When Alastair finally got back, he went to James' apartment immediately after debriefing at Kingsman. He had gotten into contact with them before coming so he knew they had to be there yet when he came and knocked on the door, no sound came from the apartment. Part of him allowed a small sliver of worry to enter but he remembered that this was Roxy and James so he tried the door knob instead and it opened smoothly. The room was completely dark for all but five seconds when suddenly all lights came on and a large shout of "Surprise!" came from the room.
Letting out a groan and rubbing his face tiredly, he heard giggling from inside and honest to god couldn't tell who it came from. "Did you really have to do this?" asked Alastair as he peaked between his fingers and looked at the confetti on the floor and the banner that said Happy Birthday with the word 'middle' scrawled in between.
"Of course," James responded with a grin. Popping up in front of him, he shoved a small, poorly wrapped package into his hands. "I missed your last birthday so I'm making up for it."
Alastair decided that arguing wouldn't change anything so he only shook his head and glared at Roxy instead, though his gaze was somewhat softer on his sister. "Did you really have to do this?"
Roxy chuckled and replied, "Yep! Besides, our family didn't even get a chance to celebrate your birthday since you were away. This way I'm making up for it. I helped pick out the present to."
Rolling his eyes, he suddenly had a beer shoved into his hands. He wondered if James had always been holding it or if he'd disappeared momentarily to grab it but either way he was thankful.
"Come and sit down. We made a cake to."
"Beer and cake, interesting choice," muttered Alastair which earned a laugh from James. "I'll sit but only momentarily. I have to get Roxy back home."
"Understood but you have to open your present now!" James urged, his face and eyes clearly eager to see Alastair's reaction.
"Yes, open it open it!" Roxy added quickly.
Letting out a tired sigh, Alastair sat down, took a swig of the beer, and then tore off the pieces to reveal what was inside. For a moment he just blinked, more shocked than anything, and then he was laughing. Oh god he hadn't laughed like this in so long. He just barely registered James whispering, "I think he's dying," which only made him laugh harder of all things.
"Where the hell did you find this!?" asked Alastair, his chest hurting so much that it was difficult to talk.
"Wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. I know it's not the most practical thing in the world and if you want to give it away or sell it or whatever that's fine but Roxy thought it was a good idea," James replied.
"Oh Christ no. I…it's perfect James," Alastair said, truly meaning the words. "Major Morgan the Electronic Organ. This was my favorite toy as a kid until mother got to pissed with me making to much noise and threw it out. I think I cried for weeks."
"The icicle cries?"
"Oh shut up," responded Alastair though there was no heat in the words. He was simply to pleased, remembering himself as a kid, playing with the stupid toy day in and day out. "This is possibly one of the most pointless presents I have ever received and yet I don't think I've ever been this happy."
"Well that's obvious. You're smiling so much I feel like somebody replaced my brother," Roxy said with a grin.
Alastair rolled his eyes at that just as James jumped up and said, "Time for cake!"
Roxy and James told Alastair all that they had done while he was away as they all ate and chatted for several minutes. However, Alastair eventually reminded everyone that Roxy did have school the next day and needed to be home, causing the party to finally reach an end.
It was certainly one of the oddest afternoons that Alastair had ever experienced but after dropping Roxy off and finally getting back home, he took his present into his flat and realized that it was the first personal thing he had ever brought with him. He realized he didn't even have pictures of his family which was rather jolting and suddenly his flat felt a little less like home than he was used to.
So plain and simple, like something you might find in a magazine, and it made him hold the stupid toy a little tighter as he suddenly became very thankful for its presence. Alastair ended up putting it in the sitting area and finally got ready for bed, thoughts about what he should do with his apartment filling his head.
With that first visit over and having gone so well, Roxy and James were even more inseparable than before. It also caused Alastair to spend more time with his little sister, something that he found he rather enjoyed and suddenly wished he'd done sooner.
Months passed, like they always did in Kingsman, full of danger and uncertainty, yet as March rolled around something happened which, like that stupid toy, changed the way Alastair looked at things.
For once, he was the only one at Kingsman, even Merlin was gone, and there was a certain quietness and calming effect that was rare for headquarters. Most certainly it was a nice change and for the first time in a while there was no one that might distract him. All work was finished promptly and he was just getting ready to send some files to Arthur when a warning inside the building was set off.
Knowing immediately that the specific sound meant a Kingsman was urgently trying to get in contact with someone, Alastair sprinted to Merlin's room and brought up whatever feed was being sent. He had thought himself prepared for whatever he was about to see and yet nothing could stop his catch of breath, the way his body stiffened or how his hands shook.
Even if the name hadn't been in the corner, Alastair recognized who the ragged breathing belonged to.
"I'm in a pretty big pickle Kingsman so any help would be much appreciated," came James from the other end. He was upside down, that was obvious, and currently headed straight for a saw that would undoubtably cut him in half.
"What do your bonds look like?" Alastair quickly said, not wasting a second.
James looked up and said, "Nice to hear your voice Perci-cicle. The bonds are to tight to twist out of and even if I had all my tools my hands are bound to my body."
Alastair analyzed the chains that had James attached to the ever moving belt, looking for signs of weaknesses or decay knowing full well that James was moving closer and closer to death. Using the computer to calculate the easiest and most efficient way to break it, Alastair quickly said, "Bend your knees and turn ninety degrees to your right. It's going to hurt but immediately drop your weight back into place."
He watched as James did as he was told but the chain didn't break.
"It's not working—"
"Again!"
"Shit! That fucking hurt and I'm still—"
"Shut up goddamit! You're resisting it because you can feel the pain but I need you to pull yourself up as far as you can go even if it pops your knee out of place to break the chain!"
James repeated the motion, the movement more extreme than the last two times. Watching with baited breath, Alastair realized he couldn't do anything but watch as the chain snapped, James rolled and his face fell forward towards—
Alastair closed his eyes. He couldn't watch it happen. After several seconds of no sound, he opened his eyes and finally saw what he'd feared. No signal.
As his mind tried to rationalize what could have happened, how James could be alive, his lungs stopped working and he suddenly found it nearly impossible to breath.
"One, two, three, five, seven, eleven,…" Alastair just barely got out the prime numbers as he tried to calm down his racing heart.
AN: Took a little longer to actually get to the bit of angst I'm throwing into this story but we're finally here! Sorry for the wait and thanks for being such a wonderful audience.
