Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way of it.

Weight of Expectations

Heading upstairs after Eggsy left to take J.B. for the dog's final walk of the night, Harry decided to forgo a shower and just go straight to bed after a quick visit to the bathroom, since he needed to brush his teeth and take care of the other usual 'before bed' tasks. The long day had left him more than a little worse for wear, and the idea of oblivion in sleep sounded heavenly to him at the moment as Harry hurried through his nightly routine.

But at least his quarrel with Eggsy had been short and without consequences, Harry mused once he was in their bedroom, stripping off the suit he'd been eager to shed for hours now. Arguments with Chester had never ended well for him, especially since he wasn't supposed to argue with the man in the first place. He was the omega after all, obedience to his dominant expected in all things.

Gods, it had almost killed him, those first few years, learning to stay silent and obedient.

Harry's stomach lurching with the memories, which left an unpleasant aftertaste in his mouth as he fought the nausea down. But he had decades of experience turning his thoughts to other things, and so Harry grinched his teeth and finished what he was doing before picking up his used clothing and placing them aside to be dry cleaned.

Walking over to the drawers Eggsy had assigned to him, Harry reached out to open the second highest one, freezing there with his fingers against the metal handle as his mind whispered the fact that Eggsy preferred them to sleep in the nude together. And more than that, they had not spent a night together since their mating without Eggsy exercising his rights as his dominant. More than once, usually.

Which he'd enjoyed, Harry reminded himself harshly, refusing to let the dark memories of the past bastardize what happened between him and Eggsy at night. His new mate saw to his pleasure, always, and never demanded he perform certain acts or demeaned him in any way. Eggsy seduced and asked, and would never do otherwise. Would never treat him as less than a person.

But didn't he owe it to his mate to please him? Shouldn't he make more of an effort? Offer to pleasure his mate more, and put Eggsy first in everything rather than act so aggressive about his own pleasure. After all, hadn't Chester made it quite clear how foolish it was to behaving how his dragon wished them to behave? In his grandparents day omegas were expected to kneel, naked, and wait for their mates at night, their only purpose to provide whatever sexual favors their dominant might demand of them.

Should he even be wearing pajamas to bed? Should he offer some favor to apologize for lecturing Eggsy earlier? He should ask Eggsy what he wanted, not presume that he knew since-

'Stop.'

Harry flinched at the hard, unforgiving voice in his head.

'He is not like the other one. He is not weak and unworthy of us. This mate values us. Knows that there is NOTHING about us that needs to be changed. Go to sleep and stop acting like a scared child.'

"You don't understand."

'I don't understand? I have shared our consciousness all our life. We are one, no matter how much you might prefer to think otherwise. I gave you the strength to survive. To remain unbroken. I said my proposed punishment for our mate's earlier insolence could wait until tomorrow because you were too tired tonight, and our mate knows it as well. He will not expect anything of you tonight but sleep, so do so.'

"You can't read his mind, you know."

'I understand the minds of both our first mate and Eggsy.' Was the dragon's pompous, knowing reply. 'This one will not disappoint us. This one will never try and break us.'

No, Harry silently agreed. Eggsy would never try and break him. It was not in Eggsy's nature.

Knowing that he'd been at least somewhat successful in getting through to his other half, Harry's dragon huffed in exasperation but went silent, Harry able to sense that that portion of his consciousness was settling in for the night rather than readying to argue further with him.

Relieved, Harry let out a sigh of his own, his gaze once again focusing on the fingers still pressed against the cool metal of the drawer handle.

He…he wouldn't wear a top to bed, Harry decided as he retrieved and put on a pair of bottoms. And he would go to bed and get under the covers and…and try to sleep. And if Eggsy woke him up or came in before he fell asleep and wished to have sexual relations before he slept…well then of course he would accommodate him.

Decision made, and feeling steadier as a result, Harry turned off the bedroom light but walked over to turn on the lamp on Eggsy's side of the bed, so that his mate could see where he was going when he did get back from his walk.

Sliding beneath the covers on his side of the bed made Harry sigh in contentment automatically, the softness of the sheets and mattress feeling heavenly on his skin as his eyelids dropped close. Eggsy had most certainly done an excellent job with both purchases, this bed so much better than the too firm mattress his old bed had been set with. Sleep evaded him though, his training too deeply imbedded in his mind for Harry to slip into defenseless slumber until he knew for sure that it was alright to do so. That Eggsy wouldn't mind.

Thankfully he didn't have long to wait, the wait no more than ten minutes, if that, before the bedroom door opened and Eggsy quietly slipped in. That his mate was taking the utmost care to make as little noise as possible was like soothing hands running up and down Harry's back, reassuring him that the muscles that had tensed there automatically could loosen and relax.

Remaining with his back to Eggsy's side of the bed, his eyes closed as he feigned sleep with lifelong practice, Harry succeeded in keeping his body language under control as he waited for Eggsy to join him under the sheets.

The rustle of the sheets, and then the mattress dipping a little as Eggsy joined him on it. A dip that was definitely noticeable since Eggsy immediately started shifting over, so that Harry could feel the other man's body heat even before Eggsy leaned over, no doubt intending to grasp his shoulder to wake him up.

But no, it was Eggsy's lips that touched his skin, the lightest brush over his shoulder before Eggsy moved in to cuddle his body against Harry's, fitting them together while whispering a low good night before going quiet, the breath brushing over Harry's skin evening out and slipping into the familiar rise and fall of sleep.

Though he wasn't entirely sure why, Harry felt his lips curving into a smile.

A smile he kept, as he followed Eggsy into sleep.

)

Harry loved to dream, to lose himself in a world that might not always be in his control, but was still usually far more exciting or relaxing than his real world. In fact, Harry often wondered if the fact that he'd never been a morning person had more to do with his love of dreaming as opposed to being born with a preference for sleeping the morning away. He wasn't exactly a night person after all, either.

It was a mental debate he'd had with himself before and would again, but for the moment Harry couldn't have cared less as he remained snuggled under his warm, fluffy covers on his perfect mattress, caught in that in between place of dreaming and waking with no desire to wake up any more than he already was. He was having a very nice daydream after all.

He did so love the way Eggsy touch him when they were in bed together, Harry mused sleepily to himself, making happy sounds in the back of his throat as his subconscious tricked his mind into thinking Eggsy hands were moving over his sides and stomach, stroking him under the sheets. Eggsy had already gotten up for the day after all, he'd heard the shower in some dim corner of his brain earlier, so obviously this was still a dream. Though he should start getting up since they would have to get to work soon, most likely. Had he set the alarm before he'd gone to bed?

Brows furrowing as the possibility that he hadn't occurred to him, Harry was just telling himself that he needed to open his eyes and get out of bed before Eggsy was forced to come and wake him, when dream Eggsy's hands pulled down his pajama bottoms.

And then a hand was encircling his penis, and then…well then a very wet and hot mouth slid over said penis and Harry forgot all about getting up just yet.

By the gods! He loved the fact that Eggsy was willing to do this to him. That Eggsy wasn't like most dominants, who would never even think to go to their knees for their omega unless it was for a non-sexual reason Harry couldn't come up with thanks to his sleepy brain. Not to mention the fact that it was hard to think regularly as Eggsy was so good at this, to a degree where Harry was rather jealous of the other men who'd come before him. Jealous after the fact, of course, as again, it was rather difficult to think clearly when one had such a talented young man doing his very best to turn your brain into warm mush.

Wallowing in the pleasure was a far better way to spend one's time, Harry decided as he all but melted into the bed, contenting himself with doing nothing more than making sounds of appreciation, and stroking his fingers through Eggsy's slightly damp hair. This was so much better than those vague recollections he had of his teen years, when he'd been experimenting with his sexual preference and had been on the recipient of blow jobs delivered by other young men just as inexperienced as he'd been. Eggsy did though. Eggsy knew how to drag this out, how to use his lips and tongue and even his teeth to either take it slow and torturous, or fast and hard so that it was rather like being caught up in a tornado, to his way of thinking. Then there was the fact that Eggsy mouth would occasionally slip off his cock to press kisses or swipe his tongue over his inner thighs while his hands played with his balls in a way they'd certainly never been manhandled before. Not that he was complaining!

And as the pleasure built so did awareness, more of Harry's brain coming online to start to ponder just how 'dreamlike' this actual was, his instincts saying that maybe he'd been a tad hasty in assuming that this was all in his head. Because the more he thought about it the more Harry was starting to think that this wasn't just a-Oh!

Eyes opening wide as his back arched like a drawn bow, Harry groaned out Eggsy's name as the boy's mouth continued to suck him down while two of his mate's fingers slid into his damp ass, arrowing straight for his prostrate.

Fuck!

Lost in sensation Harry pistoned his hips in time to Eggsy's fingers, wanting the digits deep inside him while Eggsy's throat tightened around his cock, the dual sensations playing havoc with his head and sending hot, 'must orgasm soon or die soon' signals to Harry's poor, overloaded brain.

Eggsy had crawled under the covers, Harry realized in a daze, the boy's body reduced to a lump under the bedspread in front of him. And somehow that just made it that much more erotic, not being able to see his mate. He knew what Eggsy's must look like at the moment of course, but he couldn't see it and-oh! Three fingers.

Brain shutting down for the next two minutes or so, Harry was fairly sure he yelled, if not outright screamed Eggsy's name when he came, and was too relaxed and stupid happy to care.

Dimly Harry watched the large bump under the sheets move closer and closer, and then out out popped Eggsy's head, his mate's face beaming with mischievous glee, his light brown hair sticking out in all directions like he'd got an electric shock.

"Mornin. Time ta wake up, Luv." Leaning forward Eggsy's gaze his lips a quick, friendly peck before pulling back a little. "Get in the shower and then down for some brekkie, alright?"

Dumbly nodding his head, in his present state agreeing with everything Eggsy's might say seemed a good idea, Harry was pleased to get another kiss and then the covers went flying back and Eggsy was slipping off him and the bed to walk away, dressed in the trackies Harry assumed the boy had donned earlier to take J.B. for his morning walk.

"No falling back asleep, now. See ya in ten!"

And just like that the boy closed the bedroom door behind him and headed downstairs, presumably, while Harry struggled to process the most unusual wakeup call he'd just been given. As well as try to figure out what he'd done to deserve it in the first place, since he would most certainly love a repeat in the future.

Some small working part of his brain also reminded him that he apparently had ten minutes to get up, showered and dressed in something suitable for breakfast too. Blast it.

Since his covers were already out of the way Harry sat up easily, his gaze drawn down to the fact that his pajama bottoms were down to his knees at the moment, the sight making color pool in Harry's checks even as it gave him a pleasant rush of memories to wallow in.

Tugging them off since they were no longer needed, Harry grabbed them and then got out of bed, carrying them with him as he headed over to the hamper, where he deposited them before grabbing his robe off its hook.

And yes, he realized he was being silly, donning the robe when there was only a few steps between their bedroom and the bath with no one else in the house with them save for J.B., but he couldn't help it. A gentleman did not walk around his house naked, even for a short time.

Even if he had already ended up losing his clothes in various rooms over the course of the previous week.

)

Freshly showered and dressed in his shirt and trousers for the day, Harry left the jacket, tie, etc in the bedroom and headed downstairs once more to see what was for breakfast. Something hot, he hoped, given that it was raining cats and dogs outside at the moment. Something to keep his insides warm while his outsides were cool at best sounded good to him. And he was actually quite hungry for once, when normally he didn't have much of an appetite so early in the morning.

Though really he should be the one preparing or at least overseeing and planning the meals.

And getting up early to do things like set out Eggsy's clothes for him and other things Harry knew Colin did for Edward. Things he'd never had to do because Chester had always had servants to do that, but still…taking care of that sort of thing was supposed to be an omega's job. Just like he should have been the one giving Eggsy's the sort of wakeup call he'd been given earlier, and not the other way around.

"Oi, what's with that face? Ya don't like peanut butter on toast?"

Blinking, Harry realized that that was what Eggsy currently had in his hand, a large portion missing and a hint of the spread clinging to the boy's upper lip.

His mate's hair was still sticking up, he noted, and the adorableness of that and food on his face had Harry's lips curving into a smile as he stated that he'd never had peanut butter on toast.

"Seriously? Well you've been missin the fuck out. Ere, try some."

One did not share food, especially half-eaten toast, or so his upbringing dictated. But here Eggsy's was, coming over to him with the toast held out for him to try and a happy smile on his face, and Harry couldn't deny him. So he leaned forward and bit off a small piece of the toast, surprised to find that yes, he actually did like the taste of peanut butter on toast.

"Good, huh?"

"Quite." And since Eggsy was right there, and they were saying to hell with propriety for the moment, Harry reached out with his finger to drag it across Eggsy's lip to remove the trace of peanut butter there. And then licked it off his thumb in an instinctual move Harry sensed he had his dragon nature to thank for.

And he did mean thank, given the way Eggsy's impish look had morphed into something quite a bit sexier. Even with the goofy hair.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure."

"Mine too." Eggsy assured him with a wink before jerking his head in the direction of the table. "Got oatmeal with apples innit. And toast and peanut butter. Figured that would go together well enough, seein as I love apples and peanut butter too."

A distant memory had Harry's lips curving in delight. "Andrew would make that for me when I was a lad. It was one of his favorite treats."

"We'll have ta have some for a snack tonight then."

He could make that, Harry thought with a pleased smile. "It's a date."

"Cheers."