Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations the characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for continuing to read and giving me feedback on my work. It's muchly appreciated and I do read every review you send me!

Note: Sorry there hasn't been much updating from me in recent months. I've been working more since the pandemic hit and have been too tired at the end of the day to do much writing. I'm trying to do better, I promise!

Making A Scene

They'd finished shooting the bedroom scene and started filming their morning after goodbye on Taron's doorstep when said filming broke for a slightly late lunch. A fact Harry's stomach was very pleased about-not so much the rest of him. Because of course everyone had a great deal to say about the visible marks both Harry and Eggsy were still sporting, much less the sexiness of the bedroom scene. They had a LOT to say about that. And on top of all the questions, innuendos and ribbing they were getting they also had to keep batting people's hands away so that their supposedly fake markings wouldn't be revealed as very real after all.

To say it was all quite irritating would be a major understatement. Especially since both he and Eggsy were quite hungry and everyone kept getting between them and the food tables.

Surprisingly it was Frederick that came yet again to their rescue this time, the director barking at people to move the hell along and let the two of them eat. He needed them back on set as soon as possible and they'd already had way too many delays as it was.

Harry would have kissed the man for that-if not for the fact that Fredrick would rather Harry shot him in the head.

So he and Eggsy were finally allowed to get some food, Harry volunteering to hold their plates while Eggsy loaded them up for the both of them. And load them up he did, Eggsy putting far more food on their plates than usual.

"Got to keep our strength up." Was Eggsy's cheeky reply when Harry called him on it.

Oh he was going to pay for that comment, Harry mused darkly, biting back a number of responses that came to mind for the time being. Instead he continued to follow Eggsy down the line until their plates were full, Harry then heading for their usual table while Eggsy went off to get them some drinks to wash it all down with.

Setting first Eggsy's plate down and then his own Harry took his seat and then looked around as a number of people quickly moved in to take seats at or around the table for obvious reasons. He was also keeping an eye out for Andrew, though Harry was pretty sure the other actor was shooting in another sound stage today and would have no reason to wander in. Unless to check on Harry and Eggsy of course, which was why Harry was keeping an eye out for him.

No sighting of him yet, and Harry found himself distracted by the others at the table who all wanted to know just what sort of bet had he made with Eggsy that he'd been so sure he wouldn't end up looking as though he'd been mauled by a randy teenager.

Unless of course he'd wanted to lose the bet, something Edie seemed to think was probably the case.

"It was a personal wager I won't discuss." He sounded like a pompous arse saying it, but Harry was willing to live with that.

Naturally that only made them want to know more, Harry ignoring the majority of their theories for the sake of his sanity. He only objected to the really horrible ones that cast his and Eggsy's character in horrible lights. As if they'd ever bet on something like who had the bigger penis. Or hit on the same person just to see who the man or woman in question liked better. A gentleman did not abuse someone's feelings by leading them on for such a silly reason.

"Such a gentleman. A rare breed these days." Edie stated affectionately. "And of course all the good ones are as bent as a bendy straw."

This of course led to several straight men coming to the defense of their sexual orientation while Harry's mind went from bendy to the fact that he knew Eggsy was very flexible and how he could look forward to putting that skill to use in the future. Bugger.

Thankfully he was saved from wallowing in those thoughts for long by Eggsy's arrival, bringing with him a new argument as the younger man continued his conversation with one of the assistants.

"-so ya could say it was our civic duty, really. LGBTQ couples ain't represented enough and it's about time telly and movie people realized that. Right, Harry?" Eggsy dropped down into his seat beside Harry on that pronouncement, looking over at Harry expectantly.

"You do realize, Eggsy, that it wasn't until the start of the twenty first century that the age of consent for homosexual acts was lowered from twenty-one to sixteen? And that it was only legalized at the former age in nineteen sixty-seven in this country? Not to mention the fact that we only got gay marriage in twenty fourteen. Progressive we often aren't."

How young he was, Harry thought as he watched Eggsy absorb this with frank bewilderment.

"Seriously?"

Eggsy visible struggle with this idea tempted Harry to pat the boy on the head. Or smack him upside it for being so ignorant of the facts. As it was Harry still remembered the crushing defeat in nineteen ninety-four when the lowering in age had first been attempted. The House of Commons had ruled against it by a twenty-seven majority. It had not been a good day or year, for that matter.

"And if you think that's depressing, look at the other countries who haven't evolved even that much." Mark pointed out from his seat across from them. "In some countries you'd have been shot just for the way you look at Harry normally."

"Well yeah, but-when did the bloody Americans-scratch that. When did the Canadians fix their laws?" Eggsy wanted to know, obviously up-to-date enough to know that the Americans were behind the times and Britain when it came to certain things like LGBTQ rights.

"You'd have to look that one up." Harry informed him before taking a bite of a carrot stick.

Pulling out his phone Eggsy did precisely that. "According to Wikipedia 'Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Canada are some of the most advanced in the Americas and in the world. Same-sex sexual activity has been lawful in Canada since June 27, 1969, when the Criminal Law Amendment Act (also known as Bill C-150) came into force upon royal assent. So we beat em in legalizing it, but they didn't get hung up on the age thing."

"And Canada legalized gay marriage nationwide in 2005." Harry added.

"Figures. And where's our country's pride, huh? One of our colonies showing us up like that."

Knowing well the headache that came with thinking about such things, on top of all the filming with all its bright lights to come, Harry advised Eggsy to put his phone away and eat his lunch.

"And if you want to know more ask Ian McKellen. He was in the thick of things back in the day. And now." Mark informed Eggsy, gesturing with his sandwich for emphasis.

Opening his mouth to agree with that-as Harry recalled McKellen had been there when the Commons had voted against lower the age in ninety-four-Harry abruptly shut it and frowned at the idea of Eggsy being anywhere near Sir Ian McKellen. The older man hardly dated at all these days, but he was in remarkably good shape for a man of his age and had been known on at least one occasion to date someone significantly younger than himself. And Eggsy was Eggsy. Who could resist him?

"Wot's that look for? You don't like McKellen?"

"No. I mean yes, I do like the man." And he did. They weren't close friends or anything, but he had great respect for the man both professionally and personally.

"Probably just jealous." Anette teased from further down the table. She was part of the sound crew. "Knowing how fond Eggsy is of older men."

"Oi! That aint-ya think I have a chance with Sir Ian McKellen?" Eggsy sounded annoyingly chuffed at that idea.

Under the table Harry pinched Eggsy hard in the side, making him jerk and send Harry a shocked look that quickly morphed into a very smug grin.

Thinking to get rid of that grin in a jiffy Harry drawled out that Eggsy would make an adorable hobbit.

"Hey! I ain't that short! I'm average for a male, I'll have ya know. We can't all be as tall as you."

Loving the color that was now flushing Eggsy's cheeks-Eggsy riled up was a delicious sight to behold-Harry just smiled at him and then took a drink of water.

As it turned out one of the makeup artists was once married to a man who'd worked on the LOTR movies and had heard all sorts of stories about it, the table soon distracted by her tales of just how many thousands of crew members had been needed and the sheer number of props used in it.

Happy for the distraction, Harry made sure to keep that conversation going for the rest of the meal while Eggsy sent him looks that made it clear he was going to pay for the whole hobbit thing.

Harry couldn't wait, quite frankly.

)

Despite the ruckus at the beginning shooting after lunch went like clockwork and Eggsy was able to leave promptly at three for his scheduled interviews. Harry had to contend himself with waving Eggsy off, well aware that the grin Eggsy shot in his direction as he left was meant to rub in the fact that his insane plan had worked and no one had caught on to the change in their relationship yet. The fact that that might be true was mortifying in the extreme since Harry had caught them being very couple-y throughout the morning and afternoon, which was apparently nothing new to anyone. It made him hope rather desperately that more people had caught on and were just being polite and keeping said knowledge to themselves.

However unlikely that was with this bunch.

Harry, as previously mentioned, had to stick around for an extra hour for an incredibly short scene that required him to do nothing more than pick up an envelope that had been slid under his door at the inn and read the note inside.

Looking shocked and horrified to receive a letter warning him to leave town didn't really require much from him acting wise. If not for the need for various camera angles and adjustments of lighting it would have taken them all of five minutes, if that.

So that was over and done with easily enough, Harry excused just before four hit to return to the makeup room to have his removed. Which would take a lot longer than it should since he actually had very little makeup to take off, but had to pretend he did thanks to the charade Eggsy had dragged him into.

Emma was 'kindly' waiting in the wing for him, her smile really not boding well for him. Or at least it made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand up in reaction. Shite. But with no other choice but to follow her-and put himself at her mercies-Harry sighed in his head and squaring his shoulder walked after her back to the room they'd used before. It was again empty, which wasn't surprising this time around since the majority of the artists would be on sets currently, standing by to do touchups. Striding in Harry headed straight for one of the makeup chairs, taking a seat. If he was going to be ribbed and teased, he might as well be comfortable.

The sound of the door being locked struck him as more than a little ominous though.

As the chair was one that could spin all the way around Harry used his feet to bring it around so that he was facing Emma directly, the serious look on her face as she marched over to him-Fuck.

"So now that it's just the two of us...I've got something to say to you, Harry Hart."

Double fuck. She wasn't going to tease him...she was going to rake him over the coals for dating someone young enough to be his son. She'd just acted accepting earlier for Eggsy sake, but now she was going to make it clear that he was a cradle robbing bastard who, if he had any moral compass at all, would keep his hands off Eggsy and beg forgiveness for ever putting them on him in the first place. She was going to-

Emma crossed her arms in front of her, drawing Harry's full attention back to the present. "I've been thinking about saying it for years, but it never seemed the right time and I didn't know if it would be pourin acid on the wounds, ya know? But now seems the time so-you're a good man, Hart. One of the best I've ever known."

Wait...what?

Lips twitching, Emma dryly commented that he'd been expecting her to lecture or make fun of him.

"Yes..."

"Well I'm not. Far from it." Emma's amusement fell away from her face, going back to dead serious. "I was here, wasn't I, when Eggsy first came on the show. I had a front row seat to the two of you. And I was worried about him, seeing how much he fancied you. The way he shadowed you all the time, stars and hearts in his eyes, yours for the having. He weren't at all subtle, what he'd do for you if you let him. And I could see that you wanted him. How badly you wanted him at times. You were good at hiding it, don't worry, but I could tell, and who could blame you? He's pretty irresistible."

"Oh."

"Look, plenty of men would have taken him up on what he was offering you. Specially considering the power imbalance between the two of you, you being established while he was just a newbie starting out. Happens all the time, doesn't it? Part of the industry, even. Plenty would have just said he was asking for it, wasn't he, so it was his own fault if he got hurt in the end."

Stomach dropping, Harry had the horrible feeling someone had taken advantage of Emma when she was too young and unexperienced to realize she was in waters too deep for her to swim yet.

"But you kept your hands to yourself." Emma continued on. "And not just that, but you took care of him. Kept him close to keep him safe and teach him, even though that would have made it worse for you, having to be around him all the time but keeping your hands to yourself. Especially when it wasn't just that you wanted him. When you started to love im. But you stuck to your code and you gave him a chance to grow up and-and there's still hearts and stars coming out his eyes whenever you're around, but they ain't so plentiful and blinding that he can't see beyond them to the man you are now. He loves you, and it's real. Not hero-worship or cause you have a great arse, which you do...he's old enough to see the reality of things. The shite that comes with life, specially when the odds aren't stacked in your favor cause of things the two of you can't control. You gave im that time and-and a lot of shite is coming your way, Harry Hart...and I'll have plenty to say on the matter of anyone who gives you any. You're both bloody good men, and I'm proud to know you."

Emma gave a definitive nod, then stated that was all she wanted to say.

He should say something. Do something. Harry knew that. Or at least in some corner of his brain he knew that. The majority of his mind was focused on rewinding and listening to all the things she'd said and just being so grateful she'd said them. He'd had no idea how much he needed to hear them, especially today. By someone like Emma who wouldn't bullshit him on this. Who had no reason to say such things about him unless she meant them.

Abruptly Harry stood, the desire to hug her almost overwhelming to the point where he lurched forward only to stop-and realize he needed to do one thing first. As someone who wasn't big on hugs from people not close to him, it was his policy to always ask.

"May I hug you?"

Eyebrows rising, Emma stared for a moment, and then she broke out into a wide smile and opened up her arms. "You may."

Taking the last couple of steps necessary Harry drew her into a hug, smiling as she hugged his back.

"Thank you for that. I rather needed to hear it."

"No problem. You can come to me for a pep talk any time."

"I'll do that."

Drawing back Harry smiled down at her, letting her see just how much her words had meant to him. Enough that she actually got a bit teary on him, which she immediately scolded him for before telling him that he should change back into his usual clothes and get home already. Eggsy had said that he was moving into his place tonight so Harry would need to go home and make space in his closet and such for all the boy's stuff.

"Not that Eggsy having to downsize his wardrobe would be a bad thing. The poor luv has horrible taste in clothes."

Harry sighed dramatically, just to amuse her. "I know. I will work on that."

"See that you do."