So, first of all a warning: this fic contains spoilers for The Golden Circle. So, if you haven't seen it yet, you might not want to read any further ;-)

This fic is set just after the fight at Poppyland. Some major change I made: Merlin doesn't die. Because, that's what we all wanted, right?
Enjoy with this first chapter, next chapters will follow as soon as possible. Make a writer happy, please read and review ;-)

Harry heard the shots.

One, two, three…

The shots from Agent Whiskey's gun resounded through Poppy's diner and Harry saw Eggsy crumple to the floor. Since the Kingsman suits were made to be bulletproof, he did not worry about the young agent too much. He knew perfectly well that the impact of the bullets to the suit would still be significant and would likely leave Eggsy winded for a few moments, but otherwise he should be fine.

Harry did not have long to focus his attention on Eggsy, though. Now that Agent Whiskey was certain he had gotten rid of one Kingsman agent, he was quickly getting ready for erasing the second.
With his lasso already gone down the meat mincer a little earlier, Whiskey had no choice but to attack with his bare hands. Harry had already thought he would, because, if his counting had been correct, Whiskey was out of bullets by now.

For a split-second, Harry and Whiskey stared intently at each other, before the Statesman charged at the Kingsman.
But Harry was ready for him. He precisely measured his actions and caught the American easily by the chest, using his own momentum to lift him up in the air. Harry had not intentionally meant to land Agent Whiskey's head in the meat mincer, but that was where he ended up anyway and Harry simply stood by as the Statesman agent was shredded to pieces.

Harry had expected some snide comment from Eggsy by now, and turned around to see why there was a lack thereof. To his concern he saw Eggsy still lying on the floor, unmoving. He lay on his side with his back turned toward Harry, just like he had fallen after the impact of the bullets.
"Eggsy?" Harry quickly approached the younger man, not fully knowing what to make of this situation.
As he got closer, Harry saw something that made his breath catch in his throat.

Blood.

Blood, which could only come from Eggsy.

"Shit" Harry mumbled, now realizing that the situation was far worse than he had initially suspected.
"Eggsy?" Harry kneeled down next to the younger agent, now confirming that the blood definitely came from him. Eggsy did not move and seemed unconscious.
Harry carefully rolled Eggsy onto his back. He shook off his jacket and placed it under Eggsy's head to form a pillow.
It didn't take Harry long to spot the source of the blood: three gunshot wounds marred Eggsy's torso. One of the bullets had lodged itself into his right shoulder, the second one had entered the right side of his chest, most likely damaging some ribs, and the third bullet had hit the left side of his stomach. All three wounds were bleeding quite profusely, already creating a pool of crimson on the floor.

Harry cursed himself for not realizing sooner that Eggsy had been injured. Not that he could have done much until Agent Whiskey had been eliminated, but still it did not sit right with him. Also, he could not quite understand why the Kingsman-suit had not protected Eggsy against the bullets, like it should have.
Harry picked up one of the shell casings lying on the floor and examined it closely.
"Of course" he mumbled to himself, "armor piercing rounds". Harry blew out a deep breath, quickly forming a plan in his mind.

Suddenly Harry was all business. He pressed the side of his glasses to open a line of communication to the only person there in Cambodia who could help him now.
"Merlin" Harry said.
"Yes, Harry" Merlin answered, "is the situation under control?"
"The antidote is being released as we speak" Harry answered, "but..." Harry's voice trailed off.
"What is it, Harry?" Merlin began to sound concerned now, "are you alright? Is Eggsy okay?"
"Eggsy's been shot" Harry said.
"How's that possible?" Merlin cried out in surprise, "the suit..."
"Armor piercing rounds" Harry interrupted before Merlin could finish his sentence.
"Ah, fuck me..." Merlin sighed heavily into the intercom, "where are you?"
"Poppy's diner" Harry answered, "what's your position?"
"I chased some of Poppy's men into the jungle, but they're taken care of by now. I've just spotted a means of transport, so I'll come and collect you and get us all back to the plane. Stay where you are, I'll be there in five minutes".
"Alright" Harry confirmed, "please hurry".

Harry turned his attention back to Eggsy. Now that he was sure help was on the way, he could fully focus on taking care of the younger agent.
He unbuttoned the two buttons of Eggsy's suit jacket and pulled it aside to have a better look. The white dress shirt Eggsy wore underneath his jacket was torn at the places of the gunshots and crimson stains were growing larger still.
The young agent was taking panting and somewhat wheezing breaths, and was sweating heavily, yet trembling at the same time. Harry pressed his fingers against Eggsy's neck to feel for a pulse and felt a beating that was way too fast. Right now there was no way of measuring Eggsy's blood pressure, but Harry dared to bet it was too low. He knew perfectly well that Eggsy showed many signs of going into shock and that, for now, he couldn't do much about it other than control the damage as much as possible.

"Eggsy?" Harry lightly tapped the young man's cheek. At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds a soft groan escaped Eggsy's lips and he stirred minutely.
"Eggsy, look at me". Harry's voice was demanding, yet concerned and compassionate. Eggsy groaned softly once more and finally blue eyes sluggishly opened behind the spectacles.
"H-Harry?" Eggsy sounded weak and somewhat confused. He made a feeble attempt to sit upright, but was gently pushed back down by Harry.
"No, no, stay down" Harry said in a tone that was almost soothing, "you'll be alright, lie still".
"What happened?" Eggsy asked softly, now ceasing his attempt to move any further.
"Whiskey shot you. You're bleeding" Harry cut the story very short, "Merlin's on the way to take us back to the plane".
"How bad does it look?" Eggsy's voice trembled on the question. Harry did not answer, but placed his hands on Eggsy's chest to better examine the wounds. Eggsy winced loudly as Harry's fingers pressed a little too close to the wound to the side of his chest.
"My apologies" Harry mumbled.
" 's Alright" Eggsy slurred his words, "I'm guessing you're gonna have to hurt me even more anyway".
"How's that?" Harry asked, for a moment looking up from his examination.
"Isn't the next thing you were gonna tell me that you'll have to keep pressure on the wounds?" Eggsy had caught up on the fact that the look on Harry's face hardened when he had a better look at the wound to Eggsy's flank. Eggsy had tried to make his usual sarcasm sound through when he spoke, but couldn't help that the fear was more evident.
Harry looked down at Eggsy and knew that the younger man's fear was completely accurate. He slowly nodded his head to confirm what he was indeed about to do.
"Fuck me" Eggsy almost spit out the words.
"It'll have to be done" Harry said solemnly.
"I know" Eggsy mumbled with a hefty sigh. He pressed the back of his head hard into Harry's jacket, which served as pillow, and closed his eyes in fearful anticipation.

Harry placed his hands over the wound to the left side of Eggsy's stomach, which was the most cause for concern, and pressed down without any further advance warning.
Eggsy let out an involuntary scream in pain, which reverberated through Poppy's diner. It made Harry's heart ache, but he didn't release the pressure.
Eggsy was taking heavy, unsteady breaths now, almost spitting out the air that left his lungs and gulping in new. Harry could only imagine how much pain Eggsy must be in right now, and the fact that he was causing it unsettled him more than he dared to admit.

"It's alright, Eggsy" Harry mumbled, partly to steady his own nerves, "breathe, just breathe".
"I'm sorry, Harry" Eggsy grumbled in pain, "the pain… I – I can't..."
"You must" Harry took one hand away from the wound to grab Eggsy's chin and make the younger man look at him.
"I am going to get you through this" Harry sounded more determined than ever before.
"Promise?" Eggsy asked in a trembling voice. It suddenly hit Harry how young Eggsy actually was. Way too young to die… So Harry made the decision right then and there, that he, Harry Hart, would not allow that to happen.
"I promise" Harry answered earnestly.
Eggsy looked at Harry, but had trouble focusing his eyes on the older man's face. Harry knew Eggsy was doing his utter best to hold on to consciousness, but that his battle would soon be lost.
"Give in to it, Eggsy" Harry finally mumbled, seeing Eggsy's immense pain emanating from his eyes, "it's okay, I'll take care of you".
One of Eggsy's hands took a firm grip of the sleeve of Harry's shirt, tightly clenching a first around the fabric. "I'm scared, Harry" Eggsy's voice choked up somewhat.
"Don't worry" Harry soothed, "I'm here and I'll make sure nothing happens to you".
"If I don't wake up, tell Tilde that I'm sorry an that I love her. Will you do that?" Eggsy said weakly.
"Emotional women are not really my thing, Eggsy" Harry answered jokingly, "so you're going to have to tell her that yourself".
Eggsy managed a little smile through his pain.

Harry felt Eggsy's grip around his shirt sleeve begin to slacken, and it wasn't long before the younger agent's eyelids fell closed and he sank away into unconsciousness…