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Eggsy is sprawled over Harry’s chest, resting his head just under Harry’s chin, when a mobile vibrates on the bedside table. Harry moves his arm to pick it up, realising it’s his own, and squints at the screen.
“Ignore it, Harry,” Eggsy groans, nuzzling his nose against Harry’s throat.
Harry sighs, looking at the caller ID, “I'm afraid this might be important.” He swipes the answer button and puts the phone on speaker, “good evening, Al.”
Eggsy hears the rough, Scottish voice that can only belong to his dad and Harry’s work colleague, Alistair.
“You little shit.” Alistair starts. Eggsy has to stifle his giggle. “You finally deign to pick up. Where are your glasses?”
“Downstairs. Believe it or not, I'm actually in bed right now.”
Alistair snorts, “excuse me if I don’t believe you.”
“It’s past ten, of course I'm in bed,” Harry says, gently carding his fingers through Eggsy’s hair with his free hand.
“I know for a fact you never sleep earlier than midnight, Harry,” Alistair’s voice growls through the speaker.
“Maybe I fancied an early night.”
They smile at Alistair’s long sigh and murmur of give me strength, “well, get yourself out of bed. There’s been an incident; everyone is needed at the shop.”
“Now?”
“Yes, immediately.”
“Of course.”
Alistair is silent for a few seconds, “now, Harry. Don’t make me send someone to drag you.”
“Yes, yes,” Harry rolls his eyes and sits up, “can’t you hear my old joints cracking?”
Alistair sighs again and hangs up.
Giving Eggsy a kiss on his forehead, Harry hauls himself out of bed and go to choose a suit from his wardrobe.
Eggsy sits cross legged with the duvet covering his lap as he watches Harry move about the room. As much as he enjoys watching Harry take his suit off, Eggsy takes great pleasure in watching him put it back on. Slowly going from Eggsy’s Harry with fluffy hair who needs an hour to wake up in the mornings to Harry Hart, gentleman and fancy-pants tailor.
“Sorry about this, Eggsy,” Harry says, pulling on his jacket and coming to the side of the bed.
Rather than reply, Eggsy goes up on his knees and tugs Harry down by his tie for a kiss. He’s become well-versed in late night calls to the tailor shop for their picky clients.
“S’alright, works work, innit? Can I stay here? I guess dad’s gonna be going into the shop too and I told mum I was staying at a friend’s tonight.”
“Of course you can, I’ll let you know if I’ll be coming back.” He taps his finger against a bruise on Eggsy’s neck, “don’t forget to cover this up before you go home.”
Eggsy grins and taps his finger on a matching mark just peeking over Harry’s collar, “same to you.”
It was a game to them now. Since Harry and Eggsy had got together the day after Eggsy’s twenty second birthday party, they hadn't told anyone. They’d always been affectionate with each other, what with Harry being good friends with Eggsy’s father. (Not to mention that they were slightly worried about Lee and Michelle’s possible reaction to Eggsy dating a man older than Lee himself.)
They would tell everyone eventually, but for now they were having too much fun sneaking around and trying not to get caught.
Eggsy lies back on the bed, sprawling his limbs across the mattress over to Harry’s side. He listens to Harry moving about downstairs, eventually locking the door and leaving by taxi cab. Eggsy switches off the bedside lamp and snuggles into the duvet, easily drifting asleep.
: :
When Harry gets to the shop on Savile Row, he greets their resident tailor, Dagonet, with a smile and nod.
“Evening, sir,” Dagonet says, “Arthur is in the dining room.”
Harry makes his way through the familiar corridors of Kingsman, coming to a heavy wooden door. He lets himself in, nodding towards the white haired man at the head of the table.
“Galahad.”
“Arthur.”
Harry makes his way down to the end of the table, gently squeezing the shoulder of the man in the chair next to his own. He takes his seat at Arthur’s right and removes his glasses from his jacket pocket, placing them carefully on his nose. He glances at the holographic images around the table, noting the empty chair opposite but one of himself.
“Gentlemen,” Arthur starts, “I am thankful to say that it has been seventeen years since we last had to use this decanter. Lancelot was an outstanding agent and a true Kingsman. He will be missed,” Arthur raises his glass, “to Lancelot.”
The agents raise their glasses.
“To Lancelot.”
“The selection process will begin tomorrow evening, so please have your candidates at HQ no later than 9pm GMT. Thank you.”
Being the only two agents there in person, they nod at the others as their images fade out.
“Galahad, you’re dismissed.” Arthur says, “Gawain, Merlin has a mission for you.”
Harry stands, brushing down the front of his suit, raising his eyebrows at Arthur’s annoyed look. He knows Arthur wants nothing more than to berate him for his last choice of candidate, but would never dare when said candidate was sat beside him and had outlived his original competition.
As he’s leaving, Harry brushes shoulders with Merlin, or Alistair, their quartermaster, who gives him a meaningful look before firmly shutting the doors to the dining room.
Harry takes a few steps down the hall and sits in an old wooden chair, pulling out his mobile and opening the news app.
It takes half an hour before the doors open again and two men step out.
“Gawain.” Harry says, standing and pocketing his phone.
Gawain turns, tucking his mission packet under his arm. He waves when Merlin makes his excuses and disappears down the hall.
“Galahad.”
Harry sighs, “how are you holding up, Lee? This is the first time we've lost an agent since you've been with us, isn't it?”
“’m alright,” he shrugs, “it’s just hittin’ me ‘cause we trained together, y’know?”
Harry nods because he does know, very well in fact. He’s lost countless colleagues and friends to their line of work.
“I know it won’t make it better, but how about a drink? You can tell me all about this new mission of yours while we’re there.”
Lee grins in a way so strikingly familiar to Eggsy’s, Harry can’t help but smile back.
“The Prince’ll still be open?” Lee offers.
“My car is outside.”
“Hope ya ready for some new baby photos,” Lee says as he follows Harry out of the shop and holds the taxi door open for him, “Eggsy gave Daisy some lemon sorbet the other day and she made some faces even better than when Eggsy was ten and decided to try coffee.”
: :
“You did what?” Lee demands when Eggsy calls him from Holborn station the next afternoon.
“’m sorry, alright? Rottie was sayin’ some shit about you and mum; I couldn't just let ‘im get away with it,” Eggsy says.
“This is the last time, Eggsy,” Lee threatens, knowing damn-well that this definitely isn’t the last get-out-of-jail-free card he’s going to give his son, “honestly, I should let you go to prison. You might learn a thing or two.”
“But you wouldn’t, right?”
Lee knows Eggsy’ll be wearing that grin that neither he nor Michelle can say no to and he sighs.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Lee hangs up on Eggsy and immediately calls Merlin, who picks up after the first ring.
“Eggsy’s been arrested again.”
He hears Merlin sigh on the other end of the line, “I’m on it.” There are a few clicks and Merlin snorts, “did you tell you what he was arrested for?”
“No, he just said he nicked a car.”
“More like grand theft auto. There’s a video from the dashcam,” Merlin chuckles, “I’ll send it to you; you have to admit your boy is good behind the wheel. Surprised you've not brought him in as a driver, Kingsman’s garage would be a dream for the lad.”
Lee pauses, “why didn't I think of that before? Arthur wants our candidates at HQ for nine, right?”
“Correct. Thinking of putting Eggsy forward?” Merlin asks.
“Maybe...” Lee trails off in thought.
“Well, you’d better get a move on. Just put his release through, they’ll let him out shortly if you’d like to go pick him up.”
“Thank you, Merlin, I owe you.”
“Buy me a pint and we’re even.”
“Done.”
Lee hangs up and goes to put on his shoes. On his way out he squeezes Michelle’s shoulders and kisses her cheek before grinning down at their baby daughter in her high chair.
“Just going to pick up the elder trouble-maker from the station.”
She sighs, “again?”
Lee shrugs and Michelle rolls her eyes.
“Off with ya then, make sure he’s alright.”
“Kingsman has room for some new trainees, so I’m gonna ask ‘im if he fancies doing the course. It’s the same one I was on way back when. That alright with you?”
She nods, “’course, if he wants to. Don’t let him forget to ring; I know you got phone calls.”
Lee smiles and kisses the top of the baby’s head as he picks up his keys. His Kingsman cab is waiting at the curb so he climbs straight in and settles back against the seat. The car pulls away smoothly and starts in the direction of Holborn.
: :
When Eggsy steps out of the station, blinking against the sunlight, he winces when he sees that Lee is leaning against his car at the curb. Shoulders slouched, Eggsy approaches him with a hopeful smile.
“Thanks…?”
“What were you thinkin’, Eggsy? Drivin’ a stolen car backwards through London? At rush hour? You could have hurt someone.”
“Looked pretty cool though, right?” Eggsy tries.
“Yeah, sort of,” Lee admits, “but that doesn’t mean I wanna see a repeat performance. Ever, understand?” Eggsy nods sullenly, kicking at the ground. “Good, get in the car.”
Eggsy does as he’s told and slides across the back seat.
After five minutes, Eggsy realises they’ve reached Piccadilly Circus and he sits up curiously.
“This ain’t the way home...”
“No, it’s not,” Lee agrees.
“Where we goin’ then?” Eggsy asks, glancing up at the neon signs.
“You’ll see.”
Eggsy doesn’t see, especially when the taxi takes them down Savile Row and stops outside the tailor shop he knows Lee works at. He gives his dad a questioning look, but all he gets in reply is a nod of the head as Lee gets out the car.
He warily follows his dad into the shop and through to the room he calls Fitting Room 1. Eggsy lets his dad arrange him in front of the mirror, watching their reflections carefully.
“Harry did this with me when he first offered me my job,” Lee explains, standing just behind his son, “now tell me, what do you see, Eggsy?”
Eggsy frowns, “someone who wants to know what the fuck is goin’ on and what’s got into you.”
“Do you know what I see?” Lee continues, “a young man with potential. A young man who, if he put his mind to it, could achieve great things.”
“With my police record?” Eggsy snorts, “sorry dad, but I doubt that. I couldn’t even keep up the gymnastics.”
Lee sighs, “honestly, knowing you’ll be able to handle yourself with your free runnin’ and brawlin’ is one of the reasons I want to offer you a job. Here, at Kingsman.”
"As a tailor? I don’t see how gymnastics and being a bit scrappy at school is gonna help me make suits.”
He frowns further at the grin that spreads across Lee’s face.
“No, Eggsy. I’m offering you a job within the Kingsman secret service.”
Eggsy’s eyes widen, “spies?”
Lee nods.
“You’re a fuckin’ spy?”
“Watch your language, Eggsy. But yes, I am a spy.”
“All the business trips? They were actually...”
“Missions, yes. My codename is Gawain."
Eggsy grins back, “you know you just got like, ultimate dad points, right? Does mum know?”
At this Lee’s smile falls, “no, and she can’t know. She and your sister must be kept in the dark about this. It’s for their protection that they don’t know anything about Kingsman. If she asks, you’re on a Kingsman tailoring course, yes?”
Eggsy nods seriously.
“You should also know, Eggsy, that a lot of our friends work at Kingsman as well.”
“They what? Who?”
Lee raises his eyebrow, “I know you’re close to Alistair and Harry. When you get down to the dorms you’ll have to call them Merlin and Galahad respectively. No real names unless you’re in private, which means you’ll have to call me Gawain too.”
“Harry’s a fuckin’ spy as well?”
“He put me forward for the job. He’s been here nearly thirty years.”
“This explains so much... and that’s what that call was...” Eggsy drifts off, finally putting all the pieces together.
“That call?” Lee asks.
Eggsy shakes his head, “I was at Harry’s the other night watchin’ My Fair Lady and he got a call from Alistair telling him to come into the shop. Was that about this?”
“Did he call him Al?”
Eggsy nods.
“Then yes, using that name means that there might be someone unaffiliated with Kingsman listening so we speak in code. I’m sorry we’ve had to lie to you for so long, Eggsy.”
“It’s too cool of a secret for me to be angry,” Eggsy snorts, “just a shame you didn’t let me in earlier. Bet I’d ‘ave done better here than I did in that stint in the marines.”
Lee smiles softly and shrugs, “the marines ain't for everyone. I’m sure you’ll enjoy Kingsman a lot more, even if Alistair is very strict.”
“You won’t have any contact with anyone outside of Kingsman beside one phone call a week to immediate family,” Lee continues, “I’ve already told your mum we’ve got you on an intense training course for tailoring so not to expect you home. You might want to text that mysterious boyfriend of yours you won’t let us meet that you’re gonna be away fer a bit, yeah?” Lee knocks their hips together and grins.
Eggsy blushes, “shut up.”
“I’m serious; training could take up to a year. You can do it on the shuttle or we’re gonna be late.”
“Shuttle?”
Lee gets that look on his face again that means he’s about to show Eggsy something he’s going to enjoy.
He places his palm against the mirror and Eggsy hears faint whirring. Suddenly, the walls seem to be falling away into brickwork and it feels like he’s moving downwards. Belatedly he realises the room must be a large lift. When he turns, Eggsy just sees his dad looking overly-smug.
“Kingsman tailors was founded in 1849, and in 1919, after the First World War, a lot of the powerful blokes they clothed lost their sons to the war and decided to spend their uninherited money on an intelligence agency away from politics and bureaucracy,” Lee pauses and frowns, “sorry, Harry does this speech much better than me, I usually tune out whenever someone starts on the history but you catch my drift? I’m sure you’ve heard him say ‘a suit is the modern gentleman’s armour’.”
“Buncha rich blokes lost their sons to the war and decided to spend their cash on protection?”
“Basically, yes. Arthur is the head and we, the agents, are his knights.”
“And Merlin’s your magician?” Eggsy grins.
“Wait til ya see some of the gadgets he’s made, you won’t be jokin’ about magic then,” Lee winks as the floor shudders to a halt and reveals a tiny train station.
“This train’ll take us to the country manor house that we call HQ, and before we get on,” he holds out his hand, “cigarettes.”
“What, why?”
“Merlin’s orders.”
Eggsy begrudgingly hands over the crumpled packet and pouts, “that’s not fair, I’ve seen him smokin' before.”
“Only socially, and you’re one of his recruits now. He’s very strict about what you’ll all be eating and your new exercise routines. I’ll sneak you down some of that chewing gum, yeah? ‘bout time you stopped anyway.”
He stands to the side and motions for Eggsy to enter the little four-seater train carriage that’s no bigger than their family car. Lee sits opposite Eggsy and watches his son’s face as the door slowly shuts and they take off at great speed.
Lee pulls out his phone, “Eggsy, you should know that we have a uniform for all recruits.”
Eggsy’s face lights up, “am I gonna get a badass suit like yours?”
“Not yet, I’m afraid.”
Rather than explain, Lee turns his phone around so Eggsy can see the screen. On it is a photo of Lee and Harry, both looking significantly younger, Harry in one of his usual suits and Lee in a tartan boiler suit, a little corgi that Eggsy recognises as his childhood pet sat by his feet.
“Yer not serious. ’ow long do I have to wear that for then?”
“I’m quite serious. I’m sure you’ll look very handsome in it until you fail a task, quit, or get the job.” He tucks his phone back into his pocket, “just remember, no matter what happens, just agreeing to give it a go has made me very proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Eggsy smiles, “how much longer until we get to this posh estate then?”
Lee sighs, “at least another forty minutes. Do you still have the Netflix app on your phone?”
“Yeah,” Eggsy stands and flops into the seat beside Lee and pulls out his phone, “what ya wanna watch?”
: :
When they arrive at what Lee calls HQ, Eggsy is taken through winding corridors until they reach what feels like a basement level. He sees Merlin leaning against the wall, typing on what looks like a tablet.
“Good evening, Gawain. Glad to see you aren’t living up to Galahad’s tendency to be late.” He finally looks at Eggsy and nods at the door, “in you go, then.”
With a smirk, Eggsy saunters through the door to meet his competitors.
: :
Merlin is standing behind the double sided mirror, watching as all the candidates finally settle into their bunks and switch off the lights for the night. He hears the faint hiss of the door behind him and glances at his reflection.
“Gawain.”
“Merlin.” Lee says, coming to stand beside him. “How’s he settling in?”
“Reasonably well. Looks like he’s getting along well with Roxanne and Amelia, and Nathaniel and Piers seem to have been friendly towards him. There might be a bit of a rivalry with Charlie Hesketh, however.”
“Shame Amelia won’t be staying,” Lee sighs, “and a rivalry is to be expected, innit? If Charlie is anything like his father, Eggsy definitely won't get along with him. It’s nice to know he’s going to have someone in there, I’d say he and Roxy would make a sweet couple if Eggsy didn't already have someone.”
Merlin snorts, “speaking of, how’s Harry doing?”
“Sulking.” Lee laughs quietly, “he didn’t expect me to put Eggsy forward for Lancelot.”
“I’ll have to find him a mission to keep him busy,” Merlin chuckles, glancing down at his tablet, “something local. Do you mind if I put him on the Professor Arnold case with you?”
“’course not. It’ll be fun to work with him again.”
“I’m also planning a few exercises between the recruits and agents, especially in hand to hand combat, and I’d rather they weren't paired up with the agents who proposed them. I know as for as brutal as you are in the field, you’d never be able to spar with your son for fear of hurting him.”
“That’s fair.” Lee shrugs.
“I was thinking about giving you Roxanne, Percival’s girl.”
Lee nods, “he’s told me a lot about her. I’m interested to see her fighting style.”
“And if I happened to pair up Eggsy and Galahad...”
Lee can’t help his snort, “they won’t be able to keep their hands off each other. They’re starting to slip up, you know. Eggsy stayed at a friend’s place the other night and came home smelling of Harry’s cologne.”
“Somehow that doesn't surprise me,” Merlin chuckles, glancing down at his watch, “the water test will be starting in fifteen minutes, if you’d like to stay and watch.”
“Not this time, thank you Merlin. I still can’t go in that room without remembering our test,” Lee shudders, “Michelle’ll be expecting me. Lemme know how he does, though, yeah?”
“Of course, I’ll have the footage available on the server by the morning.”
“Cheers. Night, then, Merlin. Try not to terrify them too much.”
“No promises.”
Lee laughs quietly as he leaves and lets the door hiss shut behind him. Merlin touches a finger to the frame of his glasses.
“Morgana, first test begins in thirteen minutes. Everything ready?”
: :
Eggsy decides that he’s definitely going to have a word with his dad after almost being drowned in what was apparently their first test. He has trouble falling back asleep that night, unable to get rid of the chill, even with a new set of pyjamas and an extra blanket. The image of Amelia in the empty room doesn’t help his endeavours to sleep either.
The next morning sees them dressed in the boiler suits Lee had shown Eggsy, standing on the lawn in front of a wall of cages containing whining puppies. Eggsy picks an adorable, tiny bulldog pup and names him JB, and he watches the other choose theirs. He frowns when Roxy calls his puppy a pug and she and her poodle give him matching looks of disbelief at his “it’s a bulldog, innit?” comment.
It isn't his fault he never learned the difference between pugs and bulldogs.
: :
“Right then, you lot,” Merlin says, “this afternoon, we'll be working on your hand to hand, and what better way to test you out than to put you against someone you would likely have to fight in the field. You’ll all be paired up with one of the existing agents here and they will report your strengths and weaknesses back to me.” He pauses, doing something on his tablet, “Percival, you will be with Hugo. Tristan and Digby. Gawain and Roxy. Ector with Rufus. Lamorak with Piers. Galahad with Eggsy. Bedivere, you’re with Nathaniel. And finally seeing as Kay is on a mission, Charlie, you’ll be with me.”
He nods for the agents to go stand by their designated recruit.
“Should you have a problem or have any questions your first port of call should be either your sponsor or myself, however should the agent who put you forward be away on a mission, or if I am busy with my own work, this agent will be there for you instead.” He waits for the recruits to nod, “excellent, get to work then.”
Eggsy turns to his new ‘designated agent’.
“Hello Agent Galahad.”
“Eggsy.” Harry’s eyes are alight with amusement.
“Don’t hold back on m--oof.”
“What was that?” Harry asks innocently from where he’s flipped Eggsy on his back and pinned him down.
They miss the shared look between Lee and Merlin.
: :
It’s shortly after their first few days of training sessions that Eggsy finds himself called down to the medical bay by Lee. When he finds his dad, he greets him with a grin and picks up his tiny pug. Eggsy’s smile falls when he sees the serious look Lee is giving him.
“What happened?” He asks.
Lee puts his hands on Eggsy’s shoulders, “Galahad and I were out on a mission this morning and got caught in an explosion. I’m just a bit scratched, but Harry was pretty close to the blast.”
“What? Where is he now? Can I see ‘im?”
“He’s in that room with Merlin and Arthur right now. He’s in a coma, Eggsy, and we don’t know when he’ll wake up. Right now, we hope and get on with ourselves, yeah? Make ‘im proud.” The door behind Lee opens and shuts, revealing a white haired man in a suit like the agents wear. Lee turns, “Arthur.”
“Gawain. I’m afraid you’ll be dealing with this case alone until Galahad is fit for missions again. I assume this is your son?”
Lee nods and starts speaking with a renounced pronunciation accent worthy of the BBC, “yes, sir. This is Gary, though he prefers to be called Eggsy.”
“It’s... pleasant to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Eggsy gets a half-hearted smile from Arthur and he holds his hand out to shake. Arthur looks at it like it’s somehow offended him, but shakes it all the same before leaving the medical bay.
“What was with the voice? Ya sound like Harry.”
“Unfortunately,” Lee says, dropping back into his usual accent once the door swings shut, “Arthur is one of those people who judges people by where they come from and how they speak. Learned early on to speak proper to please him, nearly didn’t get the job because of how he felt about my unbringing. Took a lot of convincing on Merlin’s part that I was as worthy as James.”
“Sounds like a proper arse.”
“He is, but don’t let him hear you say that,” Lee winks.
: :
They’re quickly whittled down to six candidates and Merlin has them gather round a table and hands them each a key card.
“From now on, you’re going to have more free time to study and train, and we trust you all enough that you’re free to wander the manor. Those key cards are programmed with all of your details and clearance levels so if it doesn’t work, you aren’t supposed to be there. With your written tests coming up I suggest you all take a look in the extensive libraries we have here.”
“Libraries?” Roxy asks.
Merlin hums, “there are three library designated rooms, plus if you can sweet talk an agent into seeing their private libraries in their offices then know I’ll be very impressed. The old dragons can be quite protective over their rooms.”
: :
Eggsy is down at the shooting range with Roxy and Hugo when Merlin comes to find him. He pulls Eggsy to the side with a serious expression.
“Am I really that bad of a shot?” Eggsy tries to joke.
“Galahad is awake.”
“What?”
“We thought you’d want to be one of the first to know. He’s asking for you, Eggsy.”
Eggsy nods and shouts a quick goodbye to Roxy and Hugo before taking off at a sprint, JB hot on his heels. He makes it to Harry’s room in minutes and pushes open the door, grinning when he sees Harry up and about in his red robe.
“Ever heard of knocking?”
“Only when I’m casin’ a place to rob. You feelin’ alright?”
“I’ve been better,” Harry says, taking Eggsy’s hands in his, “I’ve definitely been worse, however.”
“Been really worried about you.”
Eggsy ducks his head and Harry bends to kiss his forehead, “tell me, how has yours and JB’s training been going.”
He lets Eggsy go when he turns to the pug.
“Sit.”
It takes a few seconds, but JB dutifully wheezes and sits, looking up at Eggsy as if expecting a treat. Harry can’t help but smile when Eggsy turns back to him with an almost identical puppy-ish look on his face.
“Impressive,” Harry laughs, stepping towards Eggsy again to envelop him in a hug.
“I was just down on the shooting range when Merlin called for me; he said you wanted to see me?”
“Yes, I wanted to congratulate you on your test scores. Either top of the class or just second to Roxanne, very well done.”
Eggsy hums and leans against Harry’s chest, breathing in his cologne, “missed you.”
Harry is about to reply when there’s a firm knock on the door. He looks down at Eggsy and begrudgingly lets him go before calling to the person at the door to come in.
“Ah, Eggsy,” Merlin says, “you found your way here. I’m afraid I’m going to have to speak with Harry about a mission now, privately.”
Harry sneaks Eggsy a look, “no, let him stay. He might learn a thing or two.”
Merlin finds himself rather impressed when Eggsy’s knowledge of celebrities finally comes in handy for the case.
: :
Eggsy is sure it isn't coincidence that while he’s exploring the next day he bumps into Harry, finally allowed out of the infirmary and back into a suit.
“Agent Galahad, ya lookin’ better,” he grins, “what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out somewhere savin’ the world now you’ve woken up?”
“Unfortunately saving the world creates a lot of paperwork. Merlin has been chasing me all day.”
Eggsy nods, “speaking of Merlin, he said the other day that this place has a ton of hidden libraries. Fancy showin’ me yours?”
Harry raises an eyebrow.
“I was tryin’ to make an innuendo but it really didn’t work, did it?”
“I hope your NLP training starts soon. You’re lucky you've already won me over,” Harry tilts his head and starts back down the hall, “my office is this way.”
Eggsy trots along behind him, patting his leg to have JB follow.
A few twists and turns through corridors Eggsy hasn’t yet explored and they come to a heavy set of doors. Harry smirks at him as he places his palm on a sensor by the door and there’s the gentle whirring of it unlocking.
“Keys can be stolen; the only people who can open these doors are the agents who own the office, plus Arthur and Merlin with the override codes.”
Eggsy nods, “you all like your fancy tech around here dontcha?”
“That’s all Merlin’s doing, I’m afraid. We were very much still in the Stone Age before he took Merlin’s mantle.”
“Huh,” Eggsy turns to look at the books piled high to the ceiling, gently running a finger down the spines of some larger volumes, “you’ve known him that long?”
“We started working for Kingsman at the same time,” Harry says, crowding Eggsy against the bookcase, “how long do you have?”
“Dinner is in two hours,” Eggsy breathes, leaning back against him, “free ‘til then.”
“Excellent.”
: :
When Eggsy re-emerges from Harry’s office, hair carefully smoothed down but his face still a bit pink, he decides a quick walk outside with JB is in order to cool down.
He makes his way out onto the back lawn and lets JB off his lead. The pug dances around Eggsy’s ankles for a few moments before wandering away to sniff at some leaves. Eggsy finds a stick and whistles to get JB’s attention. JB snorts and jumps about, wriggling head to tail until Eggsy throws it and he goes ambling after it.
Eggsy can’t help but snort when Roxy’s poodle, Merlot, appears from the bushes and grabs the stick before JB can even get near. Roxy quickly follows, looking confused until she spots Eggsy standing with his hands in his pockets.
“What are you doing out here?” She asks.
Eggsy shrugs, “been stuck inside all day and fancied some fresh air. What about you?”
“Decided to do some more exploring. Found a nice wide area and let Merlot have a run, she’s been cooped up too much this week.” She glances over at the poodle and smiles when she sees the pug barely keeping up, “want to see?”
“Yeah, alright. If you can get JB to run for longer than five minutes I’ll let you have my dessert at dinner tonight.”
She grins, “you’re on.”
: :
It only takes one more test for their group to be reduced down to three.
After the parachute test, Roxy showers and goes for a lie down, telling Eggsy and Charlie to either be quiet or leave. They quickly glance at each other before going their separate ways down the corridor, knowing if they started an argument that woke Roxy up there’d be hell to pay. Once they gather again for dinner and settle in front of the television in the dorm, they’re surprised to see Merlin. Usually after dinner was time for relaxing and studying. Their confusion grows when they’re each given a manila packet containing a photo of a blonde girl and what looks like a party invite.
Eggsy bites his lip. He and Harry had talked about this when Eggsy had started his NLP training. Harry had told him that he hadn’t been on any honeypot missions himself in well over five years, so he didn’t have to worry if he’d been faithful. But just because Harry had said it was fine and part of the job didn’t mean that Eggsy was going to feel okay about flirting with a stranger, not that he’d ever let Charlie see that particular weakness.
“Posh girls love a bit of rough,” he smirks instead, holding his photo of the girl up.
Charlie snorts, “we’ll see about that.”
Roxy crosses her legs and glances at them smugly, “we certainly will.”
“Your sponsors will be down shortly with some clothes for this evening,” Merlin says, “we’ll be leaving here at seven and for the club from the shop at nine pm sharp.”
He turns to leave and meets Percival at the door. He’s holding two boxes, a large dress box and a smaller shoe box. Merlin nods and moves aside for Percival to enter before disappearing down the corridor.
“Roxanne, your clothes,” he says, pushing his glasses further up his nose.
She stands up, leaving her folder on the table and ushering him towards her bed where he puts the boxes down and removes the lid of the larger one.
“I brought your make up and straighteners from your flat, and I bought you a new dress and shoes for the occasion.”
She holds up the dress and smiles, “this is lovely, thank you,”
Charlie and Eggsy carefully approach them to peek over Roxy’s shoulder as she turns the dress to admire the lacy fabric. She hums her approval as the door opens again and Lee and Arthur enter, both holding suit bags and shoe boxes. Lee grins and slings an arm around Eggsy’s shoulders, pulling him to the next bed over.
“Ya gonna like what I picked out for ya.”
All Eggsy can do is grin back as he sneaks a glance at Charlie and Arthur and their much more subdued greeting. Lee lays the clothing bag on Eggsy’s bed and holds out the shoe box for him to take.
“Here.”
“Jeremy Scott Pixels? Ya can’t even get these anymore,” Eggsy says in awe, holding one of the trainers, “they stopped makin’ ‘em last season, ya can only get the dollar bill ones now.”
“Dagonet at the shop owed me a favour,” Lee shrugs, “he was able to get hold of a pair for you.”
“You aren’t seriously wearing those, are you Eggy?” Charlie says across the room.
“’course I am. Conversation starter ain’t they?”
Charlie raises his eyebrows and turns back to Arthur, “whatever you say.”
Eggsy rolls his eyes and puts down the shoe, turning to the bag. He unzips it and pulls out a pair of black jeans and a black and gold jacket. He laughs.
“These are amazin’, thanks da’.”
“You’re welcome,” Lee claps Eggsy’s shoulder, “get yerself changed and good luck tonight.” He turns and sees Percival do the same to Roxy and head towards the door, “oi, Percy, hang on.”
Arthur follows shortly after, leaving Roxy, Eggsy, and Charlie to shower, dress, and sit to wait for Merlin. They don’t have to wait for long, Merlin comes to collect them ten minutes later and shows them to the shuttle. After arriving back at the London shop, Merlin puts them into a taxi and tells the driver the name of the club on their invites.
Just before shutting the door, Merlin raises an eyebrow, “good luck, and remember your training.”
: :
“You now have 24 hours to spend with your candidates. Fall out.”
Eggsy and Roxy follow Lee and Percival on slightly shaky legs. When the interrogator had started, Eggsy hadn’t expected him to pull the family card and demand him to sell out both Kingsman and his own father.
Lee and Percival provide a bottle of water each for Eggsy and Roxy, encouraging them to drink at least half of it while on the shuttle to rehydrate before they reach London. Eggsy makes it to the bottom of the bottle seconds before the train pulls in at the shop station.
Roxy pulls Eggsy into a hug before getting into her uncle’s cab and disappearing into the night, leaving Lee and Eggsy stand on the path beside their own car.
“Still feelin’ a bit wobbly?”
Eggsy hums, breathing in deeply. The air here in the centre of London was nowhere near as fresh as that at HQ, but he feels slightly better with it.
“How’s about we go get a six pack of beer from the corner shop and drop by Harry’s? Let ‘im know you passed.”
“Yeah, alright.”
Lee urges Eggsy into the car and they set off, only stopping, as Lee had said, at a corner shop for some beer. Lee also buys Eggsy a packet of energy tablets and has him take one before they set off again in the direction of the mews where Harry lives.
Eggsy knocks on the door when they arrive (his dad doesn’t need to know that Harry gave him a key three years ago) and waits, giving Lee a questioning look when there’s the sound of a dog barking. Harry answers the door wearing an apron, jerking to the side when a small bundle of pug runs past and jumps up at Eggsy’s legs.
“JB?”
“Good evening,” Harry says, smiling at the speed the pug runs towards Eggsy.
Eggsy scoops up JB and cuddles him close to his chest, “what’re you doin’ here?”
JB yips and nuzzles Eggsy’s chest.
“Congratulations on making the final two.” Harry nods his head for them to enter and when Eggsy crosses the threshold he gets whiff of something that smells delicious. He makes his way through the house to the dining room, closely followed by Harry and Lee, and finds the table set for three.
“What’s all this then?”
Harry and Lee share a look.
“It’s for you,” Harry says, “we had a feeling you’d do well in this test and wanted to treat you to dinner and a lazy evening in.”
“You deserve it after how hard you’ve been workin’ these last few months.”
Eggsy grins, “ya both aces, ya know that right?”
“We do. Help yourselves to some bread rolls, the spaghetti will be done shortly.”
: :
By the end of the evening, Eggsy finds himself sprawled out on the sofa, JB snoring on the floor, and Harry and Lee in armchairs with a can of Guinness each. He can feel himself dozing and hears Harry chuckle.
“Looks like today’s test took a lot out of him.”
Eggsy vaguely feels someone lay a blanket over him. He opens a bleary eye and hums when he sees Lee.
“S’alright, just me, didn’t wanna move ya. We’re goin’ to sleep now too, I’ll be up in the guest room.”
“’kay,” Eggsy slurs, snuggling back into the sofa cushions. He vaguely hears something along the lines of ‘can sleep anywhere, that lad’, and Harry’s quiet laugh before the light goes out and the voices disappear up the stairs.
: :
“Morning, Eggsy.”
Eggsy grumbles because he’s only been asleep what feels like five minutes, dammit, and properly opens his eyes to see Harry crouching beside the sofa, wearing a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms. Harry smiles down at him and runs a hand through Eggsy’s hair.
“Har?”
“Brought you some coffee.” Eggsy glances at the table and sure enough, there’s a steaming cup sat on a coaster. “Your father is in the shower, and I’ll make us all some breakfast when I get back.”
“Where ya goin’?” Eggsy asks, starting to sit up.
“Just for a run, love.”
He presses a kiss against Eggsy’s temple and goes to stand. He pauses when Eggsy tugs on his hand and pulls him back down.
“Don’t I get a proper one?” He pouts, knowing Harry won’t be able to resist his bed hair.
“Cheeky,” Harry says as Eggsy drapes his arms around Harry’s shoulders so they can share a quick kiss. “Drink your coffee,” Harry says when they part, “I’ll be back soon. Anything in particular you want for breakfast? Or will a fry up be okay?”
“Fry up sounds good.”
“Excellent. Don’t forget, your final test is this afternoon,” Harry gives Eggsy one last peck before standing and leaving.
Eggsy hears the door click shut and looks down at the floor where JB is still snoring. He shuffles under the blanket so he’s cross legged and picks up the mug left for him. Eggsy hums at the first sip; it’s got just the right amount of sugar and is the perfect temperature. He doesn’t know how Harry does it, but he always manages to make the best cup of coffee.
He’s just finishing the dregs when he hears Lee thumping down the stairs.
“Mornin’ Eggs,” he says, crouching to scratch JB’s stomach, “where’s Harry?”
Eggsy smiles at JB’s happy snort.
“Out for a run. Said he’d make breakfast when he got back.”
There’s the sound of the key in the lock.
“Speak of the devil,” Lee smiles.
“Ah, morning Lee,” Harry says when he comes into the living room, “do you still like your tomatoes fried?”
“Yes, please.”
: :
After breakfast and being shown around the quite frankly awesome armoury hidden in the back of the Kingsman shop, Eggsy showers and dresses in the tartan boiler suit he’s come to get used to over the last few months. As he’s getting ready to leave the dorm, Lee hands him his boots and smiles warmly.
“You can do it, Eggs. This is the last step to becoming Lancelot.”
"I’m ready fer whatever you lot have left to throw at me,” he grins.
“We’re heading back to London now. We’ll see you very soon,” Harry smiles encouragingly and squeezes Eggsy’s shoulder.
With a deep breath, Eggsy makes his way up to the room he’d been called to by Merlin. He knocks and waits for the ‘enter’, poking his head around the door when he hears it.
“Arthur, Merlin said you wanted to see me, sir?” He says.
Arthur nods, “I did. Come in and sit down.”
Eggsy does as he’s told, letting JB enter behind him and sit in front of the fire as he takes his own seat in the armchair opposite the older man.
“Pretty dog,” Arthur starts, “what’s his name?”
“JB,” Eggsy answers, proudly.
“As in James Bond?” Eggsy shakes his head. “Jason Bourne?”
“Jack Bauer?”
Arthur chuckles.
“It pains me to admit it, Eggsy, but I think that one day you might be as good a spy as any of them.” Eggsy smiles because is this really the bloke Lee had said disliked him because of his accent? He knew he couldn’t be that bad. The smile is quickly wiped off his face when Arthur sits forward and points a gun at his head. Or maybe he could be that bad.
“Take it,” he says, twirling the handle to face Eggsy on his finger. Once the gun is safely in Eggsy’s hand, Arthur sits back and takes a sip of brandy. “Shoot the dog.”
Dutifully, Eggsy takes aim. His hand starts to shake after a few seconds of looking into JB’s big eyes staring up at him. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head a few times. Almost drowning? No problem. Falling out of an aeroplane without using a parachute? Easy. But shooting his dog? Absolutely not.
He turns the gun on Arthur, who looks on, unamused.
What would happen if I just, he thinks before internally scoffing, nah, he’s not worth it.
There’s a gunshot from the next room.
“At least the girl’s got balls. Get out.” Eggsy pushes himself out of the seat and leaves the gun on the side table. “I knew you couldn’t make it, you’re nothing like your father. Go home.”
As soon as he’s out of the room, Eggsy scoops JB up in his arms and strides through the corridors to the front entrance of HQ.
He bursts outside and takes a deep breath. Seeing a Kingsman cab just parked at the bottom of the steps is too much of a temptation for him so, clutching JB closer to his chest, he hops down the steps and opens the unlocked door. JB sits on the passenger seat and Eggsy snorts at the keys in the ignition. Some spies they are, he thinks as the car rumbles to life.
Eggsy drives back to London and parks in a secluded spot near a housing estate. He pulls JB onto his lap and strokes the pug’s velvety ears.
“I’d never hurt you, JB. ‘specially not fer a job.”
He blinks when he hears the engine start up and the automatic locks click down.
“What the fu--” The car jerks forward.
Eggsy looks around, panicked, when the car starts moving by itself. It pulls into the traffic and slowly makes its way through London. He suddenly realises where the car is taking him when he sees familiar parades of shops go past. His suspicions are confirmed when he turns down the road that leads to Harry’s terrace, and sees the man himself standing on the balcony, holding a tablet and wearing a very unamused look on his face.
Eggsy clatters into the house and meets Harry at the bottom of the stairs.
“You didn’t shoot him, then.”
It’s not even phrased as a question and for some reason that really gets Eggsy’s back up.
“What? And you shot your fuckin’ dog to get your job, did ya? That why ya got Mr Pickles stuffed in the bog? Did my dad shoot ‘is dog an’ all? That what happened to Bee?”
“Eggsy, listen to me,” Harry snaps. His eyes soften, “it was a blank.”
“What?”
“Mr Pickles died of pancreatitis eleven years after I became Galahad. Bacon, your father’s corgi died of old age. The nature of Kingsman is to push you to your limits, see what you’re capable of. Remember Amelia? She didn’t drown. She’s alive and healthy; she went back to our tech department in Berlin last week. To become an agent, limits must be tested.” Harry pauses, “yes, there are accidents, but we would never intentionally kill for your tests.”
“What? And lettin’ me think I had no parachute was alright was it?”
Harry sighs, “as I said, limits must be tested. What you and Roxy did has never happened before. We’ve never had someone quite as head-strong as you. What that test was supposed to instil in you was trust between yourself, your fellow agents, and your handler, which obviously didn’t go as it should have. By the time you become an agent, you should have the ultimate level of trust and be able to do whatever your handler deems necessary for the mission.”
“I really messed up this time, didn’t I?” Eggsy sighs, letting out a loud breath.
“No, Eggsy...”
“He’s gonna be so angry. I threw it away, didn’t I? The one time I make him proud I go and mess it up.”
Eggsy clenches his fists and glares at the wall just over Harry’s shoulder.
“Eggsy...”
Harry’s glasses beep from where they’re folded away in his pocket. He puts them on and faces the window. He hums and speaks quietly to who Eggsy assumes is Merlin on the other end of the line.
“Thank you, get the plane ready. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
He removes the glasses and turns back to Eggsy with a sigh.
“Would you like to stay here?” Harry asks, tucking away his glasses.
“If ya don’t mind.”
“You know I never mind having you here. I have to leave for a mission with Lee, but you can stay as long as you want. Go get changed and I’ll order some food. How does a pizza sound? My treat.”
“That’d be nice. My jeans still in the bottom drawer?” He starts to back out of the little bathroom and leans against the door frame, “’m sorry fer shoutin’. I freaked out.”
Harry pulls Eggsy back for a hug, “I’m sorry too, we could have handled a lot of things better just there. Pick up my bag from the wardrobe while you’re up there, would you?”
“Of course.”
He watches Eggsy slowly trudge up the stairs, JB hopping up a step at a time behind him.
Harry is just ending the call to the pizza place when Eggsy re-enters the dining room and places Harry’s bag on the dining table.
“Where ya goin’ then? Or is that classified since I’m not a Kingsman?”
“I suppose I can tell you. Don’t tell Merlin I told you but we’re going to a church in Kentucky for the Valentine case,” Harry says as he unzips the bag and checks he has the clothing and weaponry he needs, “I have to leave now, but your food will be here in fifteen minutes.” He goes to cup Eggsy’s jaw, “have a night to yourself, and if I know your father, he won’t be upset with you. You did your best and that will be enough for him.”
Harry leans down to give Eggsy a kiss.
"We’ll talk properly about your position at Kingsman when I get back, yes? I’m sure Merlin would be happy to have you in his department.”
“I like the sound of that, yeah. Good luck.”
: :
“I’m just...so worried about him, Harry,” Lee sighs, leaning back against his seat, “Arthur told me he didn’t shoot JB and I haven’t heard from him since we dropped him at HQ this morning. He didn’t go to Michelle and he isn’t answering his phone...”
“He was with me.”
Lee immediately sits up, “is he okay?”
“He’s fine; I left him on the sofa with takeaway and a film. I’m sure he’ll go home once he’s calmed down somewhat. He felt like he’d thrown away the chance you gave him and was worried you’d be upset. You’ll laugh, I told him off for it, but he stole Arthur’s car and drove to London from HQ, I had to hack into the car’s computer and drive him to my house.” Harry pauses, “you can call him if you want? I left my laptop out and unlocked.”
Harry chooses not to mention that Eggsy had worked out that his password is garyunwin92 very early in their relationship and now knew how to get full access to all of the features.
He takes off his glasses and holds them out to Lee, “here, call him on mine. I’m sure he’d rather see you.”
Lee takes them and smiles as Harry stands and squeezes his shoulder in assurance.
“I’ll go up front. Give you some privacy.”
“Cheers, Harry."
Harry pauses just before the curtain to the cockpit, “you should know, although I want to say he’d have done it if Arthur hadn’t been the one to hand him the gun, I doubt Eggsy would have taken the shot if you or I had given him it. The lad has a good sense of right and wrong and knowing he would never hurt someone innocent makes me believe that he could make a better agent than any of us.”
Lee nods, “yeah, you’re probably right.”
Harry disappears around the curtain and Lee holds the glasses in front of himself after calling the laptop, making sure his earpiece is in on his own. Eggsy answers quickly, appearing on the webcam with JB on his lap.
“Hey, Eggsy.”
“Dad? I thought you were on your way to America?”
“We are, I just wanted to talk to you about what happened today. I’ll make it quick, remember what I said when I took you down to HQ that first time?” Eggsy hums. “That still stands. I’m proud of you for trying your best, and that’s all that matters.”
“Even after everythin’?”
“Even after everythin’. Still got a fair few hours before we land, but we’ll talk properly when we get back, yeah?”
“Yeah, talk soon. Good luck with your mission.”
“Thanks.”
Lee folds the glasses and places them on the desk. Sighing, he realises that even that little chat with his son has lifted a weight from his shoudlers. He picks up his mission packet and focuses on reading.
: :
Eggsy snorts awake and looks around confused. Why had he fallen asleep on Harry’s sofa again..?
Of course, he’d failed his last task.
He glances up at the clock on the mantelpiece. Harry and Lee should have arrived in Kentucky by now, he realises. Eggsy pulls Harry’s laptop onto his knee and opens up the program he now knows streams the footage from his glasses.
It opens and he logs in to see that Harry is sitting in a church.
“Charming sermon.” He hears Merlin laugh, “see anything?” Harry looks around. Merlin sighs, “right, get out of there. Meet with Gawain in the house and we’ll discuss things from there.”
“Excuse me,” Harry says as he tries to leave the pew.
The woman next to him turns, “where do you think you’re goin’?”
“I’m a Catholic whore.” Harry starts, “currently enjoying congress out of wedlock with my black Jewish boyfriend who works in a military abortion clinic. So hail Satan and have a lovely afternoon, madam.”
Eggsy snorts, only Harry could come up with that.
Harry slides past the stunned woman and is almost out of the church before he comes to a stop and there’s a high pitched whine of feedback. Harry and the rest of the room suddenly jump into action, grabbing whatever tools they can and start maiming each other.
“What the fuck...?”
He certainly knew at this point what Harry was capable of, after spending a lot of time training together, but this was on another level. Eggsy has to look away a few times when Harry’s movements become almost mechanical, like he’s finding the quickest way to eliminate his targets like a Terminator or something. He can hear Lee and Merlin yelling for him to snap out of it, but he just keeps going.
Eventually, Harry stops and looks around. His heavy breathing is the only sound coming from the laptop’s speakers as he climbs over the pews and pushes his way outside. Harry stops in his tracks when he sees the two figures waiting for him, one of them sporting a very dangerous looking pair of legs.
Glancing up into one of the windows of the houses, Eggsy can see a figure that looks like his dad. Of course he’d be their sniper on this mission. He and Percival are the two Kingsman who are lightest on their feet, Roxy had told him.
He focuses back on the two figures talking to Harry. The man in the cap was definitely Richmond Valentine, harping on about his SIM cards and their true nature. Eggsy can’t help his flinch when Valentine steps closer, that was the face of someone who wasn’t there to mess around.
Eggsy realises how right he is when Valentine raises a gun and shoots Harry point blank.
“No... no, Harry?”
All he gets is the view from the glasses: a clear blue sky and the quiet chatter of Valentine and the girl.
Eggsy minimises the screen and sees the photo of he and Harry he had set as the desktop as a joke months ago. It’s just a silly picture they’d taken with Eggsy’s phone, Eggsy sticking his tongue out and Harry mid-laugh. He lets out a shaky breath before standing and storming out of the house.
: :
“Arthur, Harry’s dead.”
Arthur looks up from his place at the head of the table.
“Galahad is dead.” He motions to the decanter on the table, “hence, we have just drunk a toast to him.”
Eggsy frowns, “but ya know what Valentine’s doin’. You can put a stop to ‘is plans.”
“And your father has passed that information on to the authorities.” He pauses, “sit down, boy.” Eggsy sits. “This is an 1815 Napoleonic brandy, and we only drink it when we lose a Kingsman. Galahad was very fond of you and on this occasion, I think it’s acceptable for us to bend the rules a little.”
Eggsy glances at the barely there scar behind Arthur’s ear and suddenly remembers the conversation with Harry and Merlin in the infirmary. Arthur pours two glasses of brandy and places them in front of him.
“Are these all Kingsmen?” Eggsy asks, leaning forward and pointing at the wall behind. When Arthur turns, Eggsy quickly switches the glasses. He hides his scoff at Arthur believing he could really sneak poison past him by clearing his throat.
“Yes, our founder members,” Arthur answers, turning back. He hands Eggsy a glass, “a toast, to Galahad.”
“To Galahad,” Eggsy repeats, downing the drink.
“Now, do you know what this is?” He asks, holding up a Kingsman issued pen.
“Yeah, Harry showed me. You click it, I die. Thought that brandy tasted a bit shit.”
“In Harry’s honour, I’m inviting you to be part of a new world.”
He suppresses a shiver, like hell he would ever side with someone who wants to kill off the majority of the world’s population.
“I’d rather be with Harry, thanks.”
“So be it,” Arthur says, clicking down on the pen with a sick grin.
Eggsy glances down at his stomach nonchalantly. Arthur frowns when nothing seems to be happening.
“Ya know, the thing with us common types is, we’re light fingered. Kingsman taught me a lot, but that I had down already. My dad’s lessons in pickpocketing really have come in useful. And you’ve just proved my mum’s theory on keepin’ ‘em talkin’ and distracted to get what ya want outta ‘em.”
Eggsy glares as Arthur calls him every name under the sun and thuds his head against the desk.
He stands and takes the pen to Arthur’s neck to remove the tiny chip. Taking Arthur’s phone and the chip, he runs down the back stairs to the shuttle.
: :
Being at the wrong end of a gun held by Roxy is something Eggsy would rather not repeat, especially after months of watching her improving her score on the range. He's grateful when Merlin has her put it down.
“The question is, what’re we gonna do?” Merlin looks between them once Eggsy has explained what Arthur had told him. “With me, let’s go.”
And then Roxy falls from the edge of the atmosphere, Merlin blows up the heads of the majority of the world’s leaders, and Eggsy saves the world.
: :
“Eggsy, you look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet. Why don’t you take a nap? We’ll wake you up before we land,” Roxy says once they've picked her up from the mountains.
Eggsy chews his bloody lip, “yeah, alright. Can... can I call my dad first? And mum? Won’t be able to sleep til I know they’re fine.”
Roxy drapes the tartan blanket around his shoulders and hands him his phone and glasses that he’d left on Merlin’s desk, “here. I’m going to sleep as well, it’s been a long day.”
“Cheers.”
She smiles and makes her way over to the other sofa and settles herself under a blanket. She faces away and her breathing quickly evens out. Eggsy pulls his blanket tighter around himself and unlocks his phone. He selects his dad’s contact and presses the call button.
It only rings once before Lee answers with a worried, “Eggsy?”
“Hey, dad,” Eggsy says, “how are ya? You alright?”
“I’m fine, Eggsy. We’re both fine.”
“Both?”
“Turns out Valentine is a rubbish shot.” Lee chuckles, “Harry is absolutely fine. The bullet skimmed his temple so there was some blood and he got knocked over from the force and shock. You know head wounds bleed a lot, and the shattered glass from his glasses hit him so he’s a bit scratched up. All I’d be worried about is him hitting his head when he fell but I’m monitoring him and he’s been fine so far. We land in England in an hour and we’re gonna have ‘im checked out properly by a Kingsman doctor. How are your mum and Daiz? Have you spoken to them? I couldn’t get through.”
Eggsy lets out a shaky breath, glad he was sat down for that news.
Harry is alive.
“Rox managed to call mum and warn her,” he manages after a half a minute of silence, “I’m about to ring her, but Rox said they were fine when she hung up. Says Mum got the baby somewhere safe ‘nd locked herself away.”
Lee sighs, “that’s good to hear. Hey, d’ya wanna talk to Harry? Might do ‘im some good to have someone other than me talkin’ his ear off.”
Eggsy hears quiet shuffling and murmurs and the sound of the phone being passed over.
“Hello, Eggsy.”
Eggsy lets out a shaky laugh, “hey, Harry. How ya feelin’?”
Harry groans, “like I was shot. Though, admittedly, I’ve had worse. How are you?”
“’m alright, bit beat up but it’s nothing. I’ve ‘ad worse on a night out. Valentine isn’t a worry any more, took care of ‘im and his Gazelle personally.”
“We’re very proud of you, Eggsy,” Harry pauses and sighs, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to go. Your father is making motions for me to take some more medication; I’ll see you when we get back, yes?”
“Yeah, see you soon. Tell dad see ya for me too, will ya?”
“Of course.”
Eggsy pulls his legs up and rests his forehead on his knees when the call disconnects. His family are okay, Harry is alive, and he literally just saved the world. He takes a shuddery breath and looks up as Merlin enters the cabin.
“You alright, lad?”
Eggsy nods, “just spoke to my dad, they’re a bit bruised and battered, but they’re gonna be home before us.”
“They?”
He nods again.
“The bullet missed?”
Eggsy nods again and is worried that he’s said the wrong thing when Merlin stumbles back to sit on the chair at the desk and takes off his glasses to rub at his eyes until he sees that Merlin is actually laughing.
“He’s a bloody cockroach, that man, I swear.” He straightens his glasses and clears his throat, “I’m sure he’s the reason I have no hair.”
“That’s a lie, I remember you with hair. Got a lovely photo of us all at my sixth birthday and your curls that rivaled Harry’s.”
Merlin hums, “yes, and then your father joined Kingsman. Have you spoken to Michelle yet?” Eggsy shakes his head. “Tell her to take Daisy to the shop. I’ll have a car sent for them. They’ll be safe there.”
“Thank you. Guess Kingsman isn’t gonna be so secret any more, huh?”
“I’m afraid with the way the world is right now we can’t stay completely secret, no. We don’t know how many agents were won over by Chester so for now the only people we can trust are us, and Lee, Harry, and Percival and we need to keep our families safe. I’ll know more by the time we land. You did well today, Eggsy,” Merlin stands and ruffles Eggsy’s hair, “worthy of a Kingsman." He straightens and rolls his shoulders, “ring your mother, I'm going to see if I can contact HQ.”
Eggsy watches Merlin go back into the cockpit and pull the curtain closed. He turns his phone in his hand a few times before pulling up the contact for his mum and selecting call.
“Eggsy? Are you okay?” Is the first thing Michelle says when she picks up her phone.
“Yes, mum, I’m fine. Dad’s alright as well. He tried to call you but half the networks are down. How are you and Daiz?”
“We’re alright, babe. We’re gonna need a new bathroom door, though.”
“Wha--”
“I’ll tell ya later, where are ya now? Who was the girl who called earlier?”
“Somewhere over Europe, I think. Pack a bag fer you and Daiz, Alistair is sending a car to pick yas up and take you to Kingsman, you’ll be safe there. And that was Rox, we trained together on the course, you can meet her later when we get back. Trust me, we’ll tell ya everything soon, yeah?”
Michelle sighs, “alright, Eggs. See you soon.”
“Bye mum.”
The line goes silent and Eggsy locks the phone. He leans over to place it on the desk before lying on his back and pulling the blanket over his body. To his surprise, he feels himself start to drift off within minutes, the princess and Roxy were right about him looking ready to pass out.
: :
As soon as the plane lands, Eggsy is off like a shot. Still wearing his torn up suit, he makes his way down to the infirmary where he finds Lee talking with a nurse.
“Dad? Are you alright? Where’s Harry?” Eggsy gasps as he skids to a halt.
Lee puts his hands on Eggsy’s shoulders, “Eggsy, breathe. We’re both alright. Harry’s just in with Ector gettin’ bandaged up.” He spots Eggsy’s split lip and motions for a nurse to come closer, “let’s get you cleaned up and when you’re done we can go see him, yeah?”
Eggsy nods, letting out a shaky breath. He sits and lets the nurse dab at the cuts on his face, only moving when Lee pushes Eggsy’s jacket from his shoulders and helps to tug off his tie.
“You know, in your suit I thought you would look like me, but you look more like Harry did when I first met him,” Lee says once he’s folded Eggsy’s clothes, “even down to the tie, he has one exactly like it.”
Eggsy shrugs, “he knew you got me the suit, sorry it got messed up by the way, and decided to buy me a tie that’d go with it. He chose it.”
Lee hums, “the blue, red, and white is Kingsman’s signature. We all have at least one like it but he and Percival are the only agents who actually wear theirs.”
“They’re nice,” Eggsy smiles, "shame it got ruined.”
Lee wraps his arm around the back of Eggsy’s shoulders and squeezes.
“We’ll get you a new one. After everything you’ve done today, Eggsy, I’m absolutely certain Arthur will reconsider giving you a seat at the table.”
Eggsy winces, “uh, dad, I kinda... killed Arthur.
“You did what?”
He hasn't seen his dad this genuinely shocked since Eggsy spectacularly fell off the rings at a national gymnastics competition.
“He tried to kill me with poisoned brandy so I switched the glasses. He was in with Valentine and had one of those chips, ask Merlin, he’ll tell ya the full story.”
Lee can barely say “I will” before the door opposite opens and Harry steps out, looking marginally better than he did when they arrived, though still in his bloody shirt and with a clean bandage wrapped around his head.
Eggsy is out of his chair in a flash, hands fluttering around Harry and speaking so fast Lee doubts Harry can understand. Once Eggsy has apparently checked that everything is still attached he falls against Harry’s front and tightly wraps his arms around Harry’s waist. Harry rests his cheek against Eggsy’s temple and Lee can hear him murmuring into Eggsy’s ear.
Lee definitely doesn’t expect Eggsy’s next move to be to pull Harry’s head down and plant a kiss on his lips. He grins and folds his arms against his chest, about time they slipped up, didn’t even need to lock them in a cupboard, he thinks.
When he feels Merlin sidle up beside him, Lee holds out his hand and takes the fifty pound note Merlin slaps into his palm.
Eggsy jumps and separates from Harry with a quiet smack when he remembers his dad is still standing behind them and has just seen everything. He slowly turns his head against Harry’s chest and realises they now have a bigger audience of Ector, Merlin, Roxy, and Percival, all watching them with amused looks on their faces.
“Is there something you’d like to tell us, you two?” Lee says with an air of innocence.
“Uh, dad,” Eggsy purses his lips, not removing his arm from Harry’s waist, “please don’t kill us, but I’m kinda goin' out with Harry. We’ve been together for nearly four years now.”
Lee’s fake shock is worthy of a pantomime dame, “really?”
Eggsy narrows his eyes, “you knew, didn’t you? All of you?”
Merlin barely hides a snort and Percival and Roxy study the floor to hide their smirks.
“The question is who didn’t?” Lee laughs, “Harry should know better when his best friend is all-seeing Merlin and the pair of you weren’t exactly subtle. Even Daisy knew, and she’s four.”
“Only ‘cause she saw me kiss him, I told her not to snitch,” Eggsy mumbles.
“She keeps asking your mother when big bruv and Harry are going to get married so she and JB can wear pretty dresses.”
Eggsy blushes and ducks his head.
“We’ll have to wait until I can get rid of this bandage before going ahead and planning anything, I’m afraid,” Harry says, squeezing Eggsy’s shoulder.
“What?” Eggsy whips his head up, nearly banging Harry’s chin.
Harry blinks innocently, “well, we seem to have your family’s blessing, and I’m sure you’d look lovely in a tux.”
“You’d better get the nicest, most expensive ring you can find for scaring me so much today then,” Eggsy pouts.
“Only the best, darling,” Harry kisses Eggsy’s forehead.
“As touching as this is,” Merlin says suddenly, “the world has just gone to shit and we’re going to need all the help we can get to sort things out. Thankfully, we only lost Arthur to Valentine, which means we need a new king.” He pointedly looks at Harry.
“No.” Harry deadpans, “absolutely not.”
“Come on, Harry. The only other people eligible are myself and Percival, and right now we need Percival out in the field and I simply refuse.”
“I didn’t even say I wanted the job,” Percival chips in.
Harry sighs and narrows his eyes, “you’re not going to let me say no are you? Fine, I’ll do it. But know I'm doing it begrudgingly.”
“Excellent,” Merlin grins, “now, we’re going to need all hands on deck. Percival, Gawain, Lancelot, you’re going to be very busy for the foreseeable until we locate the other surviving knights and tidy up. Lee, Michelle is currently in the dining room with your daughter, if you and Eggsy would like to go see them first.”
“What about me?” Eggsy asks quietly, “I couldn't even shoot my dog.”
“Well...” Harry starts.
Merlin hums and holds up a hand to shush Harry, “how would you feel about training as a handler with me? Should another place at the table open, you’d be welcome to be put forward as a candidate again.”
“Yeah, I can do that, ‘m good with computers. It would help yous, right?”
“Of course, given how close you are to Lee and Roxy I’m sure you’ll work well with them.”
“What about me?” Harry says, tightening his hold on Eggsy’s waist.
“You’re Arthur and you’re injured, so for now you’re going to be a pretty face at the head of the table. No missions until you’re healed. I’ll assign Eggsy to you to help with paperwork when he isn't training or handling Lee or Roxy.” He smirks, “which means, Eggsy, you’re going to need a codename.”
“May I make a suggestion?” Lee says. When Merlin nods he continues, “when I was a recruit I found a history of Kingsman’s knights, don’t look at me like that, there’s a reason I’ve been here nearly two decades, and there was one name that hasn’t been used in nearly a century, for an agent who works closely with Arthur.”
Merlin’s eyes light up, “oh yes, that codename would suit him well.”
Lee turns to Eggsy and smiles, “how does Excalibur sound to you?”
Eggsy grins, “when do we start?”