Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Merlin said you wanted to see me, sir?” Eggsy Unwin said to the head of the Kingsman as he entered the room.

“Sit down.” Arthur indicated the chair across from the one he sat in.

Eggsy sat down as Arthur looked down at the small dog at Eggsy’s feet. “Pretty dog. What's his name?”

Eggsy looked down at his dog as well, before answering Arthur. “JB.”

“As in James Bond?” Arthur questioned, unimpressed by the lack of uniqueness.

“No.” Eggsy answered, but didn’t give more information.

“Jason Bourne?” Arthur tried again.

Eggsy finally gave in. “No. Jack Bauer.”

“Oh.” Arthur paused. “Bravo. It pains me to admit it, Eggsy, but one day, you might be as good a spy as any of them.”

With that he pulled out a gun and pointed it at Eggsy, before offering it to him.”Take it.”

Eggsy warily took the gun.

“Shoot the dog.” Arthur told him, the genial tone gone from his voice.

Eggsy looked shocked and beyond dismayed, but he pointed the gun at JB. He continued to hesitate as JB stared back at him. He was supposed to shoot JB? His little dog? His friend? What psychos asked you to raise a dog from a puppy only to have you kill him? He shook his head in disagreement. He couldn’t do it.

“Give me the gun.” Arthur told him with disgust in his voice.

Eggsy pointed the gun at Arthur. For a hot moment it seemed like he was going to shoot the older man. But a gunshot rang out from next door and Arthur took the gun from Eggsy. ”At least the girl's got balls. Get out. I knew you couldn't make it. Go home.”

Eggsy stormed from the mansion, angry and disappointed. But worst of all? Embarrassed. There was a Kingsman cab waiting right in front of the main entrance as he left. He saw the keys were dangling from the ignition. Well, that was one way to get home.
~~~~~

Eggsy stood in his room looking in the mirror, back to wearing his own clothes, he smiled at J.B. when he heard the front door closing.

“Mom?” Eggsy called out as he walked out of his room, going to his mum for a big hug.

“Eggsy! Oh, God, where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you.” Michelle exclaimed as she kissed his cheek.

Eggsy then crouched down to look at his baby sister, chuffing her chin. He couldn’t believe how much the little girl had changed. She was a toddler! “Oh, my Dais, look how big you’ve grown!” He turned up to look back at his mother and his smile dropped as he noticed the big bruise on Michelle’s face. “Where is he?”

Michelle turned from her son, not wanting him to see the damage her husband had caused. “I’m fine. Eggsy, please, please, just don’t get involved!”

“Ma, I should never have left you on your own. This stops right now. I’ll be right back.” Eggsy turned to leave his mother and sister, furious that his sorry excuse for a step-father would dare to harm his mother this way.

“Eggsy!” Michelle called out, but it was no use when her son was this angry, she only hoped her husband didn’t put him in the hospital.

~~~~~
Eggsy drove the stolen Kingsman cab to the Black Prince, pulling alongside Dean and his thugs as they sat outside the pub drinking and chatting the shit like the arses they all were.

“Oi! Dean!” Eggsy called angrily out the window of the cab.

“Oh, Mugsy. So you’re back!” Dean looked amused as he eyed the car Eggsy drove. “What, you gone and nicked a fucking taxi now?”

“Yeah.” Eggsy agreed in a clipped tone, in no mood for his step-father’s bullshit. “Can I have a word about my mum’s black eye?”

“You want to have a word with me?” Dean scoffed at the younger man. “You get out of that cab, I’ll knock you straight back down on your fucking arse.”

All of Dean’s gang laughed.

Eggsy knew what that meant. If he got out now it would be all of them against him. He wasn’t going to have that. “Tell your muppets to go inside, then I’ll get out.”

Dean rolled his eyes, not believing Eggsy’s balls. But it didn’t matter, he didn’t need the boys. He could handle Mugsy all on his own. “Go on, lads. There’ll be two hits: me hitting him; him hitting the floor.”

All of Dean’s gang headed into the Black Prince

“Come on, then, you prick, let’s see what you got, eh? Want a bit of me?” Dean got up balling his fists, ready to knock Eggsy on his ass.

But suddenly the cab doors locked and the windows rolled up by themselves.

“What are you doing?” Dean accused, as the situation took a turn he wasn’t expecting.

“What the fuck?” Eggsy hollered in frustration as he was unable to reverse the actions the cab was taking.

“Get out of the fucking car!” Dean yelled at Eggsy, angry now that the muppet had the balls to come down to his pub and call him out in front of his boys, and was now leaving!

Eggsy tried everything he could to unlock the car. “No, no! Come on!”

Dean was so confused, he didn't have time for this shit. ”What are you doing?”

The cab then drove off by itself, a frustrated Eggsy turning red behind the wheel he wasn’t even touching.

“What are you doing, you mug! Go on! You got no bollocks!” Dean taunted his stepson as he drove off.

Eggsy was desperate to stop the cab. ”Come on, bruv, he hit my fucking mum!”

Dean waved the cab off with rude gestures. “Come back when you’ve grown a pair! Mugsy!”

Eggsy was FURIOUS but trapped as the cab took him to Harry’s place in the mews. He arrived to find Harry was watching him over a tablet; seemingly guiding the cab with it.

Eggsy stormed into the house as Harry came down the stairs.

“You throw away your biggest opportunity over a fucking dog. And then you humiliate me by stealing my boss’s car.” Harry’s tone was one Eggsy hadn’t heard from the man yet. The controlled anger and disappointment was hard to stay strong under.

“You shot a dog just to get a fucking job!” But Eggsy was willing to try his hardest. He was upset about Kingsman. Upset about his mum. Upset about being humiliated in front of Dean. He wasn’t going to just let Harry get him too.

“Yes, I did.” Harry dramatically threw open the door to the downstairs loo to show Eggsy a stuffed dog hanging on the wall in the bathroom. “And Mr. Pickle here reminds me of that every time I take a shit.

Eggsy stared at the taxidermied dog in astonishment. “You shot your dog and had it stuffed? You fucking freak!”

Harry didn’t miss a beat. “No, I shot my dog, and then I brought him home and continued to care for him for the next 11 years until he died of pancreatitis.”

“What?!?” Confusion was joining all of Eggsy’s other roiling emotions.

Harry stared down at Eggsy. There was disappointment, anger, and a hint of disgust in his expression. “ It was a blank, Eggsy. It was a fucking blank. Remember Amelia?”

Eggsy was so lost, what did the poor girl from their first trial have to do with shooting his dog? “Yeah.”

“She didn’t drown. She works in our tech department in Berlin; she’s fine. Limits must be tested. A Kingsman only condones the risking of a life to save another.” Harry explained.

Eggsy had hit his limit and beyond. He was past reason and ready to explode. “Like my dad saved your life even though your fuck-up cost his. Or have you got him stuffed here and all?”

“Can’t you see that everything I’ve done has been about trying to repay him?” Harry said like he was talking to the world’s biggest simpleton.

Harry’s glasses beeped and he hushed Eggsy to have a quick conversation with Merlin, asking him to get the plane ready and telling him he would be right in. He took off his glasses to stare at Eggsy again.

Eggsy was feeling an overwhelming sense of remorse. He was still angry, still thought he was in the right for all of this shit. But watching Harry plan his mission reminded him of everything he had just lost. “Harry, I’m so sorry. I’m gonna do ev…”

Harry whirled on him as he gathered what he would need to leave for headquarters. “You should be. You just stay right there. I’ll sort this mess out when I get back.”

Eggsy watched Harry turn from angry parent to active agent in a mere heartbeat. The man grabbed a few items, including the cab’s keys from Eggsy and left the house. Eggsy was left standing there like a sad dog, of all ironic things. He had no idea how long he would be there on his own. He putzed around the house for a little before the lure of the red office called to him.

Eggsy walked around Harry’s office reading all of the Sun’s covers and daydreaming about what the missions could have been. He had gotten through about a half of them when a pinging noise on Harry’s computer drew his attention. He sat down behind the desk and opened up the laptop.

It took Eggsy a minute to acclimate to what he was seeing. The footage was coming at him from an awkward angle, not like someone would normally hold a camera or smartphone at all. It was like they were holding the recorder at their eye line. That was when it dawned on him. He was watching Kingsman glasses footage.

Harry’s Kingsman glasses footage!

Eggsy got comfortable and watched Harry leave the plane and make his way to the South Glade Mission Church. The church service was uncomfortable as hell. Eggsy didn’t know how Harry was sitting there listening to all that bullshit without completely losing his cool. As little as he knew about Harry Hart, he just knew the man wasn’t okay with all that hatred. It was actually a relief when Harry stood to leave because it meant he didn’t have to listen anymore either. And that comeback to that witch was epic, Eggsy knew he had been right, Harry was no more a supporter of their bigoted filth than he was.

But then all hell broke loose. One minute Harry was looking super smooth, telling those freaks off… and then there was some kind of ear piercing alarm going off and he shot that damn blonde witch in the head!

What the fuck? “Holy fuck!!”

And then the whole church erupted in violence!

What had been an impassioned crowd turned into a bloodthirsty crowd!

Eggsy watched 3 and a half minutes of the most violence he had ever seen, including every movie he had ever watched. It was intense. And Harry was the cause of most of the brutal deaths. Not that the congregation wasn’t giving it their all as well. He just watched one of them stab another in the head. “Geez, fuck!!”

But still it was nothing compared to what Harry could do. He was leaping furniture, firing guns, avoiding retaliatory attacks with flips and turns he made with ease. If it wasn’t such a serious situation Eggsy would have been dead impressed. But then Harry skewered 3 people with one pole and he knew this wasn’t right. He even heard Merlin over the com asking what was going on, they just couldn’t explain it! “Fuck!”

Then it was over. And Harry stood there victorious. Literal last man standing. Eggsy could see the confusion and devastation the man felt as he viewed the carnage in front of him… the carnage he had caused.

Eggsy kept watching as Harry walked out of the church and came face to face with Richmond Valentine and his sidekick Gazelle.

“What did you do to me? I had no control. I killed all those people. I wanted to.” Harry asked, his exhaustion and hesitation evident as he faced off against Valentine.

Valentine smirked at Harry, preening like the proud peacock he was. “Clever, isn’t it? In simple terms, it’s a neurological wave that triggers the centers of aggression and switches off inhibitors.”

“Transmitted through your nasty, free SIM cards, I assume.” Harry made sure to keep Valentine talking as he mentally flicked through everything he had available to survive this encounter.

Valentine walked closer to Harry, completely convinced he had the upper hand. “Do you know what this is like? It’s like those old movies we both love. Now I’m gonna tell you my whole plan, and then I’m gonna come up with some absurd and convoluted way to kill you, and you’ll find an equally convoluted way to escape.”

Harry tensed, ready to spring at the first move of his adversary. “Sounds good to me.”

“Well, this ain’t that kind of movie.” Valentine took out a gun and held it at Harry, appearing to be aiming for the head, but he was looking away as he did, messing with his aim.

And that was when Harry pounced. Despite the intense fight he had just experienced, he was still able to avoid Valentine’s shot. He bent and lurched, spinning around and grabbing the gun from the other man. He grabbed the gun from Valentine’s hand and immediately put one bullet right between his eyes. Harry dropped low, crouching to avoid the shots from the two goons that were with Valentine and Gazelle. He made them his next priority, using the last two bullets in the gun to take them out. He threw the useless weapon, dodging the attack from Gazelle as she came flying at him.

The next few moments were ones of brutal hand to hand with the double amputee. She was near his equal in this type of fighting. But Harry had age and experience on his side. He took mental notes of her moves as the two battled, catching patterns and nuances. To the point that the next time she pulled up a forearm to bring an elbow his way, Harry was able to click his heels together and slice her skin with the blade in his oxford.

She was dead thirty seconds later.

Panting, Harry touched the side of his Kingsman glasses. “Merlin.Tell me backup is on the way.”

~~~~~

Hours and hours and hours later, Harry was almost home. Percival had joined him and they had searched for any other operatives of Valentine’s, taking out another squad guarding the equipment at the house. They gathered all of the equipment to bring back to Merlin and his crew to analyze and do with what they would. The wizard was confident he could prevent any further attacks if he had the equipment in house, so that he could study the wavelengths and frequencies. Merlin had already sent out a worldwide warning about the sim cards, urging all governing bodies to be prepared and how to handle the situation of destroying them all.

Harry and Percival had to deal with the local law enforcement about the scene at the church, but were able to spin it, so that Valentine and his group were accused as they should be, and Harry’s involvement was as covered up as it could be. It was a long, drawn out process, with many phone calls and much paperwork.

And when he returned to Kingman headquarters, it started all over again with interrogations and much, much more paperwork.

Eggsy watched almost all of this through the feed that played on Harry’s computer. He only left when it was obvious Harry was on the way back to his house. It felt like it had been years! But in reality had only been a little over 26 hours. Eggsy’s stomach growled and he realized he hadn’t eaten that whole time, concerned more with Harry’s survival than with any need of his own. He realized he hadn’t seen Harry eat anything either. Water, tea, and a very full scotch had all been forced on the man, but nothing that resembled food.

Eggsy ran downstairs to Harry’s kitchen and started flinging open cabinets and the fridge. There really wasn’t much to work with. He ended up grilling some cheese toasties with ham and an egg in the middle and heating up a few tins of tomato soup. He made a pot of tea and shook a few martini’s using the recipe Harry had only just taught him. Miraculously he had just finished the whole set up when the front door opened and Harry walked in.

“What smells so good?” The man asked as he walked towards the kitchen.

“Just soup and sandwiches.” Eggsy responded, looking Harry over. The man looked like a drowned rat. Or maybe a horse rode hard and put away wet. Or a wrung out rag? Eggsy was running out of metaphors and he hurried over to Harry and helped him out of his suit jacket. “Here, let me take that. Do you need to wash up? Or I can bring the food right out? I bet you’re starving.”

Harry let Eggsy maneuver him out of his suit jacket, watching as the young man draped it over one of the dining room chairs. He sat himself in one of the spots Eggsy had set and practically dissolved into a puddle of exhaustion right there.

Eggsy rushed to get the food and put it in front of Harry. “I didn’t know what you’d want to drink. I’ve got tea or I made you a proper martini or I can get water or….”

Harry reached out his left hand to put it on Eggsy’s arm to stop his rambling, as he picked up one of the sandwiches and took a huge bite of it. “Both, all. Just bring out what you have, I’ll take it.” He responded around his mouthful. He knew he wasn’t exactly being a gentleman at the moment and he couldn’t care. It had been a day.

Eggsy shut his mouth and returned to the kitchen for the soup and the drinks. He put it all in front of Harry and waited until the man was on his second sandwich and halfway through a bowl of soup before taking his own. They ate in silence that was neither companionable nor uncomfortable. Just silent.

When Harry had finally eaten his full, he looked at Eggsy and sighed wearily. “Thank you for this Eggsy. I know we have a lot to talk about, but I am exhausted. I hope you can wait for our conversation until after I have slept.”

Eggsy bounded up, starting to gather the dishes and clear the table. “Of course! Go! Go sleep. I’ll clean up all of this and do the dishes.”

“Thank you son.” Harry said as he stood, leaving the kitchen, and trudging up the stairs. “Help yourself to the guest room again. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Harry, get some sleep.” Eggsy called after the man, worried about how weary he seemed.

Eggsy cleared the table and did the dishes, before making his way up to the guest room he had used the last time he had stayed the night. Once he had cleaned the kitchen, he realized how tired he was as well. He took care of his normal nightly ablutions and crawled into the guest bed for his own night’s sleep.

Eggsy wasn’t sure how long he was asleep before screams woke him up. “Dammit Digby!” He turned over fully prepared to put his pillow over his head as their bunkmate suffered through another night terror. But then the sleepy fog cleared a little and he remembered they weren’t living in the bunks anymore. The trials for the position of Lancelot were over. Digby had lost and was gone. Just like he was. Roxy was Lancelot. His heart hurt remembering.

So if it wasn’t Digby screaming, who was it?

Eggsy heard it again and recognized the voice as Harry’s. He went running, worried that the man was somehow under attack. The door to the man’s bedroom was shut and Eggsy knew he shouldn’t just barge in, but he heard a low moan and what might have a whimper. That was more than enough for Eggsy to break all rules of decorum that Harry had taught him. He busted in just in time to see Harry launch himself out of bed and dive into his ensuite.

The man was throwing up all the food Eggsy had cooked for him by the time Eggsy was at his side. Oh fuck! Had he given Harry food poisoning? He felt fine! And he had eaten the exact same food. “You okay Harry? What’s wrong? Do you need medical?” What if he was more injured from the mission than they had thought? Could it be internal bleeding? Something bruised and broken deep inside him?

“Nightmare. Just a nightmare.” Harry choked out as his spewing slowed down. “You can go back to bed Eggsy, I’m fine.”

Eggsy didn’t listen of course. He brushed Harry’s hair back from his forehead as the man sagged over loo. He was warm and clammy, but not overly so, so the nightmare excuse held up. Eggsy grabbed a clean flannel from Harry’s linen closet and ran it under the cold water of the tap. He used it to wipe the sweat and other bits from Harry’s face before running it under the cool water again. When it was clean he put it on the back on Harry’s neck. He took the cup next to Harry’s toothbrush holder and filled that with cool water, handing it to Harry. “Here. Swish and spit.”

Harry did, handing the cup back to Eggsy and sitting down on the bathroom floor. He took the flannel from the back of his neck and used it to wipe at his brow before throwing it to his laundry basket. “You don’t listen do you Eggsy?”

Eggsy tried not to take it personal as he shrugged at the man.

“Go back to bed Eggsy.” Harry instructed, struggling to his feet.

Eggsy assisted Harry in standing. “Are you sure? I can stay and…”

Once standing steady Harry placed a heavy hand on Eggsy’s shoulder. “I don’t need you watching over me as I sleep. I appreciate you worrying about me. But nightmares are part of the job. I’m used to them. I’ll be back to sleep in no time. And I want more sleep.”

Eggsy took him at his word and left the room, wishing he could do more to ease that haunted look from Harry’s eyes. He did not fall back asleep as easily as the other man did.

~~~~~

It was 1:00 pm when Harry and Eggsy got up the next day. They were fairly non-verbal as they danced around each other, making coffee and toast in Harry’s small kitchen. They sat together and ate their simple meal before they woke enough to start discussing what they needed to discuss.

Eggsy started. “What did you mean when you said you would sort out my mess when you got back?”

Harry sat back in his dining chair, scooting back enough to rest one leg over the other, as he leisurely sipped his third cup of coffee. “You blew your chance to be a Kingsman agent.”

Eggsy sat up like he’d been shot in the butt with a B.B. gun. “What? But I thought you said that you would fix…”

Harry held up a hand, stopping Eggsy’s frantic retort. “I said I would sort out this mess, I did not say anything about you still being a Kingsman agent.”

Eggsy looked ready to start throwing a fit. So Harry continued on without a pause. “However, that does not mean that we will throw you on the street like so much waste.You have options.”

“Options?” Eggsy had absolutely no idea what Harry was talking about. “Merlin always made it sound like you would have to kill us if we didn’t make it as Lancelot.”

“Merlin likes the dramatics during the trials.” Harry rolled his eyes. “But you won’t be tranqed and fed to the lions. The candidates who wash out early are sent home with an ironclad NDA. But those of you that end up in the finals are offered positions as long as you didn’t fail the confidentiality trial like Charlie did.”

Eggsy slumped back in his chair in shock. “So I… I might still be able to work for Kingsman? Just not as an agent?”

“For Kingsman or one of our affiliated organizations. We have our fingers in a lot of pies.” Harry explained. “All I need to do is pull up the list of open positions and find what might work out best for you. Now nothing pays like an agent does. Or has all the perks that an agent does. But we can find you something you will enjoy that will keep you gainfully employed and quite comfortable for as long as you stay at it.”

Eggsy was still staring at Harry like the man had just confessed he was Father Christmas. And had a way to prove it.

Harry leaned forward and placed his coffee cup on his saucer. “I would also like to discuss getting your mother and sister away from your step-father. I believe some of our analysts have found enough dirt on the vile man and some proper law enforcement with a bendable ear to put the man away for the rest of his life. I want to help you set up a better place for the 3 of you to live. So you can all have a better life.”

Eggsy started shaking his head at that. He’d take the job. Absolutely. But he couldn’t let Harry just hand over a new place for him and his girls to live. It wasn’t right. He had a small bit of pride after all.

“Don’t argue with me Eggsy. It’s what Kingsman should have for you and your mother 17 years ago.” Harry stared him down. “Don’t you dare argue. I have more money than I could spend in a dozen lifetimes. Helping you put a downpayment and a few months mortgage on a proper place until you are fully established in your new job, whatever it ends up being, won’t even be a drop in the bucket. So you’re going to accept it. Dean and his goons will no longer bother you and your family. Do it for your mother. Do it for your little sister.”

Eggsy couldn’t argue with logic like that. He felt his eyes welling with emotion and fought like hell not to cry all over Harry.

Harry lowered his gaze, giving Eggsy a moment to compose himself. He took Eggsy’s reaction as his acquiescence to the plan. He picked up his tablet as a distraction and started typing away, looking for the list of opened positions across all of Kingsman and it’s affiliated businesses.

The list wasn’t as big as he would have liked. But when he had looked it over two days ago, while Eggsy was stealing Arthur’s cab, there had been two or three things he thought were good for Eggsy. And the last 12 hours had narrowed that down to one he thought would be perfect for Eggsy.

“So tell me.” Harry began. “As for careers still in Kingsman, there is a position in transcription. These are the people who listened to all the activity on the Kingsman glasses and type all of it into the system verbatim. Does that sound like something you’d be interested in?”

Right now the last thing Eggsy wanted to be was disrespectful. But no, that job did not sound like he would be interested in at ALL. “Well, I supposed I could learn to…”

Harry chuckled at Eggsy's attempt to be polite. “Enough! Enough! It’s obviously not a good fit! Stop trying to be nice. We’re trying to find you a career. Something you can do for the rest of your life. Or at least for a good long time. It’s not the time to try and be political. Tell me how you feel. I want your real opinion.”

Eggsy turned a little pink, but nodded in agreement.

“The only other position at Kingsman proper, is in the actual Tailor shop. And I hope you don’t take offense at this, but Andrew has asked that I encourage you to take another position.” Harry said as gently as he could.

“What? Why?” Eggsy had only met Andrew twice and couldn’t imagine what he had done to make the man dislike him.

“He thinks you’re a perfectly fine young man, but he believes that your fashion tastes and that of the Tailor shop do not meld well for a harmonious setting.” Harry explained.

Eggsy gave Harry an impudent look. “He doesn’t like my style? Fine. Didn’t want to be no tailor anyway. What’re the other jobs then? At the other places?”

Harry smiled at Eggsy’s attempt to act like Andrew’s opinion didn’t wound him a little. He put down the tablet and settled back in his chair again. “I noticed during your time amid the trials for the position of Lancelot and our past day or so here at my house that you like to take care of people. Would you say that’s true?”

Eggsy shrugged, but nodded at Harry. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. Mean I’ve always taken care of
me mum. And then when Daisy came around her too.”

“You took care of Roxy when she was afraid to jump from the airplane. And you did an excellent job of taking care of me when I came home from my mission. I think you have quite a knack for it if you ask me.” Harry folded his hands together under his chin, drawing out the anticipation a little. He was quite proud of this idea. He thought he had found something that Eggsy would really excel at. “There is a very specialized company that is owned by Kingsman. The agents and other higher ups use them, along with celebrities, royalty, and many others who can afford the specialized service.”

Eggsy was listening closely, obviously interested in hearing more.

“So tell me Eggsy, have you ever thought about becoming a Service Sub?”

Chapter Text

9 Months Later

Eggsy was at home, having just finished two weeks with his latest client, and was unpacking his bags. After a hectic 9 months he finally had a few days to himself and he was looking forward to a little rest and a chance to catch his breath.

His newest best friend, Roxy lay on his bed watching him throw his dirty clothes in the laundry basket and put away his toiletries in his bathroom. There were many highlights to his new job, but finding out that he could still socialize with the young woman he had become so close to during his training (and subsequent failure) to become a Kingsman agent was definitely one of the best. Dean’s arrest and his mum’s freedom were the only things that could beat it.

They hadn’t seen each other much during Eggsy’s 6 months of training at the base of operations for Kingman’s branch of business that had absolutely nothing to do with supplying the world with secret agents to save the day and much more to do with the training and supply of service subs and service tops to the elite members of the world who found themselves in need of such a thing. Eggsy had trained for his 6 months and was now a certified Service Submissive for Sword of the Stone Service.

When he had gotten out of training the first thing he had done was experience the absolute joy of moving his mother, Michelle and his sister, Daisy out of the council flat they had lived in for so long and into a fantastic 3 bedroom one that was in an amazing neighborhood with top rated schools. Originally he had planned to live with them. But he quickly found that after living at home into his twenties, then immediately spending a year in training with 9 other people who you had to share every little space with, then immediately after that spending 6 months in training where your trainers popped in at any moment and treated you like you had no need for privacy.... Well Eggsy was really excited to have some space to himself. It meant he didn’t get to put quite as much of his salary into savings, but his quaint and comfortable one bedroom flat was all his and he really liked that.

Eggsy finished the last of his tasks and flopped down on the bed next to Roxy. He could have put off the chores, but the last 6 months had ingrained into him the want and need to keep things tidy and not to put off anything that could be done right then. He rolled towards his friend and tapped her glasses. “So tell me what’s up Lancelot, how’s life as a knight?”

Roxy batted his hand away. “Oh no, no, no! You know way too much about what life as a knight is like! I’ve been asking for weeks and weeks to hear about what you are doing now and I expect to finally get some answers!”

Eggsy chuckled at her. It was true. He had barely been able to say ‘hey’ to her during his training and afterwards he was busy moving his mum and Daisy into their new place, getting his own place settled… And then after he was free, she was sent away on her first long term mission and was gone for weeks while he was getting used to his new job. “Alright! Alright! Ask away!”

Roxy threw her arms in the air, barely missing his face, and made an exasperated noise at him. “Tell me EVERYTHING! I barely know what you’re doing! I don’t know what your training was like! I don’t know what you’ve been doing since your training has completed! Tell me everything!”

Eggsy took his turn to swat at her, moving back a little in case she decided to throw her arms around again. “Well you know WHERE I am working, right? I told you that.”

Roxy gave him dagger eyes. “Sure and that told me SO much!” Sarcasm was one of the things they had in common and abundance. “Sword of the Stone Service? You said it was a Kingsman owned business. But when I asked Uncle Oliver about it he shushed me and twirled around like a ballerina making sure no one heard us. I swear I didn’t think the great Agent Percival could blush like that. And it made no sense! Sword in the Stone? I mean you have to be making our weapons, right? The knife and blade ones? Not the fancy tech Merlin’s people do. Like a bladesmith? Why would that be hush-hush?”

Eggsy dissolved into heavy laughter at the thought of him working metal over fire to make blades. “Nope! Not even close!”

Roxy was getting even more frustrated and smacked him again. “Tell me!”

“Can’t!” Eggsy wheezed out. He had tears starting to roll down his cheeks from the amusement. “Gotta stop laughing!”

Roxy hit him once more, but gave him time to settle back down.

“I’m a service sub.” Eggsy finally was able to make out, lying on his side and propping his head up in his hand to face Roxy.

She mirrored his pose, but looked confused. “A what?”

Eggsy was surprised that someone as worldly and knowledgeable as Roxy wasn’t familiar with the concept right off the bat. “A submissive. Someone ready to conform to the authority or will of others. Someone who finds joy in conforming to the will of others. Which is me. Harry saw it in me and Service of the Stone nurtured it and helped it blossom until I was able to do it as a career. I know you’ve heard of submissive and dominants! I’m just a person who offers their submission in the style of service instead of sexuality. Not that it can’t be sexual. Sometimes some of it is BDSM play. But it’s more the kind of thing where I cook and clean and take care of the person emotionally and benevolently.”

Roxy still didn’t look like she was completely getting it. “So what; you’re like a kinky maid?” She was definitely picturing him in a french maid costume and nothing else.

Eggsy could read her vision loud and clear and replied with an exaggerated bitch face, lips pursed in distaste. “No. It’s more than that. I offer massage, valet assistance, chauffeuring service, yes. But quite often the person I am hired by is recovering from an injury and I make sure they stick to their doctor’s orders.”

Roxy was trying to get it, she really was. But there were so many different ideas going through her head and none of it was exactly clicking with what she knew about Kingsman interests and holdings. “So you’re a live in aide? A home nurse?”

Eggsy rolled his eyes, but tried to cut his friend some slack. That was a common assumption by people who weren’t familiar with Service of the Stone. “Not exactly. Think of all that… but kinkier. People who hire the service tend to want to be able to do away with the pleasantries. To boss me around. To know no matter what they say, their orders are going to be obeyed immediately. We’re trained to accept almost any kind of verbal treatment.”

“That sounds awful!” Roxy exclaimed, looking appalled on behalf of her friend. “Who would want you to do that kind of thing?”

“Oh I'm sure you wouldn’t be surprised!” Eggsy insisted. “The usual. People in high up, important jobs who don’t want anyone questioning their demands when they get home either. Diplomats. Politicians. Celebrities. Royalty. Kingsman knights.”

“No!” Roxy’s eyes were so wide they were comical.

“Oh yes. I’ve been hired by agents more than anything else. I get requested often not only for my skills but because I have more of an understanding of what the knights go through.” Eggsy enjoyed dropping that bit of info on her. She was going to find that out at some point and he was glad to be the one to tell her. “The client I just got back from was an agent.”

“No fucking way…” Roxy’s denial trailed as Eggsy watched the gears turn in her head. Her eyes went wide again and she gave him a huge smile. “Who was it? You have to tell me!”

Eggsy cocked his head cheekily and rolled his eyes at Roxy. “You know I can’t do that. Even if it wasn’t against my own code of ethics, it’s definitely against my contract. Client confidentiality is a huge thing. They must have covered that every day for the 6 months of training.”

Roxy was just staring at him wide eyed, doing everything she could to make her brain wrap around the info that Eggsy was giving her. “I’m just… It’s like… What the fuck Eggsy! What do you do for the agents?”

“Like I told you! The same I do for any other client. I cook, I clean, I take care of the house, I take care of them. I learned massage and acupuncture to help with injuries and stress. Can it be sexual? Not all the time. But yeah, sometimes. You Kingsman knights especially have all sorts of kinks you like to act out when you have the down time and someone who won’t say no.” Eggsy laughed.

Roxy shot up from her laying position to kneel in front of Eggsy. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “You can’t say no?? Eggsy! That’s awful! That’s not right at all! You should ALWAYS have the option to say no!”

Eggsy wanted to groan. That was not what he wanted her to take from that. Of course she would immediately be worried about him. He grabbed her hands from his shoulders and held them. “No Rox, it’s not like that. I don't WANT to say no to what they're telling me to do. That’s the point. I LIKE being told what to do. I LIKE the things they are telling me to do. I REALLY like it.”

Roxy sat back and was still looking far from convinced and worried about her friend. “What if they hurt you? Or tell you to do something illegal?” She trusted her fellow agents of course, but she sure as shit didn’t trust the rest of the world!

Eggsy softened at her concern. It warmed his heart that she was so worried about him. “There are safeguards. It’s just like any other Kingsman enterprise; someone is always listening.” Eggsy didn’t envy the guys and gals who had that job. Listening to HOURS of monotonous housework and boring day to day normality peppered with moments of kinky sex, spanking, or bondage. “I have a safeword specifically for Sword in the Stone. If I say it when I am with a client, they know I need to be extracted. It’s different from the safeword I use with a client, more of a last resort if the client isn't respecting my limits and isn’t listening to my normal safeword.”

Roxy’s jaw had completely dropped. “Safewords? Limits? I… Wha…”

Allright, teaching moment here. “Every Service Sub who works for Sword in the Stone has a list of items that outline what they will and won’t do. The things they won’t do are limits. When a client requests something that the service sub isn’t comfortable with, the service sub uses his safeword. The client is made aware of the service sub’s safeword before the two meet. And if a client doesn’t respect a limit and pushes, the service sub needs to use his special rescue safeword to let the people at Sword in the Stone know he needs help.”

Roxy was slowly shaking her head. “This all sounds really complicated. How does the Sword in the Stone know which service sub to set up with which client? How can they be sure a client will be able to get what they need out of a sub?”

“Every service sub that works for Sword in the Stone has a portfolio. The portfolio covers everything. They are exhaustively in depth. Who we are, our stats, our descriptions.What skills we have, our specialties. But also what we won’t do, what we aren’t comfortable with, what we won’t do. There’s also pictures so they can see what we look like. And our safewords so they know ahead of time. Clients can view a database full of our portfolios and pick who they think will best suit their needs. And if Sword in the Stone agrees, they set up the appointment.”

“Wow.” Roxy was still just staring at him, but she no longer seemed as confused by it all as she had. “It's not anything I would have ever pictured you doing. But it’s really starting to make sense. I mean you always were either being a momma bear or a wanton slut during training. Seems like the perfect place for you!”

Eggsy gasped playfully and struck her arm. “I was not a momma bear!”

It was Roxy’s turn to start laughing uncontrollably. “That’s the one that upset you? Not being called a whore?”

Eggsy shrugged and gave her a wink. “I guess there's no denying I always enjoyed anything and everything sexual. I was really excited when Harry told me about Sword in the Stone. Making sex into a career seemed like a dream come true. But about half way through training, when I was giving what I was sure what my ten thousandth bout of oral sex, I was ready to become celibate for the rest of my life!”

Roxy continued to guffaw. “You? Celibate? Now that’s funny!”

Eggsy laughed too. “Believe it or not, even I can get tired of sticking my tongue in adventurous places! But that was just training. Once training was over people stopped asking me to drop to my knees and pleasure them a dozen times a day.”

Roxy was getting control of her laughter but was still giving him the cheekiest of grins. “Sounds just AWFUL!”

Eggsy stuck out his tongue. “If it had only been about sexual gratifications, it might not have been, but so much of it was just learning to obey. Just as often we were asked to make tea, or fix a sandwich. Stop what we were doing and see to someone else’s needs. It’s a very immersive way to learn the job. And it doesn't stop with training. We get quarterly assessments to make sure we are keeping up with our skills and remembering to follow protocol. And they keep a constant eye on our health record and our legal record. It’s all really professional.”

“I’m still just amazed!” Roxy exclaimed. “And now I want to know all the details of your last mission even more!”

Eggsy gave another eye roll. “I’m not saying who it was! But I’ll just say it was an injured agent, who needed some support as he was healing enough to take care of himself.”

The wheels were turning in Roxy’s brain as she thought over the local knights who were currently off roster because of injury. When it dawned on her whom it was, she turned a little green. “Oh my good, it was Percival! You were with my Uncle Oliver!”

Eggsy gave her a knowing smile but didn't confirm or deny what she had said.

“But I stopped by at least 3 times last week to check on him once I got back from my mission and found out he had been injured. You weren’t there!” Roxy volleyed back, accusingly.

“Still not saying he was my client, but I will tell you, that often, clients don't want their friends or family to know they've hired me and ask me to stay out of the way when there are visitors.” Eggsy supplied.

Roxy gave him an annoyed look. “Oh you little shit. Alright! Even if you won’t say it… even though YOU KNOW I would NEVER betray your confidence because I’m the good friend in this relationship… just tell me one juicy thing… one bit of scandalous gossip to get me by. I promise it will go to the grave with me, I’ll never blab.”

Eggsy's hand went to his chin. He knew she was right, she would never share what he told her. But Percival also expected him to keep his secrets and that part of the job was important to Eggsy. There had to be something he could give Roxy though… maybe something that would keep her from prying in the future?

“Still not saying who it was…” Eggsy held a hand up to stop Roxy’s groan at his repeated denial. “But I will tell you the client was pretty vanilla, mostly just helping him out around the house and all because of his injuries. However! He did like me to be close at hand, especially at night, in case he needed me. He made me sleep in a dog bed at the foot of his own luxurious four poster, so I’d be at his beck and call. I'm pretty sure if he hired me while he was well, there would be puppy play involved. Not my favorite, but as long as he doesn’t make me water the lawn instead of use the loo, I’ll play along.”

All the color drained from Roxy’s face and Eggsy was afraid for a moment she was going to faint. He even reached out to catch her, but she got a grip and swatted at his hands. “You did that on purpose! Ew! Alright! Alright! I won't press for details about my fellow knights ever again. I did not need to know that!!

Eggsy chuckled for a few moments but let her get over that disturbing image of her favorite relative and fellow agent.

Finally Roxy shook herself and changed the subject. “So what do you think about all of this going on with that Poppy business?”

Eggsy had been following some of the news about the Adams lady’s nefarious plan. He’d even been bugging Harry for more info. “It’s ridiculous. Two of my friends are affected. Is Kingsman close to doing something about it?”

Roxy shook her head in the affirmative. “Harry and Merlin are currently on a mission to confront her, but you didn’t hear that from me.” Tit for tat. Eggsy did tell her about Uncle Oliver afterall, even if it turned out she really didn't want to know.

“Hmm…” Eggsy mused, eyes unfocused, mind off the present. “Merlin in the field, now that would be something to see.”

----------------
Poppy Land, Cambodia

“He’s ALIVE! Oh my God! Someone get the medic! Merlin’s still alive!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Eggsy paced back and forth in the medical wing of the Kingsman mansion, waiting for Harry to finish his conversation with the doctor he was currently conversing with so agitatedly.

Not that Eggsy could blame him, the man was obviously worried about his friend and coworker. Eggsy had noticed during his training and since then how close Harry and Merlin were.

Merlin, the man who had been a constant presence during his training to become Lancelot. The man who had not changed his behavior towards Eggsy even after he had failed out of training, unlike so many of the other people at Kingsman… not the ones who were his clients of course, but that was a whole different kettle of fish.

Merlin the trainer. Merlin the quartermaster.

Kingsman’s Merlin was in bad shape.

Merlin had stepped on a landmine in Cambodia.

Or technically, Harry had stepped on a landmine in Cambodia and due to some quick thinking on Merlin’s behalf the quartermaster had transferred Merlin’s own foot to replace Harry’s. He told Harry that he was more essential to the mission than he was and if someone needed to be sacrificed, it should be Merlin.

But Merlin’s noble sacrifice had not gone exactly like he had thought it would.

When he had stepped off the landmine, successfully blowing up the enemy along with himself as he had planned, he had a moment of extraordinary luck. Maybe it was due to his athleticism, maybe it was the fact he was in fantastic shape, but he managed to twist as he was thrown.
That simple move spared his life.

Not that Merlin was off scot free.

He still had suffered a fairly serious concussion, a broken left arm, cracked ribs, and many, many dislocated joints and contusions. But that wasn’t the worst part. He had been spared his life, but he had lost his legs. Both legs had been blown off above the knee and there had been no chance of reattaching.

But he was alive. Alive and back home with Kingsman for the past month.

There had been surgery to repair his joints and his arm was in a cast. His head was healing and what was left of his legs had been patched up and secured.

In reality, a month into his convalescence, with the help of the rehabilitation team, Merlin should be well on his way to regaining most of his former life.

There were going to be changes. Of course there would. Merlin’s life was NEVER going to be EXACTLY like it was before. He wasn’t going to be able to walk and run like he used to, but the medical team and the research and development department had all promised him that they would look into all sorts of different kinds of prosthesis for him once he was healed enough to try them.

Merlin’s modern, industrial flat with the open air loft he loved so much, would need some adaptations. But once again, the R&D department was excitedly designing all sorts of gadgets and gear they thought their leader would be able to use to make his life easier.

All sorts of plans were in the mix to assist Merlin into his new life. But he still had a lot of healing to do. The major issues had been dealt with, but bruises were still fading, bones were still knitting, neural impairments were still healing, and lacerations still had scabs.

He was stuck at medical even though he was no longer hooked up to IVs and catheters, because he wasn’t yet at a point where he could completely take care of himself yet.

Merlin still needed help getting in and out of the wheelchair, even though he was getting better at transitions from certain surfaces like the couch or armchair. But getting into bed or the bath was still a challenge with the broken arm. And he certainly wasn't up to cooking for himself or doing laundry. And forget about running the vacuum or handling his own wound care.

He needed someone to help him.

Not that he was willing to admit to that at the moment, because Merlin was taking his stubborn nature to a whole new level.

Merlin wanted to go home. Alone.

Merlin didn’t want a nurse going home with him.

Merlin didn’t want an aide taking care of him.

Merlin just wanted to be left alone to rot.

And no one at Kingsman was very happy about that. And they definitely weren’t willing to let it happen. So they were doing everything they could to help their Quartermaster.

The Kingsman psychiatric staff said he was depressed, despondent, maybe even mildly suicidal following the accident. They told him and everyone else that it was completely normal. Anyone would be feeling that way after such a tragic trauma. He just needed to work through it, whether he talked about it or used some other therapeutic method.

But as mentioned, Merlin was taking his stubbornness to a whole new level and wasn’t participating in his therapy. Mental or physical.

He told them all he just wanted to be left alone to rot.

-------

Harry Hart, Doctor Anderson, and Doctor Weidman invited Eggsy into the medical conference room to discuss Merlin. Eggsy wasn’t one hundred percent sure why he was invited to the meeting, but when Harry asked him to come, of course he complied.

“Eggsy, thank you for joining us.” Doctor Anderson began once they all had a cuppa in front of them and the biscuit tray had been passed around. “We were hoping to talk to you about Merlin.”

Eggsy sat back in the comfortable chair, hurrying to swallow the large bite of bourbon cream biscuit he had just had. “I figured. I just couldn’t suss why? I mean ‘course I’m worried about the bloke, Merlin’s the guv, but I’m not sure what I can do to help him?”

Doctor Weidman answered. “We think he will do better at home now that he is in a more stable state and isn’t hooked up to IVs and catheters. We have been informed that you have an interesting job that might be of some use in this situation?” She looked between Eggsy and Harry, obviously trying to be discreet. “Merlin is so against home aides or nursing staff in his home.”

Harry leaned forward, cupping his porcelain tea cup in that way he did, when he had something on his mind. “But he still needs someone Eggsy. Someone who will assist him in his ablutions. Someone to make sure he is safe and keep him fed. Someone to keep him on schedule with his healing process. We are all very concerned about what will happen if he just goes home alone.”

“We can give you instruction and direction on what to do. And of course we will be in constant contact. But we need someone we can trust with him. Someone who isn’t just going to let him wither and waste away.” Doctor Anderson drained his cup of tea and nodded at Doctor Weidman. “We need to head back to our patients, but Galahad is going to continue to discuss this with you.”

The doctors left the conference room and to his surprise, Eggsy’s supervisor from Sword in the Stone walked in.

“Kev?” Eggsy questioned, confused to why the man was there. They only ever met at the Sword in the Stone headquarters in London, not far from the tailor shop. “Is everything alright?”

Strawberry blonde and slight of build, with an open kind face; Eggsy’s boss was only a little taller than he was. He sat down in the chair next to Eggsy and placed the manilla folder he had been carrying on the table in front of them. His voice had a bit of a chuckle in it when he responded. “Everything is fine Eggs. I’m here on business however.”

Eggsy still looked flummoxed. “Business? But you don’t sub anymore Kev.” The man had spent years doing the same job Eggsy did, but when he met the love of his life and got married, he switched over to the business side of things, managing the subs, instead of being the one on his knees.

Both Harry and Kev looked like they wanted to smack a hand over their faces in astonishment at Eggsy’s inability to grasp the situation. “Eggsy. You do realize we are asking you to be Merlin’s service sub.” Harry explained patiently.

“Exactly.” Kev agreed. “Kingsmon is hoping to hire you to sign on as a sub for their injured member.”

Eggsy was confused. “I’m sorry if I seem daft. I’ve only ever been requested by the person who was going to use me as a sub. Never been requested on behalf of someone. Not the normal process, you know?”

Both of the other men nodded. “It isn’t. It’s definitely a special case. But a very special one. Merlin really needs you. It’s going to be a really hard job. Merlin is going to be almost as miserable at home as he is here and it’s going to be a struggle to get him to do anything. You’re going to have to work hard to get him to do anything. To eat, to bathe, to attend his physical therapy. Kingsman needs you son.”

Even with those words from Harry stirring Eggsy’s very soul, he was still apprehensive. “But you've been telling me Merlin has made it clear he don’t want no live in aide or a nurse, what makes you think he is going to accept me any more?”

“I am convinced that when given the option between the hospital with staff going in and out 24/7 and his home with you, he is going to choose you, Eggsy.” Harry confided, confidently.

“He knows you Eggsy. Personally. You’re someone Kingsman trusts. Merlin might not be all that pleasant to deal with right now, but we are fairly certain he will at least accept you.” Kev said earnestly. He opened the folder he had brought with him and slid one of the standard Sword in the Stone service contracts towards Eggsy. “We have everything laid out in here. Take a look over it.”

Eggsy opened the contract and started to peruse the content. Most of it was standard for the care of an injured agent. Just a little more in depth than normal. He also noticed that a lot of the options were left open for both Eggsy’s behavior and for Merlin’s prerogative for punishments and incentives. Usually those were written out more definitively. “Kinda giving Merls carte blanche with my arse here, aren’t ya?”

Kev looked to Harry to answer that, as it was Kingsman that had suggested Merlin would respond better to a situation where he controlled the majority of the scene so to speak.

Harry blushed lightly and cleared his throat. “I’m sure you don’t know this, as I’m equally sure it isn’t something that would have come up during your training. But Merlin is a dedicated dom. In the rare moments he has time to himself, he is active in the scene. Quite famous as a brat tamer in the local culture. Kev has assured us this is something you will be able to handle?”

Kev was once again looking to Eggsy. He nodded confidently, knowing his employee might be on the new side, but Eggsy had shown himself to be an excellent service sub.

Eggsy held Kev’s gaze for a moment, before studying the contract again. They were both correct. He could handle this. He’d be willing to take out whatever Merlin dished out if it meant he was helping the man get back up and return to his life. Eggsy didn’t have to think long about whether or not to take the job. He has a high respect for Merlin. He really cared for the man and hated that he is going through something so horrible. He took the pen and signed his name to the contract. “I’m in.”