Chapter Text
Eggsy paced nervously back and forth on the pavement, his movements twitchy and jittery as he kept glancing at the modest building across the street. Harry watched him with fond amusement, leaning casually against the wall behind him with his hands in his pockets.
“I’m not quite certain if you’ve noticed, but we’ve been standing here for the past,” he brought a hand up to look at his watch, “hour and a half. Hm, feels like longer,” Harry commented as he raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t start,” Eggsy warned him, practically determined to pace a hole in the ground. “It’s been over three years, I ain’t just waltzin’ back in there like nothin’ happened,” he argued again, bringing up the same points he’d been focused on for weeks. Bond and Q had nearly given up on him when he’d refused to budge.
Harry observed him curiously, his arms crossing over his chest. “I don’t understand; you’ll enter a room filled to the brim with people who want to kill you without any problem, but this in particular stalls you.”
“I’ll take the end of the world over this,” Eggsy grit out, his breathing patchy as he tried to calm himself down.
It was when Eggsy breaths began to stutter that Harry let himself intervene; he pushed himself away from the wall and stood in the middle of the younger man’s path, effectively forcing him to stop his incessant pacing. Eggsy looked up at him, his face flushing the way it did when he was close to having an anxiety attack, rare as they were. He only ever started panicking enough to merit an anxiety attack when the issue at hand was closely related to those he cared about most.
Harry reached out and placed his hands on the younger man’s shoulders, rubbing them gently. “We’ve spoken about this,” he reminded his lover gently as he stepped closer. “They will never turn you away.”
“What if that ain’t true?” Eggsy asked out of breath, his own hands coming up to clutch tightly at Harry’s forearms. “What if she ain’t wanna see me again?”
Harry smiled softly as he caught movement from the corner of his eye. “I think we both know that’s not a possibility.” He nodded his head to the side, waiting for Eggsy to turn and see why for himself.
There, standing at the entrance of a modest house that was bought by what was meant to be a mysterious benefactor – she had known from the beginning that Eggsy was the one behind the purchase – was Michelle Unwin, her features wide with surprise. “Eggsy?” she called out hesitantly, uncertain if the young man in the bespoke suit truly was her estranged son.
Harry could feel Eggsy panicking even more as he turned to face his mother for the first time since he’d left to join the Marines, tears falling down his face as he walked away from his family so that he could have the chance to give them a better life.
Michelle Unwin stared at them, the cars whizzing between them unnoticed. Eggsy stood frozen until he felt Harry nudge him slightly, pushing him forward.
“You can do this,” Harry encouraged him lovingly. “Think of it as another mission.”
“Righ’,” Eggsy nodded nervously. “Just another mission.” He took a deep breath and forced his legs to move in order to cross the road towards the shocked woman. He stopped hesitantly a few feet from the entrance, Harry a solid presence not far behind him. He swallowed harshly and greeted quietly, “Hey mum.”
Eggsy hadn’t known what to expect. Actually, that was a lie; he had expected to be slapped, to be yelled at, to be told to leave and never come back. He had expected things to unfold the way they had the first time he’d told her he had joined the Marines, young and determined to get his pregnant mother away from the scum of the earth that was Dean. What he hadn’t expected however was to suddenly find his arms full, his mother having jumped forward to hug him fiercely.
“Mum?” Eggsy gulped, his body frozen in shock.
“You stupid, stupid boy,” his mother sobbed loudly into his chest. “I never meant it, I never meant any of it! And then I couldn’t find you and you weren’t supposed to leave!”
Eggsy could feel the tears building up in his eyes, lifting his own arms to wrap them around his mother’s smaller trembling frame. “I missed you,” he whispered against her hair.
Harry watched the reunion from a few feet away, soft smile still on his face. He’d never had any doubt that Eggsy would be welcomed back with open arms. It had however taken a lot of effort on all of their parts to convince the younger man to come back. Watching the younger man’s growing happiness however, Harry would have it no other way.
Hours later, after Eggsy had sat down with his mother and finally met his half-sister for the first time, they found themselves in Harry’s office at the tailor shop, the younger man sitting on the desk and Harry on his chair facing him. They’d agreed to supper at his mother’s house the next day, tearful smiles on their faces as they said goodbye. Eggsy had avoided answering any questions that had to do with his time in the Marines and where he was now. Michelle however wasn’t stupid; she could tell that her son was involved in something even more dangerous now, just like she knew that the man at his side was much more than just a friend.
“That went rather well,” Harry commented as he rolled his chair closer, coming to a stop between the younger man’s legs. “You could have been reunited with your family earlier on had you listened to us,” he smirked as he rubbed Eggsy’s thighs affectionately, hands lingering.
“Oi you,” Eggsy shoved the other man away playfully before dragging him back even closer. “Thank you,” he sobered up, an honest expression on his face. “I don’t think I could’ve done this withou’ all of yous yellin’ at me.”
“Yes, I do think Bond and Q teaming up to make your life a virtual living hell was quite the encouragement,” Harry laughed softly.
“Now I see why Kingsman and MI6 never team up together,” Eggsy scoffed, a scowl on his face. “The world would implode. Already the five of you are impossible when put together. Rox was especially vicious; I still have bruises from the smack down she gave me.”
“Lancelot is one of our best operatives for a reason. We agreed that she was probably our best bet when it came to convincing you to stop acting like a child,” Harry confirmed lightly, half-heartedly avoiding the smack the other man tried to give him.
Eggsy was suddenly sliding off the desk and onto Harry’s lap, uncaring of the fact that they were in Harry’s office where anyone could walk in on them. “Are you sure ‘bout tha’, Arthur?” he teased as he wrapped his arms around the older man’s shoulders, his lips coming up to trail lovingly against Harry’s jawline.
“Mmm, maybe you can change my mind, Galahad,” Harry leaned back happily in his seat, his hands lifting to squeeze at Eggsy’s generous arse.
“Takin’ advantage of your knights, are you?” he smirked cheekily, rising on his knees slightly to press kisses all over Harry’s face, from his temple to the corner of his eyes. “That ain’t very professional there, boss. I ain’t gone and left MI6 so I can be treated like a boy toy, yeah?”
Harry’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. He grabbed Eggsy by the waist and held him close, breathing in the scent of him where his face was pressed into the younger’s man hard chest. “I love you,” he told him suddenly.
It wasn’t the first time he’d said those three words; they had come a long way in the past few months, and it hadn’t taken long for Harry to realise that the man he held in his arms was it for him. There would never be any other. Eggsy had pulled away from him after that first time, telling him he needed time to think and leaving abruptly after hastily getting dressed. Harry had swallowed back his worries and had gone against the instincts that urged him to hunt after his lover. His patience had paid off in the end as, three days later, Eggsy was back at his doorstep in the middle of the night, his expression frantic.
“I love you!” was the first thing past the younger man’s lips when Harry opened the door in surprise, head still groggy with sleep. “I love you and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, no matter how long or short that time ends up bein’. I just – I want –”
Harry pulled Eggsy into his arms and kissed him. The younger man didn’t need to explain; Harry himself had gone through a similar reaction when he’d noticed just how much Eggsy meant to him. It was dangerous in their line of work, to love another person so wholly and so strongly. Harry would destroy the world for his lover if he ever asked. Eggsy must have had the same realisation and subsequently panicked.
“I love you too,” the younger man whispered, bringing Harry out of his memories and back to the present. They were happy. They were more than happy.
They stayed that way for a while, wrapped up in each other and forgetting the rest of the world. The sound of the phone ringing forced them out of their bubble though, a sigh escaping Harry as the real world beckoned them.
Eggsy eyed the machine evilly, unhappy with the interruption. He saw the number flashing across the screen and answered, “You doin’ it on purpose then?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Merlin replied innocently. “I was merely calling my boss to let him know that the reports he asked for are finished and being sent his way.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell him. G’night Merlin!” He went to hang up, Merlin’s voice still floating through the phone.
“Don’t break the bloody chair again, for fuck’s sake!”
Eggsy broke out in laughter and hung up, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment as he remembered what happened last time.
“That was entirely your fault and I refuse to be blamed for it,” Harry remarked casually once his lover was focused on him again.
“Fuckin’ lies and you know it,” Eggsy leaned forward and captured the other man’s mouth in a bruising kiss, pulling back to bite at Harry’s lower lip in retaliation. “As I recall, you were quite happy and enthusiastic in the moment.”
“Pardon me for saying but it’s nearly impossible to be anything but happy around you,” Harry told him sincerely.
Eggsy leaned his forehead against his, a soft smile on his lips. “Likewise, old man.”