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Henry, as Harry had learned in-between his weeks of physiotherapy and strange adjustment as the new Arthur, was not a difficult baby. Eggsy told him that he was 7 and a half months old when Harry finally woke up, still learning how to stand on his own without holding onto anything, and that he rarely cried. Harry took the information about his son like a fish takes to water, and spent days trying to learn about his son. Henry – praise the little baby – fortunately did not seem to treat him like a stranger at all. It was the way he laughed and crooned every time Harry cooed at him; and Harry loved it when the blond child crawled toward him each time he saw his papa in the same room with him.
However, not unlike other babies, Henry also had a problem.
Harry was only starting to see it when it had happened a few times.
The first time Harry had seen the problem, was the night when Eggsy was on his way back home from a mission in Sweden, whilst he himself as Arthur, had to stay back at the office to deal with some important paperwork. Usually, when Eggsy was away, Harry would be at home to take care of their son, or Harry would bring him along to the headquarters. Then, whenever Harry had to leave for important meetings that took place outside of London, Eggsy would be there to care for their baby. So it could be deemed that there wasn’t any time when Henry was not in their sight.
Harry had just left the house for a few hours – he had asked for Michelle’s help to babysit Henry – when he received the phone call from home. A dreadful feeling ran through his nerves at the thought of something bad happening, when he heard his personal mobile phone ring the tone he had specified for home. Excusing himself from Merlin and Percival, who were also in his office in the wee hours, he left the office and answered the call.
“Yes, Michelle?”
“Harry,” the woman sounded stressful, and Harry tightened his grip on his phone, “I think you need to come home. Henry just won’t stop crying.”
That was… unexpected, Harry thought to himself as he blinked his now red eyes. His alpha was confused, but it didn’t mean the worries were now all gone.
“What? He was supposed to be sleeping now, right? Henry’s not that difficult to put back to sleep,” he asked slowly, unsure of how to deal with the situation at hand. Michelle gave him a disgruntled sigh, and Harry knew she was slowly entering their master bedroom because he could hear the sad whimpering through the phone.
It wasn’t exactly the shrill crying he often heard on the television shows, it sounded like a baby who was crying so sad he couldn’t even wail.
“Shh, baby boy, come here yeah,” he heard Michelle cooed at Henry, but the whimpering just got worse, “Listen there? He’s just sitting there in his crib and refuses to even look at me.”
Harry felt something tighten in his chest, and he ran his fingers through his hair when Michelle tried to coo at his son some more, yet the baby sniffed like Harry had dumped him somewhere he did not want to be.
“Harry, this has been going on since the last two hours he was awake. I think you need to come back home now.
“All right, Michelle, I’ll be there in 30 minutes.” Harry grimaced, ending the phone call as worry gnawed at his chest, and he hurriedly walked back into the office.
“I have to return home for a moment. I will be back as soon as possible.”
Merlin gave him a raised eyebrow, but Harry ignored it in favour of getting his coat and things.
Once he returned home, he was greeted with a pair of chubby arms miserably reaching up for him, and the alpha in him melted. He reached out and put Henry close to his chest; one hand under his bum and another wiping the tear tracks on his cheeks. Harry cooed at him gently, trying to see what made the baby feel so restless, when Henry grabbed onto his coat and refused to let go. Next to him, Michelle stared at them, looking exhausted but grateful.
“Shh, little pup, cry no more, Papa’s here,” Harry ran his fingers through Henry’s soft blond locks, and the baby sniffed sleepily. “Mmmm…”
Giving a stiff nod at Michelle, the woman nodded back to him before she left the room. Harry then proceeded to hum gently while continue to coddle his son. The small hands gripping his coat didn’t lose their grasp, but tightened each time Harry moved to press kisses on his rosy cheeks.
Harry didn’t realize it back then, but when he finally did, he felt a little foolish.
Needless to say that Harry didn’t actually return to the office until the next morning, when Eggsy finally returned home and took over his duties in soothing their son’s quiet tantrum.
The second time it happened – or the first time Harry finally saw the pattern after it happened so many times before – they were preparing dinner together with their fellow Kingsman at their house. Or rather those who were actually in London to attend it. It was to celebrate Harry’s status as having been cleared for duty, as well as it being Henry’s 10th month birthday.
Most of them were in the living room; Percival was on his knees, on the baby play mat, whilst Henry was lying on his back, a bee onesie on this time round. He giggled when the alpha agent baby-talked him and blew raspberries on his cheeks. Eggsy was sitting close to them, grinning from ear-to-ear when Henry finally had enough with Percival’s attention on him and made grabby hands for his father instead.
“Hey, pup, where do you think you’re going?” the older agent grabbed him back under his armpits and proceeded to smother him with more kisses. The blond child let out a shrieking laugh, but didn’t stop trying to find his escape and crawl towards Eggsy. He struggled against Percival, who laughed at his attempt, before Eggsy finally took pity on him and took him from the older agent.
“Dada!” Henry laughed, and Eggsy kissed him on his nose tip.
“Yes, yes, you’re safe with Daddy now, yea,” Eggsy cradled him to his chest, and the omega child happily bit onto Eggsy’s sweater before starting to chew on it.
Harry watched the interaction from their kitchen, accompanied by Roxy who was preparing a bowl of salad next to him. Merlin was also in the living room, but he was working on his laptop – ‘the perks of being a handler’, Merlin had said, rolling his eyes at Harry earlier when Harry raised his eyebrow at the laptop he brought along with him. Then he felt Roxy looking at him from the side.
“You look so besotted, Arthur,” Roxy smiled at him, and Harry tried his best to act nonchalant, “It’s a good look on you.”
“Thank you, Roxanne,” he muttered, smiling at her before continuing to check on his beef stew, “I am, in fact, happy.”
The way he addressed the female agent must have made her happy as well, because she grinned widely like a Cheshire cat. Once dinner was done, Harry went to the living room to get to his omega mate and son. Eggsy was conversing with Percival when Harry approached him, and he responded to Harry’s peck on his forehead with a bright grin.
“Finished, yea?”
“Yes,” Harry nodded, ruffling Henry’s blond locks, and the child fussed at treatment, “I’m going to take my bath now, give me 10 minutes, and please set the table.”
“O’right, Sir.”At Eggsy’s cheeky grin, Harry leaned to kiss him again, and ignored Merlin’s snort at them being affectionate.
Harry took his time to bathe and getting ready. He donned a pair of black pants and white buttoned-up shirt, covered with his usual cashmere cardigan. Whilst adjusting his sleeve, he thought about bringing Eggsy out for a date tomorrow, since the two of them would finally be having a day off at the same time. He contemplated on asking for Michelle to look after Henry again, hoping that this time Henry would be a good pup and stay with his grandmother.
When he made his way down the stairs, he saw Eggsy made his way into the kitchen, and left Henry to be pampered by Merlin and Percival – both of his favourite uncles. Henry was ecstatic when he saw the trick Merlin was performing on him – it was peek-a-boo and Harry amusedly thought it was almost ridiculous with how much attention they were showering his child with - until Henry blinked when he realized that his daddy was no longer there with him.
Halting in his steps, Harry narrowed his eyes and watched as Henry’s expression began to change; from confused to wandering eyes, and finally distressed. The alpha in him growled at the sight of Henry’s lower lip trembling when he couldn’t find Eggsy within his sights; and it worsened when he decided to ignore both Merlin and Percival, abandoning them to start crawling towards the direction of the kitchen. Henry had probably smelt Eggsy’s scent in the kitchen, Harry thought, as he quickly walked down the stairs to take his son into his arms.
Merlin’s bewildered look was directed at Harry when Harry shushed his pup gently, whilst holding Henry against his chest. Henry didn’t cry this time, but it was a near thing as he sniffed against Harry’s sweater, and Harry let the small fists latch onto his clothes like it had happened many times before. The small trembles that shook the small body made Harry pressed a kiss on Henry’s head, wondering if the theory in his mind was true.
When Eggsy appeared from the kitchen to bring the dishes to the dining room, he looked a bit surprised at the sight of Harry sitting in their living room, Henry in his lap with his face on his father’s chest. His hands were still gripping onto Harry’s shirt, and Harry mouthed ‘later’ at his mate, one hand gently rubbing his son’s back to calm him down.
Eggsy continued to stand at the kitchen’s entrance awkwardly for a moment, but once he got the message, he quickly arranged the dishes according to their place on the table. Then, he approached Harry and Henry with firm strides, and Harry had never felt more grateful at the sight of Eggsy coaxing Henry out from his embrace within in a second. The child flailed his arms for his omega father, and Harry pressed another kiss on his temple before handing him to Eggsy.
“Shh, pup, why so sad yea? Why is Daddy’s lil’ pup feeling sad?” Eggsy showered Henry’s face with kisses, and the baby sniffed again, but proceeded to hug Eggsy tightly with his short arms.
When Eggsy’s imploring gaze looked at him from over the top of Henry’s head, Harry could only tilt his head slightly to the side. He didn’t offer any immediate explanation, but he did reach out a hand to cup his lover’s cheek lovingly. He was thankful that Merlin, Percival and Roxy were already in the dining room, and he pressed a gentle kiss on Eggsy’s willing lips. His omega sighed happily against his lips, eyes closed, looking beautiful as ever, and Harry felt Henry grip his shirt again, this time with only one hand.
It felt almost surreal, Harry thought to himself, as he latched onto his son’s fist with his other hand that wasn’t holding his lover’s jaw, but he knew that this was the most perfect little family he could ever wish for.
“Attachment issue?” Eggsy looked at him almost incredulously, and Harry didn’t blame him at all, “That’s normal, right? For babies, I mean.”
The two of them were in their bedroom, Henry’s crib not far from their bed with the pup sleeping soundly. Harry nodded his head at Eggsy’s question, but he still remembered those times when their pup showed distressing anxiety once Harry and Eggsy were not in his sight.
“I’m not sure if what he is going through is normal separation anxiety or not. He seems to become very restless when both of us are not in front of him. Last Sunday, I went to get my documents from my office upstairs and you went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, correct? Do you still remember what happened?”
Eggsy looked stricken in his arms, and Harry tightened his grip around the omega’s body.
What happened was that Henry had started to whimper and cry, even though his favourite show was on the telly. He had been doing fine watching the show, whilst sitting down on his play mat, but once both Harry and Eggsy decided to leave him for a moment to do their own things, Henry had started to cry.
Harry then proceeded to tell Eggsy about the time when Harry left Henry with Roxy for only 5 minutes, at the headquarters, to answer a call outside of his office, and how afterwards he was greeted with the sight of the whimpering baby and a panicking Roxy.
Eggsy listened to each and every one of his stories, and Harry watched as his mate slowly connecting the dots with his own experiences. They both know that a child born between dynamic couples, especially an alpha and an omega, shouldn’t be having any problem with not having their parents in front of them. They would be able to smell their parents’ scents, and that should be enough. But Henry couldn’t even handle his parents being away from his sight for a minute.
The blond omega’s expression changed from worried to almost alarmed at the idea of their only son having such a separation anxiety problem, and Harry hushed him with gentle kisses on his face when he tried to leave the bed to see their child.
“Doing anything now will not change a thing,” Harry murmured against Eggsy’s temple, inhaling his sweet omega’s scent, and his arm around Eggsy’s waist, tightened its hold some more, “We’ll consult Dr. Banner tomorrow, all right, darling?”
He felt Eggsy sag in his arms at the mention of their resident doctor at the Kingsman’s headquarters, though his body was still a little stiff. Eggsy wrapped his left arm around his neck, and Harry let himself being pulled against his lover’s body as he pressed a kiss on Harry’s chin, “I’m just, Harry… what if he, what if we-”
“Decided to have more kids?”
Harry was just saying it to tease the young blond to ease his worries, but when Eggsy’s face became flushed at the notion – so flushed that Harry could see it in their dimmed bedroom – he felt something in him rouse.
It felt like a lot of butterflies.
“Shut up, not that,” Eggsy retorted, failing because he couldn’t seem to stop blushing, “What if the two of us have to be away for an extended period of time? How will he cope?”
Harry stared at his mate for a moment, tracing his lower lip with a thumb, before Harry leaned forward to take Eggy’s soft lip between his own. Eggsy moaned quietly; and Harry felt like he needed to restrain himself before he made his mate pregnant again by accident.
“Have faith in him, Eggsy,” he murmured into Eggsy’s lips, and Eggsy, bless his beautiful soul, kissed Harry passionately after he finished with his sentence,
“Because Henry is nothing, but walking proof of your strength.”
(The next day, they went to see the Dr. Banner, along with Henry who wore his favourite cat onesie. They experimented with him for a while, but not too long because the alpha growled at the sight of their pup whimpering when he realized he was left alone without his parents with him, and the omega just couldn’t handle being separated intentionally with the pup.
Sometimes Harry even wondered if Henry had received the separation anxiety from Eggsy himself – because he didn’t leave when Harry was in coma, and he definitely stayed when Harry was not.
The doctor told them Henry’s attachment issue was quite severe, but it was nothing that time could not fix. Since Henry was known as a good, quiet baby, it would be hard to actually discern the fact that he had baby problems as well, but then again, Dr. Banner assured them that it wasn’t unusual. He told Harry that problems with babies were easy to handle once they got a grip on it, and that a problematic baby was a common thing within a family.
Harry had turned to look at Eggsy right at that moment; with Eggsy cradling Henry close to his chest as the pup was having his fill of milk from his bottle, and thought, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Because the little pup could be wreaking havoc all around the world, but at the end of the day, he was still Harry and Eggsys’ - and Harry knew that he would accept Henry not matter what.)