Work Text:
“The answer is no.”
Eggsy rolled his eyes, then winced when his head throbbed in retaliation. “You don't know what I was gonna say.”
“Actually I do, and the answer is still no.”
His sigh was loud and gutsy as he let his head fall to the back of the taxi seat, ignoring the London traffic as it passed slowly. They’d stopped at a light when he called, it was taking ages to change. “C'mon Merlin. Don’t do this to me.” The long suffering, tired sigh on the other end almost gave Eggsy pause, but he pressed on regardless, “You know this is mine, yeah, if you’ll just get him to-”
“-I won’t be getting him to do anything because I happen to agree with him.”
“But I’m fine-”
“Bollocks, you most certainly are not fine,” he rumbled darkly, putting a stop to Eggsy’s quick denial, "No-one wakes up after having their brain turned inside out feeling fine and dandy. And don’t think I don’t know they gave you the good painkillers, either.” His eyes flicked down to the lump in the pocket of his hoodie; the shape of the pill bottle one of the Infirmary doctors pushed into his hands before he left. “You’ve been through extensive mental trauma caused by mind altering drugs and god knows how that’s going to affect you in the coming days. Count yourself lucky you’ve been allowed to leave; if he wasn’t so preoccupied with finding this bastard he would have made you stay in the Infirmary.”
“He couldn’t ‘ave stopped me leavin’,”
Merlin huffed a laugh, “Bloody child, have you still not learned?”
“Oi!”
The voice on the other end of the phone softened as he apologised, “You’re on leave until you’re well enough to be back in the field, Arthur’s orders.” When Eggsy didn’t answer Merlin sighed, and he could picture the man taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke, “It’s not a punishment, Eggsy. When the drugs are out of your system and we’re sure there’s no lasting side effects you’ll be back in the field again. Until then, I suggest you put your feet up and spend some time with your family. Some of us don’t have that luxury.”
The soft admission drained the last of the fight out of him. Eggsy closed his eyes in defeat, “Yeah. You’re right.”
“Aye, I know.”
Eggsy smirked and replied fondly, “Dickhead.”
The soft reprimand came immediately, “Galahad.”
“Sorry. Dickhead, sir.” He smiled at the muttered curse and glanced out of the window, watching the taxi turn into the familiar street, “Do me a favour, yeah? Don’t shut me out of this.”
“I’ll endeavour to keep you in the loop as best I can. Now go home.”
"Already there. Thanks Merlin."
The taxi slowed as it pulled up to the curb, the driver nodding silently at Eggsy's automatic thanks, wishing him good day as he got out. Then Eggsy just stood there, on the pavement outside, and looked up at the house as the taxi pulled away.
It nestled in the middle of a terraced row, all standing uniformly proud with cream and white fascias against bare brickwork. A low wall made of white brick and and shaped concrete separated the pavement and the grey flagstone courtyard accented by black wrought iron railings and a small gate. There was a large planter that his mum had filled with flowers off to one side and a brightly coloured gnome sat cheerfully on steps leading up to the classy black front door. He’d bought her that to make her laugh when they’d first moved in.
He used to roam streets like this when he was younger, riding around on his bike late at night when Dean was doing his head in. He remembered sneering at them, imagining their occupants as perfect little families tucked up nice and safe in their beds, bitter because he was forced to walk on eggshells around his prick of a stepdad incase he took it out on his mum. Again.
Now look at where they were. Maybe they weren’t the perfect family that he imagined living in houses like this - the mum and dad and two-point-four kids - but who wanted the perfect family when he had his mum and his beautiful baby sister?
Rubbing his head absently, he fished his keys from his pocket and let himself in to the house.
"Mum?" He called out, toeing off his trainers by the front door, leaving them haphazardly in the corner with rest of the shoes, "Mum? You here?"
"Eggsy? That you babe?"
Later he'd kick himself for not noticing the tone in her voice, but his headache was getting worse again and all he wanted was a couple more of those really good painkillers and a fucking good kip, everything else came second. "Yeah, came home early from that thing at work, my head's fuckin' killin me..."
He turned to head towards the kitchen only to find his Mum already standing in the hallway. His offer of a cup of tea died on his lips the moment he set eyes on her; pale and scared and confused. Eggsy flashed back to the bad days of his childhood, when his Mum's two main modes were doting wife and scared mother. Instinct had him moving towards her, reaching out for her arms, "You alright?"
"Where the hell have you been?" She cried, hands flying to his shoulders, "I've been worried sick about you!"
Her panic was palpable; wide eyes searched his own, flicking back and forth wildly as her hands gripped tight, the points of her nails digging in like she was attempting to dig the answers out of him. Off-kilter and seriously worried, he wrapped his hands around her slim wrists and rubbed reassurance into her skin, "I'm fine, I'm ok, I've just been... there was a thing at work and-"
"Oh Eggsy!" Anger was a red hot spike through the cold fear and she gave him a hard shove, shaking off his hands and storming towards the kitchen. Head throbbing, he followed, "Up all night I was, worrying about you, and you were too pissed to call home and tell me where you were."
“That's not-"
She swung around in the middle of the room, eyes stark against her pale skin, "You told me it was gonna be different, yeah? Fresh start, you said. No more worrying or hiding, no more doing stupid things to get by. We were gonna be ok again, we were gonna be a family, and now you're swannin' off and doing god knows what with god knows who and strollin' in like everything’s the same as before."
Guilt rolled in his stomach. This was the one part of being a Kingsman that he hated; having to lie to his Mum. He could have told her, Merlin had even said he could, but he knew it wasn't the right time. Not yet. And seeing her like this, afraid for him like she had been back at the flat, eyes flooding with relief whenever he walked in after a night running errands for the low-lives Dean had called his friends, made him feel so much worse. "I'm not doin' anythin' stupid. Promise." The lie felt like lead on his tongue but he pushed on, "It's not like before. I aint doin' that shit no more."
"Then where were you last night? You didn't reply to my texts, you didn't phone me. Had me thinkin' I was gonna see you on the news bein' fished out the river like Dean said-"
She cut herself off suddenly, biting her lip and reaching for the tea towel on the counter as she turned away. Eggsy frowned, "Hold up, what d'ya mean 'Dean said'?"
"Nothin'," She replied hastily, restless hands moving things about on the counter top, pulling things from the drying rack..
"Mum-"
"It's nothin', Eggsy, just leave it will ya?!" She slammed the mug in her hand down against the granite work surface hard enough for for the handle to snap off, hard enough to make him flinch with the sound. "Shit!" Dropping both with a clatter, she leaned heavily against the sink, knuckles stark white with her grip.
They were silent for a few moments, with Eggsy trying to think past the incessant drum beat in his head. Finally he said, "What's goin' on?"
Michelle sniffed once and let go of the sink, turned to lean against it instead. The green checkered tea towel became creased as she wrung it in her hands. She didn't look at Eggsy when she spoke.
"He's been textin'," She said, voice quiet and vulnerable and a world away from the anger of before. "Different number but I know it's him."
"Where's your phone?"
"Livin' room."
Silently he went to retrieve it. He found it stuffed between the sofa cushions, deep down the back like she’d forced it down there in anger. Or in fear. He swiftly unlocked the screen as he moved back into the kitchen and found she’d already had 3 unread messages from the same unknown number. He read them in silence, his anger growing with every one.
+44 7648511732
cant hide 4eva, ill find u
+44 7648511732
fuckin’ answer me chell or i swear im gunna find tha prick eggsy and kill im
+44 7648511732
tha babys mine, i got fuckin rites!
The last one made his stomach drop. “Where’s Daisy?”
“Upstairs, put her down for her nap ten minutes ago.”
The jittering in his stomach eased and Eggsy continued to scroll through the messages in her inbox, ranging from pathetic begging to violent threats. He noticed the dates, frowned incredulously at his mum, “Two weeks? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Her eyes, glassy with tears, pleaded desperately with him not to get angry, and it was a look that he’d seen countless times over the years but never once directed at him, “Didn’t want to worry you. It was goin’ so well for us…”
Eggsy pulled her in as the first tears fell, wrapped his arms around her shaking body and gently shushed her, murmuring comfort to her as she broke down. The phone was still in his hand, and over his mum’s head he read and re-read the text message that was currently on screen.
+44 7648511732
fink ur safe? ill find u bitch an ill make u pay
He read it until his eyes burned, then he slipped the phone into his pocket and shifted his grip and his focus back to his mum. Gently he pulled back, putting the rage aside for the moment as he rubbed her arms in comfort. Her cheeks were red and splotchy, eyes red and wet and still full of fear.
“I promised you when we came here that he wouldn’t hurt us again.”
She sniffed loudly, wiped her eyes roughly with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, “But what if he finds us, eh? It’s not like we moved to the other end of the country, we’re still in the same bloody city!”
Eggsy shrugged, projecting a calm he didn’t feel, “If he does, that’s his problem. The fuck can’t get in, we’ve got good security now, right? And if he does come sniffin’ round here, then he’ll have to deal with me. Alright?
She looked unconvinced, “But Eggsy-”
“Trust me, mum,” he said earnestly, “You're safe here. Promise.”
After a few quiet moments his mum nodded. Eggsy smiled and kissed her damp cheek, leading her out of the kitchen and into the hallway, “Why don’t you go upstairs and check on Daisy, yeah? Then go have a nice bath or something, calm you right down that will.”
She nodded, “Yeah,” she said, and at the foot of the long staircase she turned and pressed both hands to Eggsy’s face, looked at him like he was everything for a moment or two before turning to go up the stairs. Eggsy watched her go with a lump in his throat, noting the way she wrapped her arms around herself as she went.
He waited until he heard the door close upstairs to let the anger seep through. Fucking tosser, how dare he fucking do this to his mum again! He yanked out his mum’s phone from his pocket with one hand, already reaching for his own and speed dialing with the other, reading the messages again against his better judgement.
After two rings an irritated sigh greeted him, “Eggsy, I told you-”
“It’s not about that,” he cut in, talking over Merlin before he could work up a full head of steam, “I need a favour.”
“If this favour is anything to do with work, I’m putting the phone down.”
“Fucksake, it’s not! It’s Mum. Dean’s been texting her, threatening her.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line before Merlin spoke again, the lightness in his voice barely concealing the core of steel in his words. “Has he now?” Eggsy heard the faint tap of a keyboard through the phone, “Well we’ll just have to do something about that, won’t we?”
The tightness in his chest loosened, relief so sudden that he had to let himself sit on the bottom stair. His breath wooshed out of him and he screwed his eyes shut against the banging in his head. “Thanks.”
“No need to thank me, my job is to clean up the shit from the swimming pool,” he said, letting Eggsy hear the razor sharp smile that accompanied the words. “Leave it with me, I’ll handle it.”
He hung up and dropped both phones on the stair beside him in order to busy his face in his hands. Could have done without this, he thought. A door opened upstairs and he looked up to see his mum’s face appear over the banister on the first landing, still pale but less afraid.
“Alright babe?”
Eggsy smiled up at her, “Yeah. Just sorting your phone out for you, blocking that number. I’ll leave it in the kitchen for you, yeah?”
Her lips twitched into a small smile and she nodded, “Alright. I’m gunna have that bath, then. Why don’t you take something for that headache and get yourself off to bed, love. I’ve got the baby monitor with me if Daisy fusses.”
“Thanks Mum.”
She wandered off towards the bathroom and Eggsy sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. Bed sounded like heaven to him. He shoved his hand into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out the bottle of pills he’d been given by the medics in the Infirmary, twisted the cap and tapped two out, dry swallowing them with a wince. He hoped they were as good as he’d been told they were, or he was going to have words with the medics. Strong words.
He collected the two phones as he stood, throwing his own back into his hoodie. He was going to unlock his mum’s phone to delete the messages, but found he didn’t need to. The phone was already unlocked and the messages were on the way to the void, courtesy of Merlin.
He grinned as he made his way to the kitchen. It was handy being a Spy.