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20

The plates, serving dishes and two bottles of wine were all empty, and Ariel was ready to implode.

The dinner itself was delicious - but everything else had her mind reeling.

Lying to Michelle was harder than she thought - what did Eggsy have to go through day in and day out, lying to her? For her own good?

Then there was the fact that Eggsy sat next to her - Michelle's doing - which was torture in itself. Resting his leg against hers under the table, making sure their fingers brushed when passing serving dishes, and later putting his arm over the back of her chair, subtly tracing circles on her shoulder as he casually talked about the newest Monarch - Princess Eugenie of York, the 8th in line of succession, whom Valentine didn't manage to get his hands on. She was still having a rough go at it, but the middle and lower classes loved her.

Other than the touching, Eggsy was... himself. He was the same with his mother and sister, and even more adoring and adorable - than she was when he was with her.

She was still trying to figure out what it all meant when she heard her name, as though it had been called repeatedly, and felt a sturdy hand shake her shoulder. She turned and looked right at Eggsy, his eyebrow slightly furrowed but asmall grin on he face.

"Where'd you go?" he asked curiously.

She blushed and shook her head.

"Sorry, must've been a long week," she muttered, glancing at Michelle who was only smiling at her, and Daisy, who looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"Dais wants me to tuck her in, I'll be back soon, 'kay?"

She nodded, pushing her chair back, away from Eggsy's touch, and standing up. Eggsy and Michelle followed, Eggsy walking over to Daisy, lifting the tray and unbuckling his sister from the booster seat. She raised her hands and Eggsy smiled as he bent down and picked her up, tucking her to his side as she brought her tiny arms around his neck. Eggsy turned, still smiling so brightly that Ariel almost felt blinded, but she avoided his gaze and smiled at Daisy as gave a small wave.

"It was great to see you, Daisy."

Daisy grinned, her eyes still drooping.

"Thanks for makin' me fancy," she said drowsily. Ariel only smiled, and then realized that Daisy still had her blazer jacket on.

"Oh, your jacket. Here," Eggsy said, moving to put Daisy down, but Ariel rested a hand on his arm, shaking her head. He froze and turned to look at her.

She cleared her throat, ignoring the flush on her cheeks as she brought her hand back.

"I can get it later. I have a bunch of them, I won't be missing much."

Eggsy stared at her for a beat before the smile came back.

Michelle cleared her throat and walked forward, kissing Daisy's cheek and muttering goodnight.

"Go on up, we'll clear the table," she said as she reached for an empty plate.

"Goodnight, Daisy, sweet dreams," Ariel said, waving at Daisy who looked at her over Eggy's shoulder as he left.

"G'night Ariel," she muttered her eyes half mast.

Ariel watched as Eggsy walked away with Daisy in his arms, Spade at his heels, as they disappeared down the hall.

She heard a clang of silverware on glass and jumped, turning around and avoiding Michelle's smiling gaze as she helped her clear the table.

They stacked everything they could, taking two trips to bring everything to the sink. Ariel had to almost manhandle Michelle to let her do some of the dishes – Michelle settled for her taking care of the plates and bowls, putting the silverware and serving dishes in the dishwasher.

Ariel washed the dishes as Michelle went around the kitchen, putting left out ingredients and spices away. She then filled a kettle with water, turning on the stove and setting it above the blue flames before she turned around, stepping to the side to lean against the counter, tilting her head.

"So, what's goin' on with you and my son, Ariel?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.

Ariel sputtered instantly, almost dropping the plate she was scrubbing - expecting anything but that…

"Uhm, sorry?"

"I noticed you two durin' dinner, even before… somethin's different from last time."

Ariel blinked, and turned back to washing the last plate.

What was she supposed to say?

"Oh, yeah, I was falling for your son but he turned out to be a spy which meant the whole time we knew each other I was only a mission to him, so that kinda put a damper on things."

Or even: "Yeah, we're 'different' because I know what he really does for a living and now in some twisted way I'm a part of it. Oh did I mention I fell for him, too?"

Instead she shook her head as she placed the last plate on the drying rack and rinsed off her hands, finding a towel on the oven handle to dry them off before folding it and putting it back.

"I don't-"

"He tried to get me to not ask you over, he tell you that? Told me you two had a spat when Lee and Jamal were over at his place, playin' music too loud," Michelle said, moving to the pantry in the far end of the kitchen and bringing out a box of cookies. Ariel took that chance to digest the story Eggsy had told. Her heart turned cold as she formed the lie, and theatrically winced as Michelle walked back over to her.

"Yeah, might've not been one of my best moments, the way I went off on him… but I'd had a long week and wanted sleep," she said, her stomach churning at the lie.

"The only time Eggsy sees his friends is when they meet at The Black Prince pub. Told me he doesn't feel comfortable havin' friends over, says he sees it as rubbin' his own luck in their faces."

Ariel blinked.

She didn't see that coming.

Michelle walked towards her, resting the box of cookies on the counter as she took both her hands in his. Ariel had nothing else to do but to meet her gaze - caught - her cheeks feeling warm, not sure how to continue…

"I know somethin's up with him," Michelle continued, "that… that he ain't a tailor." Ariel tried her hardest to keep her face straight; she even tried to look confused - but was sure she failed. "There's a difference between you from last time… and that's what tells me you know the same. Maybe even more," Michelle continued.

Ariel found herself nodding, but then shook her head, turning away.

"Ariel..." Michelle said, waiting. Ariel took in a deep breath before looking back at her. This was what she had feared most by coming here. She knew Michelle was a smart woman - there are only so many instances that Eggsy being a tailor could make sense before... but then again a Mother knew best. Unlike her...

Suddenly the positions were switched. She was Eggsy, hiding a monumental secret from someone close... and she was a at a loss for words.

"Michelle, I… I can't. I… but I-"

"I hate it, Ariel," Michelle said, her voice cracking as her eyes grew wet.

Ariel stepped closer, but Michelle shook her head as she continued.

"I hate that I don't know - but know at the same time... A part of me is so proud that he's following his father's footsteps, but I'm just waitin' for the day when another man in a suit comes along-"

"They won't," Ariel interrupted. She blinked, not realizing what she had said, and shook her head. She shouldn't be saying this… but for god's sake, it was his mother. She needed to feel comfortable about her son's safety.

She almost let out a small laugh as she relived Eggsy in action; taking her down at her feeble attempt to defend herself against a stalker (which turned out to be him), saving her from a speeding car, jumping from balcony to balcony, taking down the men in her apartment. Michelle had nothing to worry about.

And neither do you.

The thought was sudden, piercing her mind, and she blinked again.

"I… I can tell you, with confidence, that no more strange men in suits will be visiting you, giving you a Medal of Valor," she whispered, as though if she said it any louder someone would come and take her away for breaking such protocol.

Michelle's eyes widened.

"He told you 'bout-"

"He told me nothing, Michelle," Ariel said, her voice turning stern as she reached forward with both hands to grasp at hers. "He told me nothing, and I know nothing – just like you."

Michelle's eyes moved back and forth, looking at Ariel and she finally nodded.

"My dear girl," Michelle said softly and Ariel shook her head, pulling back, closing her eyes.

The kettle whistled, making them both jump.

"I hear the kettle, mum, but Ariel's more of a coffee gal," Eggsy said as he entered the kitchen. Ariel dropped Michelle's hands and stepped back.

"Chamomile is always the perfect way to end the night, my dear. It might even help you sleep!" Michelle said, almost too animatedly, "I've seen the untouched jars I bring over to your place… got half a mind to make you drink it in front of me."

Ariel's heart was still beating in overdrive, wondering if Eggsy was really just arriving from putting Daisy to sleep or if he'd been listening in on the two of them all along. She'd broken protocol, even though she never said anything about him outright. But still, she wasn't that subtle…

Eggsy smiled, shaking his head as he walked over and grabbed an oven mitt before turning off the stove and moving the tea kettle. He looked around and frowned.

"And the tea isn't even ready…" he said, fading off as he looked at Ariel, but she stared at the kettle.

"Girl talk, Eggsy," Michelle said, turning away and searching through the cupboards, bringing out a glass teapot with a metal press and a jar of tea leaves, preparing the teapot and giving it to Eggsy. He nodded silently and poured the boiling water, the smell of the chamomile flowers filling the room.

Ariel made the mistake of looking at Eggsy, who was staring at her. She gave a fake smile and turned away quickly, not ready to face him yet. After everything about this night - even before this confrontation with Michelle - her mind was still reeling from everything.

"We've got only a little while, I called the cab for us," Eggsy said, breaking the silence again.

Michelle looked at Ariel for a fleeting moment before grinning and nodding her head.

"We've got travel mugs, Ariel," she said, and turned around, grabbing said travel mugs from a cupboard and bringing them down, pouring the tea into them, Ariel muttering about two spoonfuls of sugar, Eggsy saying three. Michelle only put two into each before twisting on the lids.

Eggsy's phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the screen.

"That's the cab, mum. Time to go."

The three of them walked to the front door and out onto the cobblestone path, Eggsy holding onto the travel mugs. Sure enough, Mr. Brown was on the sidewalk, his cab parked behind him.

Ariel stopped and turned towards Michelle, opening her arms wide as she stepped forward and wrapped her in a big hug.

"Thank you, tonight was delightful, Michelle."

"My pleasure, the least I could do, dear," she said, returning the hug. Ariel squeezed her arms, holding Michelle tight, only wishing she could tell her that this was just what she needed now – something to pull her mind away from what she was really going through. Tonight's dinner had been the perfect distraction; she just didn't know it until now.

"You'll be alright. You've got my number," Michelle whispered softly before pulling back. Ariel held onto her hands and nodded before letting go, stepping back and readjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Michelle," she said again.

"I'll be callin' again; it's nice to have guests over, good reason to keep the house in order."

Ariel smiled, shaking her head.

"This house could be a pigsty and I'd still want to come over."

Michelle actually flushed, but shook her head. Ariel smiled and took a few steps back, leaving mother and son alone.

Michelle turned towards Eggsy, her face opening up in adoration as she reached forward and hugged him tightly. He did the same, tucking his head against hers, his eyes closing tight.

"Bye, mum."

"Until next time, deary," Michelle whispered before pulling back.

Ariel turned away, acting as though she hadn't heard anything as they said their goodbyes. She felt a hand on her elbow and turned – not flinching – towards Eggsy who was smiling down at her.

"You ready?" he asked.

She only nodded, smiling and giving a last goodbye to Michelle before she walked with him towards Mr. Brown, entering the cab. Eggsy put the travel mugs in the cup holders, soon forgotten.

It was a heavy silence as they drove through the suburbs towards the city; there might as well have been a miniature elephant sitting between them.

She broke the silence when they got on the highway, taking in a deep breath.

"She knows you're not a tailor," she said softly, still looking out the window at the slowly diminishing suburbs.

She heard him take in a breath.

"She called me out on your story about Lee and Jamal and playing music too loud and trapped me in the lie, too."

"She doesn't know like you do, but she knows I followed my dad; something secret, something dangerous," he said, sounding resentful of the fact.

She nodded.

"But they can't know," she said softly, finally understanding.

He nodded.

"It would hurt them. Having to hold that secret," she continued, the pieces falling into place in her mind before she finally turned to look at him.

His eyebrow twitched and he looked confused but nodded.

She nodded back, turning to the window.

"I understand now," she said, watching as the suburbs slowly turned into a city-scape. Watching him with Michelle and Daisy, he was completely himself; exactly like he was with her. "It was a betrayal from my parents: keeping me in the dark. I trusted them with everything… it just seemed they weren't doing the same. And I can't even yell at them about it-" her voice cracked and her eyes grew wet.

She felt him grab her hand and squeeze it tight.

"I mean I know I wouldn't have been able to save them, but if I'd known…" she took a deep breath.

She still felt this residual hurt, but the reason of it was dawning on her now.

"If I'd known, I wouldn't feel so helpless. It's terrible to say, but there was a meaning. For some reason it's better for me to know that yeah, there are shitty and terrible people in this world that killed my parents over their work rather than accept that hey, accidents happen: they got in a car crash and died."

He squeezed her hand again. She took a deep breath, and fell silent. He kept a hold of her hand, the heat from his skin radiating through her.

She broke the silence again, voicing her mind.

"You were real tonight."

"Real?" he asked so softly it was barely a whisper.

She took a deep breath and pulled her hand back but kept it on the car seat between them as she turned to finally look at him.

"That was the initial reason I was angry at you," she said as she met his eyes. He was waiting... his eyes boring into hers. "I'd found out who you really were, and it all occurred to me. That you were getting to know me under this false pretense… for protection... what if you were false as well; only acting and behaving - manipulating my emotions to get what you needed to get closer to me? That this guy I'd… that the person I'd gotten to know was a character? Not someone real?"

He shifted in the backseat to get closer to her, their hands touching again. He moved his pinky finger to hook onto hers and she didn't pull back.

"But you were… you… tonight. The person I've gotten to know," she continued, holding onto her bravery as she kept his gaze.

He stared back and then shifted even closer, reaching forward to sandwich her hand between his. She flushed at the touch and looked down, his hands enclosing hers; she couldn't even see her fingers…

"Ariel," he said, and then faded off, squeezing her hand between his. They were surprisingly soft, though the more she looked at his hands the more she noticed that there were small scars on his knuckles, and the space between his thumb and forefinger was calloused – from holding guns.

"If you weren't a part of this, if you were just my neighbor… even if I wasn't who I was and… shit, Ariel, even if I'd just happened to see you at that Deli, readin' your book… I would've done everythin' the same."

"You know that I found out about you… about who you were to me as a Kingsman, after that first morning we met. I…" he stopped and looked away, almost guiltily.

"You what?" she whispered.

He looked at her again, meeting her gaze.

"The sound of the movin' truck woke me. I drank my mornin' coffee, had time to kill before I went into work, and watched you. Saw you standing there on the street, holdin' Sydney, yellin' at the movers after they broke a chair. Even watched you take down the mover who bothered to ask for a tip."

She stared. He watched her as she struggled alone-

"But it only seemed like you'd needed help until after the movers left and I saw you draggin' that dresser up your steps, using that carpet to help you… the genius that you are… and that's when I came out."

She stared at him, now expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

"And then I did, and you stood your ground… and then you told me about Sydney's name, joked with me about 24… even as we moved your things in, you were… alive. You babbled and stuttered when you noticed me lookin' at you. And you cracked jokes that were so out of my league, yet others were so odd or cheesy or corny that I couldn't help but laugh or grin."

He took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'll say it again, Ariel. If you'd been just a normal girl, not someone who turned out to be a part of my job – I still would've come over that night. I still would've come over every other time, hoping for a glimpse into your life. Even if I wasn't… me," he faltered.

She could only stare at him, her eyes wandering up to a lock of his hair that had fallen over his brow. Before she even knew what she was doing her hand was moving up to tuck it back into place. The stray bit of hair stayed for only a moment before dropping down back into its original spot.

He shook his head and leant forward, giving a soft kiss on her temple before he wrapped his arms around her. She found herself tucking her head into his shoulder, holding him just as tightly.

She didn't even notice they'd arrived home until Mr. Brown cleared his throat and not so subtly knocked on the clear partition. She jumped back, Eggsy sighing as he withdrew his arms.

She looked around and saw Mr. Brown coming around to her side to open the door, holding out a hand for her. She blinked and took it, daring a glance at him, smiling softly as she muttered a thank you, more embarrassed than anything. She'd basically interrogated him on the drive over about Eggsy, and there she was on the way back home, caught in his embrace. She walked with him around the car and to the sidewalk where Eggsy was waiting for them.

"Thanks, as always," he said, smiling and shaking Mr. Brown's hand.

Ariel could only stare. The multiple times she'd watched Eggsy climb into a cab, the familiar face of Mr. Brown was always behind the wheel…

"Of course, sir," Mr. Brown said, smiling as he shook his hand.

"Say hello to Gwen for me, yeah?" Eggsy replied, dropping his hand as Mr. Brown nodded.

"Will do, sir," he said and then turned to her, holding out his hand again, "Pleasure to have met you, ma'am."

"Now, Mr. Brown, what did we talk about?" she said raising an eyebrow as she shook his strong grip.

Mr. Brown looked chagrined as he rephrased his goodbye: "Pleasure to meet you, miss."

She nodded, smiling.

"The same, Mr. Brown. Thanks for the rides," she said.

Mr. Brown's eyebrows twitched, but he nodded.

Mr. Brown left the two of them on the sidewalk, climbing back into the cab and driving off.

"Care for a drink?" Eggsy broke the silence and Ariel turned her gaze away from the now empty street to look at him.

She slowly shook her head, but the way Eggsy's face fell had her talking.

"I'm beat, Eggsy," she said, taking a step forward and faltering. He only stared at her, and she continued, "This whole night has just… I just need to…" she faded off, realizing she was going nowhere and shut up.

Eggsy cleared his throat.

"I…"

"This isn't me being-" she started again, "this isn't me blowing you off, I meant when I told you in the cab, that I-"

"Ariel," Eggsy said, and she shut her mouth, taking a deep breath and giving a weak smile. She sighed and stepped closer to him.

"I didn't know until you and I were standing outside the house, hugging and saying goodbye to your mom… but I needed tonight."

His eyebrows twitched, but he still kept her gaze, staying silent. She wanted to yell at him, change that unknowing look on his dumb, handsome, stupid face… but instead shook her head and continued.

"I also need sleep… but I'm looking forward to more dinners, Eggsy. I might even invite them over here."

He smiled brightly, just as he had when he was holding Daisy, and her heart stopped.

"I'm countin' the days, Ariel."

She nodded, her heart catching, and before she said anything else she turned around and climbed up her stoop, hearing the footsteps of Eggsy doing the same. She stopped at her door and turned towards him, seeing him waiting as he always did, making sure she went in first.

"G'night," he said, still smiling brightly.

She nodded, stuttering and then stopping, taking in a deep breath.

"G'night, Eggsy," she said, finding herself mocking his accent.

He let out a laugh and her heart fluttered and she reached for her doorknob for balance.

"Terrible. I quite like it," he said.

She wanted to shrug and nod at the same time but it came out as a jumble of her upper body moving randomly. She shook her head, rightly this time, as she unlocked her door and opened it, sparing a quick glance at Eggsy who was staring at her with his lips drawn tight as though he wasn't trying to laugh.

She smiled and then went inside, locking only two locks, resting her forehead on her door as she listened for the sounds of him entering his flat and locking the door behind him, her heart beating quickly. She still felt the warmth of his arms…

It all slowed down when she felt, more than heard, the residing silence.

She turned around, facing her apartment. It was too quiet, where was-

"Sydney?" she called out as she looked around, taking a few steps forward as she shrugged off her coat and hung it up on the wall next to her hall table.

However instead of Sydney cat greeting her, she heard a familiar voice that turned her blood cold.

"Honey, you're home."