The Office Ink

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingsman or any of the characters or anything else I reference throughout this story, they all belong to their respective owners.

A/N: So this is an AU that is very loosely inspired by Bridget Jones' Diary but I wouldn't necessarily call it a strict adaptation. Hope y'all enjoy :)

Chapter One

Eggsy glanced curiously down at the bound, blank volume he held in his hand. He opened the book and skimmed his fingers along the expensive eggshell pages within, raising an eyebrow.

As the spine of the book titled back, a small scrap of paper fell out and fluttered to the ground.

He knelt quickly and fished the scrap of paper from the floor.

For the most important year of your life, always remember it, happy birthday, sweetheart xxx

Eggsy smiled to himself as he recognised his mothers' hand. That explained why she had gifted him a diary for his 22nd birthday, but it looked expensive, and Eggsy knew his mother didn't have all that much money. He felt guilt tugging at his stomach mixed with a wave of gratitude.

He carefully closed the diary and set it down on the table in his kitchen, next to a variety of birthday cards and resolved to drop by his mother's house on the way to work to thank her for such a token of kindness.

The way to work, he repeated in his head, grinning to himself.

Eggsy checked himself in the mirror, happy with his formal trousers and button down shirt, before he walked out of his flat and made his way into the heart of London.

He stopped when he came to the imposing glass building in the centre of the city, the words HESKETH PUBLISHING screaming down at him in white letters above the entrance.

He tried not to feel intimidated as he stood at the door, willing himself to walk inside. But Eggsy wasn't used to posh, he was barely used to clean. This was what came of growing up on a council estate with his poor excuse of a step-father.

He remembered leaving college with an A Level in advertisement marketing and thinking that the world was his oyster, but then reality had set in. There were no jobs going and no one wanted to employ anyone like Eggsy for what their companies were worth.

So it had been jobseekers and council flats for three long years until he'd received a letter from the council informing him of the apprenticeship scheme they were rolling in. It had been the decision of the Tory government, apparently, to get people off benefits and into work.

Eggsy had rolled his eyes at the letter, knowing David Cameron just wanted to lower unemployment so he'd be re-elected in five years, he knew the government didn't care about people like him, but he'd always been thirsty to learn and to work and had been the first on his estate to jump on such an opportunity.

When he'd met with his adviser, a surprisingly nice woman named Sue, she'd been surprised at his qualifications and told him that the fields for advertisement were a lot wider than anyone realised and he'd told her to get him any apprenticeship, any where, anything to save him from a future on the estate and Dean's 'odd jobs' just to make ends meat.

Now here he was, stood outside of a publishing agency with no experience, no degree and a heart full of hope.

He walked inside.

Eggsy looked around himself as he stepped into the building, there was a small receptionists desk to his right and beyond that was an open-planned office space with varying desks and computer monitors. He noted a few doors to the side that probably left off to other areas but what really attracted his attention was the small staircase situated in the middle of the room which led to an elevated office with glass walls and doors.

He cocked his head to the side as he looked inside. He reasoned with himself that he wasn't really looking inside, he was merely looking, and the inside of the office was presented to him.

It was a large office, and at the far end was a desk with a man leant against it, speaking quickly into a phone.

This must have been the famous Charlie Hesketh, Eggsy had been informed in his welcome package that Mr. Hesketh was quite a renowned figure in the publishing world for being successful and handsome and clever.

Eggsy wasn't exactly sure if it meant anything to be renowned in the world of publishing but supposed he was soon to find out.

"Can I help you?" A voice to his right asked.

He turned from the glass office and saw a woman in a skirt suit staring at him from behind the receptionists' desk, she was bent across the desk and had her hand pressed against the receiver of a telephone as she stared up at him.

"Err, yeah, hi," Eggsy said inarticulately as he hurried across the space to her. "I'm Gary Unwin, I'm supposed to be starting today?"

"Hold on a sec," she informed him before she put the person on the phone on hold and began rifling through various multi-coloured binders on her desk. Eggsy felt the colour rise in his cheeks and anxiety bubble in his stomach as he watched her work.

She finally seemed to find what she was looking for and smiled down at the folder as she read.

"Of course, I remember now," she said, "Sue called last week. Yes, we're expecting you. Mr. Hesketh said he wanted to see you when you got in, if you go up those stairs over there, that's his office."

Eggsy stood there for a few moments, unsure if he were supposed to let her take him or go himself, but when she took the person on the phone off hold and turned away from him he figured he was on his own.

He walked slowly through the thin crowd of workers towards the staircase, earning a few looks from men and women as he passed. The first thing he noted about them as he looked back was that they were all dressed in smart/casual and felt instantly better that he hadn't decided to wear a suit.

He jogged up the staircase and stared at the glass door for a moment, feeling a little strange at knocking on the door when he could clearly see the boss looking at him from within.

Mr. Hesketh beckoned him inside with the hand that wasn't holding the phone and Eggsy quickly slipped inside and stood, waiting for Hesketh to finish his phone call.

He wondered how he got any work done if everyone could see what he was doing all of the time, he refrained from looking below at all the other employees because he knew they were still staring at him.

"...yes, yes, absolutely, absolutely, listen, mate, I've got to go, yes, I've got some important business...yes, okay, lovely, okay, speak to you then, bye." Mr Hesketh hung up the phone and looked at Eggsy.

"Unwin, right?" He asked in an upper class English accent, smiling in his direction, Eggsy felt immediately better.

Charlie Hesketh must have been in his early 30s, with a mop of chestnut brown hair and gentle eyes, he was wearing a casual suit with no tie and was nothing like the disciplinarian Eggsy had been unconsciously expecting in his mind.

"Yeah," Eggsy finally breathed out in response, "yeah, um, everyone calls me 'Eggsy'". He clarified, feeling dumb.

Charlie, however, merely nodded. "Eggsy it is, then." He said, smiling. "Well, welcome to the first day of your apprenticeship, Eggsy, how are you feeling?"

Eggsy felt his mouth go dry as he tried to articulate the friendly and non-confrontational question presented to him.

"Fine." He said quickly, suddenly consciously aware of his London accent and wishing he sounded more like Hesketh did. "Okay, I, err, I'm really grateful for an opportunity like this..."

"We're glad to have you," Hesketh said immediately, "my name is Charlie Hesketh, but you can call me Charlie, everyone does," his eyes seemed to twinkle, "and I'm the editor. Let me introduce you to your superior in the advertising department."

Charlie led them out of the office, down the stairs and across through one of the doors Eggsy had spied earlier.

As he followed his boss, and the space between them was filled with friendly conversation, he couldn't help but find himself quite enamoured with the older man and his gentle nature.

He found himself unconsciously smiling at everything Charlie said, and when they reached a double-doorway, he didn't even notice them come to a stop.

"Now this is the advertising department," he told Eggsy, pushing the double doors open and leading him into an open-planned office space much like the previous one with the exception that it was filled with canvases and digital rendering computers. Eggsy felt suddenly at home again, like he'd just walked back into college after a very long weekend break.

Eggsy allowed Charlie to walk him over to a vacant desk as he stared around the room.

"This is your work space," he told him, and Eggsy surveyed the empty space and wondered exactly where everyone was until a young woman around his age wearing a tweed blazer and skinny jeans walked up to them, holding an unfortunately large stack of paperwork in her hands.

Eggsy surged forward immediately and captured the files before they fell to the ground, the woman before him let out a shocked gasp and then clapped her hand to her chest in relief as she looked up at him.

"You've just saved my entire filing system." She told him earnestly in an upper class English accent, albeit softer than Charlie's.

Eggsy wanted to say something in reply but became suddenly conscious of opening his mouth and letting his cockney-drawl escape so resolved to merely stare at her for a moment with a startled look on his face.

He felt himself go hot as she laughed and looked at Charlie.

"Roxy, this is Eggsy, he's Merlin's new apprentice." Charlie said, leaning over Eggsy's shoulder as he spoke. "Eggsy, this is Roxanne Morton, she's my research assistant."

"Hello." Eggsy finally said, making an exaggerated effort to pronounce the 'H'. "Sorry, nervous." He quickly clarified.

"No need." She said sweetly, extending her arms out as if to hug him.

His eyebrows quirked in confusion for a moment before he realised she was holding her hands out for her files and Eggsy quickly bundled them into her arms.

Will you please calm the fuck down? He berated himself in his head.

"Nice to meet you," he said quickly, eyes lowering in embarrassment.

"See you again." She winked as she walked around him, Eggsy turned on his heel and watched her go.

"She's very pretty." Charlie commented lightly and Eggsy turned immediately back to him.

"Oh, no...I didn't..."

But Charlie merely smiled and held up a hand to silence him.

"It's okay, Eggsy, calm down. Everyone here is really friendly." Charlie smiled as he said this and Eggsy found himself believing him, he let out a shaky breath and gave Charlie a smile in return.

"Okay, yeah, sorry."

Charlie laughed and patted him on the back and Eggsy felt his stomach do an anxious flip for a multitude of reasons. One of the them being that it wasn't Roxy he was at risk of developing a crush on.

"Come on, follow me, I'll take you to Merlin." Charlie said, starting across the room.

It took Eggsy a moment to realise his boss had shot off and he hurried quickly to catch up, head whipping around at the empty desks around them.

"Um, sir...sorry, Charlie, where is everyone?"

"We're a little understaffed at the moment." Charlie commented lightly, reaching a plastic-wooden door and rapping his knuckles gently against it. "That's why we're hiring apprentices."

Eggsy nodded quickly in response when the door opened and a bald man in his mid forties stepped out, he was wearing a grey sweater over a white shirt and clutching a transparent clipboard in one hand.

"Ah," began Charlie, curling a hand around Eggsy's lower arm and urging him forward, Eggsy flexed slightly at the contact, "Merlin, this is Eggsy Unwin, the apprentice I was telling you about. Eggsy, this is Merlin, he is the senior advertisement manager in the company, you'll be his assistant."

"Nice to meet you," Merlin said in a soft Scottish accent, extending his hand out. Eggsy took it and was taken aback by the firm shake that met him.

"If everything is alright with you, Merlin, I'll leave Eggsy in your good care."

"Certainly, sir." Merlin replied, folding his arms behind his back in one fluid motion.

Charlie gave the Scotsman a jokingly disapproving look.

"Now, Merlin, what have I said about calling me 'sir.'?"

Eggsy liked to think he saw Merlin's lips tighten slightly but the action was replaced by a reassuring smile so quickly he was certain that he just imagined it.

Merlin offered no further comment to Charlie who patted Eggsy on the back again before he walked away and out of the office-space and through the double doors, Eggsy kept his eyes on his retreating back until he left, a small breath escaping him.

Eggsy was acutely aware of Merlin stood beside him and expected to be called back to attention but after a few moments he inclined his head to see Merlin merely staring at him, expression neutral.

Eggsy immediately clocked that Merlin wasn't much of a talker and felt a wave of relief wash over him and it felt like he was physically deflating.

"I would show you your work area," Merlin said eventually, grinning slightly, "but I think you can take your pick."

Eggsy again let his eyes trail over the empty office space and felt a wave of confusion settle over him.

"Were there a lot of people here before?" He asked. "Charlie said you were short-staffed."

"We are short-staffed," Merlin reminded him with a twinkle in his eye that warmed Eggsy to the core. "And no, there were never that many people here. Most of the company's budget is tied up in editing rather than advertising."

Eggsy's forehead creased.

"But there wouldn't be any point to the editing without the advertising," he said, "he wouldn't 'ave any customers if no one liked the covers."

Merlin's smile grew suddenly bigger.

"Precisely," he said as if Eggsy had just explained quantum theory to him. Eggsy couldn't help but blush as he realised he'd just impressed his supervisor for the first time.

Maybe things here might actually work out.

Merlin had given him a whistle-stop tour of the art department which, luckily, seemed to employ a few people who looked like they knew what they were doing, before showing him around the editing office he'd walked through before.

Eggsy felt like Merlin had taken him under his wing ever so slightly and was glad someone was actually helping him out. But the more he thought about it, the more he noticed people in the editing department smiling as they were introduced, and Charlie had waved at him from inside his office and Roxy had smiled as they passed her in the break room.

Eggsy leant against the wall of the aforementioned break room whilst the coffee machine beside him squeezed out what he hoped would be a drinkable latte.

The break room itself reminded him of the staff room at his old school. The walls were painted a periwinkle blue and there were varying tables and couches adorning the walls.

Eggsy had felt uneasy when he had entered and had just put it down to nerves but, as he watched the dribble of milk pour into the cardboard cup he realised what had unnerved him.

He was suddenly the adult.

Of course, he had technically been an adult since he'd turned eighteen but he'd attended college after that which had felt exactly like school and he'd been living with his mother until very recently.

Eggsy had always been an adult in name but in nothing else. He'd had no responsibilities, no expectations, no paycheck. But that was suddenly all about to change and instead of making him feel glorious and accomplished, it just made him feel queasy.

The coffee machine beeped abnormally loudly, startling Eggsy slightly, before he pulled the latte from its release and tested the hot liquid on his tongue.

He pulled a face to himself before setting the cardboard cup down atop the machine and grabbing a handful of sugar packets and dumping them into the coffee, when he brought it to his lips again it was marginally better.

"The coffee here stinks." Merlin told him as he approached, holding something out to Eggsy. "You're better off with the deli across the road."

Eggsy accepted the proffered item and glanced down at it, turning the unfamiliar plastic card around in his fingers a few times.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Your key card." Merlin told him. "Access all areas, don't worry, it's not spies or anything, just to work the printer."

Eggsy nodded carefully as he ran his finger along the embossed edge.

"So, how are you settling in?" Merlin asked, tucking his clipboard under one arm.

Eggsy nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, it's good." He informed him. "I 'aven't actually done anything yet, but..."

Merlin chuckled.

"Don't worry, I have something to show you later, your first project."

Eggsy felt his face light up at the declaration, the idea of finally contributing something to the field he'd dedicated two years of his life training for made him glow.

"Charlie tells me you don't have any experience."

Eggsy felt his face go hot and tightened his grip around the cardboard coffee cup, he looked down as he saw a few drops of creamy liquid erupting from the hole.

"Nah," he said, feeling self-conscious, "I mean, what I did in college, but that's about it."

"Well, that's what apprenticeships are for." Merlin reminded him, cocking his head to the side slightly. "This is how you gain experience."

Eggsy swallowed slightly as he forced himself to relax, reminding himself that he didn't have to hide anything, that everyone here was trying to help him rather than hinder him.

"Tell me about some of the work you did at college." Merlin asked lightly.

Eggsy felt the blush reappear on his cheeks but for an entirely different reason, he was proud of the work he'd already done, and if his A was anything to go by, it was pretty decent quality.

"Well, one of my friends, he worked in computin', and he made all these adverts for this website he had, promotin' concerts and events and stuff around college but it wasn't gettin' many views so I told him to put a dog on it."

Merlin shifted slightly as if he was certain he had misheard.

"I'm sorry, put a what on it?"

"A...dog." Eggsy said slowly before taking a deep breath. "They always say the only two things that sell are sex and death but people highly underestimate the power of a cute dog. We put a cute little baby pug in the advertisements and the website hits went up by a thousand a day."

Merlin stared at him for a moment before he laughed, loudly. Eggsy froze, worried he'd made a complete arse out of himself until Merlin clapped him on the shoulder.

"'Never underestimate the power of a cute dog'," he paraphrased, "that's genius."

Eggsy felt a smile creep out across his face and realised that, yeah, it was genius.

Fuck, why was he so afraid? He knew what he was doing.

He stood a little straighter as he felt his faith in himself grow exuberantly, he was Eggsy Unwin, and he had this.

Eggsy glanced instinctively at the sound of the door to the break room opening and watched as a man walked briskly inside.

This man must have been in his late forties, but had the gait and look of someone much younger and fitter. His tall, angular frame was swathed in an expensive, double-breasted pinstriped suit, his dusky chestnut hair combed meticulously and a pair of tortoiseshell glasses perched on his nose.

Eggsy felt himself swallow involuntarily. If this was the staff room then that was the headmaster.

This was exactly the kind of disciplinarian Eggsy had been fearing from the moment he opened his placement letter.

"Harry," Merlin called over, and the well-dressed man glanced over to them. His gaze fell over Eggsy for a few moments and Eggsy shifted uncomfortably as he couldn't help but feel like he was being scrutinised intently before the man, Harry, turned quickly on his heel and picked up a large, neat binder he'd obviously been searching for, before walking towards them.

As he came nearer, Eggsy appreciated just how prim and polished he seemed, like he'd just fallen off of a nutcracker conveyor belt.

"Merlin," he said by way of a greeting as he attempted to walk past the pair, Eggsy arched an eyebrow in his direction.

"Wait, Harry, this is Eggsy Unwin, the new advertising assistant, it's his first day. Eggsy, this is Harry Hart: assistant editor."

Harry stopped walking and turned to Eggsy. Eggsy was shocked to see a pair of gentle brown eyes harden immediately as they surveyed him.

"Mr. Unwin." Harry greeted in a crisp English accent that wasn't dissimilar to the accents of Roxy and Charlie with the exception that he sounded as if he were addressing a rotten piece of meat rather than a co-worker.

Eggsy was taken aback by the cold greeting and merely stood his ground, willing his mouth to open and say something that didn't include a curse.

"Nice to meet you...Mr. Hart." He replied, voice slack.

Harry gave him a curt nod before walking past him and out of the door again.

Eggsy stared at the closed door for a long moment in silence, wondering exactly what he'd done to garner the man's immediate dislike.

After a moment, he turned back to Merlin in the hopes that his supervisor had appreciated such a display of abject rudeness but Merlin was distracted by a slip of paper in his hands.

"Is he always that grumpy?" Eggsy asked lightly, in the hopes that Merlin would enlighten him to the fact that, yes, Harry Hart was a dreadful fellow who hated everyone and not just him.

"No, not at all." Merlin commented, not really paying attention. "He's just rushed off his feet."

Eggsy felt his stomach dip and watched sullenly as Merlin walked around him and opened the break room door.

"Come with me, there's something I want to show you."

Eggsy walked out of the door and into the editing department and waited patiently for Merlin to take him to their destination.

He decided, in that moment, not to let himself be destroyed by the actions of one man.

It's not like he was his boss or anything important.