Chapter Text
Harry straightened the pages of the mission file he was reading, using the last moments of his ride to study his fake identity again: Mr. Harrison Eldridge, a 50 year old self-made millionaire with a weakness for gambling. He also skimmed through the details about his target one last time: Mr. Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, only 25 years old but already famous in the underworld for his illegal Poker games and his "luck" in them.
Usually Kingsman didn't bother with illegal gambling. It was against the law, sure, but it wasn't half as dangerous to the public’s well-being as a maniac with an armoury. This gambler was different though. He still wasn't dangerous, not at all. There hadn't been one record of Eggsy Unwin getting violent towards his victims. He did, however, win a game of Poker against a very famous and highly recognized member of the British government, parting him from £20,000 cash. And then he proceeded to have sex with him. And now this specific member of the British government wanted to make sure it would never reach the public; neither his story about losing £20,000 in an illegal game of Poker, nor the one about him having sex with the young gambler afterwards.
With an exasperated sigh Harry closed the file and massaged the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Why again did he, a senior agent with a history of hundreds of life-threatening and adrenaline packed missions, have to deal with a bloody sex scandal? Why couldn't they have chosen the new Lancelot instead?
"Galahad, are you there? Your ride will arrive in 5 minutes. Make sure not to fuck this one up, mate." Merlin's voice reached his ears through the glasses' communication system and Harry rolled his eyes. Oh, yes. That's why. His latest mission hadn't gone well. To be fair, "hadn't gone well" was a huge understatement. He had successfully downloaded the needed information from the target's computer on a Kingsman USB stick and then went ahead and deleted them so they couldn't cause any more damage.
Two unnecessary explosions and one near-death experience later, Arthur had been more than pissed off with him and sent him on this unbelievably boring and most certainly not adrenaline-filled mission. So, if he really thought about it, it was his own fault he was currently in this car. But Harry Hart didn't like to think too hard about these kind of things, so instead he told himself it was because he won nearly every Kingsman Poker night for the last six years.
When Harry left the car, he buttoned his suit jacket and let his eyes roam over the big hotel in front of him. He had to give some credit to this "Eggsy" - what kind of nickname was that anyway - the boy knew where to go to make proper money. He only went to Galas, like the one taking place here, or big events which were mostly attended by old, rich men and their 40 years younger trophy wives.
"Good evening, sir, may I get your name, please?" The young man at the door asked politely and Harry rewarded him with a charming smile. "The name's Harrison Eldridge. I was invited by Sir Milford for my donation to his charity.", the donation, of course, had been made by Kingsman, but under Harry's code name. He didn't know how much exactly, but knowing Merlin it probably was a quite memorable sum. He didn't mind though, for once the money spent by Kingsman for covers and fake identities was placed really well; said charity was one for children from poor neighbourhoods, giving them a chance to make more of their lives than they would be able to do on their own. Maybe Kingsman's donation would actually help a few kids to get away from the streets and make something of their lives.
Also, the thought that this could actually happen would piss Arthur off immensely, fucking snob, so Harry enjoyed it even more.
The man went through a few pages full of names, until he pressed his finger to one and nodded, then looked back at Harry with a polite smile. "Of course. Mr. Eldridge, please come in, enjoy your stay." Harry was let inside by another young man standing right next to the door and opening it for him and he entered a big hall, already filled with people. Most of them were busy with polite chatter, drinking champagne or eating from the buffet at the far right of the room, others were engrossed in the presented options of entertainment.
Harry took a flute of champagne from a tray that was offered to him by a young lady in a black skirt, a white blouse and a tie. "Thank you very much", he said, before he took a few steps forward and mumbled into his drink, "Merlin, where's the target?" There were a few moments of silence on the other side of the comm and Harry started to wander around the room, taking in all the impressions. There was some sort of jazz-y music playing in the background and a few people were dancing to it, a few feet to his left was a group of elderly men smoking cigars and another group of people had gathered in a big circle discussing current political topics. "15 feet to your right and you should see him straight ahead", Merlin's voice told him and Harry made a right turn, slowly strolling in the direction he'd been told.
"Mr. Eldridge!" Harry nearly spilled his drink, spun around on his heels, and had to fight the urge to draw the gun from under his suit jacket as the way too cheery voice from behind him made him jump. "Sir Milford", he breathed and silently cursed Merlin when he heard his friend's amused chuckle in his ears. Bloody bastard had known exactly the host of the event was right behind him. "What a pleasure to finally meet the man behind this wonderful charity", Harry didn't take long to regain his posture and smiled at the man in front of him. He was around his age, maybe a bit older, with his hair already greying at the roots and a few too many wrinkles around the eyes and mouth for his age, probably from too much tanning. "The pleasure is on my side", Sir Milford answered, "your generous donation alone already helped 5 teenagers to get into proper tutoring programs and after-school activities, to give them all the academic as well as social training they need." This time, Harry's smile was genuine. "I'm happy to hear that", he said, "these children are our future, so we should give them all we have to help them make something out of their lives." Sir Milford seemed sincerely delighted by Harry's words, if his enthusiastic nodding and his bright smile were any indication. "Right. Very right, Mr. Eldridge", he agreed. Harry wondered why that man was so euphoric about helping those kids and teenagers. True and honest philanthropy was rarely found in millionaires, but he was starting to think this man was really just a generous, caring person who wanted to change something and it made talking to him a lot more pleasant. Most of the people who donated to his charity probably only did so for the positive PR it gave them. "Right", Milford said with a bright smile on his face. "It was a pleasure to talk to you Mr. Eldridge, but I'm afraid I have to greet a lot more guests, so if you would forgive me if I leave you so early..."
"No, of course, go ahead. Maybe we will have the opportunity to talk again later", Harry said politely and Sir Milford nodded. A few moments later they parted ways and Harry went back to his task of finding Gary Unwin.
And Merlin's instructions had been as precise as always, after walking exactly 15 feet he could see the Poker table all set up, a game obviously ending right now, as only a middle-aged man and a young blonde one, his target Eggsy Unwin, were sitting at the table, turning their cards so their faces showed. "Oh, bugger!" the middle-aged man cursed and one look at the cards was enough for Harry to see he had just lost this last round. An astonishing sum of money wandered over the table in the hands of the young man and Harry followed the money with his eyes as he stepped closer and came to a halt right behind an empty chair. His eyes wandered from the hands holding and neatly sorting the money into a stack, over a pair of quite muscular forearms, only showing because the sleeves of the dress shirt Eggsy was wearing were rolled up, further up to his shoulders, his neck and then the boy looked up and- Jesus Christ. Harry was fucked. That boy was gorgeous. Sure, he had seen photographs of him in the mission file and he had looked quite handsome in those but nothing could have prepared him for this. His bright green eyes looked straight into Harry's brown ones, his hair was slightly messy but still looked like there was intent behind it and his jaw was so sharp, Harry thought he could cut himself if he tried to touch it. And God, did he want to cut himself right now. And now, to make it all worse, Eggsy licked his bottom lip and grinned at Harry, his eyes shamelessly wandering up and down his body, until they met his eyes again and he said: "Hey, bruv. You wanna sit down 'n play in the next game?"
As if all ability to speak had left him at the sight of the boy in front of him, his answer was more of a grunt than a yes and fuck that had sounded way too animalistic. It only made the boy grin more and in his ear Merlin spit a sharp "Harry", in a clear warning not to do anything stupid. But he didn't plan to. Really, Merlin should have more faith in him. Yes, the target was gorgeous and he would love nothing more than to bend him over this table and fuck him until he came dry, but he was a senior Kingsman agent and he certainly had a lot of self-control, so there really wasn't anything to fear. Of course he wouldn't do that. Unless this would turn into a honey pot mission and Kingsman would benefit from Harry fucking Eggsy until he came dry, then he would happily do so without a second thought.
"Hi", the boy gave him a charming smile as soon as Harry sat down, "I'm Eggsy. What's yer name?"
"My name is Harrison Eldridge", Harry introduced himself and straightened his suit jacket, before he leaned back in the chair. There we go, he had his composure back. It had just been a minor fuck up, nothing to be worried about. "Aight, Harry. You eva played Poker before?" Eggsy asked and Harry stiffened for a second. "Harrison. And yes, I have", his correction only made Eggsy chuckle and he shrugged as he collected the chips and gave them out to everyone who decided to take part in the next game, helping the other young man who acted as the Dealer and was currently shuffling the deck of cards. "I know. I’d rather call you Harry tho, doesn't sound so...stuck-up."
When all chips were spread among the participants, a gentle smiled appeared on the Dealer's face and he lay down the deck of cards. "Okay, Gentlemen. My name's Jamal 'n I'll be yer Dealer tonight. Is everyone familiar wif the rules of Poker?" The rough London accent hit Harry in the face, it was the same as Eggsy had and he wondered how no one seemed to be suspicious about that. It was just a guess, but if they were working together, that was a very clever move. The Dealer had the best chances of cheating in a game of Poker. All men seated at the table gave a nod to the question Jamal had just asked, and a quiet mumbling went through the group which seemed to satisfy the young man as he started to give out the cards. Harry watched his fingers, but he couldn't make out anything suspicious because the boy's hands had covered the deck too much, so he just took a look at his own cards and then looked back up. By then, the three cards in the middle were laid out too and the remaining deck was right next to the first one.
This round, and many afterward, went by without anything extraordinary happening. It became clear pretty fast who actually knew what he was doing and who just wanted to show off to the young Ladies around; the latter ones were out of the game after a few rounds, betting way too high and being too obvious while bluffing. Harry was a bit offended by those men, Poker was a game for the mind, one needed to calculate the odds, keep a straight face and try to figure out how to win, even with a bad hand. It was not to show off and try to bet the highest.
He nearly thought Eggsy wouldn't try anything tonight, but then he noticed something after another round. Actually, he had noticed it earlier, but he hadn't given it a second thought, had just seen it out of the corner of his eye, so this time he took a closer look. Everyone put their cards in the middle and Jamal collected them, put them together to a stack and then started to shuffle. After shuffling he tapped the edge of the deck against the table and that's where it got fishy. Harry tapped the rim of his glasses, seemingly to push them back up his nose, but really it gave Merlin a signal whose voice came back to life in his ears. "You think you're onto something, Galahad?", the magician asked as he watched Jamal's hands with Harry. Jamal obviously saw the card on the bottom of the deck, with the faces towards him while tapping the edges and now he started to hand out the cards for the next round. "Ohh, cheeky", Merlin chuckled after a moment, "the good old bottom deal. The Dealer is definitely in with the target, Galahad, keep an eye on him. He's checking the card at the bottom of the deck and if it's good he gives it to Mr. Unwin here." After everyone got their two cards, Jamal proceeded to lay down the first three in the middle and Harry could swear his gesture while doing so was a bit too big to be natural. Right after putting the deck down Jamal's left hand, the one on which side Eggsy was sitting, went up to his neck and with two fingers he scratched a point right under his ear. "Could be a sign, but could also just be an actual itch. Let's see. The target definitely saw the gesture", Merlin mused through the comm. And he was right, Eggsy had watched Jamal out of the corner of his eyes and then sat back in his chair. And his next starting bet was unusually low.
Harry eyed Eggsy, then he teased, "Getting cold feet, Eggsy?"
One of Eggsy's eyebrows wandered higher and he looked over to where Harry was sitting. He had mostly lost interest in him after the first few rounds of the game, probably because Harry had held back so he could get into the game and not attract any attention right from the beginning. But now, Eggsy's interest came back.
"Why, are ya worried, Harry?" He asked with a cheeky grin and Harry actually snorted a bit at that.
"Should I be?" He smiled at Eggsy, whose grin got even wider.
"Nah. Just gettin' cautious 'cuz it's gettin' less people, y'know."
Harry knew that was a lie. Eggsy didn't seem like the type to be cautious and when Jamal turned the first three cards around it was even more obvious. To say they were shit was an understatement. Alright, scratching under his ear was a warning not to bet too high then.
There were a lot of signs, but Harry could make out most of them. Merlin was helpful with that, figuring out some of the signs and writing all of them down so he could tell Harry what would happen next. It wasn't long until all other participants were out and it was only Harry and Eggsy left. Eggsy grinned at him, a wide, bright grin as if he was actually excited about Harry still being in the game. And Christ, if that grin didn't make him look even more gorgeous.
"Okay, Galahad. This should be easy. We figured out nearly all the signs the Dealer is giving him; now you only need to cheat better than the target." It sounded a bit like a challenge from Merlin and Harry couldn't suppress the grin spreading on his lips, he loved challenges.
"Eager, ain't we?" Eggsy teased, but Harry didn't even reward that with an actual answer, he just looked at the cards he got, put in his bet and then folded his hands in his lap.
He beat Eggsy big-time. And the boy seemed to be stunned. Absolutely, honestly stunned. It wasn't like there was much to win yet, they were still at the beginning of the game between the two of them, but it felt like a much bigger win when he saw the utter disbelief in Eggsy's face. The boy looked up at him and suddenly his face changed, from utter disbelief to a delighted grin. "Oh, this is gonna be fun", Eggsy laughed.
Harry kept winning; five rounds into the game and he hadn't lost once to Eggsy, who seemed way too stoked about this. At the end of round six they turned their cards and when Harry won again, Eggsy licked his lips, looked up at him and for a moment, Harry thought the boy would just jump right over the table. He took in a deep breath at the look Eggsy was giving him; it was a wild and hungry look, his pupils blown wide, and Harry honestly couldn't blame the politician for this sex scandal anymore.
"Galahad. Concentrate", it was Merlin's warning voice that brought him back into reality and he managed to rip his gaze from Eggsy's and back onto his new pair of cards. He hadn't seen any signs from Jamal but neither could Eggsy, because he had been just as occupied with staring at Harry as Harry had been with staring at the boy.
"All in", Eggsy said a few minutes later and pushed all his remaining chips in the middle of the table. There wasn't much left anyway, but this would end the game, Harry was sure. And then he only needed to make sure the politician's story would stay safe. It would probably be enough to just intimidate the boy a bit, get him scared enough to shit his pants and never loose a single word about the incident.
"Straight Flush", Harry flipped over his cards and a satisfied grin reached his face. He had won, like he predicted. Eggsy turned his cards, two pairs, not even close to beating Harry.
"So. That had been quite a bit of fun", Harry said and stood - and with him, Eggsy stood too, leaning a bit over the table. "Yeah. It had, hadn't it? Don't forget yer money, guv", he smirked and his eyes went down on the table for a second where the money Harry had just won lay, then he looked back at him.
"Ah, yes, of course." Harry calmly collected the money and put it into his wallet. Only when he looked back up he noticed that Eggsy had walked around the table and was now standing right in front of him, staring at him intently, still with his pupils blown wide and a challenging grin on his face.
"So? Fancy a drink?" He proposed and that made Harry's eyebrows shoot up.
"Pardon?"
"You heard me, guv, let's get a drink. You pay, considerin' you just won a fuckton of money." Eggsy grinned at him and licked those tempting lips again.
"Hm. I guess there is nothing that speaks against a drink", Harry smiled and nodded over to the hotel bar. The boy had just given Harry an opportunity to get this mission over with, he wouldn't pass up on that. Of course it was only for the mission. Even Merlin's unimpressed snort didn't change that.
They went over to the bar and Eggsy let himself sink into one of the chairs, while Harry preferred to stand. For the sake of causality he leaned against the bar and waved the barkeeper over who greeted both with a smile. "What can I get you, gentlemen? Today we have an excellent Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa, bottled in 2012 and very rich in its taste of-"
"We'll take one", Eggsy didn't even let the barkeeper finish who looked a bit taken aback, and Harry just raised an amused eyebrow. "One glass or one bottle, sir?" He asked and Eggsy didn't have to think long before answering: "One bottle." The barkeeper looked over to Harry for a second, as if waiting for confirmation, then after a small nod from him he went to get the order.
"Do you even know what you just ordered?" Harry asked and nearly regretted the question a moment later. At least he would, if only Eggsy's offended face wasn't so adorable. "'course, I know that. I ain't stupid", he answered, "It's a red wine. Good one."
If he was honest, Harry was actually a bit surprised Eggsy knew this. "It is, I am very sorry if I offended you, that wasn't my intention", he apologised with a warm smile on his face. Eggsy relaxed again after that, a small smile on his lips and then the barkeeper came back with two glasses and one bottle of wine. "Here you are, Sirs", he said politely and poured both of them one glass, then he put the bottle down in front of them. "Please enjoy."
Harry took the glass and clinked it with Eggsy's. The first sip tasted like cherries and vanilla and then spicy in the finish, it was a great choice and really hit Harry's taste. "Hmh, it's fantastic."
"Yes and it costs £150 a bottle", Merlin gave him the answer to a question he never asked and if Harry could, he would tell his old friend to shut up. But he couldn't. So he just kept on smiling at Eggsy, who seemed to enjoy the wine just as much. "So", Eggsy started and put his glass down, "Where did ya learn to play like that, guv?"
Harry shrugged and let the wine in his glass twirl a bit, "I guess it is just a bit of talent and a bit of experience from playing with friends and colleagues." Of course they had learned to properly play Poker during Kingsman training, one never knew what underground gambling mafias one had to smash during their life as a Kingsman agent.
Eggsy didn't seem totally convinced, but he didn't say anything about it; instead he rested his chin on his palm and grinned up at Harry. "By the way, that shirt's lookin' really becomin' on ya", he told Harry, who looked a bit surprised and raised his wine glass again. "Why, thank you."
Eggsy sat up straight, took his own glass in his hand and added: "I mean, if I was on ya I'd be comin' too." It made Harry nearly choke on his wine and he started laughing after a few coughs.
"Did you really just say that? That must be the worst pick-up line I have ever heard in my life."
"Maybe, but it made ya laugh", Eggsy grinned, but he was right.
Eggsy's flirting was really blunt. There was no chance of interpreting his words the wrong way and Harry loved the attention the young, handsome boy was giving him, it was a very welcome flattery to an old and admittedly very vain man like him. He ignored Merlin's protests of "Remember the mission, Galahad." or "Harry, for fuck's sake, this is illegally won money stop spending it on the boy, you randy old man!" and bought one drink after the other for Eggsy. When Merlin's constant nagging got too much, he just took his glasses off and put them in the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
He was sure Merlin was going up the wall now and he would probably get into a lot of trouble with Arthur, but right now he couldn't care less. It was their own fault for sending Harry Hart on a boring mission like this, now he finally found something that entertained him and he wouldn't let them bust it for him.
They drank quite a lot and since the second glass of wine, Harry had returned the flirting. Slowly they had gotten closer, physically and mentally, all lingering touches and low voices and staring at lips.
"You know..." Eggsy said at some point and licked his lips, "I've got a room here. In the hotel. It's a pretty room. You'd like a show-round?"
Harry huffed. He knew he shouldn't. He really did. But he had at least two bottles of wine and three scotch, the boy wouldn't stop to flatter him, and he just really, really wanted to.
So he said yes.
They ended up snogging in the elevator; Harry pushed Eggsy up against the wall, pressing his back to the wall with the whole of his own body, crushing his lips to the boy's. The kiss was all teeth and bumping noses and they didn't have enough time to adjust, because Eggsy's room was on the 3rd floor and after what felt like only a few moments the elevator beeped and the doors opened. They rushed to the room door and Eggsy fumbled with the key card, probably a bit distracted by Harry's hands already pulling the dress shirt out of his neatly pressed trousers and teasing the skin just above his waistband. He was so distracted, the card nearly fell to the ground but he caught it mid-air and finally opened the door. They barely made it inside and closed the door when Harry pressed Eggsy against the wall again, right next to the door, and kissed him. Eggsy instantly wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and, with the wall in his back supporting him, also wrapped his legs around his waist. This time the kiss was just as heated but better coordinated; Harry sucked Eggsy's bottom lip between his teeth and sucked on it, making Eggsy whimper quietly and roll his hips against Harry's stomach.
God, this boy would steal his last bit of sense, Harry knew it. He gripped Eggsy's thigh with one hand and pressed his other one against his lower back, then he lifted him off the wall. The surprised noise Eggsy made due to Harry just lifting him as if it was nothing only made Harry grin while he carried Eggsy over to where the bed was.
They fell in the sheets, Harry on top of Eggsy, and Eggsy still clinging to Harry's body with his arms and legs for dear life.
***
When Harry woke up the next morning the bed was empty. Figures.
He listened for a moment if maybe he heard the shower running or the flush of the toilet, even though he didn't really believe it possible and he was right, Eggsy was gone.
With a groan Harry ran a hand through his hair and sat up, stretched his tired muscles and maybe regretted the alcohol from last night a bit. Only a tiny bit. But one Paracetamol would resolve that regret, so he got up and went to the bathroom to see if he had any luck and they had anything in there.
They didn't. Well, that meant he had to face Merlin and Arthur with a headache, bugger. Instead of dwelling on his absolutely undeserved bad luck he went back to the bed room and started to dress himself and only when he turned to face the bedside table he paused in confusion. Where was his-... Oh, for fuck's sake.
He searched his jacket, his trousers and under the bed, but his watch and, way worse, his signet ring were nowhere to be found. He checked his wallet and - of course - all the money, including the win from last night and Harrison Eldridge's credit card were missing too. "I guess that serves me right", he sighed to himself.
He couldn't even find it in himself to be mad, it did serve him right. He should've seen it coming when he slept with a gambler and cheater. Also, he did have a fantastic night. Several times last night. So, really, if he should be angry at anyone it should be at himself.
He put on his glasses and straightened his cuffs on his way to the door. Just as he wanted to leave the room and call Merlin he stopped dead in his tracks.
There was a hand-written note on the door.
"Good shag, didn't think u'd still have it in u, considering u r like 92 y/o. Jk, was an awesome night, sorry for stealing yo shit tho, but y'know. U had it comin didn't u? Hope we can repeat last night if we ever meet again and u ain't gonna put me over ur knee (but u CAN spank me if you do it like yesterday ;))) )
- xoxo Eggsy ♥♥"
Harry snorted as he ripped the post-it note off the wooden door and shook his head. This boy... Unbelievable. He folded the note and reached inside his jacket to put it into the pocket there, before he opened the door and called Merlin through his glasses' comm.