she was also an impatient woman, desperate to finally finish bridging the gap between she and Eggsy. The one she had accidentally widened by pushing too far in the wake of Merlin’s visit. Eggsy’d rung back later and apologised, but she hadn’t really thought about it all that much until Harry had come by. She hadn’t really bothered to try and see the whole picture.
‘Hey, babes, want to come by for dinner? Makin’ Daisy’s favourite, and I know she’d love to see you- don’ say you’re not feeling well, I was havin’ a chat with Harry earlier and he said you was just lazing about the house.’ She paused, phone propped between her shoulder and head, before nodding. ‘I’ll see you tonight, then- give Harry my love.’ There was a muffled squawking from the phone, I can’t just go and give Harry love, mum, but Michelle cut it off with a small giggle.
‘Eggsy coming?’ Daisy tugged at the end of Michelle’s shirt, and she picked her daughter up and tossed her gently in the air.
‘Yes is is, flower, and we are gonna make his favourite cookies,’ Michelle kissed one cheek, ‘and your favourite dinner,’ the other, ‘and you’re going to help me pick some flowers for the table, yeah?’
‘Yeah!’ Daisy ran from the room, and Michelle heard the telltale sound of the back door opening. Eggsy would accept a handful of weeds from her with all the grace of a prima ballerina, but she’d try to at least get Daisy to clear the dirt off, first.
---
‘Harry, did I do something?’ Eggsy padded down the stairs, one hand pulling at the hairs at the back of his head as the other started confusedly at his phone. Harry looked up from his place at the dining table briefly before returning to his newspaper.
‘I have no idea- you tend to do a rather large number of things on any given day.’
‘Ha ha ha, smartarse- why’s my mum know I was home relaxing today?’
‘I… wasn’t aware that was a secret? She rang earlier and I mentioned that you were home today... and had only come down from your room an hour or so ago.’ Harry shrugged and turned back to his tea, and Eggsy groaned, dragging a hand down his face before glaring at Harry who, for all intents and purposes, shrugged him off.
‘Do you know the last time I had a day where I just got to… be when it wasn’t medical-mandated bed rest?’ Eggsy threw himself down into the chair opposite.
‘I don’t keep a detailed mental calendar of your life, Eggsy-’ lie ‘but if your mother and sister want to see you, is it really such a hardship? In fact,’ Harry turned in his seat, and put down his cup, ‘weren’t you saying just a few days ago that you missed them?’ Eggsy flushed and looked away.
‘For fuck’s sake- of course I miss them- it’s no’ like being a Kingsman comes with regular hours and shit.’ Harry looked skyward and huffed a breath, why was Eggsy being purposefully obtuse?
‘Then what’s the problem?’ Eggsy muttered something that Harry couldn’t make out, and Harry deflated. ‘Eggsy, what’s stopping you from enjoying a meal with your family?’
‘I dunno, okay?! I miss them when I’m not around ‘em and then I get there and I feel like an outsider! Mum talks about her work and Daisy’s school and I have to make up some cock and bull story about some ponce and his fabric choices, and-’ Eggsy cut himself off, jaw clenched and Harry leant forward to rest one hand on his shoulder.
‘And?’ He dared not point out that lying about his duties as a Kingsman was entirely his own choice at this point. Being a Kingsman came with many risks, and Harry could not fault him for trying to protect the few that were his own- no matter that Michelle had all but figured it out on her own, but Eggsy had no way of knowing that.
‘Nothing, Harry. Just tired, is all- I wanted to go back to bed, but we don’ always get what we want, yeah?’ Harry took the deflection at face value- he was not one to push or pry into Eggsy’s personal thoughts if they were not offered freely.
‘No, we don’t, unfortunately; but even if it will be a difficult evening, for whatever reason,’ Harry mad eye contact, and smiled softly, ‘you will feel better for it in the morning. Rest is more than physical, after all. So you’re going to go and enjoy dinner with your family, and I’m not going to hear a word otherwise- okay, Eggsy?’
‘Yes, Harry.’ Their eyes met, and Eggsy pat the hand on his shoulder once before he sat up from the table and made his way back to his room. While pulling together his clothes- clean, but unfolded and scattered around the room in piles, an organised mess is the only mess- Eggsy remembered his mother’s other instruction before she’d hung up on him. He grinned, and pulled out a pen and a spare bit of paper. See, he’d been the shit in school who had remembered all the useless bits of information he stumbled upon when he was supposed to be working hard.
For example, how to make a jumping origami frog.
Eggsy had made hundreds of them- they were easy to make, easy to destroy, and had infinite possibilities of shenanigans when used proper. Draw (or imagine) a circle and you’ve got target practise. Just about anywhere. How small could you make one and still make it jump? How big was just too big? Did cardstock work better than construction paper, or was it too brittle? Paper didn’t make noise and didn’t make a mess, so Dean had never been suspect- and even if he had done, paper was necessary for school and shit. He always had paper.
Eggsy pulled the cap from the pen and doodled a bit, wrote Michelle’s love in the midst of the senseless scribbling, and got to folding. He gave the finished product a set of eyes, and went about his getting ready for dinner.
Harry hadn’t moved from his position at the dining table, though he had acquired some biscuits in Eggsy’s absence. Eggsy pat his pockets down with one hand, double checking that he had what he needed, before placing his paper creation on the edge of the table. Harry didn’t look away from his paper, so Eggsy took his opportunity to gauge a goal before pressing his finger to the end and letting it fly.
The frog landed wrong side up between the edge of the table and the paper. Eggsy threw both fists into the air briefly and grinned to himself as Harry blinked and reached for the unexpected intruder.
‘For you!’ Eggsy sauntered out the front door, and left a confused Harry with the paper frog cupped in one hand behind him.
---
‘Door’s open!’ It was muffled, but Eggsy heard well enough and let himself into his mum’s house. Daisy was in the sitting room, laying on a plush purple blanket that was wholly unfamiliar to Eggsy and playing with a doll. She didn’t look up from her doll as he made his way into the house.
‘Hey, mum,’ Michelle was pulling off mitts, a tray of oddly-shaped bread rolls sitting on the stove, as Eggsy bent his head to press a kiss to her cheek, ‘brought a bottle of that gross bubbly lemonade you like so much. An’ some of the normal kind for Dais’ and I.’ Eggsy dodged the hand that swat out at him with a laugh, put the bottles into the fridge, and ducked back out into the sitting room. ‘Look how big you’ve grown, Daisy!’
‘Eggsy!’ Daisy tossed down the doll, careless in a way Eggsy was envious of, before launching herself at him. Eggsy let himself be toppled by her weight, laughing loudly even as his head hit the floor and Daisy propped herself atop his chest. ‘You was gone too long- I missed you.’ Eggsy sat up, cradled Daisy in his arms, and pressed his face firmly into her hair.
‘Missed you, too, flower- promise I’ll try to come ‘round more.’ Eggsy spoke softly, eyes shut tightly as if by will alone he could stop himself from feeling like an awful brother. ‘I’ll bring proper prezzies, too- but this time I jus’ brought some lemonade for us.’
‘No bubbles?’ Daisy pulled back, brows scrunched together and a small frown on her face, and Eggsy chuckled.
‘No bubbles.’
‘M’kay. We’s having mac ’n cheese and turtles for dinner!’
‘Daisy, you wan’ to show Eggsy how to set the table? It’s been a long time, he prolly don’t remember how to do it right.’ Michelle called from the kitchen, and together the Unwin siblings set the table, Eggsy taking each instruction from Daisy very seriously, and asking if he did it right each time. Eventually, after several no, Eggsy, it goes over here see?’s, the three sat at the table, a small plate piled high with bread-roll turtles and a large bowl of mac ’n cheese passed between them.
Dinner passed with such ease Eggsy was convinced he was dreaming. He hadn’t spent time with his mum proper since the whole Harry fiasco. Oh, he’d come by now and again but it was always quick, always more of a ‘look I’m alive’ than an honest bit of time spent with the little family he had left. He just… hadn’t known how to move past that moment.
He’d apologised, he knew he’d reacted too harshly to what was obviously his mum tryin’ to be, y’know, a mum- but it didn’t feel like enough and Eggsy just… didn’t know what to do. So he avoided the problem, and threw himself into his missions, and he knew it was unhealthy but he couldn’t make himself stop- til his mum and Harry teamed up, apparently. So now, here he was, scrubbing up after dinner, side-by-side at the sink with her, wishing he had words.
‘Eggsy, babes? You got anywhere to be?’ Eggsy took a breath, slowly as not to give away how close to breaking down he was, and shook his head, refusing to look away from the dish he was drying.
‘Nah, mum, I’m free an’ clear for the next day or so.’ True nobility is being superior to your former self. Maybe he wasn’t quite ready- but, honestly, would he ever be? Had to take a first step somewhere, right?
‘Well, let’s put Daisy to bed, and then… maybe, you an’ I can chat a bit?’ Michelle’s voice wavered, but her eyes never left the sink where her hands were idly messing with the suds under the pretense of searching the murky water for more dishes to clean.
Fic Summary: Feet dangling off the edge of the bed, hands still resting on the earpieces of his glasses, Eggsy opened his eyes.
And promptly shut them again, screwing them shut like a child who had the distinct misfortune of biting into a raw lemon. Breathing harshly in his nose and out his mouth, trying to stave off whatever delusional panic had befallen him, Eggsy reopened his eyes.
‘Harry?’
Or: The Hologram Story Nobody Asked For
Eggsy stopped wearing the specs for a bit, after that. The cast came off and PT started for his arm; it was a bitch and a half but it meant he was getting better. That he'd be getting back into the field.
But he kept coming back to Harry.
Now that it was shoved into his face, albeit accidentally by what was basically a high-tech ghost, Eggsy couldn't help but marvel that he'd upheld Kingsman tradition entirely by accident. He'd upheld a Galahad tradition in a fit of loss and self loathing. Which in itself seemed to be a Galahad tradition.
He hid the decanter in a cabinet, but it didn't really do much beside leave a hole to remind him of the realisation. A spot where shit's cleaner or something when you move what was there before.
Eggsy went through the motions of his days much as he had before, but he couldn't really pretend that nothing had changed. On some level (everything I've done has been trying to repay him) Eggsy had always known that Harry still blamed himself for his father's death. No stranger would have reacted to his record so vehemently otherwise- well meaning or not, there'd been honest anger hiding behind his pointed words. The way Harry had always mentioned his dad in passing (your father had the same look on his face) with that melancholy look...
In a strange way, Eggsy was grateful that Harry'd been in a coma for such a large portion of his training. Fuck knew what other unnecessary comparisons he would have made between Eggsy and his dad. Where else Eggsy would have ended up barely more than an echo of his father in Harry's eyes.
Those thoughts were driven from his head as violently and often as he could manage, often with a round or two at the firing range and a stiff drink. With the notable exception of Roxy once betting he couldn't not shoot himself if he was plastered, the two didn't mix- though he couldn't deny that watching Roxy waddle about awkwardly in a set of twenty-five centimetre platforms was totally worth it.
It took a while, but eventually Eggsy put on his big boy pants and sat himself down in front of Harry in the drawing room on a Thursday afternoon.
'What, no drink, Haz?' Holo-Harry was wearing a cardigan, some dark colour, and holding a book that he'd probably been pretending to read while waiting for Eggsy to step the fuck up and sit the fuck down with him. Not that Eggsy'd been paying attention, or anything.
'With little exception, Eggsy, relaxation does not require alcohol. Perhaps every once in a while, but if one's immediate association with relaxing is to drink... well, I'm certain we both know where that leads.' The book was closed and placed upon his lap, spine obscured by Harry's forearms resting atop it. 'No, Eggsy, this conversation requires no vice strong as that.
'My name is Harry Hart- my mother named me for her grandfather, Hawkins; luckily without actively providing me with a built in "kick me" sign. My father was not the most pleasant of men, my mother was as well-meaning as she was exasperated with the hand she believed life had dealt her, but betwixt them they had far more connections than any average family ought. Mostly due to the fact that my father's first cousin is a man by the name of Chester King.'
Eggsy gasped quietly, never having thought he'd one day vaguely regret killing the man. Very vaguely. Like a memory you're not quite sure truly happened or was just a really realistic dream. Or a blurry picture you can just barely make out.
That is to say, not very much at all, but the fact that they'd been related was an unpleasant surprise.
'We never interacted much- our differences in age and politics were a harsh divide- but the connection was there. Many a night I would come home from university to find my father in the sitting room entertaining him, a fair bit of scotch split between two glasses.' Harry sighed, one hand raising to rub at the bridge of his nose, and Eggsy suddenly noticed just how tired Harry looked. 'Contrary to what you might believe based upon this, Chester was not my sponsor into Kingsman. I'm sure you've noticed by now how uncompromising he can be when he has an opinion. And he has many.
'The day Lancelot died, Eggsy, Arthur attempted to make me see how foolish my previous choice of candidate had been. Made a disparaging comment about choosing a "more suitable candidate" and I will happily admit to wanting him to take a long walk off a short pier.' Eggsy snorted a laugh, relaxing despite himself.
'Didn't know you had it in you, Haz.' The nickname was becoming a bad habit, but it wasn't as if Harry were here to correct him.
'I resisted stating as much, but when he tried to make light of your father's sacrifice... I called him a snob, and told him that there was a reason aristocrats developed weak chins. With respect, of course.' Holo-Harry smiled, eyes glazed over as if caught in a pleasant memory, as Eggsy chuckled from behind his hand. Imagining Harry being a shit to his boss was one thing, but having evidence (or whatever the words of a technological ghost were considered) that he actually had been... Eggsy couldn't help but smile fondly at the Harry-That-Was sitting before him.
'I'd have paid to see that.'
'Merlin can likely obtain a copy of that footage- it happened in the Dining Room, certainly not exempt from surveillance. Alternatively, it's also in my personal terminal somewhere, which you have access to as we're obviously interacting at this moment.'
'You was a shit, weren't you, Haz?'
'I was not always entirely gentlemanly, no- but I knew when to push and when to leave things be. At least, that's what I tell myself when I find I'm in circumstances that could have been avoided by keeping my mouth shut. If I've put myself there, there is a reason and it is worth it. I seldom say much without meaning it.'
Eggsy was simultaneously elated and despondent, the words having brought two distinct moments to mind, unsurprisingly. I see a young man with potential. (Can't you see that everything I've done has been about trying to repay him?) And which one was the truth, then? Did he go by what Harry had said most recently? Had Harry seen potential in him at first, only for Eggsy to fuck it up by not noticing the blank?
Would Harry have ever acknowledged Eggsy's accomplishments as his own, instead of some warped echo of his father's potential?
'But that's getting a bit far from the topic. Which, yes, there is in fact a purpose here, Eggsy. I came to the realisation a few days ago that, for all that I know about you, you don't know that much about me. It's something that would have been rectified with time, had I not ended up in a coma and had actually spent your candidacy conscious and present. Or after you had become Lancelot as I was rightfully sure you would.'
There was a now-familiar pang in Eggsy's chest.
'Unfortunately, as we sit here having this admittedly one-sided conversation, it's plain to see that we did not get that time. So, I have decided to impart to you what I felt was worth mentioning here. Certainly an unconventional use of Merlin's technology, but not an immoral one.
'I digress, today I've sat here to tell you about my life before Kingsman- the man behind the mask, as it were.'
'I know enough, Haz- I know you from Merlin's drunken ramblin' and your fucking stuffed dog and the old footage I've been going through on your laptop. Yeah, maybe I added some shit here an' there in my head but I knew you- maybe not as much as I wanted to, or as well, but enough.'
'I met the previous Bedivere by happenstance at one of the incredibly boring functions my father expected me to attend. In retrospect he likely expected me to eventually set aside my differences with Arthur and conform to the conventions of that life- which both happened and didn't.' The hologram continued, luckily not talking through Eggsy but not acknowledging that he had spoken beyond the pause.
'I went to university to study Entomology, I've always found the process of pinning insects fascinating, and intended to look into museum work. Curating seemed to be as far from the posh life my father wished for me to enjoy, which pleased my rebellious side. It happened that my obsessive knowledge of insects saved Bedivere from something or other- I don't recall the details, it was a number of years ago- and when the Galahad position became available he named me as his candidate.' A slow smirk curled itself at the edge of Harry's mouth, and Eggsy could easily visualise him steepling his hands as he leant forward onto the table. 'You can only imagine the look on poor Arthur's- Lamorak, at the time- face when I won. Unfortunately there is no footage- as ahead of the times as Kingsman always is, there are limits.'
'I got the feeling it's the opposite of the face he made when I fucked up the last test. Like, he drank half a glass of sour milk and can't bring himself to sick it up, or something.'
'Needless to say it was the highlight of my life until that point. I could probably form a fully corporeal patronus with that alone.'
'You read the Potter books? Thought you was too old for that.'
'Eggsy, you'd be hard pressed to find something I would refuse to read. They were only a global phenomena, and there was a limit to how many "you're a wizard, Harry!" jokes I could take from James before picking the damn things up. Don't let Percival's stoic demeanour fool you- he's just as awful as his husband was. You just don't think he could be the culprit.'
'You sound like a conspiracy theorist- you gonna tell me the moon doesn't exist or something?'
'Fine. Don't believe me. I certainly won't be there to help you undo whatever he decides upon for you. And Roxy's friendship will not grant you mercy. You'll see.'
'Sure, Haz. If you say so.' Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Fic Summary: Feet dangling off the edge of the bed, hands still resting on the earpieces of his glasses, Eggsy opened his eyes.
And promptly shut them again, screwing them shut like a child who had the distinct misfortune of biting into a raw lemon. Breathing harshly in his nose and out his mouth, trying to stave off whatever delusional panic had befallen him, Eggsy reopened his eyes.
‘Harry?’
Or: The Hologram Story Nobody Asked For
AND THAT'S THE END, FOLKS! Let me say that this has been an adventure to write, and a privilege to share, and if any of you have been here since the beginning THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WAITING and I sincerely hope that the wait was worth it. I don't think I ever could have written this story without knowing you all were there.
To our tiny little fandom, I thank you so much for sharing this experience.
ALTERNATE ENDING WILL BE POSTED AS A SEPARATE STORY IN THIS SERIES. WILL JUST BE TITLED ALTERNATE. The first chapter of it will be a basic repost of the Butterflies conversation with some alterations at the end. I really hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to chatting in the comments!!!
‘Someone’s gotta turn off the fuckin’ sun.’ Harry had been dozing, half-asleep, for a while and did not particularly feel up to moving just yet. Eggsy’s demand was certainly not enough to spark action at the moment.
‘Well it certainly won’t be me.’ Harry kept his eyes closed, grateful that he was not turned toward the window, and smiled as Eggsy shifted slightly closer and hid his head in Harry’s back.
‘Guess we’ve got to stay in, then. What horror.’ Eggsy’s voice was muffled in the fabric of Harry’s back, which brought the awareness that they were both still fully dressed. ‘How’d we get here, anyway?’
‘I’d assume Merlin, somehow; if my memory hasn’t failed me entirely he did meet us in the hanger. The rest of our arrival is fuzzy, though.’ Harry had given up on going back to sleep, content to soak in these moments of simple pleasures. The two of them with no obligations, able to take their time recovering from their too-enthusiastic celebratory distraction. He barely opened his eyes, ready for the overly-bright room, and was met with a card on the nightstand. He reached out a hand, pulling it closer, and opened his eyes fully.
‘Seems we’ve been left a message, Eggsy.’
‘Mmyeah?’
‘Merlin’s left us an experimental hangover cure, some paracetamol if that doesn’t work, and says that he will come for us when he’s good and ready to let us leave.’
‘You’re makin’ him sound like a villain, love.’ Harry smiled at the sleepy use of the endearment, all to easily imagining many mornings spent in much this manner, and passed it backward without shifting.
‘Read for yourself, then- you’d be surprised how often the man simply doesn’t give a toss about the way other people read his words. Alternatively, he truly is a villain and we’re all doomed. ‘ Harry listened to Eggsy read it under his breath before chuckling.
‘Dunno which is worse, but I ain’t gettin’ on his bad side either way.’ Harry hummed agreement, and reached again to the nightstand to grab the unlabelled packets from R&D.
‘Kingsman’s had a pill that assists the body in processing alcohol quicker, to allow agents to drink more heavily on missions, for many years. Unfortunately it must be taken before drinking, as any alcohol already present in the system makes it useless. My guess is that this has been in development for some time but the Lake didn’t want to lose the opportunity to test it with real circumstances and not fabricated ones.’ He opened the packets, passed one unmarked phial to Eggsy, ‘To your health,’ he raised it briefly above them before downing the contents in one go.
It tasted foul, not unlike the grit that remains after having breathed in too much ash, but it left as soon as it had settled on his palate and left behind mint in its wake. Beside him Eggsy gagged briefly, having made the mistake of smelling it before consumption. It was a lesson he was not likely to need again, but Harry laughed all the same at his reaction. At the least he could safely say that the concoction was a success, as the pounding behind his eyes lessened and his stomach ceased its churning.
‘And now you know not to let yourself taste anything the Lake gives you to test. Flavour is the absolute last consideration when it comes to developing anything for the Table.’
‘You coulda warned me!’
‘Of all the things I missed while in my coma, forgive me if common sense was on my list of things I need not teach you.’
‘OI!’ Eggsy sat up partially, enough to throw himself bodily over Harry’s side, and there was truly no way to go back to sleep from an action like that.
‘This isn’t your most convincing argument to provide you with warnings, my dear.’ Harry left his eyes mostly closed, but slowly reached out a hand to jab into Eggsy’s ribs from his blind spot. Eggsy flailed in surprise and attempted to fight back, but Harry easily flipped them over and pinned him easily, one hand gripping both wrists as the other tickled him mercilessly. When Eggsy’s face was red and he was barely making any noise, Harry let up and let his weight pull him to one side and fell back to the mattress.
The ways that Eggsy had managed to permeate his life were innumerable, but laughter was by far his favourite
Eggsy tiredly slapped a hand in Harry’s general direction, but Harry caught it and instead laced their fingers together. What was the point of denying himself the simple pleasure of contact? Eggsy squeezed their joined hands, chest still heaving, and Harry found himself unable to curtail the grin stretching across his face.
‘You- bastard.’
‘I believe that you’ve been reliably informed that my parents were married at the time of my birth- but if believing otherwise is somehow comforting then who am I to stop you?’ Eggsy’s other hand came out to attempt a hit, but Harry caught that one as well, and turned to face Eggsy with both hands clasped between them. The younger man turned his head, seemingly unwilling to move his body even slightly from where it was, and smiled.
Fuck the plan.
‘I love you.’ There was no hesitation, no pause, no slow blink or glance away as Eggsy spoke- but Harry couldn’t bring himself to reply. ‘I don’ mean I love the idea of you, or the shit Haz taught me, I mean you with the Zuko scar and an unnatural hatred of mornings. I mean the you who argues so well I forget we’re fighting. The you who brings toys for my sister but refuses to take credit for them and instead leaves anonymous notes as if my mum don’t recognise your handwriting by now. The you that managed to get my mum to open back up after everythin’ by trying to apologise for shit you couldn’t change if you tried. And, yeah, I ain’t gonna lie and say that Haz had nothin’ to do with the way it started goin’ from the superficial shit to the real kind of love- don’ think I’d have let myself think of you as human without him, to be honest.
‘And I know we’ve been avoiding talkin’ about this- and I don’t need some fancy label or piece of paper sayin’ we’re importan’ to one another. We know, an’ that’s enough; I just want you t’know without any doubts: I love you, and I ain’t going anywhere.’ Eggsy closed his eyes, smile still plastered to his face, and they simply shared air together for a moment before Harry could bring himself to speak.
‘Did you know,’ Harry stared at their hands, marvelling at how well they fit together, ‘that I stopped looking for love over a decade ago?’ It was conversational, and Eggsy hummed slightly in reply but made no move to pull away from Harry’s grip. ‘So, naturally, the universe decided to throw you into my life once I had settled firmly into bachelorhood. I had resigned myself to a life without true partnership- our world makes such things impractical and dangerous- had reconciled myself to being married to my work, as it were. I was content, yes- but I’d come to the conclusion that happiness simply wasn’t in the cards for me.
‘I’m glad to see that I was wrong. I’ve grown accustomed to your face, as it happens, and I’m greatly looking forward to seeing where our life takes us.’ Harry lifted both hands to his lips, kissing them softly before lowering them back to the bed.
Fic Summary: Feet dangling off the edge of the bed, hands still resting on the earpieces of his glasses, Eggsy opened his eyes.
And promptly shut them again, screwing them shut like a child who had the distinct misfortune of biting into a raw lemon. Breathing harshly in his nose and out his mouth, trying to stave off whatever delusional panic had befallen him, Eggsy reopened his eyes.
‘Harry?’
Or: The Hologram Story Nobody Asked For
Eggsy spent an inordinate amount of time cleaning up in the plane, after. Kelline lay in the bed they’d left behind hours before, darted by Harry shortly after entering the room; with luck she would remember the beginnings of their evening and draw her own conclusions about the end. Together they’d bugged her clothing and makeup cases, Eggsy had managed to attach an experimental tracker to the inside of her mouth, and cloned her cell phone. It was, overall, an incredibly successful mission.
But Eggsy couldn’t get her off his skin. He’d scrubbed himself raw, his gums were irritated from his brushing, and despite every fragrance in the cabinet he couldn’t stop smelling her. Which made no sense at all, but the brain was choosy on when it worked proper so was it really a surprise? He threw on the robe from the back of the door before wandering out to the main cabin, and joined Harry in grabbing a book off the shelf and settling onto the sofa.
‘That shit was awkward as fuck and I’m glad it’s over.’ The book sat unopened on his lap, to be frank Eggsy couldn’t have said what he had grabbed in the first place. Harry immediately closed his book, not bothering to mark his place in the wake of Eggsy’s return.
‘You did a remarkable job; the intel was secured, hopefully with more on the way, and no one was injured. That seems like a success from my perspective. I won’t deny that points of it were… unexpected,’ Harry shook his head slightly, as if working to find a better word, ‘but they worked favourably in the end. And, at least you won’t have to see her again. I once had a mark I met with every fortnight for several months- and she was not near pretty enough to warrant such attentions.’ Eggsy chuckled, having looked up from his lap, and began to look more himself than he had a moment before.
‘The fuck did you do that for?’
‘Unfortunately, Eggsy, being Bond comes with some sacrifices- like aliases with certain unsavoury proclivities, or shagging duplicitous people you are not at all attracted to- and I know you’re no stranger to sacrifice. But, perhaps, with a past like yours it is hard to see the difference between Then and Now. You may have had to do similar before for your personal survival, so you have a difficult time reframing the actions as being for the whole. Especially,’ Harry added, ‘when the results are as intangible as they are in our line of work.
‘This wasn’t the kind of mission that a Sun cover could show that the world continued spinning due in part to your actions. One day, some time from now, there will be a likely digital article noting the decrease in familial disappearances. We will likely not see it for several days, when someone from the Lake will mention it in passing as if it were common knowledge. These are the moments that you must remember that what we are doing is just a small portion of what must be done. Every success begins somewhere, and you cannot discount a step simply because it seems small.’
Harry made no move to move his hand from where it had ended up, curled around one of Eggsy’s and sitting in his lap. He rubbed his thumb across the top of it, firmly, as if he could force Eggsy to accept his word as truth through that touch alone.
‘Does it get easier? This bit?’
‘Well, all things become easier with time and practise. Unfortunately, those are things you’ll have in abundance in this line of work- just likely not when you feel you need them. But, know that I’ll be there each step of the way- even when the steps seem small.’
‘Thanks, Harry.’
‘No trouble at all, Eggsy. Now,’ Harry stood, and pulled Eggsy up with him in an amusing turnabout of their regular dynamic, ‘I’m going to show you how to make what I consider the closest thing to a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster you can get on Earth.’ Eggsy looked completely lost for a moment, before seeming to realise what Harry had said and snapping to attention.
‘Wait you mean, like, smash my brain with a lemon wrapped in a gold brick? The shit from the Douglas Adams books?’ Eggsy grinned, bounced on the balls of his feet like a child feigning interest, and Harry laughed, deep and full-bellied.
‘Well, aren’t you full of surprises? Yes, just so.’
‘Yes, Harry.’
Long flights were meant for experimentation, it seemed- though Harry had begun this venture claiming it was the closest thing, Eggsy had claimed that he didn’t feel like it was strong enough. It was something he could taste, it was right there, but Eggsy couldn’t identify what the missing element was. So they had spent the last several hours adding various flavours from the bar in the hopes of finding the perfect combination. It was a fruitless effort, as far as perfecting the drink went, but the pair stumbled off the plane still drunk despite having taken a kip after their festivities.
Merlin was more amused than annoyed at the pair- he had known that something was going to go wrong on the mission- no mission with both of them on it went according to plan, and the wrench in the event being an excessive amount of post-success drink then who was he to complain. He and Percival guided them to the nearest suite, taking a fair bit more of their weight than they should have but needs must, and dumped them into the bed. Fully dressed, not bothering to pull off shoes or jackets, and shut off the light on their way out the door. Debrief could wait for another day, when the supposed adults were more sober.
‘Are we really going to leave them like that?’ Percival questioned as Merlin locked the door behind them, smirk pulling at his lips.
‘If they were any less dense, no, but if we expect them to actually get some bloody rest and be functional humans we have to lock them inside. I already had paracetamol and the Cure brought into the room, and they’ve a kitchen in there. I’ll let them out when I’m good and ready to debrief and send ‘em home.’
‘Anyone who claims that Arthur is in charge of this organisation is incredibly short-sighted.’
‘Aye; but it’s not as if their knowing would change anything. I’ll continue to enjoy ruling from the shadows- it’s not as if anyone else actually desires the responsibility anyway. They all love the idea of authority- just look at Harry!- but the reality of it leaves them sorely lacking.’
‘And you consider yourself to be different than they?’ Percival raised a brow, peered over at Merlin through his glasses and Merlin let out a snort.
‘Oh, no, not at all- I’ve just had longer to adjust. Thirty years of this place, twenty as a relatively high authority, and I make it work, or I break it until I have it working as I want it to. Just my luck that breaking things to their basics helps show how to make them function better.’
‘I’d appreciate your not breaking the agents, more specifically the children, given our current circumstances.’ It was said softly, as if it was something that actually needed saying, and Merlin mentally goggled at the gymnastics Percival’s mind had to have gone through.
‘It’s not that I break agents, Percival;’ Merlin corrected, ‘it’s that our world is cruel, and this job exposes the weakest parts of us to it. The world breaks us- I look at the raw pieces it leaves behind and start rebuilding.’ He paused, exchanged a brief look with the man walking beside him, ‘I say nothing to the state of our technology, though. That’s just far too satisfying to destroy and rebuild- a burning day can do a world of good.’ The men exchanged a laugh, and settled into Merlin's office for a chat. Some time later Roxy came in, pet the top of Percival’s head in greeting before moving to lean a hand on Merlin;s shoulder.
‘How are they?’
‘Thoroughly drunk.’
‘Pardon?’
‘They spent the ride back drinking copious amounts of alcohol in search of the best Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster and it’s sheer dumb luck that kept them from making themselves ill.’
‘The best what?’ Roxanne looked entirely too confused to simply be in disbelief, and Percival shook his head sadly as Merlin looked to him in askance. How could her education be so lacking?
Fic Summary: Feet dangling off the edge of the bed, hands still resting on the earpieces of his glasses, Eggsy opened his eyes.
And promptly shut them again, screwing them shut like a child who had the distinct misfortune of biting into a raw lemon. Breathing harshly in his nose and out his mouth, trying to stave off whatever delusional panic had befallen him, Eggsy reopened his eyes.
‘Harry?’
Or: The Hologram Story Nobody Asked For
Harry could scarcely remember a time he had been more inclined to rip someone’s hands from their body, but Kelline was somehow a tier all to herself. She’d taken a while to approach Eggsy, had instead attempted to entice him into approaching her, but he’d made a show of being unimpressed- and somehow that had impressed her. He was in his old streetwear, winged shoes luckily Kingsman-made despite their common appearance, sans glasses. For all the world he looked like a local out for a night, and if not for the untested adhesive audio transmitters secured in his ears Eggsy would have been entirely on his own outside of Harry’s watchful eye.
Unfortunately, the technology meant that Harry was privy to their entire conversation, which he attempted to ignore entirely- but a mention of himself had him tuning back in.
‘Do you see the gentleman at the end of the bar, Dean?’ Eggsy had chosen the name for himself, and Harry couldn’t understand why he would bring even the memory of that man into his work. But there were a great many things he did not understand about Eggsy, and that was half the charm. Always on his toes.
‘What ‘bout him, Kells?’ Harry was sure to wait a moment too long before he turned his head away from the sight of Eggsy with Grisham.
‘Kelline, please, Dean- I’ve spent long enough being called by derivatives to know I don’t desire it in bed.’
‘We ain’t in a bed, luv.’
‘Not yet.’ Eggsy made a show of looking her over, one eyebrow raised and lip caught between his teeth, inwardly groaning at the show he was being forced to put on. It was the job, and he loved the job, but this woman was frustrating as hell. ‘But back to the point- that man has had his eyes on you all night.’ Finally.
‘Has he?’ Eggsy smirked, brushed a hand across her shoulder to unnecessarily move some hair out of his way, ‘why do you care? I’m over here with you, ain’t I?’
‘What if I want him to watch us?’ She whispered it into the edge of his ear, briefly running her tongue along the lobe before biting softly.
‘Then I’m at your service, Kelline.’ Eggsy turned the two of them so she was pressed against the edge of the bar, one hand on the bartop and the other slowly running its way up her back. ‘Let’s give ‘im somethin’ to talk about, yeah?’
Harry meant to make himself less obvious, to be more the shy man uncomfortable with his desires than the lecherous voyeur, but that simply did not happen. His hand tightened on his near empty pint, and he could scarcely look away. Eggsy was barely taller than she was, but had made sure to bend at such an angle as to make himself seem more imposing, almost looming over her, as they kissed. Her eyes were mostly closed, the smallest sliver revealing that her gaze flickered between the two of them, mind not fully engaged with the physical side of the show. Harry tried desperately to tune out the sounds of their lips coming apart and together again, unable to stop himself from putting himself in her place. The taste of his lips, the feel of Eggsy’s strength atop his own.
Grisham locked eyes with Harry and moved one hand to Eggsy’s hair, tugged a bit at the base and Eggsy let out what Harry could only assume was a genuine moan of pleasure before diving back into her mouth.
Harry let his mouth fall open just enough to be noticable, pulling himself back to at least a semblance of professionalism while keeping her attention. Grisham pulled back from the kiss and scratched her nails across Eggsy’s scalp, grinning at the full-body shiver the action evoked.
‘He’s watching.’
‘Weren’t that the point?’ Eggsy grinned into her neck, the edges of his teeth visible to Harry from across the room, before biting down. Grisham moaned and pulled his head back up to force their lips back together. ‘D’you want him to join us?’ Eggsy whispered between kisses, checking Harry out briefly, ‘he ain’t bad lookin’.’ What was Eggsy doing now?
‘I’m more of a one man kind of woman, Dean- but we could invite him to see things a little closer, if you like.’ This was not part of the plan, and Harry was going to kill him. Slowly. But for now all he could do was turn away and pretend to be embarrassed.
‘The fuck are you doing, Eggsy? The point was to not have you two connected.’ Merlin grumbled into the mic and Harry hummed his head in silent agreement, hiding it in his now empty glass.
‘Think you like the idea of that, don’t you sweethear’?’ Eggsy breathed into Grisham’s ear, ‘Someone close ‘nough to hear you pantin’ for it who ain’t allowed to touch. You like ‘em rough an’ young and a bit forbidden. Like to tempt ev’ryone else like fuckin’ Eve an’ the apple.’ Eggsy ran a fingertip up the side of her ribs, casually glancing across the edge of her breast, before returning his hand to her waist. ‘I don’ mind bein’ used, but if we’re gonna do this,’ Eggsy pulled her off the bar and fully into himself, forcing her to look up into his eyes, ‘we’re gonna do it right, you get me?’
On the one hand, Harry was impressed with his use of doublespeak to address Merlin’s concerns- on the other he was furious with being put into this position by the man. Grisham was obviously going for it, the heave of her chest and wide-eyed look she was giving Eggsy all he needed to know that they would be approaching him soon. He had approximately 2 minutes, but probably less than that, to come to a decision.
Did he particularly want to see Eggsy and Grisham closer than he already had? Not at all; but being in closer proximity than he was currently in could only give more opportunities to obtain the information they needed, so for the sake of the mission he should. And that was the priority- the mission- so the decision had technically already been made.
‘Got a question for ya, mate.’ Eggsy had either made it to Harry’s end of the bar far quicker than he’d estimated it would take, or he’d been too focused on his non-choices to notice his approach. Either way, Harry blinked his way back into the present and looked up at Eggsy the same way he’d looked at Dean’s goons all that time ago.
‘What could you possibly have to ask of me?’
‘D’you want to come an’ watch us a bit closer? Can’t have that good a view from here, bruv.’ Eggsy smirked, and cocked one hip as he crossed his arms. Harry could see Kelline watching avidly from her spot on the far end of the bar, and frowned slightly as he met Eggsy’s gaze briefly, brows furrowed as he looked away again. Tell-tale flush to his ears, shoulders slumped- the image of a man caught out in an embarrassing but not dangerous circumstance. Someone who hadn’t meant to be obvious. Hadn’t meant to be caught.
‘Don’t hurt yourself, just give it a think an’ come by when you’re ready.’ That cheeky shit. If there had been any doubt that Eggsy couldn’t fall back into old habits, it was certainly gone now. But Harry refused to look up from the tabletop, and Eggsy hesitated for a breath before walking back toward his target. It wasn’t the plan, to be sure, but he knew how birds like her thought. She wanted to be the only thing anyone remembered about that evening, whether due to her knowledge of her actions she wanted to be memorable. She wanted to know she was remembered, and there was little as memorable as a voyeuristic escapade in a crowded bar; both for those directly involved and for those on the outskirts. If Harry came and joined them, in whatever way Kelline directed, every person in that bar would know what was happening.
And that’s exactly the kind of audience that wouldn’t notice anything amiss- a captive one.
So he swaggered his way back toward Grisham, shoulders back and grin wide, and greeted her with a kiss. ‘Asked if he wanted a better view.’
‘And?’ Her cheeks were flushed, pupils dilated as she searched his face for some hint of an answer. Eager to know the game they were going to play. He shrugged and pulled her closer, one hand draping itself just above her arse while the other sat respectfully on her waist- fingers squeezing just tight enough to remind her of their size without leaving any marks,
‘An’ we’ll have to wait an’ see- he weren’t expectin’ to be noticed. Seemed out of sorts- told ‘im to come by when he was ready.’
‘When?’
‘Men like ‘im don’ let opportunity pass ‘em when it comes to the shit they ain’t supposed to want.’
‘Then, Dean, let’s get back with the programme.’ Kelline looked up at him from between her lashes, blue eyes bright even in the dim lighting, and Eggsy couldn’t help but note that she was beautiful on the outside. Like a poisonous flower that didn’t know any other way to be. But Eggsy had grown among poisonous plants, had adapted to their toxic perfumes and blinding colours, and knew how far his resistance could take him.
And this? This was nothing.
So he smiled and leant forward, brought their lips together softly before demanding more, cornering her between the bar, the wall, and himself with one hand pulling her fully to him. He didn’t need Merlin’s warning that Harry was approaching- if there was one thing he was attuned to it was his presence, but he still maneuvered them back toward the bar. In plainer view of both the general customers and the man approaching them while desperately trying to seem as if that was not what he was doing.
For everything Eggsy knew about Harry, seeing his acting in action was something else- he’d never have guessed that Harry was within the man sheepishly making his way down the bar. The other patrons leered as he went by, likely thinking their actions covert when glancing from the couple to the elder gentleman making his way. They’d get to have a laugh about it later.
