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“We’ve got a problem, Arthur, and I’m afraid that Eggsy is the only Kingsman agent who can go on this mission.” Merlin bursts through the door, waving his clipboard frantically, booking no argument from Harry who simply raises an eyebrow at his old friend’s behavior.
“I don’t follow, “Harry replies, looking over to see if Eggsy knew what was going on. The young man shrugs, turning to look at the mirror in the briefing room, sliding on his glasses. Harry does the same as Merlin taps at his clipboard.
“Didn’t know you was a One Direction fan bruv,” Eggsy remarks as the faces of the four band members appear on the screen. Merlin shoots him a look before he pulls up the image of a note.
“At one p.m. today, the members of One Direction were recipients of a rather nasty piece of literature. The note threatens to kill them during their attendance at a charity ball tomorrow evening, and has been forwarded to us by an ex-Kingsman candidate who works their security. Apparently, the threats include explicit details of the balls schedule and mechanics, which gives credibility to the matter.”
“And why is Eggsy the only agent who is eligible for this mission? Why is this a mission to begin with?” Harry asks, not knowing or really caring about who the band members were.
“All other agents, with the exception of Lancelot, are currently deployed. As for Lancelot, I believe she threatened to cut off my genitals if I forced her into another dress, which is mandatory attire for female attendees.
“As for why this is a mission, One Direction currently has a fan base large enough to cause some sort of international disaster should the four die tomorrow. I would rather not have Kingsman have to deal with the aftermath when we could prevent it now.”
“Which leaves me for t’job,” Eggsy says, leaning back into his chair. “So all I gotta do ‘is cozy up t’One Direction and make sure they don’t die? Easy.”
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“HARRY! LOUIS! I LOVE YOU!” several fans scream from outside the hotel the ballroom is being hosted at. The two bandmates smile and wave shortly before they enter the building, Liam and Niall having already entered minutes ago.
Eggsy tries to shadow the four, but they keep breaking up to talk to other attendees and donors, making small talk and thanking them for their donations and contributions. Watching four people at once was a bit of a hassle, Eggsy thinks, right before he bumps into Harry Styles.
“Shit!” Eggsy curses, taking a step back and catching his glasses which had been bumped off during the collision.
“You alright mate?” Styles asks, patting Eggsy on the shoulder with concern in his eyes.
“Ah, yeah,” Eggsy manages out, a little starstruck. He would deny it with his dying breath, but Daisy wasn’t the reason why One Direction was a staple music selection in the Unwin household. He composes himself and stands up straight. “Sorry ‘bout that, wasn’t payin’ attention t’where I was goin’.”
“Not a problem,” Harry replies with a smile.
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“An’ I dunno what to do ya know? He could prolly do better than me, but ‘e’s it for me,” Eggsy finds himself saying to Harry hours later. He still isn’t quite sure how he got here, seated with Harry and the rest of One Direction. One moment he was apologizing to Harry, the next he was telling Harry about his Harry, the band member listening with bright eyes and a sympathetic ear.
“It sounds like he’s serious about you,” Styles sighs at the cuteness of their relationship, “You both sound like you love each other very much. Just cherish what you have with him, don’t go looking for the bad in your relationship.”
“You don’t wanna lose what you got,” Louis pipes up, looking away from his conversation with Niall to give Harry and Eggsy a quick smile. He makes eye contact with Harry and his smile brightens before he looks away.
“Know for experience?” Eggsy asks Harry, and the other young man shrugs with a smile. They continue to make small talk, cooing over pictures of Daisy learning to walk and videos of her trying to talk, before the charity ball organizer calls One Direction to the stage for a speech.
“Galahad, get ready,” Merlin says suddenly into his ear, causing Eggsy to jolt in his seat.
“Fuck me,” Eggsy mutters, adjusting his glasses and turning to look for any signs of a threat as the boys walk onto the stage, catching a glance of a waiter pulling something from the back of his vest. “How much didya hear?”
“I turned off the audio. Don’t worry Galahad, Arthur and I didn’t hear your personal conversation with the mark.”
“You’re the guvna,” Eggsy whispers in relief, before he shoots a dart from his watch. The target was caught unaware by the stun dart, slumping onto the floor, gun falling from their hand. Eggsy watches as the ex-candidate makes his way over and grabs the target, trying not to cause a scene.
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“There’s a party if you want to join us,” Harry offers after the ball is over. There had been no other threats during the event, the gunman working alone. The rest of the evening had been a delight, Eggsy finding himself enjoying the company of the group.
“I would-,” Eggsy starts, but Harry cuts him off with a nod.
“Got to go see your man?”
“Yeah,” Eggsy laughs and the two high five, the other three band members shaking their heads in the background. Harry takes Eggsy’s phone and types a few things before handing back the device with a smile.
“I’ll see you around, Eggsy.”
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“So let me get this straight. You went to a ball to protect One Direction, befriended Harry Styles, and text him regularly enough that he wrote a song about you and Arthur’s relationship?” Roxy asks a month later, a new One Direction song playing on the radio at the café the two are stationed in.
Eggsy shrugs with a smirk and takes a sip of tea.